I have a studio space!
I still have a few things to set up and am waiting for a few new tools I ordered to come in, but, there you have it. I have never actually had a jeweler’s bench to work at, but I like it. Quite handy, those little benches.
The first week of classes was a bit hectic. As of today, I am finally registered for everything I am supposed to be taking class wise….including a class on Virginia Woolf in which we read ALL of her books. It will be a great class, but a lot of hard work.
Mostly I am still getting settled in to the new space and studio….and this Wednesday is our crit for the “100 drawings” we worked on over the summer. Then the fun begins!
Today, 3 of the other new grads and I ventured into the city. It was my first time attending MoMA and the Guggenheim. We went to MoMA first (where we got in FREE with our SUNY IDs). I didn’t get to see everything, but I was quite taken with the photography. Many of the galleries (with the larger, color, digital prints in them) were closed for installation. What I did see was some amazing black and white work from Steiglitz, Arbus, Josef Albers, Gertrude Kasebeir…. The prints were gorgeous, smaller photographs that made me think to myself about how beautiful photography really is, as if I had forgotten. There was definitely a certain magic to it; my re-realization about the jaw dropping beauty of a well printed photograph. And I sat there and looked around and thought to myself…why would anyone want to work digitally…. I know why, and I do, but there is a quality inherent in a printed photograph that just doesn’t exist in digital work, at least in many of the things I’ve seen. (I’m also tired of large prints! Yes, I said it, I’m really sick of seeing them.)
One piece that made my day was a recent acquisition of ” Ninety-two photographs in which the photographer’s shadow appears.” They were all unknown photographers; a collection of snapshots.
After some coffee, we hit up the Guggenheim during the $1 admission time to see the Louis Bourgeois retrospective. There was a little bit of a wait, but not too bad.
Despite the fact that the place was PACKED, it was an absolutely amazing show!! I am so excited that I was able to go see the exhibit and see so much of her work (prints, drawings, sculpture, etc) in one place. Today marks the fist time I’ve seen one of her cells in person. The cells are the architecture for her memory. She says, ” I need my memories. They are my documents.”
I hate to cut this short, but I have a 400 page Woolf book to read, among other things.
After I dropped Bill at the airport today, I drove over the Hudson to Beacon, NY. It is only about a 15 or 20 minute drive, so it was too good to pass up.
Dia:Beacon has one of the world’s most distinguished collections of contemporary art and an absolutely huge and naturally lit gallery space. The building alone took my breath away…expansive. Wow. Each artist gets their own room, so you can really sit and study the work. I really enjoyed the Sol LeWitt wall drawings, the Robert Smithson pieces, and Louis Bourgeois works.
In fact, today reawakened a need to know about Bourgeois, because for some unknown reason I don’t know much about her or her work. And, the more information I run across about her, the more I think I really need to spend some time studying her! I think I might be in luck, however, as the Guggenheim is having a retrospective of her work until 9-12. And, rumor has it that our first day of class will be in NYC….and one of the museums on the list to visit is, indeed, the Guggenheim.
My only thing is that I feel like I’m hemorrhaging money these days. Tolls, admission fees, etc…. I bought a chai at the museum…yeah, this is what a $4.05 chai looks like.
I could have also gotten an $8.00 hot dog.
I will say that the student admission fee is quite reasonable. Just get your coffee and eat before you go!
I worked all weekend packing my Relocube, which is currently on its way to NY. Saturday, Robin had a party for me, which was so much fun! I received some fantastic Purdue themed gifts (as jokes) and got to see a lot of people I wanted to make sure and catch before I left. The food was amazing, of course….ribs, chicken, bbq, bread pudding, fruit, cake, hummus….mmmm. Thanks everyone!
I still have a few things to wrap up here in Lafayette before heading out early tomorrow morning. I spent all morning running around to several places trying to get my immunization records and forms signed only to end up having to get a tetanus shot. Ow. But, with a little more packing and a few more errands, I should be good to go.
This Saturday I partook in my 4th foray into wedding photography. I am admittedly not a big wedding person, especially when it is traditional, expensive, or just a bad idea. ( I have serious issues with the horrible traditions, lack of meaning in the photographs–simulacra, and commercialization of the American wedding, for starters) This particular wedding was for the daughter of a woman I worked with at Purdue, whose other daughter was married last summer (for which I was the photographer along with Alice). After attending two weddings thrown by the O’Brien’s, I have to say that they really know how to do it right. This past Saturday her oldest daugher Karen was married at Thelma’s B and B in Crawfordsville. I was so impressed with the facilities at the B and B; it was gorgeous!!
The caterer was also incredible. Not only was the food absolutely scrumptious but it was organic and local. If you ever need a caterer, call the Juniper Spoon. You will not be disappointed! Just look at this:
These were heirloom tomatoes. So amazing.
Cupcakes with lemon frosting, topped with fresh flowers.
The entire wedding was really fun and touching. I was really excited to be there and with the fact that I thought the images I shot turned out really well. I feel like this is the best I’ve ever done photographing a wedding. Here are a couple of shots:
On a side note, my Relocube will be here this Friday! Then pack, pack, pack, and leave for NY Early Tuesday morning. We are going to spend the night at the Terra Nova House in Grove City, PA on our way out. Making it into a two day trip is just more sane, and this b and b should provide a nice relaxing break from driving.
but instead it is after 1 am and I’m swooning over the most recent American Craft Magazine. I am admittedly only about half way through my reading, but I’ve been totally engrossed in it this time around. A few artists caught my eye and I decided to look them up…and now it is after 1 am.
My first happy find was the website and blog of Hilary Pfeifer. She is currently working on a number of pieces for a show at Ogle Gallery in Portland. I highly recommend checking out her blog, her treasure trove of found images, and her work.
The next find was an artist named Lindsey Adelman who has a studio in NYC. I was reading along and learning all about her work on her Bubble Series chandeliers when I saw, ” But over teh last two years, her work has taken an interesting double detour, shifting between her successful Bubble series chandelier and her pain stakingly assembled art made from human hair.” What? Human hair? Great!
Lindsey’s blog is also very engaging, but, I am specifically interested in the hair drawings. These beauties apparently came about during her work on another project when she kept finding hair stuck on her tape (this happens to me all of the time!) These are the two materials she uses to create her hair drawings, almost like stickers if I understand it correctly. The pieces themselves resemble wallpaper patterns…I’d really like to see them in person.
In the meantime, watch this choreographed video that details the making of the hair drawings:
