Key Class - Alena K.

Looking at the collection of work he has posted online, I’m definitely more drawn to his crochet pieces and exhibitions. I enjoy the way his creations mix the randomness and spontaneity of childhood with classically adult themes of sexuality, genitalia, some fetishes, etc.  In particular I really like his B.O.R.G. pieces because they remind me of a little robot animal from a cartoon I watched as a kid. From first glance, that’s exactly what the two-legged creatures come across as: cute robots in high cut shorts and socks. However, they turn into something entirely different if one is familiar with how Chandler treats genitalia in his other works. The top rainbow-shaped halves are the same as the way he treats vaginas in other pieces, so the works now appear to show playful, moving, vaginas. Maybe it is meant to serve as a parallel to the idea of male erections having a mind of their own? 

Walters is really able to capture the monotony of small town America in her  Vanity + Consolation collection. In particular, I like this particular photograph because of how directly it portrays boredom through both the little girl and the woman. Their proximity and nakedness indicates a close relationship, either siblings or parent/child, but neither seem emotionally invested in the activity. There is no sense of speed or urgency in either character, yet we can see from the background that it is early in the day. This suggests that the hair brushing is a regular, probably daily, occurrence but one that neither person much enjoys. Because of the lack of positive emotional expression, it makes me feel that the two are putting effort into grooming out of habit (or requirement) and not out of interest in an event (like a party) that is usually expected to follow. It’s like the two girls are getting really tired of playing dress-up.

Title: Storm King Wall

Artist: Andy Goldsworthy

Dimensions: About 4 feet tall, pretty long

Medium: Stone

 It is a stone wall (no concrete/adhesive) that weaves between trees at the edge of the field. The wall proceeds down the hill where it tapers off to meet the water. I’ve been to Storm King once before and was struck by the piece even then. I really like how the wall is a simple play on the stone walls commonly seen at the edge of properties in the North East. First, I’ve always thought that the point of fences was to serve a purpose – to seclude territory from trespassers and prying eyes. Those were the Tall, wooden plank fences were the ones I was used to. Moving to America, it was interesting to people choose to build stone walls, because despite the sturdy material, they were always a couple feet high at most and hardly provided any barrier between private and public property. Seeing this reimagined stone wall at Storm King was very interesting. Not only does is wind between trees, creating a much more organic, natural shape, but it is also taller than the usual stone walls. Approaching the wall, it came to about my eye level (about 5.5 feet) and therefore more effectively achieved serving as a barrier between one side and the other.

The winding of the wall doesn’t just separate the area into one side/other side, but also creates cozy alcoves for the solitary trees caught in each turn. Obviously, this method of separation would be less effective, because it would be difficult to fit a shed or some other thing (if this wall was along the property line), but I somehow always imagine picking one of the half circles and pulling up a chair under the tree inside. For some reason the thought makes me feel cozy (though that might be in part due to the warm and vibrant autumn we had this year).

Because the wall slopes down the hill (or winds up from the water line?) if you walk on the other side of the lake, you can see a very beautiful reflection of the wall’s serpentine shape reflected in the water. Being on the other side of the lake also reveals the smoothness of the curves, something that is difficult to observe while being near the wall because of its height.