Interstitial

Hassan Pitt's video work, Interstitial was a seemingly simple idea provoking much more insight. It was based around the "cleansing ritual" of shaving ones face and head, but seemed to mean much more than just hygiene or beauty measures. The first thing that caught my attention was the very scientific name Pitts gave this piece. In the description, the scientific tone is echoed again. This gave it a bit of ambiguity to me because I would never have linked science and tradition or ritual. To me, ritual seems more of a spiritual word that negates the confines of practical science. However, when viewing this specific video, the scientific and spiritual aspects come together to me in a weird symbiotic bond.
The removal of foreign, non-organic objects came together with the systematic and organized movements and actions to create the scientific feel. Then, the use of dissolve and motion blur offset this practical nature with a more organic, fleeting atmosphere to portray the ritualistic and more emotional side of the actions. I think this film technique was very successful because it set me in an emotional, even physical state I can recognize, whether it be the action of memory, or sleepiness, or even induced haze.
The work as a whole gave me many things to think about, and in a way, things I haven't resolved quite yet. I don't know at all if what I get from the video was the intended message, but maybe there isn't one intended message. Overall, I was quite intrigued by the ambiguity, the patience and length, film technique, and atmosphere all working together to make me feel confused but not at the same time. Great work, to me, is work that makes me feel, so there it is.

First Friday May

I was unable to catch May's edition of First Friday and only saw the tail end of the festivities coming back into town. I did however glance over a few of the galleries that night and was very bummed that I missed this particular First Friday. I think this is because acedemia as a whole was represented so well this month which was very exciting to me. Not only the graduate students and seniors affiliated with VCU, but also an exhibition from the art department at a local high school. It was very refreshing to see the less commercial art represented on such a night. I think this really reinforced my conviction to make art at this stage in my academic career, because the end result and "payoff" was so clearly represented.
The only gallery I had time to go into was the one containing the VCU PhotoSeniors' work. I loved seeing these pieces in a gallery setting because I could view them in a way in which I couldn't get a feel for while they were hanging behind the glass in Pollack. For example, Will Connally's work was hanging in Pollack and he also gave a very insightful lecture and presentation in one of my classes recently, however, seeing his work hung professionally in a gallery allowed me to interact with on a more profound level then seeing it in a Powerpoint.

Matt Lively Opening (Red Door Gallery)

Last weekend, I attended Matt Lively's opening at the Red Door Gallery for his series of new work, "Home." I was familiar with Matt's work since last year, when he was my Surface Research teacher in Art Foundations. However, I had never seen it before in a gallery setting. His paintings were very well presented by the Red Door Gallery, which is much smaller than I expected, having never been there. You would think large-scale paintings in a small-scale space would maybe be claustrophobic, however, the presentation in my opinion was very easy to view.
It was also nice to view the work on the opening night because it gives it a friendlier atmosphere, especially because I was familiar with his previous work and style anyway. However, had it been an unknown artist, I would probably not have enjoyed the experience of a crowded gallery on opening night.
In addition to Matt's paintings, he is working on a short film, called The Windchill Factory, in which he is building a group of small glass globes surrounding houses. These constructions where also on display and pleasantly offset his paintings, (many of which feature the same style house.)
It was great to see an artist/past teacher/friend's work in a gallery setting. To me, it made the experience of going to a new gallery space much more familiar than it would have been otherwise.

Anderson Gallery Juried Undergraduate Show (Submission and Response)

I entered the Anderson Gallery's Undergraduate juried art show earlier this month. My work was not accepted. This work is above. (It is a study of Francesca Woodman's work.) Last week I went to the exhibition of the chosen pieces and was extremely impressed with what I saw. It seemed as though the Sophomore class was a bit underrepresented, but otherwise, there were masses of pieces by the Art Foundation Freshmen, Juniors and Seniors. I was very struck by the time-based pieces presented by the Art Foundation students in Time Studio classes. I don't remember honestly having ever done a project in my time class last year anywhere close the the bar these students just set. I thought they were junior or senior kinetic imaging students when I watched them, and then saw they were actually Freshmen.
I was also very impressed by the sculptures featured in the Anderson Gallery show. The one that interested me the most was the five stuffed dogs hanging from the wall in the downstairs room of the gallery. This sculpture was a bit ambiguous and definitely haunting. On the one hand, these dogs looked like cute stuffed animals you used to have as a kid. On the other hand, however, the way they were hanging made them look as though they were skinned and hung in a line. To me, this sculpture was a strong comment on the bridge between cute and disturbing, childhood and something much heavier. Also, the mere number of the dogs/skinned dogs made their darker skinned look much more deliberate and almost sociopathic. This sculpture definitely started to do something to me as the viewer.
In general, the Anderson Gallery show made a huge impression on me, because it was really the first time I got to see amazing juried work from the other media.

First Friday (April)

I attended this month's First Friday last week in Downtown Richmond. I found this month's much more enjoyable than lasts from the standpoint of the weather, first of all. However, I seemed to enjoy the art that I saw this month more as well. My favorite piece was at the Metro Gallery, where the VCU Craft and Material Studies students were showing their work. I was very taken by the work of Andrea Donnelly, which was obviously, at first, due to the massive dimensions of her hand woven tapestry. She had painted some of the cotton stitching to portray a silhouette of a woman in the huge tapestry. It was almost as though the woman, although giant, was actually sitting behind the cloth backlit. The portrayal of the human body was done amazingly, given the material. Above that, Donnelly managed to make the two dimensional woven woman have multi-dimensional feelings, which the viewer could easily grasp. I was blown away by this piece for many reasons. I didn't understand the medium, the sheer dimensions were not typical of art I usually see, and the emotion was so clear it was overpowering. I think this work should have had its own room, however, because it took over the other pieces, which may have been interesting, but I never quite got to them.
There was one other piece in the Metro Gallery which struck me because of the interesting installation. It was another Craft and Material Studies piece in a little closet nook in the back of the gallery. It was pencil sketches of a family with the daughter's face blank in every portrayal of her. It was very moving to me because of the nook which housed it. I could almost imagine the daughter locked in there sketching on the walls with coal or dirt she found. It was very dark, but very moving.
Finally, there was a photographer showing with a 360 camera, which he brought and displayed at the gallery. It was interesting to eavesdrop on his discussions with the line of viewers about the mechanics of the camera.

Artist Statement

Photography is a therapy for me. Taking pictures, for me, gives me a release from the things I don't talk about. In terms of society, I am probably an introvert. However, I strive to create very extroverted imagery for myself and for the viewer. My main goal is to create art that makes the viewer feel, whether or not the subject is obvious or not. Of course, I have my own intentions for the photographs; my own inspirations and feelings. However, I don't feel its important for the viewer to get the exact same feelings. I don't want my art to tell a story. I would rather have it allow the viewer to imagine a place the imagery puts them, and how they can relate to these places.

CV

Kathleen Jones CV

Education:
B.F.A. in Photography and Film, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, VA, May, 2011
• GPA: 3.67 (Includes Art Foundations)
• GPA: 4.0 (Only Photography courses)
B.S. in Small Business and Entrepreneurship, VCU, Richmond, VA, May, 2011
• GPA: 3.75 (Transfer credits)

Teaching Experience:
Teaching Assistant, Arabic Film and Culture, VCU, Richmond, VA, January 2009-present
• Tutor general film study and cultural knowledge
• Perform general TA duties (grading, emailing students, posting assignments, etc)

Group Exhibition:
2nd Place Award Recipient, ArtWorks All Media Show, Richmond, VA, February 2009
• Juried by Matt Lively

Artist Resume

Kathleen Jones Resume

Education:
B.F.A. in Photography and Film, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, VA, May, 2011
• GPA: 3.67 (Includes Art Foundations)
• GPA: 4.0 (Only Photography courses)

Photography and Film Experience:
Freelance Photographer, Richmond, VA, October 2008-present
• Assist models with portfolio building
• Specialize in Film and Digital

2nd Place Award Recipient, ArtWorks All Media Show, Richmond, VA, February 2009
• Juried by Matt Lively

Teaching Assistant, Arabic Film and Culture, VCU, Richmond, VA, January 2009-present
• Tutor general film study and cultural knowledge
• Perform general TA duties (grading, emailing students, posting assignments, etc)

Relevant Coursework and Interests
Intermediate Photography, VCU, Richmond, VA, Spring 2009 (course in progress)
• Independently studied and was supervised in applying the photographic skills of a renowned film photographer
• Intensively studied the photographic techniques and style, as well as artistic concepts of Francesca Woodman
• Researched gallery ownership of Woodman’s collections

Organizations and Awards:
Recipient, Dean’s List recognition, VCU, Richmond, VA, Fall 2007 and Fall 2008 semesters
Member, College Art Association (CAA), VCU Chapter, Richmond, VA, March, 2009-present
Member, Beta Gamma Sigma (International Business Honor society) VCU Chapter, Richmond, VA, March, 2009-present
Recipient, VCU Emerging Leaders Scholarship, Richmond, VA, August, 2007

Skills:
Software proficiency
• Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Lightroom, Photomatix, iMovie, Microsoft Office Suite
Artistic Techniques
• Darkroom (Film and negative processing)
• Selected alternative processes (cyanotyping, toning, sabattier printing)

Andy Warhol Polaroids (University of Richmond Gallery)'

"Everybody's sense of beauty is different from everybody else's" --Andy Warhol
Over the weekend, I attended the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Modlin Center for the Arts on the University of Richmond campus. Off the bat, it was quite impressive for one that a University so close had been gifted this amazing collection. Secondly, it was very impressive that a student had coordinated the whole show for a thesis project. The exhibition were selected Polaroids, silver gelatin prints, and a few of Warhol's "Red Books."
My initial reaction to the show was that it was set up very intuitively and "user-friendly" almost. For example, each wall was devoted to Warhol's quotes and writings on a certain thing, such as form, fame, and sexuality. The photos on these walls corresponded to the category.
In a way, this organization may have forced a reaction from the viewer because it only allowed for a maximum of three categorical reactions for all the work displayed. However, I think the writings and quotes and captions were sufficient extra goodies for the viewer to interpret more freely.
I was very moved by this exhibit and was uncertain as to why exactly, in comparison to other great works of art. It was only in retrospect that I realized it was because the very nature of the medium, the Polaroids. These photographs differed from others I am used to seeing in a gallery setting because they are very small. Nowadays, it seems, the norm is to show giant blown up photos in this type of a setting. Looking back on my experience, I realized how close I stood to Warhol's delicate little treasure-like images. For one, this forced me to interact with the art. Also, it made me covet it. The little Polaroids were like finding small treasures that only yourself, as the viewer, can interact with and view at one time. I found this experience to be a very personal one for this reason.
Generally, I found from this exhibit, that Warhol seemed to treat his subjects in very much the same way as I viewed them. Each subject seemed to have a very personal story and dialog within the world of Warhol. His quotations really enforced the meaning and influence he got directly from his subjects. For example, Warhol's Polaroid of Stephen Sprouse, a fashion designer and friend was included in the show. The caption told of their friendship and even that Warhol was buried in a Sprouse suit. (Sprouse Polaroid above)
Lastly, taking in this exhibit really expanded my world more than most shows I see because I gained knowledge and personal reactions to not only Warhol, but also his subjects, whom he respected greatly.

SameTime 1:04

I recently started to "follow" the SameTime blog started by a few members of the VCU Photo department. I had been previously introduced to this project through SameTime 7:15, a project in which Michael Lease, my former instructor was involved. The idea is to take an artistic but completely spontaneous picture everyday at the same time. This picture should represent in some abstract or literal way what you were doing or who you were with at that said time daily.
I wanted to follow the blog a bit before I responded to it so I could really get the get a good idea of my reaction to it.
There was a brief initial and completely irrational reflex to fear this idea, I suppose because my status in artistic academia, which sometimes seems structured around certain rules and norms. The idea of a "snapshot", which unfortunately was my initial reflexive determination of the daily photos, seemed to be outside my world of "art school". I then followed the blog, read the artist statement, and formed my lasting opinion about the project.
The grounds of this photographic endeavor, are very interesting to me. For one, it would be a relatively steep demand on the photographer, I would think, to remember to take a picture at exactly the same time everyday. Then, I realized that after the initial stress and inconvenience turns to routine, it would be a very rewarding situation. To be accustomed to finding something to reflect on artistically at least once everyday is enlightening. I have to admit, there are days that I get caught up in the seemingly important, but utterly useless bullshit of everyday life, when I would love an escape but find myself plugged into the "infrastructure" of "life". However, there are moments, like this one, when I can get completely lost in thought and investigation.
My reaction to this project makes me hope to find a spontaneous treasure at least once everyday, whether it be a picture, thought, or conversation.

Amy Stein (VCU Visiting Artist)

I attended Amy Stein's lecture before spring break. I concluded that her visit was one of top favorites I saw at VCU. In my opinion, she had the talent as well as the personality to make a great presenter and self-promoter in general. (I am just beginning to find these are both equally important qualities in becoming a professional artist--for me the very early stages of course.) I felt it very easy to relate to Stein because I always felt a little behind, only starting photography classes in Senior year of high school. It relieved me to hear her story of starting at age 30 or so as a second career. I found this a very admirable endeavor considering most people find it daunting to even change their majors in college!
Stein's work as well as her explanations were immensely intriguing to me, especially her Stranded series. At first exposure, I found the subject vaguely interesting, but random. Upon hearing her explanation and discussion about this series, however, I saw something different and huge, even epic about the series. I realized this was a series of work done by a talented artist which ended up showing something so much more than photographic talent. This, as it turned out in my brain, was a sociological endeavor of such vast importance to me as a photographer, it changed the way I view myself in this role.
The obvious implications of this theory is that people are normally viewed as dangerous and it would be a fatal move to stop and help them broken down on the side of the road. We get this assumption from cheesy horror movies. Stein's discovery of the subject's fear of her was the unavoidable irony of the message. However, her lecture showed me more than this role reversal. She spoke of more than fear, more than mistrust of the stranger, but of people's initially closed-off natures and the chance encounters which test these natural behaviors. Stein said for herself, this project gave her the "chance for very brief, intense encounters" with humans. Seeing it from the opposite perspective, her project allowed for the subjects to be enlightened or not enlightened with the same chance encounter. (Most may not have thought a half hour past it.) In general however, it was a chance to encounter human interaction much different from the normal cashier at MacDonald's transaction.
Lastly, I would like to say this presentation/revelation changed the way I think about myself as a photographer. Fear of the camera's lens has been around since its beginnings. However, I would never have imagined myself as a feared or mistrusted individual because of my role as a photographer. This gives me more of a sense of responsibility to my subject, whether a friend, model or stranger.

ArtSpace Juried Show (2nd Place!)

I entered the ArtSpace monthly juried show for February, judged by Matt Lively. Two of my three submissions were accepted and one got second place! I learned a lot from this process. One, it is very expensive to enter these shows when you don't really know what you're doing. I had to frame my photos, and without doing much resource ended up spending about as much with this as I could have made selling them. Noted...need to find more cost efficient approach to framing. Either way, I was happy to have even been accepted into the show and elated to have placed. The award check may as well have been a million dollars just because the whole experience was so exciting and rewarding.

Shane Booth (ArtSpace)

Last week, I made it back down to Plant Zero's Art Space for the Shane Booth show. Its interesting how similar in concept it was to Guidotti's which I accidentally went to looking for Booth. Both artists seem to have been taking a humanitarian approach to their photos to make a statement to the viewer. Their methods, however, were a bit different. Guidotti showed disabled children in "normal" settings, displaying "normal" characteristics. In striking contrast, Booth portrayed his humanitarian thesis in a representative way. The models in his photographs were meant to represent the exile and discomfort of living in this society with HIV.
Both these artists' approaches were effective, however, Booth's compositions struck me more intensely. I understand the concept, and was able to interpret without being quite as spoon-fed.. I think it was very important conceptually, for example that in every photo, the model's eyes were hidden, emphasizing the feeling of exile and being identified only as a monster or freak. I also could really identify with the positioning of the bodies. In most photos, the model was shown in some kind of recoiled or inhuman position which emphasizes the discomfort and strain put on people carrying the disease. In fact, as a viewer of these images, I was made uncomfortable and very uneasy, which is exciting. To me, art that makes me feel that intensely, in any direction, is good art.

Paul Shambroom (Artist Lecture)

I attended the Paul Shambroom's lecture last Wednesday. I found his images as well as his lecture itself very exciting. The theories behind his images, although not groundbreaking, were in my opinion, masterfully presented through his compositions. It was also very interesting to here his explanations for his work and also the executions. I had never considered the effects of the 911 attacks on the art world, but it makes sense Shambroom's imagery capabilities were severely stunted due to the terrorism. I found it very useful that he spoke on these topics as well as techniques to use to get permission to photograph certain things, like corporations and government areas.
From Shambroom's lecture, I started to consider the connection between documentary and artistic images. Only hearing the background of Shambroom's work, I would probably label it documentary. After seeing it however, I absolutely consider it art. I especially enjoyed the images taken from within the factories. I believe they were as much about chaos, form and color theory as a document of the factory. I also enjoyed the imposing images of war machines, namely the submarine. I have an irrational fear of submarines.

Positive Exposure (Rick Guidotti)

In a thwarted attempt to make it to Plant Zero for the Shane Booth exhibition this weekend, (it closed before I got there) I stumbled upon a gallery within ArtWorks displaying a photographic series by Rick Guidotti. I later learned Guidotti was formerly a fashion photographer, but then went on to found Positive Exposure, a foundation to erase the stigma commonly accompanying children and adults with disabilities and diseases. The series at ArtWorks were portraits of mostly children, all with disabilities or diseases.
The children were displayed in their normal environments and shown doing things healthy children are pictured doing. This was seemingly the point of the series--to move away from picturing disabled children in a sad environment and a generally negative light. In this sense, the series really worked, in my opinion. I also think it was interesting that children pictured in certain groups based on their health issues did not all look the same or severely generalized. In fact, some of these children looked perfectly healthy, which is also important in breaking the stereotype that disabilities have to be hugely disfiguring. The series was very effective at shining a light of equality on children with health problems and disabilities.
I also think it was important that the portraits were not accompanied by narratives. I feel like the context behind the disability would only make the viewer feel sorry for the subject, by reinforcing that he or she was, in fact, different from a "normal" kid. This would have been counter-intuitive when Guidotti was portraying equality and a light-hearted portrait of a universal kid.
It's kind of funny I stumbled upon this work looking for Shane Booth's considering they both seem to be humanitarian in nature.

First Friday (Feb 2009)

I attended First Friday this month and looked at some of the galleries around Broad and Marshall streets. The first one I walked through was Gallery 5, which was showing a piece by various different artists that seemed to be their reactions to being sexually assaulted. This exhibition was not my favorite aesthetically that night, but was the one which made the most impact. The pieces combined with the way they were presented were truly haunting to me at first. After seeing them as a group, however, I got a much different feeling of release from the expressions within the pieces. It seemed to me that these media were the artists way of expressing and then maybe letting go of their fear or isolation, or whatever else they must have been feeling. Some people use music, others artistic expression. Obviously these pieces were not a complete remedy, but I saw most of them as tremendous release for the artists.
On the other hand, individually, some of the pieces in this collection continued to haunt me. This makes me feel as though they were not about letting go, but instead about heavily introverted examinations into dark worlds of memories. Although these pieces were the most horrifying, they were the ones I examined the closest.
I also really enjoyed the large-scale canvases hung in the 1708 Gallery. I was really drawn to the geometric paint-globs that seemed to be being launched at top speed from one canvas to the next. This, I would say, was the most aesthetically pleasing exhibition. It was refreshing to look at pieces focused on form, color, lines and texture after being sort of smacked in the face with the context of the Gallery 5 pieces.

Maggie (Emmet and Elijah Gowin at Page Bond Gallery)

I attended the Emmet and Elijah Gowin exhibition at the Page Bond Gallery last week. The series, titled Maggie, was an emotionally connected and retrospective set of works about the Gowin's neighbor, Maggie. The series worked as sort of a biography, except this biography jumped past a large chunk of Maggie's life. This jump was very intriguing to me, though, because it showed where Emmet started his study of this woman and then where his son, Elijah picked up years later. This in itself was the most interesting part of the series, because it wasn't a study of one artist, or of multiple, but disconnected artists. It was a series of photographs from a father and son, which gave the viewer a sense of interconnectedness. It worked so well together not only because of the connectedness of the artists, but also paralleled a connectedness of the artists to the subject. The slight variations in the two artists works represented an interesting variation of their respective relationships with Maggie.
At first glance of the series, I honestly didn't get all of this out of it. I initially saw it as a quirky set of portraits of family members, which a lot of emphasis on Maggie. Then I read the piece by Emmet's wife about the background for this work and I was able to view the piece with a much more interested motive. I really appreciated the relationship the two artists must have had with this woman. They were not actually related, but had such a close tie with Maggie that they may as well had been family. There's something about this development of makeshift family which occurs in society which truly intrigues me. How can someone unrelated to you become such a driving force in your life? Could this person become closer to you than your actual family? If this happens, is that morally right? These questions mean a great deal to me because I have "makeshift cousin" who could practically be my sister, and a real first cousin who I barely see or talk to. This series, Maggie, really helped me put these ideas into perspective.

Alix Pearlstein ( VCU Visiting Artist)

I attended Alix Pearlstein's lecture on Wednesday, which left me in a confused state about art and the exhibition of art. I would like to point out that I would have probably left her actual gallery exhibition feeling differently about the work and the presentation. However, in the given show space, the Student Commons Theater, it was difficult for me to experience the work how I believe it was meant to be experienced.
I feel as though I understood the point of the work because Pearlstein spoke about the individual pieces and her inspirations and reasoning. From her lecture I understood that the works were very theme-based and almost channeled age-old fables. (For example, Foresaken, was very much based on themes and fables about the abuse of power and the mutiny which ensues.) This specific video, I feel, was more straight-forward than the others.
Like I said, I understood the meanings of the videos, and I think they were very creatively portrayed. However, I didn't really understand exactly what the audience is meant to gain conceptually from the pieces. Pearlstein said herself that she would be very amused if someone in the audience was entertained by her work. This is a way of thinking about art that I had not really been exposed to previously. Art exclusively for the maker--should this change how it is presented to the audience, how it is exhibited or talked about? Should it be talked about? I would like to see more pieces of this specific genre to help myself answer these questions.

Blend (VCU Fine Arts Building)

I stopped by the Fine Arts Building's exhibition, Blend yesterday. There I found an interesting mix of media and artists, a few names I recognized, and many I didn't. The thing I found most interesting about the exhibition was the great mix of different art forms, concepts, emotions, etc displayed here. I'm more used to seeing a single artist's work up at one time in one place, so this was an interesting twist on my average art exposure and experience. At first, I found the mixed media overwhelming. I had a instinctive reflex to leave before entering the room fully because I wasn't sure where to look first. Then I realized that seeing the work set up all together like this made me stay longer than I may have in a single artist's exhibition. I found myself drawn to each piece individually, instead of absorbing a group of works all together. What really helped this was the numbering of the works, which brought the viewer through the room in an organized and chronological way. I think without this, I would have been to overwhelmed to stay long enough to study each piece.
The part of the show which made the greatest impression on me was the mix of intent and emotion. Each artist had something different to say and a different way to say it, which fascinated me greatly. Some pieces seemed like explorations in line, shape and form, like the Hairnet Installation, by Akiko Jackson. Another was quite politically charged--Project Hope, by Keith Mendak. Each artists agenda was different, but the obvious personality and emotions behind most of them truly moved me.
Lastly, I think the show space was very important in linking the show with its contents. It took place in the VCU Fine Arts Building, an atmosphere charged with fresh, artistic minds. Seeing so many different mediums, some more obscure than others, in such an atmosphere made a lot of sense to me, as a viewer.