Left hand, meet right hand

So....did ANYBODY actually receive billing notification prior to the registrar's notification about being removed from classes?

I'm working on my telepathy, but it's just not quite there yet.  (I feel so ashamed.  I was supposed to be reading minds and bending spoons by last Tuesday.)

Opening Reception

My suitcase with sod from drawing class was accepted in a group show at Delaware County Community College and the opening is this Thursday night (8/30).  Corinna has a bike piece in as well so hopefully I will see her then!  Here's the link: DCCC Gallery

P.S.  anyone hear about mentors yet?

Class Representatives

After the meeting with the dean a month ago or so ago, there was discussion about appointing a few representatives from our class to voice our needs and concerns to the dean and other people in the administration in the future. A few of us have discussed this, but we never ended up actually appointing anyone or going much further than talking. 

I talked to Brian today, and he felt strongly that we pursue this proactive approach. He suggested that we use this blog as a place for discussions about what we want changed and improved with the program. He also proposed that we collectively select two representatives for our class, one living in Philly and one outside of the area. 

Please leave some feedback about this. Leave a post if you are interested in volunteering as a representative. If multiple people are interested, we can have a vote, or just have more than two representatives. Also, I would like to say that it seems obvious to me that Brian is an ideal candidate to represent our class because he is effectively vocal and is obviously strongly interested in this idea. 

STUDIO RESET

When I couldn't locate any white paint, the task of repainting my studio wall yielded the outcome below.  Check out the link for a complete history of this wall during the course of the summer.
http://qubstudiophilly.wordpress.com/

are there too many objects in this world?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/arts/design/work-by-niki-de-saint-phalle-and-bruce-high-quality-foundation.html?pagewanted=1

This is a great article to read for many reasons. One it specifically mentions Charles Long's piece in Madison Square Park. Two it goes over a lot of issues that public art face in New York City that you wouldn't normally think about.

What stuck with me the most was the author's quote from Douglas Huebler, "The world is full of objects, more or less interesting; I do not wish to add any more." 

Is it for the better that we make objects? Should we be focusing on concept? 

What do you guys think? Is it just some crazy conceptualist's opinion?

Art really is opinion after all.

Dang, Harrison Ford got old.

No wonder we never found him.




Also, this is a silly article.  http://gawker.com/5936665/heres-what-happened-when-an-elderly-man-took-it-upon-himself-to-restore-a-painting-in-a-nearby-church

Hope everyone is well!

CHECKING IN...

Hope all are doing well.
I found out that I was awarded third place in an art competition I submitted to here in Winston-Salem, NC. 
Here's the art - a self-portrait I did in 2010.




The event was covered by the free independent newspaper, the writing would probably get a 3 or 4 rating by Leslie, but its better than nothing, I suppose.
Check out the link below...
http://www.yesweekly.com/triad/article-14647-40-under-40-generation-ys-artistic-perspective.html

rent is too damn high!

Heres an update for you fellars.

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/off/3192381229.html

That is similar to the studio I'm renting. I'm moving in Wednesday so I will throw up some process pictures when I get things started. The building is pretty sweet and they have a bunch of spaces that are very affordable for painters if anyone is interested. It is in North Philly though.

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/apa/3206952033.html

And that is where Aaron and I will be moving in come September 1st. No pictures, but its a newly renovated place.

!

Grades

Hey all, hope your summer is going well. Eric asked me if I knew if grades had been posted yet, so I spent some time trying to figure that out. They are indeed up now, but finding them is a bit tricky, so I thought I'd put up a few quick screenshots to show how I found them in case anyone besides Eric is interested and wants to save the time that it would otherwise take to find them. 

First go to your UArts portal page. Click on the uArts logo under launchpad to take you to "MyUArts records." 

Then click on Students on the left-middle of the page. 

This brings you to a standard sort of registrar/records page. Then just click on grades and gpa and you can find your grades for the summer. 

Not the most interesting topic, but I hope this is helpful. I hope to see some of the things you guys have been doing/making/thinking about on here soon! 

WIP Crits

Joe's Crit

Zac's Crit

Jeremy's Crit

Michelle's Crit

Monika's Crit

Robin's Crit

Eric's Crit

Colleen's Crit

Moraiah's Crit 

Megan's Crit

Gia's Crit

Rearranging the drawing room work after the crit

Everyone together. I'll miss you guys!

We'll miss you Joe!

i am too sick to make sculptures

i am too sick to make sculptures
i am too sick to clean out my studio
i am too sick to clean out the gallery
i am too sick to take pictures of my work
i am too sick to make sculptures

i am too sick because i drank too much
i am too sick because i had so much fun
i am too sick because i took each opportunity to stay up late
i am too sick because apparently learning comes before my health
i am too sick because of free booze

i am too sick because mohammed has a way of getting me to drink, every single time
i am too sick because i ignore my body's warning signs
i am too sick because i met a fun bunch
i am too sick because the thought of an awful  interim director keeps me up at night
i am too sick because of mods

i am too sick due to latex, house paints, chicken wire, and plaster
i am too sick due to michelle's influence over me
i am too sick due to me letting michelle influence me
i am too sick due to pbr
i am too sick due to dirty franks

i am not too sick to write this blog
i am not too sick to read these blogs
i am not too sick to listen to pandora, most of the time
i am not too sick because of iron casting (thank god for once in my life)
i am not too sick to look for live/work spaces here in Philly
i am not too sick to look for harrison ford
i am not too sick to take too much ibuprofen
i am not too sick to look forward to next summer, but

i am too sick to make sculptures

Residencies

Hey all,

Here are some websites where you can research and apply for residencies:

www.artistcommunities.org and www.resartists.org  and www.transartists.org

If you're interested in applying for residencies, i believe you can include that with your fall and spring writing proposals, which would also involve your artist's statement.

Good Luck,

Joe

NOWHERE

We decided to hang the letters N O W H E R E between the roofs of Anderson and the Gershman Y. This was a collaborative project originally conceived by me and Meg, with later help actually realizing the project from Colleen.

The letters midway through making them with India ink on foamboard, using a projector. Meg and I were both drawn to the word, and it has a number of interesting ways to be interpreted when hung in the space between two buildings. The word NOWHERE can amusingly also be read as NOW HERE. 

This is after I finished the letters and cut them apart. Now they're ready to hang!

We began by lowering one line down from the roof of Anderson. This is from the higher part of the roof of the building, about 10 stories up and without a barrier along the edge. 

Photo Credit: Meg Brady

View from Anderson.

Photo credit: Meg Brady

We dropped the line down the back of Anderson into the alley behind the building.

To weigh the line down, we attached to a bottle found on the roof. Here is where I found it after we lowered it!

Close up.

The next step was to lower a line from the roof of the Gershman Y. Meg and her red backpack can be seen here (next to the graffiti on the ground that reads "I PEE GOLD") as she retrieves the second line. She then connected the line from Anderson to the one from the Gershman.

It was a beautiful day (but a bit hot after standing in the direct sun for a few hours).

With the lines connected, Colleen and I pulled the connected lines up to establish the connection between the two buildings. Colleen is visible in this picture as the dot sticking up on the roof near the wall where the roof goes from nine stories to ten stories. Pulling the line up proved to be trickier than anticipated when the line got stuck on a metal protrusion from the side of the building next to Anderson (which features the Starbucks, the parking garage and Sumo Sushi) for about 20 or so minutes. 

 I put the letters on one end of the line, then Colleen pulled the line across until they were where we wanted them. After adjusting the letter spacing, we tied off both ends and were done in time for class!

Photo Credit: Corrina Mehiel

Unfortunately, NOWHERE vanished after a short time. Whether it was cut down by people in the Gershman building, or the 40lb. strength fishing line was broken by the wind, the disappearance of NOWHERE is a mystery.