First Video

It has been quite a struggle figuring out a MAC the first time as well as Final Cut... I spent an hour 1/2 total on three occasions trying to investigate. I felt like a computer illiterate person. While Francesca did a superb job showing us how to use Final Cut, it still seemed so foreign because I saw it for the first time. I decided since I didn't know the ins and outs of Final Cut Pro, I would begin to learn it. So therefore I read the manual which really helped me get through it. I haven't gotten to audio just yet but I do believe I have the basics down pat. Even figuring out how to upload it on to the blog took a certain finesse.

I will also update you all soon on my own personal project.

Tides and Time take 2

This is my second attempt at creating a video to project over my sculptures. i think this one is a bit more successful in that it is more seamless with better transitions. I have questions regarding how to export this video in the correct format to project it onto the wall and how to go about doing this, whether to burn it onto a dvd ...etc? if anyone has had experience with projections i would greatly appreciate input. =)

Tides and Time

This is my second attempt at making a final cut video. I intend to project this video over the sculptures themselves, the images of the sculptures in the video overlapping with the real sculptures. Video has allowed me to actually manipulate time through the recordings and i am excited to see what this will look like in its projected form; however, i may attempt another video that is smoother with better transitions as this one is jumpy in a few places. i would love feedback =)

Chris Drury

Chris Drury is an incredible land artist. Both his website and his blog are quite interesting and very inspiring.

http://www.chrisdrury.co.uk/home.htm

http://chrisdrury.blogspot.com/

interesting post about the reaction of Marion Loomis, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association, to Drury's piece at the university of wyoming and academic freedom.

Beyond the Consciousness of Skill

Kjell Varvin creates installations from the same found objects/materials that he re-arranges for each exhibition. These objects look as though they came from a builder's scrap heap. He constructs these temporary installations from wood, steel, floor tiles, plastic tubing, paper, cardboard, plexi-glass, wire, and tape. He is influenced by the visual aesthetics of the De-Stil, and Bauhaus movements of abstract art. He goes a step further and brings this aesthetic into the three dimensional realm. Angles and planes of objects have to be thought out from viewing at multiple points. this is much more involved that arranging on two dimensional surface. The visual thinking that this takes is akin to viewing a building from different directions. His philosophy of process is self described as beyond the consciousness of skill, because he is more interested in the visual relationships and arrangement of the elements, and how the interact as a whole. I feel that he is interested in solving the arrangement puzzle of achieving balance with the formal elements of texture, shape, mass, and form.

I see a strong correlation between his work and Picasso's constructs and collages, as his installations become three dimensional collages in a particular space. His work relates to cubism and their theory of seeing around the objects in painting/collage into the realm of three dimensional form. He literally takes the Cubist ideal of seeing around, or through the objects into the reality of existence.

This work relates to my constructs/installation work, as we both look to visual relationships of similarity/contrasts in objects or materials as starting points. it is appearent that he chooses the shapes and objects that can be modified to fit the arrangement, thus creating a harmonious balance through asymmetry. That is one of the major processes in my work as I look to find a similar harmony in the elements that finalize a piece. What really attracks me to his work is how he successfully uses negative space between all the elements, and what he chooses to place on the wall in relation to what he builds from the floor. The unattached parts become "attached" through how they interact as a whole in the space. I also like his use of everyday humble materials that can be acquired at almost no cost. The major difference in our work is that I prefer to achieve a finely tuned finish to the majority of my pieces, while he has no interest in displaying finishing skills. My background in furniture restorations has created an inner quality control that is as unconscious for me as Varvin's is for his philosophy of beyond the technical skill.

Callograph Progress

I have started to ink and print handbags in attempt to recreate my Hides of Display sculpture in a two dimensional format. I love how the leather/ fake leather looks printed ;however, it is tricky to determine how much ink needs to be carded on, proper pressure and it has been difficult to keep the paper wet and clean (the water bins in the studio are slightly too small.)

It is going to be necessary just to keep experimenting and trying different things until I am satisfied.

Learning Final Cut

I used some video I shot of a piece I completed over the summer at Durand Beach to experiment with Final Cut Pro.