Final Project - Moss Street Art - Rachel

So, here it is! FINAL! :D

I've posted the making of the moss solution on Facebook, and about the process. Now, I will post pictures of what I have been working on for a few days. I created sketches and wrote down quotes (which I posted on here yesterday). I have travelled around Louisville yesterday and today finding places that speak to me and that I feel need a "touch of moss". Some places I stuck with just a quote, some I chose just to leave a symbolic image. I will post pictures of each spot below with a description about the place and what I left behind. 

Be sure to note ---this is just the base moss solution. (Sometimes it is very hard to see on the surfaces I painted it on). Moss will begin to grow in about a month. If I can, I will try to travel back to these places to spritz the spots I painted with water (this helps the growing process). If I ever do this again I think I'd use a little less water than the original recipe called for (the solution was a tad bit too runny...although this made for some cool imagery in some of my pieces). 

So, here it is! 

This one was the first quote I painted - It is located in my backyard (as it was sort of the practice run). This is a quote by C.S. Lewis - "You don't have a soul. You are a soul, you have a body." This quote has always been meaningful to me because we do refer to ourselves as "having souls", but when you really think about it, we should refer to ourselves as having a "body" (as C.S. Lewis states), because the body is what is temporary - the soul is infinite and it is what is YOU. 

This quote is from the Studio Ghibli film, Laputa: Castle in the Sky. This film basically centers on human civilizations who have gained powerful technological innovations and then have gotten too proud of their power and have destroyed their environment and civilization itself.

The full quote is, "Take root in the ground, live in harmony with the wind, plant your seeds in the winter, and rejoice with the birds in the coming of spring. No matter how many weapons you have, no matter how great your technology might be, the world cannot live without love." 

This is painted on a walkway up to a house that isn't being used - and hasn't been for awhile. I chose that particular section of that quote because of the recent events that have gone on (Boston marathon bombing) - it is also just an overall good quote that can appeal to everyone.

This one is very hard to see because it is painted on a bright red wall in direct sunlight. (If you REALLY try, you can make out the image and words). It is on an abandoned building on 1st/Brook street down by UofL.

I painted a single sunflower and wrote the words "be happy". 

Sunflowers literally follow the sun. They can be a symbol of spiritual faith, longevity, good luck, and happiness. I feel like everyone can always use a little more "sunshine" and "happiness" in their life. :)

I then added "be happy" next to the sunflower to emphasize my point (and maybe because I was feeling super elated after finished my last written final.) 

This is a quote from Andy Warhol that says, "Art is anything you can get away with." I thought this was particularly good for this class and all our discussions of "what is art". Also, I'm sure others have noticed the "This is Art" stickers places randomly around campus...And I have also spotted these same stickers on Bardstown Road. This quote is in an alleyway off of Bardstown Road close to Eastern Parkway. I thought this was good commentary for this part of town. 

This quote can be found deep in the woods in the somewhat new Anchorage park. A big part of the reason I chose to do "moss graffiti" is because it is "eco" graffiti and will not hurt the environment in any way. This is why I chose this particular spot beneath the trees. It is very hard to make out from the pictures, but on a small wooden bridge I wrote the Radiohead lyric, "For a minute there, I lost myself..." from the song Karma Police. I think this is relevant for its placement because whenever I go out into a forest or in nature somewhere, I tend to sort of "lose myself" in the moment and the vast peacefulness of my surroundings. I think this is usually the feeling people are searching for when they go out in nature. 

This quote is located on a stone wall in Long Run Park. It is a quote by Dr. Seuss that says, "It's opener, out there, in the wide, open air." Long Run Park has a central lake with a large open surrounding area. I felt like this quote was very fitting of the surroundings and also had the underlying message that we need to get outside and enjoy what the earth has to offer. Being outside can be very releasing. 

This next quote is located on a park bench. It says, "For this moment, you are free." 

We all tend to carry certain worries and constraints of everyday life that overtime wear us down. Once in a while (or more than that!) we need to remember to just "let go" and enjoy the present moment - Remember who we are, and all we have to offer. I think this quote speaks to that. 

This next "moss graffiti" is an "om"symbol within a lotus flower on a concrete wall in the Middletown Community Park. The om symbol is a symbol of the cycles of life. It moves from creation, to sustenance, to dissolution. The emphasis is that we are never "finished". When we close the door on one thing, we open a door to something else. Once a cycle ends, a new one begins. I think this is a good symbol for reflection. 

The lotus flower grows out of the mud and the muck. So, this flower symbolizes that no matter how many challenges life hands us, we have the potential to grow into something beautiful if we open our heart. The beauty is within us. This can also speak on many levels to everyone. 

This quote is written behind some office buildings. It says, "The "earth" without "art" is just "eh"." Once again, I think this is a quote that really appeals to this class and all our discussions about all the different types of art out there. Art is the way we express ourselves, it speaks to us on so many levels. Without art and creativity, the world would be a very grey and boring place. This is a whole alleyway of blank brick painted walls. I feel like a little livelihood of art could definitely improve the overall appeal to this place. 

This next, and last, piece is the symbol of a tree. It is located on a plain painted wall (much like the last one) on the back on a Dollar Tree. The tree is a universal symbol for life and sustainability. I chose to include the roots underneath to continue and refer back to the branches above. This is a symbol of stability. You need to find your roots in yourself and find peace, happiness, and love within yourself before you can branch out to others. I think this is something everyone needs a little reminder of every once in a while, and so that is why I chose to include it in my "moss" street art Final Project.

So, that's it! This class has been a great opportunity for me - I've learned so much in such a short period of time. It's definitely opened my eyes up to many things I wasn't even thinking about before! 

Thank you to every one of you and Professor Chan for making this a great semester! :)

Sketching for Final Project

So before I got out and paint the moss solution on things around the city, I decided to make some ROUGH sketches of silhouettes of things I may want to paint (since I wont be able to get any more detailed than that probably), and a collection of quotes.  I've found that I don't keep a journal in the usual sense of that word, but I do keep a collection of certain quotes/lyrics that are insightful, inspiring, or meaningful to me in some way. I've collected some of these to maybe use or use snippets of to spread around. Whatever I choose to use, I'll include in following posts of the process and discussion of WHY those things (symbolism, meaning, etc.) Most of them should be pretty self-explanatory. :) 

Water Light Graffiti

Speaking about street art, I came across this artist's installation of "light graffiti". This is something I don't have the resources or knowledge to be able to do - but I thought it was a great idea for public ephemeral art that the viewers can interact with. Apparently, the LED lights are made to associate with water - so anything a little damp will light up the lights. This way the audience can interact by touching/water guns/damp paint brushes - you name it. 

The artist is Antonin Fourneau and here are some pictures of this plus a video:

Water Light Graffiti

Eco-Graffiti (Final Project outline)

As a continuation from my thoughts about "What is art?" and as a reaction against tacky tagging that people do on the streets - I am doing a sort of "eco-graffiti" for my final project.

First off, I wanted to do a type of "street art" because I feel like this is a type of art that isn't necessarily "limited" in the amount of people who get to see it. I feel like this is a form of communication that can spread to different eyes at a quick rate - because it's out in public. Second off, like I said, I was also motivated to do this project simply because of the vast majority of crappy-looking "tagging" that people do - that I think belittles the look of a wall.  There's definitely a difference between unique graffiti and graffiti art, and just plain old tagging.

So, I am choosing to do moss graffiti! Here is the recipe:

• One or two clumps (about a small handful) of moss
• 2 cups of buttermilk
  • You can also substitute with yogurt (vegan yogurt can be used)
• 2 cups of water
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• Corn syrup (optional)

And also this youtube video of this guy showing how he made it - he used "water gel" from a diaper? I don't have diapers handy and I'm not exactly sure how to get "water gel" from this - so I'm probably just going to follow the above recipe. But a visual aid is always nice so:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBsIljmgm7o

You can skip to 50 seconds in, as the first part is just a sort of introduction. 

I'm not positive (because I've never tried this before), but I don't think I'm going to be able to get very detailed with this medium, so I'll probably stick to words/sections of quotes/poems that I feel communicate what I want to say...and maybe try to do some silhouettes...but we'll see how everything goes. 

I will probably be working on this Wednesday/Thursday/Saturday, and I'll post pictures along the way! 

Happy Earth Day

Tree pose for Earth Day! :)

The Art Question - It's a Journey!

What is art? I think this is a question we've all been asking ourselves for a long time - even without totally realizing it.

The answer to the art question is one that I believe we all possess deep inside of us. We all hold our own unique answer to this question and our lives are our continuous journey on reaching this point of enlightenment. As an artist, I believe that I will be continuously working towards my own concept of art throughout my artistic career (my life). All of the previous theories we've talked about this semester (Clive Bell, Collingwood, Wittgenstein/Weitz, Danto/Dickie) serve to bring me closer to my own concept.

The Importance of Imagination in Art

Art is powerful. It speaks to us on both a personal and a cultural level. It connects every one of us in some way. Yet, what exactly is art? And why does it hold such value to us?
Art can many times be a way of "saying" something when words fall short. Art resonates deep within us - has the power to make us feel something we couldn't feel before, or see something in a totally new way.

Personally, relating back to the four theories of art I presented for my midterm, I feel like Collingwood's Expression of Emotion and the bigger picture of the Family Resemblance theories stuck out to me the most. Both of these theories have led to my own further thought on the question, "What is art?" Art is something created by humans. I think the thing that connects all art roots back into this fact. All art is connected in some way culturally because it is made by people and about aspects of the human condition - whether that be cultural or personal. When I say "cultural" and "personal", as related to the human condition, I mean that art serves to function to bring awareness. This awareness can be about a certain theory or reaction to some cultural event or about the personal expression of emotion of the artist.

"Art is about life, and it can't really be about anything else." - Damien Hirst

We are all humans. We are all connected with large similarities and small minute details - like Wittgenstein's metaphor "no fibre runs the length of a whole rope". Even though no one person can be in the exact same mental and physical state the artist experienced when making a piece of work, we are all humans.

This brings about the importance of imagination both when creating a piece of work and appreciated art. Imagination gives us the power to empathize with others. Even when we may have not experienced the same event of went through the same emotions as another person, by using our imagination we can all place ourselves in that position, and therefore empathize with the other person. This, at its core, is crucial in the connection between artist and viewer. This is why art is so valuable to us - because it is the most powerful form of connection we have.

Kandinsky (Thanks, Carolina!)

"The true work of art is born from the 'artist': a mysterious, enigmatic, and mystical creation. It detaches itself from him, it acquires an autonomous life, becomes a personality, an independent subject, animated with a spiritual breath, the living subject of a real existence of being."

This is a quote from Wassily Kandinsky which I found particularly resonating. I really enjoyed hearing about his artistic process through Carolina's presentation. The connection between music and his painting is very expressive and I really enjoy this concept. I also read further about him later (not sure if you mentioned this in your presentation or not), but I came across something that said he had almost like a certain "code" for his paintings that related back to his music. Almost like he was writing sheet music, except in an abstract way - which I guess would make sense when you think about what you said about his connection with music. For example, the color red might be Middle C, and a black circle might represent a closing. I guess this is something you could consider when doing your final - at least maybe for one of the paintings? I don't know, just a thought. :)  I'm looking forward to seeing what you make - I kinda want to try something like that myself. 

Contemporary Art (Thanks Taylor!)

"Art is about life, and it can't really be about anything else."

This is one quote by Damien Hirst from Taylor's presentation on contemporary art that really stuck with me. Art is always about some aspect of life because life is all we know as human beings. The events we go through, all the different emotions we feel, and the thoughts we have. 

I thought this topic for a presentation was great! Especially when some of us will eventually have to go up for BFA Reviews. We should be thinking about what contemporary art is, and how our own artwork relates into this. 

It's crazy to think of everything that is out there as art now. I know this subject must have been difficult to make a concise presentation out of - just from the mass amount of STUFF - but Taylor did a great job! I think it was also a great followup to my Theories of Art presentation - because in a world full of different types of "art", I think it's important to have a good concept on what YOU think is art - especially when appreciating art.  

The Lives of Others - Art is Powerful

I think what I came away with after watching the movie The Lives of Others was simply, art is powerful. Art can be a sort of universal language - a way of connecting people where words fail. Something about art appeals to the deepest part of you...resonates within you more-so than many other ways of communication.

I feel like throughout the whole movie they were trying to suppress certain creative thoughts - were obsessed with this. I thought it was interesting how even after fully submersing himself in this sort of investigation into the writer, Wiesler realized the pure beauty and importance of an individual's creative voice and therefore saved Dreyman.

Watching this made me thankful for my right to be able to express myself in the ways that I want. I love how we can each have our own unique voice - especially when expressing ourselves through our artwork.

Pretty Lights

My first thoughts when seeing these photos/realizing they're made with glow sticks were wondering about whether this hurt the environment or not. Apparently, the artists' thought about this aspect and strung together rows of glow sticks so they could collect them a little farther downstream after making the photograph. I really enjoy slow-shutter speed light photographs because they capture more than just ONE moment. It's almost like a performance contained in a photograph. There's something eerily beautiful about long exposure photographs taken in nature. Enjoy!

Backyard Spring Colors!

Oh hey there, 4-leaf clover ;) 

Abandoned

These are just some pictures from this old abandoned house (kind of behind mine by the neighborhood pool). My friend and I went over here to get some pictures for me to use for reference for my next drawing assignment. The back of the house has been torn down and there's random items from the house everywhere - which is kind of cool. Although, there's lots of graffiti everywhere and apparently whoever did it just liked to use cuss words....SO. Besides that, it was pretty cool to look around this place. 

(See...but the old Lion King stickers are cool!)

Spray Paint Skateboarding Action Painting

When visiting the MET museum in New York, it was amazing to see the Jackson Pollock paintings. His painting was all about the action of making his large drip paintings. 

I just came across a group of people that did a spray paint skateboard project in an empty pool. This is also a sort of action painting. The skateboarders actually used remote control spray paint cans attached to their boards and then skated through this pool creating this "action painting". 

        

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScW5kWzSaSI&feature=player_embedded&noredirect=1