Kristin Lawhon Kyzer’s ISPO
March 1st goals
· 10-12 completed works show ready
· new and improved artist statement
· finished thesis paper
I am not certain as to how many pieces I have right now for the show because I am not sure if they gel together. I am also working out the new pieces (multi media collages) and don’t seem to be getting anywhere…worst possible time for that to happen.
Between now and March 1st my daughter turns 4 and that means birthday party…LOL(nervously), because there is so much time. During all of this time my husband, Neil, is on a supervisor rotation and will be working out of town in Macon…yay! So I am feeling a little stressed right now mostly due to the fact that everything I have tried to do in my studio has seemed to be nothing short of futile. Deep breath….ahhhhh., so, lots of work to make.
Thesis is going well but not finished because I am writing much more than I anticipated. I just started writing and can’t quit. I am getting closer to the end though. The one real drawback is that you cannot write Chapter 3 until you can discuss your work in your final show soooo again, I must get BUSY.
In a timeline of things this means that if I am staring with 0 pieces for the show then I need to produce two pieces a week from now until March 1st. Doable if they will start cooperating. I will also be taking some work home this weekend.
I also need to have a couple of critiques to get some feedback about the works that I am making to see if they will show with the ones I was making (all Plexiglas vs. paper with reflective and transparent materials collaged). I will be doing this next week provided the professors can meet with me.
After March 1st I anticipate creating some artworks that are very different from what I am doing now…not sure what but different. Maybe some I will try different types of printmaking even…or some encaustic.
Things for certain that I will get done are listed below:
· Different artworks
· Job book complete with images
· Website
· Job application submitted to at least one college
· Apply for shows
· Have business cards made
· Travel to New York to see some art
Here are some questions that I have been asking myself to see if I know the answer too:
· Why do the all Plexiglas pieces work with the collaged pieces? Aren’t they two different styles?
Response: They are a natural progression from the Plexi to the mixed collages and I like respond aesthetically to the shiny pieces when they interrupt the paper. The Plexi was also eliminated once I realized that the artworks are about self-image. The need for total reflection of the viewer was no longer needed. If they are about self-image, then self has to be a component. However, I did not want to totally abandon the reflective pieces. I like the way they interact within the compositions and with the printmaking.
· Why do you only use selective coloring on the pieces?
Response: I think that different people respond individually to different colors. We all have certain affinities for certain colors so I created artwork and used colors that had meaning to me. Frida Kahlo is an artist that I have seen talk about color in this same way. They way they represent different things to her so I followed her lead in choosing colors that were inspired by things in the artwork or colors that I felt compelled to use.
I am pasting in pieces of my thesis from Chapter 1 as well as the Abstract. There is one portion in here for certain that I know I need to correct but you can get the idea.
Update-February 7th
Last week was rough.
Five weeks before the show goes up and half of my work is controversially not fitting into the cohesiveness of the show so half is out and I have an order for 48 new pieces by March 1st...not really the 1st. Actually before the first because it goes up on the 1st. So am I supposed to live in the studio? No, you figure out how to get it done, suck it up and crank it out. You own your work because no one knows what you are doing better than you do and you stand by it. That is what I am telling myself this week. After last week's melt down and reconfiguration I am now realizing that I have lost my confidence in talking about my work. How did that happen? Well, now that I realize it I am taking measures to correct it and take back the ownership of my work.
My artwork is about the evolution and the unexpected and often shocking realization of self-image. It is about what the people around us tell us about ourselves and how they teach us life lessons. The images in the artwork are part of my own lexicon of iconography. I have chosen images that I believe can be appreciated on a universal level as I believe that everyone has some knowledge or experience with them. The work then becomes personal to each viewer as they have a visual interaction with each image and the symbolic nature that it holds for them. They internalize the images and relate it to their own image of self. After all, every experience we have effects how we see ourselves.
ABSTRACT
The last word as defined by the dictionary means the final point; the final decision (in some matter) and the final say in an argument or disagreement. I ventured to expand the meaning of this well-known idiom into more than it is. I have expressed, through The Last Word, a reflection inward and more of a self-discourse. My thesis work explores and reflects my own awareness of self-perception and the cultivation of my own psyche through reflections on relationships with others while hoping to draw in my viewers with an image, a piece of text or a swipe of paint. I titled it The Last Word because everyone has the ultimate choice to have their own last word when making judgments about themselves. It is in my artwork that I struggle to embrace truths and disregard mendacities brought on by the often-perplexing self.
Oh, please excuse the citing, I haven't done those yet.
ReplyDeleteOh, I know you will get to those. This is just what I wanted. I hope that everyone reads this at least once to get a sense of what a thesis is like.
DeleteOK, feeling better. I was afraid that my work was going to have a disconnect between some of the pieces because of the materials. I have had a couple of critiques now though that give me some confidence that they do, in fact, connect. I am having another critique today for more feed back, but I feel more confident in what I have. I will finish my thesis this week to turn in for a look so that hopefully it can go out to committee VERY SOON!
ReplyDeleteI think that they do as well, just from looking at the pieces all together from Alicia's studio. Don't be afraid of the changes... it is often the case that it seems more drastic to the artist than it does to the viewer.
DeleteWell, you have had an eventful week or so with the critiques. I look forward to discussing this this week. It would ge a good idea if you could briefly sum up what has been said in some of the critiques.
ReplyDelete- Possible disconnect between the pieces as a unified whole, potentially due to spacing inconsistencies between pieces, value difference, areas of strong, dark value overpowering the rest
ReplyDelete- Possible discrepancy in use of found imagery
- Try different configurations of pieces, to sort of plan for logistical issues on installment
- I understand that the work is about your views on your personal events/self-reflection, but how am I, the viewer, supposed to react to that in a manner that supports your verbal defense? (Ex: without you standing there and telling me what it means, how am I supposed to see/understand your purpose in this work?)
- Since the work doesn't have a definitive starting/entry point, is there issue with the viewer being immediately drawn to the dark values, and not flowing throughout the composition?
- What I saw reminds me of an image-based word cloud
- Why did you reuse imagery?
- What do you feel the flatness of screenprinted imagery gave you over the use of a different type of printing/application method?
- You said that you didn't want the viewer to feel like it was unapproachable, yet don't you think that by applying a shiny surface, like plexi or real glass, to the front and then throwing a spotlight on it will still have the same result. I know I would not want to get too close under those circumstances.
Studio visit
ReplyDeleteKristin
15 Feb.
I fine these visits very hard to write about, not because
I do have some things to say but that I can only give my thoughts and I question those thoughts as valid, oh well here it goes.
There were 30 or 40 pieces of work up, more than I have ever seen at one time.
Kristine‘s materials are unique to me, clear Mylar, 2 or 3 layers, painted acrylic (I think) and silkscreened.
Some of the works contain copy, incomplete sentences or captions, leaving you wanting to know more.
It was explained that all the images comprised one piece of art and the content dealt with self image.
I asked about the new heavy black images scattered in the mix, they looked like periods in a sentence to me, stopping points.
We all thought that the arraignment of the individual images to create flow would be important to the overall viewing if there was no important chronological meaning in the way she had put up the group.
I noted that there are several repeated images in many of the works, such as eyes and wondered if this was an icon for paranoia. I also asked if the windmills were reference to a farm, farms can be lonely isolated places and if that was important to the overall work.
Is the work autobiographical?
I kept looking for patterns and connections but could not find something I could grab onto. The new heavy black images stood out as it weaved through the grayness of the entire work. I kept looking for color but perhaps the lack of color is intended to describe the missing self worth, a gray world, fog, emptiness with moments of black.
I wanted to know more.
Drew
Update on my ISPO and Thesis:
ReplyDeleteSo, words to the wise...As soon as you get your thesis back with format changes, do them and resubmit so that you have as much possible time to address ANY possible problems that WILL arise. I had many trouble uploading my file to ETD because it was too large. I had to take it to IT who thesis-sat it overnight and fixed the virus that managed to weasel it's way into my file. Also, compress your images as you work and if you don't know how to convert files to a pdf, you need to learn. It isn't hard, just a heads up. Also, when you are working on your thesis, download the format before hand and work in that format. It will save you headaches in the end. FYI, there are websites that will format all of your references for your citations for free and you can create your reference sheet and then copy and past. The one I use (mybib.com) or something similar, allowed me to create an account and I could save all of my books and journals etc. and then at the end I simply copied and pasted.
So, back to ISPO:
-I have a direction for some new artwork. I am going to experiment with some screen printing on Mylar and using mirror paint on the back of it to reflect viewers. This will allow me to cut up the Mylar and mount it on large pins to stick into a base at different levels to make the image undulate off the support. Also mixing some screen printing and encaustic.
-I have purchased a domain and am working with my website.
-I have applied for two jobs
-I have applied for shows and will continue to apply.
-I have traveled to New York and been inspired
-No business cards but I do have two classes lined up for the summer and a job for the fall that will allow me time to work in my studio. Yay for studio time!
And in the middle of all of this I have written an 80 page paper, created 80+ pieces of work and successfully defended it as well as taught 3 classes, been a mom and wife and I am TIRED and excited to be graduating!