briannaeng-blog

[briannaeng-blog]

gallery report

Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego and Timken Museum of Art

A few weeks ago I was in San Diego with Brianna. The two of us tried to visit as many museums as we could in the small time frame we had. Although we saw a wide range of artwork, both contemporary and historical, there were not many works that related explicitly to my own practice. That is, at least in terms of formal quality/painting. So, I thought I would just discuss the work I enjoyed. 

The Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego had many fascinating works that related to culture and how we have interacted with that changing culture over time. I was moved the depictions of identity and found myself caring deeply for how I interacted with these cultures in the future. 

There was also this snake which was huge and scary. I do not really have a lot to say about it but I think you should know...

Across the street there was another outlet of the museum with a small room surrounded by windows looking out to the street. On a table in the middle were coloring books of famous artwork. I honestly do not know for sure if this was an art piece or not but it felt like it. If the goal was to create a familiar space that encouraged people to sit and interact with other while making art, it succeeded.

Lastly, we visited the Timken Museum of Art. We almost passed by this museum until we saw a banner advertising a Monet painting. We ran inside. I have always loved the way Monet handles painting scenes that involve water. From a distance the water looks smooth and coherent, but up close you can see the brush strokes and surprising colors that make up the majority of his paintings. You could revisit the painting over and over and still see something different every time. His work has always been an influence to my practice. (Also sorry we were not allowed to take pictures of the painting so you will just have to trust me. Instead um, here is a picture of a crazy plant which was close the Timken building.) 

I don’t know.

[briannaeng-blog]

artist of influence

Alex Kanevsky

Jumper 18 x 18 in, Oil on wood

Three Views of a Bathroom 66x 60 in, Oil on canvas

J.W. 1 40 x 40 in, Oil on wood

If you have time, you need to look through Alex Kanevsky’s collection of paintings. He is constantly making new work that shows his continued questioning of the changing and moving world.  

His work follows the same guidelines I have been exploring all semester. He uses painting to capture time and movement. However, it is the formal qualities of his painting that really attract me to his work. He describes his painting as a “tug of war between the tangible and ineffable” (ineffable meaning- too great to capture into words). I think his methods of capturing movement while keeping the painting readable are extremely successful. Though the forms are fractured, the viewer is able to apprehend the subject in full. There are also these really beautiful unexpected paint strokes that happen because of this style, which you can pinpoint where one moment in time meets another on the canvas. 

Kanevsky is an artist that toes the line between realism and abstraction. This may be the result of trying to generate an emotion or attempt to be present, but not overly particular in the depiction of the subject. What I know from my own work, is that this grey area between realism and abstraction is a really successful way to show a world that is constantly in motion or changing. 

As I continue to make work, I will be looking at his paintings that include water. I think the reflections, colors, and movement of water are extremely complicated yet interesting, and really well rendered in most of Kanevsky’s paintings. Water is in constant motion, but Kanevsky shows painting is a way to slow down the process of looking. Therefore the work is not only about the subject (in this case water), but about the value of “painting” itself.

http://artpulsemagazine.com/unstable-equilibrium-in-studio-interview-with-alex-kanevsky : “The Laws of Motion- In Studio Interview with Alex Kanevsky”

[briannaeng-blog]

question of the week

How do your social identities relate to the work you make?

I think I go through phases where I strongly feel the effects of my social identity, and relate it to my work. As a woman, a Christian, and an artist, there have been many times where the world tried to make me think less of myself.  I don’t know if you have ever heard of the social identity theory. Developed in 1979, the idea proposed that the group to which a person belonged was/is an important source of pride and self-esteem. In other words, it claims we place our worth in the eyes of others. Then in order to increase this worth, we attempt to heighten our status in these social groups by performing great acts, but also by discriminating against others. At times it feels like a world divided. 

This theory puts a negative connotation on social identities. It’s saying we have not simply drawn lines, but we’ve put up barriers, and they need to be taken down. But I think there is great value in many of these social identities. I am proud to be a woman, a Christian, and an artist. I’m aware I am young, white, middle-class, and American. By understanding the culture to which I belong, I can better speak about the issues or concerns that relate to these identities. I would be ignorant to believe I could close myself off from these things, and expect people to listen to what I have to say.  My social identity as an artist, is not a closed or secret group. I would not make art that only artists understood. I use my identity as an artist to understand the culture that surrounds the art world and make relevant work. But in the end, my intent is for those outside the art world to understand. It shouldn’t be a matter of “us or them” when it comes to divisions in culture, but instead, “us for them.” I want to understand the differences, but have meaningful conversation, and attempt to find the unifying factors between these identities.

[briannaeng-blog]

studio update

It’s 4:30 am. My hands are cold and I can’t feel my fingers. I stubbed my toe on the same chair twice. The panels are painted enough- I’m going home.

[briannaeng-blog]

studio update

Redone. Now for color.

[briannaeng-blog]

studio update

Sometimes you work really hard on something for a long time and then suddenly you realize... it can be better. This project was originally done on paper, drawn in pen, and filled in with watercolor. But after sitting with it for a long time, I realized the watercolor looked strange and the paper didn’t look professional. So I started over. Part of me is really frustrated to have to draw this again, but the other part of me really wants this work to look nice. I want to be proud of what I make, even if that means adding hours to my workload. 

[briannaeng-blog]

next steps

- decide: light or water - make more wood panels to paint on during break  - take reference photos - finish unfinished work 

[briannaeng-blog]

studio update

Still, moving This is for me. 

I think my senior presentation went well, but who knows. The main critique they gave me was to find some unifying element between my work in order to have a more cohesive show. This could be anything. Color, style, subject matter, etc. However, because each choice produces an entirely different show, it got a little overwhelming.  So I made something new. Something for me. It still has to do with change and light and movement, but it is not constrained by any “rules.” I like it thus far. 

[briannaeng-blog]

studio update

I was looking through my old work and found the “composition notebook” I made back in Integrated Design. With shows coming quickly there is a lot of work that needs to gets done. Something as simple as deciding on a successful composition can take time. However, going through the notebook I found evidence of the themes I’m working with for my show, which could be helpful in quickly drafting compositions for my paintings. These pages I pulled out deal with repetition, movement, and abstraction. Hopefully I will be able to apply elements of these pages to my work... or even a dynamic gallery display. 

I haven’t been able to make much since I’ve been home, so I also took this time to buy supplies and prime some canvases. That way I’m ready to work when the time comes.

[briannaeng-blog]

studio update

Painting Project Update :  In a way, my work for this project has come full circle. Originally, I wanted this body of work to somehow be interactive for the viewer. If I could include paintings/drawings that looked familiar to the general population, maybe they would care? I wasn’t sure. But excluding this element somehow felt like I was distancing myself from the viewer. So recently, I made the decision to paint cards that would be presented below my larger drawing. This reverts back to the “viewer interaction” I originally intended. Anyone could pick up the cards and connect them to their counterpart on the larger drawing.

For some reason, this has led me think a lot about my responsibility as an artist. But I don’t really have the language to talk about that yet... so... more to come.  

[briannaeng-blog]

artist of influence (2)

Cherith Lundin

“…the greatest art always returns you to the vulnerability of being a human.”

Now and Then 2014 spray paint on wall

Time Trace (Valparaiso Night) 2014 oil on panel 36x72”

Light Trace/Blinds 1 2015 charcoal on paper, mounted on panel 14x11”

I feel like this artist articulates my thoughts better than myself. Cherith Lundin’s work is beautiful and analytical and is somehow so different from piece to piece. Most of her work comments on the interesting change and variation of perception from person to person. She can do this by depicting the same subject over and over again. Then the series becomes a documentation of time or change. She also tries to capture “moments” by painting, say, natural light or shadows (which are constantly moving and changing). In doing so she is exploring the ability of images to create a sense of present- to focus on what’s happening right now and keep the viewer guessing what may happen later. I want to explore this type of thinking in my own work. I can use her methods of repetition, cropping, mirroring, and erasing to depict what is familiar in an unfamiliar way. By focusing on one aspect of a particular subject, I can imply this sense fleeting wonder that I must capture and show the world. My paintings will be my perspective, but it’s also only my perspective. There can be more that even the artist is missing. What I love is that this method of working can be used to depict a wide range of subject matters and be meaningful or interesting in different ways.

Exchange: a conversation on painting with Cherith Lundin http://www.chicagoartistscoalition.org/programs/hatch-projects/topography-knowing

This article is a discussion between Cherith Lundin and Ruben Nusz regarding the practice of painting and the attention to time. They begin by discussing the concepts driving Lundin’s most recent work. Lundin focuses on temporary structures and how there are moments within those structures that must be represented. They debate the ability of paint to capture these fleeting moments. While painting can be beautiful, it is also an “insufficient form of imaging” in this modern world. But it is this inability to offer a perfect depiction that lends to the mystery of that work. There’s a hint of something more but you might miss it.

[briannaeng-blog]

studio update

Just a quick studio update! It was getting a little crowded and overwhelming with all this random work sitting around, so I hung some up. Now I kind of imagine this moment in the future where I feel stuck with my art, so dismayed I look up to the ceiling and bam: re-inspired? Or maybe not.

I also moved my little shelving unit to open up the space a bit more. For some reason the inability to move my chair back makes me claustrophobic. This is just one of the obscure details I’ve learned about myself from having a studio. Another would be that I love collecting show cards and having them close by for inspiration. So now I have many.

[briannaeng-blog]

gallery

Gallery Report: MOCA Underground

“If your one takeaway is that red and blue really are brilliant together, that’s fine by us.”

If you don’t have the actual address for this gallery you will miss it. There is no signage, parking lot, or even front door, that gives any indication there is a beautiful gallery inside. Only those who are really looking for the art will find it. I think this played into the purpose of the exhibition really well, and added to my own experience/relation to the work.

Most of the work focused on visual perception. Which meant that the painting or the sculpture influenced how the viewer reacted to the space. It was about looking and gaining understanding of your own “perception.”  This I find relevant to my own practice. I want to increase the value of the subject I depict in my work by highlighting a portion or moment from that subject. Sometimes you have to purposely seek out those moments to find them, but other times they are right in front of you waiting to be noticed. This is what I felt as I walked through the gallery.

“The Underground” Article https://www.moca.org/exhibition/the-underground-museum-3

LA Weekly Review http://www.laweekly.com/arts/the-underground-museum-celebrates-artists-of-color-in-a-manner-of-speaking-8294426

[briannaeng-blog]

studio update

I laid out my oil paints in the order Jon Puls taught me. Then I just sat there, staring at the palette, reminiscing what I learned about color. I remember once, during a landscape session, feeling frustrated as I tried to mix the color of the sky. So I called Jon over for help. He spent the next 30 minutes mixing and remixing oil paint for one square inch of sky, but it was perfect. He didn’t care about wasting time, he just wanted to see the sky for what it was.

I spent a lot of time looking at a wall this weekend. Which sounds insane. But they had these reflections based on sunlight and colored windows that were just- wow. So I spent time looking. I saw purple, blue, green, and a little bit of red. Hundreds of people are going to walk past that wall without ever noticing those colors. That’s fine. I’ve taken it upon myself to notice for them.

(still in progress)

As for this second painting- I just really wanted to paint a landscape. So I chose a reference photo with most interesting sky. Yes, the sky is purple. Yes, I regret painting it small.

[briannaeng-blog]

Question of the week (4)

You work with various materials, how do you go about choosing them, what is your criteria?

I should preface my answer by stating that I am very sensitive to the “feel” of certain material. For instance, it sends shivers down my spine to think about touching clay. So I guess part of my criteria for choosing material is based on whether I like the texture. This is why I usually use paint.

As far as why I choose specific brands of paints or brushes- I just like them. I have experience in using them. And over the years someone convinced me I know how to use them properly. Usually, if I need a recommendation for a new material, I ask my fellow artist friends… or the internet.

[briannaeng-blog]

studio update

Often when I sit down to work I have no idea where to start. I worry about wasting time and materials if I don’t have my concept fully developed. As a result, I have a tendency to sit with my thoughts for a long while, and do nothing. To be clear, I know this is an unproductive way of working. I have to overanalyze, deconstruct, and reassemble my ideas until I feel they’re good enough to present. That’s probably why this blog post (a simple studio update!) has taken me an hour to write. In order for me to move forward I have to see all the pieces and just make a little at a time. My studio work reflects this way of thinking. I’ve created small wash backgrounds for future watercolors, I’ve written out quotes I might want to integrate, and I continue to make quick sketches of places I visit. I’m really just tricking my brain into believing I’m productive. And it’s working?

“I don’t have a plan, I’m afraid, but then, no one really does, no matter what they say.”

[briannaeng-blog]

View from my hammock. The yellow leaves are interesting of course, but honestly, I was more interested in the dead branches. They crossed over each other, shattering the sky into pieces of broken blue glass... like my paintings. But better. More real.  Looking up at dead branches for an hour makes you question your definition of “beautiful.” Like I’m trying to decide if the branches would be inherently beautiful without my hour long critical analysis. If they were dead branches on the ground, I would step over them. But dead branches in the trees? Different. And that’s when I realized my interest in looking up wasn’t about the stupid branches. And it definitely wasn’t about beauty. It was about one thing, in relation to another thing- that created something meaningful specifically to me. And meaningful does not have to imply beauty. Nor does it have to imply total understanding.  I lack the language to explore this concept further at the moment.  Conclusion: I am going to put a picture of these dead branches on my studio wall... I guess that makes this a studio update.