Our final will be at:
Wednesday, Dec 14
3pm-6pm
Stay tuned for more details.
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Monday, October 31, 2016
WHAT THE REST OF THE SEMESTER LOOKS LIKE
Here's a guide to the remainder of the semester:
THE SCHEDULE FROM HERE ON OUT
(the final six weeks of teaching)
WEEK 1
Tuesday Nov. 1
Review work in progress from: Hannah G., Hannah H., Lilly, and Josh.
We'll meet with Sarah to go over expectation/logistics for MAPR installation
Thursday Nov. 3
Review work of Ian, Shafer
Draft of Artist Statements due
WEEK 2
Tuesday Nov. 8
Class meets 3rd Floor Prim Library; we a do "dry run" of MAPR, as well as Josh's presentation
Wed. Nov. 9 – Josh BFA meeting in gallery
Thursday Nov. 10
In class:
MAPR! Starts at 10am, Prim Library
WEEK 3
Tuesday Nov. 15
Documentation: taking pictures of installed artwork
Wed. Nov. 16 – Shafer BFA meeting in gallery
Thursday Nov. 17
Website production
Josh Patten Reception, 5-7
WEEK 4
Tuesday Nov. 22
Trip to Atelier, Truckee
Thursday Nov. 24 (THANKSGIVING - NO CLASS)
WEEK 5
Tuesday Nov. 29
Website production
Thursday Dec. 1
Exhibition applications
Shafer Smart Reception, 5-7
WEEK 6
Tuesday Dec. 6
Trip to Stremmel Gallery, Reno
Wednesday Dec 7, Ian BFA meeting in gallery
Thursday Dec. 8
Final Reports/Presentation on Artist Interviews
Ian Wieczorek Reception, 5-7
WEEK 7
Finals:
Present websites
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Victoria Buck
-Mixed art
-take your time picking a grad school
-definitely visit the school
-Residency in the North Pole
-remember to move on if something in your work is not
working out
-be sincere in your work: make work that YOU want to make,
not that you think other people will find “cool”
-where do you want your work to be? How do you want it to
exist?
-say yes to opportunities, you have nothing to lose
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Working in studio today
Just a reminder – and for those of you who weren't in the last class – today is a work-in-the-studio day. I'll be around, but you don't have to show up for class.
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
re-posting for the interviews
UNDERLINE what you think are the main, most interesting quotes in the article, and in a brief sentence for each, explain why you think those quotes are particularly interesting.
ASTERISK any words or names you don't know, and look them up, providing definitions/brief bios.
MAKE A VOCABULARY LIST of what you think are the key terms and concepts the artist is talking about.
SUMMARIZE the world view of the artist, as it appears in the interview. What is the artist's work "about?" What sorts of historical, social, political, formal, and aesthetic ideas does the artist's work engage?
ASTERISK any words or names you don't know, and look them up, providing definitions/brief bios.
MAKE A VOCABULARY LIST of what you think are the key terms and concepts the artist is talking about.
SUMMARIZE the world view of the artist, as it appears in the interview. What is the artist's work "about?" What sorts of historical, social, political, formal, and aesthetic ideas does the artist's work engage?
SOME QUESTIONS TO ADD
HERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO INTEGRATE WITH YOUR "WORKING ARTIST" QUESTIONS LIST
(as you can see, they're pretty blunt about the "making a living" part - by next class, please have all your questions finalized, and printed out in a copy you'll hand in to me)
(as you can see, they're pretty blunt about the "making a living" part - by next class, please have all your questions finalized, and printed out in a copy you'll hand in to me)
How much of your annual income comes from your art, and how much comes from other sources?
What percentage of your time do you actually spend working in your studio? And what do you spend the rest of your life doing to support that time?
Do you belong to any professional associations? If so, why? What are the advantages that membership provides you?
Do you belong to a wider artist's community, beyond any professional associations? What is that community, and why do you participate in it?
Who is your audience? Who buys your work? Does your audience consist of one consistent demographic, or different demographics? How have you expanded your audience over time? How do you market your work?
What sort of education and/or training have you pursued in your career as an artist? Was it worth it? What were the most valuable things you've taken away from your education or training?
Does your art practice have an impact on the way you do your taxes? If so, how?
What sorts of legal issues, if any, have you had to deal with in making or selling your art?
questions
What was the most pivotal point in your career and why?
What really got the ball rolling for you?
What has been your biggest artistic influence?
What are some things you have done to keep you financially afloat?
What really got the ball rolling for you?
What has been your biggest artistic influence?
What are some things you have done to keep you financially afloat?
Thursday, September 15, 2016
At what point in your life did you realize that you had the needed to be creative?
How did you balance making a living, and keep making work?
What inspires you/ motivates you to keep making work?
In your opinion whats the best way to get into the art world?
What is one piece of advice you would now give yourself when you were younger?
How did you balance making a living, and keep making work?
What inspires you/ motivates you to keep making work?
In your opinion whats the best way to get into the art world?
What is one piece of advice you would now give yourself when you were younger?
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
- How do you make a living with making your work?
- What would you be doing if you weren't an artist?
- How do you manage your time?
- How do you balance your love life?
- Did you go to grad school right after your undergrad? Residencies?
- How did you get into galleries?
I watched videos of Beth Cavner Stitchter's work and Arthur Gonzalez's work.
I don't have a print out of any of them.
Monday, September 12, 2016
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
For Thursday, Sept 08
ARTIST INTERVIEWS:
By next class, bring contact info for your three potential artist interviewees, and at least five questions you intend to ask your artist (you might use the same five questions regardless of who you end up interviewing, but you also might have some questions that are specifically tailored to each potential artist. You will only need to conduct one interview for the purposes of this class, but as I said before, please have two fallback options).
MORE INFO FOR YOUR ARTIST INTERVIEW
Your interview subject should be someone who is doing something you'd like to be doing, after you're out of school -- or perhaps simply someone whose work interests you on some level. You will be interviewing them about how they do their work -- not in terms of art technique (although if that interests you, that could be part of the interview), but how they've arranged their life so they can do work that is meaningful to them. Maybe they're not making their own artwork full time, but they've made space in their lives to feel their artistic impulses somehow.
How have they, logistically, made it work for them to do the sort of work that they're doing? How has their career progressed and developed?
Come to class with at least five potential questions to ask them. If you want to make an initial contact with them before now and then, that would probably be smart, but don't schedule the interview itself until after we've had a chance to develop interview questions further, in Wednesday's class. I'd recommend saying you'd like an interview of about 20 or 30 minutes. You can frame it like this:
"I am taking a class called Professional Practices, and part of the aim of the class is to think about how, practically, we will pursue art-making after we graduate from school. One of the projects is to interview an artist about their career -- how it has progressed, and how they have managed to balance their work and their life. The Professor has asked us to gather information about the practical, logistical and business side of art practice. I know that some artists are reluctant to get into the details of that aspect of their work, but if you would be available for a 20 to 30 minute interview on that topic, I'd be very grateful." Obviously you can make it more specific to your target interviewee.
CLOSE READING:
I am going to have you do a "close reading" of two interviews with artists, one this week (due Thursday 9/8), and one next week (due Thursday 9/15). Find two artists whose work has something in common (in terms of themes or style) with your current work. One artist should be a living, contemporary artist, and one should be a dead artist (a 20th century or earlier artist would be ideal). Look up a substantial interview with each artist, print out or copy the interview, and mark up the interview using the following format. You will probably have to add a page or two of commentary to expand on some of these elements. I have no preference whether you do the close reading of the contemporary artist or the dead artist first.
UNDERLINE what you think are the main, most interesting quotes in the article, and in a brief sentence for each, explain why you think those quotes are particularly interesting.
ASTERISK any words or names you don't know, and look them up, providing definitions/brief bios.
MAKE A VOCABULARY LIST of what you think are the key terms and concepts the artist is talking about.
SUMMARIZE the world view of the artist, as it appears in the interview. What is the artist's work "about?" What sorts of historical, social, political, formal, and aesthetic ideas does the artist's work engage?
There are two purposes for this assignment – one, to give you potential avenues for talking about your work by example, and two, to potentially broaden your set of contemporary and historical art references when talking about your work. In one form or another, the work you're making now is in conversation with artworks and aesthetic questions that may be decades or centuries old – hopefully this exercise will help you position yourself in that conversation in the most articulate way possible.
By next class, bring contact info for your three potential artist interviewees, and at least five questions you intend to ask your artist (you might use the same five questions regardless of who you end up interviewing, but you also might have some questions that are specifically tailored to each potential artist. You will only need to conduct one interview for the purposes of this class, but as I said before, please have two fallback options).
MORE INFO FOR YOUR ARTIST INTERVIEW
Your interview subject should be someone who is doing something you'd like to be doing, after you're out of school -- or perhaps simply someone whose work interests you on some level. You will be interviewing them about how they do their work -- not in terms of art technique (although if that interests you, that could be part of the interview), but how they've arranged their life so they can do work that is meaningful to them. Maybe they're not making their own artwork full time, but they've made space in their lives to feel their artistic impulses somehow.
How have they, logistically, made it work for them to do the sort of work that they're doing? How has their career progressed and developed?
Come to class with at least five potential questions to ask them. If you want to make an initial contact with them before now and then, that would probably be smart, but don't schedule the interview itself until after we've had a chance to develop interview questions further, in Wednesday's class. I'd recommend saying you'd like an interview of about 20 or 30 minutes. You can frame it like this:
"I am taking a class called Professional Practices, and part of the aim of the class is to think about how, practically, we will pursue art-making after we graduate from school. One of the projects is to interview an artist about their career -- how it has progressed, and how they have managed to balance their work and their life. The Professor has asked us to gather information about the practical, logistical and business side of art practice. I know that some artists are reluctant to get into the details of that aspect of their work, but if you would be available for a 20 to 30 minute interview on that topic, I'd be very grateful." Obviously you can make it more specific to your target interviewee.
CLOSE READING:
I am going to have you do a "close reading" of two interviews with artists, one this week (due Thursday 9/8), and one next week (due Thursday 9/15). Find two artists whose work has something in common (in terms of themes or style) with your current work. One artist should be a living, contemporary artist, and one should be a dead artist (a 20th century or earlier artist would be ideal). Look up a substantial interview with each artist, print out or copy the interview, and mark up the interview using the following format. You will probably have to add a page or two of commentary to expand on some of these elements. I have no preference whether you do the close reading of the contemporary artist or the dead artist first.
UNDERLINE what you think are the main, most interesting quotes in the article, and in a brief sentence for each, explain why you think those quotes are particularly interesting.
ASTERISK any words or names you don't know, and look them up, providing definitions/brief bios.
MAKE A VOCABULARY LIST of what you think are the key terms and concepts the artist is talking about.
SUMMARIZE the world view of the artist, as it appears in the interview. What is the artist's work "about?" What sorts of historical, social, political, formal, and aesthetic ideas does the artist's work engage?
There are two purposes for this assignment – one, to give you potential avenues for talking about your work by example, and two, to potentially broaden your set of contemporary and historical art references when talking about your work. In one form or another, the work you're making now is in conversation with artworks and aesthetic questions that may be decades or centuries old – hopefully this exercise will help you position yourself in that conversation in the most articulate way possible.
Thursday, September 1, 2016
RESIDENCIES
- learning new cultures seems like a great way to influence your work as well as further your view and perception of art as a whole.
- hearing her experience gave me a solid new look on residencies and what they kind of have to offer, yet all are different everyone seems to strive for similar goals
- I find it very appealing and I would like to look into it and see what there is to offer in different places all over the world
- I enjoyed the talk 🤘🏻
- learning new cultures seems like a great way to influence your work as well as further your view and perception of art as a whole.
- hearing her experience gave me a solid new look on residencies and what they kind of have to offer, yet all are different everyone seems to strive for similar goals
- I find it very appealing and I would like to look into it and see what there is to offer in different places all over the world
- I enjoyed the talk 🤘🏻
Miranda's recidency experience
What I took out of Miranda's talk was that I really need to light a fire under my butt and finish my website! Having a website is huge as an artist and having a web presence is huge. It's a good way to apply to residencies. Having an instagram is good, but there is a whole generation that doesn't use instagram.
Guna tribe in panama canal
Indigenous waste.
Culture is really important
Want to do a residency
Molas work- think about my sewing and how its around the
world and something really concrete and historic. I would like to incorporate into
my work.
Kickstarter or go fund me with rewards
Individual work is important
Seems like Miranda was a good traveler
Being in this mode is really helpful and good for making
connections
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
I have always made art and I will always make art. I make art to express what I can't speak. I focus on the beautiful side of memories that normally take place in my childhood. I focus on the past while I stay in the moment. I connect with Amy Franceschini who runs future farmers.
gentle, selfish, natural
gentle, selfish, natural
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Sunday, August 28, 2016
I make art because it is something i enjoy and find appealing. it's also a way to express myself and interests without the use of words. In today's culture, especially with our generation, I think art applies the same way as it does like the artist. The artist contributes to society by allowing other people to express themselves through the artist's creativity.
Bill Brandt
Athlete, Strength, Body
Bill Brandt
Athlete, Strength, Body
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Assignment for Tuesday, 8/30
I'd like you all to read THE ECSTASY OF INFLUENCE, written by Jonathan Lethem, originally published by Harper's magazine in 2007. I thought it would be a good starting point as an exercise in putting your work in context– looking at works of art, and the creative process, in order to place them within a larger set of references. I think it finds a balance between "thoughtful" and "playful" – although of course, as with any of the reading for this class, if you find it wrong-headed, misguided, obtuse, or inelegant, feel free to argue with it and kick it around.
Lethem, in this essay, is particularly looking at the way artists take in, and reconfigure, the work of artists who have preceded them. He makes an argument that art is necessarily a process of quotation, and that modern culture can't move forward without a healthy dose of re-mixing and re-purposing what has come before. He sees this as an essential part of postmodernism, but traces examples before postmodernism (at one point asking "what exactly is postmodernism, except modernism without the anxiety?").
As we move forward in this class , one thing I'll highlight is the importance of being vocal and articulate about our influences. And I'm partially using this essay as a springboard for you to talk about your own personal influences, and your history of quotation and transformation in your own practice.
THE ECSTASY OF INFLUENCE is mainly situated within the practice of literary criticism, though the principles are applicable to all disciplines, and Lethem touches on music, film and painting (the article can be tagged as genuinely "interdisciplinary" in that regard). Lethem himself is both an artist and critic – he has written both novels and critical essays, and we think he brings the useful perspective of being a “working artist” to his voice as a critic. Here he is working as a collage artist – as the end-notes to the article reveal, this essay on creative "plagiarism" is in fact assembled, cut-and-paste style, from other sources. So the work of criticism here is also a work of art.
Here are links to two differently-formatted version of the article – the first is a PDF version, with illustrations:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/g9e7e5rd4yug6k8/HarpersMagazine-2007-02-0081387.pdf?dl=0
And here is a text version (with no illustrations), which might be useful if you want to copy and paste elements from it for the questions:
http://harpers.org/archive/2007/02/the-ecstasy-of-influence/?single=1
As a supplement to the essay, please look at the following short video. It's from the documentary RIP! A REMIX MANIFESTO, directed by Brett Gaylor. That film is a critique of current US copyright law, and in the section below it illustrates the conversation between Muddy Waters and Alan Lomax about the song "Country Blues," which Lethem also addresses in the essay. It's nice to actually hear their voices. And if anyone is interested, the entire film is available for free streaming online – you can just google the title.
For next class (Tuesday, 8/30), please write the answers to the following questions on the reading, and print the answers out (include your name at the top of the paper). We'll discuss the article in class.
READING RESPONSE QUESTIONS: THE ECSTASY OF INFLUENCE
Lethem writes (or quotes):
QUESTION 1. What art “converted” you to your art? What fragments or reverberations of that inspiration/dialogue show up in your work? Where was the "quotation" from, and how did you alter its meaning by putting it in a new context?
Again, from the essay:
QUESTION 2. What is Lethem driving at here? What is he suggesting the artists' “imperative “ is? What "signs" do you particularly attend to? How do you interpret, translate or illuminate those signs?
From the essay:
QUESTION 3. What would a healthy public domain look like? What would happen if artistic achievement was seen as a “cultural achievement” and not an singular individual expression?
QUESTION 4. This loops back, to a degree, on the first question, but broadens it from the instance of a "work of art" to artists themselves - please write at least one short paragraph about an artist who has influenced you - talk about what attracted you to them, and how you’ve adopted some approach, insight, process, or outlook they’ve expressed, while putting your own “spin” on it.
Lethem, in this essay, is particularly looking at the way artists take in, and reconfigure, the work of artists who have preceded them. He makes an argument that art is necessarily a process of quotation, and that modern culture can't move forward without a healthy dose of re-mixing and re-purposing what has come before. He sees this as an essential part of postmodernism, but traces examples before postmodernism (at one point asking "what exactly is postmodernism, except modernism without the anxiety?").
As we move forward in this class , one thing I'll highlight is the importance of being vocal and articulate about our influences. And I'm partially using this essay as a springboard for you to talk about your own personal influences, and your history of quotation and transformation in your own practice.
THE ECSTASY OF INFLUENCE is mainly situated within the practice of literary criticism, though the principles are applicable to all disciplines, and Lethem touches on music, film and painting (the article can be tagged as genuinely "interdisciplinary" in that regard). Lethem himself is both an artist and critic – he has written both novels and critical essays, and we think he brings the useful perspective of being a “working artist” to his voice as a critic. Here he is working as a collage artist – as the end-notes to the article reveal, this essay on creative "plagiarism" is in fact assembled, cut-and-paste style, from other sources. So the work of criticism here is also a work of art.
Here are links to two differently-formatted version of the article – the first is a PDF version, with illustrations:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/g9e7e5rd4yug6k8/HarpersMagazine-2007-02-0081387.pdf?dl=0
And here is a text version (with no illustrations), which might be useful if you want to copy and paste elements from it for the questions:
http://harpers.org/archive/2007/02/the-ecstasy-of-influence/?single=1
As a supplement to the essay, please look at the following short video. It's from the documentary RIP! A REMIX MANIFESTO, directed by Brett Gaylor. That film is a critique of current US copyright law, and in the section below it illustrates the conversation between Muddy Waters and Alan Lomax about the song "Country Blues," which Lethem also addresses in the essay. It's nice to actually hear their voices. And if anyone is interested, the entire film is available for free streaming online – you can just google the title.
For next class (Tuesday, 8/30), please write the answers to the following questions on the reading, and print the answers out (include your name at the top of the paper). We'll discuss the article in class.
READING RESPONSE QUESTIONS: THE ECSTASY OF INFLUENCE
Lethem writes (or quotes):
Most artists are brought to their vocation when their own nascent gifts are awakened by the work of a master. That is to say, most artists are converted to art by art itself. Finding one’s voice isn’t just an emptying and purifying oneself of the words of others but an adopting and embracing of filiations, communities, and discourses. Inspiration could be called inhaling the memory of an act never experienced.
QUESTION 1. What art “converted” you to your art? What fragments or reverberations of that inspiration/dialogue show up in your work? Where was the "quotation" from, and how did you alter its meaning by putting it in a new context?
Again, from the essay:
We’re surrounded by signs; our imperative is to ignore none of them.
QUESTION 2. What is Lethem driving at here? What is he suggesting the artists' “imperative “ is? What "signs" do you particularly attend to? How do you interpret, translate or illuminate those signs?
From the essay:
Thinking clearly sometimes requires unbraiding our language. The word “copyright” may eventually seem as dubious in its embedded purposes as “family values,” “globalization,” and, sure, “intellectual property.” Copyright is a “right” in no absolute sense; it is a government-granted monopoly on the use of creative results. So let’s try calling it that — not a right but a monopoly on use, a “usemonopoly” — and then consider how the rapacious expansion of monopoly rights has always been counter to the public interest, no matter if it is Andrew Carnegie controlling the price of steel or Walt Disney managing the fate of his mouse.
QUESTION 3. What would a healthy public domain look like? What would happen if artistic achievement was seen as a “cultural achievement” and not an singular individual expression?
QUESTION 4. This loops back, to a degree, on the first question, but broadens it from the instance of a "work of art" to artists themselves - please write at least one short paragraph about an artist who has influenced you - talk about what attracted you to them, and how you’ve adopted some approach, insight, process, or outlook they’ve expressed, while putting your own “spin” on it.
Recent work
I make art because it is my passion and what drives me. It is something I know I want to do forever.
Annie Leibovitz, John Baldessari, Mark Grotjahn
My Recent Work
Timeless Balance Freedom
Most Influential Piece
Annie Leibovitz, John Baldessari, Mark Grotjahn
My Recent Work
Timeless Balance Freedom
Most Influential Piece
Friday, August 19, 2016
Welcome – Fall 2016 Class
By Monday's class, you will need to make a post to this blog (which you will be contributing to over the course of the semester, tracking your progress as you work toward MAPR or your BFA show). You need to have at least one post on the blog, answering the following three questions:
1. Why do you make art?
2. What is the function or role of an artist in today's culture? (This is your personal take on this, it doesn't have to be an "objective" or comprehensive analysis)
3. Who are three working artists you can think of, who you might contact to interview about their professional lives? You will only be contacting one, but I want you to have a couple fallback options if your first couple choices end up being unavailable.
ALSO: PLEASE ASSEMBLE A POWERPOINT OR A FOLDER OF IMAGES OF YOUR RECENT WORK. We'll begin giving presentations of our current work, and floating ideas about your coming exhibitions, starting next class. Have at least three words that give you a container for thinking about/talking about your work – the don't have to be "fancy" words, they could be like some of the words Murgida uses, below – PRESSURE – MANIPULATION – SAFETY. Also, have at least one example of an artist who has influenced you, with an example of their work that you can show.
Here is a video we'll watch today:
We may also listen to this interview with Maurice Sendak:
http://www.npr.org/2012/05/08/152248901/fresh-air-remembers-author-maurice-sendak
Transcript here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=152248901
If you'd like a copy of the syllabus, you can find it here:
FNAR 380: https://www.dropbox.com/s/80z0cba4rfo0yvh/16FallFNAR380-1Lanier.doc?dl=0
FNAR 482: https://www.dropbox.com/s/prgp7rosblnnr0a/16FallFNAR482-1Lanier.doc?dl=0
And if you'd like a digital copy of today's handout, "Ways of Being a Working Artist," you can download it here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/z9f7ix1v2s43sme/ways-of-being-an-artist-2016.rtf?dl=0
1. Why do you make art?
2. What is the function or role of an artist in today's culture? (This is your personal take on this, it doesn't have to be an "objective" or comprehensive analysis)
3. Who are three working artists you can think of, who you might contact to interview about their professional lives? You will only be contacting one, but I want you to have a couple fallback options if your first couple choices end up being unavailable.
ALSO: PLEASE ASSEMBLE A POWERPOINT OR A FOLDER OF IMAGES OF YOUR RECENT WORK. We'll begin giving presentations of our current work, and floating ideas about your coming exhibitions, starting next class. Have at least three words that give you a container for thinking about/talking about your work – the don't have to be "fancy" words, they could be like some of the words Murgida uses, below – PRESSURE – MANIPULATION – SAFETY. Also, have at least one example of an artist who has influenced you, with an example of their work that you can show.
Here is a video we'll watch today:
We may also listen to this interview with Maurice Sendak:
http://www.npr.org/2012/05/08/152248901/fresh-air-remembers-author-maurice-sendak
Transcript here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=152248901
If you'd like a copy of the syllabus, you can find it here:
FNAR 380: https://www.dropbox.com/s/80z0cba4rfo0yvh/16FallFNAR380-1Lanier.doc?dl=0
FNAR 482: https://www.dropbox.com/s/prgp7rosblnnr0a/16FallFNAR482-1Lanier.doc?dl=0
And if you'd like a digital copy of today's handout, "Ways of Being a Working Artist," you can download it here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/z9f7ix1v2s43sme/ways-of-being-an-artist-2016.rtf?dl=0
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