Clark Little- 1/29/15

Clark Little was born in Napa, California in 1968. Two years later, his family moved to the North Shore of Oahu, which would drastically change his future. In 2007, Clark discovered his ability and passion to capture the beauty of shore breaks when his wife wanted a picture of the ocean to decorate their bedroom wall. Clark was already a great surfer, and so he went out and bought a waterproof camera setup, jumped in the ocean, and started snapping away. His favorite thing was getting "inside" the waves and recording their beauty and power. People who saw Little shoot said they thought he would die with the way he shoots. Shortly, he gained recognition for his genius way of shooting. His works have been displayed in places such as the Smithsonian Museum, Nat Geo, LIFE, New York Times and dozens more.

He then released an art book in November 2009. It is 182 pages of the Shorebreak Art in Hawaii. This is where I first saw Clark Littles photographs. I was in Hawaii, and my dads friend said "hey Annie have you ever heard of Clark Little". I replied no, and he pulled out his own copy of the book. I then spent a couple hours flipping through the genius of his work. In February 2014, Clark published his second book Shorebreak, a 160-page coffee table book featuring wave and ocean photography from the North Shore of Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Big Island, California, Japan and French Polynesia. I have yet to see this book, but I have seen photos online and they remain great as always. I really respect Little, and I think he is a little crazy too. He goes in huge waves and storms just to get a photo, but then again a lot of photographers a crazy in the end. My favorite photographs of his are the shore break photos, they are massive and intimidating. And you know he gets attacked by the waves every day, just to get up the next day and do it all over again.  

Shepard Fairey- 1/27/15

Frank Shepard Fairey is an American contemporary street artist, graphic designer, activist and illustrator who emerged from the street art propaganda scene. After becoming interested in art as a teen, he started using his drawings on T-shirts and skateboards. After art school he became known for his  "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" (OBEY) mass sticker campaign, around Los Angeles. His website says "the sticker has no meaning but exists only to cause people to react, to contemplate and search for meaning in the sticker". 

That further created the OBEY Clothing line. What started for Fairey with an absurd sticker he created in 1989 while studying school turned into a street phenomenon and turned everyones heads. Most people don't know anything about Obey, like myself, until my roommate told me all about it. I see a lot of people wearing it, but do they really know why? 

 Fairey further became more popular over his Obama "Hope" poster.  Shepard Fairey is one of the most influential street artists of our time.His work is also used screen-prints, stencils, stickers, masking film illustrations, wheat paste, collages, sculptures, posters, paintings, and murals. He primarily works with the colors black, white and red. Fairey has constantly shifted between the realms of fine art, commercial art, street art, and even political art (as seen with his Obama poster). There are also a lot of mock ups made from his posters and ideas. I really like Fairey and how cool his story is. After research I think everyone should know what OBEY really stands and comes from. 

Lin Tianmiao- 1/25/15

Lin Tianmiao is a contemporary exile artist from China. She works with everyday objects around the house, and studies the relationship between modernization and traditional pieces. One of her earliest and most well known pieces is Proliferation of Thread Winding (1995). It is made of 20,000 cotton balls tethered around a rice paper bed. Critics call her work feminist since Lin works mostly on themes specific to women, or with common items women tend to use frequently. She has denied this statement. My favorite artwork of Lins are the "All the Same" pieces. She has wrapped various colors of silk around synthetic human bones. This exhibition was released in 2011. She was taught by her mother how to use materials such a hair, cashmere and fine fine silk. Most of her pieces are based out of early memories of her mother in the house. She says "Being a artist is a very personal thing. And often a very lonely thing". Another work of hers I find very intriguing is "Badges"(2012). It represents the words in English and Chinese that women get called. It is made out of embroidery hoops, silk and hair.

If you can see the time that it would take to make the patterns on these bones, it gives you a better idea of how much Lin cares about her work. She wants to make an impact on people, to see it for what it really is. I really enjoy and respect her art and what she stands for.

All the Same, 2011

Badges, 2012

Mr. Brainwash 1/25/15

Mr. Brainwash is a self proclaimed film-maker and street artist from Paris. He started what he is doing by simply filming people like his cousin, Invader as they made street art. His real name is Thierry Guetta, and he decides to make a mash up of all these artists. As he gets more into it, he wants to meet the famous Banksy. Once he does, Banksy pushes him to be an artist. After Mr. Brainwash gets really into basically hiring a bunch of graphic artists to do his work. Banksy quotes, "I used to encourage everyone I knew to make art, I don't do that so much anymore". Banksy really kind of makes fun of Thierry for what he does. He essentially takes famous works of art and mashes them up and doesn't make them himself. Then he sells them and people go crazy for them. A piece of art such as a spray can go for 1000 dollars. And some of his other works are in the hundred thousands.

Thierry quotes that his technique is why his name is Mr. Brainwash. "Thats why I call myself Mr. Brainwash. Its because that everything that I do....somewhere it brainwash your face". It is known to the public that he merely tells other artists what to make, rather then himself. I don't necessarily enjoy that. I think that he is somewhat crazy and is a genius. He's a genius because of what he did, just decided one day that he was going to become a artist real fast. But for that same exact reason I'm disturbed. He took a lot of Banksy and Andy Warhols type work and created into his. For some reason it just seems really wrong. Here are some of "his" works.

LA mural 2011

Spray Cans, 2010

Lee Bontecou- 1/24/15

Lee Bontecou, a famous abstract sculptor. She commonly welds steel together and uses recycled items such as converter belts and mail sacks. "My best constructions are both mechanic and organic, abstract but evocative of the brutality of the war". Recently I went to The Contemporary Art Museum in my hometown of Houston, Texas. My mom and I spent a day at the museums, here we saw one of her very famous pieces. Named, "Untitled" (1959). I instantly saw this piece from all the way across the hall. How could you not, it sits very far off the wall, is dark and draws you in. My mom immediately said it looked like some weird piece. I can see how people art drawn into it. I don't exactly know my feelings on it. Some of her work I find really intriguing and wonderful. Some of her pieces however, I find super strange. Overall though, I respect different artists, and I would call Bontecous work different.

Zaha Hadid 1/23/15

Zaha Hadid is a Iraq-British architect.  I first saw some of her work in class this past week. I found the works that were shown to be very interesting. Architecture is something that truly confuses me. I don't do math or shapes or any of that stuff very well. People that can sketch something and bring it to life in a building that people go into, work in, and sell things in is a talent. It is not something everyone can do. One of Zahas first buildings is The Ski Jump (2002) and sits in Austria. The reason I find her work so interesting is because I cannot understand it. She doesn't only just do buildings, she also does interior spaces, furniture, as well as artwork. One of her couches sold for 1.9 million dollars. While I really enjoy the second photo in this list of photos, it seems confusing to the eye. What I like about it is the contrasting of black and white. The third photo, belongs to the future building; The Ronald McDonald house. It holds 11 bedrooms designed by Zaha, to hold the parents and families of children that are sick at a nearby hospital. While all the rooms look completely different and very futuristic, I strangely enjoy them. They are sleek, clean and crisp. Each room is completely different, with a different genre. One thing that makes me cringe however, the beds don't look comfy and it looks somewhat cold. Overall, I truly respect her work.

Boat

William Wegman- 1/20/15

William Wegman is an American conceptionalist and photographer. He is best known for photographing his dogs (weimaraners) in particular poses or shapes. Although he went to school for painting, he is now a full fledged 71 year old photographer. He shoots his dogs according to personalities and ideas. Many popular pieces were made with the help of his best canine friend Man Ray. (Man Ray is shown in the boots). Man Ray was Wegmans first dog, and sparked the idea of shooting dogs for a career. Fay Ray his next dog, had puppies and those puppies had puppies. He now has 5 dogs that he shoots with on a regular basis. Wegman, being very determined in his work, he trains each of his dogs multiple times for a actual shoot. In high-school I did a photography project mirroring work of Wegman. I went into the assignment thinking it would be easy to get my very well trained pups to work with me. It was a complete false thought, and out of 2 rolls of film I only deemed a couple photos usable. Because I have imitated his work, I have a lot more respect for him. What he does is hard and extremely impressive. One of my favorite works of his is the dog alphabet. He did every single letter in the alphabet out of his dogs. He also bases some of his photography off of older classic photos, like the one below. I find Wegmans work very different and wonderful. Dogs are certainly one of my favorite things, so I am very fond of his work.

Andy Goldsworthy 1/20/15

Andy Goldsworthy is a British sculptor, environmentalist and photographer. His work is based out of Scotland, where he still resides. Most of his art was made from the years 1976-1986. One interesting fact about Goldsworthy is that is work is based about the things around him. Common materials that he works with are flowers, icicles, snow, pinecones, twigs, stones, thorns, leaves and mud. He is easily one of my favorite artists. I find all of his work to be very intriguing and inspiring. He doesn't just take photos or make sculptures he also uses naturalistic and organic elements in all of his work. Because of that the natural course of nature takes effect, which I find wonderful. He quotes "Each work grows, stays, decays – integral parts of a cycle which the photograph shows at its heights, marking the moment when the work is most alive. There is an intensity about a work at its peak that I hope is expressed in the image. Process and decay are implicit".


Because I love nature and also love photography, I find Goldsworthys pieces to be that of a genius. They are simple, and full of colors and beauty. He makes a lot of circle based work, and river like shapes. The colors he uses go in and out of context, and are always perfectly photographed. I can't pick a favorite piece, but I do enjoy his ice series to be one of my personal favorites, as well as the leaves. People have often thought of Goldsworthy to be crazy because he speaks of "nature energy" and "mineral virtues of trees" but I don't think he is. I find him to be a complete genius. There is not a piece of art that I don't like of his, and now after researching him more in depth, I am more obsessed with his work now than ever. 

Tree Ice Soul (Leaves (Scotland), Bamboo Shoots (Japan),

Banksy 1/18/15

Banksy is a popular English graffiti artist. His current identity is unknown to the public. His technique is satirical street art, covering hot topics and negative connotations. A lot of documentaries have been done on his works. He does't name his works, but people do, and a couple of the publics favorites are Flower Thrower (2003, Jerusalem), Sweep it under the Carpet (2006-2007, London), and Cancelled Dreams (2010, Boston). His nearest artwork to Boise, is in LA, San Fran and New York. My best friend who lives in New Orleans lives very close to the (3rd) photo in this blog. The motto that goes along with his famous Cancelled Dreams (my personal favorite) is this " Go to work, send your kids to school, follow fashion, act normal, walk on the pavements, watch TV, save money for old age, obey the law then repeat after me: I am free". I find this quote that goes along with it to be completely relevant in this day. His paintings are quite large, most taking up alley walls, others only black and white colors being used with a splash of red or other color. A vocabulary word for his work would be picture plane, because most of the time his works are on a plane colored background, with the topic to the right center or left center. They are also realistic and representational.

Banksy has yet to be caught, which finds people constantly wondering who he is and where he will be painting next. He has painted in places such as Alabama; covering topics of racism and the KKK, New Orleans and the hurricanes, Jerusalem and wars and London (where people to believe he lives). In 2004 he painted a picture of cops kissing, which always gets people talking. I find Banksy to be very inspiring, and interesting. He covers topics that people don't enjoy talking about, or are too scared. He puts things out there for everyone to see and isn't afraid. He is one of my favorite artists and some of the photos below are some of my favorites.

Whoever Banksy is, he should continue with this style of work because it is beautiful.

Waldo Lee 1/18/15

Waldo Lee is a 2D/Photographer based out of Paris, France. Businesses that use his art work are some of the following: Audi, Toyota, Yoplait and Jeep. My roommate went to a museum and saw a couple of his digital manipulations and she thought I would like them. The Instagram account HiFructoseMagazine posts a lot of his work. These are a few of my favorites.

The first of these works is a Jeep ad. It is realistic and naturalistic to me. How it relates to Jeep doesn't make sense to me, but I find the 2D manipulation really cute. I like how to beaver is carving out miniature beavers with wood, pretty ironic. The second work named BeHanced (2014) is a very intriguing piece to me. It is a photo manipulation, and fascinates me. I've seen a couple of actual pieces of art like this, that are made out of some sort of material that moves with you're hand when you touch them. I don't know what they are called, but this reminds me of that. However, this is a photograph that he then cut up in some fancy photoshop thing I'm guessing, that made it look like that. The last is a piece of a playstation ad(2013), once again how it has anything to do with playstation confuses me, but I like it. I like the springs on the eyes and how big and pronounced the body parts are. A lot of his work is confusing, but in a way it is fascinating and I spent a lot of time trying to understand some other works of his.