Imani Shanklin Roberts at O Street Studios

October 11, 2015

Some photos from Imani Shanklin Roberts' show that opened last night at O Street Studios. My friend noticed all the titles are names of Lauryn Hill songs.

“I build my art making process by allowing myself to view the world that I live in critically and as a malleable aesthetic experience. At an early age I developed a very strong sense of self and culture from work that surrounded me in my home, which referenced the African American experience. These images undoubtedly embedded itself in my personhood, thus encouraging me to embrace an Afrocentric perspective on identity, world-views, morality and aesthetics. As a result, I’ve chose to focus on the African American figure as my subject.”-Imani Shanklin Roberts

*Lunch Bytes #38: On hype-cycles, post-internet, and how the digital became fashionable*

Post-Internet art - same problems as all the other art

September 02, 2015

This might be a little bit of a ramble, so bear with me.

I just went to a chat at the Hirshhorn called Lunch Bytes #38: On hype-cycles, post-internet, and how the digital became fashionable. I heard about the event through the Goethe Institut email newsletter.

I arrived a tiny bit late to a very empty auditorium. There was a podium set up and chairs for a panel discussion. The talk featured Karen Archey, art critic and curator, Adam Cruces, artist, and Vivien Trommer, curator, and was moderated by Melanie Bühler, curator and creator of Lunch Bytes. After a short introduction by Melanie, each speaker went up to the podium and presented a powerpoint. To be honest, the first powerpoint by Karen was a bit rough, with slides packed full of text from press releases. Adam's slideshow was purely visual, with examples of his own artwork and collaborative projects he's worked on. Vivien's had the most aesthetically-pleasing slideshow which framed her point and gave nice examples via clean visuals. (I bring up their powerpoints because I'm always shocked by the wide range of presentations that can be given at one talk - both in actual content and visual presentation). Afterward, there was a roundtable discussion and then questions from the audience.

I found it really interesting that some of the themes discussed are simply cultural truths at this moment in time. For example:

the internet itself does not ensure democratization

This is pretty clear. Just because anyone with an internet access (which, let's remember, is not everyone) can upload, manipulate or share, does not mean art is any more accessible or that it's much easier to be discovered as an artist. Perhaps, circa 2008 at the beginning of web 2.0, the internet did serve as a democratic platform for a brief moment in time when social networks hit the tipping point of popularity and it was still a relatively novel thing to create inclusive groups online, but now, with the complete overload of content and micro-curation, it's not. Chance and popularity still play huge roles in who sees what and how art becomes valued.

the attention economy: commodified everything

I'm not sure if Vivien coined this term or not, but her whole presentation focused on the idea of the attention economy, which I really love. I don't love that it is the current law of land, but I love that she's thrown it out there and basically said - let's be real, attention is what matters. Art, as is most everything right now in the culture realm, is commodified and ranked according to how much attention that particular artwork, artist, writing, song, brand...etc. can get. It's wonderful that you can promote your artwork on Instagram - but at the end of the day, you need enough attention (most of which can be tracked and reported on via followers, likes, shares, comments) in order to be seen and thus gain more attention, and so forth. The fact that most of the algorithms that rule the internet are measuring attention given to a site or post, means this will only get more pronounced over time. Even the notion of how Google ranks websites is essentially based on attention - if a site gets more views due to being more helpful or more relevant than another site, it will rank higher, ensuring it gets more views, and thus rank higher, and on and on. I'm kind of baffled by this - the internet doesn't really help us find things we wouldn't other wise find, or things that are unknown, but rather is increasingly being configured to help us find things we already know we want to see. Bummer right?

international art cities (hubs) still rule art world

It's kind of crazy, but even though we can virtually connect all over the world using the internet, the panelists basically confirmed that you still have to have a physical presence in major art hubs - namely international cities - in order to be known, and presumably successful, as an artist. Now, as one speaker said this she also advised you shouldn't care about what other people are doing and just keep focusing on your own work and improvement, but the underlying message is, you still gotta move if you want to be a ~working artist~. So - while a certain class of artists, curators, critics and collectors travel the world from show to show, everyone else is meant to either sit back and watch, probably via Instagram + Periscope, happy producing or writing for their own personal enjoyment in non-international city OR pack up and move to NY, Berlin, Vienna, etc. This seems a little nuts, right? I mean, I get it, art still functions in this global-class-exclusive way, but why not send a different message? Like, artists! curators! critics! collectors! Start something wherever you are - put together a show, exhibit your work to friends, write about the small art movement in your town that no one cares about. Do it, do it and keep doing it and yeah, maybe you'll never have a show at the Whitney, but at least you are creating art and a community of artists and art enthusiasts in your town, which is probably making the world a better place. That's what I would have said, at least.

Alright, there was so much more, but this is all I've had time to digest.

What do you think? Are these speakers crazy, am I crazy, or do you agree?

*Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, 8pm, Washington, DC*

monoprints

June 17, 2015 in INTERVIEWS

I recently did some hand-pressed monoprints at a workshop at Artspace DC. I'm used to working on a press, but it was pretty fun to use the baren to hand press. I printed these on rice paper using the stem of some grapes, a piece of brush and black ink.

Yes Pop-Up in Highland Park

May 29, 2015 in STYLE

Just got an email about a Yes Studio Pop-Up this weekend in the LA area. I'm bummed I won't be on the west coast to check this out! They'll have some handmade goods from a recent trip to Chiapas, Mexico (think unique handbags, chocolate and coffee).

Stop by if you are around and look out for their monthly Pop-Up events this summer!

Yes Studio Pop-Up

Sunday, May 31st from 12-4 pm

227 1/2 South Ave 51

Los Angeles 90042

Location 2 blocks west of the Ave 52 Exit on the 110 Parkway

Cocktails+Craft: schedule for 2015/16

April 26, 2015 in COCKTAILS + CRAFT

Did you miss Mimosas and Moodboards? Looking for an alternative to brunch? Want to create and get boozy with some friends? Sign up for an upcoming Cocktails+Craft!

Sazeracs & Succulents is full, but if you're into dream catchers or painted pasta, sign up for Kentucky Mules & Camp Crafts in September!

Right now, I'm keeping the events invite-only to ensure a small crowd. Plus, this happens in my apartment so only so many people can fit. I'll update the calendar pages with exact cost (if any) as I plan them, but it won't ever be more than the cost of brunch!

Visit the Cocktails+Craft calendar to sign up for an invite.

Follow Cocktails+Craft on Twitter for updates so you don't miss out!

feminist brush strokes

April 12, 2015

Yesterday I went to a panel discussion at Hillyer Art Space called The Feminist Art Movement. The panelist included Sybil Gohari, professor of art history at American University, Ying-Chen Peng, professor of modern Chinese Art History at American University, and Jesse Harrod, artist and professor of Fiber & Material Studies at Temple University. The discussion was moderated by Emily Hockett, a current intern at Hillyer Art Space.

Hair Embroideries, Sula Fey via http://cargocollective.com/sulabermudez/Hair-Embroideries — Hair Embroideries, Sula Fey via http://cargocollective.com/sulabermudez/Hair-Embroideries

What is feminism?

Gohari shared a recurring observation from her AU classroom: most of her students don’t identify as feminist and many can’t even define it. Gohari said while there’s a general trend to not label oneself as anything, there’s also a lot of confusion about what feminism means.

I wasn’t surprised. I think the trend away from labels has a lot to do with constant self-branding via the internet, social networks and the modern job search. Every day we make decisions about how to frame ourselves, not just in person but online. There’s this pressure to be both a part of something and totally unique. I can see how a feminist identity can complicate that, especially if it is misunderstood.

What’s strange is why feminism is still misunderstood. The panelist were very clear about their definition: Feminism is equality for women. This is how I’ve always understood feminism, and any time I come across someone that does not identify as a feminist, she/he is usually just confused about the label, but very on board with the concept.

What is feminist art?

When asked to define feminist art, the panelist couldn’t give a clear answer. The genre seems to really depend on time period and framing. There’s also the ability to re-read forgotten artists as feminist artists. They did seem to agree that feminist art is not limited to one medium or method and that the label changes depending on time period, how it is used and by whom.

The panelists talked about the varying degrees of feminist art and gave some examples of contemporary feminist artists. They discussed how styles that define feminist art have evolved and morphed over time and vary across cultures. What was most interesting is to hear that East Asian feminist art tends to be explicit and bodily, similar to 60s, 70s feminist art in the US, while contemporary US feminist art tends to be more post-modern and use materials in non-conformative ways, like all art does, but with an underlying tone of feminism.

The Hispanic Project (2), Nikki S. Lee via IMA Museum — The Hispanic Project (2), Nikki S. Lee via IMA Museum

Hierarchy of labels: feminist art vs. _____________

There was discussion about the hierarchy of labels, especially within the art world. Peng shared how Asian artists may be reluctant to identify as feminist because that would be their first identifying factor, with their international or global identity coming in second. This might make them less able to succeed in the global art market.

On the other end of the spectrum, Hockett, who sees her work as activism, shared that even if her artwork could be judged blindly, she’d still want to be known as a feminist.

This idea of the hierarchy of labels is really interesting. I struggle with this myself - as an artist, marketer, blogger, feminist, mexican-american, etc., etc. Which comes first? Does it matter? What is obvious and what needs to be continuously demonstrated?

Calvin and Hobbes comic via TobiasBuckell.com

It’s all Transrelational

I’ve been out of academia for a while, but there was a word that I think every panelist used many times that I took to mean everything is related. We are all multi-faceted and our identities not only blend and relate with other aspects of ourselves, but with other identities, other understandings of identities and the reflections of all of this in culture, media, institutions and history. I think the word was transrelational, but I didn’t write it down so I really don’t know.

What can we do to educate others about feminism & feminist art?

I’m a big fan of academic discussions and art talk, but I was glad when people asked questions about how to understand non-feminists, how to promote equality for women (feminism) and how (if) the internet can help all of this.

While the panelist were certainly symbolic of the ivory tower of academia in both their ways of speaking and examples (my sister, a non-cultural studies nerd like me, pointed this out) they did give some really useful tips that anyone can use (I took some liberties here):

Revisit known and unknown artists. Maybe start with the ones you know, but you can also use the internet to uncover hundreds of female artists. Learn about them and see if there’s a feminist rhetoric that’s been brushed over.
Publish. At first I thought this was really lame advice - write a book about feminism! But, then I thought, this is exactly what I do -- this may just be a blog, but it’s public work that hopefully some people will read. Whatever your thoughts are on feminism or feminist artist, share it in a public, published manner, however small or large your audience. Every little bit counts.
Vote. There’s a big part of the US population that not only is probably confused about feminism, but is also not voting and in most need of equality for women. With an interesting 2016 presidential election kicking off, it’s a good time to start voicing your opinion through the ballot box.