Other peoples’ art and writing
The Firecracker Press sold me on the sheer excellence of letterpress art. If you’re ever in St. Louis, check them out for good design, poetry readings, edible printed tortillas, and … Continue reading DIY digression: letterpress
Until today, I only knew one way to perforate paper (without some mysterious steampunk machine). Pounce wheel (Not everyone knows about these things, so I’ll describe them first. I doubt … Continue reading Perforation
While the canon of art history is a monolithic force, some aspects of it are far from benign. Art history is billed as a treasure trove of virtuoso technique, stylistic … Continue reading Exposing the male gaze (with dolls)
The Crocker Art Museum signs got me thinking about how a museum’s signage reflects its values. Just to review, a typical sign will look like this one from the Metropolitan … Continue reading Museum signs
[ 2/25/15 edit: The links to individual artworks no longer function. The Crocker Art Museum’s website no longer serves as a digital representation of their holdings. I hope this is … Continue reading Notes from the Crocker
This, the most complicated mat I’ve cut to date, represents a twenty-four hour period through comics. This was…a stretch for me. (Three of the spaces are blank because nothing particularly … Continue reading Bi-hourly comic
Correspondence art: and a scrap/accordion book to document it 1) Proust’s madeleines 2) Honkers 3) pictures of the pink/purple seal (designed with feedback from mail art #1) … Continue reading Four months of work
I recently completed what I considered a research trip to Europe. I brought a stack of quality paper and pencils and attempted to create as many souvenirs (aka postcards) as … Continue reading Souvenirs, part 2
Does anyone else have a problem with the tradition of acquiring and distributing souvenirs? On the surface it is certainly a kind gesture, but… Possibility #1: “You’re going to R—, … Continue reading Souvenirs
This post concludes my attempt to answer the question “How can a person technically excluded from the canons of her field and religion relate to them?”, begun in parts 1, … Continue reading Ambivalence and Paradox, part 4
This post continues to address the question “How can a person technically excluded from the canons of her field and religion relate to them?”, begun in parts 1 and 2. … Continue reading Ambivalence and Paradox, part 3
The previous post in this sequence asked: How can a person technically excluded from the canons of her field and religion relate to them? This and subsequent posts will present … Continue reading Ambivalence and Paradox, part 2
What American or artist would fail to take umbrage if described as derivative or old-fashioned? We pride ourselves on self-determination, yet our use of that freedom is paradoxically dependent on … Continue reading Ambivalence and Paradox, part 1
[ continued from this post ] Grouping art history by theme and subjecting it to feminist interpretation can be a helpful exercise. As Bram Dijkstra pointed out in the introduction … Continue reading Living artistically with paradigm crises, part 2
Everybody makes mistakes. Some “mistakes” are not mistakes. Sometimes they are entirely logical extensions of political, religious, or academic doctrines that used to yield dependable results. When we become aware … Continue reading Living artistically with paradigm crises, part 1
…and by you, I mean me. What have I gained from copying? Here is a preliminary list of pedagogical incentives to be derivative. There is copying, and then there is … Continue reading What (besides the obvious) do you gain from copying?
Seven hundred pages of research and note-taking later, I was floored by déjà vu. As George Santayana’s epigram scolds, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” … Continue reading The One and Only Original, 2nd ed.
I was recently asked about the top three ideas or theories from this year’s massive pile of academic reading. #1 “…since no paradigm ever solves all the problems it defines … Continue reading Book reviews
It’s time to present another eclectic batch of artworks that question assumptions and generally inspire imagination. Simon Stalenhag’s illustrations present a divergent version of the eighties. The Swedish artist provides … Continue reading More recursion
[ This paper was written in November 2012 to highlight the central irony of realistic painting. ] Naively, we artists often expect our familiarity with art to protect us from … Continue reading Our hubris regarding realism
