Graduating Seniors Show

It seems that the painting I'm most drawn to, recently, is of the drippy, messy abstract expressionist variety. I stopped by the Else Gallery this week to take in the work of the graduating seniors. I've seen Sarah Dutra working behind the ASL frequently when working there and I really enjoy what she does. I find inspiration from these paintings, and am happier with my own drawing final because of it. The thin washes and drippy white acrylic overlaid on the more vibrant colors underneath give an entrancing feeling of depth, creating a three dimensionality inside a 2D space. The subtle pops of yellow and blue below reinforce the feeling of mood.

Sarah Dutra
Last Minute
Multi-Media on Canvas
2014

 I don't think it would be fair if, as a sculptor, I didn't include at least one 3D piece. I really enjoy ceramics, the practicality of it, the dual nature of having an inherent use despite a need for visual aesthetics that are pleasing. This work by Nicholas Sullivan doesn't appear to have a specific use like a teapot or a cup and saucer might, but it is beautiful all the same. I enjoy the coarseness of the building methods and the glazing as well.  Instead of using neat slabs of clay, each plane was creating by throwing the material on the table at an angle, allowing inertia to work on it, expanding the clay and picking up the imprint of the table and canvas board below. Constructed as it is, it has a vibe of a precarious structure, a previously tall tower that has buckled under it's own weight.

Nicholas Sullivan
Fountain #1
Ceramic
2013

Last is a piece by Mary May-Yuarn Fong, something truly atmospheric and haunting. Again with the drips, too. Wisps of color and line create a feeling of circular movement throughout the piece, manufacturing an environment for its contents to inhabit. The quality of paint is smoother than that of Dutra's, seen above, with a more subtle creation of space and form and a more "real" environment. I love the feeling of being in a fantastical realm, looking out on a great valley with a small city sprouting up beside a large cliff, like I'm leaving on a grand journey, not sure when I will return.

Mary May-Yuarn Fong
The Parting
Acrylic on Canvas
2014

The Land and The People

Jung Won Chul
Portrait in Gray #2, 2001
Linocut

The Land and The People is an excellent and unique look in to the work of contemporary Korean printmakers. As mentioned in a previous blog, the artists and their works are unique in their approach to their work. Over 100 years of political and historical upheaval have instilled in the Korean people a cultural sadness.  The perspectives and state of mind of Koreans, in contrast to Americans, are different because of this cultural sadness and constant state of political upheaval, and this has a tendency to lead to a different aesthetic and sensibility. The artists in this show fare from three generations and utilize a variety of different printmaking techniques, from linocut to traditional woodblock, and draw from a rich history and culture of Korean printmaking.

Jung Won Chul creates intricate and moving linocuts of surviving "comfort women", women who have been forced to service soldiers during the Japanese invasion of Asia. Every line in each candid print is another wrinkle on their face, another gruesome experience, one more hard-learned life lesson.

Detail of Portrait in Gray #2

Kim Eok approaches the landscape from a historical point of view, traveling around the country capturing features of national significance. His works are deceptively contemporary, instead of being the purely historically accurate scrolls they first appear to be. Close inspection reveals cars, birds, and other signs of life living their lives in his intricate woodcuts. The high vantage point and perspective also suggests a more modern and specific understanding of the countryside around us.

Kim Eok
Namhan River - Danyang, 2009
Woodcut

Detail of Namhan River - Danyang

This was an amazing exhibit to experience, especially once one further understands the context of many of these works. The hardships experienced and portrayed by those whose we work we are privileged to see are not lost on us. Additionally, many of the artists shown here this semester have never before been seen on the west coast, so it is indeed an honor to view their work. The difficult and unforgiving nature of the woodblock print is an excellent comparison to the hardships of being of Korean birth for the past century.

Kim Joon Kwon
From Mountain 0805, 2008

Crocker Art Museum

After attending U-NITE and only having the chance to see the student work in the courtyard, and the faculty show nearby, I had to make time to come back and see some of the current collection.

One of the first works I encountered was this massive painting by Stephen J Kaltenbach. Sitting at an estimated 8 feet tall and 15 feet wide, this work was very intimidating. I stared at it from half a room away trying to take the whole thing in, but it truly was immense. The plaque beside the piece gave a short history of this work, stating that it was a seven year long labor of "life, love, and loss". It is based on a photograph, though it is still very different and unique from the cool and detached paintings of the photorealists. This work is done as a memorial, celebrating the life and passage of a loved one. Kaltenbach typically worked as a conceptual artist in the 1970s; this enormous work marked his return to painting.

Stephen J Kaltenbach
Portrait of My Father
1972-79
Acrylic on canvas

Detail of Portrait of My Father

Paul Jenkins
Phenomena Intervening Mantle
2006
Acrylic on Canvas 

Paul Jenkins' approach to applying pigment tends to me unorthodox, reads the plaque beside this work. He pours and pushes the pain, resulting on veins of translucent and opaque colors. They are exercises in continued interesting in philosophy, the writings of Carl Jung, and exploring the inner recesses of the artist's unconscious mind.  

Detail of Phenomena Intervening Mantle

Kim Squaglia
Aquanaut
2012
Oil and resin on wood panel

Detail of Aquanaut

Hung Liu
Shoemakers
1999
Oil on canvas

After learning about the artist in class, and seeing her work, it was really exciting to accidentally stumble across this work in my explorations. The drips and the thin washes in the layers of her work are wonderful, and give a subtle sense of nostalgia. 

Checking out the abstract expressionism paintings

 The abstract expressionist Sam Francis has a large show at the Crocker, full of works from his five decades worth of painting. Francis was one of the twentieth century's most influential abstract expressionist painters, and created art that was most intuitive and cerebral. Using a variety of light and color, his works have a wide range of interpretations while also referencing traditional and historical paintings. Inspired by the French Impressionists, the California Modernists, as well as ancient and contemporary Chinese and Japanese scroll and sumi-e ink paintings, he became known as one of the first post-WWII painters to develop an international reputation.  Francis' use of color and light is truly astonishing. From a simple paint blot on a white field, to the layering of beautifully contrasting colors, I was completely in awe of his work. The detail shot below is one I spent several minutes taking in.

Untitled (Edge Painting)
1966
Oil on canvas

How to not starve as an artist

On April 24th, Sandy Delehanty, an artist workshop instructor and watercolor painter, gave a talk on her experiences as a full time artist and what she had learned on how to succeed as a painter full time. As an artist interested in the ways of the art world, I attended hoping to learn ways in which I might best apply my skills and abilities in the hopes of making a living in a creative field. Delehanty has a multi step process she uses to illustrate one's best chance for success as an artist.

Sandy Delehanty
"Abandoned"
Watercolor

Step 1: Determine if your art is ready to earn a living for you. Have you won any local awards, have you been accepted in to any major national or international open shows? The last two types of shows are often so competitive that just getting in can be a big deal. Other things that can be a leg up on the competition are being invited on behalf of respected galleries or art organizations. Additionally, making friends with gallery professionals and getting their feedback is a great resource. Contact well respected artists in the field for their opinion on your work. Often you will want to avoid asking your family or friends what they think; they know and care about you, of course they will think your work is great. If you are not ready for this step, then it may be best to take more classes or workshops to master the elements that are weaker.

Step 2: Know how much money you need to live comfortably. It is important to be realistic with this step. Look for any ways you may be able to cut back if need be, and make sure to allow for any emergencies.

Step 3: Know where your income will be coming from. Make sure to list any and all possible income sources and prioritize them. Delehanty mentions that her original list was not the same as the list she found most accurate in practice. She found the most lucrative income to come from commercial galleries. Workshops that you organize, and workshops you do for others are next on the list in that order, followed by self-organized weekly classes and adult education classes. She actually told us to avoid arts festivals, as they did not seem to be worth the time invested for the return, especially if they weren't local.

Step 4: Research various income possibilities. Make sure you understand your time commitments. How much time per week do you need in the studio? Understand shipping time requirements, etc. Know that time is money. It is also important to have various income sources, putting all your eggs in one basket is a recipe for disaster should anything go awry.

When it comes to choosing commercial galleries to show at, there are a few specifics to me mindful of. Be aware that you are picking a business partner. The gallery with represent you to the world, make sure that any galleries you choose to show at share common values with you. Also know that location is important. Art and tourist towns generally sell more work that other locations. Additionally, make sure your work fits with the targeted market. It is important to be professional: always deliver more than promised, always be on time, and never undercut your galleries.

Being a workshop instructor can pay well, but can be a lot more work. Instructors who are nationally known can earn a very good living, but will travel a lot. To break in to the field, a solid resume is required, and teaching skills matter.

Step 5: Understand your expenses and how to control them. Make sure to list anticipated expense categories, prioritize largest to smallest. Know what you can do yourself, and learn new skills to cut costs. Take classes, read books, and watch videos.

Step 6: Set up your business. Get a business name and set up a business checking account. If you are selling directly to the public you'll need a resale license, which allows you to avoid paying taxes on any materials that will go in to your final product, such as paints and canvases. Do you have a website? Have you made business cards? Did you get a business license?

Delehanty spoke a lot about her own workshops, and how successful they had been for her. She told us about the workshops she had been recruited to do on cruise ships, and how they were a great excuse to see the world and become inspired. I asked her how she managed to get a gig teaching a workshop on a cruise liner, as that seemed like employment with a lot of suitors. "I saved and saved and then went on one myself," she said. " I watched the instructor on it and saw how it was done. I went on one with an instructor I liked and wanted to learn from; connections are important. I got to do one myself two years later. Cruise lines won't hire you unless you have a good following, either."

Sac State Art History Symposium

There were a number of interesting lectures happening at the Symposium, this year. The first of the two that I enjoyed the most was regarding Master W with the Key, as he has come to be known, and was given by John Byck, who is a Ph.D. candidate at The Institute of the Arts at NYU. Master W with the Key was known for a series of 9 prints of ships in the 15th century. These came early in the history of printmaking, and were notable for their unusual secular content, for the time. These works were also the predecessor to the Dutch Maritime Print genre. He gets his name from the way in which he would sign his works, which can be seen in the top right of the print, below. 

Master W's work with ship prints was primarily used as models for craftsmen, to be integrated into  other works for secular or religious purposes, for use in prints or woodcuts, or for goldsmiths. These depictions were a common theme for household and table items of the time. Master W's work depicts several different types of ships, and is partially responsible for our current understanding of 15th century ship rigging techniques. He is also the precursor for ship-portrait engravings, and inter-cultural genre.

In addition of John Byck's amazing lecture, I also enjoyed the presentation of Pamela Iviniski, an independent scholar in New York State. Her lecture was entitled "The Unexpected Creation of Arabesques" and was focused on Mary Cassatt's color prints from 1890-91. Ivinski was clearly very invested and inspired by the "set of ten", the short series of japanese-inspired prints by Cassatt. She spoke quickly and excitedly about the artist and her work, and I couldn't help but feel similarly inspired.

Mary Cassatt
Mother's Kiss

She spent a bit of time comparing one of Cassatt's Set of Ten, Mother's Kiss, to a work by the Japanese artist Utamaro called "Mother Nursing a Child". While not entirely the same, one could infer that Cassatt's work was at least partially inspired and influenced by Utamaro. Despite the similar subject matter, the styles are comparable, as are the use of patterns fabric as well as the use of line to create form. Ivinski made a point to illuminate Cassatt's use of line, primarily in the way in which the boundary between the mother's left thumb is shared with the child's left arm, as well as with the mother's right hand and child's behind. I thoroughly loved being exposed to these works of Cassatt's. I knew of her paintings, and really enjoy many of the works in pastel of hers that I've seen, but I had no idea that she did any printmaking. After her lecture, I wanted to tell Ivinski how excited her talk made me about work by a known artist I had until now been completely unaware of. I asked her if Cassatt had the opportunity to make many more works in with drypoint and aquatint, such as these, but was told that unfortunately she did not make many more forays into the world of printmaking once these were completed.  One thing she said to me that I found interesting was how, during her time in the late 1800's, Cassatt was noted as being "devoted to art like other women are devoted to religion". It's not a terrible way to be considered.

Utamaro
Mother Nursing a Child

Artist Lecture: Kim Jin Ha

Kim Jin Ha is an artist and curator specializing in Korean woodblock prints, with an interest in contemporary woodblock prints. This past month he gave a lecture in the University Library Gallery on modern and contemporary woodblock prints in conjunction with The Land and The People: Contemporary Korean Prints exhibition. Jin Ha is also the Director of Namu Art, in Seoul, South Korea.

We began his lecture with a condensed history of the woodblock print, primarily in Korea. There is a difference, he told us, in the ways in which Koreans and Americans create works of art. The primary difference between the two is in their "state of mind". Korea has been in a complex state of political conflict for the last 100 years, and it is this conflict that creates a "cultural sadness" in each Korean's psyche. The people of the United States have experienced an era of relatively stable politics, history, as well as mindset. Because of this cultural sadness and unique state of mind, much of the work coming out of Korea maintains a certain aesthetic quality and sensibility individual to the Korean people.

Prints from woodblocks were first used for newspapers and advertisements in the last 1800's. The first Korean newspaper was printed from woodblocks in 1883, with the first modern geography textbook following in 1894. Shortly after that, the first novel was translated into Korean and printed that same year. 1896 brought about the first moral textbook in modern Korean, and in 1899 the first advertisement image was seen in newspapers. Korea's liberation from Japan in 1945 brought about a new era, with increased communist influence and a larger output of fine art.

This was a difficult lecture for someone hard of hearing such as myself. I sat near the front of the room, but still had trouble hearing and understanding the information. Jin Ha does not speak English, and as such he had the assistance of a translator. Unfortunately, he was the only one of the two with a microphone, and his translator was fairly soft spoken and frequently uncertain about what she was translating. To add to this, halfway through the lecture the projector experienced technical difficulties and began showing only blank versions of the original slides. Sadly, the lecture was concluded early before much more was able to be covered. Despite the difficult nature of it's presentation, it was very interesting to learn about Korea's cultural and political history and the ways in which in continues to contribute to the unique quality of work produced by those of it's ancestry.

sAcRamenTo - A Community Art Exhibit of the Sacramento Fine Arts Center and its Partners

Sacramento Art: A Community Art Exhibit is a special collaboration between Sacramento State's Art Department and the Sacramento Fine Arts Center (SFAC) to celebrate artists who inspire and value collaboration.

Ken Potter

Brain Washed Man

Cast Alloy (lead), welded steel

This was a really neat exhibit, and one that afforded me the opportunity to look at local Sacramento artists. Ken Potter's Brain Washed Man didn't do much for me at first, but the longer I looked at the work, the more it came together for me. The cast lead half works well with the welded steel of the right side. The contrasting methods of depicting form and detail are intriguing together, and had me thinking hard about theories of multiple intelligences, as well as the idea that a person can be more right brain or left brained depending on their skills.

Ken Potter

Brain Washed Man

Cast Alloy (lead), welded steel

Jan Miskulin
Mendocino Mist, 1995
Watercolor

Watercolor is fascinating, too. The methodical use of color and form. This piece has a beautiful weight to it. It sits with defined purpose, too. Jan Miskulin had a few amazing watercolors in the show, but I enjoyed this one the most. What gets me is the suggestion of time and location she is able to denote. It reads as a quiet nighttime landscape of a country farm, lit up by the night sky. Miskulin uses the Sumi-E style of Japanese Ink painting to great effect. This method is great for it's "dancing" characteristics, allowing for a fantastic sense of "flow" to the work.

Detail of Mendocino Mist

Greg Kondos
North Shore, Tahoe, 1976
Oil on Linen

This painting was my absolute favorite of all in the show. I made a point of stopping in to look at it a few times if I was in the area. I don't paint often, or as well as I'd like, but I do have an idea of certain aesthetics that I like that I wish to emulate, and Greg Kondos was quickly added to that list. When I do work, of any type, be it sculpture, drawing, or even painting, I try to utilize the "less is more" approach. This is what Kondos has done in this work. The subtle suggestion of the shore line, the gradual yet unassuming roll of the mountains behind. The simple use of color and form is excellent, and I really enjoy the slight shocks of red and orange peppering the otherwise cool palette. Like Kondos, abstract expressionism is a notable influence in the work that I do.

Public Intimacy: Art and Other Ordinary Acts in South Africa

The art shown at Public Intimacy, a collaboration with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art on display at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, are works that effectively explore the “poetics and politics of the everyday”. These works, on loan from SFMOMA, are a collection of pieces ranging from photography, to more diverse media such as painting, sculpture, video, and performance art. Many of these works are on display in California for the first time, with the majority of them only having been completed within the last half-decade. The showing of Public Intimacy coincides with the 20th anniversary of the fall of apartheid in South Africa, with the goal of detailing and exhibiting the finer details of human emotion and relationships in a still developing country.

Berni Searle
Still from Black smoke rising trilogy, 2009-10
Video, color, sound
Lull, 2009
Moonlight, 2010
Gateway, 2010

One of the first works one comes to when entering the museum is one by Berni Searle. There are a few before you reach Black Smoke Rising, but it is hard to miss the video, as a calm and serene body of water surrounded by greenery greets you, just before a flaming tire swing comes swinging into view, back and forth, from right to left. The visual is striking and hard to look away from. On the left side stands a figure, calmly taking in the landscape, clearly with no worry about the flaming destruction behind them.

There are three videos in this piece. The first is Lull, in which the figure, a woman, enjoying a tranquil day by the lake. A swing hangs in the central shot, slowing rotating back and forth. Before long the swing is replaced by a tire swing which slowly catches fire and is eventually engulfed entirely. The burning tire is a highly effective symbol of murders and political protests of unfair laws that came to be in the years after apartheid in South Africa.

Nicholas Hlobo
Umphanda ongazaliyo, 2008
Rubber, ribbon, zippers, leather, steel and organza

Searle, for the majority of her career, has used her own body as a tapestry for creating her art, covering it with spices or other natural pigments in order to bring attention to how complex race is in South Africa, in addition to highlighting her own identity as a person of color. She often makes a connection in her work with use of classic elements such as air, water, fire, and metal. Fire, in this trilogy’s case, is featured heavily. In South Africa, a healthy percent of the country’s economy is derived from extracting metals from discarded materials, such using fire to remove the valuable wire from tires. It’s important to note that this is illegal, as well as harmful to those doing the labor, and the community and environment as a whole. The film has an eerie weight to it, as one watches the tire fire swing back and forth, juxtaposed with it’s majestic backdrop.  Snugly placed in a little alcove of the gallery, it is easy to get lost in it’s destructive beauty, and to remember the things that are necessary to do to get by in far off corners of the world.

Detail of Umphanga ongazaliyo, 2008

Another artist featured in the exhibition is Nicholas Hlobo. Hlobo creates sculptures, often out of rubber and string, with intricate stitching of wonderfully contrasting color and line. In one of the alcoves off a larger gallery hung a giant form. Before it I stood, mesmerized for several minutes. The environment of the room is entirely consumed by this work. Though other works by Hlobo inhabit the space, in addition to other artists, the gravity of the piece is palpable and it is easy to forget other art exists. Colorful ribbon and zippers zigzag across the rubber inner tubes and leather surface. Infrequently, small gaps form in these paths and the viewer can catch a glimpse of the innards of the organ-like vessel.
Hlobo draws strongly from his Xhosa heritage, mainly focusing on investigating rites of passage and how they can, or can’t, adapt to the changing times. The themes of sexuality, industrialization, and gender are also of interest. His works speak to the question of identity and it’s complexity, especially when trying to combine his own homosexuality with his traditional heritage. The title Umphanda Ongazaliyo translates to “a vessel that never fills up”. 

Nicholas Hlobo
Umphanga ongazaliyo, 2008

Mikhael Subotzky and Patrick Waterhouse
Lift Portrait, 24, Ponte City, Johannesburg, 2008

It is about self discovery, not just about the artists and the creators, but of an evolving country coming into its own; creating a new and changed identity. Each artist has their own approach to the documentation and understanding of their heritage and of factors of importance to them. Whether it be Subotzky and Waterhouse’s Lift series, which explores the decline and attempted transformation of the country’s Ponte City Building, or William Kentridge’s charcoal animated films and their take on political and historical events, Public Intimacy features defining moments and important events, and brings them to the foreground of the audience’s awareness in a clear and concise manner. These works, many of which have never been seen on the west coast anytime previously, are well worth the visit, and should be on any art connoisseurs itinerary.

Mikhael Subotzky and Patrick Waterhouse
Lift Portrait, 16, Ponte City, Johannesburg, 2008

William Kentridge
Drawing for the film Table Tide: Soho on Balcony, 2003
Charcoal on paper

U-NITE!

U-nite was April 10th, this year, and I am a little late in getting this post up. Somehow, I had never been to the Crocker, before, so I was very excited to attend the event. 

Andrew Connolly’s Installation and Performance Art class had a great installation in the courtyard. A massive inflated brain took up the majority of the space. Member’s of the class were dressed in character, acting as notable members of the pharmaceutical business world, walked around the large brain thanking passers by for their illness. Some met the public at the front door to the large brain with balloons, and invited them to write down any current or previous medications they might have used on the balloon, before releasing them in to the large brain. I quickly wrote down the ones that I could easily recall, however I felt like I forgot the majority. Inside the brain, you saw balloons covered in everything from Allegra to PCP.

What I was most interested in seeing, this night, was the Faculty Arts Showcase in the nearby building.  Tucked in a little hallway off the courtyard were several amazing works by CSUS faculty, some whom I knew, but most I did not. 

Robert Ortbal

INDIVISIBLE

2012 

Aqua resin, foam, wood and mirrored Mylar

I really like Bob's work. He had a show in the Library gallery last fall that I really liked a lot. It's always eye opening when you get to see the work of teachers you've taken classes with and been critiqued by. One of my first exposures to Bob was in his Intermediate Sculpture class. He was telling us about all the cool finds he gets from dollar stores. After seeing his work at U-NITE, and after visiting his personal show at the campus library gallery last fall, I really enjoy the ways he uses those unique dollar store finds. The foam he uses here is a lot like the no skid foam surface you can use under rugs and carpets to keep them in place. In other works he has used long strips of plexiglass to construct three dimensional structures, or aluminum and moss to make small terrarium foam worlds. I really enjoy his versatility with materials.

Brenda Louie

FOOT JOURNEY SERIES #2011-003

2011

Drawing: Graphite on Mylar with collage

These are amazing graphite drawings on transparent mylar, overlaid on simple constellation maps.

Manuel Rios

SENTIMENT OF INNOCENCE

2013

Acrylic, enamel, oil and image transfer on wood panel

Masamichi Miyagi

INQUILINISM

2014

Copper Wire

I love this. Look at these close ups:

I really enjoy that linear quality. The way the wire creates its shadow on the wall behind is fascinating. It is such a simple work of art, yet I found myself standing in front of it for almost twenty minutes just following the lines and the shadows behind. So simple, yet intricate

I was intrigued by the name, and had to look up its meaning. An Inquiline is an animal that lives in close association with another animal without harming it. Before understanding the name of the work I was amazed by the line quality. After, I'm intrigued by its meaning. Is it meant to be a type of hive? If you stand back and take it all in, it vaguely resembles a plant cell. I still love the lines.