Blog entry 4

Blog#4

Place:

1. I think it is both. I think people define a place by putting meaning on objects but I also believe that a place defines us. I think where a person lives really affects how they act as a person. In the video we watched we saw how different areas affected them. One woman loved living in the country side and it influenced her art. But another woman could not imagine living anywhere other than in the city. Overall I think a place has more affect on us then we do it, just by the example of these women and how their soundings have influenced their art.
2. Each of these artists has been influenced by the places they grew up or the places they live. Richard Serra grew up around a shipping yard and so he was always around ships. In one of the pieces he created it resembled the haul of a ship. Serra is much known for his sculptures and many of them resemble parts of his childhood. Sally Mann on the other hand loves living out in a remote countryside. She is an outstanding landscape photographer. She takes what surrounds her and takes photos of it. In her work she is most known for her photographs of her children. She talked about how it was not because she liked taking photographs of them but because they were there. Her father was the person who gave her all her cameras to begin with. She ended up going back to landscapes by taking pictures of the area around her house. Margret Kilgallen and her husband Barry McGee are completely the opposite of Sally Mann. They enjoy living in the busy city. Margret enjoys studying American and Indian folk-art. She enjoys just going around the city and finding things that would usually go unnoticed. She and her husband enjoy going to train yards because they remind them of folklore. They enjoy making art for galleries but they wish they could just do things for the open public for everyone to enjoy but they also know they need to make money somehow. Pepon Osorio draws his artistic creativity from his childhood when he got his first haircut. For him this was a right of passage into boyhood. He had the hardest time becoming an artist because he came from a working class family where becoming an artist was not an option. Most of his are work is shocking and he enjoys it the most when he can bring it to people’s homes. Each of these artists has a different style of art work but they all rely on their surroundings for inspiration.
3. Before this program I always just assumed that artists created what ever they wanted. They do, but they also rely heavily on their surroundings for motivation. Before this program I always naively thought that artists thought up what they wanted to create.
4. The artist that I feel the most connected to is Sally Mann. The first time is saw her photographs I fell in love with them. When she printed those black and white prints it was as if she was putting her soul into those photographs. I could not image her photographs to be anything other than black and white.
5. The different types of Medias used by each artist affect the accessibility of their work. Sally Mann lives in a very remote area where she takes photographs. On the other hand Margret Kilgallen lives in the city and does gallery shows often. Each of these women live different life styles which affect the way people are able to access their work. In fact Pepon Osorio makes it even easier for some to access his work because he enjoys doing house visits to various homes. Each of these artists creates art in their own environment and presents it in their own way.
6. 1. bedroom-quiet
2. Disney world- exciting
3. Grandma’s house- love
4. school- scary
5. museum- insightful
7. The place that I remember the best is my grandmother’s house. She lived in Florida when I was little. In my grandmothers house she had only 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. In her bedroom the doors to her closets were solid mirrors and the other bedroom was a guest bedroom and the bed always had dolls on it. They had a small kitchen and a back porch that always had a couch in it but it always had an orange cover on it. The cover to the couch had a rough texture with tiny little squares all over it. The lighting in the living room of the house had a soft yellow light that you could read to. But the kitchen had a bright florescent light that made everything perceive to have their true color to it. To me this place was a happy place that I got to go every summer and visit my grandparents. To this day I still wish they could live there.



Stories:

1. I think the most important sorties that are being told in society today are stories of the past, past wars and events in history. The most important stories that are being told on the news today have to do with the war in Iraq. But on the other hand the most important stories that are being told by my friends are about the latest boys that they are dating. Those two issues are complete opposites but yet there are still important to a certain audience. If I could guarantee that a story would be passed down I would probably chose Hitler’s holocaust, and I would want that story to be written down. I would choose that story because to me it is the most significant thing that has happened in history. There were so many lives that were lost and I feel that it is our duty as survivors to tell the story for future generations just so that it did not happen again.
2. Some stories are told as opposed to others because of the message that they present or to the people they are being told to. I think some stories live on because of the people who are telling them. I think stories affect people lives and they become connected to them in some way and so they feel the need to tell other people a certain story to help express who they are. And then another person becomes connected and the story just continues to be passed on.
3. Each artist in this film has a different way of exploring ideas before they create their art. Kara Walker would just sketch on the wall until she drew something she liked and then she cut it out. And place it where she wanted it in her finished piece. Kiki Smith on the other hand would work with a manican and she would mold that into what she wanted until she found something she liked. Also before she sculpts something she makes a rough sketch of what she was thinking. She usually follows her intuition and creates whatever she wants. Do-Ho Suh did not necessarily rely on the use of a sketch book but he did rely heavily on his Korean background for influence. He remembered all the things the boys used to do in Korea fro school and how they were obligated to serve in the army. So for one piece he created a sculpture made completely out of dog tags. On the other hand Trenton Doyle Hancock did use a sketchbook. He at one point wanted to be a comic book artist. So for many of his designs he sketches them before he creates them. He also has a couple of comic books that he has created. Each person has their own unique way of starting a project but each way works for that person. Each person’s sketchbook is a piece of art because each one is unique and tells something about the person. No one can recreate another’s sketchbook because each person’s is individual.
4. When I was 14:
Each day I wake up and go to school. I know that everyone says that junior high is easy but not for me. Some of my classes are hard, I hate most of the boys in my grade and most of my friends don’t eat in the same lunch period as I do so that sucks. Most of my friends right now have boyfriends and it seems like I am the only one that doesn’t I hate feeling all alone especially when my friend brings her boyfriend to the movies with us and I feel like the 3rd person. I just hope that some day it will change.
When I’m 19 looking back:
Now that I am 19 and can look back at my life I laugh. I laugh at how stupid I acted and how insignificant my problems were at the time. Now that I have had boyfriends I know that it is nothing special that I should have ever worried about. Also now that I am in college I find it funny that I once thought 8th grade homework was hard. Now I would rather do that homework than the stuff that I have now. Its just so funny to look back and think about what was so important to me then compared to now.