Art and Life

This artist is Japanese and uses a combination of 2D and 3D art by placing sculptures in front of paintings.  She likes to play with light and color to create a dramatic and movie-like quality with her artwork.  I especially admire the manipulation of both light in her paint and the way that light interacts with 3D forms.  In doing so, Ohata creates a harmony between her sculptures and paintings.

Last Thursday's field trip took me to areas of louisville that I've never seen before.  It's easy to get excited about the recent developments in the Ville, like the restaurants and housing built at Cardinal Town or the shiny new KFC Yum center.  With state of the art accommodations popping up left and right, one has to wonder if there is any money left to clean up Louisville.  Our city is known nationwide for air pollution.  After visiting rubber town and the landfill site I wondered what has been done to help clean up these toxic parts of town.  Thankfully, Louisville's recent community efforts have been helping improve our environment.  Concentrations of the most common carcinogen found in our atmosphere have been lowered 75% since 2005.

This was a little awkward to photograph.  The cans are meant to be picked up and turned around.  The words and cans are part of a series but don't need to be read or viewed in a particular order.   

Wood burning stove, handmade from steel cans

Blogging is Theraputic for Teens by Scott Sincoff Being new to blogging, I would have to say it has made a nice outlet.  Most news stories about the internet's social scene involve cyber bullying or the negative implications of social media on today's adolescents.  Scott Sincoff's article looks to the positive effects of social media on the lives of teenagers.  A recent study conducted by The University of Hafia in Isreal selected stressed out high school either write in a blog or an old-fashioned diary.  Two groups of students were told to write about their emotions or social conflicts in a blog twice a week.  Another two groups were told to blog about whatever was on their mind.  The other groups were told to keep a traditional, private diary.  Results of the experiment yeilded that students who were able to publicly write about their personal troubles experienced a greater mood improvement versus those who kept a private diary....

Thinking Caps Vaughn Bell's artwork takes a humorous approach in looking at the the human desire to tend to and control the land.   Thinking Caps is and installation piece incorporating elements of sound and paper sculpture.   Thinking Caps  is about the ideal mountain setting, a place that allows contemplation.  The sculpture creates an environment of solitude that is unique from the surrounding environment.  I think Bell's work is funny and she helps us see the ridiculousness in thinking that nature is an entity separate from ourselves that we have the power to dictate.

Acorns,beads, paint

                  Television commercials are evolving to keep up with our fast-paced and technology driven lives.  Advertisers are packing the most punch as possible into their time slot, using bright colors, infectious tunes, or dramatic mini-plot lines.  The Super Bowl commercial by SeaWeb proves that silence and a black screen provide the audience with the chance to slow down and contemplate a message.  Though plenty of commercials have used the idealistic wildlife footage, a cheesy narrative is usually involved.  In this case, no words are necessary.  Contrasting the larger than life beauty found at sea with a blank screen makes us wonder immediately what our planet would be without oceans. 

Betty Beaumont has been referred to as one of the leading figures in environmental art.  The Canadian born artist lives and works in the states.  Beaumont graduated from Berkeley in the 70's with degrees in environment arts, as well as architecture. Green Museum: Betty Beaumont Teddy Bear Island 1973 Teddy Bear Island is an underwater island; submerged due to the construction of a dam, nearby.  The artist uses a fragmented space, resulting in the viewer's need to move around in order to see all aspects of the work.  The intended experience of Teddy Bear Island , is to be one of an introspective nature.  The viewer is to evaluate their personal belief systems due to the unique environment produced by Beaumont.  The yellow cables are a metaphorical demarcation of the land.  Beaumont's photography of the underwater scene evokes a sense of mystery.   Beaumont wants to challenge socially constructed norms and does so by takin...