Studio Concepts @lkaske - Tumblr Blog

Post Critique Response - Place

I was honestly surprised with some of the positive feedback I got from this project. The way I presented the map in a west to east orientation got mixed reviews, but I figured I would have to explain to some what they were looking at. The lack of incorporation of a line of travel was a last minute decision that I decided to not include. I was given a few suggestions on how I could make it work, one being placing the route on the ground for the viewers to walk along. The scale and detail was a success, and even got encouraged to expand it even more. I learned that I really enjoyed these large scale drawings and kind of game me some inspiration of future projects I would like to look into.

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Project 4 Statement - Place

The goal is to have the viewers walk alongside the map, through the empty space to get to its destinations, in hopes that they get the same sense of dread, wondering when it will end, as I do when I travel this route to reach my places of comfort - my family. The definition of “home” is different for many people. Home is one place for some; for others, it is multiple places. Home is a place of happiness, comfort, or just a place to sleep. It could be around the corner or at the other end of the country. For this project, I constructed a map that guides the viewer from one end to the other.

This project is done in graphite on 3.75 foot wide, 11.67 foot long paper, using a cross hatching style to shade and define the coast line of the states that hit a major body of water, rivers, and slight mountain ranges. Red map pins are used as a “pin drop” much like that of a GPS’s on ones phone. The use of graphite pencil in this case allowed me to display detail in any which way the pencil had ability to. There’s something beautiful about the cross hatching style of a pencil. Seeing the individual lines show a sense of dedication, commitment, and detail. The two images depict the two places that I feel most at home. One is of my house in Pinckney, Michigan, and the other house in located in Middleburg, Florida. Done in graphite on 11” by 14” paper on white matte board, the lines are also drawn in a cross hatching style with breathing lines. The empty space that is in between the two houses represents the unfamiliarity of the area and the dullness of traveling from one end to the other.

This piece is displayed using white map pins on the wall. Much like the way Google is presented on a web browser, with the images of the destinations displayed at the bottom of the map, the drawings of the two houses will be placed below the map, each at their own end. Instead of the map being in the North-South position, it is situated in a West-East layout. The reasoning for this is to give the viewer the ability to walk alongside the piece, making it easier for them to acknowledge the details.

Drawing has always been a passion of mine. I’ve recently grown fond of creating work in graphite. Having a project that revolved around the idea of comfort places motivated me to want to be comfortable creating it as well. Working in the mediums that I have grown accustomed to and know that I can accomplish is a part of my definition of home – the familiarity.

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Drawing coast lines..

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37.5" x 140"

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All this paper for only $4 at Scrapbox. I'm set for years

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Project 4 Statement of Intent

Form: A large scale map/route with red pin drops, as long (in length) as I can make it. Done using graphite pencil, in which I feel most comfortable expressing in detail of what I am trying to get across. 3 houses will be drawn, not sure where or how I would like to display it just yet. The route line will be in blue, most likely colored pencil...if I want to get fancy, I’ll use blue ribbon or yarn. It will be displayed horizontally so the viewer can walk down and follow the lines, although traditional maps are displayed N/S, this will be W/E.

Process: I will acquire the lengthy paper ASAP and start drawing. I probably won’t be using a projector to project the map for me to trace-I just don’t feel comfortable doing that. I’m going to find pictures of the houses I wish to recreate and draw them out as realistically as I can.

Content: There are places that I feel most comfortable, where I feel at home. Unfortunately, some of those places are far away. What I plan on showing is a large scale route at which I have to take in order to feel at home and the viewer has to travel along the drawing to find it’s finally destination at the end of the road. I live in Pinckney, nothing is around here. I have family all over Michigan, but I mainly only visit one up in Caseville (the thumb) - my grandparents. I go a couple times a year if I’m lucky. My other grandparents live in Middleburg, Florida. Obviously family means a lot to me, and being in their home makes me feel safe. The traveling, however, is the worst part. Spending hours in the car, driving past corn field after corn field. But finally you get there and it’s all worth it.

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Reading Response - Place

After reading this chapter on place, it really helped me realized the different meanings of “place”. I have always thought of place as a physical thing, but really “place” can be conceptual in terms of space and position at which an object can be stationed.

While I was reading on place, however, I was thrown off by the term “space”. I kept thinking that “space” was the theme we were learning and not “place”, although it can be the same thing. To me, that makes a difference in my process making. It was making more sense the more in depth I got into the reading.

This reading was a little hard for my because I can’t relate to location and landscape art. I’ve never been interested in learning about it or considered it an option for me. So as I read about this form, I was learning things on the different kinds of place projects, to the point it was almost overwhelming.

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Fallen Star - Philippa Lawrence

Form: Philippa represents “harnessed power in the form of electricity” using lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling.

Content: His works contain messages of awareness regarding energy use in Iceland. How powerful is nature, is what Lawrence is trying to get across.

Process: Using white gold leaf and light bulbs, they hang from the ceiling over granite on the floor. The gold eventually tarnishes in the atmosphere- this represents the “constant flux and cycle” of everything.

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Cloud Patterns on the Lake - Evelyn Dunphy

Form: Watercolor landscape in Maine, showing the reflection in the lake.

Content: Is this supposed to make us question what is up and what is down? Ones view on the world can be interpreted differently from someone else’s.

Process: Dunphy examples natures reality and translate it into watercolor. She first paints the true sky, and then morphs the true colors, either darker or lighter, to represent it’s reflective self.

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Trees: A Sense of Place - Julia Whiting

Form: Three painting installation of trees inspired by David Hockney.

Content: These three trees are supposed to make up feel as though we are walking through the woods. Is there a type of feeling we are supposed to feel from this? What if instead of images on paper, they were constructed trees with volume and space?

Process: “Ink-on-cartridge-paper” trees are placed in a room for viewers to walk in between.

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The Heidelberg Project - Tyree Guyton

Form: An area in Detroit was transformed into an outdoor art gallery and canvas using everyday objects and materials.

Content: Turning a run down street into a work of art could bring it back to life. I’ve had the privilege to work in this area in 2012, cleaning up the yards of the overgrown vegetation and trash.

Process: In 1986, Guyton started this project of reshaping the street he used to grow up on. Him and his grandfather took to cleaning up the vacant lots. With the “trash” they have acquired, they began to make use of it by creating a work a street worth of art. This project can still be added on to today, rebuilding the community.

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Project Three Post Critique Response

After my critique on Monday, I left feeling really proud of myself. The majority of the feedback I received was positive. If I remember correctly, my peers caught the essence of Vincent van Gogh, which was perfect. One of my classmates was able to point out that I kind of painted myself being shy, which is an attribute of mine - I’m a fairly shy person. As a class, we debated on whether or not the natural pine of the frames worked for the piece or if they should have been painted. I agreed with everyone, because at first I wanted to paint them, but after looking it over and talking with Matt, I decided to go with the natural look. Also, the way I painted the phone in the self portrait painting seemed undone and too sleek to my peers. Like I said earlier, I agree. I was pretty rushed to get that painting done because I was just so sick of that one. It’s a simple fix that I could fix at any time.

This project helped me step out of my perfectionist ways, learn a new medium, and gave me a new understand and respect for painters. Being a van Gogh fan, I knew what I was getting myself into from the years of admiring his work and watching documentaries. I figured it would be fun to paint like that, and it kind of was! (It was so stressful thought...wow.).

I actually do kind of see myself continuing this style of art work: modernizing some famous artworks. I could modernized some of van Gogh’s charcoal drawings, since charcoal is my go-to medium and his drawings are fantastic!

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Project Three - Identity complete works

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Project 3 - Artist Statement

Modernizing classic art pieces is an art form in itself. It’s a way of delivering a new message, homage, or making a time period seem more relatable. The goal of this piece is to have the viewer look at each van Gogh inspired painting and question as to why I’ve depicted myself as being on my cell phone, disconnected from my surroundings. There are a couple ways that I would hope the viewer would interpret these paintings. They could feel a connection with the way technology is incorporated into the picture, like the selfie for example. It could also make them feel uncomfortable knowing that there are two different time periods, the 1880’s and the age of technology, interacting with each other. I find it intriguing how artists would modify other artist’s work, essentially honoring the work of their artist of choice.

These three paintings were done in acrylic paint. The rapid, imperfect brush strokes, disproportional objects and figures, done with a cool color pallet were recreated much like the style of the artists’. The paintings that were used in this project were van Gogh’s self portrait (1889), “Noon – Rest from Work” (1890), and “The Bedroom” (Third Version, 1889). The reasoning for those three pieces were mainly personal interest but also strategic to get the message of three different situations (today’s day and age of the selfie, a work environment, and a personal place where someone would be at their best comfort) to come across to the viewer.

These three paintings are displayed in handcrafted wooden boarders that go around the 11”x14” canvas. This is to get the feeling that these paintings should belong in a formal museum, much like how most would be displayed. The wood is of selected pine, 2 inches by 1 inch.

I’ve always been a fan of Vincent van Gogh’s art works, from his charcoal sketches, to his masterful paintings. A way for me to understand his art style and methods was to try to recreate some of his work. His rapid style is none like mine, and the fact that I have no painting experience guided me to complete the work with no personal painting style to fall back on or screen my experience or being in van Gogh’s shoes. His story of trying to be noticed and accepted I can relate to. Being the child in the family that has different interests than the rest of my family, it’s hard to fit in sometimes. Vincent was always the outcast growing up. The way he expresses emotion in his paintings through the use of color and technique drew me in. I want to emulate that experience in my work and hope my viewers get that same feeling I get when I look at van Gogh’s work as they look at mine.

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