Bostons changing art scene

The Boston Art scene has definitely been changing. As the economy changes, and things get more expensive, so does the rent for gallery spaces, this along with the public buying less artwork means that many galleries are having to go out of business because of lack of money. Another important factor in the currently changing Boston art scene is on the side of the artists themselves, many can't afford to rent their own spaces to show their work so they end up having to move to less expensive areas. Unfortunately, this is causing the Boston area to lose many of its wonderful artists. This is mostly happening everywhere around the city except the South-End. Rent in the South-End is lower than in other places, this allows artists that have the means to continue showing their work.

Aside from this change, there is another major transformation in the art world: online galleries. Online galleries are websites where artists can put up their work to be displayed to others. There is both a good side and a bad side to this newest issue. The good is that it is much cheaper for the artists, and they are still somehow finding ways to keep their art in the open and displayed, it also keeps new art an important part of today's culture. The negative side of online galleries is that it takes away from the actual experience of going to a gallery, and maybe even meeting the artist. Also, in my opinion, people might be even less likely to purchase artwork online than in a gallery, art is something that must be experienced, not something you can just see a picture of and know your going to love it and right away spend a few hundred dollars on it. I just know that its a complete shame to have artists leaving the city and the culture just because of money and the economy.

I have been to one gallery, but I don't remember the name of it. Hannah and I decided that one day after school we would have an adventure and go see a gallery on Newbury street. That day it was snowing and freezing outside, but when we got to the building, we realized that it was an office style building and completely not what we had expected. When we went upstairs and into the gallery, it was definitely not what we were expecting, there was a long hall and on one side of it were a couple paintings in another room, and on the other side of the hall in another room were some people doing office work, there was no one else around. We were a little nervous that we weren't supposed to be there, and we didn't want to disturb the people working, so we ended up just leaving without having seen any art :(

final plans!

For my final gallery piece, I'm doing a ~16x16 canvas that's sponge painted in a brownish/gold/yellow color, on it I'm going to stick a few sketches of hands and people and things like that. the sketches are also gonna be aged looking to match the canvas. materials: canvas, acrylic paint, cinnamon, the clear sticky stuff ms. Roberts gave me, pencil, tissue paper the work should just be hung up on a wall. : )
this is the cinnamon mixture that I dabbed onto the canvas to give it a little texture and scent
this is my work area, and the colors that are in my work.
me with the canvas.

trip review

I really really enjoyed going to visit all the galleries! I definitely think it was a great way to have us experience the "real world' of art and art making. It was also really inspiring to see to work of other artists, I left each gallery with new ideas brewing in my head of things I wanted to try in the future; new styles, mediums, and subjects, I even learned a few new techniques (pouring bleach on photos came out cool!) It was also really helpful to have talked with Joseph Carroll, he has definitely been on the inside for many years and it was really interesting and helpful to learn what people in the gallery running industry are looking for. I certainly left with a fresh breath in me wanting to do more art and try new things, awesome trip!

Questions for Joseph Carrol

1. There is such a variety of work in your gallery, how do you decide which artists you want to feature, and which you don't?

2. How did you get into having a gallery, it looks like a really professional environment.

The two galleries that I want to prioritize are the Boston Sculptors Gallery and the Howard Yezerski gallery. both of these galleries look really interesting to me. the first because I'm really interested in sculpture, but haven't seen very much of it so i would like to get more involved with it. the second just because it looks like a really interesting place with really interesting works in it. it also seams to have a very wide variety of works and artists, which is something that I'm really looking forward to seeing.

Whats up, week 3

This weeks critique was really helpful! Going in, I didn't really have too much to show, a few sketches, and some other little doodles that I had been playing around with, but nothing super concrete. When I told this to my critique group they, right away, gave me some questions to answer that really got me thinking about my final project...
So as of now, I think I know what I'm doing! I want to incorporate my 2 favorite mediums: pencil drawing and painting. I think I want to do this by having 1 main thing where there would be a few sketches of things that I really love to draw done on tissue paper and then crinkled onto a canvas background where they will be incorporated into the painting. I'm also using things like sponge and even cinnamon to give off special textures, depths, and colors. Also, I'm not sure yet, but I think that I might want to make 4 smaller pictures to go around corners of the larger piece, almost as a frame, but in different colors (the main is an old yellow/brown rusty color), but all of them would be very dim and toned down.
I'm really excited for these next upcoming classes!

Surviving the Critique

In your opinion, what do you think the role of the critique, as it's described in this chapter, could be in a class like ours?
I definitely think that critiques are really useful to classes like ours. I feel like our class could use critiques to to help each other develop ideas for their work, discuss their processes and even the materials that they use, critiques are also really helpful because you get exposed to new options for making your ideas actually come true, and that's really great and helpful.

According to this chapter and your past experiences, how can you get the most out of a critique of your own work?
I know that I get the most out of a critique when I ask a lot of questions, but especially when the people that are critiquing are trying to be really critical and helpful, which is how I try to be when I'm the one critiquing. I know that it also helps me a lot to remember to have an open mind and know that the critique isn't personal at me, instead its an opportunity to better myself and my work. At the same time, even though I know that the suggestions are really helpful, I always also try to remember that I don't have to take them.

How can you be a helpful participant in your classmates' critiques?
Whenever I am the one critiquing, I always try to say and do the things that I want people to say to me because of how much they help me. I always try to go into a new critique with an open mind and fully try to understand what the artist is trying to make their work about, and if i don't understand, I try to ask a lot of questions and listen well so that I can begin to see the art from the artists perspective. I also try to keep the conversation light, I hate how intimidating critiques can be, and so I always try to make them fun, or at least not as scary for the person who is getting critiqued.

Alternative Exhibition Formats Response

Overall, I really liked the artists that presented their art in unconventional ways. They had their art jumping out of walls, or flying through empty space, even paintings that were hanging on a wall, but were 3-d somehow seamed a lot more interesting to me than those that were a 2-d pieces. I feel like the focus of my work in the next few weeks is going to be trying to figure out exactly how I want to format my art. I am definitely interested in incorporating 3-d aspects into my piece, not have it be a sculpture, but to use a lot of different textures and materials. Mostly I want to focus this through trying to combing my love for pencil drawing with painting into a final project. I really want my final work to seem naked and bare, I want to show the delicacy of drawing along with the richness that texture can bring to something.

Art & Fear

"To demand perfection is to deny your ordinary (and universal) humanity, as though you would be better off without it."
"To require perfection is to invite paralysis."
"For you, the seed for your next art work lies embedded in the imperfections of your current piece."
"Perfection itself is (paradoxically) a flawed concept"
"Artists get better by sharpening their skills or by acquiring new ones; they get better by learning to work, and by learning from their work. they commit themselves to the work of their heart, and act upon that commitment."
"Art is human; error is human; ergo, art is error."
"Talent is a snare and a delusion."
"When you act out of fear, your fears come true."
"Fears about yourself prevent you from doing your best work... fears about your reception by others prevent you from doing your own work."


All of these quotes remind me of various times either when I've felt down on my work, or just not confident about it. They remind me of how I sat there starring at my work and just trying to think up a way to make it better, but being to scared of messing up to actually try anything that I thought of. I really liked reading this passage because it really relaxed me a lot and made me feel less scared of trying things, so what if i mess it up? Ill just learn from it in the end, and then the next piece will be that much better!
Now, when I'm in class and nervous or scared of doing something, I think back to some of the quotes, and try really hard to follow their advise.
I think that my things have been coming out a little better ever since :)

Scratching, by Twyla Tharp

scratching is idea getting. its the act of going about an thinking and getting inspired and seeing things that spur creativity and new ideas.
i think that the best thing i can do in the studio is to just draw and doodle and sketch; create ideas. that kind of thing really helps me get my stuff together and develop new and much better ideas. her descriptions of idea getting and creativity are really inspiring and interesting.
i think that scratching would look like mess and doodling and sketching, just randomly creating things.

Hamletts website

Looking through many of the artists spaces really inspired me, and there were many things that were very common among the many different spaces. Obviously the most common things were the artists' variety of supplies, this makes sense because in a studio it is important to have supplies handy and always available to the artist to use. There were also a lot of more personal things such as photographs, little knickknacks, music, and other people or pets. I think that its really great to have a lot of things that are personal in a workspace because it lets the artist get inspiration from their real lives and that's one of the most important things to have available as an artist. There were also a lot of things that weren't as personal, but still really important to the artist. Things such as quotes, photographs of famous people or places, magazine cutouts, and books. Everyone has certain things that are important and inspirational to them, this is why these types of things are so commonly found in artists studios. I've found that the most important thing to have in a studio space is things that give you inspiration and things that you can work from.

Getting Started day 1

:)

Artists at work: workspaces & processes

its important as an artist to have a studio space where you are your most comfortable, a space that inspires you, somewhere you find the most interesting and true. i feel like work spaces develop themselves over time, they morph into whatever the artist wants them to be because if they are designed perfectly from the beginning then, they aren't really as authentic, more staged. artist studios are works of art and beauty within themselves, they are the best showcase for what an artist is all about, a mirror of the artist. these spaces are developed over time; i think of an artists studio as an accumulation of all things that make up the artist and their work.