Wednesday, April 29, 2009

France By Watercolor #6

Hope everybody is enjoying Claire's art as much as I am. If you are enjoying this, comment, and let her know. Claire has about 6 weeks left in France (till mid June I think) and I hope to continue posting her work till then. This week I have a painting of the Alps for your viewing pleasure and next week we'll see Lake Du Bourget which was mentioned last week.~TW

Thursday, April 23, 2009

France By Watercolor #5

Moving right along with this experiment here is the third painting Claire did in Aix-Les-Bain. Hope everyone is enjoying their tour of France as much as I am! ~TW
"Aix-Les-Bain is a really small town. On the other side of the mountains is 'Lake Du Bourget.' I was on the country side surrounded by mountains, endless farmland and horses. I wanted to hop on a train and travel somewhere new in France, and Aix-Les-Bain is only about 40 minutes away from where I live in Annecy. I did the three paintings in one day."

Saturday, April 18, 2009

RICHARD ROSS

From the Aperture blog Exposures.

I find this work really intriguing and inspiring, even if it isn't necessarily that innovative. The whole series can be seen online here.


Richard Ross: Photograph as Empty Stage and What's Next from Aperture Foundation on Vimeo.

"Opening in Washington D.C.’s National Building Museum this Saturday is Richard Ross’s exhibition, The Architecture of Authority. With this body of work, American photographer Richard Ross presents unsettling pictures of architectural spaces that each exert a kind of power over the individual. From a Montessori preschool to churches and mosques, to an interrogation room at Guantánamo and segregation cells at Abu Ghraib, Ross’s photographs reflect the state of our post 9/11 world—one in which he believes the public has become accustomed to the abuse of power, erosion of individual liberty, illegitimate authority, and constant surveillance.

In this video, Richard Ross highlights the physical relationship between the viewer and his images. Ross also gives insight into his new project, Suitable Placement: Juvenile Justice in America."

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

France By Watercolor #4

Welcome to week four. This week is a little different in that Claire did a series of three paintings on a day trip. So todays post will include the first two paintings and next week will have the last painting and the description for all three. The series was done in Aix-Les-Bain, France. ~TW

Thursday, April 9, 2009

France By Watercolor #3

Getting back into the swing of quarter this week so this is a day later than I wanted to post it, but here is the third of Claire's watercolor paintings. Funny because it was actually the first one she did. Let me know if you're following this series of posts and if you would like any changes, etc. Now let's hear from Claire about this piece. ~ TW
"This was the first painting I did, shortly after arriving in Annecy. It was getting dark and a storm was coming in over the lake and I was mostly thinking wtf am I doing in France?"

Art CULTURE outside the museum




engaging everyday, you define it >>>

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Check out a video on San Paulo art known as "pixacao" at Cool Hunting.
You might consider it just graffiti, but these street artists risk their lives for it!

Alternative Co-op in Baltimore






The last two weeks of Winter Q were horrendous, but as always, I managed to make it out alive.  The check-list studio was over, I had survived a corrosive chemical attack, and I had even experienced UC's hilly campus on crutches.  All that hardship and still no co-op job in sight. SIGH... but wait, enter the "alternative co-op option." 
The choices were laid out: volunteer, participate in a research project, or travel (not just a lazy beach vacation).  I settled on the first of these and packed my bags for Michigan, unpacked, laid on the couch for a week, and then packed my bags again and boarded a plane for Baltimore! 
Just into my first week, and my alternative co-op had involved some rather unconventional tasks.  I attended the Transmodern Festival and filmed interviews, joined a team of MICA students on a real marketing campaign that required me to measure a bus shelter and freight elevator, and most surprising of all, I helped out at a real mini-documentary filming of a local saxophone legend.
I never anticipated my 3rd co-op to be spent away from a cubicle, but I am actually having fun and learning invaluable lessons (no AutoCAD necessary)! 

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

France By Watercolor #2

Hello again, I'm posting the second of Claire's watercolors today along with her comments on it. A little background information is necessary for you to understand her story.  As Claire was finalizing the details of her co-op and flying to Chicago to pick up her work visa she found out she had a number of inexplicable tears in her retina. She had to undergo an emergency surgery on both eyes and was confined to her room, blind, for several days. Claire was forced to wait several more weeks for her follow up examination to hear the doctor's evaluation.  Without approval she would not be able to fly again which would end her co-op before it even began. Happily she was cleared to fly and quickly left for Annecy and a French residency. One of the reasons I post Claire's work is to celebrate this story.~TW
"I was sitting on a bench at the far north end of Lake Annecy. While I was painting this I mainly thought about my recent intensive eye surgery I had right before I moved to France and how glad I was to be regaining my eyesight."

Reuben Margolin

OMG this rulez.





"Reuben Margolin, a Bay Area visionary and longtime maker, creates totally singular techno-kinetic wave sculptures. Using everything from wood to cardboard to found and salvaged objects, Reubens artwork is diverse, with sculptures ranging from tiny to looming, motorized to hand-cranked. Focusing on natural elements like a discrete water droplet or a powerful ocean eddy, his work is elegant and hypnotic. Also, learn how ocean waves can power our future. Learn more about Reuben at http://www.reubenmargolin.com"