Walton Ford is a watercolor artist with a sense of very dark and bizarre humor. He was born in 1960 in Larchmont, New York, and graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1982. His work mostly consists of various animals partaking in strange and occasionally vulgar behavior, such as violent actions or even smoking. His style is mostly inspired by the work of John James Audubon, another fellow artist who was most well known for creating the large collection of bird paintings called Birds of America. Ford’s own demented twist was what made his pieces ironic and “humorous.” Satirizing the beauty of birds from Audubon, Ford would have the subjects in his work perform uncannily violent actions or be portrayed as grotesque creatures. One of his most well known works is a large watercolor painting known as Falling Bough, which he created in 2002, consisting of an overwhelmingly large flock of birds chaotically existing on a large flying branch. The majority of Ford’s work was created with satire in mind, while also symbolizing many political issues over the years; these issues include colonialism, social oppression, even as far as the impact of slavery. The main goal for all of his Audubon parodies was to give the viewers a very deep, yet somewhat comedic idea. Ford would wonder what it would look like if Audubon himself painted it and, “…if his hand betrayed him and he painted what he didn’t want to expose about himself.” Ford really tried to get into that mindset of Audubon, he wanted each of those pieces to look authentic, only to turn it into his own disturbing display. In the world of parody, this kind of idea is what really works. A parody is, “an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect.” Ford exaggerates the darker side of nature, almost letting it “leak” into once beautiful and peaceful artwork. Ford, as well as his partner Peter Pettengill, studied closely at the Audubon style, learning how to perfectly mimic his watercolor artwork. They would use about six printing plates for each piece, layering a different color on each one. When Ford was young, he would go out into nature and find different specimens to draw in his sketchbooks; such as birds, snakes, or various other forest animals he could find. Traveling to the Museum of Natural History in New York, he would find inspiration from the various animal dioramas on display. He noted that, “For an artist, it was really great that those animals didn’t move-I could look at them in a way you can’t look at animals in a zoo or animals on nature shows.” For someone like him who lived in New York, he took great inspiration from the over abundance of pigeons, how massive flocks would cause damage to large trees in the area, one influence on his piece Falling Bough. As Walton Ford works, he thinks about one certain thing, something that really speaks for his style. “The big thing I’m always looking for in my work is a sort of attraction-repulsion, where the stuff is beautiful to begin with until you notice that some sort of horrible violence is about to happen or is in the middle of happening,” a quote from Ford himself.
Jamian Juliano-Villani is a thirty-one year old painter from Newark, New Jersey. Now living in New York, she draws inspiration from a wide variety of subjects ranging from things like art history to fashion. Her parents were both commercial painters, so growing up, Jamian spent quite a lot of time in their silk-screening factory and learning about graphic design. She later graduated from Rutgers University in 2013. Jamian had her very first solo art show at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit in 2015.
She typically works with acrylic paint and uses airbrush techniques to create her eye-catching, colorful masterpieces. Approaching her work with a sense of humor and light heartedness, Jamian compares her art to jokes. She claims that the paintings are tricky and need to be made weirder or dumber or smarter. “You just paint a snowman in the desert… Thats it? Really? Like, there’s no other step, you know? It’s like some stupid one-liner.” As a notorious chain smoker and drinker, she says her body is just a vessel. She believes she should do and experience things now while she has the energy. This just adds to her unique character.
The Prophecy, 2016 Acrylic on canvas 48 × 40
In her teenage years, young Jamian Juliano-Villani remembers watching a documentary called Painters Painting (1973), which featured artist such as Robert Rauschenberg and Frank Stella. She was so inspired that she decided to movie to New York City. She now has a studio in Ridgewood, queens. Her montra for advancing in her art? “You’re only as good as your last painting.”
Roommate Trouble, 2013 acrylic on canvas 36 x 40.5 inches
After her very first solo exhibition, Me, Myself and Jah, in 2013 at Rawson Projects, she did an interview with Johnathan Griffin. Featured on ARTnews is a quote of hers about her own work. She says, “My paintings are meant to function like TV, in a way. The viewer is supposed to become passive. Instead of alluding or whispering, like a lot of art does, this is art that tells you what’s up. It kind of does the work for you, like TV does.”[
The Breakfast From Hell 2014 acrylic on canvas 20.00 x 16.00 in
She has recently had an art show in early 2018 called Ten Pound Hand that earned grand reviews such as this one from critic Zoë Lescaze, “In Gone with the Wind (all works 2018), a cartoon fish gluts itself on Coca-Cola while a helpless-looking firefighter floats above burning California. October depicts an ash-choked Pompeian infant blowing across an empty school hallway. The linoleum floor is littered with shattered glass, in an eerie evocation of recent school shootings. Together, these works convey a loss of control, of entropy overriding security, idealism, and best-case scenarios.”
Shut Up, The Painting, 2018 acrylic on canvas 40 x 48 inches
My personal favorite quote of hers is about deadlines in art. She states that “Stress assassinates creativity.”
Self Portrait in Greece, 2017 acrylic on canvas 48 x 48 inches
by Rebecca Bartlett
2D Design
Lutter, Vera. https://photolondon.org/event/turning-time-vera-lutter/. digital photograph. September 30,2018.“The first time I created a camera obscura, after I had realized how long I had to sit in there to adjust my eyes to the darkness, to see the projection, which is about 20 or 30 minutes—I thought I’d seen God. When I saw the first projection, it was an epiphany. It was probably one of the most overwhelming moments of my life.” – Vera Lutter, BombMagizine.org Interview
Vera Lutter, Empire State Building, II: November 28, 2014
Unique gelatin silver print, 91 × 56 inches (231.1 × 142.2 cm)
Vera Lutter was born in Kaiserslauten, Germany in 1960, and she currently lives and works in New York. She got her undergraduate degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich 1991. She went to New York in 1993 to begin studying photography other similar media at the School of Visual Arts. She has won various awards including Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant in 2002, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship in 2001, Artist-in-Residence IASPS in 1997, DAAD in 1993, International Center for Advanced Studies Grant for Project on Cities and Urban Knowledge in 1997. She also has several solo exhibitions and group exhibitions. She has several works in Public collections in museums such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, Neue Galerie in New York, and more in other places all over. Her work has distinct look and an interesting method of how its made.
Vera Lutter, Chrysler Building, V: July 12, 2014
Unique gelatin silver print, 95 1/4 × 56 inches (241.9 × 142.2 cm)“Over and over, I’m totally fascinated. The fast movements don’t stay in the photograph, but I see the cars driving through the image, I see trains, boats going by, birds and airplanes flying through. It’s like watching a film, but the image is reversed, upside down, and very crisp.” -Vera Lutter, BombMagizine.org Interview
Vera Lutter, Campo Santa Sofia,Venice, XV: December 12, 2007
Unique gelatin silver print, 68 5/16 × 56 inches (173.5 × 142.2 cm)
Her art has certain look to it that isn’t like anyone else. As a photographer of the real world, these are all images of places that really exist. The works are black and white negative images that capture an interesting new way to see the work. They are completely void of any people which adds to the ghostly look of the world through her images. Sometimes her work captures an object that was later moved, but they caught enough to leave ghosts behind. That effect adds to her topic of time and space being her focus in her work.
Vera Lutter, Mycenius Pyramid, Giza: April 13, 2010
Unique Silver Gelatin Print, 14 7/16 × 27 ⅜ inches, (36.7 × 69.5cm)“I never know what is going to happen. My way of working is very hands-off. I install the apparatus of observation, the camera, and then endure the process of observation and record whatever happens. The work is essentially about the passage of time, not about ideas of representation.” – Vera Lutter, BombMagizine.org Interview
Vera Lutter, Frankfurt Airport, VII: April 24, 2001, unique silver gelatin print, 3 panels, 86 x 168 inches. Courtesy of the artist and Max Hetzler Gallery, Berlin.Unique Silver Gelatin Print, 14 7/16 × 27 ⅜ inches, (36.7 × 69.5cm)
How does she create these images? She something called a pinhole camera. A Pinhole camera, or camera obscura, is a light-proof box with a single tiny pinhole. Light from a scene passes through that hole and creates an inverted image on the opposite side of the box. Lutter uses this type of photography to capture her images over the course of time. For her larger images, she uses a large wooden pinhole camera that is big enough to walk into. It is near close in size to a shipping container. The black and white negative effects are created by choice to leave due to various lengths of exposure and size of the hole determining how it will look as it develops. It also adds traces of movement from when things have shifted slightly as time passes; although, the faster objects, like people, rarely leave any image or even ghosting in her work. That movement only adds to her ideas of space and time in her work. The end result is a strange and beautiful scene. She kept them as negatives to maintain her idea of directness, and she wanted the least amount of alteration and reproduction as possible.
Vera Lutter, Zeppelin Friedrichshafen, I: August 10–13, 1999, unique silver gelatin print, 55 x 81 inches. Courtesy of the artist and Gagosian Gallery, New York.“Well, I use a trough about 60 inches long, and approximately 10 by 10 inches deep and wide. You fill that up with five gallons of chemicals. Putting the paper in rolled up, you learn very quickly how to roll it from one end to the other. Then you pull it out and turn it around so the beginning is facing you and you roll again. It is anxiety driven: if you are too slow, you get developer marks. Knowing how long one turn takes helps you stop the process at the right moment. It’s choreography.” -Vera Lutter, BombMagizine.org Interview
Vera Lutter, Folding Four in One, 2009
Film mounted to Plexiglass
8’6” x 15’ x 15’ (2,6 x 4,6 x 4,6 m)
The more I looked into her work the more fascinating I found it. I love how it captures the world; however, I was originally captured by the stark contrast between real life and this and the lack of color, but I find the message and the process behind the photographs only added to the art. I hardly noticed the lack of people at first, but when it struck me I got whole other set of emotion and understanding from the photographs. There was awe, surprise, and something a bit frightening by the ghostly emptiness. I do love that about it. It got me thinking about how time flies by and how we hardly leave a mark. She certainly gets her depiction of time and space through her negatives.
Vera Lutter, Times Square, New York, V: July 31, 2007
Unique gelatin silver print, 101 × 56 inches (256.5 × 142.2 cm)
Works Cited
“Biography.” Vera Lutter’s Biography, Galleria Alfonso Artiaco, 2012, www.alfonsoartiaco.com/web/index.cfm?id=C64F6E6D-9D44-4A04-BFE460D20FA8A5FC.
Clarridge, Dave. “About Pinhole.” The Pinhole Gallery, The Pinhole Gallery, 2018, www.pinhole.org/about-pinhole-2/.
Dykstra, Jean. “Vera Lutter, 976 Madison Avenue, New York, January 29–March 7, 2015.” Gagosian, Gagosian, 12 Apr. 2018, gagosian.com/exhibitions/2015/vera-lutter/.
King, Jennifer. “Behind the Scenes: Vera Lutter’s Artist Residency at LACMA.” Unframed, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 24 July 2017, unframed.lacma.org/2017/07/24/behind-scenes-vera-lutter%E2%80%99s-artist-residency-lacma.
Lutter, Vera. “Vera Lutter.” Works || Vera Lutter, Vera Lutter, 2013, veralutter.net/works.php.
“Vera Lutter.” Claudio Bravo Biography – Claudio Bravo on Artnet, Pace Gallery, 2016, www.artnet.com/artists/vera-lutter/biography.Wollen, Peter. “Vera Lutter by Peter Wollen – BOMB Magazine.” Amy Hempel – BOMB Magazine, Bomb Magazine, 1 Oct. 2003, bombmagazine.org/articles/vera-lutter/.
Catherine Opie is a contemporary American photographer who uses her exceptional eye for detail and aesthetic to create a feeling of intimacy between her subjects and the viewer. Opie was born in 1961 in Sandusky, Ohio. As a child, she spent many hours in museums with her father viewing historical paintings and portraits which later heavily influenced her work. Her love of photography started at a young age when she encountered the work of photographer Lewis Hine’s series documenting child laborers in steel factories. After writing a report about Hines, she became passionate about documenting and preserving history, her own life, community, and environments. These ideas and themes continue to be recurrent in her art.
Exploring the use of traditional photography and portraiture style, Opie brings non-traditional and even sometimes controversial subjects to her audience. She first became known in the early 1990s with her series “Being and Having” and “Portraits” which features friends from the queer and fetish communities. Her photographs brought an intimate look at a subculture and community that had until that point been mostly avoided or villainized.
Opie’s intimate and close up portraits of society’s fringe cultures invited the audience to come closer and see the humanity and vulnerability of her subjects. At the same time, she challenges the definition of gender, community, relationships, equality, and acceptance.
In addition to her work with portraiture, Opie has a diverse portfolio of landscapes. Her ability to draw the audience into her landscapes and create a feeling of connection with the scenery despite the lack of people in frame is a statement to her artistry. Her series “American Cities” features deserted streets and sidewalks in New York’s financial district. Like all of her work her vision gives the audience an unusual and intimate look at places that are often not looked at up close. Her image of the stock exchange shows the familiar building across from a liquor store and a vacant lot. This hub of economy rests next to some of the lowest points of humanity, but we often only see it portrayed as a gleaming bastion of the rich and powerful.
Exploring more natural landscapes, Opie challenges the viewer to change their perception of such traditional imagery. Her split images show the horizon featured in the center of the frame. Some are sequential photographs from a central location that document the passing of the seasons and time from a central point with a feeling of balance and change. Others are broken up by surfers in the ocean or fishing ice houses breaking up an otherwise pristine field creating temporary transient communities.
Calling again on her use of traditional styles her most recent landscapes are stunning examples of abstract art. Her goal to draw the viewer to look closer, stare, and be pulled into the image.
In a culture where images are constantly in our faces and dismissed in a moment, Opie wants to create works that can capture the viewer’s attention and lure them in to stare and explore the images for as long as possible. She calls to question the ideas of balance, clarity, community, equality, and the expected.
Sculpture as a Living thing? Can you live in Sculpture? Can Art change your lifestyle?
Living Sculpture
MARY MATTINGLY
By Kim Lorello Sculpture as a Living thing? Can you live in Sculpture?is it still art? Can Art change your way of living?
Mary Mattingly, back in 2013 began an idea of creating sculpture that was addressing common issues of urban life. Consumerism, lack, and sharing of resources.
Triple Island was the culmination of her first sculptures that were in the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey. The first sculpture series “Owns Up” lead to questions in her own mind as to why we have consumerism that has us owning too many objects. She online documented her personal objects at Ownit.us. As part of that research she traced each objects beginning–metals and the path it made to get to her.Tracing the path an object made to her, and asking why do I need to own this? Many objects supported companies who made war. In this she felt that our shared world was on a path that would lead to apocalypse . Does mass consumerism pollute and leave people with needs greater than their ability to pay for? Does lack of money or lack of time, if working too long to pay for basics and essentials lead to a life that is drudgery rather than full. Food lack was also a common theme in urban areas. Seeing this on a daily basis caused her to question and respond in a photographic and sculptural manner.Triple Island was a response to the lack of space, lack of food and a consumerism lifestyle. All of these has lead to a thinker’s response of building a sculpture of 3 floating live spaces. These were garden/greenhouse, sleep/living space, and a communal area. Her first sculptures were similar but were not floating. These were pods of personal living space that were both sculpture in parks and a place to sneak in and sleep. She also made portable pods that were similar in design.She also made wearable sleep spaces. Are these Art? Are these sculpture? Moving forward:
Mary’s current projects still come out of these first ideas.
Consumerism
Mary’s online photography for her first sculptures and also for Triple Island,lead her to question, how much does she need? Indeed, how much do any of us need? Is this a want created to feed a consumerism machine? Does this generate good for the individual or is it feeding something unwanted? War? Environmental degradation? Personal lack?
Lack
In Mary’s world, many suffered from the need for affordable living or work spaces. Her ideas to create living sculpture pods were a way to see how she could stay in a major urban area even if the worst possible living conditions happened. She explored communal space, personal space in a place that no one else wanted. Allowing for resources normally spent on apartment or studio space to go to other areas. Seeing that food and habitation are inevitably intertwined lead to a current 2018 Floating Garden food source in NYC, Brooklyn area. This is a barge that grows food and travels along the riverside. It is a completely free food source.
2018 “Swale” a Floating Forest on the Bronx River supports a purpose of shared public food. It offers both food and the opportunity for conversations around growing food and food freedom. www.youtu.be/hJXw3qnOg0 Artists designing gardens that can both be beautiful and food producing is from time spent reflecting on Monet’s Garden in France. It also is looking at food freedom. If you are in a state of lack or held hostage by costs Mary wants you to consider what freedom feels like. Personal ResponseIn looking over Mary’s older work and newest one can find a personal response that questions is art a personal living space? Is this sculpture? But moving from the initial visual response of pods and junk–which is really what the first photo looks like. I see the art response to a hard question of finance, space for life and for consumerism. Via extension the commercial and materialistic machine that drive the have more, buy more lifestyle. I have also explored building community garden spaces and building a food resource in several places. One failed, one still exists. The biggest problem I found was many do not wish to share. Many who become involved will not share food or space. Things become very territorial. As an art project, these are not always classically beautiful but ask us to respond and consider and interact with ourselves and with an unknown future. How will I continue to live and work in my chosen place if I have little to no money?Mary Mattingly Mary’s initial responses to her own and other community members consumerism, basic essentials and the idea of sharing resources has put her on a path toward art activism and environmental activism. These are both personal responses and communal responses that she asks us all to question and participate in. Do we contribute to bettering our futures or do we enable powers that will bring about a failure for all humanity? Can one or two or twelve living pods, floating gardens, or people make a change that benefits all? Or does this only empower a limited few? Mary Mattingly invites you in; to sit down, to live in, to eat and think and to answer the questions she raises. References:https://art21.org/gallery/mary-mattingly-artist-at-workwww. marymattingly.com./html/MaryMattinglyBlog.htmlFor video information on Swale:www.youtu.be/hJXw3qnOg0Living SculptureMARY MATTINGLYBy Kim Lorello Sculpture as a Living thing? Can you habitate in Sculpture? Can Art change your lifestyle?
Mary Mattingly, back in 2013 began an idea of creating sculpture that was addressing common issues of urban life. Consumerism, lack, and sharing of resources.Triple IslandTriple Island was the culmination of her first sculptures that were in the Port Authority in NY/NJ. The first sculpture series “Owns Up” lead to questions in her own mind as to why we have consumerism that has us owning too many objects. She online documented her personal objects at Ownit.us. As part of that research she traced each objects beginning–metals and the path it made to get to her. Many objects supported companies who made war. In this she felt that our shared world was on a path that would lead to apocalypse . Does mass consumerism pollute and leave people with needs greater than their ability to pay for? Lack of money or lack of time, if working too long to pay for basics and essentials leads to a life that is drudgery rather than full. Food lack was also a common theme in urban areas. Seeing this on a daily basis caused her to question and respond in a photographic and sculptural manner.Triple Island was a response to the lack of space, lack of food and a consumerism lifestyle. All of these has lead to a thinker’s response of building a sculpture of 3 floating live spaces. These were garden/greenhouse, sleep/living space, and a communal area. Her first sculptures were similar but were not floating. These were pods of personal living space that were both sculpture in parks and a place to sneak in and sleep. She also made portable pods that were similar in design. Moving forwardMary’s current projects still come out of these first ideas.
Consumerism
Matterly’s online photography for her first sculptures and also for Triple Island. Lead her to question, how much does she need? Indeed, how much do any of us need? Is this a want created to feed a consumerism machine? Does this generate good for the individual or is it feeding something unwanted? War? Environmental degradation? Personal lack?
Lack
In Mary’s world, many suffered from the need for affordable living or work spaces. Her ideas to create living sculpture pods were a way to see how she could stay in a major urban area even if the worst possible living conditions happened. She explored communal space, personal space in a place that no one else wanted. Allowing for resources normally spent on apartment or studio space to go to other areas. Seeing that food and habitation are inevitably intertwined lead to a current 2018 Floating Garden food source in NYC, Brooklyn area. The is a barge that grows food and travels along the riverside. It is a completely free food source. 3. Shared Resources The 2018 “Swale” a Floating Forest on the Bronx River supports a purpose of shared public food. It offers both food and the opportunity for conversations around growing food and food freedom. www.youtu.be/hJXw3qnOg0 Artists designing gardens that can both be beautiful and food producing is from time spent reflecting on Monet’s Garden in France. It also is looking at food freedom. If you are in a state of lack or held hostage by costs Mary wants you to consider what freedom feels like. Personal ResponseIn looking over Mary’s older work and newest one can find a personal response that questions is art a personal living space? Is this sculpture? But moving from the initial visual response of pods and junk–which is really what the first photo looks like. I see the art response to a hard question of finance, space for life and for consumerism. Via extension the commercial and materialistic machine that drive the have more, buy more lifestyle. I have also explored building community garden spaces and building a food resource in several places. One failed, one still exists. The biggest problem I found was many do not wish to share. Many who become involved will not share food or space. Things become very territorial. As an art project, these are not always classically beautiful but ask us to respond and consider and interact with ourselves and with an unknown future. How will I continue to live and work in my chosen place if I have little to no money?Mary Mattingly Mary’s initial responses to her own and other community members consumerism, basic essentials and the idea of sharing resources has put her on a path toward art activism and environmental activism. These are both personal responses and communal responses that she asks us all to question and participate in. Do we contribute to bettering our futures or do we enable powers that will bring about a failure for all humanity? Can one or two or twelve living pods, floating gardens, or people make a change that benefits all? Or does this only empower a limited few? Mary Mattingly invites you in; to sit down, to live in, to eat and think and to answer the questions she raises. References:https://art21.org/gallery/mary-mattingly-artist-at-workwww. marymattingly.com./html/MaryMattinglyBlog.htmlFor video information on Swale:www.youtu.be/hJXw3qnOg0Living SculptureMARY MATTINGLYBy Kim Lorello Sculpture as a Living thing? Can you habitate in Sculpture? Can Art change your lifestyle?
Mary Mattingly, back in 2013 began an idea of creating sculpture that was addressing common issues of urban life. Consumerism, lack, and sharing of resources.Triple IslandTriple Island was the culmination of her first sculptures that were in the Port Authority in NY/NJ. The first sculpture series “Owns Up” lead to questions in her own mind as to why we have consumerism that has us owning too many objects. She online documented her personal objects at Ownit.us. As part of that research she traced each objects beginning–metals and the path it made to get to her. Many objects supported companies who made war. In this she felt that our shared world was on a path that would lead to apocalypse . Does mass consumerism pollute and leave people with needs greater than their ability to pay for? Lack of money or lack of time, if working too long to pay for basics and essentials leads to a life that is drudgery rather than full. Food lack was also a common theme in urban areas. Seeing this on a daily basis caused her to question and respond in a photographic and sculptural manner.Triple Island was a response to the lack of space, lack of food and a consumerism lifestyle. All of these has lead to a thinker’s response of building a sculpture of 3 floating live spaces. These were garden/greenhouse, sleep/living space, and a communal area. Her first sculptures were similar but were not floating. These were pods of personal living space that were both sculpture in parks and a place to sneak in and sleep. She also made portable pods that were similar in design. Moving forwardMary’s current projects still come out of these first ideas.
Consumerism
Matterly’s online photography for her first sculptures and also for Triple Island. Lead her to question, how much does she need? Indeed, how much do any of us need? Is this a want created to feed a consumerism machine? Does this generate good for the individual or is it feeding something unwanted? War? Environmental degradation? Personal lack?
Lack
In Mary’s world, many suffered from the need for affordable living or work spaces. Her ideas to create living sculpture pods were a way to see how she could stay in a major urban area even if the worst possible living conditions happened. She explored communal space, personal space in a place that no one else wanted. Allowing for resources normally spent on apartment or studio space to go to other areas. Seeing that food and habitation are inevitably intertwined lead to a current 2018 Floating Garden food source in NYC, Brooklyn area. The is a barge that grows food and travels along the riverside. It is a completely free food source. 3. Shared Resources The 2018 “Swale” a Floating Forest on the Bronx River supports a purpose of shared public food. It offers both food and the opportunity for conversations around growing food and food freedom. www.youtu.be/hJXw3qnOg0 Artists designing gardens that can both be beautiful and food producing is from time spent reflecting on Monet’s Garden in France. It also is looking at food freedom. If you are in a state of lack or held hostage by costs Mary wants you to consider what freedom feels like. Personal ResponseIn looking over Mary’s older work and newest one can find a personal response that questions is art a personal living space? Is this sculpture? But moving from the initial visual response of pods and junk–which is really what the first photo looks like. I see the art response to a hard question of finance, space for life and for consumerism. Via extension the commercial and materialistic machine that drive the have more, buy more lifestyle. I have also explored building community garden spaces and building a food resource in several places. One failed, one still exists. The biggest problem I found was many do not wish to share. Many who become involved will not share food or space. Things become very territorial. As an art project, these are not always classically beautiful but ask us to respond and consider and interact with ourselves and with an unknown future. How will I continue to live and work in my chosen place if I have little to no money?Mary Mattingly Mary’s initial responses to her own and other community members consumerism, basic essentials and the idea of sharing resources has put her on a path toward art activism and environmental activism. These are both personal responses and communal responses that she asks us all to question and participate in. Do we contribute to bettering our futures or do we enable powers that will bring about a failure for all humanity? Can one or two or twelve living pods, floating gardens, or people make a change that benefits all? Or does this only empower a limited few? Mary Mattingly invites you in; to sit down, to live in, to eat and think and to answer the questions she raises. References:https://art21.org/gallery/mary-mattingly-artist-at-workwww. marymattingly.com./html/MaryMattinglyBlog.htmlFor video information on Swale:www.youtu.be/hJXw3qnOg0Living SculptureMARY MATTINGLYBy Kim Lorello Sculpture as a Living thing? Can you habitate in Sculpture? Can Art change your lifestyle?
Mary Mattingly, back in 2013 began an idea of creating sculpture that was addressing common issues of urban life. Consumerism, lack, and sharing of resources.Triple IslandTriple Island was the culmination of her first sculptures that were in the Port Authority in NY/NJ. The first sculpture series “Owns Up” lead to questions in her own mind as to why we have consumerism that has us owning too many objects. She online documented her personal objects at Ownit.us. As part of that research she traced each objects beginning–metals and the path it made to get to her. Many objects supported companies who made war. In this she felt that our shared world was on a path that would lead to apocalypse . Does mass consumerism pollute and leave people with needs greater than their ability to pay for? Lack of money or lack of time, if working too long to pay for basics and essentials leads to a life that is drudgery rather than full. Food lack was also a common theme in urban areas. Seeing this on a daily basis caused her to question and respond in a photographic and sculptural manner.Triple Island was a response to the lack of space, lack of food and a consumerism lifestyle. All of these has lead to a thinker’s response of building a sculpture of 3 floating live spaces. These were garden/greenhouse, sleep/living space, and a communal area. Her first sculptures were similar but were not floating. These were pods of personal living space that were both sculpture in parks and a place to sneak in and sleep. She also made portable pods that were similar in design. Moving forwardMary’s current projects still come out of these first ideas.
Consumerism
Matterly’s online photography for her first sculptures and also for Triple Island. Lead her to question, how much does she need? Indeed, how much do any of us need? Is this a want created to feed a consumerism machine? Does this generate good for the individual or is it feeding something unwanted? War? Environmental degradation? Personal lack?
Lack
In Mary’s world, many suffered from the need for affordable living or work spaces. Her ideas to create living sculpture pods were a way to see how she could stay in a major urban area even if the worst possible living conditions happened. She explored communal space, personal space in a place that no one else wanted. Allowing for resources normally spent on apartment or studio space to go to other areas. Seeing that food and habitation are inevitably intertwined lead to a current 2018 Floating Garden food source in NYC, Brooklyn area. The is a barge that grows food and travels along the riverside. It is a completely free food source. 3. Shared Resources The 2018 “Swale” a Floating Forest on the Bronx River supports a purpose of shared public food. It offers both food and the opportunity for conversations around growing food and food freedom. www.youtu.be/hJXw3qnOg0 Artists designing gardens that can both be beautiful and food producing is from time spent reflecting on Monet’s Garden in France. It also is looking at food freedom. If you are in a state of lack or held hostage by costs Mary wants you to consider what freedom feels like. Personal ResponseIn looking over Mary’s older work and newest one can find a personal response that questions is art a personal living space? Is this sculpture? But moving from the initial visual response of pods and junk–which is really what the first photo looks like. I see the art response to a hard question of finance, space for life and for consumerism. Via extension the commercial and materialistic machine that drive the have more, buy more lifestyle. I have also explored building community garden spaces and building a food resource in several places. One failed, one still exists. The biggest problem I found was many do not wish to share. Many who become involved will not share food or space. Things become very territorial. As an art project, these are not always classically beautiful but ask us to respond and consider and interact with ourselves and with an unknown future. How will I continue to live and work in my chosen place if I have little to no money?Mary Mattingly Mary’s initial responses to her own and other community members consumerism, basic essentials and the idea of sharing resources has put her on a path toward art activism and environmental activism. These are both personal responses and communal responses that she asks us all to question and participate in. Do we contribute to bettering our futures or do we enable powers that will bring about a failure for all humanity? Can one or two or twelve living pods, floating gardens, or people make a change that benefits all? Or does this only empower a limited few? Mary Mattingly invites you in; to sit down, to live in, to eat and think and to answer the questions she raises. References:https://art21.org/gallery/mary-mattingly-artist-at-workwww. marymattingly.com./html/MaryMattinglyBlog.htmlFor video information on Swale:www.youtu.be/hJXw3qnOg0Living SculptureMARY MATTINGLYBy Kim Lorello Sculpture as a Living thing? Can you habitate in Sculpture? Can Art change your lifestyle?
Mary Mattingly, back in 2013 began an idea of creating sculpture that was addressing common issues of urban life. Consumerism, lack, and sharing of resources.Triple IslandTriple Island was the culmination of her first sculptures that were in the Port Authority in NY/NJ. The first sculpture series “Owns Up” lead to questions in her own mind as to why we have consumerism that has us owning too many objects. She online documented her personal objects at Ownit.us. As part of that research she traced each objects beginning–metals and the path it made to get to her. Many objects supported companies who made war. In this she felt that our shared world was on a path that would lead to apocalypse . Does mass consumerism pollute and leave people with needs greater than their ability to pay for? Lack of money or lack of time, if working too long to pay for basics and essentials leads to a life that is drudgery rather than full. Food lack was also a common theme in urban areas. Seeing this on a daily basis caused her to question and respond in a photographic and sculptural manner.Triple Island was a response to the lack of space, lack of food and a consumerism lifestyle. All of these has lead to a thinker’s response of building a sculpture of 3 floating live spaces. These were garden/greenhouse, sleep/living space, and a communal area. Her first sculptures were similar but were not floating. These were pods of personal living space that were both sculpture in parks and a place to sneak in and sleep. She also made portable pods that were similar in design. Moving forwardMary’s current projects still come out of these first ideas.
Consumerism
Matterly’s online photography for her first sculptures and also for Triple Island. Lead her to question, how much does she need? Indeed, how much do any of us need? Is this a want created to feed a consumerism machine? Does this generate good for the individual or is it feeding something unwanted? War? Environmental degradation? Personal lack?
Lack
In Mary’s world, many suffered from the need for affordable living or work spaces. Her ideas to create living sculpture pods were a way to see how she could stay in a major urban area even if the worst possible living conditions happened. She explored communal space, personal space in a place that no one else wanted. Allowing for resources normally spent on apartment or studio space to go to other areas. Seeing that food and habitation are inevitably intertwined lead to a current 2018 Floating Garden food source in NYC, Brooklyn area. The is a barge that grows food and travels along the riverside. It is a completely free food source. 3. Shared Resources The 2018 “Swale” a Floating Forest on the Bronx River supports a purpose of shared public food. It offers both food and the opportunity for conversations around growing food and food freedom. www.youtu.be/hJXw3qnOg0 Artists designing gardens that can both be beautiful and food producing is from time spent reflecting on Monet’s Garden in France. It also is looking at food freedom. If you are in a state of lack or held hostage by costs Mary wants you to consider what freedom feels like. Personal ResponseIn looking over Mary’s older work and newest one can find a personal response that questions is art a personal living space? Is this sculpture? But moving from the initial visual response of pods and junk–which is really what the first photo looks like. I see the art response to a hard question of finance, space for life and for consumerism. Via extension the commercial and materialistic machine that drive the have more, buy more lifestyle. I have also explored building community garden spaces and building a food resource in several places. One failed, one still exists. The biggest problem I found was many do not wish to share. Many who become involved will not share food or space. Things become very territorial. As an art project, these are not always classically beautiful but ask us to respond and consider and interact with ourselves and with an unknown future. How will I continue to live and work in my chosen place if I have little to no money?Mary Mattingly Mary’s initial responses to her own and other community members consumerism, basic essentials and the idea of sharing resources has put her on a path toward art activism and environmental activism. These are both personal responses and communal responses that she asks us all to question and participate in. Do we contribute to bettering our futures or do we enable powers that will bring about a failure for all humanity? Can one or two or twelve living pods, floating gardens, or people make a change that benefits all? Or does this only empower a limited few? Mary Mattingly invites you in; to sit down, to live in, to eat and think and to answer the questions she raises. References:https://art21.org/gallery/mary-mattingly-artist-at-workwww. marymattingly.com./html/MaryMattinglyBlog.htmlFor video information on Swale:www.youtu.be/hJXw3qnOg0Living SculptureMARY MATTINGLYBy Kim Lorello Sculpture as a Living thing? Can you habitate in Sculpture? Can Art change your lifestyle?
Mary Mattingly, back in 2013 began an idea of creating sculpture that was addressing common issues of urban life. Consumerism, lack, and sharing of resources.Triple IslandTriple Island was the culmination of her first sculptures that were in the Port Authority in NY/NJ. The first sculpture series “Owns Up” lead to questions in her own mind as to why we have consumerism that has us owning too many objects. She online documented her personal objects at Ownit.us. As part of that research she traced each objects beginning–metals and the path it made to get to her. Many objects supported companies who made war. In this she felt that our shared world was on a path that would lead to apocalypse . Does mass consumerism pollute and leave people with needs greater than their ability to pay for? Lack of money or lack of time, if working too long to pay for basics and essentials leads to a life that is drudgery rather than full. Food lack was also a common theme in urban areas. Seeing this on a daily basis caused her to question and respond in a photographic and sculptural manner.Triple Island was a response to the lack of space, lack of food and a consumerism lifestyle. All of these has lead to a thinker’s response of building a sculpture of 3 floating live spaces. These were garden/greenhouse, sleep/living space, and a communal area. Her first sculptures were similar but were not floating. These were pods of personal living space that were both sculpture in parks and a place to sneak in and sleep. She also made portable pods that were similar in design. Moving forwardMary’s current projects still come out of these first ideas.
Consumerism
Matterly’s online photography for her first sculptures and also for Triple Island. Lead her to question, how much does she need? Indeed, how much do any of us need? Is this a want created to feed a consumerism machine? Does this generate good for the individual or is it feeding something unwanted? War? Environmental degradation? Personal lack?
Lack
In Mary’s world, many suffered from the need for affordable living or work spaces. Her ideas to create living sculpture pods were a way to see how she could stay in a major urban area even if the worst possible living conditions happened. She explored communal space, personal space in a place that no one else wanted. Allowing for resources normally spent on apartment or studio space to go to other areas. Seeing that food and habitation are inevitably intertwined lead to a current 2018 Floating Garden food source in NYC, Brooklyn area. The is a barge that grows food and travels along the riverside. It is a completely free food source. 3. Shared Resources The 2018 “Swale” a Floating Forest on the Bronx River supports a purpose of shared public food. It offers both food and the opportunity for conversations around growing food and food freedom. www.youtu.be/hJXw3qnOg0 Artists designing gardens that can both be beautiful and food producing is from time spent reflecting on Monet’s Garden in France. It also is looking at food freedom. If you are in a state of lack or held hostage by costs Mary wants you to consider what freedom feels like. Personal ResponseIn looking over Mary’s older work and newest one can find a personal response that questions is art a personal living space? Is this sculpture? But moving from the initial visual response of pods and junk–which is really what the first photo looks like. I see the art response to a hard question of finance, space for life and for consumerism. Via extension the commercial and materialistic machine that drive the have more, buy more lifestyle. I have also explored building community garden spaces and building a food resource in several places. One failed, one still exists. The biggest problem I found was many do not wish to share. Many who become involved will not share food or space. Things become very territorial. As an art project, these are not always classically beautiful but ask us to respond and consider and interact with ourselves and with an unknown future. How will I continue to live and work in my chosen place if I have little to no money?Mary Mattingly Mary’s initial responses to her own and other community members consumerism, basic essentials and the idea of sharing resources has put her on a path toward art activism and environmental activism. These are both personal responses and communal responses that she asks us all to question and participate in. Do we contribute to bettering our futures or do we enable powers that will bring about a failure for all humanity? Can one or two or twelve living pods, floating gardens, or people make a change that benefits all? Or does this only empower a limited few? Mary Mattingly invites you in; to sit down, to live in, to eat and think and to answer the questions she raises. References:https://art21.org/gallery/mary-mattingly-artist-at-workwww. marymattingly.com./html/MaryMattinglyBlog.htmlFor video information on Swale:www.youtu.be/hJXw3qnOg0Living SculptureMARY MATTINGLYBy Kim Lorello Sculpture as a Living thing? Can you habitate in Sculpture? Can Art change your lifestyle?
Mary Mattingly, back in 2013 began an idea of creating sculpture that was addressing common issues of urban life. Consumerism, lack, and sharing of resources.Triple IslandTriple Island was the culmination of her first sculptures that were in the Port Authority in NY/NJ. The first sculpture series “Owns Up” lead to questions in her own mind as to why we have consumerism that has us owning too many objects. She online documented her personal objects at Ownit.us. As part of that research she traced each objects beginning–metals and the path it made to get to her. Many objects supported companies who made war. In this she felt that our shared world was on a path that would lead to apocalypse . Does mass consumerism pollute and leave people with needs greater than their ability to pay for? Lack of money or lack of time, if working too long to pay for basics and essentials leads to a life that is drudgery rather than full. Food lack was also a common theme in urban areas. Seeing this on a daily basis caused her to question and respond in a photographic and sculptural manner.Triple Island was a response to the lack of space, lack of food and a consumerism lifestyle. All of these has lead to a thinker’s response of building a sculpture of 3 floating live spaces. These were garden/greenhouse, sleep/living space, and a communal area. Her first sculptures were similar but were not floating. These were pods of personal living space that were both sculpture in parks and a place to sneak in and sleep. She also made portable pods that were similar in design. Moving forwardMary’s current projects still come out of these first ideas.
Consumerism
Matterly’s online photography for her first sculptures and also for Triple Island. Lead her to question, how much does she need? Indeed, how much do any of us need? Is this a want created to feed a consumerism machine? Does this generate good for the individual or is it feeding something unwanted? War? Environmental degradation? Personal lack?
Lack
In Mary’s world, many suffered from the need for affordable living or work spaces. Her ideas to create living sculpture pods were a way to see how she could stay in a major urban area even if the worst possible living conditions happened. She explored communal space, personal space in a place that no one else wanted. Allowing for resources normally spent on apartment or studio space to go to other areas. Seeing that food and habitation are inevitably intertwined lead to a current 2018 Floating Garden food source in NYC, Brooklyn area. The is a barge that grows food and travels along the riverside. It is a completely free food source. 3. Shared Resources The 2018 “Swale” a Floating Forest on the Bronx River supports a purpose of shared public food. It offers both food and the opportunity for conversations around growing food and food freedom. www.youtu.be/hJXw3qnOg0 Artists designing gardens that can both be beautiful and food producing is from time spent reflecting on Monet’s Garden in France. It also is looking at food freedom. If you are in a state of lack or held hostage by costs Mary wants you to consider what freedom feels like. Personal ResponseIn looking over Mary’s older work and newest one can find a personal response that questions is art a personal living space? Is this sculpture? But moving from the initial visual response of pods and junk–which is really what the first photo looks like. I see the art response to a hard question of finance, space for life and for consumerism. Via extension the commercial and materialistic machine that drive the have more, buy more lifestyle. I have also explored building community garden spaces and building a food resource in several places. One failed, one still exists. The biggest problem I found was many do not wish to share. Many who become involved will not share food or space. Things become very territorial. As an art project, these are not always classically beautiful but ask us to respond and consider and interact with ourselves and with an unknown future. How will I continue to live and work in my chosen place if I have little to no money?Mary Mattingly Mary’s initial responses to her own and other community members consumerism, basic essentials and the idea of sharing resources has put her on a path toward art activism and environmental activism. These are both personal responses and communal responses that she asks us all to question and participate in. Do we contribute to bettering our futures or do we enable powers that will bring about a failure for all humanity? Can one or two or twelve living pods, floating gardens, or people make a change that benefits all? Or does this only empower a limited few? Mary Mattingly invites you in; to sit down, to live in, to eat and think and to answer the questions she raises. References:https://art21.org/gallery/mary-mattingly-artist-at-workwww. marymattingly.com./html/MaryMattinglyBlog.htmlFor video information on Swale:www.youtu.be/hJXw3qnOg0Living SculptureMARY MATTINGLYBy Kim Lorello Sculpture as a Living thing? Can you habitate in Sculpture? Can Art change your lifestyle?
Mary Mattingly, back in 2013 began an idea of creating sculpture that was addressing common issues of urban life. Consumerism, lack, and sharing of resources.Triple IslandTriple Island was the culmination of her first sculptures that were in the Port Authority in NY/NJ. The first sculpture series “Owns Up” lead to questions in her own mind as to why we have consumerism that has us owning too many objects. She online documented her personal objects at Ownit.us. As part of that research she traced each objects beginning–metals and the path it made to get to her. Many objects supported companies who made war. In this she felt that our shared world was on a path that would lead to apocalypse . Does mass consumerism pollute and leave people with needs greater than their ability to pay for? Lack of money or lack of time, if working too long to pay for basics and essentials leads to a life that is drudgery rather than full. Food lack was also a common theme in urban areas. Seeing this on a daily basis caused her to question and respond in a photographic and sculptural manner.Triple Island was a response to the lack of space, lack of food and a consumerism lifestyle. All of these has lead to a thinker’s response of building a sculpture of 3 floating live spaces. These were garden/greenhouse, sleep/living space, and a communal area. Her first sculptures were similar but were not floating. These were pods of personal living space that were both sculpture in parks and a place to sneak in and sleep. She also made portable pods that were similar in design. Mary’s current projects still come out of these first ideas.
Consumerism
Mattingly’s online photography for her first sculptures and also for Triple Island. Lead her to question, how much does she need? Indeed, how much do any of us need? Is this a want created to feed a consumerism machine? Does this generate good for the individual or is it feeding something unwanted? War? Environmental degradation? Personal lack?
Lack
In Mary’s world, many suffered from the need for affordable living or work spaces. Her ideas to create living sculpture pods were a way to see how she could stay in a major urban area even if the worst possible living conditions happened. She explored communal space, personal space in a place that no one else wanted. Allowing for resources normally spent on apartment or studio space to go to other areas. Seeing that food and habitation are inevitably intertwined lead to a current 2018 Floating Garden food source in NYC, Brooklyn area. The is a barge that grows food and travels along the riverside. It is a completely free food source. 3. Shared Resources The 2018 “Swale” a Floating Forest on the Bronx River supports a purpose of shared public food. It offers both food and the opportunity for conversations around growing food and food freedom. www.youtu.be/hJXw3qnOg0 Artists designing gardens that can both be beautiful and food producing is from time spent reflecting on Monet’s Garden in France. It also is looking at food freedom. If you are in a state of lack or held hostage by costs Mary wants you to consider what freedom feels like. Personal ResponseIn looking over Mary’s older work and newest one can find a personal response that questions is art a personal living space? Is this sculpture? But moving from the initial visual response of pods and junk–which is really what the first photo looks like. I see the art response to a hard question of finance, space for life and for consumerism. Via extension the commercial and materialistic machine that drive the have more, buy more lifestyle. I have also explored building community garden spaces and building a food resource in several places. One failed, one still exists. The biggest problem I found was many do not wish to share. Many who become involved will not share food or space. Things become very territorial. As an art project, these are not always classically beautiful but ask us to respond and consider and interact with ourselves and with an unknown future. How will I continue to live and work in my chosen place if I have little to no money?Mary Mattingly Mary’s initial responses to her own and other community members consumerism, basic essentials and the idea of sharing resources has put her on a path toward art activism and environmental activism. These are both personal responses and communal responses that she asks us all to question and participate in. Do we contribute to bettering our futures or do we enable powers that will bring about a failure for all humanity? Can one or two or twelve living pods, floating gardens, or people make a change that benefits all? Or does this only empower a limited few? Mary Mattingly invites you in; to sit down, to live in, to eat and think and to answer the questions she raises. References:https://art21.org/gallery/mary-mattingly-artist-at-workwww. marymattingly.com./html/MaryMattinglyBlog.htmlFor video information on Swale:www.youtu.be/hJXw3qnOg0Living SculptureMARY MATTINGLYBy Kim Lorello Sculpture as a Living thing? Can you habitate in Sculpture? Can Art change your lifestyle?
Mary Mattingly, back in 2013 began an idea of creating sculpture that was addressing common issues of urban life. Consumerism, lack, and sharing of resources.Triple IslandTriple Island was the culmination of her first sculptures that were in the Port Authority in NY/NJ. The first sculpture series “Owns Up” lead to questions in her own mind as to why we have consumerism that has us owning too many objects. She online documented her personal objects at Ownit.us. As part of that research she traced each objects beginning–metals and the path it made to get to her. Many objects supported companies who made war. In this she felt that our shared world was on a path that would lead to apocalypse . Does mass consumerism pollute and leave people with needs greater than their ability to pay for? Lack of money or lack of time, if working too long to pay for basics and essentials leads to a life that is drudgery rather than full. Food lack was also a common theme in urban areas. Seeing this on a daily basis caused her to question and respond in a photographic and sculptural manner.Triple Island was a response to the lack of space, lack of food and a consumerism lifestyle. All of these has lead to a thinker’s response of building a sculpture of 3 floating live spaces. These were garden/greenhouse, sleep/living space, and a communal area. Her first sculptures were similar but were not floating. These were pods of personal living space that were both sculpture in parks and a place to sneak in and sleep. She also made portable pods that were similar in design. Moving forwardMary’s current projects still come out of these first ideas.
Consumerism
Matterly’s online photography for her first sculptures and also for Triple Island. Lead her to question, how much does she need? Indeed, how much do any of us need? Is this a want created to feed a consumerism machine? Does this generate good for the individual or is it feeding something unwanted? War? Environmental degradation? Personal lack?
Lack
In Mary’s world, many suffered from the need for affordable living or work spaces. Her ideas to create living sculpture pods were a way to see how she could stay in a major urban area even if the worst possible living conditions happened. She explored communal space, personal space in a place that no one else wanted. Allowing for resources normally spent on apartment or studio space to go to other areas. Seeing that food and habitation are inevitably intertwined lead to a current 2018 Floating Garden food source in NYC, Brooklyn area. The is a barge that grows food and travels along the riverside. It is a completely free food source. 3. Shared Resources The 2018 “Swale” a Floating Forest on the Bronx River supports a purpose of shared public food. It offers both food and the opportunity for conversations around growing food and food freedom. www.youtu.be/hJXw3qnOg0 Artists designing gardens that can both be beautiful and food producing is from time spent reflecting on Monet’s Garden in France. It also is looking at food freedom. If you are in a state of lack or held hostage by costs Mary wants you to consider what freedom feels like.
In looking over Mary’s older work and newest, one can find a personal response that questions is art a personal living space? Is this sculpture? But moving from the initial visual response of pods and junk–which is really what the first photo looks like. I see the art response to a hard question of finance, space for life and for freedom to create. Consumerism, and via extension the commercial and materialistic machine that drive the have more, buy more lifestyle are all questions to settle for one’s self. My questioning has also explored building community garden spaces and building a food resource in several places. One failed, one still exists. The biggest problem I found was many do not wish to share. Many who become involved will not share food or space. Things become very territorial. As an art project, these are not always classically beautiful but ask us to respond and consider and interact with ourselves and with an unknown future. How will I continue to live and work in my chosen place if I have little to no money?
Mary Mattingly Mary’s initial responses to her own and other community members consumerism, basic essentials and the idea of sharing resources has put her on a path toward art activism and environmental activism. These are both personal responses and communal responses that she asks us all to question and participate in. Do we contribute to bettering our futures or do we enable powers that will bring about a failure for all humanity? Can one or two or twelve living pods, floating gardens, or people make a change that benefits all? Or does this only empower a limited few? Mary Mattingly invites you in; to sit down, to live in, to eat and think and to answer the questions she raises. References:https://art21.org/gallery/mary-mattingly-artist-at-workwww. marymattingly.com./html/MaryMattinglyBlog.htmlFor video information on Swale:www.youtu.be/hJXw3qnOg0vvvv
Living Sculpture
MARY MATTINGLY
By Kim Lorello
Sculpture as a Living thing? Can you habitate in Sculpture? Can Art change your lifestyle?
Mary Mattingly, back in 2013 began an idea of creating sculpture that was addressing common issues of urban life. Consumerism, lack, and sharing of resources.
Triple Island
Triple Island was the culmination of her first sculptures that were in the Port Authority in NY/NJ. The first sculpture series “Owns Up” lead to questions in her own mind as to why we have consumerism that has us owning too many objects. She online documented her personal objects at Ownit.us. As part of that research she traced each objects beginning–metals and the path it made to get to her. Many objects supported companies who made war. In this she felt that our shared world was on a path that would lead to apocalypse . Does mass consumerism pollute and leave people with needs greater than their ability to pay for? Lack of money or lack of time, if working too long to pay for basics and essentials leads to a life that is drudgery rather than full. Food lack was also a common theme in urban areas. Seeing this on a daily basis caused her to question and respond in a photographic and sculptural manner.
Triple Island was a response to the lack of space, lack of food and a consumerism lifestyle. All of these has lead to a thinker’s response of building a sculpture of 3 floating live spaces. These were garden/greenhouse, sleep/living space, and a communal area. Her first sculptures were similar but were not floating. These were pods of personal living space that were both sculpture in parks and a place to sneak in and sleep. She also made portable pods that were similar in design.
Moving forward
Mary’s current projects still come out of these first ideas.
Consumerism
Matterly’s online photography for her first sculptures and also for Triple Island. Lead her to question, how much does she need? Indeed, how much do any of us need? Is this a want created to feed a consumerism machine? Does this generate good for the individual or is it feeding something unwanted? War? Environmental degradation? Personal lack?
Lack
In Mary’s world, many suffered from the need for affordable living or work spaces. Her ideas to create living sculpture pods were a way to see how she could stay in a major urban area even if the worst possible living conditions happened. She explored communal space, personal space in a place that no one else wanted. Allowing for resources normally spent on apartment or studio space to go to other areas. Seeing that food and habitation are inevitably intertwined lead to a current 2018 Floating Garden food source in NYC, Brooklyn area. The is a barge that grows food and travels along the riverside. It is a completely free food source.
Shared Resources
The 2018 “Swale” a Floating Forest on the Bronx River supports a purpose of shared public food. It offers both food and the opportunity for conversations around growing food and food freedom. www.youtu.be/hJXw3qnOg0 Artists designing gardens that can both be beautiful and food producing is from time spent reflecting on Monet’s Garden in France. It also is looking at food freedom. If you are in a state of lack or held hostage by costs Mary wants you to consider what freedom feels like.
Personal Response
In looking over Mary’s older work and newest one can find a personal response that questions is art a personal living space? Is this sculpture? But moving from the initial visual response of pods and junk–which is really what the first photo looks like. I see the art response to a hard question of finance, space for life and for consumerism. Via extension the commercial and materialistic machine that drive the have more, buy more lifestyle. I have also explored building community garden spaces and building a food resource in several places. One failed, one still exists. The biggest problem I found was many do not wish to share. Many who become involved will not share food or space. Things become very territorial. As an art project, these are not always classically beautiful but ask us to respond and consider and interact with ourselves and with an unknown future. How will I continue to live and work in my chosen place if I have little to no money?
Mary Mattingly
Mary’s initial responses to her own and other community members consumerism, basic essentials and the idea of sharing resources has put her on a path toward art activism and environmental activism. These are both personal responses and communal responses that she asks us all to question and participate in. Do we contribute to bettering our futures or do we enable powers that will bring about a failure for all humanity? Can one or two or twelve living pods, floating gardens, or people make a change that benefits all? Or does this only empower a limited few? Mary Mattingly invites you in; to sit down, to live in, to eat and think and to answer the questions she raises.
Sculpture as a Living thing? Can you habitate in Sculpture? Can Art change your lifestyle?
Mary Mattingly, back in 2013 began an idea of creating sculpture that was addressing common issues of urban life. Consumerism, lack, and sharing of resources.
Triple Island
Triple Island was the culmination of her first sculptures that were in the Port Authority in NY/NJ. The first sculpture series “Owns Up” lead to questions in her own mind as to why we have consumerism that has us owning too many objects. She online documented her personal objects at Ownit.us. As part of that research she traced each objects beginning–metals and the path it made to get to her. Many objects supported companies who made war. In this she felt that our shared world was on a path that would lead to apocalypse . Does mass consumerism pollute and leave people with needs greater than their ability to pay for? Lack of money or lack of time, if working too long to pay for basics and essentials leads to a life that is drudgery rather than full. Food lack was also a common theme in urban areas. Seeing this on a daily basis caused her to question and respond in a photographic and sculptural manner.
Triple Island was a response to the lack of space, lack of food and a consumerism lifestyle. All of these has lead to a thinker’s response of building a sculpture of 3 floating live spaces. These were garden/greenhouse, sleep/living space, and a communal area. Her first sculptures were similar but were not floating. These were pods of personal living space that were both sculpture in parks and a place to sneak in and sleep. She also made portable pods that were similar in design.
Moving forward
Mary’s current projects still come out of these first ideas.
Consumerism
Matterly’s online photography for her first sculptures and also for Triple Island. Lead her to question, how much does she need? Indeed, how much do any of us need? Is this a want created to feed a consumerism machine? Does this generate good for the individual or is it feeding something unwanted? War? Environmental degradation? Personal lack?
Lack
In Mary’s world, many suffered from the need for affordable living or work spaces. Her ideas to create living sculpture pods were a way to see how she could stay in a major urban area even if the worst possible living conditions happened. She explored communal space, personal space in a place that no one else wanted. Allowing for resources normally spent on apartment or studio space to go to other areas. Seeing that food and habitation are inevitably intertwined lead to a current 2018 Floating Garden food source in NYC, Brooklyn area. The is a barge that grows food and travels along the riverside. It is a completely free food source.
Shared Resources
The 2018 “Swale” a Floating Forest on the Bronx River supports a purpose of shared public food. It offers both food and the opportunity for conversations around growing food and food freedom. www.youtu.be/hJXw3qnOg0 Artists designing gardens that can both be beautiful and food producing is from time spent reflecting on Monet’s Garden in France. It also is looking at food freedom. If you are in a state of lack or held hostage by costs Mary wants you to consider what freedom feels like.
Personal Response
In looking over Mary’s older work and newest one can find a personal response that questions is art a personal living space? Is this sculpture? But moving from the initial visual response of pods and junk–which is really what the first photo looks like. I see the art response to a hard question of finance, space for life and for consumerism. Via extension the commercial and materialistic machine that drive the have more, buy more lifestyle. I have also explored building community garden spaces and building a food resource in several places. One failed, one still exists. The biggest problem I found was many do not wish to share. Many who become involved will not share food or space. Things become very territorial. As an art project, these are not always classically beautiful but ask us to respond and consider and interact with ourselves and with an unknown future. How will I continue to live and work in my chosen place if I have little to no money?
Mary Mattingly
Mary’s initial responses to her own and other community members consumerism, basic essentials and the idea of sharing resources has put her on a path toward art activism and environmental activism. These are both personal responses and communal responses that she asks us all to question and participate in. Do we contribute to bettering our futures or do we enable powers that will bring about a failure for all humanity? Can one or two or twelve living pods, floating gardens, or people make a change that benefits all? Or does this only empower a limited few? Mary Mattingly invites you in; to sit down, to live in, to eat and think and to answer the questions she raises.
Blu is an Italian street artist, he currently lives in Bologna, Italy. Blu started painting in a capital of Emilia-Romagana Region and has been into the street art scene ever since 1999.
His work can be seen throughout the world and is very easily recognizable. He first began to experiment with a few materials such as, paint rollers and telescopic sticks. Blu’s graffiti art may be used in a very large scale, but his art makes more of a dramatic scene.
In 2005, he had many opportunities to travel to a lot of destinations and invited to festivals as well. At these festivals he painted with other famous artist. Blu even landed a spot in a festival called “Murales de Octubre” which was done in Managua, Nicaragua.
Mariah Robertson is a new kind of artist. She was born in the year 1975 in Indianapolis, Indiana, but did not grow up there instead she grew up in Sacramento, California. Now she is working and living in New York exploring new thing with photography. Mariah Robertson does work with naked models sometimes but not always. She use color chemicals and does not always know how the work will look in the end, but every time she work she is more of a master of the material.
Mariah has several pieces of art and been in several art shows. Here is some of the art shows: Thief among Thieves exhibition, Unfix Image,Transformer station exhibition, Massachusetts college of Art and Design. That is just to name a few of the exhibitions and place that have show her artworks. She is a very talented artist in many ways with her form of photography. Mariah form of photographs if not always with a camera. Occurring to the Art21.org is she does not take pictures with a camera. She take the color chemicals and plays around hoping something great come from it. The two pictures above show what beauty can come out of what she does. Mariah is challenge how you can make art with color chemicals and no camera. The way she is challenge how to use though thinks is making many other photographer rethink what they can do.
As we move on lets talk about her art. Many of her pieces are abstracted and colorful, some are not abstract but are image showing weird ideas. Some of the one with weird ideas have naked men with skulls on a chess board. As for the Abstract ones they are full of colors and line, even different shapes. Two of her works is the “Russian Doll” and “Wonderful Crazy Night”. “Wonderful Crazy Night” has a image of Elton John on it with bright colors as seen below.
After this image there is the several more. Some of her works is the work being put on a screen for people to see this one is called “Panic Pants at Essex Flowers”, which is the one with naked men, skulls, and of course chessboard. In many ways this art is taking a different form from the normal form of photography. Saying that, this should be stated Mariah did not start off with this it was one day when she was in her dark room that a roll of film she was using in a experiment lead her to what she is doing to day. Because of that one day experiment it has turned in to beautiful pieces of art that she has made. In the end we hope her keeps made these work for many years. May be she will inspire other to do the some in their works and let them know it is okay to try new things in there works. All in all these works are wonderful to look at.
Katharina Grosse was born in 1961 in Freidburg, Breisgau and now lives and works in Berlin. uses acrylic paints to create very large paintings. She is interested in how we are so small in our large environments. While exploring the relationship between observing the world and just being in it, Grosse enjoys using tons of color along with it. She mixes architecture and the natural world into a painting and creates her own different environment. She also uses dirt, cloth, and other things, paints them, and that creates a more three dimensional environment.
Rackstraw Downes is an artist from England who does realistic landscape paintings. He does not consider himself a landscape artist but one who just notices his surroundings. He pays attention to extreme details which creates a highly realistic look to his paintings. While living in England, Rackstraw Downes became familiar with surroundings that had been touched by people so when he moved to the United States in 1980, the massive amounts of untouched land was completely foreign to him. He enjoys including industrial elements in his work because we often want to look past those details. They are essentially what gives us power and our everyday modern amenities and he tries to bring appreciation to these details in his work. He paints plein air, tries not to use any photography, and paints how the natural eye would perceive it. He mainly works with oil paints and canvas. Rackstraw Downes has been extremely successful in his education and his career. He has a masters degree from Yale University and has his work in several prestigious art museums permanent collections. He was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship and has works in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, Houston and the National Gallery of Art and plenty others.
I picked Rackstraw Downes for my artist presentation mainly because I appreciate the attention he gives to the smallest of details in his paintings. His paintings almost look like photographs and in my opinion that is very difficult for someone to achieve. I like that his paintings aren’t typical landscapes and includes the industrial elements we often look over. Sometimes these industrial elements can ruin certain aspects of art but Rackstraw Downes shows how these can be incorporated into it.
Farm Buildings Near the Rio Grande: West End of the Barn
This is the first painting that stood out to me the most because at first I thought it was a photograph that he might have been referencing from, but then I looked closer and it was actually one of his paintings.
Snug Harbor, Metal Duct Work in G Attic
I also really liked this painting because it is not something someone would typically paint. The way it is really industrial appeals to me.
The Mouth of the Passagassawakeag at Belfast, ME, Seen from the Frozen Foods Plant
This is probably my favorite painting that I have seen from Rackstraw Downes because it reminds me of something you might see in a rural small town. It is painted onto two canvas and this is another one where I thought it was a photograph.
Oronzio Maldarelli Cottage, Skowhegan
I thought this painting was nice because it was not one of his typical outside paintings and I like that I looks like it has just rained at a cabin somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
Louise paints landscapes that inspire her to forever capture a moment in time. Her aim is to reflect the way the elements of nature combine to create a particular mood or energy. The light, season, weather, scenery are always changing: so her ambition is to paint my impression of that moment in a beautiful piece of art. She loves to work with oils as they are fluid but also rich in movement, texture and color. She paints en plein air or in her studio from photographs she has taken of the places she has visited. She travels extensively throughout the world and she frequently finds impactful subjects to paint.
Louise has always been interested in art but initially decided to pursue a different path that enabled her to travel and experience the world. After finishing a Bachelor of Commerce at Curtin University and qualifying as a CPA, she worked in the UK and US for 15 years. She decided to paint full time 4 years ago, following a highly successful exhibition in New York in 2013. Louise is mainly self taught but has studied with artists such as Rebecca Schweiger at The Art Studio of New York, award winning US Plein Air artist Joe Paquet and renowned Australian Landscape Artist John Wilson.
Returning to Australia has opened up a world of new landscapes, and the extremes of WA are a huge inspiration.
Surrounded, View From Hayman Island
Kathrine Gorge At DawnCastle Rock After the RainCherry Blossoms II
View to El Questro GorgeOn the Rocks, EsperanceMorning View, Conto SpringsConto Beach Dunes I
Opera House At Night
Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse II
My reason for choosing this artist is fairly simple. With all of the crazy artists listed, a fair bit of them being abstract, Louise really stood out to me and caught my eye. Her first painting I listed really made me like her art more than any of them. I feel her style is a simple enough to be spectacular in its own right, and if I had the money I would buy some for myself. But unfortunately, I’m a college student with no money.
(Her personal site/gallery http://www.lclarkeartist.com/gallery.html)
