Jenny Holzer in her own words.wmv

For thirty years, Jenny Holzer has presented her astringent ideas, arguments, and sorrows in public places and international exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale, the Reichstag, and the Guggenheim Museums in New York and Bilbao. Her medium, whether formulated as a T-shirt, as a plaque, or as an LED sign, is writing, and the public dimension is integral to the delivery of her work. Starting in the 1970s with the New York City posters, and up to her recent light projections on landscape and architecture, her practice has rivaled ignorance and violence with humor, kindness, and moral courage. Holzer received the Leone d’Oro at the Venice Biennale in 1990 and the Public Art Network Award in 2004. She holds honorary degrees from Ohio University, Williams College, the Rhode Island School of Design, and The New School. Holzer lives and works in New York.

Write a comment in response to the video. What are your thoughts about text as a medium of art?

Bill Viola - Ocean Without a Shore - Venice Biennale 2007

This is a video interview with artist, Bill Viola, of his installation Ocean Without a Shore, which we had analyzed in class. Take a look at it and write a comment in response to the artwork.

Supakitch and Koralie: Process of Contemporary Street Artists

Here is a great video clip that shows the process of how street artists, Supakitch and Koralie, work to develop a complex wall mural for The Museum of World Culture in Gothenberg, Sweden. Observe the different materials and layers they create to develop the finished project. Both Supakitch and Koralie started as street artists and have fused their unique styles together and have recently been recognized by "high art" establishments. Like many street artists today, they have one foot in what has previously been called "low art" and the other foot in the "high art world", making the division of the two art scenes blurred.

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Art Shows and Competitions

All of you will be required to submit artwork to at least one art show or competition this year. I am encouraging you to submit your artwork to more than one though! Here is a great link that lists a variety of art shows and competitions occuring throughout the nation. Please visit this link often to see if new shows have been added! You may look elsewhere for art contests and shows as well; sometimes magazines or organizations have contests too. I will assist you with the preparation, shipping and application fees for at least one art show/ competion. Good Luck!

http://www.artshow.com/

Art and Fear: Chapter One

Part One:

Writing [artmaking] is easy: all you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until the drops of blood form on your forehead. -Gene Fowler

Repost the following questions on your own blog and write your responses to them. This is due by Sunday, Sept 11, 9pm :

1. What does the face of uncertainty mean to you?

2. How do you feel about the notion of, "doing something no one much cares wether you do, and for which there may be niether audience nor reward"?

3. The Assumptions: take one of the assumptions listed below and consider your personal relationship to it. How does the assumption relate to your feelings and thoughts toward art and artmaking? Please write a short paragraph analyzing the chosen assumption and your relationship to it.

               - Artmaking invloves skill that can be learned

               - Art is made by ordinary people

               - Making art and viewing art are different at their core:

                          *to all viewers but yourself, what matters most is the product/ finished artwork

                          * your job is to learn to work on your work:

                              -even failed pieces are essential,

                              -you learn to make art by making your art,

                              -make art you care about and make LOTS of it!

4. Artmaking has been around longer than the art establishment.

      1. Definition/ Identity as an artist has both drawbacks and benefits. What does labeling yourself as an artist do for you or not do for you personally?

      2. What does labeling yourself as an artist do or not do for you as others view you?

Art and Fear: Introduction

In the Introduction of Art and Fear, Bayles and Orland say, "...But while geniuses may get made once-a-century or so, good art gets made all the time. Making art is a common and intimately human activity, filled with all the perils (and rewards) that accompany any worthwhile effort. The difficulties artmakers face are not remote and heroic, but universal and familiar."

In your own words, what are Bayles and Orland saying? What are some difficulties that you have when making art that you consider being universal and familiar (personal fears)?

(add comment to this post, due Tuesday Aug 30th, 11am)

One Week!

well, we have a week. i recently sent out an email to all of you, but i am following up with a post too. here is what you need to accomplish before you come back to school:

*3 art pieces, at least one from observation

*annotations in the book ART and FEAR

*t-shirt design for senior shirt, for 2D students only

if you have any questions, you can reply to this post or to my email. also, i am going to be requiring you all to design your own blog. you may choose to keep it private or public. i would suggest keeping it private at first and only inviting the members of the class and me, and you can always invite others individually as you feel more comfortable. you will be posting on your own blog, other students' blogs, and the class blog on a regular basis. if you want to get a jump start on creating your blog, please do. you are to use blogspot, just as i have done. once you have it set up, invite me to join by entering in my email address. also, once i have your url, i will link you to my page! the first week of school i will be showing you some examples of how other AP students and teachers are using blogs as a class resource also. we will hopefully be able to communicate with some of these other ap classes and students across the country :). let me know if you need any help! you will need to have this done by the second week of school...have fun! ~o'd

working out the kinks

well, it seems that June has been able to become a follower and that Dawn and Benjamin are able to view the blog. That leaves Luke, Molly and Kivina that either haven't responded to me or can't view the blog. So, I think what we will do is stick to the plan of using the summer break to read and annotate the book Art and Fear. When we all return to school, I will begin assigning you questions regarding the book and will post them on the blog, where you will in return post your answers. We will have a discussion of the book via the blog! that way we can focus our classtime on our art making and critiques. Since not everyone can access the blog right now, I am going to send out an email regarding your summer artwork assignments. we have 40 days...time to get a move on, if you haven't already! check your inboxes regularly! ~o'd

Art and Fear: Introduction

In the Introduction of Art and Fear, Bayles and Orland say, "...But while geniuses may get made once-a-century or so, good art gets made all the time. Making art is a common and intimately human activity, filled with all the perils (and rewards) that accompany any worthwhile effort. The difficulties artmakers face are not remote and heroic, but universal and familiar."

In your own words, what are Bayles and Orland saying? What are some difficulties that you have when making art that you consider being universal and familiar (person fears)?

Summer Assignments

so, have you fed the fish yet? they seem to always be hungry! a little interactive fun for you when you visit the blog...i think we should name them...start brainstorming and then post your suggestions to this thread! well, we have less than fifty days until school starts, so i would like to get on with the summer assignments. you have two categories of assignments: studio based assignments and reading/ writing, or shall i say"posting", assignments. we are going to use the blog as a way to post our responses to the questions i want you to ponder in regards to the book, Art and Fear. i will categorize the blog posts as reading and studio. you are to post comments and pictures of your studio pieces under the studio post, and you are to post your written responses to the reading under the Art and Fear post. i will also be emailing you a copy of the class syllabus so we can cover that now, verses spending a lot of time on it when we start school. i would rather jump right into critique, right? you too??? :).

ok, read the next blog posts and respond accordingly...and yes, you will be graded on these summer assignments...starting NOW, these responses go towards your first grades of the semester :)...~o'd

let the blogging begin

hello my lovely art students. i hope you have been enjoying your summer vacation so far! i have been very busy so far. as soon as school was out i began packing up all of my things and moved everything into storage. i have been staying at nick's house, commuting 50 minutes to work at joann's almost every day, but i just signed a lease for an apartment much closer to joann's and school. i will be moving tomorrow! it has been great spending so much time with nick, but i am looking forward to having access to my things, having my own space (there are 4 of us here, and 2 dogs), and being able to focus more on getting ready for the next school year!

i created this blog as a way for us to communicate throughout the summer and school year. i am considering having you each create your own blog, so i will let you know if i decide to do that. in the meantime, you need to become a follower to this blog and i will continue sending you information this way. think of this blog as a collaborative visual journal; it's like a class-wide sketchbook, gathering place for critique and feedback, safe and somewhat private (just us) journal for you to express ideas, issues, and post art work, and an overall way for us to document the process and journey of being artists together.

please respond to this post to let me know that you have read it and are signed up to be a "follower". i will be assigning homework throughout the school year involving posting on the blog. i called it heART beat because the desire to make and create runs through our blood and there is a deeply emotional connection between our hearts and our art. listen to the beat, trust it, and start creating.

i will be in touch with you again soon. ~o'd