This Ain't Trash...It's Art

Continuing on my Road Trip, but still close to home, I saw an exhibit at Sikkema, Jenkins & Co. in NYC showcasing the art of Mark Bradford, an American artist who just won a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship. He uses mostly material that he finds on the streets of LA to create highly textured, abstract works. His process is about adding layers and tearing away to create what look like to me to be urban landscapes. Here are some examples, with close-up, detail shots included.








Take 1 minute and 34 seconds out of your day to view this video about Mark. I guarantee that many of his statements here will resonate deeply. After all, "This Ain't Trash...It's Art."

On the Road Again

I am hitting the road and want to take you along for the ride. Over the course of the next week or so, I will be sharing some of my stops along the way. And what better place to begin than NYC, my home base.

I just visited an amazing exhibit at Pace Wildenstein highlighting the work of Maya Lin and entitled "Three Ways of Looking at the Earth." Maya, well known for her design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, is an American artist that works in the space between art and architecture. The exhibit presents three large scale installations that allow the viewer to almost become part of each, as you walk through, around, and under the work.

"2 x 4 Landscape" consists of more than 50,000 two-by-four pieces of sustainable wood, set vertically to portray the swell of a hill. At its peak it is 10 feet high and covers a space of 1,900 total square feet. It changes from every angle and I found it to be mesmerizing, sensual, serene, and powerful...all at the same time. Click each image to enlarge to get a better view.






"Blue Lake Pass" consists of 20 separate blocks of particle board and represents the narrow passageways through the mountain passes of the Rocky Mountains. I found this piece to be the perfect combination of ordered grid and undulating curves.





Here is a short video of all three installations that was filmed earlier in the year when the exhibit was at the Cocoran.

Buried Treasure - Revisited

Digging for gold! Again! This post is my contribution to the second round of the Buried Treasure collaboration. Links to each and every participating artist can be found in the previous post on my blog.





It is all about layers. I wanted to Dig Deeper for my second Buried Treasure post. On the surface, my blog highlights my mixed media artwork. But if you look a little further, you will find posts spotlighting my photography, poetry, drawing, travel adventures, and the like. Look just a little bit deeper, and you will find posts about other artists, other blogs, and links I love. It is all about layers.



In my first Buried Treasure post, I focused on my mixed media artwork. In this "re=post" I have captured some of my favorite things from previous posts that focus on everything else! There are links to follow, videos to watch, and images to enlarge. Happy hunting!



Favorite Window:





Favorite Original Poem:



After the Storm



When the thunder ends and the rain stops falling

When the sea is calm and the birds start calling

The clouds will part like a curtain drawing

Promise of an open door



When the air is clear and the wind stops blowing

The sun reappears and the earth starts glowing

A light so strong as if all knowing

Sense of wonder to explore



In that window, in that time

A clearing of a cluttered mind

A ray of hope, it all takes form

In that moment, after the storm





Favorite Photography Series:



Coastal Waters

Shot in Tofino on Vancouver Island













Favorite Reflection: As Night Falls



Favorite Street Art:



Mixed media(!) graffiti from Greece





Favorite Interactive Zen Website: Wildcard



Click your mouse and move. My favorite is mistyline but be sure to try all five



Favorite Drawing:



Drawn in my course with Danny Gregory on the first day of class







Favorite You Tube Video:

Bouncy Balls - all real, no special effects







Favorite Book Project - no binding necessary:



Book Bundles











Favorite Rust:

Details from the 2007 show at MoMA entitled Richard Serra Sculpture: 40 Years.

Thank you all for going on this treasure hunt with me!

I am your Air

Like an Etch A Sketch with a twist. As the music starts, a single black line courses across the screen. Use your mouse to direct the line. Watch for bursts of colors. Bursts of birds. Bursts of words. And bursts of so much more. Play the video above to watch it. But better yet, click the link below and direct it. Hypnotic and entertaining. Go ahead. You know you want to!

Get your Air here

The Art of the Woman

Details from three collages completed many years ago, all highlighting women.

Two exhibits are running in New York right now that focus on The Art of the Woman:


The first, at Sothebys is aptly entitled Women. This special exhibition highlights art depicting the women from the collection of Steven and Alexandra Cohen. Photography was not allowed but click here to see the varied work in this exhibition by such artists as Picasso, Van Gogh, Matisse, Rauschenberg, and Richter.




The Museum of Modern Art currently has a fascinating show entitled The Printed Picture. This wonderful exhibition highlights the changing technology of picture making from the Renaissance to the present. Ink printing, photography, book printing, and digital printing are all explored. It is much more exciting then it sounds here! For each form of printing process, three types of examples are presented: ephemera, museum collection art, and - my favorite - details from the artwork enlarged 50 times. What does this have to do with The Art of the Woman you might ask? See the details below...and click on the details to see details of the details!





And to leave you with a video once again...

News of the Day

Among the first pieces I put up for sale in my Etsy shop when it opened in December were the Inconduits. There is one piece remaining in the series and it will be for sale in Etsy only until April 5. I am still hoping it finds a good home!

Sold. Thank you!


Today is the last day to vote in the poll I am conducting to find out just who reads my blog -- bloggers, nonbloggers, or both. I think the results are already in, but please vote if you haven't yet. You might find it interesting to read through the comments on this original post and/or add your own thoughts to the conversation. Look for a post sometime next week that will summarize the comments I received on this topic.




I would like to remind everybody of a new feature on The Altered Page: The Inspiration Station. Click on this button on the sidebar of my blog to be taken to the post, website, video, photograph, artwork, etc. that is inspiring me in the moment. Please note that the date of the most recent update will always be listed so you know when new inspiration has struck! I am currently being inspired by the generosity of an artist with endless talent and a heart of gold.


Thanks go out to:

Thank You Sharmon from True Adventures of an Art Addict for giving me the Lemonade Award, for bloggers who show a positive attitude and gratitude. Many thanks and much appreciation! If you are not familiar with Sharmon's blog, click the link to see her beautiful artwork, wonderful photography, and creative spirit.

and to:


Thanks also to Annie from Ink Haven who passed on the Inspiration Award to me. Run over to Annie's blog if you have never been. If a picture tells a thousand words then Annie's writing reveals a thousand pictures.




I leave you with...

Originally found on dear ada I am digging everything about this video...the performance art of it all, the music, and especially the painting. Take 3:49 out of your day to watch. You won't be sorry!


.

Construction Zone

I have just begun a collaboration with Julie from The Land of Lost Luggage and Lynne from Heart and Life. We are each building our own graffiti wall. Over the course of the next few months, we will each create collaged and altered paper which we will then mail to each other and use as building materials. Click on the above links to see Julie and Lynne's posts about this project.

My wall will be built on a 3' x 3' stretched canvas, the biggest size I have ever worked with by far! Here is a glimpse of the foundation I built before the wall goes up. It wont look anything like this when completed.


Lynne sent me these great paper pieces and there was even a torn part of one of her signature faces which I might just have to keep intact!



Julie sent me a 31" x 21" piece of paper that she had worked on but hadn't yet torn. I almost feel guilty tearing it up...but those are the rules. Click here to see an amazing video that Julie made about this project and her papers. And below are some close-ups of her beautiful work.





All three of us will be posting about our progress during construction. Stay tuned.

Round and Round

Round One: I am not usually a fan of television commercials, but this one always makes me smile. And yes, they are real!










Round Two: Click this link. Wait for Boomshine to appear and press play. I guarantee that you will become addicted.







Round Three: A classic...pre-MTV! I always liked this song about the passage of time and getting older.



Joni Mitchell- The Circle Game

Yesterday a child came out to wonder
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder
And tearful at the falling of a star
Then the child moved ten times round the seasons
Skated over ten clear frozen streams
Words like, when you re older, must appease him
And promises of someday make his dreams
And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We cant return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now
Cartwheels turn to car wheels through the town
And they tell him,
Take your time, it wont be long now
Till you drag your feet to slow the circles down
And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We cant return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

So the years spin by and now the boy is twenty
Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true
There'll be new dreams, maybe better dreams and plenty
Before the last revolving year is through
And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We cant return, we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game