Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Multiple Perspectives

"Viscera" Installation. Charcoal. Graphite. Approx. 10 x 40'. 2008

These images are from a show entitled "Multiple Perspectives." It was at the Art Outreach Gallery in Niles, Ohio.


My former painting professor Dragana Crnjak had put this show together. It included work from advanced painting students and advanced sculpture students, some art ed kids, and a few alumni. (Like ME!)


How weird is it to say Alumni? It makes me feel old... lol

Monday, March 23, 2009

Love, Loss and What Remains: The Things I Couldn't Say Aloud






This is my BFA show. Entitled, "Love, Loss and What Remains: The Things I Couldn't Say Aloud." It ran May 2-16, 2008 at the McDonough Museum of Art in Youngstown, Ohio. 

Artist Statement:

The majority of the work that I do is a direct reflection of myself. My work explores varying degrees of intimacy and personal insight.
The installation, "Love, Loss, and What Remains: The Things I couldn't Say Aloud" is based upon memories and experiences that I have gathered from relationships over the years. The images document a distance that has developed, a void. Through the photographs, the distance is represented as a metaphor for what is missing. These images document emotions that I have felt, experiences that I have experienced, situations that I have witnessed, and all of the things that were left unsaid. These images evoke a sense of love and loss, showing how it can affect a space, and also how it can affect a figure in that space.
In this work, I am trying to show what remains. What is left of the body, of your emotions, and your outlook on the world after a trauma or tragedy. What is left when the ground beneath you has been pulled out from under you and your sense of normalcy has subsided, having shaken you violently awake.
I have also been interested in the body. How it works, what it looks like. How the body is this impressionable surface, much like our minds. That every event can leave an impression upon it's facade. How the impressions may be internal or external, but either way, leave the body scarred. The clay and latex remnants are acting as metaphors for the body. They are what is left of the body and your innards after your sense of normalcy has been removed. The loss in this work isn't necessarily something tangible, but possibly intangible.
In this work, I am trying to make visible the invisible.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Fred Wilson


 I'm late again with this stuff... Like a year late... This was March 19th... 2008...

Ok. So Youngstown State University, the tiny, tiny university that it is, somehow got Fred Wilson to come and be apart of the SKEGGS lecture series. (Ok. Backstory. The Skeggs family donated a crapload of money to be used to get famous important people to come to YSU and give lectures. And it bounces around from department to department, so every year someone gets a turn. And then there's a committee to pick a person and blah blah blah...) Oh and this year we got Cornell West. And that was amazing!

Ok. So back to my point... So Fred Wilson came and he gave this amazing lecture/ presentation. He's truly a gifted storyteller. It was AMAZING!

And well, before all this happened, Fred's people got in contact with the art department at YSU. He wanted to talk to students. Like one on one. So rather than have our faculty tell him, "Talk to so-and-so. They're going places. And don't talk to so-and-so; ie: read- me, she's a waste." He asked for interested students to send 10 slides and an artist statement. And he would personally look at them on his computer and then decide, and pick 4 (undergrad) students who he would like to have a studio visit with, based on whose work he personally found interesting and/or compelling. And this was all supposed to happen the day before the lecture... But unfortunately, Mr. Wilson's mother passed away a day or so before the lecture. But he still managed to come and give his presentation, but he left right after. He said he would reschedule the studio visit...

Oh and he picked 5 students instead of 4. And one of those 5, was me! Omg. Holy crap. He picked ME! (See Greg? I'm not a total waste.) And he did come back the week that I was actually installing my senior show, So I believe it was the 26th or 28th of April (2008). Of course, I wasn't ready. And I had just had this huge relationship breakup/life is over thing going on. But we had a wonderful chat about art. And working practice. And love. And loss... He talked about his mom and I talked about my, er, boyfriend. And it was amazing. And you think that I would have taken a picture with this guy? Yeah, what was I thinking. He's like a rockstar in the art world. I mean, he represented the USA in the Venice Biennale... Yeah. Fail. Anyway... Oh and I heard from a little birdie, that he liked my work the best! Holy crap! Oh And... He's friends with Kiki Smith. My idol. And I gave him one of my porcelain remnants, and he said that he would show Kiki! Wow!

This was truly one of the most amazing experiences in my undergrad career.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

I suck at blogging

So, apparently, I really suck at blogging. I mean, I look at blogs all the time... (Actually there are a few that I check almost religiously)... But I just never really get the urge to update mine. Maybe it's because I'm an idiot, and I titled it 'kristinasmithPHOTO' when I really don't consider myself a photographer. And I really haven't shot anything in a very long time... although I just started again, but more about that later. It's not like I don't have time for it, now that I've graduated, and yep, once again, I missed the deadline for grad school... But enough mindless babble. I'm going to try and update a lil bit of what I have been up to in the past year or so. 

So this (umm the photo. duh) is a mock up installation of my graduating show. A sketch if you will. I did this almost a year ago today. So sometime in late March, early April of 2008... It's ok. Not what I was wanting, but you really don't know that until you start putting things up on the wall and try to create a new context for it. It's a lot different than just matting and framing and hanging and measuring, hmm 60" is center... so well. Here ya go. Enjoy!