Blog Post #6: The ABC'S

"Home To Me" (Josh Kelley) as presented by the ABC'S

From the creative minds of Andrea Coulter (me), Brooke Butler, Christine Ko, and Sara Carter. 

We noticed as a group that music is our common muse- I listen to music on Pandora when I'm drawing or working in the dark room, Brooke uses music to get into character before shows, Christine is a pianist, and Sara dances to music. When we picked Josh Kelley's song "Home To Me" as our source of inspiration for this group project we each shared how our art practices have become "home" to us while we're away from home at school. If they say "home is where the heart is" then art certainly is our home and it's were we find comfort and acceptance. Christine looked up the lyrics and chose key words that gave her a visual from which to fabricate a story. She shared her ideas with me and together we collected a pool of images all from Getty Images and arranged them in the order of the lyrics. Brooke and Sara worked together to put the story in order and kind of develop the characters and mood that the song is talking about it. All that work went into creating the channel on the left. Sara then watched the slideshow we created and improved a dance routine to suit the song. We were each able to contribute and pour our own practices into this project and we're extremely pleased with how it came out. We hope you enjoy watching it! 

Blog Post #5: ARTiculation

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not of us." 2 Corinthians 4:7.  

The Good

I believe that I was preciously created in God's image (Psalm 139:13, Genesis 1:27) and my ability to create things that are beautiful is a reflection of the Creator. He gave me talents and His Son's life as a gift, so I cannot (and will not) separate my artistic practices from gift-giving. I have been blessed to be a blessing and when I serve God, I feel the glory in it, knowing that it is much bigger than myself. While there is a lot of hype and prestige in the status of an artist, the abilities I possess are not my own, but rather I am a jar of clay reflecting the power of the Artist who has shaped me. In light of this, I've shifted my art practices from making art because of someone (school assignments, 'their' expectations) to making art for someone. Art is the only thing that allows me to love God and love on people. I experience more reward in bringing a smile to my friend's face when I put effort and care into making a gift for them, a warm heartedness that isn't possible by just exhibiting work in a gallery. See, a gift is a physical manifestation of a thought. It says "I care about you and made this as a token for you to keep". There is hardly anything more satisfying than affirming someone. 

The Bad

My 20 years have been rampant with mistakes but I know that as a believer, "those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He glorified" (Romans 8:30), and "God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). There is nothing I have done to deserve His love and there is nothing I can do for Him to love me more. I have experienced so much freedom in all of this, especially freedom to create art. The mistakes I made in the past have been justified and will be glorified by God. From them, my faith and the lessons I've learned, I've been able to produce art with amazing heart and such passion that I hope touches the hearts of people who spend time with it. 

And The Ugly

I do not try to hide the imperfection in my finished works of art because I feel by doing so, I am not true to myself or the story I have to tell. Therefore, my art is a representation of my own humanity- I leave loose threads, torn pieces of paper, finger smudges, paint drips, etc to prove that this piece was made by my hand and I am, as the artist, always present in my work. I took time and energy to make something beautiful out of nothing. God loves and cares for me enough to spend time to make me into a beautiful creation. 

Blog Post #3: Alexis (Weidig) Zoto review

I suppose artist reviews are supposed to be of recent exhibitions or gallery visits, but a show I saw about a year ago in the humble Roski School of Fine Arts Lindhurst Gallery at USC made a permanent impression in my mind. To illustrate the imprint in made in my mind, I vaguely remember the show to be a faculty exhibit but I only remember one professor's work; Alexis (Weidig) Zoto. 

She was my Design 202 professor in the spring of 2008 so I was delightfully surprised to find out she works mostly in sculpture. (Our design class was very much about color theory, precision and Gouache paint). Alexis' own work diverted radically from the work we did in the class and was wonderfully imaginative. A greco-roman meets romanticism fantasy blossomed in my mind (and still does!). 

Shown to the left is "Olgi" (2006), made from found objects, furniture legs, tassels and gold mylar tape. I believe "Thomaidha" (2004) was also shown, but it's "Olgi" that was really impressive. I love the simplicity of color and how the gold looks against white walls with blue and turquoise accents. Although the color palette is minimal, Alexis' attention to detail and dedication to her materials is fantastic. I would very rarely think to use furniture legs in a sculpture, but they definitely offer something unique and beautiful to this piece that any other material could. Can you imagine going around to multiple upon multiple junk yards and antique shops to find clawed sofa feet? My mind went there, but it also went off into thoughts, daydreams and memories of summer and what summer would be like in the Greek Isles! 

Her other work gives me similar vibes. Her use of gold seems so divine rather than gaudy as it could appear in the works of other artists. And her influences are consistent through her body of professional work: the Virgin Mary, the "Evil Eye", and ideas about femininity (as represented by the abundance of pears and gold). Also common is the use of found objects. I especially like found objects in sculpture because it gives the objects a magic of their own that would be impossible aside from the context of the sculpture. I highly recommend seeing her works in person because you will never be able to forget them. 

Blog post #1: Ken Duncan and my own dreams

Calling myself a photographer in 2009 means something very different from if I were to have been a photographer 30 years ago, or even 10 for that matter. In the digital age there is so much noise in the photography world. Digital cameras have their advantages, but they certainly have disadvantages as well. It seems that in the digital age, anyone and everyone claims the status of a photographer; photography has been bastardized. Just check out flickr if you have any doubts in your mind: 3,396 uploads in the last minute, 558,832 things tagged with "urban", 3.2 million things geotagged this month. This is not to say that I am not a fan of photography and photo-sharing, I am, but there are 53,635 pictures tagged "rosese" on flickr alone. Do we really need 54,000 pictures of roses? I don't know, but there are a lot, that's for sure. 

This is also not a ding against roses or nature photography. In fact, landscape photography is what does it for me. There's a reason I can look at a photo of a landscape somewhere hundreds or thousands of miles away and feel a sense of peace. There's a reason my mind is calm and my eye seeks to soak it all in and 5 minutes just won't suffice. Confusion and questions don't clammer around in my head, the purpose seems evident. I don't need to know why the photographer took the picture or what statement they were trying to make, all I want to know is where the picture was taken and how much a plane ticket would cost to get me there! That's what I want to do as a photographer; travel, capture, expose and plant seeds of hope, inspiration and wonder. Specifically, my model of choice is the beautiful America herself. Why? Because there is nothing quite like her! No other country is home to the mighty Sequoia tree, fjords packed with ice hundreds of years old, seemingly endless fields of corn or wheat, heights as high as Mount McKinley (Denali), depths as low as Death Valley and expanses as wide as the Grand Canyon and as intricately designed?

Personally, I feel very blessed to live in the United States of America and I wonder sometimes why everybody doesn't feel this way? In the days of our fore Fathers, I believe many shared my feelings, but in 2009 that seems not to be the case. I wonder why, but more importantly, I wonder what I can do to change that, to make people fall in love with America again? What would it take? I cannot say for sure, but I have been drawn to the camera for it's abilities to capture the magnificent beauty that God has blessed us with in nature (Psalm 104). I've categorized the camera's use into two camps: creating v. capturing. Photographers that use the camera to create fabricate sets and the subject is aware of the camera's presence. Photographers that capture point their cameras to the work of others; chance and patience kiss at the enamel of the film. I prefer using my camera to capture the beauty that God so magnificently displays for us day in and day out (Psalm 19:1-6). He's given me an appreciation and an artistic eye, so I do what I can to give back to Him, so that He may be glorified and not me (Psalm 113:3). I'll let God be the director of my shots and I'll technically render them. My desire is to use my camera to worship The Creator and not me, His creation (Romans 1:25)(2 Corinthians 4:7). Perhaps it's not the most unique or edgy concept for an aspiring photographer going through art school to have, but I am not the first. My dream to travel the 50 States and capture fractions of their beauty with my camera for the glory and recognition of God has already been done, and so I want to introduce you to my inspiration, Ken Duncan's photography. I first met him in his book "Walking With God in America", and I fell in love with God and American all over again, and every subsequent time I open the book!

Ken Duncan is an Australian born photographer captivated by the immeasurable beauty of the United States. God has given him a heart for America and called him to use his camera to remind Americans of their blessings. He says himself that, "America's faith in God is what has made it one of the greatest countries on earth, and that faith is a beacon of hope for other struggling nations around the world," (Walking With God in America, 9). The pages of his books are graced with Bible verses, quotes from famous men and women including presidents, and antidotes about what God taught him through the capturing of a specific image. Why an Australian in America? Have we lost our hope and faith? Perhaps we've become complacent and take what we have for granted. Or could it be that we won't know what we have until we don't have it anymore? Sometimes it takes the observations of an outsider to see.