Ginny Grayson and Perceptual Drawing

"Looking Down on the Self," Ginny Grayson

The Veils of Perception

Although I have worked with a variety of methods and mediums, from works on paper to video/performance, it is the activity of drawing itself that is the most compelling for me and is the central basis from which my practice unfolds.

Drawing has long been thought of as the process most suited to giving form to ideas and expressing the internal workings of the imagination and the body, due to its immediacy of touch. This tactile seismographic directness is what attracts me to it as a primary source of communication.

At its essence my work endeavours to relate to the viewer from a personal level the ‘actuality’ of experience itself. It is ‘how’ the work is imaged and made that is most significant to its reading. Perceptual/observational drawing is especially engaging for me – encompassing memory, time, emotion and a high level of concentration. it absorbs, frustrates, excites, terrifies, exhausts and humbles. I often feel blind when drawing from 'life', the more I look the more I see. The more beyond comprehension it all seems to become. At this point I relate to Lucien Freuds remark that -"The harder you concentrate the more things that are really in your head start coming out". A level of completion in a drawing is difficult for me to attain, there always seems to be more that can be explored, learnt and discovered. But it is a conundrum I am becoming more comfortable with as the physicality and tension that manifests in the work through this response, through the process of drawing, re-drawing layering and erasure, is essential to what I am seeking to communicate in it’s direct link to the visceral and the ambiguous effect temporal transience has on our state of being.

Ginny Grayson 2008

Link Ginny Grayson's Website

Stanley Lewis - Painter

Front Room w Horizontal Table, Ballpoint Pen, 2003, Stanley Lewis

C. Stanley Lewis, or Stanley Lewis is an artist and art teacher. He was a member of the Bowery Gallery in New York City and is still a member of Oxbow Gallery in Northampton, Massachusetts. Now he is represented by Lohin Geduld Gallery in New York, NY. His work has been shown recently at Salander O'Reilly Galleries in New York City

An Emeritis professor from American University, he also taught at the Kansas City Art Institute from 1969 to 1986, and currently teaches part-time at the New York Studio School.

There was a (recent) major retrospective of Lewis' work at the American University Museum in the Katzen Arts Center in Washington, D.C.. He was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship in the spring of 2005. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University and Yale School of Art. - source, Wikipedia

Link Virtual Gallery, Paintings and Drawings

Link Midwest Paint Group

The Threadneedle Prize for Painting and Sculpture

Self Portrait by Sheila Wallis, Threadneedle Prize Winner, 2009

(UK.) Artists are invited to submit representational and figurative work that retains a strong reference to the real world...Work must be based on observation, rather than concept or abstraction. All themes are admissible; traditional as well as innovative interpretations are both welcome...

Two major prizes are available: The Threadneedle Prize (£25,000) and the new Federation of British Artists Emerging Artist Prize (£5,000). Each of the six runners-up for The Threadneedle Prize receive £1,000.

The competition is open to all artists - established and emerging talent - aged 18 and over, living or working in the UK. Approximately 60 works, selected from a national open submission, will be exhibited at the Mall Galleries, London in September 2009.

To view 2009 submissions and prize winners, click on the link below.

Link The Threadneedle Prize for Painting and Sculpture

Vermeer's Naughty Milkmaid - Alexandra Peers, The Daily Beast

The Milkmaid, Vermeer, c. 1658-61

The Dutch master’s most famous painting is on display in the U.S. for the first time since World War II. Alexandra Peers on the portrait’s erotic secrets.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, in big need of a fall blockbuster, is rewriting art history to be just a bit more salacious. Walter Liedtke, the curator of its Vermeer’s Masterpiece: The Milkmaid exhibition, says the painting, long interpreted as a salute to the working classes, is actually a kind of discreet 17th-century paean to voyeurism, desire and sex. One highlight of the controversial new spin: The milkmaid’s famous open milk jug, according to the Met, is representative of “a portion of the female anatomy.”

Liedtke, the Met’s curator of European paintings, grants that his view is far from the mainstream. The famous circa-1660 painting is usually misread, he says, “as a Madonna of the cow pastures.” Because latter painters such as Jean-Francois Millet glorified the dignity of laborers, we typically see Vermeer’s milkmaid through those noble eyes, he explains...

Link The Daily Beast,Vermeer's Naughty Milkmaid, Alexandra Peers

Link Metropolitan Museum of Art, Vermeer Special Exhibition, Sept. 10 - Nov. 29, 2009

Gorky, Modern Painter - " From Mimic to Master of Invention"

Water of the Flowery Mill, A.Gorky, Oil, 1944

PHILADELPHIA — Two stories are well known about the Armenian-American artist Arshile Gorky. One is that he came to a terrible end, a suicide in his mid-40s, after a hammering series of catastrophes. The other is that he took a very long time — around 20 years, until he was in his late 30s — to become the artist who painted some of the most magnetic and heart-rending pictures of the 20th century.

Before that he was many other artists. He was Cézanne, Picasso, Léger, Miró, André Masson and Roberto Matta, more or less in that order, as he assiduously and almost selflessly emulated a succession of existing personal styles to teach himself how to be a painter.

This unusually long learning curve in his relatively short life can give a chronological survey of his art, like the magisterial “Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective” at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, an unbalanced shape. Gorky’s protracted apprenticeship was followed by distinctive wonders: the rustling and throbbing landscape in “Water of the Flowery Mill”; the penumbral, narcotized mood piece called “Soft Night”; the meat-colored “Agony,” which suggests a slab of burned flesh and dates from 1947, the year before Gorky died...- source, NY Times, article by Holland Carter

Link Full Text, NY Times, Holland Carter

Link Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective, Philadelphia Museum of Art

Link Google Images

“Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective” runs through Jan. 10 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. It then travels to the Tate Modern in London and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.

Richard Diebenkorn (Modern Painter): Shifting Form - Paul Ruiz

Seated Nude, Charcoal, Richard Diebenkorn, 1966

"What drives some artists to output work with almost rapid abandon, and others who feel driven to continually re-state, re-work or edit their work?"

This is something that I often contend with in the studio, wondering how to strike some balance between bursts of activity and the need to reflect, critically adjust and reshape the output.

So I turned to the work of Richard Diebenkorn (1922-1993).

Had I paid more attention during art history lectures, perhaps I would not have overlooked the significance and strength of this American painter’s work. Yet the scope of his work is broad so I’ll consider a few works on paper here.

In considering Diebenkorn’s drawings I felt a strong affinity with his method; they strike a strong chord with me as I struggle to balance creative impulse with the rigour of critical revision. As those who have drawn from life will know, forceful and convincing studies of the human form are rarely as simple as the medium (charcoal in this instance) might suggest – as in the following work (above).

You can see and almost feel the vigour of Diebenkorn’s thoughts and hand as they interrogate and study human form. The marks which seem to randomly cut across the surface are sensuous without being sentimental – their primary focus is on the overall sweep, weight, presence and gesture of the human subject – a way of responding to both the subtle and bold rhythms inherent in the body...Paul Ruiz, 2009

Link Full Text, Art Catalyst Blog by Paul Ruiz, Painter

Link Richard Diebenkorn, Wikipedia

You Are What You Eat - Photos by Mark Menjivar

Owner of Defunct Amusement Park | Alpine, TX | 1-Person
Household | Former WW II Prisoner of War. | 2007

You Are What You Eat

"For three years I traveled around the country examining the issue of hunger. The more time I spent speaking and listening to individual stories, the more I began to think about the foods we consume and the effects they have on us as individuals and communities. An intense curiosity and questions about stewardship led me to begin to make these unconventional portraits.

A refrigerator is both a private and a shared space. One person likened the question, "May I photograph the interior of your fridge?" to asking someone to pose nude for the camera. Each fridge is photographed "as is." Nothing added, nothing taken away." - Mark Menjivar, Center for Photography Website

Link Mark Menjivar, Center for Photography

Images copyright, Mark Menjivar

Wee Planets - Alexandre Duret-Lutz

Green Eiffel by Alexandre Duret-Lutz

Wee Planets is a collection of original panoramas created by Alexandre Duret-Lutz. His pictures are 360 x 180 degree panoramic pictures projected to look like small planets using a projection called stereographic projection.

Link Wee Planets

Link FAQ

Kerry Skarbakka - Constructed Visions, Perpetual Falling

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Kerry Skarbakka is a visual artist working in photography and video. He received his B.A. in Studio Art with an emphasis in Sculpture in 1994 from the University of Washington School of Art. In 2003 he completed his MFA in Photography from Columbia College in Chicago.

Artist's Statement (partial) - "Philosopher Martin Heideggar described human existence as a process of perpetual falling, and it is the responsibility of each individual to catch ourselves from our own uncertainty. This unsettling prognosis of life informs my present body of work..." - source, Kerry Skarbakka Website

Link Kerry Skarbakka Website

Model Poses Nude for Life Drawing Class on Daytime TV

Australia, July 9, 2009

Paul Revoir, Mail Online

"Lunchtime TV is well known as the preserve of news bulletins, women's talk shows, Australian soap re-runs and cosy family dramas."

"So you can imagine the surprise when mothers sitting down with their children flicked over to Channel 4 yesterday and were greeted by a fully naked woman..."

"...The programme saw the camera lingering on the model's naked form as the artist talked through the process of drawing her. But the show which was filmed at Mr Hume's studio has sparked a backlash from viewers..."

Link Daily Mail/Mail Online, Article by Paul Revoir, Full Text and Comments

Smarthistory - an Online Destination for Art and Art History

Why We Made Smarthistory

We are dissatisfied with the large expensive art history textbook. We find that they are difficult for many students, contain too many images, and just are not particularly engaging. In addition, we find the web resources developed by publishers to be woefully uncreative. We had developed quite a bit of content for our online Western art history courses and we had also created many podcasts, and a few screencasts for our Smarthistory blog. So, it finally occurred to us, why not use the personal voice that we use when we teach online, along with the multimedia we had already created for our blog and for our courses, to create a more engaging "web-book" that could be used in conjunction with art history survey courses. We also realized that this content would be useful to museum visitors and other informal learners. We are committed to joining the growing number of teachers who make their content freely available on the web.

Smarthistory was founded by Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker as a blog in 2005. Since then, many people have contributed their content and skills to the project. - source, Smarthistory Website

Link Smarthistory Website

Winner of the Webby Award, Education Category, 2009

Spencer Tunick - Photography and the Nude

Title: Düsseldorf 4 (Museum Kunst Palast) 2006, Medium: c-print mounted between plexi, Size, h: 30 x w: 37.5 in / h: 76.2 x w: 95.25 cm, Edition/Set of 6, Copyright © Spencer Tunick

Spencer Tunick (born January 1, 1967) is an American artist. He is best known for his installations that feature large numbers of nude people posed in artistic formations. These installations are often situated in urban locations throughout the world, although he has also has done some "Beyond The City" woodland and beach installations and still does individuals and small groups occasionally. Tunick is the subject of three HBO documentaries, Naked States[1], Naked World[2], and Positively Naked[3]. His models are volunteers who receive a limited edition photo as a reward. - Wikipedia

Link Wikipedia

Link Artist's Website

Design Observer - Current Ideas and Conversations About Design Thinking

Design, Culture, Change. The Design Observer Website is a comprehensive, rich web environment with stimulating information about design and culture delivered in multiple formats under the headings: Observatory, Change Observer, Places, Observer Media.

Design Observer was founded in October 2003 by Michael Bierut, William Drenttel, Jessica Helfand and Rick Poynor with design and technology by Ruby Studio.

Copyright ©2003-2009 Observer Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Link Design Observer Website

What is Design Thinking Anyway?

"Most companies today rely on analytical thinking, which merely refines current knowledge, producing small improvements to the status quo. To innovate, organizations need to employ the characteristics of great design: a deep understanding of the user, creative resolution of tensions, collaborative prototyping and continuous modification of ideas and solutions. This is design-thinking." - Roger Martin, The Design Observer Group Website, 2009

" 'What is Design Thinking' is an excerpt from Roger Martin's new book The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking is the Next Competitive Advantage (Harvard Business Press, 2009)."

Permalink Article

Link The Design Observer Website

TED - Ideas Worth Spreading

;Al Gore at TED2006; Jane Goodall at TED2003;

"TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with the annual TED Conference in Long Beach, California, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK, TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Program, the new TEDx community program, this year's TEDIndia Conference and the annual TED Prize." - source, TED website

Link TED

Scientist, Beau Lotto, speaks about how and why we see what we do.

"Our aim is to explore and explain how and why we see what we do." - Lotto Lab website.

How do we see color, value, shape, and to what purpose? Scientist Beau Lotto, founder of Lotto Lab, shares his research and opinions.

This video was from his lecture at TEDGlobal 2009. TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design.

Link Lotto Lab

Link TED

Women In Art by Philip Scott Johnson

Women In Art from Philip Scott Johnson on Vimeo.

Fearful Symmetry: The Search for Beauty in Modern Physics

BEAUTY BEFORE TRUTH

My colleagues and I in fundamental physics are the intellectual descendants of Albert Einstein; we like to think that we too search for beauty. Some physics equations are so ugly that we cannot bear to look at them, let alone write them down. Certainly, the Ultimate Designer would use only beautiful equations in designing the universe! we proclaim. When presented with two alternative equations purporting to describe Nature, we always choose the one that appeals to our aesthetic sense. "Let us worry about beauty first, and truth will take care of itself!" Such is the rallying cry of fundamental physicists.

The reader may perhaps think of physics as a precise and predictive science and not as a subject fit for aesthetic contemplation. But, in fact, aesthetics has become a driving force in contemporary physics. Physicists have discovered something of wonder: Nature, at the fundamental level, is beautifully designed. It is this sense of wonder that I wish to share with you.

A. Zee is a professor of theoretical physics at the University of California- Santa Barbara and the author of several books for the general public. The New York Times declared that Zee "writes with wry, poetic humor," The Washington Post described his writing as "brash, breezy, and authoritative," and Publishers Weekly called him "an extraordinary writer: playful, inspired, and brilliant." His book,An Old Man's Toy, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction.

Link PhysicsCentral: In Search of Beauty by A. Zee, Book Synopsis

The Campaign For Drawing

"The Campaign for Drawing was launched in 2000 by the Guild of St George, a small charity founded by John Ruskin, whose writings on art, architecture, natural history, social and economic issues helped to shape Victorian cultural life. In 1871, he set up the Guild to assist the liberal education of artisans. The Guild initiated the Campaign to celebrate Ruskin's centenary and to promote his belief that drawing is a key to understanding and knowledge. Now an independent charity, the Campaign raises the profile of drawing as a tool for thought, creativity, social and cultural engagement."

Link The Campaign For Drawing Website

Anne Truitt, Sculptor and Writer

Anne Truitt, 17th Summer, Acrylic/Wood, 1974

"The retrospective...presents Truitt's column sculptures that became the hallmark of her profoundly focused practice. Acting as a painter as well as a sculptor, the artist wrapped color around the corners of these sculptures, creating visually poetic relationships between structure and surface. Throughout her work, she investigated proportion, scale and color, as well as perception and memory." Source: Hirshhorn Museum Website

Link Anne Truitt Exhibition, Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, DC

Link Anne Truitt Official Website

Link The Washington Post, Article by Blake Gopnik, 10/11/09