This was my favorite outing to have gone to since the start of this class. Its so sad that its ending already I’m used to being in class with the same people the entire school year not just half of it. Its alright because these memories stay with us for years. My tour guide was very helpful by offering us answers like, “I don’t know either”, “it could very well be”. This may not seem like the answer you were looking for but it was really inspirational. The fact that it was completely up to our representation of what made it the art that was exhibited. We were also told that Jianwei did not come into the museum with pre made pieces of art rather, he created it there tirelessly around the room itself. He even incorporated certain details like the blue line that went through the room into his art work. The yellow and green painting there was a microscopic representation of a cell with very geometric shapes, it struck me that this artist is actually very well educated and meticulous about his art projects. I also asked why he had rubber placed on some of the pieces of wood when others didn’t. I came to a conclusion that it was the blend between nature and artificiality much like the guggenheim itself. Its meant to adapt by blending in with its surroundings. It can be argued that this is the same reason why he places steel coiled on some of the wood, and rubber underneath some of the wood. It doesn’t matter where the pieces are arranged but how they blend into the environment. Overall, it was a really inspiring idea to me, i might be wrong but no one can claim to know
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.
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.
Art is everywhere. It reaches out from formal galleries and museums to the streets of New York. On my way to Wholefoods one afternoon in Union Square Park, I passed by a group of artists. They were in a corner of the park making beautiful music with different instruments. Some had guitars, a tambourine, drums, and others were just singing along or dancing. The scene was a kind of free-for-all. Nothing was planned, and different musicians could chime in randomly. It was awesome to see all different cultures coming together through their passion to make music. What was even more interesting was that they had a mini food station open to the public where people who couldn’t afford a meal could grab a bowl of rice while listening to the music. My experience really put things into perspective and made me appreciate the hidden forms of art found among the bustling streets of New York.
Find additional video here: IMG_7226
“I, an Artist” is a found poem created from quotes about art, many of which are by famous artists.
The role of the artist is to ask questions,
not answer them.
Art is not what you see,
but what you make others see.
Interpretation is the revenge of the intellectual upon art.
If only we could pull out our brains and use only our eyes.
There is no abstract art.
You must always start with something.
Afterwards, you can remove all traces of reality.
Without art, the crudeness of reality
would make the world unbearable.
Living is an artistic activity,
there is an art to getting through the day.
Art is a selective recreation of reality,
according to an artist’s metaphysical value judgments.
Without magic, there is no art.
Without art, there is no idealism.
Without idealism, there is no integrity.
Without integrity there is nothing but production.
The object isn’t to make art,
it’s to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable.
Art enables me to find myself,
and lose myself at the same time.
I want to move certain parts of the interior of myself
into the exterior world,
to see if they can be embraced.
These figures are not projections of my muse,
but projections of myself.
My art is not a reflection,
but a carbon copy of the artist I call “me”.
Art is the only serious thing in the world,
and the artist is the only person who is never serious.
All forms of madness, bizarre habits,
awkwardness in society, general clumsiness,
are justified in the person that creates good art.
It is hard work and great art to make life not so serious.
Life beats down and crushes the soul,
and art reminds me that I have one.
If we can’t, as artists, improve on real life,
we sacrifice our imagination on the altar of crude reality,
and we end up believing in nothing and having worthless dreams.
The dream of my life is to make beautiful art.
I dream painting and I paint my dream.
We all know art is not truth.
Art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth.
It is what you can get away with.
Art is the reason I get up in the morning,
but the definition ends there.
It doesn’t seem fair that I’m living for something I can’t even define.
If you ask me what I came to do in this world,
I, an artist, am here to live out loud.
*Quotes by: Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, Edgar Degas, Susan Sontag, Pablo Picasso, George Bernard Shaw, Viggo Mortensen, Ayn Rand, Raymond Chandler, Robert Henri, Thomas Merton, Jonathan Lethem, Oscar Wilde, Roman Rayne, John Irving, Stella Adler, Barbara Kingsolver, Miguel Ruiz, Vincent Van Gogh, Andy Warhol, Ani DiFranco, Émile Zola
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