sketchbook number two

so exciting!

2009-10-23T11:22:00.000-07:00

illustration by r. crumb, photo courtesy of the hammer gallery

i have just been looking through the internet and came upon a show opening soon with work by r. crumb. he recently illustrated the entire book of genesis, which is something that is very intriguing to me. crumb's work is appealing to me anyway, but now that he has come out with this i am very excited.

the book of genesis illustrated by r. crumb

r. crumb's website

beginning of fall term

2009-10-20T19:45:00.000-07:00

i didn't work on anything all summer, except writing and music.
some ideas that i've been working through the last couple of weeks:
-"experimental" printmaking, which is basically me making prints without planning or having an end product in mind. i am making a reduction print right now that falls into this category.
-tearing, cutting, reworking the collages that i made in the spring, maybe with some screen printing on top or chine colle'd onto another piece of thicker paper...it all depends on what the silk tissue can handle.
-life-size cut-outs of people, perhaps larger than life-size, intimidating? smaller than life-size (think jonathon borofsky)
-artists i have been investigating: nancy spero, swoon, meredith stern

every term this happens. i have a project i want to work on, but i know that i won't be able to finish it by the end of term, so i lose motivation and don't even really want to try. i would rather not make something than force myself to hurry up and finish something before its ready to be done.

the end of the term wrapped up in style

2009-06-14T16:58:00.000-07:00

here's just a little preview of pictures.
find more here on my flickr page.
overall the term ended fairly well. i didn't get finished with all of the projects i started,
but i made good headway on them,
and now i have lots of ideas for future projects.

preparing to print

2009-06-04T11:58:00.000-07:00

these are some images of the doll parts before they got printed.
note the father and son matching cocks!
i've been working a lot on these lately,
the boxes, the instruction manuals, the voice boxes
it's coming together slowly but surely.

artists i've been looking at.

2009-05-14T09:48:00.001-07:00

lately i've been looking a lot at feminist collage artists and dadaist collage artists. i recently acquired the famed "suffragettes to she-devils" feminist art theory and history book. it has provided me with a lot of inspirational images and ideas. i found this pretty cool website that describes the methods behind the meaning of some of the dadaist collage work. click here! i like the idea of using fabric in the collage. more experimenting with this soon.

florence henri

adolf strakhov

raoul hausmann

linder
a lot of linder's collage work is similar to what I would like to work towards in my own work. i'll need to expand on her imagery in order to make the work as powerful in this more modern context.

i've also been really inspired by aboriginal design and pattern work, specifically the dot and line patterns. i have been tempted to try painting again because of these designs.

what i want my work to do.

2009-05-14T09:10:00.000-07:00

CAP mid-term Eval - Boas S09 - Tess Yinger
Good beginning but I'd like to see you be more ambitious in your work. You have a certain level of comfort with your imagery and the technical aspects: what is it that you want your work to do? B+

a lot of people have been asking me this question lately.
"what are you trying to say?"
"what do you want your work to accomplish?"

these are some of the things that i feel strongly about and have been trying to convey in most of the projects i have been working on this term.

1. the treachery of images. today, the average american sees as many advertisements in one year than people fifty years ago saw in a lifetime. this constant and overwhelming stream of advertisements has lead to the consumerist mentality that is slowly destroying our communities and our planet. the american motto "consume more, save less." even in this shitty economy, people are still being told to buy crap they don't need in order to "shore up profits" and "move the market."
2. feminism. feminism is something that is very important to me, especially feminism in the context of the "artworld."
3. the objectification of people. this works hand in hand with item number one. because of this nations obsession with buying things and making money, people are continually being treated as profit incentives rather than individuals. the needs of the person are interpreted as the needs of the consumer and translated into monetary value.
4. the irony of conservatism and the religious right. a lot of the imagery that i use in my collages is from old illustrated bibles and religious children's books. religion has been one of the main oppressors of women and minorities for centuries. it has given people an excuse to disrespect and demoralize the value systems and even the genetics of others. "because god says so" is an interesting argument to me, and the way that it is misinterpreted and misconstrued by its followers is also fascinating.

i guess that the overarching theme here is the influence and power of objects and imagery on people and their perception of reality.

the dolls that i am making mimic the proportions of barbie and g.i. joe dolls. they are unrealistic representations of the "ideal" and are supposed to make fun of the real thing. would you give your child these dolls as you would a barbie doll? why or why not? is it because the messages conveyed are no longer subliminal but literal? or is it because the dolls themselves are literal human objects? toys for child consumption?

the collages focus on some of the same themes, but with a more 'christian' undertone. you are a good housewife because you obey your husband and you heed his every command. your needs do not matter. your bond to him is in holy matrimony and therefore you must do everything you can to please him. you must be sexual even when you don't want to be. you must be pretty and charming and quiet and submissive; you must be another object for consumption. he will consume you, his friends will consume you, and the people you encounter will treat you as the object that you have become.

are these things not clear? how can i make them more clear? what can i change in my work so that people will understand me?
this is what i want my work to do.

things to do this week

2009-05-04T08:47:00.001-07:00

1. find money to buy art supplies (bake sale, "spring membership drive," pop can collection, prostitution, drug trafficking...or some combination of all of these)
2. buy canvas and other fabrics for dolls
3. obtain voice boxes for dolls
4. finish carving remaining two dolls and outfits
5. collage the hell out of shit

well...the end of the term is drawing nearer. i'm freaking out, as per usual, and hoping that i can get things done. but also hoping that i don't rush because i want these projects to be good when they're done, not rushed.

stagnance! noooo!!!!

2009-05-04T08:45:00.000-07:00

this weekend has been much less productive than i had wanted. i ended up moving all my stuff this weekend and not really working on art. hopefully the midterm goes better than i think it will. as of now i'm pretty worried.

significant progress

2009-04-27T12:44:00.000-07:00

i have finished carving out all of the pieces for the woman doll, and she has two outfits too! i'll probably only use the dress. the other is a scanty night gown. they both turned out nicely though. i am going to make the sketches for the other dolls this week, and hopefully start carving them too.

eli said that i should try experimenting with different expressive mark making techniques. this should be fun and probably a little frustrating at times. more on this later.

sara rahbar

papier colle

2009-04-24T19:59:00.000-07:00

my "studio" workspace

2009-04-24T19:55:00.000-07:00

notice the pile of arm and leg cut outs

this is where all the magic happens

collage display ideas

2009-04-24T19:48:00.000-07:00

hinged or slide style?

(almost) midterm assessment

2009-04-23T15:05:00.000-07:00

as of this day in history my artistic progress for this spring term oh-nine has been slow but steady. i've been working primarily on a series of collages but have also been steadily chipping away at some block prints (pun!). the doll series that i am hoping to complete probably won't come to full fruition by the end of the term, but it is definitely a project that i am interested in executing effectively rather than quickly. i did a lot of work on my collages today and pat gave me some ideas about how to display the work. sketches on that coming soon. i feel like i'm working all the time and not making very much progress, but a this point i would rather pay more attention to creating work that is good rather than just selling my ideas short because of time constraints.

recent artist research

2009-04-23T07:18:00.000-07:00

elliot hundley

winston smith

martha roesler
nicola lopez

things on a large scale

2009-04-19T11:18:00.000-07:00

huge ass screen print

giant litho stone

gianormous horse balls

2009-04-11T15:18:00.000-07:00

i've been at school all morning working on some collage stuff. i've been feeling most inspired by the clippings i've been finding, and only somewhat inspired to make books. i feel like people don't really want to take the time to look at them, so i guess what i'm trying to do is make work that people will want to look at and engage in.

i finished the first collage and started the second. i am hoping to either draw on them, paint on them, or screen print on them.

a brief reflection

2009-04-08T12:48:00.000-07:00

after looking through the list of artists that i posted last week, i noticed a couple things in common with all of them. they are all very technically saavy and masters of their craft, and the work that each of the artists produce is humorous in its own way...well, really just humorous period. i think that i am drawn to art that has combined a mastery of skills, artistic foresight, and strong concept to create a beautifully executed piece. i want to eventually (someday) be able to make work this good.

just an observation.

three main trains of thought

2009-04-08T12:36:00.000-07:00

1. collage. this will be executed on a regular basis. after having a brief discussion with my teacher, i think that i am going to set aside some time once (hopefully twice) a week to just make collages with all the image i've been collecting. i am hoping this will also help me to think creatively on a regular basis.

2. books. altered books, and hopefully some bound books with either prints or collage in them. jane hammond and james castle both have work that has inspired me this way.

3. diagrams. also, technical drawings, drawings that are tools for education, etc. and funny drawings.

portable work space in a pizza box

2009-04-06T18:30:00.000-07:00

looks like your average pizza box.

but wait! this is not just a mere pizza box, but a portable workspace to carry around with you!

detail of the inside lid.

cutting mat fits nicely inside the open lid.

above it is my tool collection.

some beautiful images

2009-04-06T11:37:00.000-07:00

i found all of these images in a book from the school that i work at.

the book is called "BIOLOGY of PLANTS"

the life and sporulation cycle of mushrooms and mycelium

the root structure in plants

plant cell defense systems

these pictures are really beautiful to me and i love the detailed line work and composition of the images on the page. i am also very intrigued by the way in which the images are diagrammed next to the text. very nice.

influences

2009-04-02T18:20:00.000-07:00

i don't know if these two painters really count as influences but i've been looking at their work a lot lately.

mark ryden

todd schorr

this guy is a currency collage artist that ben showed me. again, not sure if it counts as an influence but i deeply admire his work.

mark wagner

my boyfriend says its creepy.

i am getting the feeling that i am sort of incapable of producing work that isn't creepy/funny/boring(?). my goal for this term is to work on that.

and by work on i mean hone in on and enhance the creepiness.

a couple of artists that i have found intriguing upon searching in the last couple days are

and a lot of other artists from the art 21 webite.

i've been in a really productive and creative place the last couple weeks.

let's hope it sticks around for a while this time.

this term i really want to work on collage and book arts projects more than anything, just because that's what i'm feeling the most inspired by.

i am also interested in using printmaking as a medium and a tool rather than a singular art form. more on this later.