Artist: Janet De Boos

Janes DeBoos is a ceramicist from Australia who specializes in practical items such as cups and saucers. I attended a lecture she gave while she was visiting Boise State University this year. The theme of her lecture was collaboration and she mapped how her work moved from her personal studio which supplied local shops in Australia, to her work being featured in exhibitions, to her work with developing mass-produced dishes in China.  

DeBoos expressed how she has always preferred to make practice ceramic pieces, finding that making art for art’s sake isn’t as fulfilling. To bridge the gap between the practical/commercial and the artistic, many of her exhibitions are based around similar with variation, and balance. An example is her exhibit: Vase. In Vase, she has a large, round platter on which a collection of different vessels are positioned and displayed. DeBoos explains that it is the tray that binds the objects together, and therefore makes them a singular object. She is able to stay true to her purpose because each element is able to be sold and used individually, and is not relegated to only being used as a visual object (objectified?).

A collaborative project with a Chinese designer. They created a limited edition bone china set that signature sets now resell for 10k among collectors.

Artist: Ann Hamilton

Ann Hamilton’s art is primarily expressed through installation exhibits. Her preferred media is textiles, or things that have similar qualities to textiles, such as line and text. Her reason for this speaks directly to her purpose for her art, she identifies the threads which make up the textile as a metaphoric representation of society. Even though each thread is combined with others to make a new object, cloth, it is still recognizable as an individual thread.

 To explore her ideas of individuals connecting she has done such things as using magenta graduals falling along the surface of a wall to represent America’s bloody and secret heritage. Then the walls had highpoints made from plaster to ketch the granules as they fell. Once fully realized the two created words to a poem that related to her theme. throughout the installation, President Lincoln’s second inaugural speech played over speakers.

In another exhibit, she created to rooms an open industrial building, using large panels of shear cloth. Then images where projected on the two panels, one depicting writing, the other reading. The building was left dark, save for the projectors, and viewers were invited to walk amongst the walls and images.

For this last one she used the building of a failed textile plant near her house. I was particularly interested in this idea because of my own endeavors to find a space that I can repurpose for my art, and make available to others to do the same.

Entry Wk 16.2

What do I want my art to evolve into? We were asked that question at the beginning of the semester. At the time I said that I wanted it to evolve into being blue with warm highlights. That is to say, I have to fucking idea. I became an art minor simply to gain some basis to do whatever I was going to do. I have never considered myself an Artist and other than a few fantasies, hadn’t really thought of becoming so. It’s been a year now, this spring semester has been my fourth consecutive term at BSU and my thoughts have fluxuated, but I am still no closer to an idea than at the beginning of the semester.

The original motivation for becoming a part of the Art Department at BSU was because I wanted to take Art 331(?), Carving. That one class has lead me through all of this headache and pain-in-the-ass, and may have killed my GPA (depending on how my final portfolio and journal fair), but it has also introduced me to lots of great people that I wouldn’t have know otherwise. Since I’m still a few classes away from meeting the prerequs, time will tell if it’s been worth it.  

A year ago I thought of combining painting and carpentry, not that I knew anything about painting other than I like looking at paintings. Then I thought I could learn to illustrate my books, or create book art in some fashion. But this drawing class is kicking my ass, a week to go, four drawings each half done, and I had to restart one yesterday, so maybe that is out. I have enjoyed Art 108, creating sculptures, installations, and 3-deminrional compositions (there may not be a difference, but am covering my bases), I feel like I am actually creating something, not just conveying an idea that’s in my head. It’s difficult to explain the difference. When I write I feel as if I’m creating a new world, and when someone reads what I’ve written, they inhabit that world. When I draw, sketch, paint, I feel as if I am just showing something that is in my mind. I don’t feel as if there is anything beyond what is on the picture plane. When I create a 3-demintional object, I’m inhabiting the current world in a more profound manner than my physical being can. Maybe it’s like giving birth, the realization that one has brought a new life into the world. The realization of my sculpture is a new life.