slightly wonky

I know that I normally post on Fridays…but seeing as I missed last week and I’m wanting to get this published, I’m doing it TODAY. CARPE DIEM.

So, tomorrow night…I’m going to an 80’s prom.  No, I’m not kidding.  This is the brainchild of a friend, who feels that we need to revisit this era on Friday.  In all honesty, my fashion sense is probably stuck in the 80’s, so I should have no problem with an outfit.  Did hot pink ever go out of style????  If so…WHO CARES???  It’s one of my favorite colors.  I’ve been scrounging around my closet to come up with some kind of 80’s outfit:

WHOA.

No thank you.  This is what I have to aspire to for this event??????  Egads.  Does anyone else have the sudden sensation of acid reflux?

Or is that just from the ice cream sandwich I decided to have for breakfast?

(KIDDING!  I’m testing to see if you’re still paying attention. No?  Oh well…)

One thing that I DO love from the 80’s is jelly shoes.  I am sad to say that I don’t own a pair of jelly shoes anymore.

Mine were pink, of course.  There is an urban legend that if you stand on a hot sidewalk for too long, they’ll melt.  Pshaw.

Besides wasting time planning for this 80s outfit, I also went to check out what’s at the galleries in the South End.  I know that you’re relieved to hear that this post is moving on to more compelling topics than acid green and/or acid reflux…

Lisa Sigal at Samson Gallery, Boston

This is the work of Lisa Sigal at Samson.  Okay.  Let me just say that I LOVED all of her work.  Her pieces for this show were sooo fascinating.  In the piece above, she has a digital print of what appears to be housing.  I believe that she also paints on this print.  In front of the print, leaning on the wall, is a typical window screen that she has also painted.  Her sense of color is amazing, and I love the mix of pattern, flatness, layering, depth, and translucency.  So inventive!  I really could have stared at these all day.  (Maybe it’s just the architect in me?  Who knows…)

Robert Richfield at Gallery Kayafas, Boston

Robert Richfield has photographed eclectic, exotic, and intimate Mexican burial sites.  I loved the intense colors and exuberance in spite of the morose subject matter.  The photos are surreal, and you really forget what it is that you are looking at as your eyes take in the explosive colors and the dizzying array of objects.  They are very beautiful in their composition and content.

Laurie Alpert at Bromfield Gallery, Boston

Laurie Alpert has a great show at Bromfield Gallery.  Her show it titled, “Milori Blue,” and is based on a series of photos that she took of her studio floor.  I love how inventive her printmaking is.  The rich, saturated blues are inky (for lack of a better word) and deep.  These images are both abstract and intimate.  This photo really doesn’t do her work justice, so you’ll have to see if for yourself.  I was obviously drawn to the mylar, as that’s what I use for my drawings.

I also had a great time chatting with Lesley Cohen, who is an artist at Bromfield, and was “on duty” at the gallery.  We talked about drawing, why we draw what we do, how we got to were we were, etc.  She is a LOVELY person…warm, creative and engaging.  She is having a show in June, so I’ll be sure to stop  by and see it.

Ann Pibal at Steven Zevitas Gallery, Boston

This is the work of Ann Pibal at Steven Zevitas Gallery.  I love the sparseness of her work.  There is so much space, and the elements are always balanced, albeit asymmetrical.  I’m not sure why I keep thinking that her work is very minimal?  Perhaps it’s the clarity of each piece, or the “quiet” world that they seem to create?  Really impressive.  Go see!  Now!

 Karen Meninno at Kingston Gallery, Boston

Karen is a sculptor, but she has created these astounding wallpaper designs that hang floor to ceiling.  This one was one of my favorites.  See the detail here:

Karen Meninno at Kingston Gallery, Boston

Her work was filled with jewel tones and rich materials.  Her sculptures (which were present as manipulated images) are almost like artifacts of some forgotten dynasty. I wonder how different the images are from the sculptures that they are created from?  I wonder how Meninno feels about this transformation that she’s made?  The nice thing about these images and the wallpaper is that she almost creates a environment which the viewer is immersed in, as opposed to an object that the viewer looks at.  Please go see her work…amazing!!!

I am intrigued by her image manipulation, as I have been doing some similar things in my own work.  I am embarking on a new series generated by my existence as a housefrau/parent/chef/chauffeur/family cruise director:

Elizabeth Kostojohn, Nameless Problem #1, 2013, colored pencil on mylar

Perhaps I should have cropped the image?  Anyway, I’ve started making these compositions…AND I’m starting to work in color.  You’re looking at pickles, ham slices, raw chicken legs, a can of chickpeas, and ketchup.  Comments?  Questions?  I don’t really have a working artist statement yet…so you’ll just have to wonder.  I know that my family does…

My son is obsessed with drawing, much like his mommy.  I love all of his creations.  He tends to draw lots of dinosaurs, as he’s five and that’s just what five year olds are into:

Okay.  I love this.  He wanted to show an ENORMOUS sauropod dinosaur towering above a T.Rex.  I love that it is so big that the neck disappears and reappears at the edge of the paper to show how HUGE it is.  He even drew a tiny person for scale.  DON’T YOU LOVE IT???  Or, is this a picture that only a mother could love?  The T.Rex looks as if it is pouncing on the person, and the whateverasaurus looks like it’s going to stomp on both of them.  Brilliant!  I wish that he hadn’t drawn on the back, as it distracts from the awesomeness of this drawing.  Just my two cents…

Well, wish me luck with my 80’s prom.  We’re going out to dinner beforehand, so I’ve got to go out in “public” with my bizarre, fluorescent ensemble of coolness.  Should be…interesting?

I’ll let you know how many sad looks I get from people who see my appearance as a pitiful and creepy “time capsule” that should be put back underground…STAT!