Week Five-Response to Article

The article I chose was linked from printresting to another art blog type page called ashes and milk. Here is the article: http://www.ashesandmilk.com/blog/paper/bryan-nash-gill/

It is about a printer named Bryan Nash Gill who makes relief prints from tree specimens that have been cut down to expose the inner rings. He works over the surface meticulously until it is perfect then hand rolls the ink on. After this he uses handmade washi paper and his very own fingertips to work over the entire surface of the tree stump. each crack and groove must be run over so that the ink will transfer properly. I think the combination of such a natural print and such a directly personal process makes it incredibly unique and interesting. one might think that it seems so easy to just find a stump, sand it up and print away but the laborious process is actually more difficult than it seems. I think the relationship created between the tree itself and the printer in itself is what makes the prints so powerful to take in and the literal translation of natural beauty onto a print carries such a simple purity that it gives the work a very interesting perspective and deeper intention.

Cannonball press exhibit

My reaction to this exhibit was something along the lines of WOW! DAMN! or better yet HOT DAMN! The discipline of woodcut fascinates me and the works in this exhibit were no different. The larger works amazed me at how clean and detailed they were, and I often found myself laughing at the subject matter. I felt that the press was making contemporary works about the freakish world of carnival and circus performance. I didn't have much of a chance to fully explore each print but the ones I was able to take in all seemed to follow this theme of oddity and bizarre persons and productions. The statement matched this subject matter with an odd twist on baking/cooking that also produced some laughs. The entire body of work seemed to deal greatly with rejecting the seriousness of "fine art" and appealed to me in the same way an underground musician or poet would. The general goal of the show seemed to be to make people think about what art really is and how this "serious buisness" of art can be easily rejected without losing the integrity of quality work.

Third Assignment-GESTURE

Jean-Michel-Basquiat

Mater 1982

Jean-Michel Basquiat_Fallen Angel, 1981_New York_USA

Cabeza, 1982

Red Kings, 1981


http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/basquiat/

Basquiat's greatest gesture through his work is represented through his subject matter and the way in which he presented it. He developed greatly as an artist but much of his work focused on pop culture and social climates and events happening during his career. He started in graffiti and much of the graffiti artist shows through in his paintings with his use of language. His paintings use multi layered visible and conceptual elements often times through language and words on the canvas itself. He also made many paintings about his heroes, jazz musicians and famous figures, people who stood for change during his time. He often would paint an image of a crown on the heroes he painted to make them kingly or dignify them as noble people. Another gesture of his work is the effect of life in America on the African people. Much of his work involves his anger towards the way things were for Africans living in America during his career.

blog assignment one

1) Please summarize in a couple of sentences how Gutenberg influenced not only the renaissance, but the modernization of the western world.

     Gutenberg influence the renaissance and the modernization of the western world through the invention of the printing press. By using movable type press with infinite template and type possibilities he was able to create a cheap alternative to hand making books and therefore made information much more accessible and reliable. This lead to more people having access to literature and other information as well as the ability for scholars and librarys to keep reliable records of such information and literary works.


2) Please discuss how you think these advancements continue to influence contemporary art making.

The advancements of Gutenbergs press continue to influence contemporary art making because of what they have left in the past. Without his advancements we would not have the scientific knowledge or advancements we have today. We now have books on art and literature, magazines and other resources which are useful as a contemporary art maker for doing research, coming up with ideas and inspiration for what to create, and making art more accessible.

3) Thinking about these issues, how does photocopier art relate to the history of the letterpress? How is it similar? How is it different? photocopier art relates because it makes mass production of print more accessible and easier for a greater body of individuals and allows them to create and share that much easier. It is similar in that it makes what would be a great task much easier and faster so that more copies can be produced. It is different in the way it is used where the letterpress is used to create books and newsprint photocopier artists create zines and aesthetically pleasing imagery as well as individual and original art work and copy art pieces.

4) Briefly do a search for contemporary print work and, after you have found two or three images you like, post them to your blog.

Avarice by Artemio Rodríguez, woodcut

"Dating Strippers"
by Martin Mazorra

4' x 8' Woodcut
on Heavyweight Canvas Banner

"The Multiplier"
by John Hitchcock

24" x 18" Woodcut
on Heavyweight White Paper





5) Please look up a few of the words you are not sure about the meaning of. Make a list of the words and their definitions on your blog. Please use dictionaries and encyclopedias or other valid sources (they can be online, but not wikipedia or any other such public website) for this exercise.

ostensible |äˈstensəbəl; əˈsten-|
adjective [ attrib. ]
stated or appearing to be true, but not necessarily so : the delay may have a deeper cause than the ostensible reason.

praxis |ˈpraksəs|
noun formal
practice, as distinguished from theory : the divorce between theory and praxis of Marxism which ensued under Stalinism.
• accepted practice or custom : patterns of Christian praxis in church and society.
ORIGIN late 16th cent.: via medieval Latin from Greek, literally ‘doing,’ from prattein ‘do.’

paradox |ˈparəˌdäks|
noun
a statement or proposition that, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory : a potentially serious conflict between quantum mechanics and the general theory of relativity known as the information paradox. See note at riddle .
• a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true : in a paradox, he has discovered that stepping back from his job has increased the rewards he gleans from it.
• a situation, person, or thing that combines contradictory features or qualities : an Arizona canyon where the mingling of deciduous trees with desertic elements of flora forms a fascinating ecological paradox.
ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (originally denoting a statement contrary to accepted opinion): via late Latin from Greek paradoxon ‘contrary (opinion),’ neuter adjective used as a noun, from para- ‘distinct from’ + doxa ‘opinion.’

Print by: Utagawa Kunimasa