Journal 2

     "Succeeding the Author, the scriptor no longer bears within him passions, humours, feelings, impressions, but rather this immense dictionary from which he draws a writing that can know no halt: life never does more than imitate the book, and the book itself is only a tissue of signs, an imitation that is lost, infinitely deferred." (Barthes, 247).

    When hearing what others think about my work, I always expect to hear something pretty different than what I see. This is something I've come to enjoy over the last couple years. The quote above makes me think of cultures without any written history. Of course we know less about those histories since they were never recorded, but according to Barthes argument, perhaps none of that knowledge is lost, it has just been appropriated over and over again. The same could be said for every work of art. 

    Also, if everything is based off of something and "writing know no halt", then perhaps fantasy is reality and reality is fantasy.

    Speaking of fantasy, here are my finished pictures for the big phat map.

    Also a sneak peak for next time. I've moved on to making drawing of people losing. The drawing of Vanessa Selbst (2nd one) is in progress.

Jiayi Young

 

    I found Jiayi Young’s exhibition this time around to be in need of some improvements and the talk that she held for the work was a bit too explanatory. I would have preferred that she give her own thoughts and feelings about the exhibition as a whole and the work that she did generally. The video installation that had to do with the blood bags and electricity on the wall near it was the coolest part for me. I imagine that the project was much better of an experience within the sphere of the installation shown on video. A dark room with the lit up fluid in the bag along with clicking and some lights; seems like a more immersive experience. By no means do I think the art Young works on is unimpressive. It was only the presentation of said art that I had a hard time with. 

    When it comes to the concepts she was getting across, I felt that the 2016 election stuff needed to be explained with the artist statement which is never a bad thing. I like looking at art before I read the artist statement and whatever it adds after reading is usually cool. I’m glad to get both experiences. The exhibition made me recall things along the lines of alien hospital or cyborg kind of stuff. Those blood bags could be attached to something that needs, or is giving away, green fluid. Perhaps Young meant for it to make the viewer feel uneasy. The concept of internet bots shifting the results of an election is verging more on a dystopia than we might initially recognize. 

    I really like the aspect of Young’s talk that dealt with the process as opposed to the final product. Someone asked the question, “what percentage of importance would you put on both process and final product.” Young struggled to answer and I think it’s because you can’t just sever the two from each other. They both morph to make the same experience. I like Young’s sentiment about emphasizing the importance of process without condemning the final product and I like her attempt at refusing to answer the question. 

    In my perception, artist like Young who make installations and give the viewer a work that steers away from hard realism, are defined in the art world by their process. I mean to say this: When you make work that isn’t supposed to be a direct replication or representation of something, the labor and experience is embedded in the process as opposed to the final product. To me, this is the difference between a well-established abstract artist and a child’s work.  I know Jiayi Young is going to do great things in the future. 

Barthes-ian analysis

     For my own work, on the surface there is plenty to look at. There is a decoration on the borders of my map that I've been working on so far. The map itself is just that. When we look at any map, how do we interpret it? For my own money, I always imagine and generate what kind of cultural and societal apsect are embedded in the map. A globe of the Earth might show what cities are named and the topographical qualities to our world; all of that tells a story.

    So when I look at my own work I like to imagine what implications I'm making about the world I create. The Barthes-ian analysis of map-making might be to interpret the symbols and style of the map to be a part of the world in which it was created for. The drawings on the edges tell a story about events that may have occurred and from there, the intent of the map's designer. Perhaps a Barthes-ian analysis might also be to interpret the inter-workings of fantasy as a cultural concept. There are plenty of tropes in my work, like animals as a recurring theme, old houses with banners, the North vs the South.

    My final project is coming along. The largest work in the first half of the term is nearly done. I have to ink the drawings and lay down the actual land-masses which will be the quickest process. Soon I'll move on to the next set of drawings.

Final Project Proposal

    

    For my term project I plan to make an assortment of paintings and drawings. They will all be a continuation of my previous work in both mediums. I am used to painting large abstract pieces with many layers on them. That work is mostly inspired by Willem de Kooning even though I am not working primarily in abstract figure painting; my stuff is conceptually leaning closer to pure abstraction. 

    The other kind of painting I plan on doing is shifted more towards impressionism and it will consist of portraits and figure paintings.

    As for drawing, I plan to make a series of made-up fantasy maps. Like abstract painting, this is something I have been doing for years. The archival lore and stories to be found in a simple birds-eye view is very gripping to me. It feels as if the viewer can change the context of the maps history to fit whatever they enjoy the most. That's why map-making has always been fun for me and the time it takes is rewarding. 

    Since there are nine weeks left in the term I plan on having four of any of the above options completed by the end of week 5 on May 2nd. One of the in-progress pieces is very large which is why it's not six or ten completed works. Each week I plan on doing progress checks with the pieces that aren't done. For the second half of the term I will do the same thing and by the end of week ten I will have at least eight projects done by May 30th, some of them being between 3' by 4' and 5' by 6'.

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