Monday, August 30, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Pallets! Pallets! Pallets?
After too many weeks of procrastination and little excuses left..I headed to the studio last night to try to work on something. It's like the author Anne Lamott said in the book Bird by Bird..you have to have a shitty first draft whether this is a writing or a piece of art work. Just MAKE SOMETHING ALREADY! So last night I attempted something of that nature. May and Louie came along which helped to have someone else to talk to and bounce ideas off of one another. I did a lot of brainstorming and have three pretty solid ideas for pieces I want to work on in the upcoming months, as my starting point. We dug around the other floors of my studio building and I found a beautiful, old pallet that has become..I think?..a new material I want to incorporate with my newsprint. Tomorrow will be pallet collecting day. My goal is to gather at least 10 pallets by the end of the week that I can cut into with a jig saw and create/construct a wall piece designed like a map...of course this will naturally change over the process but it's a start!
For the time being, here are some images I gathered about pallets..a few interesting websites. The first is called Inhabitat and it posted about a Modern Manafesto House that was constructed out of of pallets and resides in Chile. Check this out!
Some facts I did not know..It's estimated that there are about 2 BILLION ordinary unit load pallets in circulation globally, and about two-thirds of these are only used once. It's further estimated that U.S. companies throw away roughly 4 billion board feet of wood pallets every year. HDR Architecture came up with Unit Load_Redux, a temporary exhibition intended as a probe for sustainable living through the redux of pallets and the use of bicycle energy. Here is the original article. It has so really great photos of the installation.
and moooore images. I can't help it. This is what I love to do. Collect images. At least they are disposable and don't take up any physical space except in the computer world..right?
For the time being, here are some images I gathered about pallets..a few interesting websites. The first is called Inhabitat and it posted about a Modern Manafesto House that was constructed out of of pallets and resides in Chile. Check this out!
Some facts I did not know..It's estimated that there are about 2 BILLION ordinary unit load pallets in circulation globally, and about two-thirds of these are only used once. It's further estimated that U.S. companies throw away roughly 4 billion board feet of wood pallets every year. HDR Architecture came up with Unit Load_Redux, a temporary exhibition intended as a probe for sustainable living through the redux of pallets and the use of bicycle energy. Here is the original article. It has so really great photos of the installation.
and moooore images. I can't help it. This is what I love to do. Collect images. At least they are disposable and don't take up any physical space except in the computer world..right?
Caio Reisewitz
I had the opportunity to view Caio Reisewitz first solo exhibition at the CCBB during my past visit to Rio. I remember being easier intrigued and influence by the natural beauty that his photographers share with the viewer. The photograph above was probably by far on of my favorites of the exhibition. The color is just so intense and rich. He had many other images of inside architectural spaces that played a lot with light and shadow.
The photography that intrigued me, by far the most, was what simply appeared to be a shot of the forest or jungle. It was a luscious green that soaked in the color and made it feel like I was there. With further examination you begin to notice that what first appears to be a place furthest away from civilization, you notice favelas hidden among the foresta. I decided to look into a bit more of his work and found out he is a native of São Paulo and photographs many of his images within its limits. I personally did not witness or experience much of any encounters with nature while in São Paulo. It is a HUGE city, home to over 11 million people. It is nice to know areas like this do exist there and I like the juxaposition of these two different environments of the natural and processed together. When I saw that photograph, I had an "ah ha!" moment and began to think about this idea in other forms. In some ways I think it was the inspiration behind my latest idea for a piece.
Thesis 2010-2011
Brief description of previous work upon which this new body of work will be built:
My previous work involved site-specific research pertaining to the Greektown community located in East Baltimore. The project became an investigation about not only the history of the community but also the history of a specific abandoned building soon to be demolished. The project end result was an installation with sculptures and found material from the site that otherwise would have become wasted materials. Themes such as consumption, nature, and urban theory come across in much of my work.
I am interested in beginning a new study of a different community through the means of images, material experimentation, and large-scale site-specific installations. I lived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for a total of 7 months and grew very fascinated by many aspects of the city, in particular the visual imagery of favelas on many of their mountain sides. I think they are of great interest to me because of visual comparison I see within my own work being clustering, growth, organisms, and chaos but I am interested in interpreting these places through things in nature which goes through a similar growth process. There is a fruit that I grew rather fond of during my time in Brazil called Jabuticaba. What I discovered about the way it grows I found rather fascinating and thought it would be an interesting way to represent these clusters of communities since both relate rather well to one another.
Problem Statement and/or Existential Question that will launch new investigation:
Create an installation that represents different sensory or memories of architecture or spaces in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I see this being done through a series of mappings and then large scale installation or site specific installations that are incorporated into my past research but interwoven into my current location, Baltimore.
This is a pretty precise and rigid statement but should be open to interpretation. I recently have grown fascinated with the favelas located in much of Rio and most major areas in Brazil. They consist of shantytowns where often times you find the working class of Brazil. Most fall in the lower class but there isn’t much of a middle ground between the very rich and very poor in the country. Their jobs consist of pretty much anything but often they are maids or matainence helpers for the upper class and once they have finished a long day of work they return to their homes which are inside these favelas. It is full of more culture (both good and bad) and I think much of the rest of the city simply has in many areas become Americanized and converted to meet international standards that don’t really preserve Rio’s history. I think most tourists that I met who came to Rio, wanted to see these places and still am not really sure if it was for reasons such as medias involvement in portraying communities such as in Cidade de Deus (City of God), which is a real favela in the West Zone of the city BUT I think the majority of the people that did visit left with an overpowering sense of how different life is there from the rest of the city and wanted to help.
Plan for doing the work including a description of steps in the process:
• Updating and actively posting in a daily blog that contains a collection of notes, images through the development process.
• Working weekly in my studio space on further developing experiments with materials and research.
• I am interested in possibly planning to be involved in an event held at the Creative Alliance in February about Brazil. I am in contact with the person in charge to discuss about exhibiting during this event.
Nature of work to be done in terms of quantity and quality:
I am envisioning a large-scale installation that explores new materials and new ideas about Brazil but furthers some of my past explorations with materials such as newspaper, metal, and wood. Depending on the size and labor intensity of the work, I hope to complete 2 – 3 pieces.
My previous work involved site-specific research pertaining to the Greektown community located in East Baltimore. The project became an investigation about not only the history of the community but also the history of a specific abandoned building soon to be demolished. The project end result was an installation with sculptures and found material from the site that otherwise would have become wasted materials. Themes such as consumption, nature, and urban theory come across in much of my work.
I am interested in beginning a new study of a different community through the means of images, material experimentation, and large-scale site-specific installations. I lived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for a total of 7 months and grew very fascinated by many aspects of the city, in particular the visual imagery of favelas on many of their mountain sides. I think they are of great interest to me because of visual comparison I see within my own work being clustering, growth, organisms, and chaos but I am interested in interpreting these places through things in nature which goes through a similar growth process. There is a fruit that I grew rather fond of during my time in Brazil called Jabuticaba. What I discovered about the way it grows I found rather fascinating and thought it would be an interesting way to represent these clusters of communities since both relate rather well to one another.
Problem Statement and/or Existential Question that will launch new investigation:
Create an installation that represents different sensory or memories of architecture or spaces in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I see this being done through a series of mappings and then large scale installation or site specific installations that are incorporated into my past research but interwoven into my current location, Baltimore.
This is a pretty precise and rigid statement but should be open to interpretation. I recently have grown fascinated with the favelas located in much of Rio and most major areas in Brazil. They consist of shantytowns where often times you find the working class of Brazil. Most fall in the lower class but there isn’t much of a middle ground between the very rich and very poor in the country. Their jobs consist of pretty much anything but often they are maids or matainence helpers for the upper class and once they have finished a long day of work they return to their homes which are inside these favelas. It is full of more culture (both good and bad) and I think much of the rest of the city simply has in many areas become Americanized and converted to meet international standards that don’t really preserve Rio’s history. I think most tourists that I met who came to Rio, wanted to see these places and still am not really sure if it was for reasons such as medias involvement in portraying communities such as in Cidade de Deus (City of God), which is a real favela in the West Zone of the city BUT I think the majority of the people that did visit left with an overpowering sense of how different life is there from the rest of the city and wanted to help.
Plan for doing the work including a description of steps in the process:
• Updating and actively posting in a daily blog that contains a collection of notes, images through the development process.
• Working weekly in my studio space on further developing experiments with materials and research.
• I am interested in possibly planning to be involved in an event held at the Creative Alliance in February about Brazil. I am in contact with the person in charge to discuss about exhibiting during this event.
Nature of work to be done in terms of quantity and quality:
I am envisioning a large-scale installation that explores new materials and new ideas about Brazil but furthers some of my past explorations with materials such as newspaper, metal, and wood. Depending on the size and labor intensity of the work, I hope to complete 2 – 3 pieces.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Saara
So I recently started re-reading this book called Rio de Janeiro: Carnival under Fire by Ruy Castro. I read the book about two years ago right before I left for my first trip to visit the Cidade Maravilhosa. At the time, my knowledge of the city let alone the country, was rather bleak. Now that I have spent a fair amount of time there and feel like I really know much of the highlights people talk about, it has been interesting to be able to recognize a lot of the topics Castro discusses about Brazilian culture as well as the many different communities found throughout the city.
One in particular that was briefly discussed is an area located in Centro called the Saara (Sahara). I visited on several occasions with Luciana as well as on my own, during my many walks through the city. It consists of over 1,500 little businesses and served as the first home for a large number of Syrian, Lebanese, Jewish, Greek, Turk, Spanish, Portuguese and Argentine migrants coming to Brazil by the end of 19th and early 20th centuries. Rio’s largest variety of merchants can be found here, from clothing to toys, sports equipment, artificial flowers and costume accessories, among many others. It is a fantastic popular Carioca market and often overlooked by tourists, which helps keep prices reasonable. You are more likely to see a local shopping here as well, which creates an authentic atmosphere.
My personal experience was pleasantly hectic. I went to shop and purchase my "costumes" for carnival in true Carioca style. During the weeks leading up to the big festivities it is a mad house down there because everything is so cheap. It was rather crowded and people were frantically searching for the best finds for the week of never ending drinks and dancing. On a regular day, the atmosphere is a little different but still pretty busy and fast paced. I think I enjoy the area so much because of the visual overload you experience while walking by all the different shops as well as the sound of the announcers standing at the ever edge of their space, shouting deals left and right. I found it rather impressive that their were live announcers rather than only recordings. Made it more entertaining and fun.
Besides the voices of people, there was a song that I specifically heard playing a lot around the Saara but even just Centro. It was a clip from a song by an artist named Edward Maya. It was probably 5 seconds if that, of this accordion. It is probably one of the only things that accurately can depict the environment in centro for me and it became sort of comical because I would be somewhere walking..or eating lunch with a friend and all of a sudden I would hear this little clip from that song. I was told apparently, that a lot of the newsstands on different corners sell music and so several of them have this song or album for sale. So with this being said, I invited you to check out some different photos I found of the Saara but ask that you play the first u tube clip while looking at the images. If gives you the full experience!
A couple of other clips worth checking out...in portuguese!
Official website
Also, I wanted to start mentioning a few galleries found in the heart of centro and close to the Saara that are definitely worth checking out. One being called A Gentil Carioca. I found the space to be rather intriguing and one of the better places to check out more of the emerging yet underground art scene in Rio. I was also happy to have discovered that is was co-owned by one of my favorite arists, Ernesto Neto which I plan to talk about on my next post!! I finally was able to see his work in person at the Ihotim Art Center near Belo Horizonte which was quite an experience. He seems to have a lot of personality when it comes to talking about his work. :)
One in particular that was briefly discussed is an area located in Centro called the Saara (Sahara). I visited on several occasions with Luciana as well as on my own, during my many walks through the city. It consists of over 1,500 little businesses and served as the first home for a large number of Syrian, Lebanese, Jewish, Greek, Turk, Spanish, Portuguese and Argentine migrants coming to Brazil by the end of 19th and early 20th centuries. Rio’s largest variety of merchants can be found here, from clothing to toys, sports equipment, artificial flowers and costume accessories, among many others. It is a fantastic popular Carioca market and often overlooked by tourists, which helps keep prices reasonable. You are more likely to see a local shopping here as well, which creates an authentic atmosphere.
My personal experience was pleasantly hectic. I went to shop and purchase my "costumes" for carnival in true Carioca style. During the weeks leading up to the big festivities it is a mad house down there because everything is so cheap. It was rather crowded and people were frantically searching for the best finds for the week of never ending drinks and dancing. On a regular day, the atmosphere is a little different but still pretty busy and fast paced. I think I enjoy the area so much because of the visual overload you experience while walking by all the different shops as well as the sound of the announcers standing at the ever edge of their space, shouting deals left and right. I found it rather impressive that their were live announcers rather than only recordings. Made it more entertaining and fun.
Besides the voices of people, there was a song that I specifically heard playing a lot around the Saara but even just Centro. It was a clip from a song by an artist named Edward Maya. It was probably 5 seconds if that, of this accordion. It is probably one of the only things that accurately can depict the environment in centro for me and it became sort of comical because I would be somewhere walking..or eating lunch with a friend and all of a sudden I would hear this little clip from that song. I was told apparently, that a lot of the newsstands on different corners sell music and so several of them have this song or album for sale. So with this being said, I invited you to check out some different photos I found of the Saara but ask that you play the first u tube clip while looking at the images. If gives you the full experience!
A couple of other clips worth checking out...in portuguese!
Official website
Also, I wanted to start mentioning a few galleries found in the heart of centro and close to the Saara that are definitely worth checking out. One being called A Gentil Carioca. I found the space to be rather intriguing and one of the better places to check out more of the emerging yet underground art scene in Rio. I was also happy to have discovered that is was co-owned by one of my favorite arists, Ernesto Neto which I plan to talk about on my next post!! I finally was able to see his work in person at the Ihotim Art Center near Belo Horizonte which was quite an experience. He seems to have a lot of personality when it comes to talking about his work. :)
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Henrique Oliveira
About two years ago I had the privilege to view a great show at the CCBB in Rio called Nova Arte Nova (New Art New). I remember being extremely bummed that I wasn't going to be able to make to São Paulo for their annual Biennial and had made it a point to go there during my time in Brazil. Plans fell through and I ended up not traveling out of Rio but towards the end of my stay I had the opportunity to check out this show which was just as good as the biennial if not better. The exhibition featured a collection of emerging artists from Brazil. There were a few artists that really caught my eye and most were because of their choice of materials or technique.
Then today, I happened to spend the afternoon in the MICA library in one of my favorite activities..I sat for about an hour or so looking through the Sculpture magazines from the past 6 months or so..reading articles and learning about some new artists. One artist that I happened to stumble upon was about the Brazilian artist Henrique Oliveira. I was blown away by some of the pieces that were included in the article and even more surprised to learn he was Brazilian and recently showed some work at Fun Arte in Rio! Then when I was home this evening reading up on his work..I realized that I saw one of his pieces at this CCBB show in 2008. The work was done in wood but incorporated other materials that changed the pieces significantly. I am more drawn to these newer pieces that are full installations. I especially love how he found his material to work with and how his background was originally painting and wanted to find away to interpret painting into three dimensional forms. Watch the video below! He talks a little bit about his process.
Other articles
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