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.