Thinking about artist Ann Hamilton. Saw an installation by her at the Henry in Seattle years ago. She took over the whole space and transformed it using live birds, wax dolls, thousands of brass tags nailed down on the floor and smoke on the walls – at least that’s what I remember.
She was included in OPB’s Art:21: http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/hamilton/
Hell as artificial memory?! (Fig 4.1 From Cosmas Rossellius Thesaurus Artificiosae Memoriae, Venice, 1579)
During my studio visit with Tina Olsen we talked about memory and she suggested a book she read when she was studying Renaissance art: The Book of Memory by Mary Carruthers. She was talking to me about how people created visual or material tools to stimulate memories. I have always been fascinated with the idea of body memory, so I suggested that as a means to remember.
I’ve started listing several reading resources (including the Mary Carruthers book) I want to use as research for my current series of work. Some of the other books I want to read include: Ars Reminiscendi – Mind and Memory in Renaissance Culture (edited by Donald Beecher and Grant Williams) and The Art of Memory, Vol. 3 by Frances Amelia Yates. A book on contemporary research into memory I want to continue reading is In Search of Memory: Emergence of a New Science of Mind by Eric R. Kandel. This book was brought to my attention when I listened to the fascinating podcast Memory and Forgetting on Radiolab. I’ve also started watching the Art:21 video, Memory.
While I am thinking about these issues conceptually, I am also contemplating the book format as a means of collecting and saving memories. Yesterday I went to 23 Sandy Gallery to see their exhibition on pop-up books. I was intrigued by the variety of shapes and presentations. I learned about a type of book called a “tunnel” book and realized that I want a book on the process of book making to use as reference. I took these photos while I was there:
Miniature book with several separate pieces which fit together in a wooden box.
Book of waves.
Accordion style book.
More about studios:
Several local artists, including myself, are featured in a documentary film about local artists by Andy Blubaugh: http://vimeo.com/13151186
Filming takes place in each artists studio. It was first shown at the NW Film Center at PAM last summer.
View out my studio window at the Goldsmith building in 2007.
The studio has always been a spatial and practical need for me. My oeuvre to this day has consisted of paintings in several media with an occasional foray into sculpture. During childhood my studio space was incredibly mobile. I was always drawing and painting but I moved around a lot – to different daily event locations as well as a plethora of dwellings. My first experience relating to an art studio – which I remember vividly – was in Grenada, West Indies. I was about three or four years old. My grandmother (an art teacher at the time) was watching me. She had a watercolor station set up on a table situated by an open window. On the table was a painting in progress. She had stepped outside for a minute to tend to her chickens leaving me alone in the house. As I watched her art table a chicken flew in the window and knocked her brush water all over the painting she had been working on. A pool of colored water collected on the paper and dribbled off onto the floor. Then, just as easily as it flew in, the chicken exited, leaving me to watch in horror. When my grandma returned she saw how upset I was and assumed that I had done it. She gave me a spanking. Then while she was busy scolding me, the same chicken flew back in and landed on her table while we both watched.
In high school I was supplied with a more stable studio situation than my previous experience. My art teacher for those four years had a separate studio set up for herself within the confines of our art classroom (that’s when high schools actually had an art class with a designated teacher). Every school day when I had this class (and even during lunch and after school on some days) I, for a brief time, would also have a studio setup in the classroom. It was either a space at a table or an easel, depending on the project we were working on at the time, and it included my own flat drawer for storage.
For my first four years of college, while pursuing my BFA, I had a small temporary space in each classroom to work. Outside the classroom I either worked in my dorm room or various bedrooms (I moved around a lot and rarely lived by myself). My first solo studio experience took place my fifth year at Cornish College of the Arts. That year was treated like a MFA year and so each student received their own studio space. Mine was probably about 150 square feet. It was the first time I had the freedom and the room to explore the process of art making in any direction I chose. I did drawings on the walls, dressed up in costumes and shot video, and shot nude photos to use as reference materials for my drawings.
Me pouring resin in my 350 square foot studio.
Between the time I had my BFA studio and the time I received my MFA studio at PSU I have continued to need a designated place to make my art. Studios have been kitchen tables, coffee shops, rented spaces (shared and not) and even my shed. I’ve always tried not to let the spatial limitations dictate what I make. But often, a larger space does lead to larger work. The spaces in which I’ve worked have also doubled as a place of contemplation and reflection. When using a space creatively, my main concerns regarding decoration are the inclusion of the tools and materials I need. Next, I like to display works or photos of past works I have created to use as reference. And lastly, I might have some photos of the work of other artists I admire along with ephemera of some significance – interesting organic matter I found on walks, shells from Grenada, objects that have shapes or colors I like to look at.
My current home studio shares space with my office. It's cozy at about 60 square feet.
Tomorrow I will move more things into my MFA studio so I can begin to work. I’ll start with the necessities and go from there. Right now it’s a white box with a window and a table. My goal is to keep it simple and uncluttered – a space for thinking, a space for making.
My MFA studio through the eye of my cell phone.
I’ve made it through the first week and a half of grad school, barely. Above is a poor quality photo of my new studio – which I just saw for the first time last Friday. I’m looking forward to moving in, but not exactly sure what I want to bring.
Last Tuesday I had a class in which we talked about studios – what a studio is, how they are perceived, etc. I like this topic. I want to write something about studios I have had, but right now I am too tired. More later…
5thonthelist 