Sherree Alexia

David Lamelas

I came across David Lamelas’ “Fiction of a Production” art installation July 23rd, a few days after my 18th birthday. As someone who once wanted to be an architect, I always loved going to the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum in East Lansing because of its incredibly architecture and I loved Lameles installations. Researching and learning about David Lamelas’ different art pieces and creations was so enjoyable and I have grown to really appreciate his artistry. Lamelas is Argentinian and is currently 74 years old, and is still creating! Lamelas’s art has an incredible range, as stated on the Broad Museum website, “Ranging from sculpture to film, photography, and performance, his interdisciplinary practice has influenced artists across the Americas and Europe”. After reading that I was intrigued to see what he has accomplished and made. Lamelas has traveled all over the world, so I can assume that his work has been influenced by his travels although never declared. Stated on the Broad Museum website it says, “Lamelas believes that artworks have their own consciousness, with an extended life beyond the artist and their initial site of presentation- the work exists as an idea that evolves and adapts to the different spaces and places”. Reading that I felt as if I resonated with his perspective on the history of art. I believe art is one of the most incredible ways to leave a legacy, to have your art be loved, hated or appreciated after you have passed is a wonderful thing, it’s as if the artists lives on through their art.

The more well-known installation of his “Fiction of Production” series, was the “Facing Wall”. I thought it was very minimalist but intimidating as a gigantic wall is leaning against wood right above your head.

“Limit of a Projection” 

I remember coming across this installation was a bit challenging as it was hidden in one of the many rooms of the Broad Museum, but it was indeed a hidden gem. I viewed this with my friend, Maddy and we both were in awe. When you went under the spotlight, it was like you were on stage and since the light was blinding and the room was alarmingly dark, I felt very vulnerable as I couldn’t see if people were looking at me.

“Time”

Lamelas came up with a performance which I found very simplistic but inspiring. He had a group of people stand on a taped line, and each person was required to count to 6o seconds and pass the time to the next person. It may seem weird and maybe pointless but stated on tate.org.uk, “By marking time through the bodies of the performers the work propositioned time as a social construct; something subjective as opposed to understanding it as an objective, finite or measurable”. So what at first may have seemed odd or boring, is actually so complex and interesting. This performance can be done anywhere which makes it available to anyone, it is not tied down to a place or an object.

David Lamelas has such an interesting view on art and the way he thinks is very entertaining. From sculptures to films Lamelas has so much creativity and ideas to share. I can’t wait to see more of his work as he continues to evolve. Below I have linked a few YouTube videos where he explains the process of his creations and his view on art! I have also linked the websites that helped educate me on David Lamelas.

https://youtu.be/r0IMvtjhGT0

https://youtu.be/pCXppXkURLE

https://youtu.be/yPjOCdzL2e0

https://broadmuseum.msu.edu/index.php/exhibitions/david-lamelas

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-david-lamelas-artist-stops-moving

https://www.tate.org.uk/research/publications/performance-at-tate/case-studies/david-lamelas

I have always loved studio ghibli productions and what the films symbolize. To the animation, soundtracks, and storyline all the Studio Ghibli movies bring me much joy. In this blog post, I want to commend Hayao Miyazaki and his work that has created so much happiness to people all around the world. His work has given me hope, and picked me up on my worst days. If you have watched a Studio Ghibli movie or seen any of Hayao Miyazaki’s work, you have probably felt some sort of joy and hope after watching them or you may have even tried to recreate the yummy food made in the films and failed horrendously. I’ve always wanted to live in a Studio Ghibli movie as everything is so beautiful and full of life, the films depict real life hardships but have a fantasy twist. If you have read my first blog post, then you may know that I have a deep appreciation of fantasy style work, as it really pushes your creativity. Hayao Miyazaki started as a manga artist and co founded Studio Ghibli where he has been coming out with many critically acclaimed films. My favorite film that Miyazaki has worked on is Howls Moving Castle, his process of animating and creating these characters takes a lot of work as he has to sketch out these characters, and bring them to life. His characters are very simple looking but they have so many expressions and are given so much personality that you don’t realize how simple they really are. What I like the most about Miyazaki's work is how in each character you can relate to them in some way, they accomplish their hardships and work for their goals, and go through struggles that we all may face every day.

I’ll be showing the movie cover and a scene from the film that was animated by Miyazaki for each film I’ll be discussing! So here we have Howl and Sophie, the two main characters of Howl's moving castle. This animation has a special place in my heart as everytime i watch it I grow more fond of it. It’s based on the book, Howls Moving castle by Diana Wynne Jones about a young women, Sophie who gets turned into a very old women by a witch she then sets off to get her spell broken and comes across Howl. Howl is a wizard who is known for eating young girls hearts, who made a deal with a fire demon named Calcifer. Sophie becomes a housekeeper for Howl as she tries to find ways to break her curse. The animation is breathtaking and you’ll want to watch this film over and over!

Next, we have Kiki from Kiki’s Delivery Service. For those who have not seen this movie, it is about a young witch who has to live a year alone for witch training where she loses faith in her abilities and loses her power, she then goes through a journey of gaining them back by learning to believe in herself! Miyazaki has created such a wonderful example for young boys and girls to follow. To keep trying and to not give up on yourself!

Here we have the animation, Princess Mononoke! This movie is one of my favorites, it has a message of how we as humans should respect our earth and the things it provides us instead of becoming greedy and ravaging the earth for all of its resources. Miyazaki often likes to incorporate the factor of mistreatment of our environment can do in his films, which is such an important message to put out there.

Lastly, I’ll show you one of my favorites to watch with my younger cousins, Ponyo! Here we have Ponyo and Sasuke who become friends when Ponyo appears at his front yard. This is a more recent film animated and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, about a flooded world and a fish (Ponyo) becoming a real girl, where she learns the importance of friendship and helping others.

Here are a few mentions of Miyazaki getting the recognition he deserves and much more! #HayaoMiyazaki

YoYo Lander

         Yoyo Lander is a painter who lives in Los Angeles, she went to Howard University where she acquired a Bachelors’s degree and a Master of Fine Arts. She didn’t start selling her paintings seriously until 2014 when her friend paid her money to draw a portrait of him. Lander prefers to work with watercolor paints and always tries to give each of her paintings a story. She prefers to only paint when she is in the right mindset, and cannot paint unless so. Another interesting thing about Lander is she thinks of her painting process as spiritual.

         I plan to mainly construct all of my art blogs on people of color, and minorities! I came across Yoyo Lander while scrolling through Instagram. Her work is constructed of beautiful black women and men painted in bright colors and recently more muted colors, being vulnerable yet strong. Her work has a similar feel to the last artist, Jordan Casteel, I wrote my art blog on but she focuses more on black men rather than black women. I love Lander’s work because not only is it beautiful but it speaks volumes of truth. Lander likes to create paintings that reflect what black men and women are facing to this day. Her recent collection, “Time Off”, is about how slavery still affects black Americans to this day, as many Americans turn a blind eye to the horrible things that affect black Americans every day. Lander says on her website, yoyolander.com, “Vulnerability is the essence of fear, shame and our struggle for worthiness. Yet it is also the birthplace of creativity, joy, love, and belonging. To be vulnerable means to open yourself up completely, to stand in your nakedness and to learn into every imperfection. It is not easy, but necessary to elevate, grow, love, and evolve”. Black Americans are not often able to vulnerable as many just waits for a black man or woman to ‘mess’ up’. I enjoy her work because it’s meaningful to me because of it’s colors and message to the people. Here we have a few of her pieces from the “Time Off” series, first, we have ‘Deep Water and Drowning Are Not the Same Thin’. I love how the colors compliment each other and how soothed I feel while I view it.

“Velvet and Steal”.

“When the Walls Fall”.

Here we have some of her original work, first, we have her piece the “Black American Girl”.

“Burkina, Burkina”.

“Legacy”.

         Lander loves to travel and learn new tips and tricks through the places she visits. Her travels influenced her paintings, they inspired her to use bright happy colors because bright colors mimic happiness. She likes to mix realism and cubism, making paintings look odd up close but far away make a face. She likes to bring light back into Black American art, instead of it being focused on slavery and other negative situations.

        Lastly, Yoyo Lander is coming out with a new art exhibit that will be coming out in July of this year, the collection is called, “Bruised Bananas Are Sweeter”. Here’s a sneak peek of the unnamed art pieces that are in the upcoming collection.

References:

“Yoyo Lander” http://yoyolander.com

Jordan Casteel is an African American painter who has created many eye opening and catching pieces which focus on showing black men in a positive light. Casteel grew up in Denver, Colorado, and eventually moved to Connecticut and attended Yale University where she studied art. Casteel saw single handedly how black men were treated in society, her own brothers were treated. Society has always depicted black men as aggressive, and always shows the “bad” things and never the good. I came across Casteels work by accident, I was visiting family in Denver with a friend, and we decided to go to the Denver art museum to see the Dior showcase. After viewing the Dior showcase we came across Casteel’s gallery and it was beautiful. The depictions of black men in vulnerable poses, painted in hues of blue, greens, reds, etc. The first painting of hers I would like to share is the painting that I spent the most time analyzing:

“Galen 2”, made in 2014.

My friend, Maddy and I were very pulled in by this painting, it was so lovely seeing how the colors mixed in with eachother and the painted expression on this emerald green man. Another favorite is the what I can assume father and son sitting comfortably in front of a chair.

“Miles and Jojo” made in 2015.

“Timothy” made in 2017.

“Ato” made in 2014.

The painting, “Ato” is magnificent painting of a black man hugging his knees, it’s as if he’s comforting himself. I really enjoyed this painting because when I am stressed out or in need of calming down I go into this pose as well. It’s a way of hiding your vulnerablility.

Casteel now lives in New York City where she continues to create many paintings each with its own story and feel. She’s a very accomplished young black women, who deserves so much recognition for her sensational work!

#jordancasteel

Do you still dream the same way you did as a kid? Seek out for adventure and envision about what seems almost impossible? We all live in our own little fantasies, it’s what keeps most human beings motivated, and to strive towards their dreams. I was inspired to write this piece on Kinuko Y. Craft, a Japanese-American artist whose work surrounds renaissance, and fantasy style paintings. Cultivated by her work, I felt we should all be aware of her countless art pieces that bring you to another world. Craft is known for her attention to detail in her fantasy-like artwork, she tells a fairly-tale through her paintings. Craft says in an interview done by locusmag.com, “I believe we are always young inside and psychologically never grow old and worn out, from birth to death. My paintings let me live in a world of my own imagination and fantasy”. As we grow older, I feel we are all pressured to live very mundane, routine lives instead of having a wild imagination and exploring like when we were children, which I believe what makes life truly worth living. I’d like to focus on a few of her art pieces, which can be bought on art publishing sites such as borsini-burr.com! The first piece I’d like to show off is her painting, Fairy Reflection (Claire’s Wings).

This painting was asked to be done by one of Crafts fans, they asked her to paint their daughter, since their daughter was a big fan of the illustrations Kinuko did for the book, “The Dancing Princesses”. Kinuko accepted their wish and made the girl a fairy looking into the reflection of the water in a beautiful green forest filled with little animals and flowers. If you look closely the girl has makeshift wings on, but in the water she is an actual fairy with beautiful iridescent wings. I feel as if this signifies that what we see ourselves as can make a world of a difference in our daily lives, if we feel beautiful on the inside, it’s going to reflect how we look and feel on the outside. What you interpret that painting as, may be something different but I believe Crafts desire to make people’s dreams comes true is what makes her artwork different from other fantasy-like painters. Her pieces are realistic, angelic and out of this world. Craft’s work is enchanting and her talent is recognized through her many collaborations with museums, poets, books, etc. Newspapers such as the Atlantic journal, and The New York Times, who have asked her to illustarte for them. She has also illustrated for many books, some even her own such as Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast. The one shown below is her illustration for “Sleeping Beauty”, written by her and her husband, Mahlon Craft in 1984.

Another piece of Crafts that I’d like to show is her recent work, “The Grail of the Summer Stars”.

I was stunned by this because of how colorful and beautiful it is, and how the paints flowed seamlessly together. The young woman intertwined by a blue dragon, the heaven-like scenery behind them and the Egyptian pharaohs that are in the left side of the painting were surprising to see but now I wouldn’t be able to picture the painting without them. I hope what you got from reading this is that we are never too old to dream and imagine like we once did as children, and learning that through different forms of art is the best way to do it.

Craft has spent countless hours creating so many majestic art pieces, to see more of her artwork take a look at her website, kinukoycraftarts.com. You can buy her art pieces on the sites, borsini-Burr.com, on the Amber Lotus Publishing site and buy her books on sites such as Amazon, eBay and Thriftbooks.com.