slightly wonky

Another dreary, cold day here.  My husband tells me that this is what Seattle is like.  Really?  You mean I can have bad hair ALL YEAR, and not just occasionally?  Maybe only people with shiny, straight hair that I envy live in Seattle.  I’d have a whole new identity out there…someone would say, “You know…Elizabeth…the one with the crazy, wacked out hair…”  Awesome.  I’d have to wear a green cap, like the lady below…

So, I went to the MFA to see the Alex Katz exhibit.  I hate to admit it, as it shows my ignorance, but I didn’t really like it.  Actually, if I was worried about showing my ignorance, I wouldn’t have started this blog.  So, I’ll throw caution and good sense out the window…and just continue with my ramblings.  Here’s one of the prints:

Alex Katz

So, this is a woodcut print.  I’m just not into it.  It’s so flat.  I feel that I have to keep looking at it, though, to understand why I don’t like it.  It actually BOTHERS me to look at it.  Sometimes, he would take the same image, and repeat it as a woodblock print, a screenprint, a lithograpth, which was an interesting exercise in understanding the particularities of the print medium.  I didn’t like the image in any medium, unfortunately.  For example, whoever printed that image above must have been a MASTER printer.  Seriously.  Those huge expanses of flat color in a woodblock print are NOT EASY.  I keep wondering if I don’t like these because this type of imagery has been used and reused by the advertising/fashion/illustration world a million times over?  But, perhaps when it first came out…it looked more original/interesting?  Can anyone help me out here to like these more than I do?  I see their artistic merit…I just don’t want to look at one for more than a minute.  The part of my brain that should like this must be feeble and undernourshed…I think maybe that it’s too CLEAN and STERILE for my taste.  I like art to be more dirty and messy. (For those of you who have visited my house, try to act surprised)

This is the kind of stuff I like:

Cy Twombly

Love. it.

SPEAKING OF LOOKING AT ART…guess who got one of her drawings into a show at THE DANFORTH???    Yup.  MARGERY HAMLEN!!!  Ha ha…just kidding…I actually have no idea who that person is. I’m sure that she’s famous, though…unlike me.  What I really mean to say is… ME!!!!  I kid you not.  Now, don’t be too impressed.  There are actually TWO shows held concurrently at the Danforth.  The prestigious show is called “Off the Wall”, and it is curated by Cody Hartley of the MFA.  He chose 80 works of art.  Sadly, mine was not one of them. (sniff..sniff..)

THEN,  the director of the Danforth, Katherine French…chose from the remaining (i.e. leftover) pieces, to create the second show…called “Community of Artists.”  I made it into THAT show.  Ok…so Cody didn’t like my stuff….there’s always next year.  Did I mention that there were over 1,400 entries, and that my show has only 136?  Here’s the drawing that made it in:

Okay.  I know what you’re thinking…”THAT made it in???? *YAWWWWN*”  Why, yes it did…graphite on mylar, and it took me a long time, thankyouverymuch.  Here’s my one concern: there is this tiny, elevator vestibule waaaay back in the first floor galleries.  They put art back there.  I am seriously concerned that my work will be in that vestibule.  Why, you ask?  Because it’s small….it’s black and white…it’s just PENCIL, for Lord’s sake.   If I ask people to visit the show to see my drawing, they may miss it and think that I’m just totally delusional…or, just more so than usual.

Hmm.  Did you notice that I am already whining, and this hasn’t even happened yet?  I know.  I’ll stop before I irritate myself further.  Aren’t you glad that you’re not married to me?  (Thanks honeeeey!!! xoxo)

So, I got some of my recent work photographed.  Here is the large drawing:

But, I originally had it oriented vertically…with the pear at the bottom:

Or, does that look odd?  Two of my artist friends gave me a critique.  Needless to say…I’m taking their comments and trying to do a better job on the next drawing.  Sheesh.  I feel that I need a team of monkeys to help me with setting up these still lifes.  Actually, that would be bad, as they’d probably just eat the fruit, thus ruining my composition. 

Okay, I’ll stop droning on.  Please go watch this video (btw…it has sound).  MESMERIZING!!! 

http://vimeo.com/41009719

See?  Black and white art CAN be arresting!  Mine is just tiny, static, and silent, in comparison.  I know.  Not even remotely in the same ballpark…don’t remind me…