Salvador Dali

Now that I have completed my graduate program (see here and here ), and graduated, I can get back to posting here with regularity. Last week was Salvador Dali's birthday (May 11). Salvador Dali was a prominent painter in the surrealist movement. While I was never a huge fan of his art, it is interesting and worth examining. As an undergrad my roommate was huge fan, and had posters of Dali's artwork on the walls.

The notion of creating imagery based on the subconscious is not an easy feat. I have tried to do this a few times and have not been pleased with the results. I most recently tried to do this with my last painting. I found a piece of paper that had been scuffed. In these random markings I could make out elements of Greek architecture, and I decided to take this paper home in order bring out what I was seeing. As I was working other elements began to emerge, including a dancer, and an overgrowth of weeds. The image can be viewed below.

Although I do not like this painting, I am presenting it here in recognition of Dali and the surrealists. What do you think? You can comment on the painting, Dali, Surrealism, or whatever. I'll be posting again next week.

Walking with artists

I am a fan of NPR. I listen to it constantly. Today, they ran a piece on "Studio 360" about Maira Kalman, an established national artist. One of the things she does is maintain a blog for the New York Times. it can be read here.
I was interested in the NPR story because of the the way the artist described her working process. Much of her subject matter derives from walking around the city and making careful observations. She will take photographs, interact with shopkeepers, and try to take in as much as she can.
It is my impression that many non-artists are amazed by how artists think about the world around we live in, and how this leads to inspirations. This perspective is over thought. It doesn't take earth shattering experiences to create art. One has to just look around. Kalman is one artist that does this very well.

Lack of recent postings

This post will be brief, however I will explain why the postings on this blog have been sparse of late. You may recall my posting last fall about being enrolled at the University of Southern Mississippi. If not, you can read it here. Anyway I have, as part of my program, undertaken a practicum in the library at the Birmingham Museum of Art. It is very exciting, and I enjoy it very much. I am required to create a blog detailing my experiences, and it is the blog for this practicum that has cut in to my blog time here. If you would like to read my library blog you can do so here. I will try to update here more frequently. Thanks for your support. The image is a screen shot of my other blog. Cheers!

Google Art Project

Last week the folks at Google unveiled what they have called "Google Art Project." This project apparently presents artwork from museums around the world in an online format. Viewers can even tour portions of each museum virtually. Try it out here.

Reviews have so far been mixed, some have argued about copyright. but overall I think this is a positive development. This technology allows more people to see and experience art, and that's one of the main things art tries to do. A very good review of this project can be read here.

Censorship and Art

This week I am going to post two links regarding the recent censorship issues at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. The full story can be read here.
An official Q and A put up as a result of all the protesting can be read here.

As a general rule I am opposed to censorship. There must be guidelines on what is, and what is not acceptable artful expression. For example animal cruelty or child pornography would clearly fall under the category of unacceptable.

But far too often, as in this most recent case, the public has rejected expression based on emotion rather than sound thought or judgment. Most of the protesters have probably not even seen the video in question, and are basing their opinions on the ideas of one perspective. Many of the protesters stated that they did not want their tax money supporting this type of expression, despite the fact that this exhibition was put together with private funds. The core issue here is the development of an informed opinion.

I will add as a christian and a Catholic I can understand the protesters viewpoint, but I believe it to be misguided. First: there could be a whole variety of interpretations of the ants on the crucifix, and not just the negative anti-Christian views expressed. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, this is not that different than the bible story of the golden calf. If we confuse our faith relationship with God and the icons that represent those relationships, then our belief is not really based on anything. Our individual relationship with God is what matters, not the physical objects and imagery associated with that relationship.

Two types of art

The first of this weeks posts addresses the idea of New Media in art. An art professor has implanted a camera in the back of his head, and the video recorded from this camera will be offered as part of an opening of performance art. Read more here. To me this serves as an example of New Media. Although New Media has been growing since the mid to late 20th Century, it has sprung up recently in the last decade or so in a more prominent way. As an artist, I do not have an issue with New Media, I am all for experimentation and exploration. However, I do think art is something that is meant to be understood across a variety of eras and spectrums. How will this stand up to time? After the apocalypse of the modern era, how will archeologists and art historians of the future be able to interpret this type of work? And, is it important that they do? Perhaps my understanding is biased in an unproductive way. What do you think?

The second post for this week addresses human creativity. A graphic was recently released detailing the NFL wins and losses for the season. This image was so popular it went viral. Read about that here. I think that a graphic design created spontaneously and recognized by a wide audience as useful qualifies as art. Again, as an artist I can only wish that an image I have created and posted on the internet would go viral. That would be amazing! Too often I think people perceive art as an abstract high culture activity that only the upper class understand. I believe this to be incorrect. Art is the spirit of creativity, and this graphic represents one example.

Graduate Studies in Library Science

This year marks the first full year that I have been enrolled in the LIS graduate program at the University of Southern Mississippi. This program is ALA accredited, and the specifics can be read here.

As part of my studies I am enrolled in LIS 558 Internet Resources and Applications. This course examines on-line tools, and social networks in the library. What I have learned thus far, both in this class and in the others I have taken, has been amazing. Librarianship is a fascinating subject.

Since the majority of postings on this blog are about art, and art related issues, I will close by adding that I hope to one day use my degree in an Art Library. More information about art librarianship can be found at the Art Library Society Web site. A link is here.