Thur Nov 20th: Struggle

Struggle: verb
to be coping with inability to perform well or to win; contend with difficulty

Hard times have not left the art world untouched; the LA times announced on November 19th that the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) has fallen on financial difficulties. According to the times, Museum Director Jeremy Strick said MOCA is "seeking large cash infusions from donors, and this week he did not rule out the possibility of merging with another institution or sharing its collection of almost 6,000 artworks."
The museum has relied on donors for about 80% of its annual $20 million budget. While the museum is not disclosing any of its current financial figures, but it has announced a six-month closure of the Geffen Contemporary exhibition space, in effort to cut operating costs. Thus far, MOCA has made no staff cuts.
In discussing options for the museum, director Strick said "All the possibilities being explored involve MOCA retaining its identity, continuing its program, expanding its collection", adding "I think it is time for this city to step forward and offer the kind of financial support commensurate with the work being done."
In comforting news, MOCA has not resorted to what many other institutions have been forced to; sell the highest valued works in effort to keep the establishments afloat. This contradicts the standard museum code of ethics. Stricks response to the pressure to sell: "our mission is preserving and protecting this collection."

Sunday Nov 23rd: Ben Grasso

"Whatever was left of it" , 2007 Untitled (treehouse), 2007 Ascending House, 2006 Gas Sation, 2006

Born 1979 in Cleveland, Ohio, Ben Grasso now lives and works in New York, New York. Grasso recieved a BFA in painting in 2003 from the Clevland, Ohio and his MFA (also in painting) in 2006 from Hunter College, CUNY, New York, NY. Prior to his education, Grasso had several residencies & grants. He has also had a number of group exhibitions as well as three solo exhibitions.
According to his artist's statement, his paintings "make more immediate the collective experience...Confusion, displacement, disaster, celebration and rebuilding are all at once urgent and elusive."
Grasso currently has a current exhibiton of paintings ("Close to Home") at the Kinkead Contermporary Gallery in Culver City, California. The gallery has specifically devoted itself to present new and emerging artists. (http://www.kinkeadcontemporary.com/)
-artist website: http://www.bengrasso.com/ (no information is available on his site; it appears to be under construction)

Thur Nov 13th: troubled

Troubled: verb

to disturb the mental calm and contentment of; worry; distress; agitate

In the current conditions, fear and lack of trust are causing stress and worry to mount in the minds of the American people. At the 2008 California Biennial, artist Patrick "Pato" Herbert's installations, "Text Messaging: 1,000 Points of Might" deals with these very topics. Hundreds of signs, which appear similar to campaign signs, litter the entrance to the Orange County Museum of Art.
One critic relates the visting ecperience on his blog, http://imoralist.blogspot.com/.

"For a few anxiety-filled moments we were stepping, shifting, and turning amid a sensory overload of knobs, dials, pedals, mirrors, gauges, and oncoming traffic.....
It may be said that the zeitgeist of our time is sensory overload, and our brains are suffering the overwhelming input of record-setting art and oil prices, seven years of Middle East war, global warming, two years of presidential campaigning, and the pillaging of nations by the rich and well connected from America to Zimbabwe. It has been a rough start to the new millennium...."

There is very little information about the work of Patrick Herbert online; I was only able to discover that he lives in california and his normal medium is photography.

Photographers Forum Contest Entry

Proof that Allison & I entered 4 images from our "Missed Connections" series in the Photographers Forum college photo contest

Sun Nov 16th: John Ganis

Because I was so inspired by the way Ganis spoke about his work, I've chosen to copy an exerp from his site to describe the series.

" ' Consuming the American Landscape' (2003) chronicles the use and abuse of the American terrain. Ganis’s color photographs not only present a view of the ever-changing scenery of the United States, but also serve as a powerful criticism against the destruction of such beauty in the name of progress. The subjects of his works embody a wide variety of man made destruction, including the effects of highway construction, the logging industry, oil drilling, landfills, mining, and the overall industrial landscape....Ganis’s artwork challenges the everyday American to take a step back and evaluate the consequences of such a lifestyle."

Ganis recieved his B.A. in Fine Ares from the Ohio Wesleyan University, Deleware OH and his MFA in Photography from the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ. He currently resides in Detroit, MI, where he is a proffessor of Photography at the College for Creative Studies.

artist site: http://johnganisphotography.com/

represented by a publishing company: http://www.johnganisphotography.com/www.dewilewispublishing.com

M.F.A. in Photography, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
B.A. Major, Fine Arts, Minor, English, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, OH

Sun Nov 9: Edward Ruscha

The Back of Hollywood (billboard), 1977 acrylic-vinyl on canvas 192 H x 600 W (inches)

Burning Standard, 1968 oil on canvas 20 1/4 H x 39 W (inches)

Burning Gas Station, 1966 oil on canvas 20 1/2 H x 39 W (inches)

Standard Station, Amarillo, Texas, 1963 oil on canvas 64 1/2 H x 121 3/4 W (inches)

Born in Omaha, Nebrasks 1937, Ed Ruscha, according to his website, "has consistently combined the cityscape of his adopted hometown with vernacular language to communicate a particular urban experience." Ruscha was very influential in the the pop art movement. He works in painting and photography, though many of his processes might be considered "alternative". Some of his typologies, for example, are created using ketchup or blackberry juice.

Although not all of his works may be considred contemperary, I'm very interested in the typologies he has created and how I can allow them to affect my own compositions.

artist site: http://www.edruscha.com/

Thur Nov 6: Volatile

Volatile: (adjective)

* tending to fluctuate sharply and regularly
* a mesaure of instability

The oil market is one small reflection of the situation in which the American (and now possibly, global) economy finds itself. Oil prices soar and the deflate dramatically, in a change of plot line that could rival a soap opera. The Dow Jones drops, jumps, than drops more. "Volatility's here, and it's here to stay," said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Re-search.

According to an article from the associate press, "Economists are not optimistic about data this week on new home sales, durable goods orders, third-quarter gross domestic product, personal spending and income, and consumer confidence. All these reports are anticipated to show continued weakness."

I'm considering a semi-related series that deals with the lack of trust, if not fear, people have regarding today's economy, government, and financial systems.

Sunday Nov 2nd: Andrew Borowiec

Andrew Borowiec, born 1956 in New York City, spent his childhood in France. He received it BA from Haveford College in Russia (1979) and his MFA in Photography from Yale University in 1982. He has worked as a staff photographer, a photojournalist, and a photography instructor at four different colleges, including Parsons School of Design. Borowiec currently resides in Akron, Ohio.

All of the images above are from the 2004-2008 photographic series "The New Heartland". Borowiec has been exploring the changes of the Midwest Urban landscapes. For Borowiec, the project is about the details and repetitions which begin to tell the tale of Americans lifestyle.

His latest project is a departure from his earlier work, which has been black & white and focused on the industrial landscapes of the Midwest (mainly Ohio). He has 4 published books which document different industrial aspects.

The longer I focus on the closed service stations, the more I notice the details, the symbols and signifiers that become a constant across each photo, and I'm hoping these links appear across the board in my work as they do in Borowiec's.

While Borowiec is not represented by a gallery, much of his collection is housed at the Cleveland Museum of Art.( https://clemusart.com/)

Artist's site: http://andrewborowiec.com/

Thur Oct 30: Supply (& Demand)

Supply: verb

to furnish or provide with what is lacking or requisite

Trying to understand the sharp decrease in gas prices, and predict what will happen in the near future requires a basic understanding of the economic principles of supply & demand. No one needs a chart to recall the dramatic rise in gasoline costs. Traditional supply & demand curves look like this:





As the prices rises, the consumption falls. The normal "price-elasticity" law says that for every one percent increase in price, demand decreases by two percent The gasoline industry, however,doesn't respond in the standard fashion. Petroleum has a "low elasticity"; meaning a huge price increase is needed in order to create a drop in demand. During the summer of 2008, a large increase is exactly what happened in America, and as a result, the demand fell. Part of the reason for the recent decline in fuel cost is a surplus. The global recession also has an impact; America is not the only country feeling an economic pinch.
Gas prices are sure to increase again, hopefully Americans can control their demands and in turn control the supply.

Sunday Post: Christopher W. Trice

Montgomery Wards, Dixie Square Mall, 2001

Men’s Jackets, Montgomery Wards, Dixie Square Mall, 2001

Unidentified Store No. 7, Dixie Square Mall, 2001

Christopher Trice, a california-born photographer who resides in Jasper, Alabama, recieved his BFA from the University of Alabama in 1999 and his MFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2001.

The photographic series shown above is from part of the Dixe Square Mall exhibiton. The Dixie Square mall is an abandoned enclosed shopping mall in the Chicago-land area. The mall was once very prosperous, but went out of buisiness in the late 70's . The mall has been empty for over 30 years, and is famous as the filming location for the chase scene in Blues Brothers.The history which remains is facsinating, including looting, illegal night demolition work, and attempted renovations. Despite good intentions, the mall still remains standing and decaying.
Trice takes an interesting photograph, but the history is what drew my attention to the series, and once I'm happy with my aestethics, I'll be trying to dig up the stories behind the closed service stations; when they closed, who owned them, what happened to the employees, etc.

"In The Dixie Square Mall Series, Christopher Trice examines the space and socioeconomic import of a long-abandoned shopping center in one of Chicago’s south suburbs. Dangling wires, fallen ceiling tiles, and peeling wallpaper evidence the decay of otherwise familiar store interiors now ravaged by vandals and weather alike. Yet the attention to color and closely controlled composition of Trice’s photographs transcend the merely documentary, generating a beauty otherwise absent from this crumbling structure." - critic Kendra Greene

Museum of Contemporary Photography: http://www.mocp.org/collections/permanent/trice_christopher.php