Last Blog of Term 3: Grant Thompson + Auckland Art gallery

I was late again for class this week but I managed to get some good information on Grant Thompson seminar. The head of MSVA talk was predominantly focus on forms and function and how the two are inseparable from each other. Our class also visited the renew Auckland Art Gallery in town and was a great experience.

Thompson talked about the idea of "Form follows Function" explains that forms of shapes are somehow belong with a specific color form. In 1923, Russian theorist and painter Wassily Kandinsky claimed that there's correlation between the three basic shapes and three primary colors. Kandinsky added "Moving from hot to cold, light to dark and active to passive, the series is an elementary sentence in the language of vision". I did a little research and found out that Peter Leler 1923 "Bauhaus cradle" precisely follows Kandinsky's theory with a blue circle for rollers, red squares on the front and yellow triangles for the sides. Kandinsky is one of the originators and famous of modern abstract art.

His theory has been an influential stepping stones for some of todays practicing artist like Lindsay McClendon, graduated from the University of Tampa with BFA degree in 2007 explore and responded to Kandinsky theory with her own interpretation with her 2009 artwork series "Creativity" a three piece abstract painting pushing her ability and knowledge. She reference Kandinsky as her artist in connection with this specific series. She quoted "This painting was inspired by the famous abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky's unique artistic style".

As we visited the Auckland Art gallery later on the lesson I became more aware of the three basic shapes and three primary colors within the renew constructed art gallery. One area that stood out for me was the north atrium with South Korean artist Choi Jeong Hwa "Flower Chandelier" large sculpture being displayed in a circular shape form with viewers getting a 360 degree look at the large scale artwork. I also realized that the atrium is in a square blocked and the ceiling shapes were triangular form as a response to Kandinsky's theory.

http://www.lindseymclendonart.com/gallery.html

http://www.aucklandartgallery.com/whats-on/news/commissions-launched-in-celebration

http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/color4a.html

Emma McLellan and Xavier Meade

This week we had two special guest visitors. Our school lecturer and practicing artist Emma McLellan and Xavier Meade, Curator of Purakura (WINTEC). I really enjoyed and absorb both talks by both visitors especially Meade seminar which he put his sense of humor and personality into his talk made me happy, laughed and enjoyed the lesson.

McLellan approaches Printmaking in a decorative way to expand her creativity. Her works has mix painting and dominantly printmaking medium. she uses a chunk of layers within her work and told the class she just likes to play with her work and see what the outcome. I was more surprised when she told the class that she doesn't know when a artwork is finished and just loves to be decorate her work. I liked the way she plays with her work because I think most artist need to relax and not get precious about their work. I learned an important lesson from McLellan talk and thats is patience because when you get older you'll get at least 1-2 hours a day to work on your artwork because of your jobs, kids, bill e.t.c.

Xavier Meade in the other hand uses Printmaking for political mindset. Meade is heavily influenced by the Mexican Muralist art movement in the 1920-1960s with Diego Rivera as the most renown Mexican artist of the time. Didn't know much about the word "Mural" so I did a little research and found out that it means "an artwork painted or applied directly into the wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface". I realized that that these were the surfaces that Rivera and others used to protest and send messages against the government. Meade explains that they're group movements still running in Mexico and they changed their form of mural art to poster form to protest, and raise political issues through different color, shapes, figures and text to emphasis the meaning or message behind each work.

I tried to find another artist who has similarities to Meade work and I found California based artist Favianna Rodriguez Giannoni. A Printmaking artist and teacher who's renowned for her posters against political issues such as racism and war (Iraq and Afghanistan). She states that her posters reflect history, struggle and social justice through graphics and has collaborated with many other artist around the world.

Her work "Resist U.S Imperialism" in 2003 is a direct statement against the U.S War. Dominant three dull colors of red representing death/blood, orange representing ethnicity, white to give a clear text message and black to help with the text statement. Her use of a young mexican man with gun shell ammo tells me she is against U.S War because it takes away families love ones and doing the government job.

The general public of California and the world have become aware of the American justice and immigration system today because of Giannoni artwork. Another of her work that I really like was "Malcolm X", she used a stencil of Malcolm X and a famous quote Malcolm X made back in the years of the Civil rights movement as her reaction to the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005.

http://www.favianna.com/bio/ Favianna Rodriguez OFFICIAL WEBSITE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmIrI06IMUo an INTERVIEW with Favianna Rodriguez

http://inciteblog.wordpress.com/2010/09/20/take-action-against-state-violence-against-immigrant-families/ an insight into IMMAGRATION injustice in U.S.A