ruralrob posted a chipmunk and here’s my squirrel response. I wanted to post this a while ago (November, 2003) but never did. There are lots of them on campus and they rarely dash away in fear. They just stay far enough away from us humans for their own safety.
Drawing – Hockney speaks again…
Drawing – Hockney takes art back to basics provides an interesting read that should be motivation for some.
Drawing should be regarded as a major art form, artist David Hockney said. Despite long being seen as “almost irrelevant”, drawing is a vital part of every creative process, Hockney adds.
While I teach photography and computer oriented courses, I emphasize all my students keep a sketchbook. Most of them don’t but, those that do understand there is an important relationship between it and the finished work. I do check them during the term to see what they’ve done. Maybe, I should put even more emphasis there. I do say that sketchbooks don’t have to be all drawing but, can have text and collaged things pasted in. It’s about the process, even if the actual drawing is roughly done.
While he finds contemporary use of images “very fascinating”, Hockney maintains drawing can be one of the most direct forms of communication.
“Practically everything comes to life on a drawing board – there is a diagrammatic aspect to it.”
One of the more memorable exhibitions I remember while living in Florida were the Picasso notebooks at the Museum of Art Ft. Lauderdale. With the resultant images incorporated into prints and ceramics, for instance, it was the thinking process of Picasso that was revealed for me. It was the development of a narrative in drawing that provided me with an appreciation of Picasso that I didn’t have before that moment.
I, for one, would like to see more original drawing. I’m sick of seeing the copying of Japanese animation characters. Even if we don’t have an unusual drawing style, whatever comes from within has certainly got to be better than copying those big eyed humanoids.
Critical Art Ensemble (CAE) Defense Fund
Transit of Venus
On June 8, 2004, astronomers in many parts of the world will watch as Venus moves across the disk of the Sun, one of the rarest planetary alignments. Only six Venus transits have occurred since the invention of the telescope in the 1600s.
Exploratorium: Transit of Venus live webcast:
WEBCAST SCHEDULE
1st & 2nd CONTACT PROGRAM
10:00 p.m. PDT June 7 (San Francisco)
1:00 a.m. EDT June 8 (New York)
8:00 a.m. EEST June 8 (Athens)
3rd & 4th CONTACT PROGRAM
4:00 a.m. PDT June 8 (San Francisco)
7:00 a.m. EDT June 8 (New York)
2:00 p.m. EEST June 8 (Athens)
Exhibition Preview
My studio is too small to put this up on my wall, beside it being concrete, so I laid it out on the floor of my lecture room at the Univ. (since it was relatively clean compared to other available floors). This gives a rough idea of how the whole piece will look once installed. The approx. dimensions: 124 x 84 in. (variable)
[images changed 16 June,2004]
Again, I was in the darkroom today this time printing images of myself and family from the 1950s. Too bad the negs got ruined by water damage. The pics were around 1952 before my sister was born. I sure was cute then. *wink* I printed a pic of my aunt pregnant with her youngest daughter. I never saw my mother pregnant. She sent me away to my grandmother in Cincy. I guess I was a trouble maker. Most of all, I said today that I’m thankful for having such a full, rich life. Many of the people in the negs around my age are still living.
Postscript: Before I left the Univ. today I used the pool. I’ve never been a good swimmer even though I know how to swim but, today I wore myself out in about 30 min. I was REALLY trying to focus on coordination of stroking, breathing, and kicking. My lungs had me gasping for breath several times. My breathing was all wrong. I was mostly focused on not kicking in a way that bothered my knee or foot. I’m happy about it all. I should go back. There were some good looking guys arriving just as I was leaving. However, I do remember I work there!
EMERGENCY!!
The following concerns someone I know and feel deeply, and has contributed to my development as an artist, Steve Kurtz.
On the morning of May 30, two members of the Critical Art Ensemble were subpoenaed by the FBI on their way to the “Interventionists” art show in which their work appears. Subpoenas were issued because Critical Art Ensemble members used biological materials as part of the artwork. On its Web site, Critical Art Ensemble describes itself as “a collective of five artists of various specializations dedicated to exploring the intersections between art, technology, radical politics and critical theory.”
“I feel harassed and hassled,” member da Costa added, “but mostly I feel sorry for Steve Kurtz because he lost his wife and his life has been a nightmare ever since and he didn’t even have time to grieve.”
Darkroom again…
More symmetry
For Bill
When I took this I was thinking about bitterlawngnome. I’m trying to fill in some missing photo days and refining my new presentation. I don’t want the images to look liks snapshots as such so, I’ve reduced the borders which I think changes the scale of the images and moves them away from the snapshot look. I also changed the dimensions so that they don’t conform to the 4×6 in. format.
Using 35mm film we’re taught to compose with the viewfinder, yet making a print there is always a section that gets cropped off if we keep true to the 10×8 in. format of photo paper. 2¼ x 2¼ film used in my twin lens camera is the same thing with composition done using the viewfinder and then much of the square film format cropped. The main medium format camera I use is 6×7 cm. which is exactly 8×10 in. I use a ground glass focusing screen and crop only the edges, if needed, with printmaking. That’s the best way. The digital camera creates an image that can be as large as 2560 x 1704 px. or, 640 x 480 px. when reduced. Therefore I wanted to keep to my viewfinder composition and not unnecessarily crop the image. Any thoughts or opinions…?
On a lighter note, there’s a public swimming pool near me and I finally went swimming today. I’m sore! I’m thinking about swimming lessons because ever since I can remember I get cramps in the soles my feet while swimming and I would like to know how to swim so that doesn’t happen. After letting my left foot rest a while I went back to using mostly my arms and letting my legs (and feet) totally relax. It felt much better on my feet and I didn’t feel like I was flailing in the water. While I was resting poolside somebody really was swimming with every stroke a huge splash of water from both hands and feet. The seems such a waste of energy. Some skinny kid of about 12 yrs. was swimming like a pro doing different strokes and going back and forth with ease. I’d like to get closer to that. I need lessons…
Another boat, only bigger.
Today I went to a state park looking for photo opportunities, I found none of the kind I was seeking. I did find the entrance to Port Everglades which opens into Broward Co. (Ft. Lauderdale). It was my first time ever being there. I walked out on the jetty were a few people were fishing. As we were talking two tugboats came out to the ocean to meet a cargo ship of some kind. That ended up being my photo op for today. The weather was hot but, I was looking for mangrove areas to photograph. I saw lots of mangroves but not enough tree cover and not far enough from the roadways. I’ll find something else closeby.