Networking

A little bit of drawing done this week, but as always mostly more researching, more looking and thinking that always seems to dominate my life.

Above are some samples of the sketching I did this week. They are all very rough and unfinished, but they got some ideas on the table that I'm really hoping to stamp out this weekend during some serious studio time.

I did attend a lecture Tuesday evening in the Dana building on campus, given by landscape architect and artist Martha Schwartz on the subject of sustainability and landscape architecture. Her projects were as innovative and inspiring as they were thought-provoking. What was most interesting to me though, was that she had been an artist before she became a landscape architect, (she even showed some of her art works and installations), a path I myself am considering. After the lecture I was able ask her several questions, mostly regarding her experience as an artist in the field of landscape architecture. She repeatedly emphasized to me that as an artist I will inherently consider the cultural, aesthetic, and social effects of my work over those who are trained in the sciences or any other field. (for this reason she insisted that I need to go to Harvard's MLA program...but she teaches there so I think there's some bias...). No matter, the encounter got me thinking about how my place in the world as an artist is a little different than other people's and how I can and should use that perspective to my advantage.

Furthermore, after some several productive discussions with professors and students this week, I've really begun to think about networks and ecology, the interconnectedness of everything and how this concept of interconnectedness is evident in nearly all of my interests. Seriously look at this: tree branches and roots, food systems, maps, train systems, cells (they form the most exquisite patterns!), material life cycles...the list goes on. I think this is what inspired my train ticket map of Europe on my studio walls (see picture below). So now I'm thinking of this concept, and issues of spread, woven qualities of life, both physical and conceptual, the idea of above ground systems and below ground systems and how they can influence and feed each other, how there are hidden connections below the surface level of systems, or simply in places we cannot see for whatever reason (think rhizomes...how what appears to be several different plants can actually be the same exact plant, genetics and all)... Now the only question is where to run with this new found revelation...oh how I am ready to explore!

Anyways, an estimate of this week's totals is:

2 hours of drawing/sketching,
2-3 hours mapping out my thoughts, writing down ideas,
2 hours attending a lecture on sustainability and landscape architecture,
1 hour reading an all-food issue of The Nation (Thanks Janie!)
1 1/2 creating a map of europe on my studio wall out of all my study abroad train tickets
and quite a fair amount of time setting up my studio and organizing my thoughts and inspiration on my freshly painted yellow walls.

Look at that proportion of thinking/researching to doing. Not pleased. (One a side note: Damn you Stats 250 for pervading my every thought.)

So a lot to think about, but not as much accomplished as I would have liked. C'est la vie, I suppose. Just need to work harder this coming week. This weekend especially. Janie suggested that I read some and then draw what I'm feeling or thinking immediately after that reading. My goal this weekend is to do that at least 5 times, in addition to experimenting with lemon juice as a drawing material (I learned this week that it can be used on paper and heated to appear brown, but it also works as a bleaching agent..this duality intrigues me. Must explore further...)

Last thoughts:

Creator of the Week
Two for One Special!

1. El Anatsui

This stunning piece by Ghanaian artist El Anatsui makes me believe in love at first site. My first encounter with Anatsui's work was in the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and I was in awe from the moment I caught first gleam. It is an exquisite tapestry of old, discarded aluminum wrappers, bottle tops, scrap metal - things that had originally been tossed aside with no consideration, transformed into this intricate work of woven royalty. Each fragment of trash was pieced together by hand with thin wire, so that it is difficult to imagine just how long the entire process took, considering the large scale of the piece. There are so many aspects of this piece that I hope to exhibit in my own work, the hand-made process, the recycled material, the woven qualities - both physical and conceptual, the intricate detail, the underlying cultural and environmental undertones, not to mention the raw aesthetic power.

2. Marvin Bileck



Thank you, Janie, for introducing me to this wonderful artist's collection of tree drawings and etchings. His exploration of the nature of Cranberry island speaks to the spirit of the place and to the trees that inhabit it. Just exquisite.