Firing Up the AGC Once Again!

After nearly three years on hiatus, it is once again time to fire up the old ArtGroop Resource Collective blog. No particular reason, just bored enough to spend some free time finding interesting art related tidbits on the web and posting them for whomever is interested. Although I have plenty on my list of potential posts, I'll start instead with a simple maneuver. Below are a couple of sites I visited early this morning. Check them out. They may hold some interest.

























A blog site that deals with architecture featuring the work of Idris Khan.
http://www.gravestmor.com/wp/archives/2006/06/25/becher-on-becher-by-kahn/















A gallery in London that has some well known artists. Check out the paintings. They are almost all figurative and extremely loose.
http://www.victoria-miro.com/

ArtGroop Fall Free Meeting: Sept. 24

ArtGroop will hold its first fall 2007 meeting this coming Monday, September 24th at 5:30PM in the student lounge which is located on the first floor of JCM (Art Building). This informal and free gathering will function as an opportunity for interested students to come together for an open forum on art-related issues. Bring your questions and, most importantly, yourselves. Anyone is welcome to attend. Hope to see you there.

For more info on Artgroop go here.

Yoko Ono At UTSA: Sept. 26

From Glasstire.com

"San Antonio's going Yoko Ono: the Japanese artist has a show, Yoko Ono Imagine Peace: Featuring John & Yoko’s Year of Peace, opening Wedensday, Sept. 26 at the UTSA gallery. Curated by Kevin Concannon of the University of Akron, the show features ephemera from Ono's conceptual projects and art actions with husband John Lennon dating back to the early 1960s (click here to view a slideshow). There are also nine bilingual "Imagine Peace/Imagínate La Paz" billboards on view around town. The show should be a real treat for San Antonians, and even for audiences who caught Ono's 2001 show Y E S YOKO ONO at CAM, it will be quite a different group of works from the Fluxus objects included in that show. Big kudos to recently-arrived UTSA gallery director Scott Sherer for bringing this one to town!"

This could be a great show.

The Rinpa Eshidan: Artist Collective

The Rinpa Eshidan is an interesting art collective from Japan. They will be participating in a group show curated by Titus O'Brien at And/Or Gallery in Dallas (through Oct. 15). For further information of The Rinpa Eshidan see their website here. For more information on And/Or Gallery go here.

Help An Artist: Be An Intern!

What do all the images above have in common? They are all images taken from an exhibition entitled Wall Painting which took place at UTSA in the fall of 2005. Former UTSA Art Department Chair Fran Colpitt curated this exhibition that focused on a small group of artists whose work in painting included a significant number of paintings composed for and completed directly on walls. Due to the nature of this show, many of the invited artists were brought to UTSA from various locations n the U.S. to install their work on site. This fact afforded many students (myself included) the opportunity to work directly with the artists, as assistants, often times painting and installing significant sections of the wall paintings included in this exhibition.

From a student point of view, there were few experiences I had, while in school, that were more valuable than the opportunities I had to work with professional artists. Not only does one get the rare occasion to watch a pro at work but one also gets to ask questions and get answers from seasoned art veterans. Another perk is the chance to have a visiting artist you are working with sample your art and give you a personal critique. That doesn't always happen but you're chances for networking are better if you have such opportunities than if you don't.

As for the Wall Painting exhibition, it was a fine show. If you would like to learn more about that show and see and hear what went into the making of the works on display then be sure to check out the Wall Painting DVD and catalogue available in the VRC (located on the third floor of JCM: Art Department Bldg.).

Opportunities to work with artists anyone? Check out the Artpace Residency in San Antonio. They often take student interns to work with the artists of their residency as they complete their work for exhibition. For more info go here.

How To: Setting Up A Still Life

Every student taking a beginning painting class is familiar with the still life. Painting from a constructed set of inanimate objects arranged before one's easel has been the m.o. of painters as far back as time immemorial. Working from a still life as a means to enhance one's powers of observation and, by extension, improve one's ability to render forms, light, and color can either be viewed as an extreme challenge or tedium in its most condensed form. One way to alleviate the tedium is to take a still life on as a challenge, a puzzle that one is willing to solve. Once one has got the attitude to get on with the task at hand one then has to start searching for items that one would enjoy painting. Finding interesting items for one's still life is of paramount importance for executing a solid composition that looks like it is somewhat inspired. Simply tossing random detritus found around the house in a heap and painting from that often leads to boring uninspired work. So find something that you would really love to paint, something that will get you excited to render.

Anyway, I could go on and on but instead I'm going to link up a bunch of online sites that discuss this topic extensively. Check out the available information below:

Wet Canvas Basics 101. Nice chat about zee still life here.

About.com. One can always find a posting on any subject on this site. Here's another About.com post on the subject here.

Wikipedia on Still Life. Not always accurate but generally helpful site we've all come to know and love. Mostly history of still life but useful.

Below are a few images of work my former students have done from a still life. Click ont he images for a better view.

Artlies!: A Look At Feminism In Art

For those gals (and guys) interested in feminist issues and how they relate to art, the current issue of Artlies! has a number of pertinent essays on the subject. Several students over the past two semesters have inquired about methodological approaches to this subject in their art and how they might develop a feminist point of view that doesn't rely so heavily on traditional feminist imagery and contextualization. Maybe some of the views expressed in this issue of Artlies! might help in that regard (or maybe not). I found the colloquium, moderated by Rachel Cook, to be quite interesting. Link to that article here.

Beautiful Losers: Book Recommendation

For those art students under the influence of skater culture and anything that might be generally associated with contemporary low-brow art here's a book for you. It was not long ago (just a couple of years back actually) that most of the art represented in Beautiful Losers would have been dismissed by the fine arts world as nothing less than uncultured shlock. This pejorative view of the work of artists like Barry McGee, KAWs, Shepard Fairey, and the late Margaret Kilgallen has fortunately been reduced to a trickle as the last bastions of academic snootery are giving way to a new generation of artists less concerned with the separation of art from the daily lives of those who produce the art. A student in my painting class lent me this book over the weekend and I was very intrigued and inspired by the stories of the lives of the artists represented in this thick and well crafted book. I highly recommend it.





Beautiful Losers
D.A.P./Iconoclast; 2nd Ed edition (October 15, 2005)

Here's a review of the book found on Amazon.com:

From Publishers Weekly
Most of the work in this exhibition catalog is not beautiful by traditional standards. Nor can its makers, artists whose work is now displayed in museums and top galleries around the world, really be considered losers. Yet the loosely affiliated group of skateboarding and punk music aficionados represented in this book seems to have a considerable amount of cachet invested in their outsider status, their ability to see the beauty in being a "loser." Many of the painters, photographers and cartoonists in this book appear to be taking a cue from the most famous insider/outsider of them all, Andy Warhol: witness Harmony Korine’s photo-collage of a disaffected Macauley Culkin, Terry Richardson’s photo of a young man sitting on a toilet or a scarf design by Mike Mills titled "Fight Against the Rising Tide of Conformity." The artists consume popular culture and then spit it back out in a highly personalized form to express their alienation from the usual boogeymen (suburbia, capitalism, middle-class middlebrow culture). Bucking the traditional art school route, these self-taught artists prefer a more laid-back, "D.I.Y." ("do it yourself") attitude. This approach involves doodling, spreading graffiti and taking snapshots of their friends naked. The book’s accompanying essays narrate the development of these street culture artists with an absurdly exacting level of detail, the kind usually reserved for the lives of geniuses who’ve been dead for at least 10, maybe even 20 years. And while the book is excellently produced and the works in it are a lot of fun, it’s hard not to wonder if these artists enjoy posing as outsiders a little too much, especially given their newfound success. 200 color & 200 b/w illus.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Link to Amazon listing here.

Local Art This Week: September 2007 (Cont.)

As for art in San Antonio this coming weekend, it is photography that will be featured at most of the galleries around Blue Star in keeping with the annual "Photo Septiembre" tradition. REM Gallery (located in the Blue Star complex) will be showing the work of UTSA professor Ron Binks. The opening reception to Bink's "The Third man in Vienna" will be on Thursday Sept. 6 from 6 -9PM. First Friday hours are from 6 - 9PM as well.

Unit B will have a closing reception for "The Yellow Wallpaper" featuring the work of artists Karren Mahaffy and Erin Curtis (see Unit B link on side bar for more details).

UTSA Satellite Space will host a group show curated by San Antonio sculptor Brian Jobe entitled "A Quiet." Opening reception is on Thursday Sept 6 from 6 - 9PM and First Friday 6 - 9PM. See info below for details on the artists involved and the concept behind the show:

J.R. Bruce (St. Petersburg, FL) Nate Cassie (San Antonio, TX)
Alex Lopez (Carbondale, IL) Karen Mahaffy (San Antonio, TX)
Sarah Moore (San Antonio, TX) Denny Renshaw (Brooklyn, NY)
Curated by Brian Jobe

The theme "A Quiet" was selected to feature art that contemplates the
subtle variations that give character and vitality to life. J.R. Bruce
constructs corridors of hanging plexi-glass panels to create an "Army
of Braille," inviting participants to investigate its complex tactile
nature. Nate Cassie cultivates a delicate landscape of ceramic beehive
forms, evoking a contemplation of chance within natural events. Alex
Lopez's video installation portrays a bird in flight with simple,
haunting silhouettes, reminiscent of Rorschach tests. Karen Mahaffy's
intimate video installation mixes elements of shadow play, wallpaper
designs, and household objects to uncover a sense of order and depth
within pattern. Sarah Moore commands one of the gallery's smaller
rooms with an installation that focuses on repetition as a gesture to
highlight slight variations. Denny Renshaw offers five close-up photo
portraits of different human faces, which reveal the moments amid
speech and silence.

There are plenty of other exhibits going on this week in both Austin and San Antonio that are not mentioned here. For more possible selections see the Glasstire link in the sidebar and click on the appropriate links to Austin and San Antonio.

Local Art This Week: September 2007

One of the advantages of being an art student at TX State is one's close proximity to two budding cultural centers in Austin and San Antonio. Though mostly known for its live music scene, Austin has, over the past three years, developed a young vibrant gallery scene. Semi-new nonprofit spaces like Okay Mountain and Art Palace have been staging some excellent exhibitions in the past year and this week features a couple of shows at these venues that are worth taking a peek at:

Art Palace
Lasers In The Jungle
Eric Gibbons and Nathan Green
Sept 1 - Oct 6 2007







Okay Mountain
The Total Power of Such a Signal is Infinite
Kristin Luke, Mark Mulroney, and Casey Jex Smith:

Opening Reception: Saturday, September 8th, 7-10pm
Exhibition Dates: September 8th - October 13th
Gallery Hours: Wednesday 7-9pm and Saturday 12-5pm




"The Total Power of Such a Signal is Infinite" explores incongruent interactions of disparate ideologies, methods, mediums, and vocabularies. While each artist works within their own distinct framework, continuous psychological and conceptual linkages are established between each artist. What happens when physical manifestations of faith, jarring methods of communication, surreal environments that pit anxieties against fantasies, spiritual visions, and strategies that reflect endless possibilities are forced to relate to one another?
Kristin Luke graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2006. She has shown work throughout the U.S. and the U.K., and currently resides in Los Angeles.
Casey Jex Smith graduated with a BFA in painting at Brigham Young University in 2003, and an MFA in painting from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2005. His work has been shown in numerous exhibitions around the country, such as the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, Swarm Gallery in Oakland, and the Provo Arts Council Gallery in Provo, Utah, as well as abroad.
Mark Mulroney graduated from San Diego University with a B.F.A in painting and received his M.F.A. from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 2000. Mark has shown all over the U.S. extensively and had numerous solo exhibitions at Mixed Greens in New York, the Greg Lind Gallery in San Francisco, the Richard Heller Gallery in Santa Monica, and the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art.

500 Years Of Women In Art

Nice morphing technique going on here. So when are they going to do the boys?

1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die

There is a wonderful review of a new book about painting at http://www.thesmartset.com/article/article08200702.aspx.

The primary idea of the book itself is that the most important thing about painting is not to think about what a painting IS or whether painting is still relevant. It is simply to LOOK at paintings. This somewhat radical idea is explained extremely well in the article and offers links to images of paintings from the middle ages to the 20th century. I found it a refreshing discussion of painting and wish the book itself was in my library...
- Beth S.

AGRC: Fall Topics

Possible list of topics for AGRC this fall semester:

- More on grad school issues (how to choose the grad school for you, how to prepare, etc).

- Diagram proper canvas stretching techniques (how to build stretcher frames).

- How to properly box art work for shipping.

- Art? What is it and how does it function today.

- Student art collectives. The why and how of how to start you own art "revolution."


Fell free to hit the comment box with any suggestions regarding topic you would like to have addressed through the AGRC.

AGRC: Fall Call For Bloggers

With the fall '07 semester gearing up it is time for the AGRC to petition interested students to consider participating as an active blogging member on this site. If you are interested in doing so email this site at artgroop@gamail.com. The ultimate goal for this site is to have it become self-sustaining through direct student participation. In other words, a student run blog about art and all of its attendant issues. This could take the shape of opinions regarding exhibitions you have seen, tips or intersting art links you come across, proposals for collective actions and collaborative art investigations. In short, this is an opportunity for interested and active students to engage art in a conversation manner via the nexus of internet technology. Ultimately this could lead to the institution of a more sophisticated internet presence such as a well designed website (which would e a great way to introduce collaboration btween studio and com-des students).

Those who post can do so at their leisure. However, in order to maintain the viability of this project it is necessary that bloggers on this site stay active and informed in the manner in which they post on this site. Anyone volunteering to blog this site must do so recognizing that they are ultimately contributing to the furtherance of the general art dialogue within the context of a university setting. In doing so, attenton must be paid to language and content. This site is designed to be helpful not a simulated free-range for cynicism and malcontentment reagrding art issues.

Keep in mind that blogging this site is different than commenting on this site. The comment box is open to whomever wants to comment about the individual posts. You don't have to blog this site to comment on this site. Bloggers on this site are essentially researchers for his site while commenters are, well, commenters.

AGRC will take up to (4) art student bloggers this semester. Again, email AGRC at artgroop@gmail.com.

Upcoming This Friday 08/03/2007

Last Friday is on First Friday! What does this arcane phrase refer too? This coming Friday morning (August 3, 2007) is the last ArtGroop meeting for the summer. This Friday is also First Friday in San Antonio. If you have never been to a First Friday before i highly recommend it. This is an opportunity to visit all the galleries in the Blue Star complex as well as a few of the independent non-profits like Unit-B and Sala Diaz in one evening. All these galleries stay open until 9PM (some later) while showcasing new exhibits to the public. Usually loads of fun. For directions see Mapquest.

As for the ArtGroop talk this Friday I will be discussing the following topics:

1. Co-authorship of this blog site. This site was set up with the intention that some of you art students would sign up to co-author this blog and update it with information on art topics, exhibits, and opportunities as you come across them. Anyone who is interested in posting on this site can sign up with me on Friday and we'll set those folks up with a password so they can help out with the spread of information.

2. Discuss if and when/where this group will continue to meet in the fall.

3. I'll have a couple of essays I'll be handing out for you to read, digest, and ponder over the remainder of the summer.

Lastly, if you have any questions or suggestions for future ArtGroop activities bring them with you. If we have time I might even show a video documentation from an undergrad art group from UNT called "Good/Bad Art Collective".

ArtGroop will meet in the student lounge from 10:30-11:20AM. Hope to see you there.

Curtis Miller This Friday!

Artist Curtis Miller will be joining the art groop this Friday July 27 for a talk and discussion of his work. Miller's drawings and prints are currently on view in the Mitte Gallery upstairs along with the work of artist Annie Simpson. Please join us at 10:30 AM in the student break room on the first floor of the art department for this talk. I expect the groop will move to the gallery during the discussion so if you arrive late check the gallery.

Artist Statement Links

Why write an artist statement? After all you're an artist, not a writer. Right? The fact of the matter is that as a proffessional artists you will have to write about yourself and your work from time to time and the sooner you get used to this reality the better. Artist statements are used for all manner of reasons in an artist's carreer starting with statements written for entry into grad school. Most graduate level scholarships require an artist statement of some sort and those who plan to enter the gallery scene will be asked to write brief statements about their work in order to help the gallery proprietor better represent your work to prosepctive clients.

I could go on and on but instead I'll just post the following link which will direct you to numerous writings on the subject of artsist statements.

Artist Statement links

Josh Rios sent in this online statement by artist Jason Villegas:
Jason Villegas Artist Statement here.

Searching commercial gallery websites is a great place to find examples of artist statements as are some art school faculty listings. Ultimately you, the artist, need to relax, take a deep breath, sit down and write. Becoming comfortable with the writing process is simply a matter of practicing writing often. I think it is a good thing to keep a "studio" journal in which you archive your thoughts and artistic process as they occur. Daily writing, even if merely a paragraph, is good practice not only for developing the skills to write good artist statements but also to increase your ability to communicate your ideas effectively in your work. Afterall, visual art is at its core a communicative vocation.

Keep in mind, however, that artist statements and resumes are only necessary if you are a working artist. Always keep the priority on making work. Without the work statements and resumes mean nothing. Start in your studio with the attitude that you are an artist making work that you want to make, making it well, and lots of it. But while you're doing all that, log your ideas so that when that time comes to write efficiently about your work, you will have no problem doing so.

AGRC: Preview Of Topics For Next Discussion

Next Friday's meeting will cover the following topics: Artist statements, documentation of work, and artist resume. Why these topics first? These topics exist within easily identifiable parameters which makes them convenient to deal with right off the bat. Furthermore, these three topics relate directly to a planned discussion regarding the topic of grad schools and exhibiting.

This week's challenege for those planning to attend Friday's session is as follows:

Search the web for various artist statements and resumes, collect and print them and bring them to the discussion. Having several examples of each will help us establish a general form and theme by which we determine what might make a successful statement or resume.

Curtis Miller, whose work is currently on exhibit in the Gallery (along with Annie Simpson) has graciously accepted an invitation to come and speak to us about his work and process. This talk is scheduled for Friday July 27 @ 10:30AM in the gallery.

Any questions, comments, or suggestions please post as comments.

AGRC: First Session Re-cap

The first meeting of the AGRC was well attended with many questions being posed. Here's a quick review of items we plan to cover this summer:

* Grad school issues. Where to go, how to apply, is it worth it etc?

* How to write an artist statement. What is it and why do I need to write one?

* How to write a proper resume, document your work, get a show and so on..

* Where to find scholarships financial aid for artists?

* Where to buy art supplies and what types of supplies are out there?

* How to build and stretch canvas properly?

* How do I talk about art?

All of these and more may be covered in this discussion. Notice that the majority of issues brought up are of the practical variety and it would seem to make sense to address those issues before one goes on to tackle the more conceptual things. Right? Next Friday's discussion will start with a brief discussion of the artist statement. Some of you are in your final semester and have need for such statements in lieu of your thesis. Others might benefit from knowing why and how such a statement should be written. We'll follow up that discussion with talk about documenting work. This is a practice you should get into early on so that it becomes a habit to document your work upon completion. I might add, document it well. Time allowing I might hit briefly upon the artist resume (anyone who find a great looking artist resume online print it and bring it on Friday so we can compare and contrast).

I've asked an exhibiting artist to come and speak on one of the Friday sessions and I am currentlty searching for a non-profit gallery director to come and speak as well. If you have any comments please post them to this blog and I'll respond either here or during AGRC discussions on Friday.

Welcome To Th AGRC: What is this?

Welcome to the the Art Groop Resource Collective (AGRC). This blog has been established as an online component to the free-form discussions that will taking place every Friday morning during the summer II session. If you are currently taking my painting class or if you have a friend in the department who might benefit from this informal discussion about art issues please feel free to invite them to join us. The AGRC has been set up to engage specific questions students may have that are not traditionally covered in traditional studio or art history classes. Within the context of these dicussions it is hoped that all participating students will take it upon themselves to bring to the table their own reasearch and experience in order to provide a student-based discussion rather than a faculty directed one. The AGRC is not a replacement for student art groups already established in the department of art and design (such as FASA, ceramics, fibers clubs etc). Rather than take dues and plan group activities, AGRC is mostly commited and founded on the idea of spreading information and experience through group research and sharing on a voluntary basis. The ultimate goal for the student who attends AGRC is to be the best informed student he/she can be and to further each individual's transition from student to functioning artist and all that transition entails. The AGRC is for the student who wants more and is committed to researching and exploring what it means to be an artist in the context of the larger art world.

Art Groop Resource Collective will be meeting every Friday for entirety the second summer session. Each meeting will start promptly at 10:30AM in the student break room on the 1st floor of the Art building (JCM). All students are required to bring their questions and their voice. When possible we may take the meeting outdoors but only after everyone arrives. Check this site for further information an dschedule changes.