I discovered Debbie Little-Wilson on the WPA website also. I like the humor that comes through in her work. The print on the left is called Hummers. On the right is Her Life on the Line and when you can see the work closely the woman who's "life" is on the clothesline is apparently a paper doll, at least her cloths are paper doll cloths. Antique punch out paper dolls embody rich historical connotations. I want to see and contemplate more of this artists work because of this piece.

I would like to know more about her process and maybe could surmise the answers to most of my questions by seeing her work in person. Otherwise, It is wonderful to enjoy the available images while imagining the written humor that must come forward in her artist statement.

Women Printmakers of Austin

I found  Lynne Hubner on the Women Printmakers of Austin website. I am very interested in the group. Although I have seen some of the members work in studio galleries I was unable to make the annual show WPA held recently.

The two examples of her work here help show the diversity I found in her portfolio. On top is a one color relief print. The bottom example is an oil based monotype. Although not all of her work appeals to me I am drawn to her diversity in the printmaking medium.

I am noticing that many of these women printmakers are making prints of birds. I realize that even in my limited printmaking portfolio I have two series of circus birds. Weird!

Kathy Sheehan taught me drawing then printmaking at Austin Community College. I truly enjoy seeing her work every year in the Pump Project at the EAST studio tour because I know some things about her process and her. When I read her artist statement again to prepare this blog entry I was reminded that she makes her work with a passion for animals and the environment. Her purpose is much deeper than what I have summed up but what is important is that her statement about her work, her work, and her lifestyle are all in alignment. I often wonder when I research artists if the same is true, if what I perceive about them, through their presentation of themselves, is true.

Kathy uses patterned materials, such as lace, in conjunction with her drawings to create dynamic, layered prints. In some cases she embosses some layers without ink creating beautiful textural depth while emphasizing the interaction between species and man.

Judd

Marfa Voices

Above is a link to the video trailer for Marfa Voices. This video explains the work of Donald Judd, especially after his settlement in Marfa, Texas. His daughter manages the foundation that preserves his work and continues his mission. A good selection of his work is shown in the video. 

I am very interested in Judd's work because of the conceptual nature of his pieces. I feel like I am forced to slow down to comprehend a Judd piece. Surely, captivating a viewer is a mark of success for any artist. I was initially interested in his work because of the stories that abound about viewers reactions to Judd's sculptures. It seems from New York galleries to the veritable Brazoria County takeover Judd invariably wins the viewer over time. 

I also researched Judd because the greater extent of his body of work is so close to home for me.I think I will make the trip to interact with his sculptures in the fields of Marfa so that I may better understand the art discussed in the video Marfa Voices.

Chuck Close is interesting to me because he does portraiture, he works on a huge scale, and he employs printmaking as well as painting. The example of his work to the right is a woodcut that was professionally printed. His ability to collaborate with others to accomplish these massive  portraits is inspiring. The underlying grid is obvious in nearly all his work but here the radiating pattern adds so much to the composition. 

While I continue to work and fulfill assignments I am searching for my identity as an artist. People are very important to me. I understand that Close is working to identify people visually through his portraiture and I would have a different aim to identify characteristics of people through portraiture. There is a lot to take in with a Close portrait, scale certainly not the least. I am interested also in how similar Close's work is to mural painting at least in fundamental structure.

I remember becoming familiar with Frida Kahlo. I have always thought pictures of her were as fantastically colored and interesting as her representations of herself. I love how the symbolism in her self portraits is used to make the portrait a complete and accurate portrayal of herself at a given time.The more familiar I became with Mexico and the folk art of Mexico while I studied there the more I could see her heritage in her work. It seems simple enough that she would draw on what was familiar to her. That is exactly what draws me to her work again and again. She never pursued a formal art education yet she certainly came to a mature style that is severely distinguished from her early works. The thread that ties her body of work together is the rootedness in Mexican folk art.

I have felt hot and cold about Kahlo's work, probably because she became so popular that I wanted to not like her anymore. Yet I come back. She has made a connection with people even long after her death by reappearing on handbags, jewelry, and reproductions. I cannot ignore my utter astonishment that a self-taught artist has created such a legacy simply by being true to herself.

Diego Rivera

Mexican muralist Diego Rivera is most fascinating to me as a character. He was politically outspoken, quite immoral with the ladies, and famous. He had crews of people working under him to complete his mural designs. He was commissioned in Mexico and America.

I was able to visit one apartment he lived in as a child. It has been turned into his museum. I felt quite familiar with his work before the visit to the museum where I learned that he had been classically trained. He took his learning and combined it with traditional indigenous representational methods to create his unique style. This was one of the first times I truly understood the value of art education in the pursuit of personal artistic style. 

Calder

Known for his mobiles, Calder combined his engineering skill with artistry. I like the mobiles because the shadows play as much a part in the work as the parts he actually crafted. I also like the idea that these artworks can be huge and seen from below instead of straight on. Also, traditional three dimensional work would be placed on a pedestal but Calder's work could not be forced onto a pedestal for display.

The mobility and viewer interaction are essential components of a successful Calder mobile. I choose this picture because this mobile is striking, enhancing the space. The accomplishment is amazing in light of the very busy architectural elements of the skylight.

Miro

Falling under Surrealism, Miro was the Automatic version opposed to Dali's Surrealism. When it comes to Surrealism I am drawn to the automatic. Miro's work starts out as a subconscious doodle that he develops into fantastical imagery. His color palette is as arbitrary as his under-drawings. He used mostly solid colors, often primary, and the way he employs them reminds me of the De Stijl balance. His use of line, on the other hand, is free and often described as whimsical.

There are characters and a story in every one of his paintings.

Mondrian

De Stijl used primary colors and horizontals. The effort focused on simplification and harmony. Non-representational art finds some of its roots here. Mondrian made paintings in this style. It influenced every area of art and architecture and continues to be influential today. I like the way you can look at a Mondrian and say "What if that blue square were not there?" It changes the whole composition and spins everything out of balance.The fact that it is easier to comprehend from this backward approach is fascinating to me.

Picasso

Well, cubism! Picasso was an artist with a long career of strides that quickly evolved from style to style. Picasso, the various cubists, and all those influenced after cubism can only be understood through the development of cubism. Here I have included an example of Analytic Cubism by Picasso. There is a subject but it is seen from many different angles. The painting shows the whole subject. The colors are muted which is typical of Analytic Cubism because the important part is the breakdown and re-assemblage of the image. When I understood this goal of cubism I began to appreciate the work of Picasso as well as much of the work that is contemporary to his and later influenced by these short lived but influential times.

Paula Modersohn-Becker

In Expressionist movements some women fall just outside the defined movements but have a lot worth looking at. The first of these in Paula Modersohn-Becker. She belonged on and off to the Worpswede artist colony in Germany where she was involved with Otto whom she bore a child. Although she had always been encouraged to be an artist she was not given the same recognition as male artists and her untimely death leaves us with only early work of hers to consider in today's less sexist climate.

The painting shown at right is the work of hers that I most admire. It is a self-portrait during her pregnancy. She has taken the female nude and reinterpreted it. Much more could be said on this subject, but for now I will leave you with just that.

Gaudi

An architect, Gaudi left a beautiful mark on Barcelona where he mainly worked in a splendid Art Nouveau style. His work appeals to me simply because of the unusual design for common use buildings. He created amazing spaces instead of simply adorning them. His work is often referred to as organic and he did look to nature for ideas about form. He went on to mosaic most of his work which adds to the splendor.

He also created public parks that allow visitors to enter his creations. There is not anything you cannot touch, or sit on. How cool?

Edvard Munch

Munch is known as a Symbolist painter. He is perhaps better known for the disturbing imagery that he created. He conveys emotions with rather simple images that employ repetitious use of line and fantastic colors. I have seen The Scream in its home museum and was taken aback by how small it is because I have been familiar with this work for as long as I can remember. The impact of this particular painting continues to be what I consider a worldwide phenomenon. Munch and I share a common ancestry, I hope to have inherited his artistry without his disturbed nature.

Seurat

The inventor of divisionism, more commonly referred to as pointillism, studied color theory and implemented it in his art. He put small strokes of contrasting colors next to each other. Viewing his work your eyes mix the colors from a distance, up close you can see the individual strokes of pure color.

I am very interested in colors and how they work. Seurat is among the first artists to really study color theory from a scientific as well as artistic approach.

Here is a detail from a Seurat painting.

Reflections on Tulu Bayar's Presentation

 Artist and photographer Tulu Bayar presented “Diversity, Ethnicity and Minority Status in China: A Focus on the Uyghurs” at St. Edward’s University through the cooperation of the SEU art department and the Kosmetsky Center. Bayar’s presentation of her findings from two trips to the Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwest China included photographs, video clips, and lecture. Although Bayar initially traveled to Beijing with her camera in an effort to document a facet of the economically booming country she found herself drawn to what she calls a more anthropological than artistic study.

            Bayar began with geography and statistics. She explained that China, with its five thousand year history, is currently the most populated country in the world with 1.3 billion people. She also stressed that China is the fastest growing country in terms of economics. She then narrowed the focus to the Uyghur Autonomous Region in the Northwest portion of China where she states that forty percent of the population is Han Chinese and fifty-five percent Uyghur.

            Bayar spoke briefly of the riots that took place in the Uyghur Region that spurred her to make the trip. 200 people died during the riots and China shut down access to the region for a short while. Bayar learned of the riots over the phone with her husband who was in the United States where there was very little news coverage about the situation. She observed that there was no news coverage of the riots at all in Beijing. When the area was opened again and Bayar traveled there she was denied free access to the people as she was often accompanied by a government official.

            Bayar explained that despite a drive toward assimilation of the Uyghur into the Han Chinese population the result has been increased segregation. Although the focus of the two trips she made has been the Uyghur and their situation she acknowledges the struggles of Han Chinese in the area that are resulting from the same causes. She showed video clips of the capital of the Uyghur Autonomous Region, Urumqi where there is now a majority of Han Chinese. Another clip of People’s Square in Kashgar showed a very different view of the region where eighty-five percent of the population is still Uyghur.

            Defining the problems that face the Uyghur people led Bayar to discuss the central tenants of the Uyghur culture that lie in their native dialect and their Islam religion.  Language and religion are simultaneously the great obstacles for Chinese authorities that want to assimilate minority groups into the Han population. Therefore, the government systematically discriminates against minorities by making it illegal to practice or even discuss religion for people who work for the government. Government employees are also required to speak flawless Mandarin. These practices make the best jobs inaccessible to Uyghurs and widen the gap between poor and rich. Universities only accept people who can pass rigorous testing and the testing and education is only provided in Mandarin, which again denies access to minority groups.

            Bayar briefly touched on some fascinating cultural practices, showing photographs and videos, of Uyghur dancers in their colorful costumes, traditional music sessions, and above ground tombs. In doing so she connected faces of the people in context with their extraordinary cultural heritage. These three views of Uyghur society are unique in specific practice but universal in human experience.

            Bayar concluded with her sentiments that she believes China will be forced to deal with the issues she presents to maintain their growing economic power on the world stage. Her testament of the Uyghur people through artistic media exemplifies the power of an artist to bring activist anthropological study to viewers through art especially when media fails or is censored. Her ongoing desire to document the peoples and diverse cultures of China will surely continue to benefit global understanding and interest in the human rights of the population of China.

Five Year Plan

I expect to continue my education at St. Edward’s in the Liberal Arts Master’s program with an emphasis on anthropological study. I will take every opportunity offered to combine my study with creative processes, for example, a course offered in creating documentary film. That process will take one or two years. I expect that I will work after receiving a Masters in a position where I can be creative and work with the public directly.

I am currently a member of Serenity Sorority that brings together women with common histories in a cooperative and collaborative process of art creation and craft production. Within the group I have a partner who is also actively seeking a degree. She and I plan to maintain our individual and collaborative work with an expectation that we will grow our group in terms of membership, events, and projects after we culminate our formal education.

I am a participating artist in the Sketchbook Project put on by the Brooklyn Library of Art. This will be my second year to participate and I will continue to do so. I also look forward to the opportunity to participate more fully in the local art scene.

I intend to move my studio to a space outside my home in a shared studio where I will have access to other artists that I do not have connections to through other organizations. It is important to me to maintain an art practice whether it becomes a part of my full time work or is a side to traditional employment.

Narrative Bio

Active in her father’s business Genevieve
was exposed to a creative and practical
working environment from the age of five.
Imaginative creativity honed by exceedingly
fine craftsmanship were the tenants of the
team based projects that flowed through
the family shop. She learned skills for
working metal, wood, and especially fabric.
Sail and canvas construction demanded
solution based creativity as well as
patterning and customization including text
creation and arrangement. Genevieve’s
apprenticeship relationship to her father
continued until his death in 1995.
Having moved to Austin, Texas in 1998
Genevieve once again found herself
working in a colorful and inspirational local
business. She attended Austin Community
College part time while working at a toy
store south of the Capital in the oldest part
of downtown Austin. Through her
education in conjunction with the unique
urban life of the area she began to develop
ideas about artistic value found in close up
inspection of color application and tactile
qualities of various objects. By 2002 she
was employed by The University of Texas
working with technology that she would use
later in the development of themes and
execution of her art.
In 2003 Genevieve spent a portion of the
year attending Instituto Allende in San
Miguel de Allende, Mexico. There she
studied indigenous drawing methods,
traditional Mexican rug weaving, and
language. Before and after her time in
Mexico she developed a unique style and
practice in ceramics in AMOA’s Laguna
Gloria studio space in west Austin.
Beginning in 2004 Genevieve delved into a
career managing a local non‐profit
corporation. She had the opportunity there
to create projects and design publications.
She also earned an AA in Art from Austin
Community College in May 2010. Three
months later she resigned her position of
six years to become a full time student at
St. Edward’s University in south Austin. She
will graduate with a BA in Art in May 2012

Artist Statement

    Senior Show brings together studies from the 2012 Sketchbook Project themed
“Monochromatic” with life sculpture studies in an exploration of how color is interpreted and
the effects of color on individuals.
Inspiration for this study comes from the many scientific studies and experiments on color that
I love to read. I also am fascinated with the house paint industry that has grown up around a
cultural need to paint everything a new color. I like to match paint chip colors in different
brands just to prove that they really have, unbelievably, run out of colors. But even when the
end of the color spectrum seems near, there is another factor to consider: matte, satin, or
glossy?
In this project I seek to understand and illustrate ways that color in particular environments
affect individuals. I explore how color affects people at an unconscious level as well as how our
culture has defined meaning for particular colors. I begin with the actual environments, from
homes to institutions, where we define meaning with color. I add color and consider finish and
texture that also play a vital role in how emotion and meaning are derived from environmental
colors.
Search the color palettes, look into the color rooms, and join me in an emotional exploration of
the meaning of color.

Senior Show Proposal

Color studies will be the focus of my senior show. Specifically how color effects people and how our culture defines our environments with color. The questions I seek to answer and illustrate are: How does environmental color affect individuals? and How does our society use color to define our environments?

An example is what I call institutional green. A light green color has been used for decades to cover the walls of insane asylums. The thought is that it acts on the senses to soothe and calm. That may be true, however, after a long history of connecting light green with insanity the reaction can be very different from soothing and calming yet our definition of asylums is light green, so they continue to be painted "institutional green."

I will pursue this project with images that I repeat in different colors. Some will seem right and others may feel disturbing because the color clashes with our interpretation of the image.

Relating to Artists and my Story

In our text there are stories about artists who were creative in getting their work seen. One group is the Gorilla Girls. They have remained anonymous while enjoying a great deal of fame. Another artist re-purposes cigarette vending machines to sell his art. Both of these approaches appeal to me. In the case of the Gorilla Girls they use their art primarily as a way to achieve a social goal. I believe this is one of the most powerful and appropriate uses of art. Finding creative ways to sell art appeals to me because I feel like art should be accessible to the general population.

I would like to use my art to enforce the values and practices that are important to me. This includes sharing my art openings in venues that support the same values and can benefit from the interaction with the public. For example, I am currently working on a series of sculptures that include hands and feet in yoga positions. The venue for the opening of this collection will take place at Star Bella Studios where yoga classes are an important part of the community. The combination of the show and studio will bring about discussion and bring people from the yoga community into the art circle as well as people coming to view the show into the yoga realm. Most importantly, it helps several artists with exposure while supporting a local business.

Potential Venues for Displaying A Body of Artwork

Austin is a diverse city with a wealth of educational institutions, gathering places, and special events. Many of these places make potential venues for art exhibitions. My top five are:
1. St. Edward's University gallery
2. NASH Women Serenity Sorority group shows
3. Strange Brew coffee shop
4. Star Bella Dance Studio
5. Bennu Coffee Shop