Art21 – Maizy Troxell
In my exploration of different female artists in the 21st century I stumbled upon Liz Larner, who creates sculptural forms that play with geometry and perception, using color and materials such as ceramics, steel, and Plexiglas to explore the relationship between structure and surface. Along with Katharina Grosse, known for her large-scale, colorful installations that blur the boundaries between painting, sculpture, and architecture, and also Liz Magic Laser who creates performance work, which engages with political speech, empathy, and the relationship between emotion and power. However, 2 of the more intriguing artists that I discovered are Susan Philipsz and Stephanie Syjuco.
Philipsz is a Scottish artist known for her sound installations. Her art touches on themes such as the relationship between art and the public sphere and the power of sound to shape our perceptions of space and place. I thought this was particularly interesting because I have never thought of sound in a sculptural sense.
Alternatively, Syjuco’s practice focuses on creating more physical and imaginary artworks featuring garment patterns for American-prairie- and Civil-War-antebellum style dresses made with a chroma key green fabric, serving as signifiers of specific time periods in American history and exploring the embeddedness of American history in the national psyche. I thought these reimagined dresses were really interesting to look at and it really pleases my inner child who loved “designing” fancy dresses in wacky colors.
Art21 Leonardo Drew & David Brooks- Gibbs
Leonardo Drew
- Finding Piet Mondrian
- Influence of Piet Mondrian on Drew’s work
- Drew visits Mondrian’s gravesite
- Was named as notable by his grave after Drew found it
- Leonardo Drew in “Investigation”
- Doesn’t always know what his works are going to be about “but they always find there way”
- From Bridgeport, CT
- First taste of fine art was in High School after exposure to Jackson Polocks black and white drawings
- Went to Cooper Union, says he was “the greediest person there” as he absorbed everything and then asked for an extra year to stay and study
- His piece, number 8, is comprised of all of his so-called failures, mashed together into one work
- Speaks on his experience as a person of color:
- Made a cotton wall piece which he wheeled down the street on a dolly to which many people took photos suggesting it was a political piece despite that not being its intentions
- Used the heat in San Antonio to cook some of his materials
- Traveling & Making
- Took time to travel and digest art, was amazed that he didn’t miss the studio because life and art were still going on within him
David Brooks
- David Brooks Takes the Roof Off
- Always goes down to South Florida every year
- Fascination with the Everglades and the contrast between the preserved nature and unchecked urban development just a few miles away
- Constructing a piece comprised of rooftops in time square to speak to this unchecked development in the US
- Was challenged on whether this was art or not
- David Brooks Hits the Pavement
- Also went to Cooper Union, would skateboard around town
- Started to break some preconceived notions of what art was while he was in NYC
- Talks through his piece of a deconstructed tractor combine
- David Brooks In His Element
I watched several videos containing interviews with Leonardo Drew and David Brooks, yet I do not have the word count to speak on Brooks. Drew spoke about the influence of Piet Mondrian on his work. During his rise to fame, Drew discovered the location of Mondrian’s gravesite and made light of it to the MET with the hopes of gaining the distinction for he felt Mondrian deserved. Drew grew up in Bridgeport, CT, a not particularly affluent area, where he began withdrawing as his primary medium, working for cartoonists and comic artists as early as high school. His first taste of fine art came in the form of Jackson Pollocks black and white drawings around this same time. While attending Cooper Union in NYC, Drew said he “was the greediest one there” as he absorbed anything and everything during his time there, going as far as to ask for a 5th year of school to further his quest for skills. Drew speaks on his experience as a person of color and how it influenced one of his pieces where he wheeled a cotton ball down the street on a dolly, to which many passersby were assuming a political nature in his work. Drew continues to work in San Antonio, a place, he says, has as much to do with the method of his creative process as the inspiration, as many of his materials can only be prepared by cooking in the hot sun of Texas. I was surprised most by the free-flowing nature of much of Drew’s work as he says often that he has “no idea what many of his pieces are about but they always find their way there”. This is often how I approach my work. I do find it surprising that Drew tends to stay away from political commentary within his work, choosing rather to express himself instead of society.
Art21 Contemporary Sculpture Assignment
The contemporary artists that I decided to cover are Mika Rottenberg, Do Ho Suh, Mika Tajima, Rashid Johnson, Damian Ortega, and Doreen Garner. A common theme that I have noticed in most of these artists is their intention of addressing political and societal issues in their pieces. For instance, many of Garner’s pieces use silicone fragments of black bodies to convey ideas of disease, racial oppression, and enslavement. Do Ho Suh, on the other hand, has a famous piece called Some/One, that is composed of dog tags that form a larger, uniform structure, that he says is heavily inspired from the time when he had to serve his mandatory military service in South Korea.
Source Images
Detailed Sketches Styrofoam/Wood
Zellers – Reference Pictures
Talisman sketches & reference photos – Mia Ranello
Cory Sanderson-Sketches
Angela Ziganshina – Art21
I really enjoyed listening and learning about the perspectives of different artists as they embark on their journeys of creating their pieces. Each artist has their own unique outlook, and one I found particularly interesting was Nick Cave’s. He described how his personal experiences as an African American shaped his process of making art. Rather than lashing out at others when being racially profiled, he talked about using that rage and targeting it towards creating his pieces. Much of them are very colorful, bright, and tall, although they come from a dark place from Cave’s perspective. This contrast and his ability to fuel and motivate himself using the rage he felt is something I found very inspiring. Doreen Garner’s work and experiences also really caught my attention. She brings up concepts of what black people have been through in the past, and the ways in which they have been misrepresented. Therefore, her art looked quite violent or distorted at times, but was a big part of her process of battling racial dynamics and premade assumptions.
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