OnTheCusp.org

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                                              [image, ID 61, 58" x 48", oil on wood, 2009]



1- Did you always want to be an artist growing up? If things had been different, what other field of study (outside of art) do you think you would have considered?

I had a strong enthusiasm for art early on. I became the one in class who could draw, and then art became about skillful depiction and identity. I was clueless about career choices and didn't understand the role of the school guidance counselor. Somewhere in the fog, I realized that illustration was a justifiable art career, so I enrolled at Herron to become an illustrator. At Herron, I rediscovered my original enthusiasm for art, but as I did so, I moved away from applied into studio art. I regained the love, but lost my justification... (hello shame cycle)

I had a bookkeeping job in high school, and would probably have gone into accounting.


2- When I stand looking at your work, it immediately evokes some fantasy and/or alien quality about them. Is this an intentional aspect or theme in your work? What are the ideas, inspiration, motivation behind these works?

Aack! I hate thinking of my work in fantasy genre terms, but it raises an issue. I think there is some disparity between where I'm coming from and how my work looks; how it is perceived. I'm referring to the figurative scene paintings. Currently, these are not my main focus, but they represent my primary painting approach for most of my career.

I paint intuitively, seeking the discovery or the creation of meaningful imagery. I believe this matters. I did not fully believe in this process until I gave up trying to justify it. These landscape/fantasy-scape scenes are, for me as a painter, a morphing paint environment, in which I find metaphors, allegories, and narratives. With this process, I find ideas, sometimes very specific ideas, which I would never have thought of sans the process-prompting. The painted environment I end up with is somewhat of a default; I've not really focused on stylistic concerns (again, I'm addressing primarily pre-2006 work). The form of these paintings has mostly followed their concept-generating function. I only recently realized just how consistently "dreamy" and "fairy-tale-like" are the results stylistically, and as I stated, I sort of hate that.

Lately, I have been working in abstraction, and so have paid more attention to formal and surface considerations. I am assuming this interest in style and paint handling and non-figurative imagery will influence my more figurative work.

3- Do you build these paintings up intuitively, with no clear idea where the work is going or do you begin with a fairly clear concept and idea of how the work will turn out? Do you do preparatory sketches/drawings, photos, studies for these works?

I work intuitively, and really struggle with taking direction, even from myself. So I employ preconditions and frameworks when I want to steer the painting process. A precondition can be as basic as a general color scheme, or even one specific color. I may let my reaction to the various qualities of the chosen color(s) fuel and guide the process.

I'm very interested in frameworks. A good framework will focus the painting process in one way, but will allow me to explore in many other ways. The "Mounts" series seem restricted to a specific subject matter, but are actually products of a very elastic framework. The Mounts are earthwork structures of unknown origin, and unknown, but undeniable, purpose. They could be monuments; they could be memorials... They could be of human or alien or supernatural origin. They may exist as a painted depiction of a fictitious reality, or I may use the very act of painting these structures as a metaphor, for I am "building" them as I paint them. These considerations may compete or co-exist, and may be augmented, or usurped, by all sorts of formal meanders. Anything can happen, separately or simultaneously. It's all held together, both from the viewing end and from the creation side, by a simple subjective framework. That's freakin' liberating.

It's also somewhat deceptive because it reads superficially as a cohesive single intent, when it's really offering multiple artistic possibilities.

I follow an entirely different approach for my day job as a muralist and ornamental painter. I have no problem being very disciplined and restrictive in my commissioned work. I actually enjoy the balance I get here, where I must find the most efficient and direct path to a specific outcome. The pay is also more predictable.


                                              [image, ID 53, 54" x 48", oil on wood, 2009]

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It may just be coincidence or spring is in the air, but the IMA keeps popping up in the art blogging community these past few days. These first couple of links each dealing with the IMA's deaccessioning policy and their new database of deaccessioned works. Another great sign of the museums transparency policies. Bravo. Looking around it was nice to see a couple of the works that are soon to find new homes and some that have already. A number of years ago as part of a museum studies course project, I had the opportunity to head down to the IMA's vault and view a number of icon paintings that had never been exhibited and questions concerning whether they should deaccession them or not were to be considered. Our small group were tasked to consider the different possible courses of action in which to handle these works and write a report on what we felt should take place with them. In short, we felt that if the works were not to be properly displayed and fill or build upon some niche in the museums collection then they should in fact consider deaccessioning the work with (if memory serves me correctly) the stipulation that the money earned go into an acquisition fund of some kind. Seems this is what the museum is doing.

Lee Rosenbaum, aka CultureGrrl, posts 'Deaccession Heaven: Indianapolis Museum of Art Does It Right' followed up by another post 'BlogBack: Max Anderson on Indianapolis’ Deaccession Database'.

Tyler Green at Modern Art Notes, posted 'IMA's deaccessioning database: A new model program'


On a much more curious and hilarious note, the IMA popped up on the radar by way of a gift pack giveaway. Apparently the winner of this giveaway will get the bounty of an IMA t-shirt, a Rubik's cube, 3 mini books, a pass to ArtBabble (still in Beta), and C-Monster sweetned the pot with a Twinkie. Find out more about this prize pack at C-Monster.

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Simply another reason why I love Jerry Saltz. Need I say more...

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In line with the previous post concerning the local art scene and national/international notice, local artist Casey Roberts got a nice mention in the post, 'Diving for Pearls at Fountain and Pool' over at ArtInfo. The post is covering two of the satelite art fairs during the Armory Show in NYC a couple weeks ago. I had planned on posting this a week ago but completely forgot until I received an email from Phil and Audrey Barcio, who many of you may know for their participation in the local art scene these past few years. Unfortunately, we lost these two fabulous people and creative minds to San Francisco. I am sure we will continue to hear from them on occasion. In the mean time, here is the segment from ArtInfo:

A few blocks away at the Wyndham Garden Hotel on 24th Street, the sixth edition of Pool catered to artists who do not have gallery representation, billing itself as a modern-day Salon des Refusés. The quality was uneven at best, and the concept of requiring artists to pay to exhibit their own work in a cramped hotel room felt distasteful, even if the experience itself was at times pleasingly intimate. A highlight was the work of Casey Roberts, whose elegant installation of framed paintings on paper wouldn’t have been out of place at one of the more established fairs. Roberts creates his work using the photomechanical cyanotype process, painting with a light sensitive medium and then exposing the result to sunlight to create a vibrant blue image, which he then embellishes with elements rendered in gouache. He reported selling four of his smaller works for $450 apiece. The larger works had not sold as of this writing, though they too were reasonably priced, at $3,500 to $4,400.

I hope to see more local artists get their work shown outside of Indy more often and hope to see their names and work receive the recognition they too deserve. Congratulations Casey. Enjoy the new studio.

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If you have yet to check out the Orly Genger installation in the IMA's Efroymoson Pavillion, I recommend you do so. In the mean time, I stumbled upon this post where art critic Ana Finel Honigman interviews Orly Genger and discusses her recent installation at the IMA. I am glad to see Indianapolis getting some notice in the international art community and hope that in the coming years we will continue to see more. Orly Genger's IMA installation on view till June 14th.

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Over the past few months, I have had numerous conversations with friends about what I can only say is my own lack of knowledge, despite my interest in know, about other arts related fields and in particular their status in Indy. I think at times a number of my friends assume I think of little more than art and perhaps movies. But I can tell you this is not the case. While I will say that my main interest lies in the visual arts, I am interested in a number of other areas and fields from cooking to cryptozoology. Similar to my interest in attending the IMA's design symposium so I could better understand this field which I consider myself lacking in knowledge, I am wondering who I should be aware of in Indy.

Who are the best chefs in Indy? Who are the most innovative chefs in Indy?

Who are the top designers in Indy? Who are the most innovative designers in Indy?

Who are the best architects? The most innovative architects?

Who are the best filmmakers? Most innovative?
The best fashion designers? Most innovative?
The best actors/actresses? Most innovative?
The best theater directors? Most innovative?
The best musicians? Most innovative?

If put on the spot, I could give you my personal top 5 artists in Indy or even my top 5 movies of all time. But what I am interested to find out is the answer to many of the above questions. How might knowing this information, being connected to people who are at the top of their game in other fields, impact the local art scene. Are there ways in which to blur the boundaries between these diverse groups? Is this already happening under my nose? I am reminded of a television series on the Sundance Channel called Iconoclasts which has often entertained and inspired me. For those who are unfamiliar with it, it basically films one on one discussions between well known people from diverse backgrounds, like the pairing of Ed Ruscha with Stella McCartney.

I am not exactly sure if we will be able to come up with some answers to these on this blog, even though I would love to. But the point being this... Maybe we should look outside our scene on occassion and see what else in Indy is worth embracing. And perhaps one day those areas will one day embrace the arts.

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The ArtBox was my first destination because I just had to see Jennifer Complo McNutt’s “Rock, Paper, Scissors”. The description of turning 200 pounds of airport confiscated scissors into objects d’art sounded like fun. But alas I was disappointed. While massive, the curtain of single strands of connected scissors failed to catch my interest. I found the photo from the show’s promo pieces to be much more delightful (shown above).

Dante Ventresca’s gridded wall of work displayed more of a level of compulsion than creative control. Each work on paper was embossed with a similar pattern to evoke the impressions found on a sketch pad when a pencil has been firmly pressed onto pages below. The colors worked over the striations all had the same globular oval structure. A few seemed just on the verge of trying to become three dimensional but didn’t quite make it around the event horizon. It’s unfortunate that the color themes couldn’t at least have attempted to attach some kind of emotional involvement with the viewer. It’s not surprising that Dante chose to title each work after a geometrical point.

The most I can say about the large charcoal works by Dale Nally is that they evoked warm memories. I’ve read that Nally is a highly collected artist. The description from the show literature reads, “...the contemporary abstract work of Dale Nally is unique in its ability to transcend the limits of categorization, definition, and time.” Nice copywriting, but artwork should be able to stand on it’s own without descriptions. Oh, and my memory.... Examining up close the deep, dark, black tones of the charcoal reminded me of my first Jon Gnagy’s Learn to Draw Set when I was about 8 and 9. I loved those black, gray, and light gray charcoal sticks and would grab my supplies when I heard his TV show theme song.

Crossing the street and entering the Stutz Art Space was like cleansing the palate. Here was art that while seemingly simple, provided the viewer with a sense that the artists, Kate Oberreich and Carol L. Myers, care about the quality of their pieces.

Ginny Taylor Rosner continues her series of photographing empty warehouses. This collection of greenhouses could be her best examples yet of capturing haunting images of locations that had long ago seen the enterprise and hustle & bustle of better times.

Finally the must see event of the night had to be Wug Laku’s Studio & Garage. Billed as “Hi-POP” this two artist show features William Ray Denton and James Ratliff in a “mashup of pop culture and fine art”. Even though this exhibit was proclaimed to be fun art where what was learned in art school was thrown out, it was evident that the throwing out part didn’t work. While humorous, the artists still display a control of their medium and understanding of composition.

What made this show important to note was the environment more than the art. Wug provided the kind of experience more galleries should embrace. Hi-POP was more of a party where friends and strangers could intermix amid the atmosphere of culture (albeit not the black tie kind) and art. Everyone was welcomed and made to feel a part of the happening.

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[image is one of my personal favorites by one of the speakers, Jurgen Bey titled, Tree Trunk Bench, 2002]

Having spent a good deal of time at the IMA this past Friday and Saturday for their Design Symposium, my mind is swirling with thoughts several thoughts concerning design and to some extent my own alienation from these and other art forms. Note, this is something I am attempting to correct and educate myself about. I thought it would be pertinant to take some notes over the course of the two days so I could reflect upon some ideas here. First note in my sketchbook, "I am WAY underdressed". While this really is not of any importance what so ever, it was my first impression as I was surrounded by a sea of impecably dressed designers and professionals. Perhaps I should have stepped up my dress for this occasion too but hell, I was going to be sitting in a darkened auditorium half the day, so comfort was my key. But back on topic...

I very much enjoyed the a number of the lectures I heard with only a couple that left me a bit estranged or bored. On day one two of the lecturers, honestly, could have talked about anything and I think I would have been entertained and mesmerized. This ability for public speaking is something I certainly lack. Not coming from a design background, I often have some issues with contemporary design, that I was hoping to learn more about and get some sense of perspective by these experts in the design field. To start, one of my personal issues with design, something I am unsure whether I am over yet, is with conceptual or aesthetic design seriously overshadowing function. To me, design should and must first and foremost be functional. But let me take this a bit further, if it is going to be considered great design, then in my mind it must be able to perform its function quite well. The idea of a chair that you can not quite sit on or is simply uncomfortable, to me is just bad design. While I was hoping this line of dialog would be discussed during the course of the symposium, it was only briefly touched upon in one of the designers anecdotes where he told of how his girl friend had dropped and broke his toaster. He had wanted to buy a designer toaster by another designer but found he was unable to find one. It was revealed that the designer was even warning people from buying it because it simply sucked as a toaster. Despite its great aesthetics, its function was poor.

Some similar threads were brought up where the opposite I find to be true as well, concerning the American auto industry. The US makes some great cars, functionally, but there is a complete lack of creative design when it comes to the aesthetics of American cars in the past 50+ years. Of note, when several of the speakers were asked about American design in which they liked, (I should note that most of the speakers were European) the only example that was brought up was that of Apple. Then again, it was also discussed that Apple's design was simply a riff on already popular European design. What does this say about design in America? Is it simply that these designers not being from the US are just not as in touch with good American design or is America truly behind in design? I will leave that to you to decide.

The symposium ended with a talk given by Jurgen Bey, a designer who I actually was aware of before the attending. A shock to me too. Talking with a gentleman in the parking garage as we were both preparing to leave, we briefly discussed the weekends events and agreed that Bey's talk was a great way to end, as it was looking toward the future of design. Where will design take us and is it possible to still make the world better through design? Something I think is an important question in both design and in art. Utopian thining? Yes, but we should continue to strive for something we hope for even if it is unobtainable.

Rather than attempt to give detailed account of the event, something that I think I would do an injustice, I link you to the IMA's own blog on the subject, where you can read some of the feedback on the event. With some 500 or so attendees that first day, I am hoping to see more feedback on their blog soon. Check out the IMA's blog here.

As I stated before, I am certainly not a design person and I am just beginning to get to know more about that world, just as I am with the architecture and culinary worlds, perhaps one of our other contributors who are more design minded will give their accounts of the weekend as Craig and Chris were both in attendance this weekend as well. In summary, I think this exhibition and the symposium is a great beginning to the IMA's new forray into building its design collection, thanks to Craig Miller.

Couple of additional links:

Young and Brilliant on the opening of the new Droog store in NY. One of my favorite design groups.

PingMag on Jamo Associates, an interior design group I quite enjoy. Is interior design the appropriate title for what these group does?

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Perhaps a current line of thinking for me and one that I am sure you will continue to here from me in the future, is one of personal initiative, making the scene you want to be a part of. A great local example of this is the group, Provocate. My personal understanding of what Provocate is about is one of bridging diverse, though like minded groups, in hopes of building our local community while being aware of the global world in which we live in. But rather than me discussing further my ideas about the group and their activities, I think you should check out their site.


From Provocate's site:

Provocate exists to make unique connections between the creativity of art and the energy of activism, international politics and local education, cultural color and engineering know-how, global issues and Hoosier solutions. We design unconventional atmospheres where diverse approaches can collide. Our goal is to provide the framework for individuals to learn, imagine, and redefine their role in solving problems. Being in the right place at the right time doesn’t happen by accident if you Provocate.

Provocate is quite young, only a year old. We have a small, fluid design which fluctuates by project. Just glance to the side of the page to see a list of a few of our partners. By combining their diverse strengths, the possibilities are boundless. However in our opinion, the most important ingredient is you. Our optimism about what our local community can accomplish if given the chance is what challenges us to create the architecture for imagination.

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Lots to do and see this weekend. In case you have not  been keeping up with earlier posts, this weekend the IMA is hosting their Design Symposium. Should be worth checking out, but it does cost. 

March 6: First Friday

Listen: A Music and Video Experiment
Featuring video art and experimental music throughout the Murphy Art Center -- including Alchemy in Suite 3, Suite 4 next door and multiple spaces upstairs near Big Car.

Friday, March 6, 2009 at 7 p.m.- Midnight.

Big Car's First Friday show for March will feature a bevy of local, regional, national and international video and sound artists. All of the music will accompany video art projections. The night will include a show of Herron video artists in Suite 214 next door to Big Car (see artist statements below), a program of experimental videos from other local artists in Suite 3 and 4 on street level (J. Andrew Salyer, Laura Salyer, Jim Walker, Flounder Lee) and a Microcinema screening (FATELESS, Color + Modulation, SLIDE, Hub Culture Retrospectives: Antarctica, Independent Exposure: Asthmatic Kitty Records Edition 2008, The Collected Films of Ryan Jeffery) also in Suite 214.

The night's musical offerings in Suite 215 (Big Car's regular space) and in other nearby spaces include performances by Butler University's Ensemble 48 (playing a soundtrack to the silent film "Man with the Movie Camera"), Marck Ferrari, Ben Ishmael Revival, Shiny Black Shirt, Sea Krowns, Ensemble 48, Actuel, Playboy Psychonauts, Stallio, Sky Thing and Tonos Triad.

Also in the street level space that night, Big Car also hosts the installation "Unified Fields" that features the interactive music and art of duo Mana2 (Jordan Munson, Michael Drews). This installation is a collaborative composition combining elements from the works Unified Fields (Munson) and Deconstructions (Drews). Themes and gestures from each work interact both with each other and sonic and video material emanating from several interactive stations positioned in the room. These stations will involve both motion and color tracking technologies. During the event, live musical textures will be weaved into the sonic environment being generated.



Video show artist statements

Sam Jones' intent is to bring awareness to social issues and struggles, and as an artist it is my desire find the best possible way of doing so; may it be through photography, video, or sculpture.

Katie Chattin uses photography to encourage change while representing a call to action for her viewers. Through her work she hopes for her audience to find their own sense of community and take pride in the place that they find. Her work documents a place and time that is a part of her community, her hometown of Vincennes, IN. Katie is a senior photography major at the Herron School of Art and Design. She plans on going into non profit work upon graduation.

Lindsey Shafi is from Grand Rapids, Michigan and is currently attending Herron School of Art here in Indianapolis. She will graduate in May 2009 with a BFA in Photography. Her work mainly consists of animal activism, cultural identity and educational documentaries. She enjoys using video with sound incorporated in installation pieces along with digital photography.

Brent Aldrich has a BFA from the Herron School of Art; his work makes use of drawing, photography, video, installation, and performance to understand the disconnect from the real to representation by the processes of these different mediums, particularly as it relates to the land. His is also a part of the collaborative team DENT.

Desiree Moore is graduating from Herron School of Art and Design in May with a BFA. She is interested in working with themes analyzing the social, historical, and ecological relationships between current human culture and perceptions of nature.

Justin Trapp is a Herron School of Art and Design Student. His work currently explores the ideas of subverting the popular American consumerist culture, and meditative spaces through the medium of video installation and mixed media collage. He is interested in communicating to the audience that the everyday "noise," that we encounter is something that needs to be slowed down, and examined closer.

Donna Hooper was born in Columbus, Mississippi and is a candidate for a BFA in Photography accompanied by an Art History Minor, both during 2009. At Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis, Indiana, she pursues video, sound, photography and installation projects that explore women's issues and girl culture. Most of her work focuses on the process of learning and the effects of mass media.

Ashley White is currently working towards attaining her BFA in Photography at Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis, Indiana. Aside from working in the medium of photography, she also works in video and sound. She has explored many different mediums such as Installation, Visual Communication, Drawing, Printmaking, Sculpture, and Painting. She enjoys using all of her experience with different mediums and working with her hands to create sculptural and design elements when creating mixed media pieces.

Diego Yanto works within the realm of photography, video and installation. He is confronted by ideas of the post-modern and social criticism. He explores this world by engulfing viewers senses and letting them exit the real world and enter a new one.

Melissa McShea is graduating with a BFA in Photography from Herron school of art and design in May 2008, and intends to attend a M.F.A. program upon graduation. Her body of work deals with the relationship between color and music, and is moving into digital interaction between the viewer and the work.

Also that night:

The first show in Le Petite Mort, a series of one-piece mini-shows

Often the midwest is overlooked by newer movements in the art world. This series, Le Petite Mort, aims for Indianapolis to come together with the art of nationally known artists inspired by pop culture and popularized by magazines such as Juxtapoz and High Fructose. This form of art is typically narrative and illustration based and it is often referred to as pop surrealism or low brow art.

Artists participating in this series are giving potential buyers a price break on the work as well keeping Big Car's mission to provide younger collectors the opportunity to own this work. This series will run regularly, featuring one new artist each time.

March's selection is Shaunna Peterson. In addition to showing in galleries across the country, the work of this California-based artist has also been showcased in Step Inside Design Magazine, International Tattoo Art, Permission Magazine, Art Week, the Sci-Fi Western Catalog, PandaMeat and CMYK. Two pieces of her work will be available. To find out more about Peterson, visit her website here.

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Well, I'm sure that a majority of the artists and arts organizaitons in Indy have been hit hard by the present economic downturn. I have been searching for a employment now for nearly 5 months and have had to move out of my art studio due to a lack of finance. This I am sure is no different from a lot of our readers, in some respects or another. Well, now we can see that it has impacted the IMA as well. Below is the latest press release, explaining their current situation and how they plan to confront the situation while still keeping the museums mission at the forefront. While possibly the most noticeable change being the postponement of the grand opening of the Virginia Fairbanks Art and Nature Park (now slated to open in Spring 2010), let us hope that the economy makes a fairly swift come back so that these changes will last as short as possible. And I tip my hat to the senior staff for their donations to help offset the costs of keeping the museum operating.