Open Studios

Things People referenced while viewing my work...

• Edgar Allen Poe...the BFAs. His short story, The Cask of Amontillado.  Which lead to discussion of "darkness".  We discussed the complexities of pinning down this concept.  We talked about monsters and demons in the work of Hieronymous Bosch, whose name ellicited cooing of approval from BFAs. 

• Tim Burton....Spencer, one of the BFAs.  Also in my Wakanda class, he shares a space with the bubbly BFA girls, and speaks so thoughtfully.  We talked about the dog who is a character in the Nightmare Before Christmas, who lives a "cursed existence, but does not know it"-a comparison to the felcan.

                                       

• Ralph Steadman...Jenn McCoy.  I had to respond that he is way up there in my pantheon of inspirations.  

                                         

• Catdog -- This cartoon was brought to my attention by two people now.  I checked it out, and see the correlation.  The animation is abysmal and the storyline is profane, but here you go.  

• Eduardo Kac's genetically engineered glow-in-the-dark bunny. Brought up by a late-coming straggler.  Learning about him was accompanied by a conversation about the importance of knowing artists who are doing work in the same vein.  Eduardo Kac's work in transgenesis I find interesting in its allusion to evolution.  The assumption that humanity in all of its abortive glory would control evolution seems inevitable.  I would not call this art, however, as the artistic imperative mandates a companionable and non-hierarchical stance concerning animals.  

Topics that came up...

Eggs...and how they are not male or female, just a "becoming" -- .a faculty member. She saw eggs in my Ben Wah ball piece. I restrained myself from naming the piece to her and asserting  the connection between sex toys and fertility.

Rayograms....Ed Cuppola, a faculty member, and our safety consultant. 

"darkness" 

"Does the felcan feel pain?"  --MJ, from my Collaborative Studies class.  I responded yes, and referenced the importance of this concept as explained by David Foster Wallace in Consider the Lobster. 

"I was really worried." -- Steve Keltner, on the extension cord piece.  "I like a lot of your work, but that thing looks like I could buy it at K-Mart".