The Bruins won today.

A couple nights ago at dinner, Marc asked us if it was possible to pick our top three favorite things we've done so far. It probably is possible, but I can't stick with just three. These are my highlights of the trip so far (with accompanying sketches):

Visit to Ray Smith's Studio:



Metropolitan Museum of Art (particularly the sculpture court and Grecco/Roman wing):



Museum of the American Indian (I was really struck by the beauty and intricacy of the various horse masks we saw here...the reason why all of my drawings from here are of the masks):



Museum of Natural History (an incredible place to do studies and get inspired):


The rain forest replica was one of my favorite displays at the museum.

Getting a "behind the scenes" look.



Brooklyn Botanic Garden:




Meeting Davide Cantoni and seeing his studio has also been a highlight thus far (I wrote about this in an earlier post).

Lastly, a show entitled Dead or Alive at the Museum of Art and Design, which we attended today has made it to my list of favorites. This show was solid, from it's title to the last bit of art exhibited. This show has probably been the most inspiring and thought provoking show we have attended so far. The works exhibited in Dead or Alive incorporated organic matter in some way (dead insects, plant life, bones, feathers, fur, etc.). The artists commented on matters such as the relationship between man and animals, bioengineering, the extinction of animals due to the activities of humans, conservation of natural resources, and the fragility of the environment. The level of craftmanship in this show is impeccable, displaying not only a high sense of work ethic but also well thought out ideas. This show is worth seeing by anyone who gets the chance.

This is like... OCD art

Today was interesting, exciting, and inspirational. As usual, we saw A LOT of art today, and explored much of madison ave. There were several galleries set up in buildings I wouldn't typically expect to see art galleries in. These buildings were fairly "posh", and the walls were lined with marble, with top of the line interior designs that looked and felt marvelous. Although the elevator space was small in some of these buildings, it all screamed of high quality, and many of us were impressed with how much attention to detail the building itself had. And speaking of attention to detail, the work in the galleries themselves were even more detailed oriented. It seems as if detail is even more of a popular aspect of art than ever. Much of the art we have experienced (not all) has been meticulous, and "OCD"-like. Before visiting these galleries however, we took a look at the Biennial. We were really impressed with the variety of work, and again, the attention to detail. It seems that Anna and Shlomi were right when they told our group that Video Art and Photography was really popular. Two years ago when I went on this trip to NYC the first time, the show at the Biennial was generally not liked by the public, and definitely not a favorite of our group.

Behind the Scenes at the Museum of Natural History

Today we had an anomalous opportunity to get a look behind the scenes at the Museum of Natural History. This is a chance that is rare and that few students will ever see. After we meandered the butterfly observatory, and the lizards and snakes exhibits, we met up with Lou Sorkin, who was our sherpa guide to the hinterlands of the museum--the place that most people never get to go! We were lucky enough to have an "in", as Lou works with Marc in one of his other enterprises, Insects Are Food. Although we did not eat any bugs during this visit, we did get to see tarantulas and other specimens, which the Museum of Natural History uses to conduct research--a rather illusive and unknown property of this prestigious museum. Lou was extremely knowledgeable in all aspects of entomology, expertly answering every question posed and then some. He's a real gem, both in New York and the world over (as a researcher, bedbug specialist, et. all), so we're very fortunate that, on this trip, we've gotten to see the inner workings of various organizations such as this--the unknowns of New York. We walked through hallways that were lined with the special treasures and former exhibitions of the museum. As you may know, certain objects can only be on display for so long until it compromises the work, so it must be rotated in and out of exhibition. These cabinets are where this goes.A special thanks to Lou for getting us a more informed view of part of the art and bug world.

"It's like he was singing in the shower, you know?"

At the conclusion of a long day spent looking at art, Marc Dennis always asks, "How do you sort through it all?" Upon reflection on this question, the answer is still not very clear. However, making connections between the different artists, as slight as they may be, is clearly a necessary step to digest the substantial amount of artistic imagery we experience almost every day in New York.

Yesterday was one of these days. We began with a visit to Aquavella Gallery, where a collection of mostly pop and expressionist art was on display. We then spent majority of the day in the Modern Art section of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We mostly looked at expressionist, abstract, surrealistic, and impressionist painters. I found most enjoyment looking at the art of the impressionist painters, especially Monet. Impressionist painting places an emphasis on how light and atmosphere affects objects. Monet especially studied the effects of light and atmosphere on various subjects by painting the same scene over and over at different times of the year and different times of the day (his Haystacks series is very famous for this). Monet and other impressionist paintings such as Renoir, Sisley, and Manet (in the later part of his life) also embraced bright, rich colors and did not seek to portray their subjects with intense realism.

The effects of the Impressionist school can be later seen in the works of expressionist and abstract expressionist artists such as Matisse, Soutine, de Kooning, Kiefer, Jasper Johns, and Pollock. These artists break conventions even more than the Impressionist artists did, working from their emotions more than anything. Their forms and use of color become even less representational, and even disregarded completely in some cases. For example, the works of artist's such as Pollock and Rothko do not seek to represent any object.

Before finishing the day at the Met with the Picasso exhibition we walked through the Pre-Columbian art, Oceanic Art, and African Art sections. These sections were initially impressive because all of the sculptures, carvings, jewelery, and other adornments were created by what some would call "primitive" cultures with unsophisticated tools. I became more impressed with the art of these cultures after walking through the Picasso exhibition because some of his work seemed to be directly influenced by the ceremonial masks and sculptures of the various African cultures. I was intrigued that such a renowned modern artist so clearly reflected the effects of a culture that might not be viewed as artistically advanced.

This visit to the Met was just as impressive as the first, and I am sure that successive visits will be just as informative and awesome.

There Was a Dude Hiding in an Egg

Today was definitely an interesting day despite the less than stellar weather. First we met with Marc's friend from California, Mark Shunney. He came up and explained his life story in the art world. It was pretty exciting and I, personally, find it interesting how no matter who we ask about how they got into the art world, no two stories are the same. After he finished we moved on to show him the art we brought along with us. He gave us his opinion on it, which is always appreciated. He seemed to like all of our work and was eager to give us ideas on how to improve or at least to mull over. He talked about dimension of our surfaces and about how zooming in or zooming out can say a different thing. He was very encouraging and offered to keep in touch with us through Marc, which is probably one of the most exciting things. I know that a lot of us, if not all would have like to have had more time to talk to him. It was a really good visit regardless of the time restraint though.

After Mark's visit we pulled on our rain gear and braved the storm to take the F train to go see the School of Visual Open Studio for Painting. That sure was a trip. We climbed the stairs to the fourth floor and started to peruse the different studio spaces. I have to admit it was almost busier than a gallery opening in Chelsea, fast paced and crowded. The experience was beneficial though. The seven of us got the chance to compare our studio space back on campus with these as well as the work. We also stopped in at the Digital Art and Sculpture Open Studios a few blocks away. The art presented to us assaulted our vision and mental facilities in an oddly stimulating way.

This was definitely a gate into a different world of student art than we would experience back at Elmira. We all are much more confident in our work and the competition we could have with the different art programs around us. And I personally have more appreciation and love for the art program back in Elmira. Our professors are definitely setting us up in a very dynamic and structured path while letting us express our individuality and creative monsters. Plus we have the benefit of having a personal studio even in our underclassmen years (freshman, sophomore and junior), whereas it seems to be the norm in some art schools for only the graduating seniors to have studios. And though Elmira is only a liberal art school, it's art program and the students like us in it definitely have the skills and work to compete with the best art schools around, and we're all confident in that fact now. I believe we're ready to make more spectacular and mind-blowing work and the rest of our trip is just going to fuel that energy until we explode with said work upon our arrival back. It's going to be intense and amazing.

Ken Solomon

There have already been a few posts about our activities and the artists we met Thursday but I wanted to post about an artist that I am highly intrigued by. Being a veteran on this trip I met Ken Solomon two years ago but was very eager to hear him talk about his work again. He is very high energy and excited about his work. Two years ago we visited him in his studio and were shown numerous projects he has worked on throughout his artistic career. This year we switched it up a bit (the trip is never the same) and we met Ken at his show in the Chelsea gallery josee bienvenu. He talked about those prior projects somewhat to bring us up to speed before delving into his current works.

24/7/360, 2010, Installation view, Josée Bienvenu Gallery

If you want to know more about this body of work, you can hear it directly from Ken in a short 5 minute clip. This is similar to what we experienced but on a smaller scale. We allowed Ken to first talk about his work and then asked our own questions about his methods and ideas. His work is very meticulous and time consuming. He spoke about the seeming repetitive nature of his work and how it is often right between "God I love this" and "Fuck! I hate this". I can easily relate to this and I love how true it really is. Evidenced below is his attention to detail.

Google Portrait- Lichtenstein Red, White, and Blue, 2010, (detail), Watercolor on paper, 59 x 48 inches

His talk about his work was very enlightening and I also thought his outlook upon the art world was really ingenious. I found his insight to finding a gallery that fits your work extremely helpful. He talked about how galleries are like artists but they use artists as their medium instead of oil, watercolor, etc.. It really put perspective into the importance of finding the right gallery for your work is so important.

I didnt' do it, 2010, Oil on canvas, 34 x 26 inches

Overall Ken was a great speaker and I loved his work. There were many other things he did I would love to talk about but no one wants to read a ten page blog post... So instead, you should go check out his show at josee bienvenu. If you go, be sure to check out the video and back room as well. I found his mail work on Iraqi soldiers extremely moving and brilliant.