Pipilotti Rist and Progress

Thursday I took myself to the Henry Art Museum on the University of Washington campus. This was the last week for the Pipilotti Rist installation, A la belle étoile, and I didn't want to miss it. Unfortunately, there were no photography signs everywhere not to mention all the guards so I didn't get to take pictures. I was very skeptical of her work. Before experiencing it I thought it was impossible to stimulate a persons mind and body by just projecting images on a surface, but being in the piece has since changed my mind. Her work is very warming and gave me "warm fuzzies" as I stood in the whirling glow of her piece.

The Henry also has the exhibit Now Here is also Nowhere on display. It is an interesting look into artists' exploration of intangible concepts leading to the destabilization of the art object. There were pieces from artists like Duchamp, Tara Donovan, Bernice Abbott, and Cy Twombly to name a few. Overall, I found it nice to get out of my studio and see what is happening in the art world today.

Moving on to my studio progress...

Slow and steady wins the race. I thought after talking with Susan I would be able to just whip right through my ideas, but process always takes longer than thought. I've been focusing all of my studio effort on creating ONE dogtag/necklace. I want to have a prototype so I know where I am going and what I am getting myself into. It's not so easy to paint straight lines on a wavy sculpture, or to string a bunch of beads in the perfect manner. I believe the process for the remaining seven necklaces will be easier, but I think there will continue to some struggle.

 The necklace below is only half finished. It will be representation of the dogtags every military member is issued. Each teardrop beads represent 1,000 service women. This necklace is for 2012 and represents the 214,000 women that have served. It will be a wall installation with a cast shadow to signify the memory of these women. This is a lot of uncharted territory for me, but I think once it is complete it will be a successful piece and series. The artists and books I am reading right now have really influenced the projects I am currently working on. I don't think I would have made it to this point without them.

The medal and beads are different shades of red, but I couldn't get the camera to pick that up.