Ian McCowan Fine Arts

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Thank you to everyone who came out to show their support on Wednesday! 212 people came to the opening, a new record for the museum! It’s been a long and crazy ride, but I feel lucky that I was given the opportunity to participate in the BFA program here at Plymouth State! It’s been great working with such a talented group! Everyone’s work is so strong, and I’m excited to see where we all go next! The show is up until the fifth if you’d like to check it out! #bfa #thesis #ianmccowanfinearts #plymouthstateuniversity #mwm #artforlife (at Museum of the White Mountains at Plymouth State University)

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Finished the frame for my quilt piece! #phallic #woodworking #bfa #thesis #sculpture #mixedmedia (at Plymouth State University)

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Raised garden bed with frame for false bottom. It’s going to act as the structural support for a piece! #bfa #thesis #woodworking #mixedmedia #sculpture #ianmccowanfinearts (at Plymouth State University)

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Come visit me in the studio! I’ll be here all night working on this beast! #bfa #thesis #quilting #mixedmedia #longnights #ianmccowanfinearts (at D&M Building)

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Quilting in progress! Twenty feet in diameter! Why do I do this to myself? #artschool #bfa #quilting #mixedmedia #wip #bigsculpture #timeconsuming #ianmccowanfinearts (at Plymouth State University)

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Finally learned to sew! #singersewingmachine #sewing #bfa #boyssewtoo (at Plymouth State University)

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Inside this really cool exhibition space at the UB Anderson Gallery in Buffalo! #cravensworld #ubandersongallery #buffalo #art (at UB Anderson Gallery)

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Exploring flagging tape! #materialexploration #flaggingtape #braiding #bfa #ianmccowanfinearts #psu #plymouthstate #ribbon (at Plymouth State University)

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Excited to start working with my new materials! #sculpture #mixedmedia #ianmccowanfinearts #materials #tools #redismycolor #plymouthstate #psu (at Plymouth State University)

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Unraveling The Past to Weave The Future: The “Sloppy Craft” of Josh Faught

Artist Josh Faught approaches the conjunction of queer identity and politics with subtlety. His fiber works explore personal history, social and political history, and the history of textiles.  Large tapestries are often accompanied by small kitsch objects designed to create connections between the artwork and the viewer’s own idiosyncrasies and day to day lives.  Context is vital to his work; his process involves researching both the materials that he works with, and the environments in which the works are being made or exhibited.  Although Faught is highly skilled, the materials he uses have only found their way into the world of fine art within the past 50 years or so.  More specifically, his approach (deemed “Sloppy Craft” by artist and educator Anne Wilson) only entered the mainstream around the 2000s, shortly after third wave feminism opened the gates to intersectionality and a broader acceptance of queer theory.

For a long time, craft and decorative art processes were kept out of galleries, but the debate between the separation of art and craft is coming to an end.  The barrier between fine art and the arts and crafts/DIY movement has been slowly unraveling since the 1960s, alongside the rise of feminism.  Artists such as Sheila Hicks, Miriam Shapiro, and Judy Chicago brought together highly skilled craftsmanship and powerful concepts within their work, in order to defend the use of such decorative practices. 

With the rise of third wave feminism the boundaries were blurred even further, opening up pathways for artists such as Josh Faught and others to explore the recently established decorative processes in ways that challenge our understanding of both the material and its context. This sometimes creates an illusion of sloppiness. However, as Elaine Cheasley Paterson and Susan Surette discuss in their interview with Liz Logan for American Craft magazine, sloppiness and the flouting of highly polished craft practices is a good thing.  

Untitled, from BE BOLD For What You Stand For, BE CAREFUL For What You Fall For 2013

There are many reasons that an artist may want to produce a sloppy aesthetic.  For Josh Faught it allows him to communicate difficult socio political concepts in a visceral manner that is relatable. His nuanced approach, attention to detail, and acute craftsmanship are not lost amongst the sloppy aesthetic. In fact his refined skills coupled with his understanding of the history and politics of queer identity within the decorative arts is part of what makes his work so powerful.

Sanctuary 2017

Take for instance, Faught’s piece Sanctuary 2017, which was commissioned for St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle.  The piece draws a heavy connection between the need for safety, sancity, and solidarity for people within the church, the LGBTQ community, and the broader Seattle populace.  It is a towering 45 ft mixed media tapestry that spans one of the church’s 70 ft columns and is an amalgam of hand-woven, hand-dyed cotton, hemp and gold lamé, scrapbooking stickers, the entire 1999 season of the soap opera Passions (DVD), the sheet music for the Bangles’ “Eternal Flame”, the sheet music for Peter Hallock’s “A Song of Deliverance”, advertisements for The Monastery (The Sanctuary), issue six of Pot Purri, a sexual questionnaire for the “new age”, and advertisement for The Date-Record, giant clothespins, nail polish, and pins. Each object offers up multiple meanings and collides with materials in a seemingly clumsy manner that is relatable through an evocation of the commonplace. Items such as queer political pins, and activity directories blend together with songs that are typically identified with Christianity.  Research and context helped form the piece as in much of Faught’s works.  The history of the Cathedral and of a local gay bar called The Monastery (also known as The Sanctuary) are woven together to form a brilliant installation.

Detail shots of Sanctuary 2017

Articles:

Logan, Liz. “Taking Skill Down a Peg.” American Craft, Vol. 75, Issue 6, 2015, pp. 96-98.

Lutz, Leora. “Josh Faught: The Prose of Safe Spaces.” Surface Design Journal, Vol. 41, Issue 3, 2017, pp. 32-37.

Websites:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF8EoT8MoEs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skASZucR-CQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfI74d88VeY

http://magazine.art21.org/2010/08/05/fiber-art-the-queer-kid-on-the-bus/#.Wo0HhGaZNmA

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-history-basics/tools-understanding-art/a/a-brief-history-of-women-in-art

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Art, tea, and LOTR. Perfect way to pull an all-nighter #artstudent #artschool #psu #allnighter #pearls #ianmccowanfinearts #materialexploration (at Plymouth State University)

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Exploring social constructions of identity through object and material studies. #wip #sculpture #mixedmedia #art #fineart #eyes #rhinestones #ianmccowanfinearts (at Plymouth State University)

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Building a pea trellis for my thesis show. #wip #sculpture #mixedmedia #ruralroots (at Plymouth State University)

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Emotional Engagement as a Form of Manipulation (Propaganda)

I recently watched video by a youtube personality in which the speaker used specific mannerisms and tonality to induce an emotive response in her viewer.  I’ve seen a lot of this lately.  Rather than seek a logical discourse, these political warriors are only interested in fueling emotion. I decided that I would post the video and my response to it, because I came across it through a post by one of my friends. It shook me to think that someone so intelligent could be fooled so easily by emotion. Within my own video work, I am quite interested in engaging with the viewers emotions.

Link and response below:

Here’s the link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Bl_LSa4sJA

And this was my response: 

“Dude, this girl is incredibly ignorant! She is essentially another version of Tomi Lahren. They both possess personalities that feed off of peoples emotional intelligence rather than their critical thinking skills. Her mannerisms, combined with her tonality are crafted to engage the viewer in an emotive response. This kind of crap is exactly why we are where we are right now in relation to politics. While I don't agree with a lot of what Kaepernick does, nor do I agree with the decision to name him person of the year, he is protesting injustices. There is a problem with our current political system, including our police force and the way that we run our prisons. Police brutality is a reality for many people. And I'm sorry, but if we can train the members of our military to be more discretionary in regards to shooting people, then we should be able to do the same with our police force. We also have the highest per capita prison population in the modern world, far surpassing China. And the way that the current prison system is designed does not really allow people to fully integrate back into society. For instance, in many states people are not able to vote if they have been convicted of a crime. In other states people are not able to vote if they are in debt. Luckily this doesn't apply to people living in states such as NH. However, in many southern and midwestern states these laws came into existence as a way to prevent people of color from voting. Don't believe me? Do some research! These laws disproportionately affect those who have gone through the system. She comments on Kaepernick's protest of the 4th of July, and yet she belittles the very same holiday by equating it with fireworks and hotdogs. Which, I find the fourth to be ironic in many ways, because Americans don't truly understand what that day meant for our forefathers and instead decide to get drunk and make a mockery of all of the hardworking people who have come before us. So I mean, I don't really think she or anyone else in this country really has a leg to stand on in regards to that. She talks about other holidays too, including Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a falsity that was pitched to the American people as a way to make us feel better about our indiscriminate slaughtering of millions of First Nations people. And oh yeah, Christmas has nothing to do with Christianity. It's a pagan holiday, and pagans do a much better job of celebrating it. It only developed into what we know it as today because of capitalism. I really love how she oh so subtly starts to throw around the whole left vs right narrative and starts bringing things like abortion into her rant. I do agree with her about poverty being a major issue which perpetuates crime, but I guarantee we won't be solving issues such as poverty anytime soon. The divide between social classes only continues to widen, and until the inevitable collapse of our current systems it's just a slow ride into entropy. Sorry, but I am tired of people posting things like this. It is propaganda, and it is designed to play with peoples emotions in regards to controversial issues which have many sides!”

After reading through my response now that I have had some time to step away from it, I realize that much of my own language is shaped around emotion. As humans, there is no way to avoid emotive responses. However, I wonder what it would be like if people were to take a step away from what their writings or recordings, analyze them, critique them, just as you would a piece of art.  Would that change the way we move forward?

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Inspiration and Historical Connection: Trip to Boston

I recently went on a trip to Boston with my Thesis class, where we explored the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (ISGM) and the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA). Questions of historical and cultural context emerged throughout the trip.  Who are we as artists, and what is our relevance to the broader art historical timeline?

Our first stop was the ISGM, a museum with a magnificent collection of art from various time periods around the world.  It was once the residence of Mrs. Gardner, who had spent the later half of her life collecting these (art)ifacts and piecing them together into a brilliant global tapestry of art history. The space was oddly welcoming, as if Mrs. Gardner still resides there greeting people with her eccentricities.  The dialogue between the various works creates a unique environment, in which viewers are forced to question their own relevance and context within the history of art.  Works that were once revolutionary and contemporary now exist somewhere outside of time, and act as anchors creating a solid base for the current global art timeline.

(photo of the garden courtyard at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum)

At the MFA, Takashi Murakami’s work was on display. Murakami takes an introspective look at Japanese art, both presently and historically.  A few of his pieces are massive tapestry like paintings, with colors and iconography from the past being melded with current Japanese pop culture.  Identity is very important to Murakami and to Japanese people in general.  In Japan, cultural and personal identity are formed with a respect and connection to heritage and ancestry.  It is impossible to look at Japanese art without recognizing the rich background from which it emerges.  For Murakami, his respect and connection relate to Japanese ink paintings and the phenomenal Ukiyo-e paintings of the 17th-19th centuries.  Ukiyo-e (the floating world) paintings represented the hedonistic lifestyle that emerged as Japan’s merchant class began to flourish.  The middle class was able to indulge in art and pleasure, which was captured in these paintings.  Ukiyo-e paintings eventually evolved into the anime and manga comics that we are familiar with today.  Murakami successfully blends these two very different time periods creating a context that is uniquely is own but representative of the larger Japanese art historical timeline.

(photo of Murakami’s Transcendent Attacking a Whirlwind, 2017)

(photo of Fusen zu byôbu’s Transcendent Attacking a Whirlwind, 1764)

As we returned from Boston, thoughts of my own relevance in relation to art history began to flood my mind. It is something I feel we often take for granted, this rich history and culture that surrounds us. These questions of who we are as artists and what our context is, are large questions.  But I believe that the answers to them are so obvious and omnipresent that we often overlook them, just like we tend to do with our ideologies.  

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Pretty excited about this wonderfully kitsch creepy fox mask that I found! Sketching up some performative stuff! #kitsch #mask #performanceart #ianmccowanfinearts (at New Hampshire)

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Oreet Ashery: Subverting Neoliberalism and The Far Right Agenda

“Instead of citizens, it produces consumers. Instead of communities, it produces shopping malls. The net result is an atomized society of disengaged individuals who feel demoralized and socially powerless. In sum, neoliberalism is the immediate and foremost enemy of genuine particaptory democracy, not just in the United States but across the planet, and will be for the foreseeable future.” (McChesney)

Israeli born, London based, performance artist Oreet Ashery is making waves in Europe with installations and performances that are both visceral and thought provoking. Her work is an ideological critique of far right politics, neoliberalism, and western concepts of freedom, gender, and sexuality. It sheds light on the problems with these ideas, and how they tend towards the marginalization of certain social groups. Pieces such as those from her Party For Freedom series (2011-13) and The Space for Freedom is Getting Smaller and Less Transparent (2013-17) are great examples of this.  They create a juxtaposition between class differences, true liberation and democracy, and the falsities created under neoliberalism and nationalist ideals. (Gogarty)

Having grown up in Israel during the 1970s, Ashery has been no stranger to political, social, and cultural dynamics. The division between Israel and Palestine coupled with the hypocrisy of  her home state, fueled her early work. At the beginning of her career she was focused on critiquing the patriarchal and often misogynistic views of orthodox Judaism and Islam.  This led her to create a character called Marcus Fisher.  Over time her work has evolved to critique broader ideologies, and most recently she has been taking inspiration from Mayakovsky’s 1921 play, Mystery-Bouffe.  The original play satirized globalization and an inevitable meltdown, and  broke down social classes into two groups: the clean and the unclean. (Budzinsky)

Ashery’s Party For Freedom series is in some ways her interpretation of Mayakovsky’s ideas. It is both an overindulgent exploration of sexual and creative liberty, and a critique of the illusions of freedom perpetuated by far right political parties (such as the Deutsch Party for Freedom, where the work derives its name) and neoliberalism. This series of participatory and performative installations took place at various sites between 2011 and 2013, and culminated in a final exhibit at the Millbank Tower in London. The location’s significance came from the fact that it housed the British conservative party’s headquarters. (Perry) The series started with a sort of casting call, and the first performances were like sketches and auditions. Artists were guided by an overall theme of exploring freedom (sexually and politically), and were given various props and environments to adapt to.  The final piece was a mix of audio-visual installation, and performance; the experience situated somewhere between Surrealism, Nihilism, and Brechtian theatre.  Troupes of people in various stages of nudity acted out a plethora of Ashery’s ideas, poised against the soundscapes of four different musical artists, and interspersed with videos of various far right politicians. (Budzinsky)  The piece was and still is a successful critique of the political and economic worldviews of neoliberalism and nationalism through its elaborate engagement with the viewer.

Ashery’s The Space For Freedom Is Getting Smaller And Less Transparent is another piece that explores the hypocrisy of right-wing notions of freedom and how they tend towards isolation and exclusion.  The participatory installation begins with a large clear room inside of a gallery space.  Viewers are given the ability to paint the walls of the clear room.  Each week a new smaller clear space is constructed, and becomes painted.  This continues until the space is barely bigger than a closet, and the inside of the space becomes detached from the outside world through the lack of visibility created by the expressive paintings. This emphasizes the idea that even though western trains of thought seek to make freedom of expression a cornerstone of society, it creates a small isolated space that is removed from other societies and cultures. (Overladen)

Through her works Party For Freedom and The Space For Freedom Is Getting Smaller And Less Transparent, Ashery engages the viewer in the process of critiquing western concepts of freedom, sexuality,  far right politics, neoliberalism, and classism. She believes that there is still a lot of work to do in order to bring true liberation to people, but it starts with this critique.

Citations

Budzinsky, Nathan. “Unfinished Revolutions: Oreet Ashery’s Party For Freedom.” The Wire, Mar. 2014, www.thewire.co.uk/in-writing/interviews/oreet-ashery_s-party-for-freedom.

Chomsky, Noam and McChesney, Robert W.” Introduction.” Profit over People: Neoliberalism and Global Order, Seven Stories Press, 2011, p. 11.

Gogarty, Larne Abse. “Irreplaceable.” Art Monthly, no. 381, 2014, pp.3-4.

“Overgaden: Oreet Ashery/Party for Freedom.” Online video clip. Youtube, uploaded by Overgaden,  26 Sep. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnguKVF782k.

Perry, Colin. “Party For Freedom.” Art Monthly, no. 367, 2013, p. 34.

Image Resources

Ashery, Oreet. http://www.gold.ac.uk/art/staff/ashery-oreet/

Ashery, Oreet. Party For Freedom. www.oreetashery.net

Ashery, Oreet. The Space For Freedom Is Getting Smaller And Less Transparent. www.oreetashery.net