Thursday, May 8, 2014

Drive Lapse - Artist Statement

Drive Lapse


When driving in a car we usually don’t think of it anymore than the transportation device to get us from one place to another, for my project I expanded on that and turned my drive to school one day into an interesting video time lapse. When actually documenting a drive through the use of videos or photos you begin to see more things that you would not normally look at or pay much attention to. When driving we are more focused on the actual process of driving and making sure that we stay on the road. As I was looking through the footage that I took, I began to notice that when I drive I don’t even look or pay attention to the buildings and other things outside of the road. So for me this video is more than just a look into my daily drive but a quick study of the surroundings and happenings around me as I drive. 

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Artist Statement Skeleton + Skin

At first I was not sure how this piece was going to come out and I was not entirely excited with what I had come up with from my first two attempts. But after brainstorming a little and being patient with the material I created a piece that I am happy with. The piece that I created for this project has a corkscrew kind of shape that winds from point to point getting thicker in the middle. When I was constructing it, it was difficult to get all of the pieces to stay in the right places long enough for them to be held permanently. This was the third attempt that I made for this project, and definitely was the one that turned out the best. The first two attempts allowed me to get more familiar with the materials that I was working with and how they were able to create shapes that had artistic value. The material that I used was just some medium gauge wire and some screen mesh. I held the mesh onto the wire with a good amount of rubber cement and I also decided to paint over the mesh with the rubber cement which gave it an interesting look like the mesh was more solid.

Jackson Pollock

Following behind Picasso and other artists during that time which were constructing abstract and fragmented paintings, Jackson Pollock created very motion based paintings where he dripped and splattered paint across a canvas to create his image. He became very involved with his art and his personality truely was shown through the final piece.






Eadweard Muybridge

Probably the most notable photographer from the late 1800's into the 1900's, Eadweard Muybridge changed the way that we view the world around us through photography. He is famous for the images that he took of a horse running in a gallop and putting them together in a loop to create a motion picture. These images were constructed in order to settle a bet between Leland Stanford (former governor of California) and some of his friends. The bet was over the issue of whether all of a horses hooves left the ground at the same time when running. Muybridge sought out to find the truth in this matter through the use of photography. Now obviously he did not have the equipment and technology that we have now days, so that presented an enormous challenge for him. At the time most cameras still used about a 15 second exposure capture and that would not due with what he was trying to accomplish. So through the use of some very expensive equipment and very precise timing he was able to capture different stages of the horses gallop to conclude that indeed all hooves left the ground at the same time at one point during a gallop.






Yanke Motor Museum - Like A Museum

I had the opportunity to go to the Yanke Motor Museum, which if you’re not familiar with is a very large warehouse in Boise, which holds a collection of hundreds of old vehicles. These vehicles range from old original Ford Model T's to bikes and hot rods. The display seems to work well considering that they are displaying large cars and other vehicles. It is set up basically in the same way that an auto showroom would be laid out. Most of the vehicles are lined up next to one another like a parking lot. All of the vehicles in the building are very well kept and maintained so that they look the best they can and reflect a piece of automotive history. This museum is a great look into automotive history and truly shows a snapshot into the lives and culture of the earlier 1900's.








Cabela's - Like A Museum

In Cabela's there are multiple different displays of animals that have been frozen in time through the use of taxidermy. The way they are displayed pays close attention to the natural way that they might have been found in nature. I think that the most successful part of this type of exhibit is that it brings the ideas and images from the wild and plaes it in a setting where it could never happen. It is also likely that most of the viewers of this will never have the chance to see these animals in a close up setting like this. When looking at the central mountain piece as a whole it is quite beautiful and captures the effect of nature. The only thing that I don't quite like is that it seems a little crowded, but I understand that it is not the most realistic scenario so it doesn't really bother me.




Boise Art Museum Lisa Kokin - Lace Cowboy - Like A Museum

In the exhibit How the West was Sewn: Lace Cowboy by Lisa Kokin Displayed at the Boise Art Museum there are images of cowboys sewn in lace with their guns. They are all in different poses and actions that might have taken place in the old west. The images are put together with different fabrics and thread until they resemble a collage of fabrics and textiles in the shape of a cowboy. They are smaller than life like in size probably around 4 feet high and the proportions all seem to be right in the way that someone would naturally move.  They all tell a story and seem to imply motion in the action that they are taking. It seems that there should be more to the story that is told. We as the viewer are only looking at a frozen snapshot of the story and it makes the viewer curious to what led up to this event and what may have happened after. The exhibit was set up in the gallery where all the figures were placed flat on the walls. They all told different stories but they all could belong together too.




Bob Ross

Widely known for his PBS television show "The Joy of Painting" which had a total of 403 episodes, Bob Ross painted countless lanscape pieces throughout his career. The TV show that he hosted was an instructional show in which he guided viewers through the process of painting oil on canvas. From many of the videos that I've seen he made painting look so effortless. He is also very widely known for his quirky personality with his art. Once he said that "We don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents." He seemed to be very intouch with all of his art like it was more than just paint on the canvas. He acted like he was stepping into the world that he was painting. 

Today it is very rare to find his work because he donated most of them to different networks and places and even to students and the ones that are still out there people are not willing to give them up. 

Bob Ross died July 4, 1995






Friday, April 25, 2014

Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial


  1. Describe what you see, including location (context) and physical space.
    1. Outdoors, lots of nature, right by the river, very open space. There is not really a start or ending place, you could start at any point in the exhibit and continue on from there.
  2. Describe the carying degrees of representation.
    1. There are statues, structures that represent houses/ roofs. There is a diagram to show where Anne Frank and her family were hiding. Walls full of quotes. Tablets that have the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
  3. What are the visual elements/ principles that dominate in the memorial?
    1. The main house structure with Anne Frank looking out the window is the dominating piece in the memorial, followed by the quotes and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
  4. Is this memorial "site specific"? Explain.
    1. I think that they chose this location for this memorial because it was a central location in Boise, Easily accessible to the public, by the river and the greenbelt.
  5. Who created, designed and funded this memorial?
    1. Community Volunteers/ Boise Parks and Recreation
  6. What materials/ media were used to create this memorial?
    1. Rocks, Stone, Cement. Metal, Bricks, Natural Elements, Water, Plants, Trees
  7. How does the text/ word elements function?
    1. All the texts are clear and engraved in the stone for everyone to read. There is contrast in the letters to make them stand out.
  8. Reflecting on your answers to the previous questions, what do you think was the intended meaning/ function? Explain what is communicated.
    1. This area was created for the intention of providing a safe have and reflection/ learning area for the public.
  9. In your opinion, how successful is this memorial? Explain.
    1. This area is very successful in its purpose and demonstrates the goals clearly.





Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Muybridge Inspired - Alexander Calder

Alexander Calder's approach to the art world was one that possibly changed the way that we perceive art and also contributed to the way in which we define art. Calder's art broke some of the social norms that were associated with traditional art pieces and made an approach that was centered on fun and humor. He was born in 1898 in Philadelphia was almost immediately thrown into the art world. His father and grandfather were well known sculptors and his mother was a painter. When he was young he was very interested in mechanics and engineering but later on in life he turned more toward the aesthetic sides of things and enrolled in the Art Student’s League in New York. Perhaps one of his most famous work came from his projects called the "Calder Circus" The “Circus” was a miniature reproduction of an actual circus. Made from wire, cork, wood, cloth and other easily found materials; the “Circus” was a working display that Calder would show regularly. Later on he added motors to these pieces and movement became part of the circus.


"In 1976, Alexander Calder died. Throughout his life, his commitment to creating work free from the pretensions of the art world and accessible to all, never stopped him from making exquisitely beautiful and important sculpture. In a century that saw the forms of art and literature reinvented regularly, Alexander Calder stands out as one of the great pioneers of his time."  - PBS