Sunday, January 27, 2013

Artist Talk: David Ulrich

Great talk last Thursday at University of Hawaii by my former mentor David Ulrich. I really enjoyed seeing so many different bodies of work, some of which were familiar to me while others were new. I spent part of the lecture wondering how one goes about sifting through hundreds (thousands!) of old negatives, prints, and digital files to form a 100 image slideshow. Which images still resonate today and why? What common themes emerge? David addressed these questions as he spoke and his care in selecting and weaving common threads in his work across decades was readily apparent. All in all, it was an informative evening and a great opportunity to learn more about David's creative career and projects. I know I am thankful for all of his support and guidance over the years. Thanks David, congrats on four decades of work!

100 Images: Four Decades of Photography by David Ulrich



David Ulrich shares photographs from his archives from 1971-2011, including several projects from Hawaii and his most recent work. His photographs have been exhibited internationally in over seventy-five one-person and group exhibitions in museums, galleries, and universities.
Selections of his work may be viewed on his website, www.creativeguide.com


Check out more info at David and Laura's Blog: http://theslenderthread.creativeguide.com/blog/?p=919



Saturday, January 26, 2013

January Residency

Felt great to be back at AIB and to see everyone in the program again! As recommended, I documented my wall space. I didn't have a large space to hang work this time around, so I created a 3x5 grid for the landscapes. The postcard stand I bought on the Internet arrived just in time! By the end of the residency, I had the opportunity to sell a number of postcards which I think worked well with my interests in exploring how the notion of paradise is created and often exploited. 

Formal, written residency summary to be posted soon.

First semester work Landscapes and Non-Paradise Postcards. Bottom row shows four images from last residency.
 Closer look at the Landscapes grid.

 Closer look at the Non-Paradise Postcards

Friday, January 4, 2013

Highlights: Museum of Fine Art Boston

Entrance panel to Ori Gersht Exhibit "History Repeating"
This was a serendipitous exhibit given my semester's interest in and creation of postcards.
Entrance panel to the MFA's exhibition titled "The Postcard Age"
The exhibit showcased postcards of all kinds. This selection highlighted some interesting travel-themed cards although I did not find any depicting Hawaii.
Entrance panel to the fashion photographer Mario Testino's "In Your Face" exhibit. The walls were covered MASSIVE, vivid, intense, and wild fashion images.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Highlights: East Coast Museum Visits


Visiting the east coast means catching up on as many art exhibitions as possible!! I was able to get to Philly, New York, and of course I’ll be in Boston for the upcoming residency. While it feels there is never enough time to see everything on my list, the highlights of my museum hopping are listed below. I was reminded (in New York in particular) how tricky museum-going can be during the holiday season. I battled long lines, advance ticket booths, and LOTS of crowds to check out some great exhibits. A big one I missed this year was MOMA in New York, unfortunately, but I hope to be back in June. In the list below, I’ve written down artists of particular interest from each show.

Museum of Fine Art, Boston, MA Ori Gerscht: History Repeating
Visiting tomorrow...

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop
This was a fascinating look into the medium’s ability to portray “truth.” Long before Photoshop, photographers have stitched negatives, manipulated, prints, omitted or added details, layered scenes (the list goes on…) to produce a desired result. Great show! And, it was particularly exciting to see my current AIB Oliver Wasow’s artwork featured in this exhibition. Congrats Oliver!
Gerhard Richter, Kathy Grove, Oliver Wasow,  Duane Michals, Frank Majore, Clarence John Laughlin, Wanda Wulz, Claude Cahun, Ralph Bartholomew Jr.,

Entrance to Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop at The Met
Regarding Warhol: Sixty Artists
Hiroshi Sugimoto, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Vija Clemins, Nan Goldin, Andreas Gursky, Jeff Koons, Cindy Sherman, Matthew Barney, Félix González-Torres, Ai Weiwei

Whitney Museum, New York, NY
Sinister Pop
Looking at Pop Art and its relation to darker themes surrounding politics, war, representations of women, dystopias, etc. This was an inventive theme to pursue within the Pop Art genre and I really enjoyed the exhibition overall.
Peter Saul, Ching Ho Cheng, Lucas Samaras, Allan D’Arcangelo
Wade Guyton
Interesting to see Guyton’s artwork in person given the WSJ article about photography & painting I posted last week.

Philadelphia Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA 
Double Portrait: Paula Scher and Seymour Chwast, Graphic Designers
I teach a typography unit featuring Paula Scher in my high school graphic arts class. It was great to have the chance to her posters life-size and to browse new projects she is pursuing.
Gallery Wall of Paula Scher's Work at Philadelphia Art Museum

Dancing around the Bride: Cage, Cunningham, Johns, Rauschenberg, and Duchamp
Extensive collection of work from all five artists. I needed more time to tackle this large show. I appreciated seeing some of the work I was reading about in The Big Archive in person.
Entrance to Dancing Around the Bride: Cage, Cunningham, Johns, Rauschenberg, and Duchamp at Philadelphia Art Museum

Treasures from the Alfred Stieglitz Center: Photographs from the Permanent Collection
Man Ray, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Weston, Gerhard Richter,  Masahisa Fukase, Shomei Tomatsu, Hiroh Kikai, Adolphe Braun, Joachim Koester

Entrance to Philadelphia Art Museum Photography Collection