old work, new forms.

Looking forward to a show coming up in November in North Carolina with my studio-mates from Flux Studios. Before I left for Naples, Florida, I had a great talk with Novie about my work, and the work for this show. It was a really great conversation for me, one of the first one-on-one type critiques that I had after finishing at the Corcoran. It was nice getting such direct and caring feedback. It made me think about my ceramics practice and that I really need to focus on that a bit more since I sort of abandoned it at the Corcoran in my last year of study. I'm glad I made a couple hundred pounds of porcelain slip, and started playing with molds again. 

Like any artist, I have about 100 projects currently in the works. Ok, probably only about 10, but it might as well be 100. My timing leaving for Florida came right about when I was getting some good studio-practice practice. Luckily for me, I am working on a piece for a friend (i'll do another post about that later) that has me very excited and it has a deadline which is great because it forces me to get through any creative blocks I CLEARLY have as a result of this new found artistic freedom.

So, for this show - which I'll post details about as soon as I get them - needs to be ceramics. Ok...I can do that. In my conversation with Novie, she mentioned a piece I have been manipulating so many times - each result better than the last - and so we started playing with the pieces. We talked about different approaches that I could take, and as I've been thinking about it over the past few weeks away from the studio, not yet committed to sketchbook stage yet, I think I know what I'm doing.

Ok, there are two ideas.

The first is a large wall piece, much like this configuration here when I was trying to make it into a piece at school (and there are probably photos of it on this blog from a while ago) for my first project in my CORE studio class nearly a YEAR ago. (I abandoned it at the 11th hour and did something completely different)

My new idea will require about four times as many of the pieces arranged something like this, but much much bigger.

Of course, this probably won't even been the end result because there was something else that Novie and I discussed that i'm eager to get working on as a further exploration of the piece. More on that as I work it out.

But, the whole point of this post is really that I'm excited to work on this new piece and not really know the outcome. I see the finish line, but I'm not sure the path I'll take to get to it.

who says you can't teach an old piece new tricks?

inspiration, hiding in plain sight.

So I've been slowly organizing my studio at school - meaning picking up random chunks of wood that have littered my space. I always like the post-creation mess. It's a great way to document the residue of the process. I've always been the type that documents my process every step of the way, taking photos and keeping records in my sketchbook. I like to look back and see how things evolved and the physical evidence I leave behind.

Pinned to the wall in my studio, from the very beginning of the year, was a photo I took last year from the Met. This was taken during my 'fascinated with shadows' period. It's a Giacometti sculpture. I probably didn't even realize that I look at this every day and I suppose my subconscious finally made me act on how much I LOVE Giacometti but didn't know it.

One of the things that I really had to determine when making my figures was my vocabulary. I had made several maquettes of the pieces and there were some structural decisions that I had originally made that I edited out in my final work. (not to say that I won't re-introduce them in my next pieces) I really tried this time to focus on what makes a male figure look male and what makes a female female.

In the one form, the male figure has a broad chest made by adding an additional piece to the chest area, but in the others they ARE very narrow and simple. Just two arms along the body starting at the shoulders. For the women forms I went with smaller pieces and created hips. For the smaller, children, forms, they had no extra pieces, just the plain form without any physical development. Post-Modern? or Neo-Post-Modern? I'm not quite sure. But there is was. Waiting for me to discover it.

Even once the work was done.

giacometti, comin' through....

After my CORE class on Wednesday and some great feedback from my instructors (but also a bit of panic set in), I had to give some thought to my project and really make it become what it was wanting to become but what I had failed to see. With renewed energy I dove in and started some new sketches and figured out what I needed to make to complete my thesis work. My army of drones. kinda. I realized that the piece isn't about all the techno whiz-bangery, but the simple shapes that were waiting for me to discover them standing silently. Figures. Right in front of me were these forms that my critique in gallery 31 first brought to my attention, but I ignored it.

I think subconsciously I was channeling some Giacometti. It makes me think back to a photo I took a long time ago at the National Gallery of Art in DC that I had filed away with the 1000s of other photos from my phone - important at the time but now forgotten amongst photos snapped quickly on my iphone. Inspiration waiting to be re-discovered. I found the photo this morning, and it still makes me smile. It's just funny. So much movement in such simple lines. A sense of purpose.

Art as participant in the gallery space. 

My Thesis work is about that participation or choreography the artist has on the viewer in the museum or gallery. Artwork serves as a conductor with each dance different. Do you go right or left when entering a gallery space? Does the work guide you? I tend to go right to the piece that interests me most on first glance and then build on that movement...on to the next. I rarely read labels on the wall unless something needs clarification. I pinball my way through a space.

My thesis work is also about that movement through the gallery, and how the artist guides you and then of course, how and what you see.

My work is the art, and my work is the participant viewer.

I'm making figural forms in groupings (the work is titled Focus Group) - four groupings in all each with various figural forms that are representative of the average museum goer. Couples, families, singles. All tethered to each other through the devices - in this case the Dropcam. Of course what they see, you can see also by visiting jeffherrity.net/focusgroup (and you know that you can 'tune-in' to my studio while I make the work and watch it's creation, birth) on your computer (ironically, and thankfully, the feed does not work on iphones unless you have the Dropcam app, which I will offer as a solution in some way at the opening) These forms will (hopefully) be scattered throughout the museum space observing art and observing the observer.

These (to the right) are two of the forms that will be part of my Thesis. They are connected to each other via the cord from the camera. The camera is also powered by an external battery which the other form holds. there are no cords to the walls. These are completely free roaming camera forms. My hopes are that when the show is running, museum guests will move the forms to wherever they want them to be in the space (with a respectable distance from other works...) This is the participation of my work.

The participant will guide what the viewer at home sees. 

in my next post, i'll discuss the origins of watching at home.

Please touch the sculpture.

coming along?

So, in just over a month our NEXT at the Corcoran opens. NEXT is our thesis show, and we are all frantically working out the kinks in our work and concepts for our 'drop-off' date of March 19th. I'm in a bit of a different position because my piece wont' be finished until well after the 19th because of what my work is about - the space itself. It's hard for me to be doing a lot of work on the piece since I really won't be 'making' it until the drop-off. However, that doesn't mean I'm not thinking about follow up work or continuing my exploration of this work.

I'm still thinking through several aspects of the work - mostly the guides - the figural forms that will have the cameras mounted on them. My original idea was to use the 4x4s with the Dropcam mounted on the base with casters. I really like this, but stumble when I look at them and think "well, I like the way they look in the raw wood" - but I'm sure many would have a problem with that. Part of my thought about this work is that all the cameras are completely exposed so they subvert the idea of hidden cameras. I'm bouncing around ideas about how or where or even IF the images are projected in the gallery or if people must go home and look on their computers. I may walk around the opening with my iPad and monitor the cameras and have people see - also to drive traffic at home later.

(remember, you can watch from these cameras NOW at jeffherrity.net/focusgroup

My other thought with the piece, may actually be a different piece - but it involves a more pointed use of the IV stands and the meaning that those bring to the piece....stay tuned....

the new cameras are here! the new cameras are here!

Last week was like Christmas in February for me, four brand spankin' new Dropcam cameras arrived on my doorstep. I was so terrified that they would be delivered and stolen (it has happened in the past with Amazon purchases) that I didn't go to class - I just waited by the door. I started to set them up at home and had several up and running and it's amazing to me that the process got easier than the previous Dropcam I have. At one point there were three cameras pointing at me and broadcasting my every move. And, like for my last project Target Audience, the cameras are on directed at me in my studio at school. So, like the last project, you can go to my camera page at any time and watch me work. As you can see from the screen image - the two bottom cameras are the new Dropcam HD, the top two (really one) is my original Dropcam that I modified (which made it fuzzy). 

AND for a very special treat, you may even get to focus on my 'in-progress' critique on Monday February 27! Just go to: jeffherrity.net/focusgroup and you can participate remotely. My critique should be interesting because if I didn't get my cameras we'd all be sitting around talking about a blank wall. Instead, we get to talk about many different approaches I am taking to the work, and I should have a pretty clear picture of where I can go in my next steps leading to the thesis show.

(April 14 2012 by the way)

After Monday, I should know how the piece will be installed in the museum and so the ominous March 19 drop-off isn't as terrifying to me now.

I suppose that I can make my official 'things I have to do to get this project done' checklist.

yikes.

will work for art

Well, I began my final semester of my fourth year in my BFA/MAT program here at the Corcoran College of Art + Design. I also have begun the first of my two consecutive years of thesis work. First up, fine art thesis. My thesis preview work has been well received and I think a great chance for me to begin to think about how I take a 4x4 foot tile piece with an embedded camera to the 'next level.' When I created that piece, I had some pretty clear thoughts about what the work was accomplishing, and what I was trying to communicate. It wasn't until my critique for that work that new ideas came to the surface and I realize that the work is about some other things that also fascinate me.

Surveillance. Watching. (not in the creepy way) What does it mean that we live in a post-9/11 world where we are constantly living our lives on cameras?  Is this for our safety and protection, or an invasion of our privacy? Are we different people when we know we are on camera? How does marketing influence the art world? How does technology influence our connectivity and communications with each other?

This is the direction my thesis work will be taking and I'm still in heavy research mode trying to understand my work. I know - at this point - how the 'piece' will be in the museum and the cameras have all been ordered and sketches sketched.

Because the nature of my work is marketing and communications it only made sense to me that I needed to involve sponsors to help me finance the work. I've been talking to friends that have small businesses and have had a great response towards my sponsorship goals.

I've created different levels of sponsorship, and there are many great benefits to them all. First and foremost, they get their company logo and name included in my artist statement, and incorporated into the piece in some way. BUT, the hidden benefit is that each level of support includes several hours of my marketing consultation time. Considering I spent over 15 years as a consultant, it only makes sense that support of me and my work translates back to MY support of my sponsors work. Perhaps this is the nature of the piece, this technology driven communication and connection between two individuals is really structured on a barter system.

please contact me if you want more information on sponsorships. And, watch this blog over the next few months for regular updates on my thesis project, and information specific to my sponsors. It goes without saying that I would like you to support them as well.

yes, it scans.

So, last week I installed my Senior Thesis Preview Show in Gallery 31 along with several other classmates. All the stress leading up to this show instantly melted away once my piece was successfully hung on the wall. I was a bit worried that the weight of it would send the whole piece crashing to the floor and I would have to quickly re-write my artist statement to include how this was planned. Ok, not really, I wouldn't be able to bullshit my way through a catastrophe such as that. I think in total, the piece weighs in at a little over 100 pounds.

One thing DID change once the piece was hung, my beloved Dropcam got fuzzy. This isn't because the quality of the camera isn't good - it is fantastic - but many things started to work against me as I got closer to finishing. I had to embed the camera into the middle of the structure behind one of the black tiles which caused the signal strength to drop significantly. This isn't a flaw in the camera. The Corcoran is also notorious for bad internet signals, and so the wi-fi up in the senior studios is also working extra hard. Never once have I had the signal drop.

Once the piece was hung on the walls, the camera is really sandwiched between tiles, plywood, 2x4s, drywall and more plywood. Across the gallery, directly in front of the QR code is the monitor that displays the live internet feed. One feature of the Dropcam(have I mentioned how great this device is??) is that I get a notification on my iPhone and email any time there is movement around the piece. I wasn't sure how I would use this when I was planning the work, but then found that I like a record of the people interacting with my work. There have even been a couple times when friends have been looking at the camera and playing around and I take a screenshot of them and text message it to them. It goes from fun to creepy in about a millisecond. BUT, that is what the piece is all about, interacting with me and interacting with the work.

My critique for the piece went well and there were many questions raised that I had also been considering. In my head and my plans everything went perfectly, but it wasn't until the piece was hung in the configuration that I wanted that some new ideas arose. This piece has become more about how we live today under constant surveillance. Sure, my original idea about how we interact with objects and gallery spaces holds true, but the broader question is how we are constantly watched EVERYWHERE has come into play. My THESIS piece may change a bit...

We have our celebration reception this Thursday December 1, 2011 from 6-8 pm. hope you can make it, and if not, sit down at your computer and go to: http://jeffherrity.net/target2 to watch.

is this thing on?

Oh, it's on! On November 21, 2011 I will be installing my newest piece called 'Target Audience' which is a continuation of my previous works incorporating QR codes. My last piece 'Mission Statement' was well received, and I learned many things during my critique of it. It's hard to describe how a critique went for a piece that is fairly experiential - it's hard to critique an experience where not everyone participates - meaning they did or didn't scan the code. And, this piece wasn't available to the general public, only my fellow classmates. It is now in my studio at Flux and I've had some interactions and positive feedback. Hopefully the piece will be in some shows and I can reach a broader audience.

My new piece is a bit more ambitious and at any point the whole concept can come crashing down on me. I'm creating the same QR codes but with 2inch by 2inch ceramic tiles. The first problem I have encountered is that there are tiles of different heights. The black tiles I ordered are taller than the white ones. Of course the price different should have clued me into the difference in height (and quality.) I'm not entirely sure if I will seek out shorter black tiles or taller white tiles. I've spent many hours already working on the layout of the code - and not sure if I want to spend the time doing the same task again when my task list is already so long.

I'm at the point where I need to solidify my decisions and proceed with construction. I was talking to a colleague yesterday who informed me of something even more important...the tiles will need to set up before I can really manipulate the object. UGH. So, that means that I have to be done before the 21st - which is good for time planning.

One of the biggest mistakes that people make when working to a deadline is that the timeline is not considered in a backwards direction. I was so glad that he reminded me of this, and so I was able to go back and look at my timeline differently - backwards. My calendar has changed drastically now.

It's funny that when I work on these types of labor intensive projects, I reject all technology. Normally, everything I do and manage is through technology. iTechnology really. Now, some cloud manages my entire existence. In this case, my calendar is hand-drawn in my project journal.  My new finish date for the tiling is November 18. Less than a week. And there is so much that has to happen now. It is no longer a project but a carefully choreographed dance. And at this point, I have no idea who my dance partners are. WELL, I do know, but I don't know what kind of dance they are doing. Tiles. Home Depot. Wood. etc. Oh, and a webcam where I can't control the IT environment in the gallery space. fun.

This piece, while a working scannable code, will also have an aspect that addresses time and how we perceive space in a gallery. Embedded into the middle of the piece, UNDER the tiles, will be a webcam that is creating a live video feed over the internet. I won't get into specifics here, but there is something that I'm working on that will make the piece multi-dimensional. Is this QR code a code or a doorway to another place? (admittedly, I won't go into specifics because this part may change depending on many variables...) BUT, if you want to take a peek into my world you can (but only if the camera is turned on...i'll post when I have it more permanently active...) Hopefully, I will move this camera into my studio so viewers can watch my progress on the piece.

The webcam was it's own little nightmare aspect for me to deal with. (seems like a lot of my work these days has a hint of unpredictability that keeps me 'honest.' My friend Jim R. once told me that I always saw the finish line in my work which made me often miss opportunities to explore...so all my work now has this aspect of uncontrollability (i think i keep making up words here...) that terrifies me.

But, back to the webcam - i've purchased several and only one works with MAC nicely. The Dropcam. I was able to set it up in minutes, no PC required. It was fun yesterday getting that side of the piece working and I had the camera pointed at me while I worked. I sent an email to my partner John and told him he can see me. I promptly forgot about it and that it was recording and broadcasting my every move. At one point I had an itch in my nose and started picking. Yes, I was picking my nose. And then I looked over at this eye - webcam - staring at me and I thought 'oh great, is that thing still on?'

It was on.

how do you see?

So, my first full attempt at incorporating QR codes into my work has passed, and I'm currently working on the second piece in the series. I'm very happy with how the 'painting' ended and again, lively discussion during my critique.

I'm still working on the 'experience' of the piece(s) and how we are expected to interact with them. It's a very fine line that I'm trying to walk which means a drift in either direction can be disastrous. This first piece, Mission Statement, is my introduction to the work and lays the foundation for the following work. I'm looking at how we look at art and how we interact with art, and then how we interact with each other in a digital age.

I've been doing a lot of reading on the topic of interactive museum/gallery experiences and have found a great bible for me: Rethinking Curating: Art After New Media. This book has already proven to be very valuable in helping me to identify what has been done in the past with interactive or experiential work in museums and gallery settings. I've quickly added it to my list of favorites along with The Poetics of Space.

I'm very excited about the work that I have started for my next piece - Target Audience - which will continue with this theme and message but uses the codes as a doorway to another place...stay tuned

what will you see next?

How will you see it?

please touch.

Next Monday, Halloween, I will be having my critique for my second project in CORE studio class. This new piece is a step closer to my December show - Thesis Preview - and I'm now beginning to get knee deep in the concept. I'm thinking a lot about how people interact with art and how we live in a world where everything is vying for our attention.

I've spent about 40 hours working on a painting. That's a really really long time for me to work on one piece. I already know the work will be met with controversy just based on how my last work(s) utilizing the QR codes went over. Some people loved it, and some didn't. Perfect.

This new work is my attempt to orchestrate an interaction with a piece of artwork, the physical push and pull tension that any object may create.

Let me back up a second and explain something about me. I'm a very tactile person. I touch everything. It is very hard for me to walk through a department store and not want to experience the way something feels on my fingertips. (once on a field trip to the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, I ran my hand along ancient hieroglyphics - let's just say THAT situation didn't end well...alarms, guards, etc)

This tactile nature of mine may be one of the reasons that I like working with ceramics; engaging my fingers in a way that is natural for me. Eyes open or closed, my fingers can see for me. I always touch the braille bumps whenever I see them - this is something that fascinates me - sight-impaired people can read with their fingertips.

My newest work is about how we 'look' at art. Some people stand many feet away, while many other (myself included) will walk right up to a work and inspect it visually. I want to see the brush strokes or how it was constructed. There are not many situations where I can 'see' with my hands.

My exploration of the QR codes continues with this painting, which to me isn't a painting but an installation. I want the viewer to come closer, 'see' how I want you to see and abandon your need for information on how you should interpret the work.

However, once you have seen what I want you to see, you - as a borg-like device-driven viewer you must walk away, out of the tactile sensory zone to pull out your smartphone and scan the work with your new eye, the device scanner, and 'see' in the way that our culture is heading. On a small screen in your hands.

But, please, first come close and touch the artwork. It's ok.

I promise, alarms will not sound.

before.

This is quite a week in regards to work and art making. Yikes.  Two big projects happening in the same week. For CORE Studio (my main studio class for my fine art studies) we install our first show on Monday September 26 in White Walls. This is technically our first contract or project that is leading up to our thesis preview show in December. My work is focusing on...well, i'm not entirely sure yet. I've been reading this incredible book The Poetics of Space by Gaston Bachelard, and it has really helped me to understand my work and my thoughts on my work in ways that I suppose I knew was there somehow, but hadn't been fully realized.

My first piece is dealing with horns. But it's mostly about how horns (and teeth, hair, etc) are just by products of things our body doesn't need anymore and we shed it, and what our body produces that will help to protect us. I've always identified with the bull (being a Taurus) and these specific horns have always fascinated me as objects - i've incorporated them into my work for a long time but didn't understand the connection they were making to me and my work.

I've made many of them because it's my favorite mold in the ceramics studio - but it wasn't until the Poetics of Space and my more detailed understanding of space and home and what makes a home a safe place that these horns have taken on a new meaning. I see them as an expulsion of my self and the repetitive creation something that - in mass quantity - can be rather agressive looking and protective. In my one-on-one critiques with my instructors we've discussed the many possibilities for this piece and I'm excited that even up to the last few days of work-time, I still don't know 100% how the final will look. (the old art-making me would be having a nervous breakdown at this point.)

Speaking of me making pieces that I don't know how they will be finalized, I started working on my installation at the (e)merge art fair. I'm revisiting a piece that I did for CORE last year that was a further exploration of my cloud installation (which you stood inside of) but instead, it was me making a cloud but intentionally allowing the materials and the process dictate what happened. This was very helpful to me because it made me have to NOT know what the end result would be. Working with the garbage bags was a great way to wrestle with the act of creating, but having to give-in to unseen forces (air leaking out of the bags.) In the end, I had a piece that was enormous and showed my process as well as my efforts.

When  I was invited to be in (e)merge I was talking with Joe Hale (our exhibit director) and was talking about what I should do, I mentioned the cloud piece and he said that would be great because he needed installations. This piece, when finished should definitely command a presence in the show (good or bad) and will hopefully be the bait to bring people to our booth/area so they can see the fine work from my fellow students in the Fine Art program and Photo/PhotoJournalism programs. There are 10 of us total, and only four fine artists (well, we are all FINE artists...) I plan to do a few different things with this piece and with the help of my good friend Andy Martin (from Philly, and graduate from the Tyler School of Art) so, again, I'm not entirely sure what the end result will be - with the exception of a marketing tool to get people to our space. . .

guess i'll be a marketer until the end.

and so it begins.

We are several weeks into the new semester, my final fall semester in the BFA program. I'm liking my classes a lot so far - mostly studio courses which is great because they are all focused on helping me gain the skills I think I'll need for my thesis show in the spring. (yikes) My CORE studio has been great and I've got my first critique starting on September 26. I had several ideas for this first project knowing that they should all start to funnel into my thesis show, and the big thesis preview show in December. I've been making and making and making! I'll write a more specific post about that in the next day or two once I have more work done.

My other studio courses are Slipcasting and Mold-making and also one called Mold-making. One is ceramics based (my focus) and the other is all the other mold-making techniques with other mediums. I'm LOVING both and am very excited about the work that I can start to produce, and mass-produce. Again, in the next day or so I'll post about each project in more detail.

My MAT classes are great also - Digital Media for Art Educators, and Thesis Pro-Seminar. For the Digital Media class I will be required to post twice a week on various art education topics we are learning about, so expect this blog to become quite content-heavy. I will most likely create an 'Thoughts on Art Education" section to categorize the pages a little more so if you are not interested in art ed, you won't have to read my thoughts.

I've gotten my studio at Flux Studios DC all set up and have been working there as much as possible, making work to sell. We had an open house with the Washington Glass School last week with 70 collectors and curators of contemporary glass. These were mostly people from the mid-west and as they entered my space and saw gold skulls and devils and my baby-bombs - they would harrumph and turn around. I had some good conversation with a collector about some of my paper works (from a project called "Food, Survival, Extremes") - I really enjoyed talking about my work and process. Another buyer was interested in what I refer to as 'the headdress' and I hope to hear from him soon about purchase. (please please)

Next week my world will also be a bit crazed because I will be showing at the (e)merge art fair at the Capitol Skyline Hotel. I'll be representing the Corcoran with several classmates (four of us from Fine Art.) I'm a little freaked out because I have to create a site specific piece ON SITE. We are allowed in the space the day before. Seriously, the DAY BEFORE. I'm glad that my friend Andy Martin will be coming in from Philly to help me.

I'll post more in the next day and update this post with photos.

wish me luck!!!