Secret Sunday at the Altered Page

On Sunday, 22 November 2009, Seth Apter of the Altered Page, will begin to unveil the results of his latest Pulse Survey. Nearly 200 artists participated.

Kienholtz: The Hoerengracht at the National Gallery

'Kienholz: The Hoerengracht', a new installation at the National Gallery recreating a scene from Amsterdam's Red Light district.




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About Ken Kienholz.

Sweet Reminders: Andrea Dorfman

Notes from the VooDoo Cafe: Interview Judy Wise

This is a second interview, a spin-off from Ricë Freeman-Zachery's new book, "Creative Time and Space: Making Room for Making Art." with Judy Wise.

Judy Wise's blog.

If you missed Ricë's interview with Roz Stendahl, here it is again.

Ricë's other podcast interviews can be found here.

A Book about Death, Art Project

It's amazing, sheer artistic magic, to see how 500 artists interpreted "death."




A Book About Death, an unbound book on the subject of death, a project by Matthew Rose opened at the Emily Harvey Foundation Gallery in New York City on September 10, 2009. Approximately 500 artists sent in 500 post card works to be distributed in the gallery space as pages for the "book."

This video is the work of Angela Ferrara, and the music, Praan, is by the Los Angeles-based composer Garry Schyman. The works, installation shots, videos and a download of the posters for A Book About Death is at here.

Dada in New York: Man Ray

Man Ray ©

A look at Man Ray, his life and work will be presented, ironically, at the Jewish Museum in New York City starting November 15.

Ray not only distanced himself from his family roots, in what is referred to as his "dialectic of assimilation," he essentially became "the enigma" he wishes for among the surreal and splendid artists and writers of Dada, all gathered together in Paris, also intent on redefining art and themselves.

Best known for his photographs, Man Ray, like his contemporary, Picasso, was a prodigious artist who invented the rayograph, and assembled a huge number of works from paper to conceptual structures.

As I am a fan of both Dada and all things surreal, I will make every effort to see the exhibit.

Information on the exhibit can be found at the Jewish Museum.

Arboreal: Sweet Maple Bare

Back in August, Julie Prichard at The Land of Lost Luggage suggested we take a photograph of a favoured tree. Often operating as a literalist, I photographed my single, on property Maple tree.

Maple Tree, August 2009

Now months later, wind blowing, rain pouring, and one unsettling early October snow, my Maple's leaves have become a nesting ground for my animal neighbours and the tree itself stands starkly proud.

Maple Tree, November 2009

The poet, John Clare, talks to us on
The Maple Tree

The Maple with its tassell flowers of green
That turns to red, a stag horn shapèd seed
Just spreading out its scallopped leaves is seen,
Of yellowish hue yet beautifully green.
Bark ribb'd like corderoy in seamy screed
That farther up the stem is smoother seen,
Where the white hemlock with white umbel flowers
Up each spread stoven to the branches towers
And mossy round the stoven spread dark green
And blotched leaved orchis and the blue-bell flowers -
Thickly they grow and neath the leaves are seen.
I love to see them gemm'd with morning hours.
I love the lone green places where they be
And the sweet clothing of the Maple tree.

Come Spring the Maple will drape itself, once more, in russet leaves and shade me from the open sky.

Decorating a Moleskine

Moleskine Cahier, Full View Homage to Georgia O'Keefe ©

After all my recent doodling with markers, I joined up with an Australian Moleskine group, and did another, but more typical homage to Georgia O'Keefe.

Check out the custom page for contributors.

Review: Anne Bagby's DVD

Anne Bagby DVD Cover

I finally sat down and viewed the Anne Bagby DVD the other day, and wanted to share some of my impressions.

This was my first artist DVD, and I really had no idea what to expect. The DVD runs about 1-1/2hrs, probably half as long as a conference workshop.

Anne seemed rushed at first, but started to relax into the process after about 15 minutes. However, the project instructions were incomplete because of the time constraints placed on the DVDs running time.

I did, however, get the substance of Ms. Bagby's general approach to collage making, if not the finished product(s).

I found it intriguing how various artists, many of whom I admire, approach collage so differently. Having not long ago bought Ann Baldwin's collage book, it was remarkable to see where similarities and differences abound between these two Ann(e)s--in content and approach.

Ms. Bagby's technical approach is very inventive, more so than I imagined, or rather in ways I hadn't fathomed. If anything I would compare her inventiveness to Jonathan Talbot, and his classic adhesive methods. While the two artists' methods differ widely, they both accomplish similar goals--a smoother surface.

Jonathan mastered ways in which to adhere collage elements with medium, and has a terrific, book on the subject. His workshops are filled with all that he has learned--nothing spared. In 2-1/2 days, (not 1-1/2 hrs), I came away with a trunk full of ideas, and mastery of his technique.

I doubted that I would have the same experience from a DVD, but the cost of lodging, transportation and the time necessary for a workshop is often prohibitive--so a DVD purchase seemed an acceptable alternative.

Can I now modify Anne Bagby's approach to benefit my own collage work?

Probably!

Her use of stencils, masks and rubber are truly utilitarian; the materials she uses accessible and affordable. Her vision is her own but the technical approaches she demonstrates can easily be incorporated into one's own work.

What I liked about Talbot's approach, and what I learned from Bagby, is how to more seamlessly integrate collage elements. Both approaches take preparatory time that some collage artists circumvent.

I've seen in my own work that the time I spend preparing materials gets me a better finished result. Having seen Anne Bagby's process, I may be able to use some of her techniques to streamline my own approach, an adaptation of my own.

Do I recommend the DVD?

Yes, if you are interested in building your collage technique repertoire and admire Ms. Bagby's work.