MPR — A log of my comments

Part of the midpoint review was to watch the videos my classmates had made and to comment on and discuss their work. While watching the videos I wrote my comments into a notebook and then typed them into Skype in real time. Now I’m just posting them on this blog so that everyone can go over them. The objective of my comments was to convey how I felt about the current work and help my classmates find things that could potentially inspire them and give them ideas for the future. Here are the comments I had for each video:

JANET W. RAGO:

I love the idea that you’re inspired by lichen. It’s true, your paintings do look like them! I was wondering if you’d like to explore further into Virtual Reality and perhaps turn the creation of your paintings into an experience. So you’d be moving from the gif format, to a format where the audience could be immersed. OR you could think of a grid on the wall with different squares playing different parts of the same painting. Does it make the painting appear different? Recently, I visited “The clocks are striking thirteen” and Zahrah Al Ghamdi’s work “Mycellium Running” (made out of burnt leather growing along the wall like fungi, or something alive) reminded me of your work. So what would you work look like as a sculpture or installation? Also do check out the experience “Flowers and People” by TeamLab

STEPH BEBBINGTON:

The interviews were a brilliant idea. I think you’ve done some good groundwork! I thought you might find the work of Moath Alofi interesting, he is an environmentalist and founded the project ERTH, he takes aerial photographs of places in Saudi Arabia and often you see curious shapes in his work. His work looks like a map or a print but it’s an actual photograph. Also the work of Mohammad Monaiseer on his series “INVASION” put me in mind of the idea that you could try creating imagined landscapes or scenarios to superimpose them on photographs of existing landscapes.

ROBIN WEIJERS:

Robin I love how focused and well thought through your project is. Here are some thoughts I had:

1. Could you try creating interactive projections? At the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago they have a ShadowWall. It projects the shadow of colored sand falling. If the viewer steps up to the projection and holds up their hand, the shadow of their hand interrupts the fall of the sand. I found that really interesting and bewildering!

2. There was a project in the UAE called SONAR interactive projection mapping. Here is the link:

the viewers could use their smartphones to participate and move the projection. 3. I also thought you might find the work of Rebecca Smith and Jamie Zigelbaum interesting, it may give you more ideas on how to go forward with your project. Here are the links:  

4. Have you ever considered how the shape or size of the space around your projection could alter the projection. The work of Architects of Air is all about projecting light within handmade spaces to see the viewer interaction:

GABRIELLA MARTINEZ:

Gabriella your work reminded me initially of Terry Quin’s. I absolutely love your black and white illustrations, as well as the work of Rupi Kaur! * You might find the work of Arseny Finkelstein interesting https://www.memoartum.com/trash-memories he tried to use a computer to recreate a human’s perception of the past, or how we recollect our memories. So essentially, he tried to show what a memory might look like. * Looking at the photographs I wondered whether it was worth it to replace an elusive memory with a frozen digital replica. So do photographs sour the natural recollection or help it? * When you mentioned using new media it put me in mind of this book by Richard Rinehart and Jon Ippolito called “Recollection” exploring how even our digital work will survive in the long run. I mean even digital tools become obsolete right? So what about the memory of the digital art? https://mitpress.mit.edu/re-collection * As for the display of your work, my own work is bordering the line of 2D and 3D so I thought I’d share an artist you might find fascinating: https://debbie-smyth.com/about/ She uses threadwork to create her art and tries to blur the boundaries between 2D and 3D.

ARLETTE:

Arlette, when you shot those close ups of your friend’s hands what I noticed were the geometric shapes on her hands. The little patterns on our skin are artistic in themselves somehow. So that made me think of whether you’ve ever considered painting with your fingers using charcoal or any other medium that will leave your finger prints behind as you create a smoky abstract. Your focus is on ‘touch’ while creating art which is really fascinating; have you thought of what touch might mean for the audience? I mean normally in art galleries we aren’t allowed to touch the artwork are we? So do you think you would explore art created by touch as well as art created to be touched? There is a gallery within the Art Institute of Chicago called the Elizabeth Morse Gallery where the viewers are allowed (encouraged!) to touch the artwork. Just something to think about for your final exhibit 🙂 http://www.artic.edu/exhibition/elizabeth-morse-touch-gallery

Then there was me. Mortifying experience really :'(

CHARLOTTE APPLEYARD:

Charlotte, I like the abstract shapes and colors that emerge from the abandoned buildings. I liked the ones where you could see the shapes of the buildings as well, (for example the staircase) to show where the colors originated from and to add that energy to the actual surroundings. I liked the work of Gina Soden in reference to your work, I remember you mentioning in your first symposium how it is difficult to get access to these buildings and Gina’s work incorporates the difficulty and excitement of that as well.

ANFAL:

Anfal I really love the concept of your project. The power of art to influence society. I think you should follow that thought of taking random photos instead of using famous ones. It would put your work more into your actual context and surroundings. When you colored everything except the faces, it made me wonder if you could try cutting out the figures and faces and placing them in surroundings you have painted.

DWA AL KHALIFA:

I love the childlike fantastical elements in your paintings Dwa. It makes me think of the book “The Night Circus” by Eric Morgenstern, and the clock maker in it. It also reminds me of the books “Alice in Wonderland” or “Alice through the looking glass”, especially your idea of life-size exhibits. I was wondering if you had thought of immersing your audience in an inner-child experience during your final exhibit. The work of Carston Holler

might be a really good inspiration for you. Also the Pearlfisher “Jump-IN” ball pit experience.

JUSTIN LEE:
Justin, you were exploring sound with visuals removed so that means relying only on what these visuals sound like. * Could you perhaps translate that into actual sound on custom made instruments? For example Samsoon Young is an artist who watches videos on mute and then recreates the sound those visuals convey to him using custom made instruments.

* You could also do the opposite and try to see what sound looks like. For example the work of Carsten Nicolai when he used low frequency sounds to hit a body of water reflecting neon lights to create distortions in the reflection representing the visual of the sound.

* The work of Fedde Ten Berg is also something you might look into, he creates sound sculptures that invite audience interaction.

IRIS:
Iris The concept of your work reminded me of this yarn bomb created by Susie Nicholson. She said watching people gather around her artwork and find peace and happiness was immensely rewarding to her. Is that something you also feel? I think you should try something similar to The Happy Show by Stefan Sagmeister.
PAOLA:
Spray paint + social commentary made me think immediately of street art. Also, consider spray painting stuff directly onto a collage of selfies as a parody of social media culture (like a moustache on a face). Have you tried painting onto clear plastic cell phone cases?
EUGENIA KAS:
A picture of a leather sofa with spray paint on it flashed past, I kind of liked that! You say that you want to stick to the digital, but would you like to try making these furniture pieces in real life? For example there is an Instagram artist The Paint Factory, who creates these awesome pieces out of old furniture. Since it was difficult to grasp in your video really where you were headed or what you wanted to do, I just came up with a list of potential things that could inspire you:
NADINE:
Nadine after watching your video I wondered whether you could do a social experiment on some kind to determine whether photography changes the way we love or experience. Because we use photographs to control, frame and package our existence (kind of like
Paola

‘s work on gloss reality). Perhaps you could do a series on exploring what ordinary things, before they are perfectly packaged, look like. When I looked up susan sontag, I came across this quote that was really profound: “Covert experience into a souvenir”, we are living life to record it perfectly

yeah this death thing was really thought provoking.. will we ever lose all our data? and not losing data is a kind of immortality?
–In response to Lee’s comment: reminded me of an episode of black mirror!
KAT:
I find the focus on objects fascinating. Kat’s work reminded me of the series “Literally” by Ibrahim Abamsamar.
 VANESSA GOULD:
Vanessa’s parallel subjects remind me of the structure of my own project. Though as it picks up speed, mine is becoming more woven than parallel. It’s so great to be able to visit the artist you are inspired by. The animation reminded me of Janet’s work. I think the animation could be cleaner if photographed better. Her paintings remind me of Badr Ali’s series “Dreamscapes” where he uses solvents to create paintings on fabric, you can find shapes in the paintings and are left wondering whether they were intentional or not.
You might find the work of Alexa Meade interesting/inspirational.
ALENA:
With all the discussion on eyes, the thing that I could think of most was the abstract representation of the eye. There are so many ways to do this! For example, have you heard of the evil-eye? In some cultures it has a specific representation and lots of cool art surrounding it.
Another aspect could be how you react to seeing things. Have you explored blind contour drawings? or closing one eye and painting to see how things appear? Because our eyes create a semblance of reality in 3D by viewing from two different angles, so how would closing one eye impact reality?
VIVIAN:
I had the opportunity to see Marc Chagall’s America Windows and may I just say, they are GORGEOUS! Right next to the windows there was another artist I thought you may find interesting, Jean De Buffet; he was interested in using the art created by “outsiders” or children and converting it into sculptures.
Also I think you should look up the project ‘Daydreaming with Simon Birch’ it is very relevant to your project and it took place in Hong Kong!
Another

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