HIRAKI SAWA

I remember seeing one of his video installations in new york. It was one of the most memorable pieces from that trip...one of three or something. I lost track of him though, forgot his name and all of that..but not his work. Then there was a post about him on the detroitarts blog, and I got pretty excited. You can glance at some of his screen shots here , as well as check out his bio. I will try to do some good research on him in the immediate future. He makes me very very excited.

Cornelia Parker

Explosions. Reappropriation of objects. A rational interpretation of chaos.
There is an easy interview with her here which is pretty lighthearted and uncomplicated. There is an undeniable sense of play and, even though this could be seen as a criticism, carelessness in her work. If you listen to the interview, you discover her acceptance of the influence of her upbringing, which she admits happily but doesn't use it as a crutch, just a rung. I like her work best when it isn't so overt. For instance "Measuring the Statue of Liberty with a Dollar" is perhaps too conceptual and not enough of an engulfing aesthetic experience for my taste, but her explosions I would love to see in real life.
Here is a statement by her:
"I am concerned with ambivalence, with opposites, with inhaling and exhaling, things falling and things rising, things disintegrating and coming together...with killing things off, as if they existed in cartoon comics, and then resurrecting them, so that one set of references is negated as a new one takes its place."

A Collection

Michelle Cheiken

Bettina von Arnim

So I'm all over the board today, but let's start with a quote from Kundera: ...why should he have passion for painting? what is so praiseworthy about passion? isn't the cause of most bad paintings and bad novles simply the fact that artists consider their passion for art something holy, some sort of mission if not duty (duty to oneself, even to mankind)?

Peter Riesett

No introduction this time. I like this guy a lot. He has an aesthetic that I want. It's nice to see something that is so removed from the idea of appealing, whether intentionally or not, to a specific demographic. This instead, at least in my opinion, really is a sincere exploration. One that I am really jealous of, actually. I mean, this was his grandfather's apartment after his death. Shit.. I'm missing some words here...but part of what I've always aimed at in a way is dealing with given circumstances of a space and using them, or understanding them and accepting them as part of the language of the art I am making. I guess it could be seen as "working with the accident", but I like the idea of this dialog, or relinquishing total control over a piece....shit I am rambling.

What do you think?
Peter Riesett's Website
His Statement
On a side note, check out this video on YouTube.
Cheers.
-i.

Mountains: Tatry

I've been using a lot of mountain imagery recently

Thought I'd stare at some for research
these are what I found