Adam Nieman: Artistic Impact

Artist Adam Nieman was featured in Nature Climate Change recently regarding his work in displaying Carbon Emissions in an understandable fashion. Global change data, like your carbon footprint, is often presented in a manner unintelligible to the average person. Therefore Nieman has set out to make something that gets the message across. HEY! Stop the way you do things for a minute and just think.

A few articles discussing Nieman's work:
Seeing Carbon Emissions by Nic Fleming
Global Water and Air Volume by Adam Nieman
New Ways to Gauge the Finite Atmosphere by Andrew C. Revkin 

The Material Limitations of Painting

 The question of materiality undoubtedly arises in every group critique. Chosen materials influence the viewer's contextual relationship to a piece. Every material includes cultural, emotional, situational, ecological, and personal significations. Rather than analyze artistic choices in the making process, this lecture focuses the lens on disciplinary subjectification. Dr. Stephen Little questions the material limitations with in the discipline of painting. This presentation brings up some interesting points regarding material specificity and it's relationship to a disciplinary practice.

Dr. Stephen Little presented his paper titled, "Painting In Transit: A Re-mapping of Paintings Changed Terms of Reference." at the Transdisciplinary Conference 2010 which took place at ArtSpace.

Information regarding the 2010 conference and future events can be found here: Tansdisciplinary Research: At the Intersections Between Art Science and Culture

Here is a link to the audio file of Dr. Little's presentation.

As a painter who is currently working in collage, this paper was very informative for me. I have some research to do on Ludwig Wittgenstein's relational theories as well as Rosalind Krauss's material specificity.

Dressmaking Update - Colette Crepe Dress Workshop

Dressmaking Update!
I began my class at JP Knit and Stitch Wednesday night. I spent the two hours cutting fabric and learning how to use a rotary cutter. After working with it, I don't know why I ever worked with scissors. Here are the ones we had available to us:
 The OLFA 28mm Rotary Knife
The OLFA 18mm Rotary Knife
I am not sure if these are the best out there, but they did the trick, wonderfully. Now I have the pattern cut out and am anxiously waiting for next Wednesday and our next class. Here is a photo of the fabric I am using and the pattern booklet:

Announcement: Radiobreak - USC Roski School of Fine Art's MA Art and Curatorial Practices in the Public Sphere Program, class of 2012

This looks like it could be interesting. I heard about it from Art&Educations daily email.


http://www.radio-break.com/

I am excited to check it out.

Creating Craft. I am taking a course at a local shop in order to make a dress.

I enjoy sewing. I have been able to teach myself how to make bags, knitting needle holders, and other various household things. Here are examples:


A simple over shoulder purse with one interior pocket and an adjustable strap. I wanted a purse with a short strap for around town walking, but then have it longer for commuting on my bike as a sling across my body.


This is a simple hobo bag. It has one large exterior pocket and one small interior pocket. There are two sets of clasps for the shoulder strap, one leaves the bag open and slightly larger and the other allows the top to fold over and create a mock flap.


Here is a large tote bag of similar style to the Vera from Vera Bradley. It has one exterior pocket and 8 interior. I embroidered a tree bark pattern onto the front of the bag for a little flare. This bag holds everything and is incredibly durable.

Up until this point, however, I have not been successful when making clothes for myself. Buying clothes at thrift stores and then slight altering them to fit me has been a blast. I just can't seem to make clothing from scratch with or without a pattern. It never fits right in the end. So I am taking a class at my local knitting/sewing store, JP Knit and Stitch. I am so excited.
Here is the pattern we will be making:

Here is a link to JP Knit and Stitches website and the class sign up: http://jpknitandstitch.com/event-registration?regevent_action=register&event_id=522&name_of_event=Colette%20Crepe%20Wrap%20Dress%20Workshop

And this is the fabric I have chosen to make the dress: Victoria & Albert-Garthwaite PWVA013 Medallion



This may or may not be art, but it sure will be fun to do and learn a new skill.

Call For Papers - Newly Found

I have been struggling to find peer-reviewed journals that are interested in artistic theory/research that are accessible to postgraduate students. MFA students are engrossed in research projects that amount in papers read only by professors. Artists have ideas worth reading.

And alas, look what I found today:

http://www.aesthetics-online.org/events/calls.php













http://www.aesthetics-online.org/events/index.php?events_id=421

http://www.theasa.net/caucus_visual/


Happy writing!