poem/book visualization

"8 Count" by Charles Bukowski

from my bed I watch 3 birds on a telephone wire. one flies off. then another. one is left, then it too is gone. my typewriter is tombstone still. and I am reduced to bird watching. just thought I'd let you know, fucker.

I didn't want to use a traditional book format because I felt this poem was never intended to be any more than ranting. It would be presumptious to assume this poem had more purpose than it does. I installed my piece in a way that reflected the imagery done in Illustrator.
I stuck with literal, repetitive images because the poem was sparsely written but had very clear imagery. The build-up of the lines in the backgrounds of each image coincides with the build-up of frustration in the poem. This is also the element that brings the two simultaneous series of telephone wires and crumpled paper together.

self visualization

My concept for this project was pretty much "wing it."I had a lot of trouble getting started, but once I did I actually started to enjoy working on it. I made 5-6 drawings and had a general idea of what I was going to add to them digitally. I scanned them in and just kind of played around. I wanted it to look like something out of my sketchbook, something that was recognizable as my aesthetic. I think it turned out really well and I really like it. This project essentially taught me how to use Illustrator. I actually prefer it to Photoshop now.

poem

8 count

by Charles Bukowski

from my bed

I watch

3 birds

on a telephone

wire.

one flies

off.

then

another.

one is left,

then

it too

is gone.

my typewriter is

tombstone

still.

and I am

reduced to bird

watching.

just thought I'd

let you

know,

fucker.

This is my poem. I really enjoy Charles Bukowski's poetry even though he is known for being an asshole, a drunk, and a misogynist. His poems are just so honest and simple.
This poem is about his writer's block, something that frequently plagued him. In his other poems he often references his publisher and how he hated him and his deadlines, so it's safe to assume this poem is directed towards his publisher.
Although the imagery in this poem is sparse it is powerful. My plan for this project is to design three or four works in illustrator, either images of Bukowski typing or doing the things he'd rather be doing, and print them on (hopefully) handmade paper. Then I'm going to put them in a typewriter I have. The typewriter will have several keys missing, and a wire bird standing on top, as if the birds have been picking at his typewriter while Bukowski's been picking his brain. I also want to have several other wires present, either on the wall behind the typewriter or somehow on the typewriter to abstractly represent telephone wires.

dia:beacon

Dia:Beacon is a beautiful gallery and I loved that I recognized just about every artist in there. I really enjoyed seeing the works of artists I've studied in Conceptual Art like Richard Serra and Sol LeWitt. Their pieces, especially Richard Serra's, are meant to be experienced and not just seen in pictures. Serra's work was so amazing; walking through his sculptures was being on a roller-coaster. They were dizzying and exciting and a little scary at the same time. I also liked seeing works by artists I've researched for projects like Dan Flavin and Agnes Martin.
My favorite was probably "Mapping the Studio I" by Bruce Nauman. The dim coloring of the video and the sounds and grainy quality changed the mood of the entire room, and sitting on the chairs in the center of the room made you feel like you were in the video. I also really loved Robert Smithson's "Map of Broken Glass." It was beautiful and intriguing yet dangerous, as it was compromised of broken glass. Because it was so captivated I wanted to touch it and dig through it even though it would be painful and would piss off the curators. I guess that's kind of a strange reaction but it was a strange piece.

portraits

Cui Xiuwen's works are not casual portraits of young women in China. She has purpose in her photographs; the vulnerability of these girls, their maternal natures, their harsh makeup, and their contorted poses frequently contradict each other but still work together to present a whole picture of these girls and women. I personally see a common theme of oppression running throughout these photographs. Their poses appear to be reacting to unseen pressures of the government, their families, or social expectations. Their physical features, like their makeup and pregnancies, seem to illustrate the pressure these girls are under to grow up faster than they may want.

Cindy Sherman's various series of portraits all have a similar rawness to them. Her untitled film stills feature herself as different characters. It makes me wonder if she creates these characters to showcase the various sides of herself or the various characters she feels she or every woman contains. She shows all of the female archetypes rather than specific people and I think it really makes you stop and wonder what kind of woman you are.

Frida Kahlo's self portraits are especially interesting because she has painted herself many times, in many different locations with various props. All of them contain so much symbolic imagery that represents different aspects of her and her life. For example, in the above painting she wears a necklace of thorns, similar to the crown of thorns Jesus wore, to show the suffering she has borne. She looks excessively feminine with the flowers on her head but they kind of seem like they don't belong there, like that's not really her style. She also looks a little angry but is still very beautiful. They're honest and painstakingly done. I'm hoping to draw from Kahlo's symbolic imagery in my own self portrait.

illustrator project #1

illustrator excercise #1

project #1

excercise

image

This is the image I'll be working with for my project. I've already made some alterations; I darkened the overall image and added a tinge of green so that it would have more of the mood of the picture taken without flash. I also whitened up her pants.

greg, tuen, jeff, and cindy.

Gregory Crewdson was my favorite out of all of the artists we discussed. I loved the dark, moody feel and his use of lighting, but what struck me the most was just the honesty of his work. I'm really curious about the people in his pictures, and their lives. They were always unaware and generally in some kind of unfavorable situation, and it made me sad but it also made them feel real, even though the photographs have a very surreal quality to them. I feel like there are so many clues hidden in his photographs and you just need to find them. Above is my favorite, from his Beneath the Roses series. It's just so striking.

I wasn't as into Tuen Hocks, but I do think his process of oil painting over colored pictures and black and white pictures is really unique and gives his work a really interesting touch.

Jeff Wall is similar to Crewdson in the way that their photographs feature a people in somewhat every day environments doing somewhat everyday things, but Wall's are much warmer in color, with a 70's vibe. They also don't grab me the same way Crewdson's do. I like the motion of the milk in the photograph above but the one of people just walking doesn't do much for me.

I really like Cindy Sherman's photographs because they don't really look posed. They really look like "Untitled Film Stills." Or maybe I just like them because she's beautiful and I love the whole concept of pin-up girls in their off-time, caught unaware. They're very soft, and a little sad but brightly lit. It's interesting because I really didn't dig Tuen Hocks photographs of himself, but I do like Cindy Sherman's. While it seems vain at heart I guess it's really the only way to acheive exactly the photograph you want.
This picture is my favorite because I'm pretending that's me in my city apartment someday. "Oh, this old thing?"

inspire

I had trouble finding "inspiration" pictures because as soon as I was asked to explain what inspires me, I couldn't remember.
I like Polaroid pictures because they provide instant gratification like nothing else.
And I like Piet Mondrian because I like sharp, contrasting colors against black or white.
So I Google searched "Polaroid Piet Mondrian" and found this.


I like printmaking.



That is my favorite piece from my portfolio. It's from a printmaking/collage class I took at UArts. Ever since that class my artwork has taken on a style similar to relief prints.


I also like Toothpaste for Dinner. I really appreciate that cartoonist's sense of humor.