The Chaotic World!

I've spent the week mostly in the studio working on this huge drawing here. It has been extremely freeing! Here are a few photos of what i've been working on, and my artist statement to help you understand where I am coming from. Would love to know your thoughts!


Humanity is fleeting. We spend our lives trying to defy gravity, overcome physicality, and gain recognition so that we can understand wisdom, power, and omniscience. To be fully known is our innate human ambition. We yearn for peace, hope, and all things good, which we don’t naturally possess. We want to be a part of something larger than ourselves; to make our mark on the existential canvas that is life.
The world that we exist in is chaotic. Humanity, by nature, strives for hypercivilization wherein lies the chaos of noise, media, and power. However, we are given the opportunity to nurture cosmos within the chaos; cosmos being one’s harmony with the world where we will attain the promise of the good.
For the past few years, I’ve had an infatuation with birds; the way they sit on a wire, their grace in flight, their seeming constancy and ease of enjoying life. This common, everyday spectacle has broken into my psyche and brought with it a new level of consciousness surrounding the natural world, human nature, and spirituality.
I use imagery such as feathers, nests, and birds to try to add this consciousness to my artwork. This imagery was the catalyst that opened up my eyes to some of the larger truths and beauties of the universe; my cosmos. In my work, I hope to convey a sense of atmospheric cosmos within chaos that will encourage the viewer to search for their own.
I concentrate on the eternal and the cosmic; revealing that there is neither fate nor chance in the beautiful mess that is our existence.

2nd summer in Venice!

Buongiorno! It is a lovely restful Sunday here in Venice and it has FINALLY cooled off some. This weekend was one of the few relaxing ones before it gets really busy. My friends and I went shopping today for a while, enjoying the summer “saldi” (sales) that are going on around town. Yesterday, we went biking around San Erasmo Island. This is one of my favorite things to do here! This little island is inhabited by farmers and rural folk mainly, and is mostly un-commercialized. It is a very nice respite from the streets of Venice. So, we went to the island yesterday and rented bikes to ride around for a few hours. (Mom, Monica, and James, it reminds me of the bike ride at that little island vacation we took that one time….) So relaxing! Last night was the big Redentore festival where Venetians celebrate the end of the plague back in the 1400’s ish. The Redentore is a church across the canal. To celebrate, the people build a mobile bridge across the canal for people to get across to go to the church. Supposedly, the people in this church back in the day prayed for the plague to end and God answered their prayers (I forget the specifics), so they have celebrated this ever since! It’s pretty much their 4th of July, with fireworks and all. Very fun!

This past week, we went to a lot of different exhibits around town and had artists come into the studio to share their work with us. It was quite exhausting and overwhelming because we were on the go so much of the time in 90* heat (which translates to feels like 125* at times in humidity with NO AIR CONDITIONING!!!!!!. Sometimes I wonder if Italy is still partially in the 3rd world. Which is crazy to think that they used to be the height of culture. And even crazier to think how comfortably American I am ☺
But, it has been nice to experience so much different artwork and get inspired by others’ passions and media.
We also had a party at the studio this week that was part of one of the girls’ project for the summer. She asked us to wear masks and be in a video (we don’t know why yet…), then we all brought pot luck food and hung out for a while.

The group this year is very fun! We have 22 as opposed to last year's 14, and no crazy people (well, yet....) For this summer's work, I have decided to do an installation sculpture instead of 2D work. I'm excited about my idea and what it will express (more later). I have gone to the Lido, the Venice Beach, 3 times to gather sticks!! Ha. It has been quite the adventure! You should see the looks I get from the Venetians... "crazy American!". I'm building a nest... here is one picture, but there are more that one of my friends took of me working on my facebook page. I'll do a post soon explaining it, but I need to let it develop more before I do that :)

Last weekend we went to a Palladian villa called Villa Pisani. It was so beautiful! It was a huge mansion with a long lake in front of it, frescoes and sculptures everywhere, marble covering everything! There was also a labyrinth! Very fun, but we definitely got lost :) Napoleon came in and took it over from the Italian owners during the war, but its still in tact because he thought it was so beautiful.
Oh, and how could I forget? Friday night we got to go to this huge MTV party at the Guggenheim museum here in Venice. It was a ton of fun! They had a
live DJ and dancing. Not usually my bag, but the museum set the stage! My camera died, so i dont have many pics, but some will pop up on fb.
Enjoy the pics! I'd love to hear from you, keep me updated!
Love.
http://venezia.2night.it/articoli/dancing/155888/mtv-brand-new-art-alla-guggenheim.html

The Venetian Charmed Life

Venice has a definite charm. All of the buildings have such amazing character birthed from their age and intrinisic texture. There is a church in every campo (every few blocks) with bells that ring on the hour. This can be quite annoying when straining to understand a difficult Italian dialect or a soft-spoken word, but when it's convenient for me (ha) it is quite beautiful.

The pigeons are a beautiful pest. Venetians hate them while tourists have a love/hate relationship. In foreigners eyes, we view them at first with an awe of newness due to their friendly nature and beckoning approach. But when the approach turns to relentlessness, the relationship turns to hate. I still think they are beautiful birds, their necks have this crazy gorgeous iridescent turquoise. But I will swat it if it comes too close....

I now put peppers and artichokes on everything. Sandwiches, salads. I love them. I like to think that this overuse will continue at home. Along with prosecco and peach tea. Yum.

I don't have gelatto every day. I find it most enjoyable when I'm having a bad day. The act of enjoying this Italian treat tends to make me slow down and enjoy being here again.

On Sundays, with the quiet streets and slowed-down pace of life, I really enjoy Venice. I don't have anywhere to be, not much is open, and I have a minute to reflect on all of the blessings of living here. Like the church bells, gelatto, pigeons, and a slow pace. I am living the Venetian charmed life...

A few of my favorite exhibits.....

Koehn Vanmeckelen

Icelandic Exhibition

Mona Hatoum

Tzuruko Yamazaki

Miguel Barcelo, Spain


Tomas Scarapeno

A tunnel of film tape.


Italian Photographer at the Arsenale

Robert Rauschenburg at the Guggenheim

Venetian Views

Contemporary crap?

Contemporary art wears me out. This year is the Venice Biennale, the largest contemporary art show in the world. It was created to showcase avant garde artwork from around the world and to give those artists a chance to exhibit outside of the common conventional studios. It is, obviously, a huge deal in the art world. http://www.labiennale.org/it/Home.html
This week, we have had the privilege to explore it with our Art Theory & Criticism professor who is very well versed in contemporary art. With two huge exhibits which have each taken 8 hours to walk through and discuss, I am exhausted. My head hurts. Not from image or sensory overload. But from thinking too much, and taking my brain to places it has never been, and can't get to most of the time. Ha.
I enjoy seeing artwork that is original and new and fresh. However, a silver plastic lobster on a cardboard box on top of a painted pink box just doesnt express creativity and aesthetics in my opinion. For the most part, these exhibits were contrived and pushed too hard to be "out of the box". When studying each one, I got so tired from trying to figure out the intent of the artist that I didnt enjoy the piece. It's a different story if the piece is aesthetically pleasing and I dig deeper to figure out the meaning in the artmaking. But if it is a pile of junk that I have to dig through, then I think that it is a waste of time. Exhibit A, the top left picture. This exhibit was supposed to be a wooden kitchen. The only thing besides raw wood and cabinets was the "oracle cat" on top of the cabinets (and yes, it talked out loud). Even after the exhibit was explained to me, I still don't understand the point. Waste of natural resources.
Today, we went to the Arsenale which is a different part of the Biennale. I actually really enjoyed most of the installations and exhibits there. The concept didnt override the aesthetics. They worked together cohesively. We all are entitled to our own opinions. But, if the point of the artwork is so self-involved that it doesn't let anyone else in, then I think that is a problem that doesn't merit my attention. One i did enjoy is posted on the top right. It was a mixed media piece using many small stickers/images together to make the image. Creative, original, yet interesting. I'd love to hear your thoughts...

Eccentricities

Just to name a few. There have been quite a few Italian ways that have made me laugh. Almost out loud inappropriately at times. Such as the old lady who came out of the bathroom stall today with warning gestures and proceeded to take her dentures out for a rinse, all with her dress stuck in her undies. Try not to laugh.
Then there are the bidets. Posted above. Interesting. ha.
We went to the Lido Saturday for a day at the beach. Europeans are a very free lot. It was a hot day with very few layers, to say the least. Illustrated above. ha.
It's been interesting to learn all of the cultural ways, I'm sure there are plenty more to come. And I know they see me as some silly American with my clothes/shoes/hats. Oh well. I'll try to stay out of their way. ;)