I uploaded my last three, east coast exhibitions onto flickr this morning. Click here for the slideshow:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/artinshanaty/sets/72157625029900332/show/
I also shot this video of the MACA show! Here's your tour, with glances at many of the artists. At the end of it you will hear me trying to explain how to pronounce my name...a daily occurrence...(I was told by one of my friends that it's a perfect artist name because of the confusion, it adds to the so called 'artist mystique'.)
Video:
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Independence Reigns
"Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt"
-Kurt Vonnegut
The State of Independence is my new self-portrait. A little different for me, I gotta say. I painted the found object, for one. Normally I leave them natural, or the way I found them when I picked them up off the street. And usually I am dealing in bodies. For a self-portrait to have no bodies or body parts is a stretch for me, personally. I had been thinking about other symbols of freedom besides the ravens/birds...and I came up with the ladder. I thought that it referenced my thinking, "up and OUT". So on the lower third, you'll find various pointy things like tacks, nails and sandpaper. Then I actually burned the bottom of the piece. It's that personal hell that I need to escape from, that basement of despair and "dependence".
The middle section is a calming period before the beauty of the aqua (my favorite color. I also think it's the most powerful of all blue shades, except maybe navy). The quote above is used in these two sections. I used a well-known color combination with the use of red, white and blue, reminiscent of the American flag. I am thinking this piece will be part of an upcoming flag series exploring themes found in the Declaration of Independence. I have been thinking about using these ideas lately, and I am living in a rather historic area now. Making this piece has made me think further about "freedoms", for myself and others...
-Kurt Vonnegut
The State of Independence is my new self-portrait. A little different for me, I gotta say. I painted the found object, for one. Normally I leave them natural, or the way I found them when I picked them up off the street. And usually I am dealing in bodies. For a self-portrait to have no bodies or body parts is a stretch for me, personally. I had been thinking about other symbols of freedom besides the ravens/birds...and I came up with the ladder. I thought that it referenced my thinking, "up and OUT". So on the lower third, you'll find various pointy things like tacks, nails and sandpaper. Then I actually burned the bottom of the piece. It's that personal hell that I need to escape from, that basement of despair and "dependence".
The middle section is a calming period before the beauty of the aqua (my favorite color. I also think it's the most powerful of all blue shades, except maybe navy). The quote above is used in these two sections. I used a well-known color combination with the use of red, white and blue, reminiscent of the American flag. I am thinking this piece will be part of an upcoming flag series exploring themes found in the Declaration of Independence. I have been thinking about using these ideas lately, and I am living in a rather historic area now. Making this piece has made me think further about "freedoms", for myself and others...
The State of Independence
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Centering Humanity
We at MACA are having our first group art exhibition together. The opening reception will be held on Thursday, September 23, from 7-9 pm in MICA's Brown Center. If you are in the area, please come check us out! The exhibition will run through October 3, 2010.
More information is on MICA's FYI site http://fyi.mica.edu/event/exhibit_ma_in_community_arts
More information is on MICA's FYI site http://fyi.mica.edu/event/exhibit_ma_in_community_arts
Thursday, September 9, 2010
New Links
First off, there have been a few updates on the 'Art That Circles the Earth' blog. And a new artist! Please check everything out here:
http://artthatcirclestheearth.blogspot.com/
Also, I am a contributing author to our new collective MACA blog. This is just getting started, but hopefully will be picking up soon. Some of the information on that blog, from my end, will overlap with this one...just a heads up.
The link to that, as well as the other can also be found on the sidebar. But here it is right now...
http://macateamawesome.blogspot.com
http://artthatcirclestheearth.blogspot.com/
Also, I am a contributing author to our new collective MACA blog. This is just getting started, but hopefully will be picking up soon. Some of the information on that blog, from my end, will overlap with this one...just a heads up.
The link to that, as well as the other can also be found on the sidebar. But here it is right now...
http://macateamawesome.blogspot.com
Saturday, September 4, 2010
I Love
I LOVE getting news like this! I was just notified that I was accepted into the exhibition, The Other Side at Arizona State University, Step Gallery. Very exciting! Read more about it:
"Bachelor of Arts candidate in Museum Studies, Alicia Porter, in conjunction with the Barrett Honors College, presents her honors thesis project, The Other Side. Porter’s curatorial exhibition displays the work of ten contemporary artists depicting the female visage. The exhibition contrasts the historical feminist movement in the arts with ideas held by contemporary artists. The collection of work analyzes the visual evolution of the female image, in content and representation."
More information, dates and times of this upcoming exhibition, are located here: http://art.asu.edu/calendar/viewevent.php?eid=664 The two pieces that will be in this show are...
Barely there, yet she encompasses every line, every movement, and every thing. For she is the center from which all things come. She is not without a face, she is in every face.
I have never wanted to be a victim of my own circumstances. My work, at the core, is about giving voice to the voiceless. These two pieces, address issues of domestic violence, power, and self-esteem.
The emotions of fear and love are depicted as seemingly one, confused emotion in the piece, "Love" The Way I Learn to Fear. Domestic violence is always personal, and it's often wrapped in the guise of "love", therefor the word encompasses the woman's eyes. The word appears scabby and bloody, just as a physical scar would. This piece is a depiction of violence, love, fear, hurt, shame and confusion. The words, combined with the imagery, become laced with something "other". Love becomes that much more sinister on this occasion.
Understanding myself as a woman, and exploring my identity is something that I have referenced in the piece, You Own Nothing. It involves recognizing that I am the only one who can claim ownership of my body, and my sexuality. It is a message of personal empowerment, while also serving as a reminder of my own intrinsic value as a woman. Although the vagina is the clear subject matter, it has only been alluded to. In fact, it has been closed off and protected from viewing completely. This is a piece that ultimately speaks to "control".
At the heart of things, I consider myself a witness, not a victim. I perceive listening, learning, and empathy as key aspects of my own experience. After witnessing the murder of my mother when I was fourteen, due to domestic violence, I began to see art as a means to heal emotionally and communicate with the world around me. I view art as a key vehicle for change and empowerment in myself and others. My mother no longer has a voice, it was unceremoniously taken from her. For this reason I push to continuously speak for her, and myself through art.
Check out The Other Side in November, Arizona!
I'm updating my CV with the surprise eleventh show this year. The upcoming MACA show will actually be twelve now. I've been gratefully and amazingly shown a whole heaping ton in my time exhibiting so far. I am truly blessed by these many opportunities to use my voice.
"Bachelor of Arts candidate in Museum Studies, Alicia Porter, in conjunction with the Barrett Honors College, presents her honors thesis project, The Other Side. Porter’s curatorial exhibition displays the work of ten contemporary artists depicting the female visage. The exhibition contrasts the historical feminist movement in the arts with ideas held by contemporary artists. The collection of work analyzes the visual evolution of the female image, in content and representation."
More information, dates and times of this upcoming exhibition, are located here: http://art.asu.edu/calendar/viewevent.php?eid=664 The two pieces that will be in this show are...
"Love", The Way I Learn to Fear
You Own Nothing
And here is my (very long) statement that was to address my process. It will be displayed at the exhibition as well...
Barely there, yet she encompasses every line, every movement, and every thing. For she is the center from which all things come. She is not without a face, she is in every face.
I have never wanted to be a victim of my own circumstances. My work, at the core, is about giving voice to the voiceless. These two pieces, address issues of domestic violence, power, and self-esteem.
The emotions of fear and love are depicted as seemingly one, confused emotion in the piece, "Love" The Way I Learn to Fear. Domestic violence is always personal, and it's often wrapped in the guise of "love", therefor the word encompasses the woman's eyes. The word appears scabby and bloody, just as a physical scar would. This piece is a depiction of violence, love, fear, hurt, shame and confusion. The words, combined with the imagery, become laced with something "other". Love becomes that much more sinister on this occasion.
Understanding myself as a woman, and exploring my identity is something that I have referenced in the piece, You Own Nothing. It involves recognizing that I am the only one who can claim ownership of my body, and my sexuality. It is a message of personal empowerment, while also serving as a reminder of my own intrinsic value as a woman. Although the vagina is the clear subject matter, it has only been alluded to. In fact, it has been closed off and protected from viewing completely. This is a piece that ultimately speaks to "control".
At the heart of things, I consider myself a witness, not a victim. I perceive listening, learning, and empathy as key aspects of my own experience. After witnessing the murder of my mother when I was fourteen, due to domestic violence, I began to see art as a means to heal emotionally and communicate with the world around me. I view art as a key vehicle for change and empowerment in myself and others. My mother no longer has a voice, it was unceremoniously taken from her. For this reason I push to continuously speak for her, and myself through art.
Check out The Other Side in November, Arizona!
I'm updating my CV with the surprise eleventh show this year. The upcoming MACA show will actually be twelve now. I've been gratefully and amazingly shown a whole heaping ton in my time exhibiting so far. I am truly blessed by these many opportunities to use my voice.
I Got the Blues
Not really, it's just hard thinking of clever post titles that correspond with the subject matter all the time. I decided on a Mac-N-Cheese jingle title, I guess. Meh.
Here are more row houses. I think I will continue to work on a few more, and then I'm done...unless I come back to it later...yeah. I have really enjoyed making these, as they have a mysterious quality to them. They remind me of bad omens, in a way. YAY! I've created bad omens!
Don't mess with Bmore...
Here are more row houses. I think I will continue to work on a few more, and then I'm done...unless I come back to it later...yeah. I have really enjoyed making these, as they have a mysterious quality to them. They remind me of bad omens, in a way. YAY! I've created bad omens!
Don't mess with Bmore...
And on that note, I need a new scanner...what's with the lines yo?
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Five-Hundred Ten, and Some Odd Change
So I was doing inventory and it seems that I have, in my possession, 510 painting dealing exclusively with circular imagery. Love me some circles...and that's quite the series I've been doing. Of course, this doesn't take into account circle pieces I am currently exhibiting, have sold, or the countless number given as gifts/presents over the years. I'd say there has been well over five-hundred made. I think I'm both master and mistress of my domain at this point. On that note, I have two more circles to show that are new...
I have also been making more row house prints/paintings as well. You'll remember from this earlier post that I have been toying with the idea of 'background overwhelming its subject'. Well, I have a corresponding print (or two) that I pulled from each of my row house plates. As a side note, it feels soooo good to do some collograph printmaking again. I have a minor in printmaking, but alas, no press. It's forever hand-printing for me, and so I have to adapt each technique for home usage. But printmaking has always been so satisfying for me, and my kids in Remington seemed to genuinely love it too. They have inspired me to do more of it, in fact...
I have been steadily finishing these up because I'm getting ready to show MICA's Curator-in-Residence, George Ciscle what I made for our upcoming MACA show. I am actually editing myself by not showing him any of the circles I made over the course of the summer. Instead I am bringing in the last three raven pieces, the large row house sculptural piece, and the hand painted row house images that I am currently completing. He's got some hefty credentials, and I have to say honestly, that his lecture/presentation was the best I had been to while at MICA so far. I would love to ultimately be a curator. LOVE. This gives me even more practice, as I had done it before at several RAA exhibitions. We are all getting the chance to curate our upcoming group show, and work with him...so I'll get back to y'all on what makes the final cut for the exhibition.
And the MICA Printmaking lab is now open (it was closed this whole summer) YAY!
I have also been making more row house prints/paintings as well. You'll remember from this earlier post that I have been toying with the idea of 'background overwhelming its subject'. Well, I have a corresponding print (or two) that I pulled from each of my row house plates. As a side note, it feels soooo good to do some collograph printmaking again. I have a minor in printmaking, but alas, no press. It's forever hand-printing for me, and so I have to adapt each technique for home usage. But printmaking has always been so satisfying for me, and my kids in Remington seemed to genuinely love it too. They have inspired me to do more of it, in fact...
I have been steadily finishing these up because I'm getting ready to show MICA's Curator-in-Residence, George Ciscle what I made for our upcoming MACA show. I am actually editing myself by not showing him any of the circles I made over the course of the summer. Instead I am bringing in the last three raven pieces, the large row house sculptural piece, and the hand painted row house images that I am currently completing. He's got some hefty credentials, and I have to say honestly, that his lecture/presentation was the best I had been to while at MICA so far. I would love to ultimately be a curator. LOVE. This gives me even more practice, as I had done it before at several RAA exhibitions. We are all getting the chance to curate our upcoming group show, and work with him...so I'll get back to y'all on what makes the final cut for the exhibition.
And the MICA Printmaking lab is now open (it was closed this whole summer) YAY!
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