Art Open House

Interview with an Art Model of Figurative Artist, Lucian Freud

For 2-3 days a week for about 9 months in 1995, London resident Sue Tilley posed for famed British figurative artist Lucian Freud (grandson of Sigmund Freud, famed psychiatrist who founding psychoanalytical psychology).

On May 13th, 2008, the painting of Tilley by Freud will be up for auction at Christie's Auction in NYC and is expected to fetch over 17 million pounds (25-35million dollars) (making it the most expensive painting by a living artist!)

Soon Tilley (the model) heard about the buzz that the painting she posed for was being auctioned off at sucha large sum, and was interviewed by BBCNews. Below are some excerpt highlights:

"When I started I got £20 a day. I don't mind though. I got taken to the River Cafe most weekends. It was the experience. It was just fantastic. You know, so many people would love to have that experience, to work with such a great artist, and chat to them, find out about them and see what they were doing. Because you see the painting every day, you know moving along and what he's doing and how he works on it.

"And also what I used to love was there were other paintings there as well, of other people. He [Lucian Freud] has about four on the go at the same time, so each time you went you'd see how far he's moved along on the other paintings as well."

When Ms Tilley was complimented by the Today presenter on being more attractive in the flesh than in the painting, she replied: "I think all his models are, it's not just me. That's why I don't worry too much, because I think even the thin girls look odd."

I enjoyed hearing from Sue (the model), about her experience, and the important part models play in the creation and nurturing of the arts. The students in our Kish life drawing class certainly benefit greatly from the collaboration between artist and model. If you would like to hear an audio recording of her interview, you can find one by clicking below:

(audio interview with Freud's Model, Sue Tilley)

Open House Today!!!! See you There!

That's right, the Kishwaukee College 40th Anniversary Celebration is today (Friday) from 3-7pm. This has been in preparation for months and should be a lot of fun.

The ART Department is doing their part with an awesome student show in the halls and the classrooms. Many of us will be in the studios munching on food, greeting visitors and making art. And, The 1st Annual Color Me Kish Coloring Books will be debuted today!

Please join us for the fun.

Exciting.

Why Go? To see what is going on in the 4-yr programs

Northern Illinois University

School of Art

FOUNDATIONS SHOWCASE

Friday, May 2 9:00 – 12:00

CELEBRATE THE FIRST YEAR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

An Exhibition of student work

First Year Program

N.I.U. School of Art

Jack Arends Hall

*Demonstrations

*Music

*Food

*Phenomenal Art

Questions??? Cindy Hellyer Heinz

Chheinz4@comcast.net

BUSES WELCOME

Origins of oil painting from 7th Century Afghanistan?

Remember back in 2001 when the Bamiyan Buddhas Statues were blown up by the Taleban?

Well, according to an article I read on BBCNews, there are a network of caves that were behind the Buddhas where the monks lived and prayed.

Recently scientists have had the opportunity to visit these caves and found a number of cave paintings of "7th-Century wall-paintings (that) were created using oil paint, derived possibly from walnuts or the poppies which grew in the area. It is believed that oil painting in Europe began only some six centuries after this. The findings suggest these may be the oldest known examples anywhere of painting with oil."

The paintings depicted devotional depictions of Buddha wearing colorful robes. "Bamiyan has much to tell the world about an era of art which is still little understood." What a tragedy it is that some people feel a need to destroy another person's cultural, religious and artistic link to our past.

How interesting. Giorgio Vasari (renaissance artist and historian) had rumored that Jan Van Eyck of the Netherlands was the the first to develop oil painting as a process. This changes the birth date of the medium by about 800 years.

Cruel Art?!?!

I was asked to join this group on Facebook, named "Prevent the "Artistic" death of an Innocent Animal"-and was completely appalled to find what this group was actually fighting...

I consider myself to be pretty open to all forms of art, and do my best to appreciate them as well, however this...well, this is not going to ever be appreciated by me, and I can only hope that there are others out there who agree with my viewpoint. The group info says this: "In 2007, the 'artist' Guillermo Vargas Habacuc, took a dog from the street, tied him to a rope in an art gallery and began starving him to death.For several days, the 'artist' and the visitors of the exhibition watched, emotionless, the shameful 'masterpiece' based on the dog's agony, until eventually he died.Does THIS sound like art to you?But this is not all... the prestigious Visual Arts Biennial of Central America decided that the 'installation' WAS actually art, so Guillermo Vargas Habacuc has been invited to repeat his cruel action for the Biennial of 2008."

I would really like for someone to argue that this kind of treacherous act could actually be called art-and if you are in as much disagreement as I am-and are a member of Facebook-PLEASE join this group and sign the petition to have this event stopped.

KC has some new policies for 2008-2009

Please read the website updates and keep track of these changes.

Please also keep yourself updated on Fall registration deadlines...there are changes

Here is a press release for one:
KC adopting paperless student communication

With the implementation of KishSOS (Kish-Student Online Services) this spring, Kishwaukee College will now be implementing paperless communication with students. Each current and new student will now receive a Kishwaukee College email address that will be used by the College to communicate important information. In addition to being environmentally responsible, the new email communication system is a great addition to the new online student services system at the College.

With KishSOS, students are able to register online, monitor their status toward fulfilling graduation requirements, check the status of their accounts and even pay their tuition and fees via credit card. The addition of email as the primary means of communication between the College and the students is another step in a more streamlined student experience. All students will receive information on registration, payment deadlines, account status, meetings, and individualized communication from faculty via their Kishwaukee College email.

Attempting to use self-reported private email addresses is unwieldy and complicated as students can often switch email services and fail to notify the College. Through the Kishwaukee College email system, students can have their Kishwaukee College email forwarded to an existing private account, however, it is the students’ responsibility to confirm that they make adjustments when forwarding or replying—Kishwaukee College faculty, staff and offices will be sending email to their Kish account only.

The Kishwaukee College address, consisting of the students’ last name and first initial, can also be used as a more formal address when students are listing email addresses on resumes and job applications. Private email addresses often consist of a clever combination of interests, favorite things or word play that may not be appropriate for use in a job search.

Kishwaukee College is aware that not everyone may have a computer or internet access in their homes, however, the College boasts several open computer labs from which students may check their email accounts regularly. In addition, many areas within the community, for example public libraries, have open computers with internet access that students could use to check their email accounts.

The "Color Me Kish" Coloring Books are published!

Thank you everyone who contributed! They will be released after the 40th Ann. Celebration Next Week. Stay tuned....

Kish Intro to Visual Art Claymation: The Snake Pit

A collaboration in our Art Appreciation class at Kishwaukee College. Each student altered the poses and created the clay actors in our first Intro to Visual Art Production.

The Snake Pit deals with the sensitive issues of age, and rebirth, life, and death in this Suessical Masterwork in Digital Video and Clay. As film makers, we love to hear feedback. So pop some popcorn, lay back, and enjoy!

Toshiko Takaezu: Ceramics

Artists... This is not just for ceramicists to check out.

Currently there is an art exhibition showing 20 ceramic pieces by ceramic artist Toshiko Takaezu. If there is ever a medium where the artists have to ask themselves whether they do craft or make art, is their work functional or not, it is the field of ceramics. Toshiko Takaezu is an american hero for the art of ceramics everywhere. Her work masterfully blurs the boundaries between these different classifications ceramicists have to face. Takaezu answers the question proud and gloriously.

Takaezu's work follows the traditions of functional vessel pottery, however she often conceptually closes these vessels to render them purely aesthetic. Often, her work is on such a large scale that the finished pieces are at times over 6 feet tall. Given that this woman is over 80 and just slightly over 5 feet tall, the scale of her larger work created partly on the wheel, partly off of it is all the more impressive.

"One of the first artists to explore ceramic's possibilities as an aesthetic medium, Takaezu revolutionized the field with abstract shapes, painterly glazes, and lyrical installations." A true virtuoso in clay!

This retrospective of national treasure: Ceramic Artist Toshiko Takaezu, can be seen at the Art Institute of Chicago until June 8th, 2008.

While you are in town, you can also try to see the Edward Hopper/Winslow Homer show that is on display until May 10th. If you aren't able to make it to Chicago, there is always the internet to find out more!

Check it out, and let me know your comments, reactions, questions in this blog post.

Complimentary Passes for Artropolis!!!

Please Be Our Guest! Here is your complimentary pass to Artropolis—5 shows running concurrently at The Merchandise Mart. Click here to download a PDF of the Brochure with complete details. Forward to a Friend Join the Mailing List

Click here for your complimentary pass Admits one person and a guest (Friday–Monday) Artropolis Hours: Friday, April 25 11 a.m.–7 p.m. • All Shows Saturday, April 26 11 a.m.–7 p.m. • All Shows Sunday, April 27 11 a.m.–6 p.m. • All Shows Monday, April 28 11 a.m.–3 p.m. • The Merchandise Mart International Antiques Fair, The Artist Project and The Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Art Chicago & NEXT

OK - Probably the surest way to get an art O.D. and sore feet, but this is a great way to see a lot of art under one roof and leave feeling inspired and ready to finish the semester with renewed urgency! Go Go GO!

Hey Folks - Hope to see you Wednesday evening in bustling downtown DeKalb, 7-9pm. Be there or be square...

Cheers,
Christian

KC 40th Anniversary Open House

40th Anniversary Celebration

Description:	40th Anniversary Celebration
Date:	Friday, April 25, 2008
Time:	3:00pm-7:00pm

Please plan to participate that day by having work exhibited in our hallway and/or working on a project (it can even be a great time to get your assignments completed)...if you have any questions, please talk to your instructor

Visiting Artist, James V. Freeman tomorrow at 4pm

James Freeman, professional artist, will be lecturing on his artwork and experience as well as sharing the details of his sketchbooks, and works in progress tomorrow, Wednesday April 9th at 4pm, rm-B412.

Please attend and lecture open to all.

You can view more of his artwork "here."

Treasure or Trash?

I heard about this artist on NPR on the way to school, Justin Gignac who boxes trash and sells it as art, believing that packaging has much to do with our idea of what quality is.  He also makes paintings of things he wants, and trades them in for what he desired, such as pizza. 

Tate Shots Rock

If we could all go to the Tate Modern in London and explore...we would have such a grand time.

here
and
here

Three Writers Feel the Lure of Comics

I heard this on my drive in this morning & received it as an RSS when I checked my email.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=87867518&ft=1&f=1047

KC Art Students: You are needed

Dear Art Students:

Please consider participating in these activities this semester.

Please help the art department celebrate our area during the KC 40th anniversary event. The college is expecting many people to attend that day and programs all over campus are sponsoring events and exhibitions.

On Friday, April 25th from 3-7 PM.

• We are planning an open house event and invite you all to be actively working on anything in the studios during that time: You can choose a spot in the studio
• to paint, carve, draw, model, solder, set-stones, throw on a wheel, photograph, hammer, etc…
• we would really like to showcase your work in the display cases and on the walls so we need you help filling up the space and helping to make the display. Can you bring some work in from previous semesters?
• There may be food and drink and music (MP3/CD) or live music if any of you play an instrument would like to perform.

In addition:
• There are other events on campus that are looking for art assistance The Apple Tree production needs a large Oscar prop made of cardboard…is there a volunteer out there?
• So please…talk to any of the art faculty about your ideas and participation
• Please consider organizing as a student group to come up with ideas…like say a T-shirt contest?

Kish Coloring Book Collaboration update

Just a reminder, we are excited to combine the efforts of the artists here are Kishwaukee College to publish a collaborative coloring book. In order to make this happen, we will need images soon.

The deadline for submitting a contour-drawing for the coloring book is 2 weeks from now on April 3rd. As for what to draw, draw whatever you want. Abstract shapes, optical lines, a scene, a portrait, a subject, a cartoon...whatever satisfies your artistic soul, it will find an audience with someone.

Our idea is to give these books out for free so that many people will have a chance to enjoy your work. Just remember the image should have high contrast so it is suitable for coloring. Good mediums for that are sharpies, pen/brush and ink, etc. 8.5x11" is a good size to think about, but it can be larger or smaller. We can change the size on the computer to suit the needs of the book.

What we have so far, looks good. Please contribute your "Color Me Kish" picture for the book. Drop off your picture any time at my office, B-426. Leave your name and email so that I can get the picture back to you after scanning/photographing the image. Thanks!

(drawing by Aaron Kapper)

Kish Juried Student Show...submit your work to the Gallery

Kishwaukee Art Gallery's next show is the Juried Student Art Exhibition!  Unlike last semester where the artwork that was submitted revolved around a selected theme (metamorphosis), in this show there is no theme.  Just students making great art about whatever you choose, and then submitting it for the show!

We will have 2 outside objective jurors select artwork from the submissions and decide what makes it into the show, and which artists earn awards and prizes.  So if the incentive of having an audience in a professional art space viewed by the community isn't enough, you could earn an prize for your efforts as well!

As usual, the artwork needs to have been done while you were a student at Kish, and it needs to have good presentation.  In addition to craftsmanship, that means, if it is 2-D, it may need matting, plexiglass, frame, hanging device, etc.  Ask Carol-lynn, Michelle, or Miles for advice if you have questions about the show.

Submitted artwork for the show is anywhere from March 31st-April 4th.  That's two weeks to figure out what to put in, or what to make.  This will be the last show of the year!

(painting by Kelly Semon)