lecture reviews

Crystal Willis
ART 345, Sound and Image
Lecture Review
Due 10/12/13

David Carter, Visiting Artist Lecture Series, University of Nevada

     After sitting in on David Carter’s artist lecture and viewing various samples of his work, what resonated with me is the manner in which he problem solved by. When faced with an innovative idea, he would go through a series of mock-ups and simply play with the medium until his desired aesthetic was achieved. As a student who has completed a book arts course over the spring semester and has begun experimenting with paper as a medium, I’ve come to acknowledge paper as a medium that isn’t necessarily the most forgiving. It’s a unique medium as it can infinitely be adapted to serve purposes that it was not intended for, but at the cost at its fragility. It takes an immense amount of patience, as well as attention to detail to handle a project with such care, meanwhile attempting to cut out shapes, folding it in certain ways and then finding a method to hold the model in its current form. What fascinates me the most is that after the desired aesthetic has been achieved, the artist must take the form apart in order to better understand its composition. This understanding allows for the artist to regenerate his work in programs such as Adobe Illustrator so that a consistency will be present if and when the pages are sent off to be mass produced; as a guide, they will limit confusion as to how the forms coexist with one another, as opposed to being interpreted by the individuals duplicating the work.  This method of adapting the work into programs also presents the opportunity for the artist to scale his work, if he so chooses. Although a majority of his work has been in regards to the construction of pop-up books, the artist has also created large scale models and installation work; from one project to the next, the artist approaches the task at hand with the same work flow, creating a likeness and continuity throughout his body of work.

Crystal Willis
ART 345, Sound and Image
Lecture Review
Due 10/12/13

Tony Allard, Visiting Artist Lecture Series, University of Nevada

          Upon attending Tony Allards’s artist lecture and observing a brief overview of his work, I was most interested in his interpretation of performance art. Allard transforms himself into a masked character as a method of shedding positivity on the populace of California by participating in questionable but harmless activities in public settings. These activities consist of the refusal to verbally communicate with those in the vicinity, but instead, allows for the artist to acquire a time capsule that commemorates the space at that given point in time as participants of the community place anything from notes to trash in the mailbox adhered to his back—this is the manner in which Allard chooses to communicate and more importantly, understand his audience. This take on performance art is interesting in contrast to what is traditionally displayed and expressed in contemporary art history courses. Several artists that are referred to in our contemporary age (but are not limited to) are Carolee Schneemann, Chris Burden, and Marina Abramovic. These contemporary artists often address concepts such as the mortality of the artist, or display an artist’s disposition towards a political phenomenon in their works, but Allard’s pieces contradict these expected intentions. Rather, the character isn’t present to cause any sort of conflict or create a sense of discomfort for those in the vicinity. When assuming the role of the character, Allard obeys not only the laws, but also the commands of those around him; if asked to depart a particular site by an official or employee of the location, he does not hesitate or retaliate. Instead, he acknowledges and obeys the restrictions that have been placed upon him to maintain equilibrium in that particular location.

Crystal Willis
ART 345, Sound and Image
Lecture Review
Due 10/12/13

Rafael Lopez, MFA Thesis Lecture, University of Nevada

     Without any previous knowledge of the artist, I attended Rafael Lopez’ MFA thesis lecture absolutely blind sighted. It wasn’t until I was sitting in the lecture room and looked up at the projector that I realized that all of the posters across campus with American paraphernalia and a man with his back turned towards the viewer were advertisements for this very exhibition. What has continued to resonate with me since the lecture is the artist’s openness to discuss the events of his culture’s past, his upbringing, and his dreams that ultimately led him to the United States. As he began to speak of his work and its intent, I couldn’t help but to be taken back by the perception and impact America has left upon him. It isn’t everyday that an individual coming from the outside in is able to articulate your nation in such a way that you begin to realize that you have personally overlooked many of the opportunities and privileges this nation has provided. When viewing the work, it was surreal how deeply the artist was able to push in order to convey such emotion when his subject matter primarily composed of materialistic objects that were accented by red, white, and blue. It wasn’t until viewing the colorless flag that I was able to begin to understand the purity this nation has produced for its occupants. Although the flag was intended to investigate the composition of the American flag and whether or not it has the ability to remain as effective with an absence of color, I perceived it as a blank canvas that allows a viewer to interpret the path, objective, pride, and journey America is able to provide them. This interpretation essentially allows a viewer to “paint” the flag with their own aspirations, creating a more personalized attachment to the work.