(cell phone photography) my mother during our thanksgiving holiday in pittsburgh

daisy and frederic on our way back

four for you glenn coco

September 19th, 2009

we had a barbeque in prospect park and saw a strange light coming from the sky. the morning after I reported what my friends and I had whitnessed on a message board/forum. Residents of Virginia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York posted illustrations using this drawing application..
The environments were different but the cone of hovering light was the same! Nasa released information about a rocket they launched for an artificial cloud study. I guess that's cooler than spotting a UFO! not.....

Figure study
charcoal on paper, 18" x 24"

I've been preoccupied with my budding new school year.
Taking a drawing workshop with artist, Elena Sisto.
I haven't worked from a model in years and it feels really
meditative to just reduce thought and work with the
figure. I'm enrolled in various humanity courses this term, so
the drawings I do will be my only escapist vice away from all
the literature I am to read each week. I'm really excited because
although I love so many different forms of art, I've always felt more of a
challenge in negotiating pictorial space. Things just kind of appear
or hover above one another and I'd like to establish more technical practice.
It's a weird concept to create works on flat surfaces.. works as a mark-
making mechanism, or a self-observational study?
I'll figure that out at some point but for now, I will enjoy
that erratic, manic feeling before an easel.

fall semester:
Personality Theories -M
Drawing Workshop -Tu
Visuality and Modern Art I -Tu
Civilization and its Discontents -Th
Society and Nature -F

My favorite courses so far (can a majority of them be considered "favorites"?) are Visuality and Modern Art, the aforementioned drawing workshop ..... and Civilization and its Discontents(yes this is a Freud class!). In Visuality and Modern Art, we are studying different ways of seeing and as visual devices gained the public attention, art movements and sub-movements unearthed. Optical instruments play a number of roles in art in the mid 19th century. In our first lesson, Isabel Taube, our professor had us read a publication by neurologist Oliver Sacks(in which he investigates the common and varied experiences of blind people/synesthesia) and she showed us that secret optical illusive painting for devout Napoleon Bonaparte followers. a link here: Napoleon, Josephine and their son.

Anyway, I had Isabel as an instructor for a previous class, Modern Art through Pop, and she's great. The only art history professors I find who have really done their part to help keep me loving what I love are Ann Wooster, Isabel Taube, and Amy Taubin. The class entitled Civilization and its Discontents, is a phenomonal consumption of my time. Led by novelist and journalist, Jim Knipfel; a literature class focused on Freud's writings among others. This last week's session, we were presented the 1972 cult film, Pink Flamingoes by John Waters. It was a controversial comedy(NC-17) to say the least, but truthfully, watching this just felt like someone fed me a plate of my own feces and my dog's and then sprinkled old lady bunyon shavings on the top and then for dessert, a dismembered penis in a pool of phlegm. Twas that gross. Anywaaaaaayy, we are reading good things. And Jim is really hilarious, soft spoken, and is friends with the Church of Satan's preist, Peter Gilmore... better known as Magus Peter H. Gilmore, High Priest of the Church of Satan.

As for outside those class, I have been investigating secret societies, psychology, philosophy, media, buddhism, and architecture. I'll update later on how excited/depressed this all makes me. How priveleged my viewers should be to read thangs they already know about. womp womp.
I have to go read and finish up a birthday gift. Ta taaaa for now!

"Out of the crooked timber of humanity, nothing entirely straight can be built."

-Immanuel Kant

Untitled (I Live in a House)

Feb 2009

Etching prints

Untitled (Smoke)

March 2009

Photo-Etching Print

(actually this is not a photograph, i guess....

but the process was similar to that of a photo-etching print?)

I'm a little bummed that I can't take any printmaking classes next year. I'm expected to graduate in 2011, I think, so I can squeeze some in possibly.. summer term of 2010?

My professor, Elaine Breiger was fantastic guidance throughout the entire semester. I have never produced anything that required such a commitment. Etching was really sophisticated and methodical, which was an EMBARRESSMENT because I'm used to my hand just giving out a little bit into any art production and so everything has a bit of a quirk, here and there.

Happy spring, everyone!!!

this entry is in honor of a friend, annabel. (yes, she's alive)

Photographed here, is an object from an installation I'm currently working on. Materials used are cardboard paper towel rolls, toilet paper rolls, and glue. The tapestry behind it was found. Or.... maybe I was lost and now I'm found. By this beautiful beautiful piece of fabric. (the tapestry is not part of this piece- it's just temporarily being used as a protective ground or base)

The following are some photos of things you are probably thinking about:

(I don't think I need to supply you with details of what this is. It's pretty recognizable.
But to any of you new to this planet, this image is of a chain-linked fence.)

(Honeycomb)

(Beef Tripe- a delicacy)(cow stomach- i think?)

Untitled (Camouflage) 2009

collage on paper bag

The images used are from the Imperial War Museum. I gathered various clippings from 
World War I and US Military magazines. 
My goal in this piece was to display a repetitive nature in costumes.
In this series I will relate people in different institutions to their clothing.
 This piece definitely strives to prevail a sense of place, or more the loyalty to a location by illustrating the importance of the uniform and how it functions to visibly group certain people with a common purpose.

The monument shown here is an icon that served for worship behavior on Remembrance Day. Photography was from the ceremony that was shared on November 11th, 1918, a day to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war.

This is a photograph of me and my brother when we were younger.

Untitled (Reduced to this) 2009

Bristol paper, thread

3"x4"

Untitled(Bells and Bottlecaps) 2008

Found objects, imitation gold leaf. acrylic on canvas.

diameter of canvas- 10", each musical instrument- 2"

Untitled (Shape) 2009

bristol paper and thread. 3"x4"

Untitled (Faces)

pen on leaves, 1"x2". 2008

Beauty Kweens.
March 15th 2009. (My brother's 19th birthday!)
Microsoft Paint series...?
It is 4:32 on a sunday morning and I really just cannot fall asleep and obviously there is a computer at hand, providing me with an abundance of digital stimulation.

these are three portraits I created after hours and hours of talking cat videos:

Ground

Origami paper, teeth

October 2008

Ephemeral

paper collage and acrylic on found book (The Year of the Butterfly)

February 2009