Damien Hirst

There are a lot of people who hate Damien Hirst, and let's be honest there is a lot to hate.  1. He has got to be the wealthiest artist in the world.   2.He has a posse of assistants who do the work for him.  Most notably the infamous dots of Chloroperoxidase, none of which he colored.  Hirst's recommendation is to buy the ones Rachel did.  3.  He does steal ideas from other artists, which unfortunately is something artists do.  4.He has a drug problem and one of the things he is known for is sticking a burning cigarette in the end of his penis (not a predesigned art thing, as far as we know)  5.  His website sucks.

That being said I find the work being produced in his name interesting, and the reactions he gets are also interesting.  His attitude is also appealing.  He is honest about Rachel, whereas Kinkade would have never admitted to her.  Part of why I like his work is because it has a point.  One of my favorite pieces is For the Love of God.  It is an 18th century skull that his assistants recast in platinum and set with diamonds.  There is a ton of content with this piece.  In my mind it speaks to the pointlessness of the diamonds, as the owner is clearly dead, perhaps with the inclusion of the title it points to an atheist streak within Hirst.


Besides who else can say that they have killed 9,000 butterflies in the name of art, ooops Lori Precious did in 1994.

Dread Scott

Okay,
I originally started looking at this guys work because I really like his name, but I quite like some of his Revolution Paintings, and the installation with the shooting gallery.  The paintings were made via xerox transfer to canvas of original photographs from that time, and then he painted over them in places.  He is more of an idea type of artist.  Click the link to see more.

www.dreadscott.net

Sort of Congratulations to me

A very merry sort of congratulations to me.  While I did not win anything at the Light, Space, and Time Juried Figurative Exhibition I did get into it, even with 731 entries.  It was the Very old one from Scranton featured on the Naked Beast.

Proof

The Impossible has happened

For years I have said that I was not likely to grow any larger vertically, but I have gained an inch over the course of this week thanks to my new chiropractor.

I've been told that I shouldn't talk about these things, but this is an expression of the mental health problems I have been having.  This past Monday was such a good work day for me, nothing for eight hours.

Drawings for the Gillman Comic Book

Lubok the Popular Prints of Russia

Found a book on these today.  Most of it is in Russian with a brief English summary.  Maybe I'll write more latter.

Cedar Rapids

I did this last month, but I get so distracted and busy these days things don't always happen in a timely manner. I made the five hour drive down from La Crosse to Cedar Rapids.  For those out there not familiar with Cedar Rapids it is the sight of the Legion Art Center, where Mr. Kimm works.  It was also Grant Wood's city of origin and the heart of Regionalism.  Cedar Rapids also had some horrific flooding, which if I remember correctly hit to the second floor window of Legion art center.  It has undergone extensive renovation, and I would have to say that I was thoroughly impressed by the facilities.  Cedar Rapids is also the location of the Quaker Oats factory.  As Mr. Kimm will attest smells can vary in Cedar Rapids; things like Captain Crunch.  Coming back was a bit of an adventure I took a wrong turn and got lost in the city, but with a little help managed to make way back out.
If you can go now you can expect to see Gary Hootman's wood fired ceramics, which are indeed monumental and impressive pieces of work reminiscent of Mesoamerican art.  You can also see Four Directions, Four Printmakers, which I would highly recommend.  Chauvin had some very impressive etchings.  They were quite large, but still maintained a lot of detail and fluidity in them and are impressive from a technical aspect as well as for their content and design.

Habitat for Humanity Project

Gessoed Panel and Jumping Joe

Molding

I picked up my supplies for this one a few days ago, and thought it might be fun to do the montage thing with it. Hopefully I can get it done by the auction, I have really been procrastinating on it so far.  I am a bit of an art history junky, and this is a bit of trivia for people.  The Robes of the Madonna were traditionally painted blue because it was the most expensive paint to come by.   To be more specific it was painted in Ultramarine which is made from Lapis Lazuli, which would have been mined and shipped from Afghanistan hence the cost.

Glued some scrap lace paper and drawing in charcoal

Threw some paint

Took some paint away

 Glaze of orange

Painting with frame

This is going to be a very long post.


I am going to call this project done, and it has now been delivered to Habitat for Humanity.  If you would like to see the finished piece you can come to their Raise the Roof event on April 28th.

Johanness Oporinus

Just about everybody has heard of Vesalius, but who has heard of Oporinus?  Oporinus is the printmaker who published Vesalius's anatomy book, which as we all know was the first attempt at an accurate representation of human mechanics.  Previously anatomy lessons for physicians consisted of once a year watching someone from a great distance pulling the organs out of a deceased convict.  As to the medical texts prior to Vesalius's and Oporinus's De humani corporis fabrica (1543), they largely consisted of globular red and brown shapes mostly indistinguishable from each other. (Prints and People: A Social History)  As wiki will tell you Oporinus also published the first Latin Koran, which garnered massive protests at the time and was only permitted because of Martin Luther's backing.  Shown above was his printer's device.

Maybe someone out there will have an answer

Maybe someone out there will have an answer for me. On the job hunt, I am frequently stopped short by the fact that employers are really only interested in MFA. The interest in MA seems to be shrinking. A few years ago the NGA did extend their graduate internships to MA, but they don't any longer. I have a MA, and I am not particularly interested in going back at this point in my life. What sort of jobs are available with this degree?

Jeb Prazak

This is the first printmaker outside of my family who I had the pleasure of working with; my parents signed me for a class with her when I was in high school.  She had her own studio and gallery in Dodgeville, WI.  She lived above the gallery in a loft space reached by a ladder.  It was a beautiful facility and home.  I thought it was time I gave her her due on this, and in all honesty it should have happened sooner.  About the same time I was getting back into it in college Jeb had developed cancer, and due to the bills was forced to sell everything.

P.S.  I just a saw a flier for Wisconsin artists, and evidently Jeb is still working.

Book in Review

This past summer I picked up and read Magical Secrets about Line Etching and Engraving:  The Step by Step Art of Incised Lines by Catherine Brooks of Crown Point Press.  To any with a serious interest in printmaking this book is a must read.  I tend to be a bit of a technical junkie myself, and while the subject is not a new one to me this book did offer some new techie twists and tricks that kept me interested throughout.  Every printmaker I have worked with to date (Jeb Prazak, Joel Elgin, Peter Hoffer, Allison Wilse, Rob Hay, and of course my mother) all have had mildly different ways of handling things.  This book was no exception and did not disappoint.

New old stuff to the Naked Beast

I don't think very many people follow the Naked Beast, but to those who do.  Just posted some new old stuff.