Short Term Objectives: 1)Create new pieces based on sketches and notes incorporating printmaking, quilt making and 3d elements. 2) Prepare canvas and quilt surfaces and go through quilt collection (oh yeah, I'm going to be incorporating actual antique quilts into the painting/printmaking substrate) *This didn't happen and it may be a good thing for the moment although since incorporating pattern and the wall paper and such into my work the quilt patterning may be a logical next step. Fill 3 jars with cotton. * I filled one and whereas the cotton was definitely a catalyst for the new work as far as drawing and such, the sculptural of the jar was not satisfying- but again, it may prove useful later on. 3) Complete at least 3 works (paint and assemblage) by midterm, worthy of being shown in Valdosta. * well, as far asproduction is concerned between printmaking and paper I did do quite alot of work though its hard to be in process while trying to make work for a show you already have work for- too much variety and you risk looking uncommited but too little and the show is sparse and a waste of time. Further, concentrate more fully on giving each work a certain level of professional 'finish' such that I can take advantage of exhibition opportunities as they present themselves.
Long Term Objectives: 1) Concentrate this semester on the artists statement of this work such that I have a clear understanding of my own art and how best to convey my ideas.* Super mega accomplishment here! I won $350 bucks for the poster which basically fulfills this little qualification. 2) Schedule another show for 2013 (perhaps Atlanta or Augusta?) 3) Explore the connection between this new work and puppet and plan integrations of the two for Fall 2012.
Quantitative goals: Prepare substrates and source 3d materials needed to complete 3 works- refer to sketches (note to self: dont get too OCD about planning- remember Polyanna- allow for accidents)*These were the assemblage pieces so I accomplished this and it taught me something- assemblage can be kitschy in a bad way. Research Rauschenberg 'Combines' as well as R. Bailey- find others as well. (visit with Marcus Kenney?) Then complete the three works.
Qualitative Goals : Build an aesthetic presence that is focused conveys a clear point of view which embraces new ideas in painting and art but also embraces past work and research on art brut and the neo primitive.
Research: Rauschenberg research, Radcliffe Bailley, and other assemblage artists *add to this Ross Bleckner which was a real 'aha' moment as far as incorporating the imagery and the painting into a unified whole without looking gimmicky . Julie McGuire?
Support: Local bartenders.* I also have to admit that although I loved all the printmaking (wel, not Litho, I dont like litho) the cutting out of the paper to give the work a personality or to involve space and time into the work was probably the big breakthrough of the semester- the cutting is at once baroque and old fashioned underscoring the image as object- iwill be careful not to let it overwhwhelm the rest of the work in the next few pieces.
Eureka! I think I may have found a very satisfying theme that unifies alot of my work- identity. Awesome. I wrote Julie McGuire an email asking for some articles and artists to look into since i want to be current on the thought of this subject which i know has been damn near a fetish for post modernists for a while. Some pieces may be self reflective but not in an overt manner. Also, in a conversation with M. Mitchell we were debating an issue of printmaking- I said that I wanted to make collagraph plates and perhaps woodcuts as well which will be printed and then the plates will be incorporated into the assemblages. He said that would defy the rules of printmaking in that the plate is supposed to be destroyed following the editions. I argued that if the plate was painted on a little or cut it would be essentially 'destroyed'. He was still dubious but conceded the possibility. But then something occurred to me- if the plate is the matrix by which the print is created, and if we accept that the print is basically a 'copy' then isnt this similar to the relationship of parents to children? So why cant I use this relationship to discuss a similar relationship within the painting? I am dizzy with excitement- or it may be my hangover- whatever, Im happy!
ReplyDeleteBrill day in printmaking- trashed the first collograph (didnt work) made a new one with the new sensibility and though i havent printed them i believe they will work out. Im making the collographs with an eye to using the plates in assemblages. Im really enjoyng the use of the found materials and have begun even using paintings from last semester within the new pieces. Awesome.
ReplyDeleteWhat about what is happening in your studio .....
DeleteFocus group today w/ Max (AKA DJ Autobahn) and Sprankel (AKA MC Cuddlebunny) and Elsie (AKA MixMaster Proto-PostMadonna ) and we collectively agreed that I am, at the moment, in a word, fucked. I have painted, or not painted, myself into a corner and now i am creatively constipated. So I am returning to the certainty of drawing to get things moving. Both Autobahn and Cuddlebunny and MMPPM all liked the ideas referencing quilting and weaving and incorporating some of last semesters sensibilities of painting into the new works. Maybe even literally. So I went and got some cotton (thanks for the help with the shank Cuddles!) and a few things from lowes and will work to make somethings happen tonite. Huzzah.
ReplyDelete- Scott has backed himself into a corner, but can find his way out with some mindless creating and calm drawing
ReplyDelete- The over-thinking of the mixed media pieces he has brought him to a stalemate
- The focus on identity can serve as a basis for how he will get out of this situation, potentially by means of the quilting idea
- By just mindlessly drawing, the sense of completion and quantitative value of production will be met, and will thus reduce some of the stress
- Try looking for new artists to inspire you
- Perhaps a new MC name for your studiomate might help you out of the funk...haha
- You've collected the cotton which will hopefully spark the southern (pre-colonial) imagery that you have kind of gotten lost in
- Create your way through this
Per request for change in MC name, MC Cuddlebunny will now be known by an image, rather than a bourgeois name, simply as MC (the image of a rabid terrier smiling maniacally with enormous testicles teabagging Chairman Mao) formerly known as MC Cuddlebunny, and known to his close associates as MC T-4-2. That is all, carry on.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info Scott, I am looking them you
ReplyDeleteDrew
Interesting focus group today- aside from a couple of brief comments from MC T42 and Alicia, and a disappointing, but informative, bit of knowledge about my futile attempt to pursue flocking, from Drew, I was left to the tender mercies of Elsie Hill, Derek Larson, and that guy who models ironic dark blue jeans for Old Navy called Eminem (not cuz he raps but cuz his initials are actually M and M- I mean, he could rap, I'm not sure, I like to be an optimist- I'm a people person) anyway, the consensus was...well I don't think there was a consensus. M and M said the work was 'flat', Elsie seemed to appreciate the combination of imagery referencing decorative arts and southern iconography and Derek's hair looked great. Oh, and he liked my Papaw's old tobacco knife, which is understandable since old knives shaped like an 'S' are clearly awesome due to the fact that they resemble Klingon weapons. So I think the lesson was to choose a more definitive angle for the work, be it decorative arts, folk versus fine imagery or kitsch, all of which I pretty much feel I address, but hey, what do I know, right? So I painted the rest of the afternoon, or at least until 2:30, and feel I made some progress with the works moving them into baroque territory. Kinda naughty.
ReplyDeleteDeepen the southern iconography. Baroque is fine, drawing is fine but I wanna see more things that represent the southern or southern decorative. If your gonna do it... DO IT INTENSELY.
DeleteOK, so we have seen the flat comment typed in already...What is the rationale for your decisions? Do you always need a rational reason?
ReplyDeleteOverall, you need to add a little Kahlua to your chocolate chip cookies.
I also agree that it may help to add to your lexicon of imagery to help push your content.
Can't wait to see more work.
I also agree with Krysten, I think you should have a larger pool of images. I think that will make the images you do have look less random. I also want to mention that I really liked your cotton painting. I saw it as a nice transitional painting from the game theme work you were working on before into this southern iconography you are going into. I dont know, I guess I got the "game" feel because of that 2 you placed at the lower right corner. It reminded me of a playing card. I can't wait to see all the layers in the new pieces you are working on. That's what I enjoy most about your work, all those layers :) I would also like to add that you also write like you speak! I don't feel so bad now ;) hahaha!
ReplyDeleteIf there were more 'kahlua' in the cookies they would turn into a shot! The lexicon of imagery thing is difficult for 2 reasons- 1) I like to explore an image over a long period of time- I once drew a pomegranate for a whole semester-this helps to 'figure' out the content, symbolism, issues, etcetera. So its not that there aren't other issues, symbols and things to draw, it's just that I like to explore a single form in a couple of works before selecting another. Reason 2 is that these drawings have occurred over less than 2 weeks of work and the other 5 works I have made were in the hallway, so give a guy a break already, I'll get to 'em. The game has not been abandoned, just reassigned- the 'umbrella' issue if you will is Southern identity through the imagery of common iconography and the methods by which that iconography is explored; including the decorative arts, or rather, the decorative is just another icon that is being made to act as conceptual substrate and media, simultaneously. Decoration and ornamentation is therefore both subject and media. This sort of imagery easily embraces kitsch, but is elevated in the art making into 'high' kitsch in that the lack of meaning (a hallmark of kitsch) is replaced with new, contemporary, self reflective meaning- it is self aware kitsch. The game is the interplay between the opposing forces of beauty and the grotesque, history and modernity, realism and artifice.
ReplyDeleteI think that the your work has developed nicely since the first focus group. I enjoy you drawings as well as the treatment of surface. You are placing random elements into your work (numbers and letters)... they work for me as far as composition, but maybe you can attach some meaning/ other purpose to them.
ReplyDeleteartists im looking at: Asad Faulwell (algerian, women portraits) - Walton Ford (pseudo audobon style animal watercolors), Mary O'Malley -(irish, neo baroque naturalism)
ReplyDeleteStudio visit
ReplyDeleteScott Foxx
29 Feb.
Lots of new work to look at!
I like Scott’s work, perhaps it is that process is new to me, so 180 degrees from where I approach my work and he executes them with an ease of purpose that shows a confidence in his narrative, you just know he has thought things through before he event touches a paint brush.
I like the stories he tells, to me it is like reading Mark Twain in a way, I like the fantasy trips he takes us on, well designed, marks that move you around the surface, shapes balance. Hell I like the paper, like old southern wall paper curling up off the walls of an old house like a story, a history. I like the metaphors of church and King Cotton, the plaster applies to the paper, over and over but not to opaque that you can’t see what is below.
Flocking would be great hope he finds it.
A group of these bound in a portfolio would be great.
Drew
Miscellaneous notes I found (Also known as Shit I was Looking at When I wasn't Here) -- about the work of Beatriz milhazes : The work of Beatriz Milhazes occupies a unique position between Latin American and Western traditions. It is thus not surprising that she showed an early interest in the work of Brazilian writer and poet, Oswald de Andrade (1890–1954) and that of his wellknown companion, the painter Tarsila do Amaral (1886–1973). Andrade’s Manifesto Antropofago (1928) called upon Brazilian artists to develop their own unique culture by “devouring” European styles and melding them with elements derived from local culture. Tarsila do Amaral’s painting expressed this philosophy, combining the bright colors and tropical imagery of Brazil with the surrealism she discovered in Europe. Inspired by her predecessors, Beatriz Milhazes embraces a dizzying kaleidoscope of influences, following an approach that she describes as “culture eating culture.” Her canvases have an undeniably Brazilian flavor, filled with an abundance of brightly colored, highly decorative motifs. Much of the artist’s inspiration comes from the high and low art present in her native country, including sources as varied as ceramics, lacework, jewelry design, carnival decoration, and Colonial baroque architecture.
ReplyDelete- New work!
ReplyDelete- I know that you have explained your process (of having only loose ideas in the beginning), but I still am not sure what to say about your decision-making process since all decisions seem to be reactive and not preemptive.
- No matter what you say, I still don't see kitsch
- Baroque- yes
- Folk Art- definitely
- Unfortunately, for me, I see what you have going on, but am somewhat uncertain as to how to discuss what is actually happening within each piece
- The cotton pieces are nice, but outside of the quasi-decorative art aspect, I find that I cannot discern your visual intent
- The antlers are evolving into more baroque (which should make Marc happy) pieces, with a definite Mannerist narrative (LONG NECKED BIRDS AND GARGANTUAN BABIES!!!!)
How can a decision be 'preemptive'? That would require either mind-reading or augury or a detailed plan and detailed plans are anathema to my process (they make the work stale and lifeless)-and I am a poor augurist. Dont see kitsch? Good, because it is intended to transform kitsch. As to discussing each piece I must point out that this is neither illustration, nor graphic design and as such I have no allegiance to any message, clear or not, and ultimately it is about painting and as such cannot be translated so easily into verbiage. My work is more akin to poetry, or to jazz, where syncopation and improvisation are the only rules and ultimately the only message. If it is mannerist, which I suppose one could say is within the work, it is bella maniera, and I embrace the aloof quality, though I would argue the self awareness of the kitsch within the symbolism as well as the crude mark making would destabilize such an atmosphere.
ReplyDelete