Went to see him speak. I think we were supposed to meet in the morning, but I never saw him- which is good, since I had a doctor's appointment around the same time.
However, I watched a bit of his video. I had seen it when it was all being installed and things, had noticed his camera work which i was envious of: because he was accepted. He was in a gallery. I have made movies that enjoy those angles of humans too, but I haven't got any critical acclaim for it...which is fine. It makes me feel like there are people who I can be friends with though, to see his films.
Because thematically, these are things I think about. I don't make art about them as much, I haven't quite been able to get to that point where I could make something that talked about the nearness of things like homelessness to my heart... And that clothesline piece too, really great stuff. And the "It's Okay United" video.
He said we have a responsibility as artists to bring these subjects up.
While not being political.
hmm...
overall though, i was struck dumb. for a while afterwards i just sat and stared, and then went to help make dinner, but sat and stared some more.
15 February 2008
06 February 2008
Nuno Pedrosa Talk
I went to his talk, in the afternoon, after i finished shooting the screens and washing them out, they look so great, i cant wait to print them.
It was not well attended, maybe 15 or 20 people, many chairs were empty- but i dont think he cared. I'm not sure he noticed...and it probably wasnt unexpected.
That seems to be the thing with him, he is very humble, as is the woman with him- is it his wife? girlfriend? lover of some sort at least.
She works in a library. She told Veronica and I that usually when she tells people that they go, "oh..." with a look on their face, like it is really too bad, eh?
I had asked her if she was an artist also- she was very beautiful, because she looks solid, she isn't real thin like imagined beauty. She is a great age i think, maybe in her thirties or forties, but like she has had a happy life. Veronica likes libraries!
The talk itself:
Pedrosa described his work for a while, with a slide show going behind him that helped to explain further what he does. A professor wanted to know what he considered the art part to be. Was it the camera and balloon spread on the ground? Was it the video created by the cameras? Was it the action of filming others? Was it all of the above?
He created a camera backpack in the past, you wear it on your back, and it films you and whatever you are looking at. i really liked that. i liked the images he was showing us from that as well. it reminded me of going to parties full of interesting people. apparently he does filming at art show openings.
"Private interchanges in public spaces" is what the backpack is for. and, "I want to be included" he says, when asked if with the backpack he tries to be a "Fly on the wall"
He declared that artists are too entrenched in the symbolism of our work, there is too much context for our work. It should be about the sensory effect, the aesthetic, should ask the question: how do you feel? (when you look at the work. which reminded me that for papermaking's final critique, i wore the dress i made, and the only question i had to ask the class was "How does it make you feel?", and no one responded: there was complete silence).
"From the beginning of my being I have chosen sculpture"-Pedrosa
He makes his work out of old police cameras and military balloons. Emna asked about the aspect of big-brother-ness in his pieces, in filming others without their awareness. i thought that maybe he was more like a little brother than a big brother. he responded by a story about how disturbing he found the customs to be, when he had to give his fingerprint, and they took his photo: "a foreign government" he said it was illegal to do this. he said there is something very wrong in the world.
i think he has a good point...
he says artists are philosophers too.
He said that artists should try to escape the traditional framework for showing/displaying work. he said we dont step outside of the institution. except sometimes artists make it- i didnt catch the name, but he mentioned a performance artist in san francisco who has managed to take art out of the institution. he said that
the art is dependent upon the backbone of the artist.
he said if you want to survive in the art world, you cant be slow at producing work. because art is a commodity.
"Artists, writers and generally men or women whose genius forced them to keep the world at a certain distance and whose significance lies chiefly in their works, the artifacts they added to the world not in the role they played in it." - Hannah Arendt
He took issue with this statement: he questions the solitary significance of artists being their work, the artifacts they add to the world. He thinks that they should also play a role in the world.
This disturbs me in some respects. But also validates some feelings i have. I read a book by Auguste Rodin. I really agreed with much of what he had to say. But at the same time, he said that there was either an artist or something else, you couldnt be both an artist and a politician or whatever. Which is true in some ways: but maybe in the postmodern world one can (and cant help but) play many roles depending on the context. After all, in my artwork i am not often an older sister, or even a woman. i mean, i bring those things to my work, but those are not the issues i highlight...the parts of myself i express.
that was something else from when i talked to pedrosa one on one, he said that there was an expressive quality to my work, and that very often art is merely a form of self-expression, when maybe there could be more behind it.
but it requires so much thought. sometimes i think there is not enough time. and then in the end he told me not to think too much, just to do stuff. ha. another of his contradictions.
It was not well attended, maybe 15 or 20 people, many chairs were empty- but i dont think he cared. I'm not sure he noticed...and it probably wasnt unexpected.
That seems to be the thing with him, he is very humble, as is the woman with him- is it his wife? girlfriend? lover of some sort at least.
She works in a library. She told Veronica and I that usually when she tells people that they go, "oh..." with a look on their face, like it is really too bad, eh?
I had asked her if she was an artist also- she was very beautiful, because she looks solid, she isn't real thin like imagined beauty. She is a great age i think, maybe in her thirties or forties, but like she has had a happy life. Veronica likes libraries!
The talk itself:
Pedrosa described his work for a while, with a slide show going behind him that helped to explain further what he does. A professor wanted to know what he considered the art part to be. Was it the camera and balloon spread on the ground? Was it the video created by the cameras? Was it the action of filming others? Was it all of the above?
He created a camera backpack in the past, you wear it on your back, and it films you and whatever you are looking at. i really liked that. i liked the images he was showing us from that as well. it reminded me of going to parties full of interesting people. apparently he does filming at art show openings.
"Private interchanges in public spaces" is what the backpack is for. and, "I want to be included" he says, when asked if with the backpack he tries to be a "Fly on the wall"
He declared that artists are too entrenched in the symbolism of our work, there is too much context for our work. It should be about the sensory effect, the aesthetic, should ask the question: how do you feel? (when you look at the work. which reminded me that for papermaking's final critique, i wore the dress i made, and the only question i had to ask the class was "How does it make you feel?", and no one responded: there was complete silence).
"From the beginning of my being I have chosen sculpture"-Pedrosa
He makes his work out of old police cameras and military balloons. Emna asked about the aspect of big-brother-ness in his pieces, in filming others without their awareness. i thought that maybe he was more like a little brother than a big brother. he responded by a story about how disturbing he found the customs to be, when he had to give his fingerprint, and they took his photo: "a foreign government" he said it was illegal to do this. he said there is something very wrong in the world.
i think he has a good point...
he says artists are philosophers too.
He said that artists should try to escape the traditional framework for showing/displaying work. he said we dont step outside of the institution. except sometimes artists make it- i didnt catch the name, but he mentioned a performance artist in san francisco who has managed to take art out of the institution. he said that
the art is dependent upon the backbone of the artist.
he said if you want to survive in the art world, you cant be slow at producing work. because art is a commodity.
"Artists, writers and generally men or women whose genius forced them to keep the world at a certain distance and whose significance lies chiefly in their works, the artifacts they added to the world not in the role they played in it." - Hannah Arendt
He took issue with this statement: he questions the solitary significance of artists being their work, the artifacts they add to the world. He thinks that they should also play a role in the world.
This disturbs me in some respects. But also validates some feelings i have. I read a book by Auguste Rodin. I really agreed with much of what he had to say. But at the same time, he said that there was either an artist or something else, you couldnt be both an artist and a politician or whatever. Which is true in some ways: but maybe in the postmodern world one can (and cant help but) play many roles depending on the context. After all, in my artwork i am not often an older sister, or even a woman. i mean, i bring those things to my work, but those are not the issues i highlight...the parts of myself i express.
that was something else from when i talked to pedrosa one on one, he said that there was an expressive quality to my work, and that very often art is merely a form of self-expression, when maybe there could be more behind it.
but it requires so much thought. sometimes i think there is not enough time. and then in the end he told me not to think too much, just to do stuff. ha. another of his contradictions.
04 February 2008
Nuno Pedrosa Critique
He was smoking a cigarette out in the yard, and looked apologetic when i approached. I didnt have anything prepared to say exactly, but i had some work set out to look at.
His general demeanor was very polite, he held the door for me, and kept apologizing sort of when he would say something. Or rather, he would correct himself, or say conditional statements, or would say he had just contradicted himself.
However, he made some concrete suggestions. Such as, making a bit of an effort to focus my work a little. He suggested that it would lend strength to what I did, and would possibly help me to survive in the art world. He was pretty down on the art world in general, he said it was full of storms. He said that the most important thing was to have self-confidence. That if you can stand and say something to people, maybe with a smile...
He also mentioned that possibly i would like to be a clever artist, one who plays with others' expectations.
He liked my drawings- particularly the one on made paper that was more decorative than anything- as in, flat surfaces covered in imagery... But he also said the yarn one was good, and he liked the four color prints- though he mentioned it had been done before (which he said while smiling and looking again a bit bashful)- so that maybe i would not want to do it.
he mentioned doing new things, or of staying within a tradition. he said maybe they were the same.
he said i had the skills, it was just a matter of deciding now what i wanted to do. he suggested i might want to go to grad school. he said to do more drawings like the two he really liked.
he gave me a name of an artist to look at: Benjamin Degen. he thinks i might like looking at him.
His general demeanor was very polite, he held the door for me, and kept apologizing sort of when he would say something. Or rather, he would correct himself, or say conditional statements, or would say he had just contradicted himself.
However, he made some concrete suggestions. Such as, making a bit of an effort to focus my work a little. He suggested that it would lend strength to what I did, and would possibly help me to survive in the art world. He was pretty down on the art world in general, he said it was full of storms. He said that the most important thing was to have self-confidence. That if you can stand and say something to people, maybe with a smile...
He also mentioned that possibly i would like to be a clever artist, one who plays with others' expectations.
He liked my drawings- particularly the one on made paper that was more decorative than anything- as in, flat surfaces covered in imagery... But he also said the yarn one was good, and he liked the four color prints- though he mentioned it had been done before (which he said while smiling and looking again a bit bashful)- so that maybe i would not want to do it.
he mentioned doing new things, or of staying within a tradition. he said maybe they were the same.
he said i had the skills, it was just a matter of deciding now what i wanted to do. he suggested i might want to go to grad school. he said to do more drawings like the two he really liked.
he gave me a name of an artist to look at: Benjamin Degen. he thinks i might like looking at him.
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