Lipstuck Table
Her table is a bed is a person
Which spoke is a dish on the desolate table is company
And is decorated with dessert is screaming is vibrant is enticing
Craved on her lipsticked lips is a lip stuck on a dish is a man
Is but a fantasy of a man and a man that is fantasy is
A man she will never have is food is food and her food
Is Man.
As a fan of contemporary and abstract art, Tom Smith’s “Heavenly Bodies” exhibition at the Rox Gallery was a great opportunity to learn about how these works are conceived and the artist(s) behind them. I enjoyed hearing about Smith’s painting techniques, creative inspiration and travel experience. With these displayed pieces constructed in Brazil, Iceland and Fire Island, he experimented with paper, spray paint and wood for the past two years to evolve his craft. This painting that he created in Fire Island this past summer is my favorite because it conveys the most “heavenly” environment to me. For many people, the connotation of the word “heaven” consists of rejuvenating oneself with purifying light in a land above the clouds. Contrasting from the other works in the installation, this painting concentrates on more pastel colors rather than bright neon or dark spacial colors. To add on, this work illustrates natural earthly features instead of a futuristic appearance. The cotton candy sky with gray haziness emotes a feeling of floating in the clouds or in the heavens, while the blue and orange mazes of waterfalls spew from the seemingly 3-dimensional cliffs providing a place to cleanse one’s body and soul. After admiring the entire exhibition, I was amazed by the encapsulating colors and themes throughout the paintings, but this particular one drew me in with its atmospheric vibes and promising allure.
Walking into the ROX gallery I was immediately taken by Tom Smith’s colorful, eye catching, one-of-kind works. As I went from painting to painting I could not help but go up close to each one and admire all of the details in each and every piece. One thing I found so special about Smith’s work was that they all seemed so precise and neat while still feeling very loose and organic. I went from painting to painting marveling at his talents and trying to figure out how he accomplished that balance.
I was also busy trying to figure out what each painting was and what their connections were to each other. I thought maybe they were inspired by maps, or by the galaxy or possibly even by monsters. (Tom Smith did later explain the inspiration behind his work. It turns out my guesses were not quite right but, hey, that’s part of the fun right?) Each painting was so magical, I felt like I was being transported to different realms just by looking at them (which in hindsight I find pretty cool because, in truth, each work was inspired by Smith’s travels).
After having time to admire the paintings, we were fortunate to hear from Tom Smith himself. He shared many incredible insights and thoughts about his work, and art in general. However, one idea that stood out to me was his discussion of “resolving a painting.” I found it incredibly fascinating when he explained that the first method employed on his paintings (creating two works and then cutting them into thin strips and then gluing them together) left him out of control of the final product. Thus, when he started his second group of paintings he needed to figure out on his own when each painting was done. I find this so admirable, but at the same time very relatable, because I can’t imagine working so hard on anything yet not really having a final say on its outcome, while, at the same time, I really appreciate the struggle of not knowing when you are done, when you have done your best, and when its time to move on.
Our class trip to meet Tom Smith and see his artwork was in my opinion the most engaging and exhilarating trip yet. Being able to first absorb the brightly colored paintings and then being able to get explanations and insight from Tom Smith, himself was what made this trip a unique experience. The first thing I noticed when walking in was the digital style of many aspects of the paintings. It was almost like from far you could be led to believe it was digital art even though it wasn’t. This effect was especially seen with the perfectly straight and equal cuts of paper in the straight-line patterns in some of the paintings.
Although Smith places such importance on technology, as in his video-art and his paintings that look digital, we can’t be fooled to forget that Smith’s main focus is on the physical beauties of different parts of the world, and that’s where he gets inspiration to create his art. The painting that resonated the most with me was the painting that seemed to look like a map with red water and green, elevated land. When I asked Smith about that piece, he said that his trip to Iceland gave him the inspiration. Iceland has many volcanoes with molten rock and lava, which is depicted as the orange lava in the painting, and this creates the thick moss, or the elevated green wooden pieces. This seemed very unique to me, because it was not a 3D sculpture, but it was also not just a painting. It was a hybrid of the two.
After hearing from Tom Smith, I learned some things about the paintings that interested me. Firstly, how he doesn’t “predetermine the art.” Instead, “it’s exploring and going from there.” He allows the flow of the art take him to the completion of the piece. This struck me as a different approach than what I thought was the conventional way of creating art. Another interesting aspect of the art was how he implemented colors of light, which when mixed create a vibrant white color, as opposed to when physical colors are combined, they create a darker brownish color. I was definitely cultured and enlightened after the visit!
“Beautiful,” “large,” “amazing” were all words my friends used to describe the Bloomberg building. But when I turned around the corner and saw the building with my own eyes, the only word I could use to describe it was “wow.”
Yesterday, I, along with about 50 other students from CUNY colleges, had the pleasure of going to Bloomberg L.P.’s headquarters on 731 Lexington Ave. for an informative session and a tour.
Aside from the important information I gained about potential opportunities at Bloomberg and the connections I made during my visit, I learned about how a professional business can use architecture to support its mission.
Similar to how the high stairs at the entrance of the Metropolitan Museum of Art symbolizes that 
the artwork and the information in the Museum is exclusive to those who have money, the internal architecture of Bloomberg emphasizes its mission to make dynamic networks of information available. The architecture is almost exclusively white, a color that symbolizes clarity. I
nformation ranging from current stock price changes to what floor a person is on is made easily noticeable.
Other pictures of the building:
Apparently one of only eight spiral escalators in the world.
Pond of 22 Japanese Koi fishes for good luck
Station Bloomberg News uses for live interviews.
I probably have seen a Picasso before, in one of my many museum trips in grade school and since. But ever since our first IDC class, when Professor Eversley stressed that we will get up close with Picasso paintings in our adventures, I’d been thinking about art more and more. So when we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one thing I really looked forward to (more than the Amie Siegal exhibition, in fact) was getting up close with a Picasso.
Pablo Picasso, La Coiffure (1906)
Picasso’s La Coiffure (1906) caught my eye for one particular reason. I read on the little museum label that this painting was the result of four different paintings, layered on top of one another. When I looked further into this, I found out that Picasso had painted three finished paintings in one canvas and then rotated the canvas 180 degrees to get this final look. Frankly, this amazed me because at first glance, one would have no idea that this was the case. I feel like this painting was a reflection of Picasso’s determination to display only the best of his work.
You can read a more in-depth explanation of this painting here.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Visiting Tom Smith’s Heavenly Bodies exhibit at the ROX gallery gave me an insight on the life of an artist and how they work. The first thing that captured my attention was the bright colors in almost all his artwork. The colors he used made his paintings stand out from the white walls, making such a stark contrast as if they were glowing, making the atmosphere of the gallery bright and lively. On each side of the wall, there are different sets of artwork, each with a different style. He explained to us how one set of his artwork led him to create the next, building on each style.
This is my favorite piece from the exhibit:
I love the colors used here, the layered effect, and the splattered paint, which all make it very unique. There are painted strips overlapping each other that made me feel like I was looking through window blinds. Tom Smith explained that he cut similar paintings into tiny strips and glued them all together to create the collage. Even he didn’t know exactly how the painting would turn out! I thought that was interesting because I always thought artists had a clear idea of what they were going to create and how it would turn out.
When I first saw his 3-D works, the effects of the carved wood reminded me of a landscape map and the bright red color he used reminded me of fire. This makes sense since he later said that he worked on it in Iceland, where there are a lot of volcanoes.
I also learned from this experience that artists usually take on another job while they work on their art. This makes sense since it’s hard for emerging artists at first.
In conclusion, I’m really glad I was able to visit this exhibit and see the artist, Tom Smith, and learn from him through his experiences.
When I first walked through the doors of the gallery I felt this wave of serenity despite the exciting colors and odd shapes. The combination of all the colors and the depth of each piece was so captivating. Every piece had its own statement but the collection as a whole made a story.
I love the paintings done by cutting up the strips of paper because not only do the colors and the drawing itself bring out characteristics of their own but the lines give it another level of uniqueness that force viewers do a double take. The lines also give it a feeling of texture and works nicely to emphasize the highlights as well as the shadows. Although the lined paintings seem as if they would be ridged, if you take a good look up close you can see how perfectly placed each individual line is. I really admire these pieces for the dedication it takes for theartist to make them so impeccable.
This is my favorite painting in the “Heavenly Bodies” collection, mostly because it’s the one I feel like I understand best. As Tom was speaking, he explained how the paintings represented our relationship to the heavens and our physical being, hence, “Heavenly Bodies.” In this particular painting, the darker colors are a clear depiction of our worldly nature. The combination of the dark color scheme plus the look of eruption gives it a feeling of excessiveness, seduction and destruction. On the contrary, the heavenly side of the painting has an aura of serenity and an atmospheric effect due of the calming color scheme of purple, blue, green and white worked in with more tender brush strokes.
I thoroughly enjoyed the “Heavenly Bodies” collection at the Rox Gallery and am excited to see future works done by Tom Smith.
Once entering the Rox Gallery in the lower East side, I could not avoid but notice immediately the beautiful, vibrant colors that characterized every single painting of “Heavenly Bodies”. Although at first, I must admit, the abstract nature of Tom Smith’s work made me feel confused and incapable of defining what it is exactly that I am looking at, after a closer observation of the paintings I finally found myself able to identify with their hidden meaning.
Undoubtedly, the usage of radiating, neon colors serves a very specific purpose: to attract the viewers and make them feel as if they are personally experiencing the landscape represented in the painting. As Tom Smith had pointed out during our discussion in the gallery, “the painting is shining a light on you (the viewer)”. As he further explained, the colors are meant to be seen in relationship to what is around them as opposed to when they are isolated. Therefore, the colors that are used in a single painting often contrast with each other to create a sense of depth in a two-dimensional painting. However, while I thought that the paintings themselves represent an infinite world in which the viewer is almost invisible, I thought that their frames in fact made the viewer feel restricted and contained within their borders to some extent.
Out of the three different sections of the gallery, I particularly enjoyed looking at the three dimensional paintings that Smith had created during his trip to Iceland. When I first looked at them (specifically the one below), it seemed clear to me that the work is meant to represent a sort of destruction in the form of fire and rocks. In my view, the 3D effect made these themes stand out even more because it awakened not only my sense of sight, but also my sense of touch. Although I did not actually touch the painting, I found it fascinating that just by looking at this particular work, I was able to almost feel the texture and the heat resulting from the radiating red color and the little wooden pieces glued together.
After looking individually at every work, I was able to recognize numerous themes that demonstrate landscape, such as fire, water, nature and sky. Coming to this conclusion, I realized that these themes established the foundation for the name “heavenly bodies”; while all these forms of different landscapes are meant to represent ‘heaven’, the viewers and the different perspectives that they hold represent the ‘bodies’.
After visiting the Rox Gallery and seeing Heavenly Bodies, I have truly learned to appreciate the value of abstract art. I am confident that Tom Smith’s career is awaiting great success!
Marcel Dzama’s Une Danse des Bouffons, is a film that can be described as a “Dadaist Love Story.” It is currently part of an exhibit at the David Zwirner gallery along with related two and three dimensional work.
These works deal with many themes, among them “death.” Inside, I gravitated toward the long piece in the back of the room and, honestly, in the first couple of minutes this theme did not really stand out. It looked more like a circus; it was as if the people in the piece were in costume and doing all sorts of acrobatic acts.
Once I looked closer, I began to see the men with guns and the people surrendering. There is also a man holding a presumably dead man. I continued to walk around and look at the other pieces with this idea in mind. I then saw another piece:
Just some chess pieces, a chess board, and a beheaded human, head rolled away, but still close to the body. And another two fitting pieces:
Exploring death in art (or in anything for that matter) always puzzled me. Death is confusing, frightening, and eerie. I always approach the subject by, well, avoiding it altogether. I suppress any kinds of thoughts relating to it because it’s simply overwhelming. Many use the same approach as me. So, I admire artists like Marcel Dzama. To create works of art that have this kind of idea in them must mean the artist dwelled on it. They must have contemplated for hours on end in the preliminary process. Then they must have dealt with the idea while physically creating the projects. Just having the works in an exhibit continue to remind the artist of this theme. How do they do it!?
As I continued to contemplate this throughout the exhibit, I thought I stumbled upon a possible answer. Besides art being a way to cope with this difficult concept, there is also the idea that death makes way for the new. There must be death for birth to occur.
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