Happy Holidays and Have a good Break.

Enjoy the snow, your travels, and see you in the Spring!  

Meanwhile...enjoyt Kish student Andy Hongisto's animation he made for one of Carol-lynn's classes.

The synopsis: 

A bored patron of the desert is tired of everyday life. He soon finds out his desert homeland isn't what he assumed it was...

Systemic abstractors vs. pubic hair drawing

Big Hairy Bush, by Don Reylea (click to enlarge)

I really enjoyed finding out about the work of digital artist Don Reylea.  At first glance, my assumption was that he was drawing images by using pubic hair.  They were beautiful yet mysterious.  When I read about his process, it turns out that he uses a custom computer software application that is coded in Adobe Director and C++ to build an algorithm that goes through the process of making the drawing for him.  I appreciate the concept of Reylea to design a system that goes through many of the same visual thought-processes of an artist making a drawing.  The concept of deciding what to emphasize, what to subtract, hide, subdue...how to be reconcile control and tight rendering skills with improvisation, and gestural mark making.  Below Reylea discusses his creative and technical process on how he designs and achieves his results.

Part of Don Reylea's Artist Statement:

With programmatic art it is difficult or at least non-intuitive to capture the essence of struggle in a work. It is easy and often desirable to create optimized accurate algorithms that do exactly what you want them to do. If the programming is accurate there is never a need to erase. The obvious programmatic erasure is total deletion leaving no trace of what was there before. This project experiments with what happens when we try the non-obvious. We create algorithms that loosely render an image and then try to self correct the errors by erasing with a loosely accurate eraser. The hair particles are an ideal choice for a drawing tool. Because the hair grows erratically it will always grow out of bounds requiring an erasure. The eraser leaves remnants of what was there before, evidence of a struggle.

"Systemic Abstractors vs. Pubic Realists" is an exploration of conflict within a generative art work.

Technical Brief:

"Systemic Abstractors vs. Pubic Realists" is a custom software application that is coded in Adobe Director and C++.

In "Systemic Abstractors vs. Pubic Realists" there are several classes of program objects that battle on the image area for dominance and control of space. The systemic abstractors abstract what has already been drawn. They plot out a rectangle of space and create a concentric pattern based on pixel values surrounding them. The pubic realists are autonomous particles that grow hair and attempt to loosely render an image with a configurable degree of realism. The third class of objects are the erasers. There are two types of erasers, block erasers and hair particles that mutate into gray hairs. This class of objects evaluate the lighter areas of the source image and loosely determine whether the are is too dark. If so, the erasers erase.

Be sure to check out Don Relea's shockwave animation demonstrating the development of his images by clicking HERE.

To create your own Pubic Hair Images using Reylea's system, click HERE.

Video Art Saturday!

Video art is a type of art which relies on moving pictures and comprises video and/or audio data. (It should not however be confused with television or experimental cinema). Video art came into existence during the 1960s and 1970s, is still widely practiced and has given rise to the widespread use of video installations.

Andy Warhol Eating a Hamburger

Primary, A video by Gary Hill. Made in 1978

Emerge, by William Lamson

Monty Python: Art Gallery Sketch (not video art, but fun)

Peter Campus: Three Transitions (1970's)

Rope @ De Service Garage Open Studio. Zoro Feigl, amsterdam 2007.

What an art restorator does

Kenneth S. Moser, an art conservator, in his studio at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where he has been restoring many of the historical portraits that hang at City Hall. Behind him is one of them, a Francis Carpenter portrait of Myron Holley Clark, who was a governor of New York in the 1850s.

Mr. Moser employs a vast collection of brushes to do his work. He uses them, among other things, to fill in gaps of missing paint, to glue in flaking pieces of paint, to apply varnish to the canvas and to clear off dust.

Mr. Moser uses magnifying glasses to work on the portrait behind him, of George Washington by M. M. Swett.

A moist cotton swab enables Mr. Moser to remove some of the yellowing varnish from Washington's portrait.

Detail of the portrait of Washington before and after Mr. Moser worked on it

Mr. Moser's studio in the Brooklyn Navy Yard includes paintings in various stages of restoration.

The interior of the Governors Room in City Hall, where some of the many portraits that will be restored hang. Forty-three of the 108 portraits in City Hall have been refurbished so far, and the goal is to restore 10 more by next fall.

Artists Reception at Kish for Juried Student Show in Gallery!

The Opening Artist Reception of the Juried Kish Student Art Show is this Wednesday, December 10th from 2-4pm with the award announcement at 3pm.

This exhibition will be on display December 8, 2008 - January 28, 2009.  A closing reception is scheduled for January 28, 2009 from 2-4 pm. 

The student work is excellent, and is a must see.  So go see the show, and join the artists at the reception to appreaciate the fine work and congratulate them on being at accepted.  There are 40 pieces in total in medias including: animation, ceramic, digital imaging, jewelry, sculpture, drawing, and painting.  Gallery hours for December 8 - 17, 2008: Monday 1-7 pm, Tuesday 12-7pm, and Wednesday 2-9 pm.

-Ronna and Michelle

Monster by the Sea by Andy Hongisto  

Concept Art

Just wanted to share with everyone a pretty amazing site which is called concept art.com It's almost hard to describe how many interesting pictures are. A lot of it is focused on the concept art that goes into video games, movies, cars, and pretty much anything. Their forums are huge, and you can browse through posts focusing on finished products or check on the an artists drawings or sketches that are currently in the process of being finished. I couldn't find a website backing up my five star rating but hopefully you all can trust me, seriously its worth a minute to check out.

Mudslingers Holiday Sale! One Day Only!

MUDSLINGERS HOLIDAY SALE!!

Dec. 11, 2008

Time: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Location: In front of the Library at Kishwaukee College

* Come do your Holiday shopping, one stop shop!

H.S.L.B.

The Heart Shaped Light Bulb (HSLB) is, "a metaphor for having a new idea of love, or a lovely new idea", according to Coast, founder of this idea. Now days with the media being so influential, you can't help but hear the same song on the radio playing over and over again all day, that is untill a "new" hit comes up and replaces that song in doing the same process all over again.

The HSLB is an idea for artists to pursue and work passionately on what they love to do, rather than feeling persuaded into trends that have been set by society. Even tho the HSLB is focused on music, it isn't limited to other arts; it's encouraged for artists to pursue and discover their full potential in whatever it is that they love to do. The HSLB is a community of artists, mostly musicians, who share the same idea of doing what you love to do without any limitations from society or the media's censorship.

Soo.... with that in mind, feel free to peep at the links below and take a look at this idea of the Heart Shaped Light Bulb.

 

Coast, musician and founder of the Heart Shaped Light Bulb.

Sketch done by C. Gunnz 

Some Recent Drawings

Some of my recent Drawings for my Comic, Drifter. Just was curious what anyone thought about these works, thanks for the input!
Anyone interested in checking out my comic can click the link on the sidebar under Student/Faculty Art Corner titled "Andy Checkmark".

Art World Prankster Banksy's latest..Would you like flies with that?

Banksy (the subversive, cheeky, street artist known for stencil art, adding art to museums, pink elephants and more) branched out into animatronics with a temporary site-specific installation at The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill in NYC.  

Banksy mixes the theme of domesticated animals as the pets we buy to love, and domesticated animals that we buy to eat. The line is blurred with humor and bite...pun intended? Bon apetit!

NOTCOT: Banksy's Village Petstore & Charcoal Grill from Jean Aw on Vimeo.

Tapestry Collection on display at Art Inst of Chicago

After decades in storage, the Art Institute of Chicago will be displaying all 70 of their tapestries  from their collection, fresh after a massive go into storage for who knows how long.  Now is your shot to see them!

In the Press Release, the Art Institute explains the process of weaving tapestries, their function their use: 

"Because tapestries are made of pliable fiber, they can be rolled up and are thus far more easily transportable than framed paintings... 

Larger tapestries were hung in castles, abbeys, and mansions for decoration and to line drafty halls and rooms in an era before central heating. For major state and religious ceremonies, tapestries were also hung on the outside of buildings, suspended from balconies or attached directly to exterior walls, lining the streets... 

Painters who made the designs were often renowned artists in their own right, and the skilled weavers who translated the painted creations into woven threads went through long apprenticeships with master weavers."

Learn more about the show at Art Institute of Chicago website. The Divine Art: Four Centuries of Tapestries is up November 1, 2008–January 4, 2009.

Kish's Kaleidoscope Wants You to Join!

Hey Artists and Art Appreciators!

I think the Art Department should get more input in the school paper. What better way to bring your suggestions and make a difference than to join the team?

Ideas like:

• Kish Artist of the month profile (music, theater, fine arts)
  
• A team of Kish Cartoonists comic page every week!
• Better Publicity for student and Kish Art shows, receptions, lectures, and events, and performances
• And more....good place to learn, meet people, and get experience!

Make your voice HEARD.

Message from Kaleidoscope Staff Below:

HELP WANTED

The Kishwaukee College Kaleidoscope Newspaper is looking for students who are interested in being part of the campus newspaper.

Take it as a class and get credit for it, or just join the staff and be part of the team. Learn how to put a newspaper together and write articles seen by the entire campus.

Get first hand experience in the world of journalism, right here at Kishwaukee College.

The Kaleidoscope Newspaper wants you!

• Students with a knowledge of Mac Computers and In-Design
• Sports writers
• Graphic artists/designers
• Photographers
• Journalism majors
• Writers

Have an idea? A suggestion? Stop by the Student Activities Office (B-100), email us at kscope@kishwaukeecollege, drop a note in our mailbox or talk with Melissa Blake, Kaleidoscope Advisor, or Matt Rainwater, Editor-in-Chief.

Dale Chihuly's new Black Glass Vessels

Thomas Hoving of Artnet.com met with Dale Chihuly and reviews his glass works.   And when he saw Chihuly's pieces, he "went bananas."  

Dale Chihuly is probably the most influential and famous contemporary glass artist. The video is short but sweet. It shows some of Chihuly's new works as well as how he shapes and decorates them. I really enjoyed seeing some of what goes into making these fantastic glass sculptures. Thomas Hoving's enthusiasm is also fun to listen to during his interviews. Enjoy.

P.S. Did you notice that Chihuly wears an eye-patch?

Intro to Visual Art Claymation: Road Rage

A collaborative scene-oriented semi-improvisational multi-woven narrative of epic proportions. Forms manipulated in clay by a team of 20 plus dedicated Intro to Visual Art professionals. Team these guys together and this is what happens!



uploading....

Kish Art Instructor Carol-Lynn Swol work included in SOFA Chicago

In case you didn't hear, Kish Art Instructor Carol-Lynn Swol's work was included this year in the prestigious SOFA exposition. The show may be over, but congratulate her on participating in this great exhibition.

The SOFA exposition is billed as an international event designed to represent masterworks bridging design and fine art.  Over 100 galleries and art dealers representing 18 countries will have works from international artists on display for sale. There are only two SOFA expositions in the United States; a summer show in New York City and a fall show in Chicago. Swol's work was also included in the summer NYC SOFA exposition. She is represented by the David Collection in New York.

Swol stated that her exploration with Tyvek has allowed her to open up her passion for material. "I was enamored by the texture, color, feel, and durability of this material and excited to place what looked like paper, but was stronger than paper, on the body," she said. "It is through the body that we first interact with the world. Our body and its senses gather information for our mind to process, generating emotions and concepts through experience."  You can learn more about SOFA by clicking here. Read more about this in this "press release" from Kishwaukee as well.

Below is the piece exhibited at this year's SOFA exposition.

Carol-lynn Swol
Hoodoo Circle brooch, 2006
4.5 x 2 x 1.5"
Tyvek, sterling silver, stainless steel wire

Rebellion and Art...What should come next?

The one thing that remains the same is that Art always finds a way change. Being Avant-garde is a part of keeping things fresh to preventing stagnation by finding ways of rebelling against establishments, and tradition. Dadaism was the most obvious rebellious movement within the arts, but each generation finds its own way of pushing society's buttons. Being avant-garde means pushing the boundaries of what is accepted as the norm or the status quo, primarily in the cultural realm.

Have things gotten too corportate and cozy lately? If so, is that good or bad for art as we know it? What do you see as the role of art and rebellion today? Will it be hi-tech, low-tech, and what impact will it have on society and within the arts? What do you think will be the next new idea, bold experiment? Let's discuss in the comment section.

President-Elect Barack Obama's favorite Painting...

In case you were curious about the taste in art of our President-Elect Barack Obama, I learned from the "Two Coats of Paint" blog that Barack Obama's favorite paintings is called Hope, by George Frederic Watts.  

[At first glance, it is hardly the most comforting of images, with its pea-soup greens and murky greys; indeed, GK Chesterton quipped that Watts might more accurately have called his painting "Despair". But the painting's message of faith in the face of adversity fascinated Wright. "The harpist is sitting there in rags," he preached. "Her clothes are tattered as though she had been a victim of Hiroshima… [yet] the woman had the audacity to hope."  The phrase stuck irrevocably in Obama's mind. He adapted it as the title of his rousing address to the Democratic Convention in 2004. In 2006, he used it again, as the title of his second book.]

The Tate Museum of Art that owns Hope, has an interesting explaination about this mysterious piece: 

The figure of Hope is traditionally identified by an anchor. In this picture she is blindfolded, seated on a globe and playing a lyre of which all the strings are broken except one. Watts wanted to find a more original approach to symbolism and allegory. But Hope’s attempts to make music here appear futile and several critics argued that the work might have been more appropriately titled Despair. Watts explained that ‘Hope need not mean expectancy. It suggests here rather the music which can come from the remaining chord’.

Interesting to think about the effect and power of "Hope" in the face of the unknown during these complicated times ahead.  Discuss.

Street Artist Swoon, reveals all in ArtNet interview!

Street Art is an artform that in recent years has been gaining more and more attention. Nicole Davis, of Artnet did a video interview with street artist "Swoon," where she talks about her reasons for taking art into the streets. 

Swoon speaks of needing to push away from listening to people who told her, "I can't do that."Swoon explains, " I wanted to do something that was kind of bad...once I started working outside I just had this intense energy, that I could just make things, put them out and they'd be gone, ravished and destroyed... It was a way of clearing out every idea, so you are forced to keep making new things... this constant renewal allows you to move through a lot, because you are not going to keep anything. She later goes on to explain how this path led to other public art and collaborative projects with other artists.

It is really important as an artist to allow yourself a path to experiment, work in different medias and formats, and explore the lows and highs of your thought process in order to mature and know oneself. I enjoyed seeing Swoons work and hearing her explain how street art was an act of rebellion as well as a testing ground for her creative process. She creates her works using the wheat-pasting method popular in urban areas such as NYC. Let me know your thoughts. 

Our current Kish Art Gallery Artist, Kurt Webb

Artist Lecture and Gallery Reception at Kish Today!

The artist Kurt Webb who is showing at the Kishwaukee Art Gallery will be doing a powerpoint lecture on his art today in room A-225 from 11am-12pm.  

Staff Sergeant Depending on Prosthetic Limb: Amputation rate for U.S. troops twice that of past wars - 

Kurt Brian Webb. Two-color woodblock print. 10” x 8”. 2006

Following the artist lecture, there will be a reception open to the public from 12-2pm at the Kishwaukee Art Gallery with food, refreshments, art, and good company.   See you there!

Artist Comissions

Hey every peoples, I just wanted to make a post about some art commissions I had done of my characters recently. I commissioned both of these artists to do drawings of my characters, Phibi and Suni.

The first is by Stephen "Teben" Hetirc and the second is by Afu, who only did Phibi. They're both very different takes on my characters, as well as styles. I think it was a great way to get out into the art ommunity and talk to some artists! They were both really nice guys, and very cooperative as well. As for cost, both of them combined only cost me 25$, which is pretty darn cheap, and I think they both did an awesome job! Hope you think so too. Thanks!

Student Art Show Opportunity in 2D Display Case at Kish

The Art Department is now organizing the opportunity for Personal, Group, and Class shows in our 2-D Display Case in the Art Wing of Kish.

You may sing up next to display case to schedule your Kish Art Show of:
Photography, Prints, Drawings, Paintings, Collages, Mixed-Medias, and other 2D artwork.

Getting as many people to see your art is one of the main reasons we make art!

Our first show is already on exhibit, so check it out, and be sure to leave a comment and sign the guest book. Receptions are up to the artist(s) involved.

P.S. Check out the show of Charles Gneich's Acrylic Portrait paintings in the Kish Art Gallery. Large and interesting work.

Interview with Kish comic artist, Andy Hongisto.

In his spare time, Andy "Checkmark" Hongisto, Kishwaukee College art student and cartoonist for the Kaleidoscope (Kish's School Paper), also writes and draws his own online graphic comic called, "Drifter". Marking the 3rd anniversary of his comic, "Drifter," local filmmaker Joel Zaruba and character actor "Chester" conducts a fun and informative interview with Andy about his comic. Check it out:

To see more of Andy's comic, click HERE.

Mattew Ritchie collaborates with Archictect Benjamin Aranda to create artwork

An interesting interview of architect Benjamin Aranda, discussing his contribution to contemporary artist Matthew Ritchie’s anti-pavillion project The Morning Line (2008).  In today's times, Artists working in non-traditional ways often collaborate with engineers, scientists, doctors, writers, designers, architects, etc. to achieve their artistic goals.  You can read more about Ritchie's artwork, (HERE).

On Matthew Ritchie’s The Evening Line project at the Bienniale Architecture in Venice:

It’s not just about architecture here in Venice. Matthew Ritchie is an artist who recreates the universe as art with paper, lights and installation. For the Biennale he has collaborated with Aranda/Lasch and Daniel Bosia/Arup AGU to create a huge installation made up of fractals and site specific designs.

New Art Exhibit at Kishwaukee Art Gallery

A Message from Gallery Director Michelle Erickson:

I'd like to welcome you all to the KC Art Gallery's October exhibit, "Emerging from Darkness" paintings by Chicago artist, Charles Gniech.  This show will be on display October 6 - 31, 2008.  

The Artist's reception will be Tuesday, October 7 from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.   Mr. Gniech will begin his gallery talk at 11:30.  Please join me in welcoming this very talented artist to our campus.  

Be well, Michelle. 

"The Artist Wonders, Acrylic on Canvas, 2003."

Installation Art, Art and Money, and Plácido Domingo

Artists curious about installation art should check out this slideshow of recent sculptural installation art by Tara Donovan by clicking (HERE). 

She has the ability to "transform huge quantities of prosaic manufactured materials — Styrofoam cups, pencils, tar paper — into sculptural installations that suggest the wonders of nature."  Really cool stuff, and here is just a hint of what to expect (made out of styrofoam cups).

For a strange article about painter/filmmaker Julian Schnabel getting ready to paint famous Mexican tenor, Plácido Domingo, check out this article here.  He talks about his process approaching a subject and a painting in brief, and what inspires him.  He is the humble painter who once said, “I’m the closest you’ll get to Picasso in this life.”

(HERE) is an interesting article about the artist Damien Hirst.  He is an artist who likes attention and making waves (famous for suspending a dead shark in a plexi-glass box as art).  The art market typically works by artists showing their work through galleries, and getting a commission from sales at these shows.  Eventually, some art-buyers sell their art investment at art auction houses, often at a profit.  Hirst recently decided to bypass the art gallery establishment (galleries) and go directly to Soethby's Art Auction.  

Gallerists are not pleased.  Its a novel idea, but I see a trend today where art is treated more as business and less as passion by artists, dealers, critics, buyers, and historians.  Perhaps it is a product of our times.

Take a look at the (Jeff Koons) show that the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago just had.  It was filled with shiny and beautiful sculptures, paintings, and photographs, and probably most of them painted and cast by his assistants.  Yes, I do believe Koons directed the assistants, and developed the ideas and maybe this is a product of conceptual art.  However, in conceptual art, the idea is more important than the product.  

(Jeff Koons, Michael Jackson and Soap Bubbles, 1988.)

Usually that means, we spend more time admiring the idea, because the product is not necessarily aesthetic.  In Koons situation, there is bling, shine, and gloss.  I think we are attracted to the product.  It makes the art of painting and sculpting feel more like skilled labor than a creative act in the hands of Kitsch-Master, Jeff Koons (c). 

Are we to feel glad for the artists who are now making a killing in money from their art,with artists like Takashi Murakami collaborating on Album Covers for Kanye West, and designing purses for Louis Vuitton, or should we be concerned that many of the art stars are role-models for taking a more materialistic approach to art and its purpose?

I guess that this is a question for future artists and dealers and appreciators to decide.

(Andy Warhol, Dollar Sign, 1982)

Honest to Blog.

This is a painting I did a few months ago for my high school. Part of the tradition there was that any art student who took an art class all four years of high school was allowed to paint a mural on the school wall, kind of cool. I did this piece on the left. One thing I like to do is give plant-life human characteristics. If plants and such were able to interact with us more, I think people would think twice before cutting down forests or throwing their garbage carelessly on the ground. The human limbs replacing the tree limbs give a sense of feeling to the tree. It is able to feel when someone is cutting it or setting fire to it, and in theory it would bleed the same way a human arm would bleed.
The flowers with eyes at the base of the tree can see what people are doing to their enivironment. I gave them eyes because a lot of emotions can be read from a persons eyes. This is meant to show that plants could possible have emotions and to somehow make people feel guitly for destroying them.
I personally think the concept of this painting is pretty cheesey; although, i did have fun making it. I had a very short time period to work on this so i did not get to put as much thought and detail into the painting. The cliff in the back is actually a painting that i have already done, the original of it was more close-up. I threw it in there just for filler space. That's pretty much it. Let me know what you think. thanx for checking out my BLOG!

GO LIVE! Attend this free workshop

GO LIVE!
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2008
6-7 PM @ ROCKFORD ART MUSEUM

Attend this free workshop to get Information on starting your own Web site, necessary software, design and content tips. It's a great place for information if you are ready to take those first steps to bring your
artwork into the World Wide Web.

Instructor: Melissa Seipel | Location: RAM Funderburg Gallery
Cost: FREE
To register for classes call Stacey Sauer,
RAM Education Coordinator, at 815.972.2874.

Rockford Art Museum
711 N. Main St., Rockford, IL 61103
DIRECT 815.972.2877
fax 815.316.2179
mseipel@rockfordartmuseum.org
www.rockfordartmuseum.org

Great KC Library Resource

For your research papers, research projects or general interest.

Grove's Art Online
articles and images on all aspects of the visual arts.

You will need to scroll down the list of e-resources until you see the Grove's link.

If you log in from campus, you automatically have access. Please contact the KC library for the username and password to log in from off campus.

Blog Cleaning

Hi!

We are only allowed to have 100 authors for this site and it has frozen us from inviting more students to participate as authors.  Since we do not know who some of the authors are via the email addresses, we decided to delete all non st.kishwaukeecollege.edu addresses.  If you would like to have author capabilities reinstated, please email your instructor and it will be done.

Cheers,

Management (hee hee)

Miles and C-L

DeKalb Gallery Closes

The DeKalb Gallery has officially closes as of Sept. 6th, 2008.

When I was a child, I used to enjoy going downtown for dinner. After dinner, my family and I would always stop inside our favorite small-town art gallery to see local art in-person. The gallery I used to visit is called Lancaster Galleries, and resides in Lancaster, PA. I would study the pictures to see what the artists were up to and think about my future place in society as an artist.  I would ask how I might improve so that one day my work would be on exhibit. It was one aspect of many that helped enrich my appreciation and dedication to a life in the arts.

Being a local art gallery in a small town is difficult. Will people be interested in art? Will they buy art? How do you balance art that is interesting and courageous while at the same time realizing that safe art sells much easier. Gallerists play an important part in supporting art, bringing culture to the community, opportunity for artists, and value to its customers. It is more love than profit.

Supporting the arts can mean many things. It can be appreciating, going to openings, buying/donating, taking classes, going to museums, supporting funding, educating oneself and others about art, making art or working in art related fields.

I am new to this community, however I recognize the loss to the character of downtown DeKalb, and to the art-lovers DeKalb Gallery has touched over the years. If you enjoyed seeing shows at DeKalb Gallery in the past, send Dan Grych (curator and owner of DeKalb Gallery, and a nice guy) a thank-you message and wish him well on his new life in Arizona.

Yes, Dekalb Gallery has closed.  Hoever, even supporters of the arts need support and our thanks too!

If you have any personal memories or wishes about DeKalb Gallery, let the owner know that you cared.  You may contact Dan Grych at: dan@dekalbgallery.com

The torch passes on to you. 

Welcome to the ArtandKISH Blog, Fall 2008

Hi all, and welcome to the ArtandKish Art Blog. This is just a refresher for what this space is for:

1. Sharing, discussing, networking, and promoting the art that you make with others.
2. Announcing local art events and meet up groups that others might want to hear about.
3. Learning about news and upcoming events, trips, and opportunities within the Art Department at Kishwaukee College.
4. Writing about art, honing your art journalism skills.
5. Posting cool art news, stories, links, videos, artists, art that you hear about or think others should see, sharing your blog with us.
6. Participating in a local and online community.

If we have something to tell you, or you to tell us, this will be an educational, and active place to find out about it. There are also many handy links on the left-hand side that will help you find cheap places to buy art supplies, read about art news, find tutorials, and learn about art contests, etc. This place is ours, so it will be as exciting and useful as we make it. So browse, post, comment, and welcome to the Art and Kish Community!

P.S.
If you have any questions about how to post, please ask your Art Instructors

Thanks,

The Kish Art Dept.

Ashley Wood and Reyyy.

I thought it'd be cool to post two new artists who have some really interesting work. Both of them have been pretty successful in their art fields, and have very different mediums. Ashely Wood was recently quoted in Juxtapoz magazine too.

Ashely Wood

Corey Lewis Rey

Thanks guys.

Barbapapa

Ok, I was telling one of my classes about the trippy cartoon I used to watch growing up in the 70's. I think WGBH Boston staff were trippin. I love Barbapapa.

Animation that Happens in the Streets

Some more Summer Videos...A fun animation painted on public walls in Buenos Aires and Baden. Interesting to think about the fact that animation can occur in the streets, on buildings, paper, computers, or anywhere. All you need is imagination and a good work ethic to get started. MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu. Pay attention to the trace of the image that remains slightly visible as it becomes painted over.


Reminds me of the South African artist, William Kentridge and his hand drawn animations. Enjoy.

Art and "The Dot and the Line."

Below is an animated short called: The Dot and the Line: A Romance In Lower Mathematics, directed by Chuck Jones for Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios. The story was written and illustrated originally as a book by Norton Juster. The title is a reference to the story: Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin Abbott Abbott.

Artistically speaking, the animation visually demonstrates gestalt color interaction and geometric abstraction in an anthropomorphic and narrative format. The animation has a feeling of styles from Bauhaus, Expressionism, Hard-Edge/Geometric Abstraction, and Op Art. The animation also brings to mind artists such as Piet Mondrian, Josef Albers, Barnet Newman, Kazimir Malevich, Wassily Kandinsky, and even a little Paul Klee.

Lighthearted artistic visual pleasure, and fun too. Without further adieu, please enjoy our feature presentation of: "The Dot and the Line."



And remember, "To the vector belongs the spoils!"

Near and Far

Yeah for Summer! A fine time for making art, reading, traveling, BBQs, swimming, movies, and more. I hope your Summer is off to a good start. Here are some things circulating the news and web lately.

Art from abroad, and to our shores...

Truly moving. Artwork from the National Museum of Afghanistan is on a 4 city tour across the United States. This collection that spans 3 millenia has much to teach us about history, culture, religion and our human past and is extremely lucky to have survived. “The Soviet-Afghan war, the ensuing civil war and finally the pernicious rule of the Taliban inflicted incalculable losses on active archaeological sites and ancient monuments and artworks. By the time the Taliban were driven from power in November 2001, The National Museum of Afghanistan had lost two-thirds of its collection of 100,000 artworks and artifacts.

But isolated acts of preservation and some lucky circumstances also prevailed. In 1988 a small group of the Kabul museum’s staff hid crates packed with about 600 of its most precious artworks in the vault of the presidential palace. No one was sure how these crates had fared until 2004, when they were retrieved with their contents intact.

Around 200 of these works are in “Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures From the National Museum, Kabul,” at the National Gallery of Art here. At once revelatory and heart-rending, this show, making a four-city American tour, has much to tell about Afghanistan, past and present.”


You can learn more about the collection on tour HERE.

Art far, far away...

Ever wanted to know what types of opportunities are out there for artists who like to draw? Check out this series of drawings/watercolors and diaries from Steve Mumford.

Steve Mumford is an artist who has lived with American soldiers in Iraq to paint their daily lives in the war. No comment on the meaning or potential propaganda element of this activity, what an amazingly interesting subject for making drawings and watercolors from.


An excerpt from Mumford's Baghdad Diaries (referencing the drawing on the left):

Snipers on Haifa Street
"A sniper from 1st Cav, 1-9, positioned on one of Haifa Street's many high-rises. I kept as low as him while drawing.

Many of the snipers take their helmets off despite the danger because they ride down over their eyes."




And locally...


On Robayre’s site , (one one of the founding members of Dekalb’s local art blog: Maker’s Art Group Blog) she posted a link to a site called Scribbler that allows you to make a simple line drawing, then has a computer program mathematically abstract your line drawing in interesting ways.



Surprisingly expressive and a fun thing to check out.


P.S., in Chicago!...



The Jeff Koons show is coming to the MCA in Chicago on May 31st-September 21st. The work of Koons, like him or hate him, will be fun and interesting to check out if you can.
(left: Jeff Koons, Rabbit, 1986)








P.P.S. more locally...

Kishwaukee College artist Hannah Dyer is having her art show at the House Cafe right now. I think her art show stays up through early June-ish, so check it out! Feel free to keep us posted on your art events, news, creations, etc.