Today I realized it has been two years since I have completed any piece of art. I've been looking at, thinking about, and writing on art since I moved to Philadelphia in January of 2008, but I have not completed a single piece. I can't believe that time just slipped by like that. I feel like now is absolutely the time that this will change. For the past week or so I have been working everyday. I feel this intense motivation that I haven't felt since art school. I want to blame a number of sources, but that is what I've been doing for two years, and its clearly not helping.
I'm going to stop listening to people that tell me I really should draw or paint. I don't tell them they really should be making lists or video taping their naked bodies. We all work in different ways. I'm going to be open to new ideas, but work the way that I know how.
/self affirming rant
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
SUPERGIRL! at NEXUS
Last month, Su Tomesen saw the potential of the massive Ice Box space at the Crane, and succeeded in doing what no exhibition has done before, she utilized it. The shiny new projectors filled the lengthy wall with a dreamy video of cloud filtered landscapes shot from an airplane at 40,000 feet, the height that lent the exhibit its name. The room was filled with a foggy cloud, pumped from a smoke machine, and, naturally, everyone that entered the room stood in awe. This month, we weren’t as lucky. Its as if the overall theme this Thursday was poorly displayed video. I understand that the Crane is a big clunky industrial building that provides many a curatorial hurdle, but since 40,000 feet I've become a bit jaded. Sometimes its hard to believe, but it is possible to display video without sacrificing quality. I'm looking at you SUPERGIRL!.
Read the full review at the link below.
Funnel Pages
Published December 16, 2009 on FunnelPages.com.
Read the full review at the link below.
Funnel Pages
Published December 16, 2009 on FunnelPages.com.
F1rst Friday In Words
In the fight against disappointment, I went out this First Friday looking for any opening with even a little bite. Luckily, I got a few nibbles from the Extra Extra, Bambi, and Vox Populi galleries.
Check out the full review, accompanying photos, and Conrad's video at the link below.
Philthy Blog
Published November 9, 2009 on Philthy Blog.
Check out the full review, accompanying photos, and Conrad's video at the link below.
Philthy Blog
Published November 9, 2009 on Philthy Blog.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Fall Arts!
The temperature is dropping, the pumpkin beer is overflowing, and the arts are back! As an extra special bonus prize, FunnelPages.com has returned to the internet to tell us where to go and what to like this season (ok, well, maybe not exactly). I finally finagled my schedule at work to have First Fridays off, so soon reviews will flow like pumpkin beer. While taking small, yet totally justifiable breaks from writing my review of the Vox Populi opening on October 2nd, I will be busying myself with some free fall fun, courtesy of the ICA.
Wednesday October 7th, 6:30pm, Lecture: What is Contemporary?
Thursday October 8th, 6pm, Advanced screening of Art21 episode Transformation (featuring Paul McCarthy, Cindy Sherman and Yinka Shonibare)
If all goes as planned, I will be tapping my toes at bluegrass night, upstairs at Abyssinia (45th and Locust) after Art21. What fun! Now back to knitting a cat sweater for Dinosaur. Is she joking?
Wednesday October 7th, 6:30pm, Lecture: What is Contemporary?
Thursday October 8th, 6pm, Advanced screening of Art21 episode Transformation (featuring Paul McCarthy, Cindy Sherman and Yinka Shonibare)
If all goes as planned, I will be tapping my toes at bluegrass night, upstairs at Abyssinia (45th and Locust) after Art21. What fun! Now back to knitting a cat sweater for Dinosaur. Is she joking?
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Behold, West Philadelphia!
When I began looking for my fourth apartment since I moved to Philadelphia a year and a half ago, I was determined this time to find one that would stick. After a bit of deliberation, I decided to move away from the Fishtown/Kensington neighborhood in which the other three apartments had been found. Though I was absolutely ready for a lifestyle change, the decision to branch out came mostly from not being able to find a single apartment. When the phrase "up and coming" gets thrown around, leases are signed moments after the Craigslist ad is posted. To make a long, frustrating story short, after being stood up and sold out by countless landlords in the north and the south, I found a beautiful little studio on a beautiful little block in West Philly.
This Saturday morning, I wake up after a restful night of sleep (uninterrupted by shouting neighbors, blasting reggaeton, and sirens), make a green smoothie, and take a refreshing shower. I step out from my porch and make my way up Baltimore Ave, past Clark Park, to the Green Line Cafe. I'm currently sitting at an outdoor table, watching the melting pot of passersby and listening to my favorite Al Green song wafting out from the cafe. Better yet, I'm doing all this while sitting next to a tree. A real live tree, with roots, and a trunk, and branches, and leaves... the whole she-bang!
I next make my way to the Clark Park Farmer's Market that is going on catty-corner to my tree. The same farmers' market that happens twice a week, Thursday and Saturday, year round. This particular Saturday also features the Uhuru Flea Market. The park is bursting full of life: fresh produce, flowers, music, families, babies, puppies, and booths displaying passion and hard work. It is enough to make one swoon. If it seems as if I'm embellishing, making my new 'hood sound a bit more magical than it exists in real life, I assure you, this is the real deal. Now all I need to do is break into the local arts community, discover a network of raw foodists, and meet the crust punk boy or girl of my dreams, but I get ahead of myself. All in due time, Andrea. All in due time.
This Saturday morning, I wake up after a restful night of sleep (uninterrupted by shouting neighbors, blasting reggaeton, and sirens), make a green smoothie, and take a refreshing shower. I step out from my porch and make my way up Baltimore Ave, past Clark Park, to the Green Line Cafe. I'm currently sitting at an outdoor table, watching the melting pot of passersby and listening to my favorite Al Green song wafting out from the cafe. Better yet, I'm doing all this while sitting next to a tree. A real live tree, with roots, and a trunk, and branches, and leaves... the whole she-bang!
I next make my way to the Clark Park Farmer's Market that is going on catty-corner to my tree. The same farmers' market that happens twice a week, Thursday and Saturday, year round. This particular Saturday also features the Uhuru Flea Market. The park is bursting full of life: fresh produce, flowers, music, families, babies, puppies, and booths displaying passion and hard work. It is enough to make one swoon. If it seems as if I'm embellishing, making my new 'hood sound a bit more magical than it exists in real life, I assure you, this is the real deal. Now all I need to do is break into the local arts community, discover a network of raw foodists, and meet the crust punk boy or girl of my dreams, but I get ahead of myself. All in due time, Andrea. All in due time.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Friday night's alright
Last night when I found myself itching to get out of the house, I decided to make my way down to the Ritz Theaters in Old City. I haven't been out to see a movie in far too long, and one of my favorite ways to view a movie is alone. I got myself a bag of popcorn and sat down to watch The Baader Meinhof Complex. Upon entering the theater I realized I was the only person younger than 45 in the room. It made me ponder what I shared in common with this group of people, and also what I lacked in common with my own age group. The film was beautiful, a dramatization of real events surrounding the German RAF (Red Army Faction) during the 60's and 70's. I found this to be a perfect outlet for reflection on the anniversary of the 9/11 "attacks".
As the film began, scenes of police brutality against demonstrators literally brought tears to my eyes. As the film went on, I found that the director, Uli Edel, did not overly glamorize the young terrorist group, which I believe is a large part of the film's success. Though the RAF are portrayed by young, handsome actors, and are shown as well organized, and highly motivated, they are also shown at times as reckless, overly aggressive, and often bickering amongst themselves. It is so important to consider both sides of any fight, especially one that led to such brutality. One of the most important characters in the film is Horst Herold, the head of the German police force. Though he is trying to stop the group's terrorist actions, he understands that they are only reacting to the oppression they experience. Throughout the film he professes that the only way to curtail terrorist action is to change the political and social state from which the terror is bred.
Once the film had ended, I felt frustrated that I was the only person of my age group at its opening night, and even more so that I had not heard of the film until lazily searching for a reason to leave the house. We need so badly to consider our past and how it affects and reflects what is happening in our current socio-political climate, now more than ever before.
As the film began, scenes of police brutality against demonstrators literally brought tears to my eyes. As the film went on, I found that the director, Uli Edel, did not overly glamorize the young terrorist group, which I believe is a large part of the film's success. Though the RAF are portrayed by young, handsome actors, and are shown as well organized, and highly motivated, they are also shown at times as reckless, overly aggressive, and often bickering amongst themselves. It is so important to consider both sides of any fight, especially one that led to such brutality. One of the most important characters in the film is Horst Herold, the head of the German police force. Though he is trying to stop the group's terrorist actions, he understands that they are only reacting to the oppression they experience. Throughout the film he professes that the only way to curtail terrorist action is to change the political and social state from which the terror is bred.
Once the film had ended, I felt frustrated that I was the only person of my age group at its opening night, and even more so that I had not heard of the film until lazily searching for a reason to leave the house. We need so badly to consider our past and how it affects and reflects what is happening in our current socio-political climate, now more than ever before.
Finally, some words
I decided to start posting on my blog again. As I haven't been making new art to post, I figured I'd try to get some thoughts out in hopes of stimulating my creative process. I'm making a variety of life changes at the moment, and I can only hope they allow me to move forward. First, I posted some old reviews I wrote for the FunnelPages blog when they were still active. Hopefully working with my past will further my future.
