Drawing SP13: A few Contemporary Artists

Thursday, October 13, 2011

A few Contemporary Artists

Hey all, as per a request of a student, I am posting some contemporary artists...they come with 1. Videos and 2. Questions for you to answer!!!

This first artist is Carroll Dunham. I wonder, if our intentions or experiences GUIDE our working (choice of subject, choice of material, ways that we use the material, where we present the work)- what is he thinking about? What is he taking from life that we experience EVERY DAY? And what is his particular POINT OF VIEW on it?

This is Julie Mehretu, the images are LARGE, so it is hard to see them so small. But there is one live downtown, I think in Shwab building (google it). She is very involved with our personal histories and how they integrate, shape or potentially change the world at large that we live in. The drawings/paintings are the tool she uses to explore these questions. She looks at architecture and how it HOLDS the history of it's time and place in the forms it assumes. Again, you would have to see them live to understand the full story- in that we are lucky we live in NYC you can go to her gallery and see the work live, just call ahead and ask (http://www.mariangoodman.com/artists/julie-mehretu/). She works with acrylics and ink, layers upon layers. There are videos online: http://blog.art21.org/2010/03/12/julie-mehretu-studio-assistants/ this one shows physical process a bit and http://vodpod.com/watch/3341320-interview-with-julie-mehretu this one is good, a bit chatty, but informative about the process an artist goes through.

After you watch the last video, you can probably comment here: Do you see the history and/or cultural references? OR does the work go in another direction? What are these works about for you???

And Mathew Ritchie, his works are about the universe and it's workings. SPACE BOY! AMAZING: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja2CUVJmQ48. You can google a lot more!!! He works with a crazy range of materials but many drawings were done with INK on frosted MYLAR- I think because they are ghost like they feel more akin to Ideas rather than physical Things.

How does science sit in the arena of art making...historically it doesn't seem to have a huge history (check out Galileo's drawings of the moon!), so what do we "get" from these installations? How are they moving us forward?

These piece are from James Siena, his work is quiet, so I won't say much. Just spend some time looking at these and allow your mind, heart and soul to take you places- leave comments.