Michelle Wu

Process picture of completed “canvas”

Jenny Saville, Shift (1996-97)

Francis Bacon, Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X (1953)

Francis Bacon, Three Studies for a Portrait of Henrietta Moraes (1963)

Exhibition Installation Pictures

Throughout my reading of “Art and Fear”, I was consistently surprised by much I related to the concepts delineated by Bayles and Orland, and that these were universal concerns rather than individual. I remember going through multiple sketchbooks as a child, filling the pages with anything that came to mind with little thought for completion or perfection. Yet it stopped as I grew older, and began regarding art as a potential career in my future. I ripped pages out as seeing something I wasn’t satisfied with somewhat embarrassed me, and have barely been able to completely fill a sketchbook since coming to college. I resonated most with the idea of quitting versus stopping, as well as the 50 pound of clay concept. Oftentimes, I find it hard to persevere and see an idea through, starting again seemed like a waste of time and giving up on an idea I was initially so passionate about was the easy way out. This habit seems to haunt me constantly in my art practice, even now my interest in certain projects seem to expire at an increasingly fast rate. I believe much of this behavior is attributed to a standard of “perfection” that has been ingrained in my head, which in reality is impossible. Perhaps, this is where the 50 pound idea could help - a focus on progress and quantity as a means of solidifying an idea rather than sticking stubbornly to a single piece. In all honesty, I feel disappointed at the amount of works I have produced since coming to college, which is much less than I had hoped prior to arriving. In fact, I often resort to throwing away entire projects and refusing to take even a single picture, the same way I treat a sketchbook. Thinking back, this action seems entirely disrespectful to the labor and time I had invested in each work, as if shame gives me to right to wipe out whole segments of my developmental trajectory. Simultaneously, however, I am placated by the fact that I am not the only one who struggles to overcome this “fear” of making art. Bayles and Orland, through their straightforward presentation of the shared problems faced by the hopeful artist, has left me at a crossroads as to how I should proceed from here on. Despite the fact that I enjoy sameness and routine, perhaps it is pertinent that extract myself entirely from the way I have perceived my own art practice and start again.

Richard Long, South Bank Circle (1991)

memories lost

Giuseppe Penone, Continuerà a crescere tranne che in quel punto (1968–2003)

Chris Jordan, Albatross chick on Midway Island

Henrique Oliveira, Tapumes

Completed series in latest crit

Robin Cameron uses her practice to investigate the conception and passage of time, thinking about time as cyclical, entropy, linear, and ultimately, a continuum that lacks spatial dimensions. Her lecture was one that I resonated with most so far, namely the concept of time that she explores and our perceptions of it throughout existence. A moment that truly surprised me was the work she based off her grandmother’s dementia in which the sense of time no longer exists, which parallels my current work in ruminating and contemplating my own grandmother’s experience through Alzheimer’s. It was enlightening to witness a practicing artist utilize the same inspiration to explore both similar and different concepts. For example, while Cameron’s grandmother’s dementia allowed her to further process the notion eliminating any perception of time, my grandmother’s Alzheimer’s led me to think about the fragility of memory and the temporality of human existence through the cyclical nature of time. I grew increasingly inspired in hearing more about the recordings she made of her grandmother before her illness took its full effect, as most components of the works I am currently working on are based off of my grandmother’s behavior after Alzheimer’s had started taking its full toll. It was riveting to compare my own grasp on this idea of existence in relation to time to the way Cameron adopted it, and opened up new windows of thought as I continued to produce work thereafter. A moment in lecture that I found interesting was when she presented her musings on time as a social construct, a measure of existence created by humans based on cultural, scientific, and political factors. I doubt I would have come close to uncovering this prior to Cameron’s lecture, and hearing this sparked a whole onslaught of questions I feel I could use to further enrich my future work. How does the fact that humans created this measure of time effect the way I interpret memory? How then, does the notion of transient human existence change with the knowledge that “transience” itself is based on something humans formulated? If we were to eradicate any means of time, how does that morph the way I view the passage of life? 

Zach Blas: Beati illi, qui est imago-free

Despite not being too familiar with Chitra Ganesh’s practice during the start of the semester, I was very much looking forward to her lecture as I shared similar interests in animation and mythology. Her primary interest lies in storytelling, namely the use of the fantastical to reconnect events in history and the creation of a psychological space as both a way of escape and a way to retell certain narratives. Not only does she draw from her ethnic heritage, but also her urban environment in New York City, an element of duality that I somewhat relate to in my international upbringing. I was drawn to her inspiration of Southeast Asian comic books, and this idea of re-inscribing them to reflect the current socio-political atmosphere. Ganesh’s piece, ‘Eyes of Time’, demonstrates the cyclical nature of time and its intersection with fantasy, concepts that seem to intersect with my own artistic interests. Coming into pre-thesis, I had completed several introduction and advanced studios and found myself struggling to commit to a specific set of mediums. Yet Ganesh seems to have no such concern, employing a series of animations, sound, drawings, and multi-media murals that could best deliver her ideas. I felt particularly motivated following her lecture, not only because I felt freed from my past apprehensions, but also because I no longer felt restricted to choosing either the psychedelic aspects of mythology or the contemplative components of psychology.

Natani Notah: Seed Beads and Skirts – A Native American, Feminist Art Practice

Brought up through a 19th century farmhouse environment crossed with 20th century agricultural technology, Sam Van Aken first drew inspiration from hardcore punk, namely the idea of transgression to transcend. He was first inspired by dissident artists from Poland among the war in Bosnia, noticing a somewhat Arte Povere-esque use of everyday materials in making art. The arc of his work consist of the incorporation of media into sculptural pieces, ongoing parallel practices within the realm of nature, and approaches to weather modification. I was particularly drawn to his work ‘Oh My God’, specifically the massive scale of the installation itself as well as the use of algorithmic sound. Personally, I have been contemplating a dive back into digital media in the form of a Woman in the Dunes style short film accompanied by a self-composed track. Aken’s use of multiple speakers as a means of projecting clips through a variety of channels seems to set up several planes of existence that surround the viewer. This approach seems to truly immerse the audience as media is launched from unpredictable directions, further cementing this notion of the congestion of content and a common language. Following his lecture, I feel inclined to experiment with building different channels of sound, or even the use of multiple screens in order to convey this concept of universality in the fragility of memory as well as the transience of human existence. Aken’s interest in plants and nature also sparked some reflection in environment and how nature can adopt a role in conveying my ideas. It could even be said that I’ve been inspired by his attempt at understanding and perhaps controlling nature through his weather modification series and ‘The Tree of 40 Fruit’ piece. In a way, In a way, I too am attempting to understand the natural universe in its toll on memory and the relationship between an entity and its existence on earth.