And beyond...

David Huffman, MLK, 2008

Hi everyone--wonderful final class meeting last night. Your good work very much appreciated--it's particularly rewarding when so many project are engaged/engaging summations of the questions each one of you has set for yourselves over the term. True in every case--for which I thank you, again. It's also been a pleasure to see the group come together--you all know each other by this point--and know the history of each other's work--which has lead to some good comments and discussion. I hope you also know that as a teacher (me, in this case) that's one of the most rewarding things that can happen in a class...

Our intro covered quite a range--as usual this semester!--including looking at David Huffman's work (Studio Museum show reviewed by Holland Cotter in the NYTimes, painting above)--which somehow lead to watching the opening sequence to The Harder They Come (even if we never quite got to the Melodians playing Rivers of Babylon with the the telephoto shot I mentioned--for that, watch the film itself! Perry Henzel, 1972. A great work.) And then then the discussion of Pictures and Paintings (Charlie Rich on piano--Nate: "Looks like the Casino San Pablo")--in our case, the distinction between pictures and paintings. Which lead to a perusal of Jake Berthot's recent work--and the YouTube video with Berthot talking about painting... Now that I think about it, I think it fit the word FIELD pretty well...!

Jake Berthot, Untitled (Tree), 2013

Here's a line-item recap, last to first:

Jake Berthot - YouTube
Jake Berthot Doesn’t Need To Be Original (with the reproductions we looked at)
Charlie Rich ~ Pictures & Paintings - YouTube
Charlie Rich - Feel Like Goin Home - YouTube (his classic song) 
‘The Shadows Took Shape,’ at the Studio Museum - NYTimes.com Holland Cotter's review
The Harder they Come - Part 1 (1972) - YouTube (we watched the intro sequence--the bus ride) 
David Huffman: The Beauty of Affliction | YBCA - YouTube (we didn't have time to watch this)

_____

Here are notes from class discussion on the show (thanks, Lauren!)--which will be on Tuesday the week after Thanksgiving:

VS 280 Final Exhibition:

* The show will be on Tuesday, December 3, 6pm to 9pm, in 170

* Students should be sure to invite friends, family, classmates to attend (Tony: "invite your friends and relations"). Tony may invite a few school folks too...

* Tony will bring wine and a variety of snacks

* Everyone gets approx. 1 1/2 pin-up panels for their work to be displayed. Chose your favorite pieces from over the semester--the ones you'd like people friends to see... Give some thought to how you'll hang the work...

* Tony will have cart with pins and basic tools. If you need hanging materials in addition, make sure to bring!

* Jorge gets the south wall of the gallery for his large format work, needs to talk to Joe Gouig in Room 103 about getting lights set up on the track along that wall

This is an evening for us to get together one last time, with friends. Not a formal review--but we can certainly enjoy what everyone's done this semester. Look forward to seeing you on the 3rd!
_____

Also--Rae and Katia will be in touch with you about photos of your work to post on the class blog.

 

  

PROJECTS: Work from F2013

Here's a link to the site with each student's selection of work from over the course of the semester:

http://vs280.blogspot.com/

Week 11: FIELD

 

El Greco (1540-1614, View of Toledo

The new word: FIELD

And here's a link to the Julian Bell article I mentioned in class. See if you can follow--much that's discussed touches on things we've talked about... I don't usually give you things quite so recent, but in this case, yes...

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2013/nov/21/treacherous-art-scene

A balancing view would be John Berger's short essay, "Field," in About Looking (1971)

    _____

   Dark August by Derek Walcott

So much rain, so much life like the swollen sky
of this black August. My sister, the sun,
broods in her yellow room and won't come out.

Everything goes to hell; the mountains fume
like a kettle, rivers overrun; still,
she will not rise and turn off the rain.

She is in her room, fondling old things,
my poems, turning her album. Even if thunder falls
like a crash of plates from the sky,

she does not come out.
Don't you know I love you but am hopeless
at fixing the rain ? But I am learning slowly

to love the dark days, the steaming hills,
the air with gossiping mosquitoes,
and to sip the medicine of bitterness,

so that when you emerge, my sister,
parting the beads of the rain,
with your forehead of flowers and eyes of forgiveness,

all with not be as it was, but it will be true
(you see they will not let me love
as I want), because, my sister, then

I would have learnt to love black days like bright ones,
The black rain, the white hills, when once
I loved only my happiness and you.

Week 10: FIND

Su Hanchen, Children Playing in an Autumn Courtyard (detail), 1100's

The new word: FIND

...and a song, The Ethiopians - The Word Is Love - YouTube

And from the Meher Baba:

"Do your best, don't worry, be happy. I will help you"

(thanks to my friend R. W. for the quote!)