though the article explores many aspects of social practice art and its affect on communities, I think not enough attention was placed on how to evaluate and critique it. My first impressions from when we saw works by Mel Chin and Rick Lowe was that this is really wading in the grey area of art. Although there is certainly intent in the pieces that Chin has produced, there's something off about it. It's hard to distinguish the difference, for example, between his piece on pollution and a social activist or environmental scientist also raising awareness about pollution.
The same issue occurs with Lowe's project that reinvigorated a community. His work was essentially based around community management and development. Obviously, these words aren't the first things people think about when they think about art. While social practice art could be categorized as an off shoot of performance art, it still doesn't really fit. The thing is, a lot of traditional art seems to instigate development of ideas or thoughts. Social practice art moves the intent of art into concrete impact within communities. At that point, the perceived line that defines art becomes incredibly muddled and unclear. Whatever the case, whether social practice art is properly categorized or even a form of art at all, the best thing about this movement is its physical and noticeable impact on communities and culture. If art is about sending a message or promoting thoughts or ideas, these projects can be very effective at just that. Personally, I hope that this movement further develops in order to broaden the perspective on what art is and to benefit more communities.
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http://a.stvkm.co/
https://stvkmco.tumblr.com/ Steve Kim utilizes lines and geometric shapes to abstract the human face and figure to varying degrees. His work is very clean and utilizes desaturated colors and a very cold tone. While browsing through these pieces I feel a prevalent sense of unease. What I'm most interested in is his use of color to supplement any lack of detail he has in his figures or his forms. Through textures and colors combined with rather abstract compositions, he is able to invoke specific reactions and emotions. Most of his pieces use colored pencils to create ghostly and very light pieces. http://arrestedmotion.com/2017/01/upcoming-alex-gross-antisocial-network-corey-helford-gallery/
Alex Gross further explores the ironic effect that 'social' media has on our real world social lives. His surreal works try to explore how technology and human interaction are interconnected. Through his use of recognizable logos and conspicuous imagery, he creates surreal environments. Personally, I don't necessarily follow this theme that much because I feel as if by this point, it's been overused. However, his use of smooth and realistic depiction of the figure combined with logos and recognizable images are some things that I could use in my work. The most important thing for me moving forward is projecting a feeling or a message through my work. It doesn't have to be a clear message, in fact I'd prefer if it was the most open to interpretation it could be. Gross's work does this through the use of surreal imagery and style. I might be able to incorporate this into my own art. Joel Daniel Phillips was one of the artists at the portrait gallery that really resonated with me. During our trip to DC, my thoughts about representing the human figure was similar to his. Through the process of his life sized drawings, he tries to understand people through a physical and emotional level. His impeccably detailed works allowed him to also portray the nuanced story of peoples' lives. It's often easy to portray people, or even a group of people with a single linear story. Phillips' work denounces that and embraces the free-formed story of the individual. Rigoberto A. Gonzalez utilizes a painting style reminiscent of the old masters to portray modern scenes and themes. Many of his paintings deal with the violence between the US and Mexico over drug trafficking and cartels. This piece caught my eye by portraying a recognizable scene without being particularly overt about its themes.
Going forward, I'm going to try to create more complete scenes rather than just a figure or a portrait. However, whether the scenes will be based in reality or not might differ depending on what I'll try to portray through my art. Oil on un-prepared board, the underpainting for the face was green, many layers of wash were used followed by thicker and thicker paint near the end
Quick sketch of friend eating lunch White acrylic wash on board Watercolor painting Scrape away acrylic to form wooden bench Scrape away lines to define bench Smiley faces Polyurethane Clear varnish Not pictured: pen and ink over figure afterwards |