Connections! JR Face 2 Face

French artist JR decided he wanted to do something about the hatred that existed at the Israeli and Palestinian border.

Here is a video explaining what he did about it and why:

The amazing thing is that he is able to connect people who view themselves as very different. Some people who may have been raised to dislike each other are now connected and inseparable. TAKE THAT HATRED! I feel that adding in humor to this situation by asking the participants to make silly faces is a genius way to diffuse the situation and allow them to see each other as human beings. 

-B

Connections! Kumi Yamashita

Connections...connections....connect the dots? Kumi Yamashita makes some amazing portraits by simply connecting dots. Except the dots are nails and they're connected with thread. WHAT! exactly.

How do you think this artist is able to map out all the precise locations for these nails?

Any other connections I'm missing about this artwork?

-B

!Connections! Hector Duarte

(Showing how the barbed wire border only serves to hold ourselves back rather than keeping others out)

Artist: Hector Duarte

Title: Muralla sobre lienzo: A Mural Work in Progress

In the summer of 2009 Hector Duarte was invited to create a mural in the National Museum Of Mexican art. The entire theme of the work was connections. The imagery in the piece connected two different cultures that are separated by physical borders but linkedby human beings. 

(A young woman who floats between two cultures)

 One of the great things about this piece is that it was also a way for the artist to connect with the community he was creating the work for. Rather than have the finished work of art be on display, Duarte started and completed the work within the given time, allowing visitors to ask questions and form a bond with the artist and his work.

-Mr. Bustamante

My third and final image that I feel represents CONNECTIONS is Some/One by Do Ho Suh from 2004.    I see this piece dealing with connections in three ways.  As the detail shot shows you, the piece is made up of hundreds of dog tags linked together to form a robe so the first is because of this construction.  The second comes from what I know in reading about the artist and deals with the very concept or idea behind the piece.  Do Ho Suh often works with the idea of the individual and the group or how personal identity gets absorbed into that of a larger group.  Here we have dog tags that identify a specific person, but they are brought together or connected to form a larger structure.  Finally, I see connections in this piece because there is a mirror or reflective surface within the robe that reflects not only the room, but also the viewer standing in front of it.  In effect, it connects you to the piece and the piece to you, by bringing your reflection into it.  Pretty cool!

-Ms. D.  

Continuing with the idea of CONNECTIONS, this is The Dinner Quilt by Faith Ringgold from 1986.  The canvas for this work is a quilt, which is made up of smaller pieces of fabric that have been sewn together so it's quite literally about connections.  It also deals with connections in that the people around the table have been brought together to connect with each other over their meal, and to connect us, the viewer, to the history that they tell/represent.

-Ms. D.

The theme for August-September is CONNECTIONS.  This is The Arnolfini Wedding, by Jan van Eyke from 1434.  I see this dealing with connections in that it's quite literally a portrait of two lives being united or connected.

-Ms. D.

Dear Studio Art Students,
Welcome back to school!!  As you know, Studio Art has undergone some changes this year, one of them being the existence of this very blog.  Another is the idea of monthly or bi-monthly themes around which all Studio Art students will be creating their work.  

Each time we present a new theme, your Art Teachers will post images that we think represent the theme and will help get you thinking on the idea.  After a theme has been assigned you should spend the first week thinking, researching and sketching ideas for your project.  Spend some time talking to/interviewing other people to hear their take on it.  At the end of that week you will show your sketches to your teacher.  You will also post them here on the blog so you can receive feedback from each other on your work.  [I should say here that you are required to give each other feedback as it is one of the graded elements of this class. :)]

Once that's done, it's time to start working on the final piece.  You'll have about 3 weeks to complete it.  At the end of that time we'll wrap up the assignment with a group critique session in the classic tradition of studio classes.  It is our hope that these changes will will keep you inspired and challenged throughout the year, and help develop a sense of support and community among all of you.

Here's to a spectacular year!
Ms. Dulkinys
Mr. Exner
Mr. Bustamante