What Is Missing?

Cross-posted on the iconomaniacs blog.

As a follow up to our discussion of Maya Lin's impact on the history of memorials (Episode 10: Memorials), you may be interested in what she is calling her final memorial, What is Missing?

Today I listened to a rerun of her interview on NPR's On Point with Tom Ashbrook where she discussed what may be her remaining life's focus, bringing attention to the extinct and vanishing species of the world. The work incorporates sculpture, video, sound, hand-held electronics, printed material and an interactive website.

Architect, designer, and environmental artist Maya Lin carved a permanent, powerful place in the American heart with her Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC.

She was 21 when she drew that black granite line in history, and she went on to a wide-ranging life in design.

Ten years ago, Maya Lin announced she was out of the memorial business entirely. But now, she’s done one more: to all the species vanished or vanishing from the Earth. A king-sized listening cone, filled with the sounds of birds and frogs and primates slipping away.

Maya Lin's Website
What is Missing? Website
On Point with Tom Ashbrook interview with Maya Lin
The New York Times Style Magazine photos


Let us know what you think.

Uli, South Pacific Art

I came across an interesting object while visiting the LACMA. The museum, in 2008, acquired a vast collection of Pacific arts. One such item (common in this genre) distinctively displays sexual characteristics of both male and female; A Papua New Guinea, New Ireland Providence, Hemaphrodite Uli, which according to the gallery label, "is used to represent the deceased male chiefs in funerary rites."

Imagine a memorial figure designed to revere your male ancestors portrayed with female breasts! Seems more likely that this particular motif would signify disgrace or mockery instead, but this is clearly a Western perspective as Nicholas Thomas explains in his book Oceanic Art, "Androgyny in the person may be expressed in art forms that incorporate both male and female symbolism - If not explicitly hermaphrodite features." He then goes on to suggest that, "their power may derive from a bisexual ambiguity."

Interesting concept that power may be achieved through imagery that is naturally unaccustomed, but this particular work may have symbolic properties that deliver more than just physical astonishment. Some speculate that the breasts may represent fertility while the phallus may represent strength - Is it the goal of this androgynous memorial to primarily shock, subdue, or even instill traits through fear? Or are there existing subtle values and positive nuances that remain a mystery?

Center for the Arts Dedication

Please join us as we dedicate the new Center for the Arts.
click on image to enlarge

Fairies

Has anybody thought of the existence of fairies? There have been pictures showing fairies interacting with a girl, but are they real? Well, the creator of the character Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, wrote a book named "The Coming of Fairies", in which he attested those pictures as genuine.

The truth is that those were fake pictures that two girls with good imagination used to dupe people back in the 1900's. But the purpose of this post is not to talk about fake pictures of fairies, it is to say that the way some fairies are depicted is really artistic because the beauty they reflect let some viewers believe in their magic, and all it takes is good appreciation and imagination.

Americans for the Arts

Check out this site. It's for Americans for the Arts Action Fund, the organization that stands up for the arts in America! You can check it out here:

http://www.artsactionfund.org/

The Arts Action Fund is the only national organization that mobilizes Americans in the fight for arts funding and arts education. They’re building a nationwide army of citizen activists who will help guarantee that arts-friendly public policies are adopted at the federal, state, and local levels. Won't you add your voice?

Of course, many well-meaning people, including elected officials and many of our fellow citizens, view spending on the arts not just as an extravagance, but also as a drain on resources that are best used for other purposes. To them, the arts are unimportant. Expendable. A distraction.

Well, I disagree. And we have a fight on our hands. But if we come together, we can build lasting public support for the arts, allowing every American to learn, participate in, enjoy, and benefit from the arts.

Thanks for taking the time to check this out. If we all do our part -- small or large -- together we can stand up for the arts in America!

Even Better Than the Real Thing

Even Better Than the Real Thing
at the Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art

Rancho Cucamonga, CA - Chaffey College and the Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art are pleased to present Even Better Than the Real Thing: The Art of the Uncanny, curated by Jennifer Frias, August 23 – September 25, 2010. The reception will be Tuesday, August 24, 6-9 p.m., with light refreshments and entertainment featuring dj Trickmilla. The reception will be held in conjunction with the Chaffey College Center for the Arts building dedication and reception from 5-7 p.m. There will be a curator’s walk-through with Jennifer Frias on September 22 at 6pm.

Even Better Than the Real Thing: The Art of the Uncanny observes the edges of perception. It takes into account the notion of “defamiliarization,” or the artistic technique of forcing the audience to see common things in an unfamiliar or strange way in order to enhance perception of the familiar by making the everyday uncanny. While the procedure to achieve such realistic and hi-tech qualities may appear mass-produced, the objects in the exhibition were constructed meticulously by applying basic, traditional art and handcraft techniques, such as painting, drawing, sculpting and sewing. The works selected for Even Better Than the Real Thing posses characteristics that are visually arresting, seductive, and at times, disturbing. The results undertake an unsettling realism and issue a challenge to art’s alleged dedication to the world of appearances.

Even Better Than the Real Thing will feature the work of: Jon Bonser, Joe Davidson, Ben Jackel, Kiel Johnson, Nina Katchadourian, Rebecca Morales, Kristen Morgin, Kaz Oshiro, Derek Parker, Andy Ralph, Laura Splan, and Stephanie Syjuco.

Guest Curator Jennifer Frias is the assistant curator of UCR's Sweeney Art Gallery. Her curatorial projects focus on contemporary art, with special emphasis on the exploration of identity, pop culture and technology. She has organized exhibitions such as "Will Connell: Hollywood Noir" (2003), "When Nature Takes Its Course: Natural Disasters from the Keystone-Mast Collection" (2004), "Material Witness" (2007) and worked alongside Tyler Stallings on "Your Donations Do Our Work: Andrea Bowers and Suzanne Lacy" (2009). In 2008, she was guest curator at the California Museum of Photography for the exhibition, "And These Natural Things: Works by Melissa Martinez" (catalog). Her current projects include an exhibition (August 28, 2010 ) for the Begovich Gallery at Cal State Fullerton entitled, "Metadataphile"(catalog), a group exhibition of contemporary works that focuses on appropriating, hacking, re-purposing and regenerating visual information. She is also currently working with the artists and curators collective, SixPackProjects on numerous southern California phantom gallery exhibitions scheduled for fall 2010 and winter 2011.

The exhibition, reception and walk-through are free and open to the public.

WIGNALL MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART
Chaffey College, 5885 Haven Avenue, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91737
Park in the North Parking Lot - Permits can be purchased at machines for $2.
Parking is free during museum receptions and special events.

INFORMATION:
(909) 652 - 6492, www.chaffey.edu/wignall

Olmec Symposium at LACMA

A symposium on the Olmec is being held in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art exhibition,
Olmec: Colossal Masterworks of Ancient Mexico, on display from October 2, 2010 through January 9, 2011. The symposium is free and scheduled for October 22 & 23, 2010.
Exhibition information.
Symposium information.

Iconomaniacs Episode 25: Arshile Gorky

www.iconomaniacs.com

In response to the Arshile Gorky retrospective currently on exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, John and Denise discuss the work and life of the artist.

Episode 25: Arshile Gorky

All paintings and drawings are included in the catalog Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2009.

Cross-posted on the iconomaniacs blog.

New Discovery at Teotihuacan

Mexican archaeologists discover an 1,800-year-old, 100-meter long tunnel under Teotihuacan that they speculate could possibly contain tombs. Read the complete article here.

A long-sealed tunnel has been found under the ruins of Teotihuacan and chambers that seem to branch off it may hold the tombs of some of the ancient city's early rulers, archaeologists said Tuesday. Experts say a tomb discovery would be significant because the social structure of Teotihuacan remains a mystery after nearly 100 years of archaeological exploration at the site, which is best known for the towering Pyramids of the Moon and the Sun.