Artist Statement (from Alexander Korzer-Robinson)

(above) By Alexander Korzer-Robinson

"Family Book", cut medical book, ca. 1910

25cm x 18cm x 4cm

 (By Ashley Peralta)

 

          The artist builds composition and narrative by using only images found in books (sometimes encyclopedias) and cuts around some of the illustrations while removing others. "We create our own past from fragments of reality in a process that combines... remembering and forgetting with the coincidental and unconscious." (Korzer-Robinson).

     Effective vs. Ineffective: I find the artist's work to be effective in his pursuit of giving the encyclopedias and books new meanings or purpose to the viewer. As the artist suggests in his statement, the books are no longer tools to learn about the world, but rather a way to gain insight to oneself.

     Audience: The audience can be anyone who views Korzer-Robinson's works. He considers the audience very much which is seen by his desire to create a composition that may invoke a narrative that the viewer envisions.

     Aesthetic / Composition: The compositions are balanced and use both color and black and white in the image created. Some images overlap others and the size of the figures (or animals and plants) in the works vary. These aesthetics help create depth in the work, forming a foreground and background. The different angles and positions of the figures forms a captivating, interesting structure. The frame of the works are created by the covers of the books used.

Artist statement HW - Edward Hopper

Edward Hopper

Edward Hopper’s work successfully captures the emotion and feeling of real people living normal city life.  Though he did do landscapes, his figure paintings were by far his most popular.  I believe his figure paintings were successful because he found a way to depict loneliness in large urban areas.  The scale and placement of his figures gives them depth and expression.  His most successful works were bought or commissioned from museums, but his audience was always the American middle-class.  Hopper tried to depict normal middle-class Americans as they really appeared.  

Artist Statement Bao Nguyen

Derek Gores

I find this collage/composite to be very effective in displaying both motion and figurative form. The colors are very vibrant and appealing to the eyes. The background really helps the ballerina stand out in the image. The color scheme gives off a calm and relaxing atmospheric nature of the ocean, while the pink/red creates a sort of spark that can really draw the viewers attention from the vibrant background to the detail put into creating the figure.      

Artist Statement (Isabelle Lydick)

The artist I chose was Lisa Yuskavage.

I really enjoy the feel of Lisa Yuskavage's work. They are beautifully painted, especially her "pie face" paintings.  I love the texture of the icing in this work; it looks real.  And most of her work is very in your face, and much of it is provocative, dealing with women as subjects.  But what I enjoyed about her artist statement was that she doesn't apologize for any of it.  She paints for herself, not for others. 

Artist Statement/ Elizabeth Halfacre

The artist I chose is a Figurative Collage artist named Elizabeth Halfacre.

I think this artist is very effective in what she is attempting to achieve. It seems her art is attempting to tap the subconscious. She is trying to evoke a response by triggering a memory or emotion from her audience. Her methods of layering the pieces, sections of light and dark, and her creation of depth really do help her audience connect on a conscious and unconscious level. Every piece I looked at seemed to have a lot of depth and meaning to it.

Hey all!

I'm just reminding you that Best Student Essays is still accepting submissions through MARCH 8TH.  They would love magazine cover art and photo essays (the theme is open).  This is a great way to get your artwork published and out there.  The pieces can be anything you have done; either for class or recreation.  Just go to beststudentessays.org or you can email Elizabeth Thayer at bse@unm.edu if you have any questions.

Homework: 2/19

FINISH COLLAGE FROM CLASS (or complete new image)! Focus is on OVERALL COMPOSITION and balance in frame. Think of WHOLE PAGE: figures, marks, texture, value, foreground, background, BALANCE.

Read AT LEAST 4 artist statements from figurative artists, 2 must do collage/ composite work. Post link to your favorite and 2 comments on WHY you find this artist's work is effective/ineffective, along with one comment on audience (who is intended? does the artist consider audience when working?), and one comment on aesthetic/ composition (what is HAPPENING in frame).