Project: Website

One of my recent projects, besides volunteering for LTA, art tutoring, and other miscellaneous creative gigs undertaken for fun and profit, has been getting my personal website up and running.  The site has a great design, imagined and executed for me by the multi-talented Nikita Golitsyn more than two years ago, but I'm ashamed to say that it hasn't seen the light of day since summer 2008, mostly because of the rigors of grad school. 

With academia behind me, I thought it was high time that I made my art a priority again.  But this undertaking has challenges of its own.

For one thing, which types of art should appear on the  website?  While I'm happy with all of the pieces I originally chose to use, much of the work does not represent the directions that I'm currently taking.  Once I've photographed and uploaded more recent pieces, will earlier ones need to go?  Another concern is the design itself.  I'm still interested in creating fractal-based abstractions, but do the twisted, tree-like shapes of my earlier work mesh with different kinds of forms?  (See for example Hungry Dragon and Clever Mouse, pictured above, an early precursor to my current work.)

Besides conceptual concerns, there are of course the mundane details of website maintenance: do all of the links work?  Are the pages titled properly?  I'm still ironing these issues out with help from Nikita, but hope to have the bulk of it complete by early 2011.

Visit the page at http://www.phylandart.com for updates.

AbEx New York

Robert Motherwell, Pancho Villa, Dead and Alive

In many ways, the MoMA's Abstract Expressionist New York is exactly what you'd expect.  "The Big Picture" (on view through April 25) features dozens of monumental Pollocks, Rothkos, and de Koonings, with a handful of sculptures and works by women (one apiece by Louise Nevelson, Joan Mitchell, Grace Hartigan, and Helen Frankenthaler, and two by Lee Krasner, more famous 'cause she was Jackson Pollock's wife) thrown in to remind you that the movement wasn't just a macho painterly pissing contest.  And a spectacular show it is, despite the blatant idolatry of certain artists' work at the expense of others, a fault that probably lies less with current curators and more with past museum directors.   

But that's just the fourth floor.

The two related exhibits on the second and third floors ("Rock Paper Scissors" and "Ideas Not Theories", respectively, on view through February 28) are intimate, thoughtfully curated explorations, showcasing works by artists who do not receive the big-ticket treatment as frequently, if ever.  "Rock Paper Scissors" in particular is a delight.  Located in the Prints and Illustrated Books gallery, the show is cohesive and well-suited to the space, which is ideal for close observation of the pieces.

The pairing of small and mid-size sculpture with drawings and prints ties the exhibit together beautifully, allowing viewers the pleasure of observing how artists like Nevelson, Isamu Noguchi, Dorothy Dehner and Seymour Lipton thought in both two and three dimensions.  Some of the scupltures, especially David Hare's Figure Waiting in Cold, are reminiscent of etchings, their delicate metal ribbing inscribing the space around them with short, linear strokes, while many of the works on paper, such as David Smith's drawing Untitled 5/28/55, or Stanley William Hayter's remarkable print Amazon, possess a distinctly sculptural quality.  This show deserves points for moving beyond the often-aggressive facade of the abstract expressionist movement and producing an experience that is nothing short of a revelation.         

The Magic of Art

Paul Signac, Portrait of Felix Feneon

It's easy to forget, after years as a practicing artist, how exciting it was to try out new materials and techniques for the first time.  Luckily, I have my residency as an artist assistant for Learning Through Art to remind me.

We're two weeks into the classroom sessions now, and the experience has been incredibly rewarding.  Both times we've entered the room, our three third-grade classes have given us a reception that this age bracket usually reserves for Santa Claus: gasps, cheering, and applause.

The energy level in the room gets even higher when the lesson starts.  Our students are avid aficionados of Picasso and Matisse, and never tire of telling us that they want to be artists when they grow up (we tell them, "you're artists now!").  During the demonstration yesterday, after first seeing the broad strokes they could make with the side of a vine charcoal stick and then seeing how easily the strokes could be wiped away, our classes reacted as if we'd produced the drawings from thin air. 

Witnessing moments like that, who could doubt that the arts are a fundamental part of our schools?

Recommended Reading

I'm finally catching up on the recreational reading I postponed during grad school, including Sarah Thornton's excellent ethnographic study, Seven Days in the Art World (released just after the financial meltdown of 2008, in my first semester as a masters student).

The book is a quick read, lively and engrossing, and one that I would thoroughly recommend to anyone with an interest in the contemporary art scene.  It's much less about art-making than the plethora of peripheral activities the field comprises, and as such, ought to be required reading for those pursuing a BFA or MFA in visual arts.  As a funny, often hubristic, but ultimately humane portrait of the leading personalities and subcultures built around this tiny word, it is like nothing I've read before. 

On a related note, Thornton has also written a number of compelling articles for The Economist, among other publications.  I was particularly amused by her September article on Damien Hirst, which critiques the British art star's market sense in the same way Randall Lane's July Vanity Fair article skewered washed-up pop artist Peter Max.  Both writers observe that creating more of something doesn't make it more valuable, a lesson of which economists and artists alike should take note. 

All three pieces offer intelligent commentary on the heady days before the collapse, seemingly inevitable in hindsight, in which many key players were oblivious to imminent disaster.  For this reason, there's actually a shred of pathos in these accounts, although there's hubris a-plenty as well.

What's In A Name?

The Mandelbrot set

I'd like to devote my post today to one of my greatest artistic inspirations, mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot, who died Thursday at the age of 85.  Mandelbrot, who coined the term "fractal" to describe irregular shapes that are infinitely self-similar, was an innovative scholar and a pioneer in the field of fractal geometry and chaos theory.

My own interest in the topic, which developed while I was studying painting at Boston University, is the reason for the title of this blog.  Fractals describe the shape of the world we live in, from the microscopic beauty of an individual snow crystal to the epic grandeur of growing nebulae.  The study of fractals is fundamentally about the recognition of patterns in seemingly random forms and events, and I believe that this principle applies equally to art.

Fractal patterning continues to play a major role in my drawings and paintings, and for this I owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Mandelbrot and the countless other scientists and mathematicians who work in this field.  I am particularly grateful for publications such as Exploring Chaos (ed. Nina Hall), now quite outdated at nearly 20 years old, that dissect these phenomena for a general audience.  

Graffiti Grows Up

5Pointz artist studios, Long Island City

Everywhere you look there are examples.  From Shepard Fairey's iconic Obama poster-turned-sticker-turned-t-shirt to Banksy's Simpsons debut on Sunday evening: graffiti artists, formerly known for their guerrilla tactics and brushes with the law, are going mainstream with gallery shows and national labels, and not just in America.

It's hardly the first time that graffiti has been recognized as a serious contemporary art form, as fans of Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat will be quick to point out.  But with today's globalized digital culture, it may be the first time that the trend has become truly widespread, as opposed to being a localized phenomenon in metropolitan areas.

The legal system, however, has been slow to get the memo.  On more than one occasion, the police have used high-profile gallery openings to haul artists into court.  Opponents argue that graffiti "has an adverse effect on the quality of life" and "can be a precursor to more serious acts of crime and violence," but these are unsubstantiated claims.

Personally, I can't imagine how much duller a morning commute on the 7 train would be without views of 5Pointz.  Graffiti enriches the urban experience, providing many young people with the most vivid encounters they have ever had with art.  Graffiti speaks the vernacular tongue of city residents who have never been to an art museum because it's too expensive, or because the works on display leave them cold.  It is a shame that young artists, inspired by the examples of predecessors who have been innovators in the contemporary art scene for the past thirty years, mostly lack suitable legal outlets for their work.  If we value art as a cultural phenomenon, we need to do our best to change this.

Pitchers and Pros

As any aspiring arts professional knows, networking is key to building your contacts and eventually acquiring a job.  And the Emerging Museum Professionals, a career group created by the American Association of Museums, is a great place to start.  There are EMP chapters in major metropolitan areas across the country, each with their own events and members.  Participation in many, if not all, of their events is free, and information is available on Facebook and LinkedIn.

In September, I attended EMP-NYC's happy hour meet-and-greet, regularly held on the second Tuesday of the month, and had a marvelous time chatting with staff from dozens of local museums, as well as people like me who were trying to break into the field.  The atmosphere was relaxed, the attendees were friendly, and everyone was willing to give advice and commiserate.

The next event takes place tonight from 5:30-8:30 pm at Molly Pitcher's on the Upper East Side.  It promises to be a great evening, so take a break from sending out resumes for a few hours and join the group!

Spanish Drawings at the Frick

Jusepe de Ribera, Head of a Man with Little Figures...

First point about the Frick's latest exhibit, "The Spanish Manner: Drawings From Ribera to Goya": it's actually two shows neatly collapsed under a single title, one primarily featuring seventeenth-century religious works, and the other examining Goya's mature drawings, ca. 1800-1820.  The curators attempt to integrate these temporally disparate categories in their introductory text, claiming that continuity is born out of a similar national spirit, but the argument is not particularly convincing.

It's hard to see how Goya's social critiques of human folly and brutality descend from the serene Madonnas and contemplative saints on view here, particularly given the "strident anti-clericalism" the curators note.  Even when the subject matter is analogous, as in Goya's Torture of a Man, ca. 1812-1820, and Vicente Carducho's Martyrdom of Father Andres, ca. 1632, the enormity of their difference is clear: Goya's drawing indicts man's pointless cruelty to his fellow man, whereas Carducho's work exemplifies the Christian cultural crusade against the Ottoman Empire.  And Sebastian de Herrera Barnuevo's delicate pen-and-ink treatment of an auto-da-fe, ca. 1660, emphasizes not the horror of what is about to occur, as Goya might, but rather the festive nature of the spectacle. Onlookers peer from their balconies and gossip jovially in the plaza, one even hoisting a young child onto his shoulders to get a better view of the condemned men awaiting their fate on the platform above. 

That being said, the exhibition is stunning throughout, showcasing exquisite draftsmanship spanning more than two hundred years.  Ribera's playful lilliputians and grotesque, used in the promotion on the Frick website, are certainly memorable, but there are also a number of gems by less well-known painters that should not be missed.  The show will remain on view through January 9.

Mehretu x 2

Julie Mehretu, Middle Grey

For those who haven't yet seen "Grey Area," Julie Mehretu's series of paintings for the Deutsche Bank and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, time is running out.  The show, which closes tomorrow, is well worth the visit.  Her monumental canvases, inscribed with sweeping architectural lines and flocks of calligraphic strokes, are a visual delight for art-lovers of all stripes, demonstrating an old-masterly command of mark framed with contemporary sensibilities.

Fans of Mehretu need not be dismayed, however--a solo exhibition of her works on paper, "Notations After the Ring," is on view at Gallery Met.  The clear star of this show is the artist's 15-foot etching, Auguries, beautifully editioned by the master printers at Gemini G. E. L.  Mehretu's mark ebbs and flows through the twelve panels, creating an epic narrative worthy of exhibition's Wagnerian namesake.  Her small graphite drawings, while lacking the fluid precision and polished composition of her larger work, possess a refreshing spontaneity. 

If you plan to visit the show, keep in mind that while entrance is free, the Gallery Met's hours are limited: 6 p.m. till last intermission Monday to Friday, and noon till last intermission on Saturdays.

Your Brain on Art

I'm very excited this year to have the privilege of participating in the Guggenheim's Learning Through Art program as an artist assistant.

For the last 40 years, LTA has been integrating visual arts into the academic curriculum at art-starved elementary schools throughout the five boroughs.  The program is even more remarkable when you consider the caliber of artists who have participated in the past, including Robert Rauschenberg, Paloma Picasso, and Keith Haring.  

Earlier this week, I attended a professional development workshop for LTA at the Guggenheim that featured a talk by Laurel Schmidt, educator, author, and advocate for arts instruction in the school system.  She was an engaging speaker, discussing the importance of art and inquiry in the classroom through the lens of recent neurological research that suggests that our brains achieve satisfaction through the release of dopamine, triggered by novel experiences, and cortisol, triggered by challenges.  She makes a compelling argument for moving away from the barren, test-laden approach favored by No Child Left Behind, towards an arts-rich model that encourages students to think.

As a fellow educator, I applaud Ms. Schmidt's approach and sincerely hope that administrators heed her advice.

The Caste System of Arts Employment

Caspar David Friedrich, Wanderer Above the Sea of  Fog

In April, the New York Times published an article about the legal crackdown on unpaid internships, causing many organizations including my employer, a small historic house and arts museum, to scramble to bring their operations into compliance with the previously under-reported laws that govern such positions.  But as someone who's been searching for low-experience or entry-level positions in the arts, I can tell you that six months later, the unpaid internship is still thriving in New York. 

Why is this such a problem?  Of the 200+ openings currently listed on the New York Foundation for the Arts website, more than one-quarter (60+) are for unpaid internships, or "paid" internships that do not meet minimum wage requirements. 

In order to be considered for "entry-level" positions in the arts today, it is increasingly necessary to have several internships on one's resume.  However, this practice fundamentally constricts the labor pool to a tiny percentage of qualified candidates, namely those who are willing and able to work for free indefinitely.  We must recognize that by limiting potential museum employees, we limit the vision of our organizations.  If we want to be relevant to the middle class and working poor in an age of declining museum attendance and funding, perhaps we should start by examining our institutional diversity, or lack thereof.

Welcome!

Welcome to Fractylic Hexameter!  In the coming weeks and months, I'll be using this space to blog about the contemporary art world, particularly in New York City.  Among other things, I plan to explore current exhibitions, programs, and events at local museum and gallery spaces, as well as issues relevant to arts professionals like me who are working (or hoping to work) in these areas.