New Artist Statement :)

           My last intention/artist statement was really geared towards ideas that I honestly wasn't too sure about. After giving it lots of thought and time, I really think that this new statement will show my ideas and thoughts towards my current work.

My artwork captures the physical evidence of human history in my own community of St. Mary's County, Maryland. Ideas of where we live and our communities past are represented by transforming found objects and photographs into sculptural instillations that evoke the presence of abandoned homes.

          My process involves photographing an object or space in an abandoned area that has a lot of destruction and/or chaos to it, while making sure to capture the absence of human involvement that resided before the destruction took place. I then take these photographs and combine them with found objects, which are usually assumed to be trash or waste. The items include chairs, wallpaper, dirt, personal documents, desks and other household items. I set up these objects in a room that represents a compilation of abandoned sites that I’ve traveled to over the past year. 

         The act of collecting these objects and integrating them with photographs of the areas they were found in allows me to force the viewer into having a physicalized experience that makes them question their own location and space, and wonder what exactly happened to the environment they currently stand in. From these elements I can create a large-scale instillation of multiple layered objects and photographs that embody the history and presence in areas that seem to be devoid of any human life. 

         By combining found objects with photographs of abandoned homes and areas into full-scale instillations I can express my personal struggle towards the unknown answer of what exactly happened to these destructed environments.

I wanted to also include the notes that I took while writing this statement. It shows some of the questions and thought processes that I went through to come up with my final statement. 

·       What am I interested in?       

         I’m interested in exploring the aspects of space, unrecognized social issues that affect this county, spacial experiences—sensory experience (want the viewer to feel as if they are actually walking into this real space) (feelings of scared, pressure to do something about it—guilt, makes them curious about history of place, what happened?)

·       What do I want to communicate?

         I want to communicate that areas like these exist in their world, right in their own towns. Want people to question what happened to cause the current areas destruction)

·       What is the subject and/or content of your work? In other words, what is it about?

         My current work is about abandoned homes and houses in st.mary’s county, Maryland. From the instillation, I want people to feel as if they’re walking into an area that’s still alive( by the ghosts and spirits of the place) I want them to feel spooked because of the negative history that MAY have occurred) Sparking people’s interest in the history of their own counties.

·       What kinds of things inform your work? This can include other artwork, politics or society, and your own experiences.

         Walking into abandoned homes since I was a teenager sparked my interest in figuring out the history of these places. Running into owners of properties and hearing stories of their past relatives who’ve lived there. Going to the American Art Museum and seeing Edward Kienholz work of “sollie” made me feel like I was back in that hotel, and made me wonder what happened to the old man in the room, if he was ok or still alive. The exhibit made me question social issues of abandoneness in my own community---how many areas are there like this in st. mary’s county?

·       What materials do you use and why?

         Photography is my prime tool, because capturing the real, physical evidence of people’s lives has brought about emotions in people, and myself. Using real life objects, found objects, or photographs of them, makes the viewer feel as if they’re in that person’s shoes, allows them to question that person’s life and past---may push them to want to do something about it.

·       What is your process and how does it affect the way you work?

My process involves shooting an object or space that has a lot of destruction and/or chaos to it. By shooting only areas that are rough and jagged, I force the viewer to look at pieces that they may avoid in real life experience, which forces them to question their surroundings.

·       How do you want your audience to view your work? Do you want them to react in a certain way?

         I don’t want to force viewers to feel as if this destruction is a result of their own doing. I want the viewer to question and wonder about the areas history and how it’s ended up as it has today. I want viewers to look at my photographs and feel uncomfortable because it’s subject matter surrounds something that they may not trespass into on a regular basis.

By shooting only areas that are rough and jagged, I force the viewer to look at pieces that they may avoid in real life experience, which forces them to question their surroundings

         My artwork captures the physical evidence of social issues about homelessness in rural environments by transforming found objects and photographs into sculptural instillations that evoke the presence of abandoned homes.

          My process involves photographing an object or space in an abandoned area that has a lot of destruction and/or chaos to it, in my current community of southern Maryland. I then take these photographs and combine them with found objects, which are usually assumed to be trash or waste. The items include chairs, wallpaper, dirt, personal documents, desks and other household items.

         The act of collecting these objects and integrating them with photographs of the areas they were found in allows me to force the viewer into having a physicalized experience that makes them question their own location and space, and how or if they should respond. From these elements I can create a large-scale instillation of multiple layered objects and photographs that embody the voyeuristic denial that allows most of us to turn away from the social issues that inhabit this county.

         By combining found objects with photographs of abandoned homes and areas into full scale instillations I can express my personal struggle towards the carless disregard of the homeless community.

Walking into abandoned homes since I was a teenager sparked my interest in figuring out the history of these places. Running into owners of properties and hearing stories of their past relatives who’ve lived there. Going to the American Art Museum and seeing Edward Kienholz work of “sollie” made me feel like I was back in that hotel, and made me wonder what happened to the old man in the room, if he was ok or still alive. The exhibit made me question social issues of abandoneness in my own community---how many areas are there like this in st. mary’s county?

(sounds good for a statement…)

. I am interested in ideas about space, abandoned homes and the history attached to them. The physicalized experience created is expressed through the process of combining found objects and photographs

“This forced participation with the artwork makes it a visceral and physicalized experience that is hard to shake. I was constantly confronted with my own location in the space and what, where and how I should respond”

This sculptural tableau is part theatre, part installation and a participatory art event that embodies the voyeuristic denial that allows so many of us to simply walk away and be silent in numerous social situations unfolding around us. 

(force the viewer to feel as if they should participate in this situation…make them question whether or not they should do something about this place..about homelessness and people living in these areas)???? History of sites and areas is more important!!

Koko Olszewski SMP II Presentation work!

Koko Olszewski

I really loved koko's work this year with her SMP. Her work incorporates a huge mural that takes place in the lower section of Ann Arundel Hall as well as a large cork board display in the gallery with a small video attached. For her current work, Koko really wanted to involve a community aspect, and that was very evident with the work that she displayed to the student body. In the gallery, one can see just how much work went into creating her final project, whether it be interviews, meetings, writing emails and even going around to every teacher mailbox. The video that plays during the instillation is a video of some of the student body who were involved in creating the mural. Not only does this piece show just how much the community was involved within her project, but also just how dedicated one person can be to involving the community with themselves. Although someone lives in a certain area, that doesn't necessarily mean that they participate in events or organizations around the community, and the same goes for St. Mary's College. Though, with Koko's work, members from all over the campus community were invited to participate in this large artwork piece, which invites members from different parts of the campus to share their ideas and goals with each other, in one single piece. In the mural in lower Ann Arundel Hall, there are several rooms, one of which has a table with several pamphlets to different organizations, all of which involve the community atmosphere. In another room, a small hand painted flower garden is displayed on a light blue wall, which is later discovered from her gallery photos, to be painted by young children. With her work I really found some similarities, even though her goals seem to be more oriented towards the community involvement, whereas my work is more about the community history. Setting up a large mural in a building that is planned to be torn down is one similarity, where my current work rests on the top floor of the building. Placing a permanent exhibition in an area that we know is going to be destroyed, let's the viewer know that its really not about the artwork staying up, but about everyone being involved with it. Although my current work doesn't involve too much of the community, I still think that the viewers will question how areas like these can exist in their own communities, which may lead them to question more social issues in their own areas. I really hope Koko continues with more mural work such as this, in even larger communities that involve way more social injustices than St.Mary's county does. 

Artist Talk-Pam Cardwell

Pam Cardwell-Artist in Residence Lecture

Pam Cardwell was one of the few artists that stayed at the artist house at the college this semester.  received her BFA in 1994 from Virginia Commonwealth and her MFA in 1998 from the University of Pennsylvania. She has spent a lot of time in other residencies at colleges, including one that she did in 2006 where she did a series of drawings. She states that this particular work reminds her of the work that she's been doing while staying at our own campus. From here Cardwell started to explain how she loves the water,  coast and rocks. Even in the Dominican Republic, she used water crayons, water acrylics and took natural shapes that she saw in these particular areas and then sketched them so she could re-work them later in her studio. "...it became like imaginative projections" Caldwell said. From this, when Caldwell re-works her sketches into larger paintings, she works from rhythm. I think this i particularly interesting because her current works seem to simulate the flow and fluidity that certain pieces of music make. As stated earlier, the lines, shapes and colors that Pam is working with incorporate her love for the water, though she states that she was also influenced a lot by the artist Arshile Gorky. The similarities between the two artists paintings is astounding. The streaks of color and distant shapes that seem to represent distant landscapes and environments are perfectly matched, even though Gorky's work is from the early 30's and 40's and Cardwell's work is much more modern. One thing that Cardwell is working on with her current work is fresco's, simple colors, but with huge scales of size. She also stated that she wants to use color and line as an emotional content. I think that this is important with her work because different colors can have different meanings. When working with cool colors a painting may seem somber and somewhat depressing, but when working with warm or earthy tones, a painting may have a brighter mood associated with it. When looking at Cardwell's work, although interesting and beautiful, I don't really see any resemblance's to my current work and her's. Besides' the fact that she is a painter, I can somewhat see similarities between her rough edges and the rough, vintage feel that I want to incorporate into my instillation and photographs. Though, her work really incorporates a lot of color, which is very important to her, but my own work rarely involves color and when it does, the faded and washed out tones reference a dull and dirty environment. I think it would interesting to see her incorporate places such as landfills or polluted environments into her paintings, to see just how she would re-work these areas with "dirty" atmospheres, instead of areas with water and beautiful scenery. 

Geo 12, oil on canvas, 24 x 24", 2010

Artist Events! Jenny Metz-SMP II Presentation!

Jenny Metz-SMP Presentation

            Jenny really took me by surprise with her photographic work this semester, although it was still really unique and beautiful. Her digital color photographs incorporated up close macro shots of areas that she finds particularly familiar to her. The title of her piece was “Impression/Expression: The Manipulation and Distortion of Space” In this work, blurred photographs of plants, beaches and even figures such as trees with blue skies as a background, all represent the “essence” created by these familiar places during our experiences. Jenny states that she took impressions of the areas, and turned them into photographs. I find this aspect particularly familiar because the actual photographs are only segments or parts of larger areas. For example, a simple photograph of beige, earthy, fungus-like figure in a grassy meadow looks like a small mushroom, but in actuality is the bottom of a large water fountain. This small impression of a larger place is expressed through her photographic works. I really think that she did an excellent job with portraying places that she finds familiar, even though her audience has never been to these places. I found myself really feeling like I was immersed in each environment and landscape. I think a lot of this had to deal with the fact that each photograph had a blurred background and only a segment of a larger picture represented. When only fragments are represented, they turn into entirely new areas and environments. Although I find Jenny’s work to be really interesting, I don’t see too many similarities between her current work and my own. One small similarity that I find between our work though is the blurring out of certain areas of photographs. In my own work I’ve made certain segments of my photographs less visible than the others, by using Vaseline or other semi-liquids such as lotion. Though, the reasons behind blurring out certain areas of our photographs are not the same.  

"#12 Disintegrate"