MORE Show and Tell...

Greetings from the land of show and tell.  Folks came and showed their favorite artworks and we had a very interesting conversation.  Not everyone who wanted to was able to attend so....we are doing it again for our next meeting, Monday January 12, 2015 at the Chatham Public Library 6pm.  Here is your big second chance to show and tell.  Take a look at the readings because we will also make time to bring this information into our conversation.

While we are on the subject of narrative in contemporary art, you might want to take a listen to the beginning of the Audio Walking Tour of Chatham here.  This link will take you to sound cloud a website where I have uploaded 7 stories.  Want to hear more?  Do you or someone you know have a story to tell that occurred somewhere in the Village of Chatham?  There’s still time to participate.  In February 2015 stop by the Joyce Goldstein Gallery at 16 Main Street to hear more stories told by you!  Then, learn more about ART in the HOUSE for March 2015.  (To learn more about the artworks you brought in, come to the next meeting!)

Show and Tell: Narrative in Contemporary Art

Ahmed Alsoudani at Gladstone Gallery
Untitled

 This month’s theme is Show and Tell - you are all invited to bring in your favorite work of art to our next meeting, Monday Dec. 1, to show and tell why you like it and what it means to you.  If you do not own your favorite work of art or it is too large to carry, a digital image is OK.  The point is to have a conversation about an artwork we are really fascinated by and how this intersects with our own story.

In honor of the show and tell theme I have added links about

narrative and storytelling in contemporary art.  The Art 55 link gives an interesting historical overview, while the Artsy link considers this form as a kind of trend that has been in and out.  Both provide a whole bunch of interesting images too.

I have also included images of three contemporary artists

Lynette Yiadom -Boakye at Jack Shainman Gallery
Any Number of Preoccupations

works here for you take a look at.  Each of these artists have shows right now in Chelsea, NY. Can you tell a story just from looking at them here? Does the title give you any extra information? Where does this story take place? Who are the main characters?  What happens?  Can’t wait to hear all of your stories on Monday, Dec. 1, 6:30-7:45pm in the teen room at the Chatham Public library.

Martin Puryear at Matthew Marks Gallery
Phrygian Plot

The Labeling of Art

Depending on the medium an artist works in, their output isn’t usually questioned.  Painting is a good example of this. Today the artist’s output manifests in a multitude of forms going beyond the traditional mediums of paint or metal to include collaboration and conversation. In a world where social practice and other esoteric forms of conceptual art are now part of the contemporary art cannon, confusion is possible for the layman.  

And what about photography, whether its subtitle is “fine art photography” or “documentary photography?”  If the work is useful, can it also be art?  The contemporary art reading and discussion group will attempt to dig into these ideas, fortified by the readings listed to the left.  So come to the library on Nov. 3, 6:30- 7:45pm, (in the teen room) and be part of the conversation!

Here are a few excellent artists links with work that is either directly mentioned or relevant to this conversation:  Tania Bruguera  Tony Marioni Tim Hetherington Kerry James Marshall

Working Girls, Lemurs, and Balloon Dogs...must be Contemporary Art!

Greetings! As the leaves change it is clear a new season is upon us (good bye summer, I will miss you, dearly.)  That can only mean one thing:  time for the Contemporary Art Reading and Discussion Group to reconvene!

As always there is a lot going on to take note of.  First a few really great local options:  This Saturday, October 4th, a new show titled Search Portrait opens at Thompson Giroux Gallery, 57 Main street, Chatham 4-6 pm.  This is a group show of different takes on the idea of a portrait that I think you all will find interesting.  If you can’t make the opening the show runs until November 16.  Here is a link to the gallery:

http://www.thompsongirouxgallery.com/Exhibit_Upcoming.cfm

Next, a little farther from home (so let’s carpool!) is a very interesting show at the University of Albany museum called Mary Reid Kelley: Working Objects and Videos

On Tuesday, October 7 at 7pm there will be an artist talk.  I am going, hope you will join me!  The show runs until October 18th. Here is a link to the museum:

 http://www.albany.edu/museum/index.shtml

Now as far as those balloon dogs go, I have included just one article to read, published just a few days ago by Jed Perl from the New York Times review of Books.  If you read just one thing from this blog - read this!  This article is more than a review of Jeff Koons retrospective at the Whitney museum.  It lays out some very interesting ideas on art criticism today, where we are in contemporary art today, and how we got here.  Bring your questions and thoughts to the next meeting - Chatham Public Library, Monday October 6th, 6:30 -7:45 in the teen room.

Image info: 1) Lemur - Margot Curran, 2) Balloon Dog - Jeff Koons, 3) The Syphilis of Sisyphus - Mary Reid Kelley

Your stories....about here, and here and there!

The stories are starting to come in...don't you want to add your voice?  You still can!

Next public recording day: 

Chatham Public Library 6:30-7:45 Monday September 15th, in the teen room.

Can't make this date?  Contact me at: melissasarris2@gmail.com to set up an alternate time to record your story.

What do you have to do? Just show up with a story to tell.  Got lots of stories?  Select one that occurs at a particular place in the Village of Chatham, though the story need NOT have anything to do with the location.

Add in as much detail as you can about time of day, the weather, what you were wearing, who you were with, etc to help create the mood.

If this old building could talk...it's Audio Walking Tour of Chatham time!

Ever think about the old adage “if this old building could talk?  Well, with your help that is just want it will do!  How you might ask?  

Tell your personal, funny, outrageous, sad, or ? stories,  that’s how!  The Audio Walking Tour of Chatham invites you to offer your story that took place at a particular location in the village, though the story need not have anything to do with the location.  The stories will be recorded, edited, and ordered to create a self-guide walking tour of our Village.  This tour will lead the listener from place to place listening to your stories!  

Got a story about how one time when you were standing in front of the clock tower and you got a really important phone call about... Or the time you were thrown out of Ralph's when... Or maybe someone once told you about the time they were coming out of the pub and...All stories are welcome. 

Are you shy or simply want some anonymity?  Submit your story as text and we will record it for you.  Simply email to: melissasarris2@gmail.com (or email your pre-recorded mp3 file!)

Participate in telling, recording or editing (no experience necessary!) Come to the Chatham Public Library on Monday, August 18th 6:30-7:45 to share your story or Wednesday, August 20th 6:30-7:45 to learn basic audio editing using garage band and audacity.

Yes, Re-thinking the Facade is over and Berkshire bank looks ordinary again but below are a couple of images from the closing event.  Those two lucky folks got to take home a genuine artifact from the facade!

Find out how the story behind this "brick" from
Re-thinking the Facade will figure into
the Audio Walking Tour!

Marie Claude taking home
"Absence."

Greit taking home "Buddha Man."

All good closing ceremonies deserve cake!

It's Up...and now for the closing party!

Re-thinking the Facade in place, temporarily 

detail with "blocks"
made by Cathi, Leni, and Beth, Thanks

 Take a look at Berkshire Bank at 52 Main Street in Chatham and what will you see?  A kooky, crazy temporary installation:  inspired and sometimes made by you!  THANK YOU ONE MILLION to everyone who participated and helped out!  You put the "engage" in engagement.  Lots of fun was had and I also learned a lot.  Enjoy the beautiful plantings, even after the installation comes down. Special thanks to Joanne for all of her garden maven help!  Speaking of the installation coming down, on Thursday, July 31 from 4-6 pm there will be a closing party right in front of the bank.  The installation will come down (with the very kind assistance of James, Randy, and their tall ladders,) and there will be cake!  Plus take home a piece of the installation as a souvenir!  Spread the word. Hope to see you there!

Parade from SummerFest poses in front of the facade!

What's next?  The Audio Walking Tour of Chatham! An audio tour of the Village of Chatham that surveys history, culture, and contemporary living through local stories. Tell your personal, funny, sad, irreverent, etc., stories that connect to particular locations in the village. Be the voice of someone else’s story.  Stories will be recorded, edited, and ordered into a self guided tour of the village of Chatham. Participate in telling, recording or editing (no experience necessary!) Check back here for more details.

Temporary Installation opening July 12th...with a closing on July 31!

Facades at the Grainery

On Saturday July 12th Re-thinking the Facade will be on view at Berkshire Bank at 52 Main street, Chatham, NY.  This temporary installation was inspired by the architecture of the Village of Chatham in all it’s varieties as a metaphor for the diversity of our community. Participants were asked to re-imagine the brick facade of the bank building.  Their ideas ranged from bringing the personal into the public, conceptual notions of community and more.  (These model facades are in the windows on Main Street.)  I have sampled and synthesized many of these ideas and included them in the

Facades at Banner's

installation.  

Why a closing event?  Why not?! On Thursday, July 31st, from 4-6 pm I will be taking the installation down.  Since it is modular, all of the individual “bricks” will be on offer to the community to take home as a kind of souvenir and a thank you for their support during the project.  Or stop by to learn more about what’s next for Chatham Art Agency.... The Audio Walking Tour of Chatham!  Light refreshments will be served. 

Facades at Brown's Shoe Store

Check the right hand side of the blog for some interesting book titles for summer reading!

Facades at the Chatham Bookstore

Facade Time...Contemporary Art reading group goes on summer vacation!

So...guess what is in the window at 9 Main street?  YOUR facade models!  Many folks from the community have begun to participate in the "Re-thinking the Facade" project, creating what they might like to see on the Berkshire Bank facade. 

If you haven't made your facade model yet there is still time!  Come to the Chatham Public Library on Monday, June 23, at 6pm (in the teen room) and make yours.  All ages welcome and all materials provided.  Facade models are also available at:  The Chatham Public Library, Chatham Printing (9 Park Row,) and Village office in the Tracy Memorial.

Your models will be place in Main street shop windows for the community to enjoy.  Then on Saturday July 12th (during Summer Fest,) an actual temporary installation will be added to the Berkshire Bank facade and remain up until July 31st. All of your great ideas will be sampled and synthesized.  So join in the conversation.  more info: melissasarris2@gmail.com

Banned/Censored Art and Facades continued... with a bike accident on the side!

Most of you have probably heard now that I had a little mishap on my bike on Mother's day.  Nothing broken, just moving slow.  For this reason I have decided to move the banned and censored art theme to our next meeting on Monday June 9th, 6:30 pm.  All the links are on the right.

In the meantime - don't forget about your facades!  I have included some images here to get the juices flowing.                                                                                                  

Banned/Censored art: Sexuality, Religion, and Politics......and facades!

At the end of our last meeting the topic of banned art was suggested for May 12th (thanks Joanne).  The above short list basically hits the key reasons why art works are removed from view.  Often, it is the work that is censored or banned that leads to new ideas, new understanding, and new acceptance - eventually.  Hindsight, as the saying goes is always 20/20 and can be great at providing insight. This is a very large and complicated subject that I will just scratch the surface on with the links included. Many of the links have their own links that I highly recommend you follow to see images of the art works in question.  Below is the final paragraph from the Art Asia Pacific Magazine link:

"And as for art? Art is what makes us human—or at least allows us to ask and understand what it means to be human. Art, as well as its sanctuaries, need to be recognized and safeguarded as that necessary space of exception: the safety valve of expression in any society. No stranger to the state as stern and unavoidable bedfellow, art is necessarily an ingenious, inconvenient paradox."

Photography "Outsiders" *

Front of the card

We had a great meeting on the 14th that included a wonderful new participant to the group (Hello Gail!)  And speaking of "participant" and "group" I decided to make up an "acknowledgement of participation" card.  Don't worry, you can get one too.  Just come to a meeting or two, and stay art curious!

By consensus for our next meeting we decided to examine a contemporary photographer, Kyle Thompson.  He is just starting out but his work is very accomplished.  To balance things out it seemed interesting to add one of the grand-daddies of photography: Alfred Stieglitz.  As is always the case with a lively conversation, one artist brought another to mind and Diane Arbus was brought into the mix.  Her work got us

Inside of the card

onto the subject of the outsider artist and the recently discovered photographer Vivian Maier.   I personally find the subject of the "outsider" artist quite fascinating and decided to add Henry Darger's works.  He was not a photographer but he was definitely an "outsider" and not just in the art world.

Contemporary art is often difficult for the those outside the art world to "get."  Many art works that are now part of the art canon were also viewed this way in their own time.  Let 50-100 or more years pass and all bets are off on how we might view the work.  Another factor that may make the viewer extra fascinated with an "outsider" artist is how the artist manages to produce the work (in some cases large amounts for many, many years,) with no outside support or feedback.  How does the artist keep going?  In some cases the work is found posthumously - how would the artist feel about the discovery of their work and was it ever intended for anyone else's eyes?  We can add to these questions during our next discussion.  Photography is a really interesting medium to think about these ideas as the artist often uses themselves to make their work (as Kyle says because he always has access to himself.) These self portraits can become a stand in for more universal themes of identity, something the medium of photography is eminently qualified to consider.  And then there is the issue of the "truths" photography speaks because of it's quasi-representational nature.  Perhaps we will pick up the thread we began when Julie Casper Roth showed us her video. Lots of links to look at and read -  can't wait to see where the conversation takes us.  See you on the 28th!

* A working definition of an "outsider artist" - Art produced by self-taught artists who are not part of the artistic establishment.

Documentary and Digestive biscuits

Having Julie Casper Roth come to show us her work and talk to us about the fine line that documentary work always walks between reality, truth, and fiction was really interesting.  As an artist Julie describes herself as a story teller who is always interested in how she can play with combining her love of history to create speculative fictions of the past or the future.

We rearranged the chairs and use a drawing pad as movie screen for this evening’s presentation. And what a lively conversation, in spite of being in the main part of the library (we were only reminded to lower our voices once!)  Several really interesting films were mentioned that folks may want to try to see including:  Catfish,  Johnny got his gun, (both can be requested by inter-library loan through Chatham Public library,) and Exit thru the gift shop, (available to stream on Netflix or to rent at video visions.)  

For our next meeting on Monday, April 14 we will try to catch our breathe and take some time to “digest” all that we have read, seen, thought about and talked about.  Using the term “meta” may be appropriate here (see the definition of this below*,) as we begin to talk about what we have been talking about and how effective/interesting this form of talking has been.  It is also time to talk about what we will do next ( I have a few ideas!)  I have included just one link for this week so as not to feel too full! And this is where the digestive biscuits will come into play.  Of course we will try them with and without chocolate, milk and bittersweet!  We will be back on our regular day, regular time, regular location - hope to see you there!  (Monday April 14, 6:30-7:45, in the teen room.) 

If you would like a little more reading material to hold you over until our next meeting please stop by the Bagel Cafe at 41 Main Street.  While having a bite enjoy reading a chapter or two of one of my art books I have temporarily loaned (and covered with fabulous fabric covers) located above the drinks cooler just waiting for you to open them up!

*

Guess who's coming to Chatham?

Meet Julie at the library 3/26/14  6:30pm

Artist/Filmmaker/Writer Julie Casper Roth - an award-winning filmmaker and video artist whose work has been presented at many venues such as the MadCat International Women’s Film Festival, Athens International Film and Video Festival, Chicago Reeling Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival, Dumbo Art Under the Bridge Festival, the Southwest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and Anthology Film Archives. Her work has also been screened in gallery settings including Artists’ Television Access in San Francisco and the SCOPE Art Fair held at Lincoln Center and in Basel, Switzerland. Her work has also been shown in conjunction with "Technocracy" - the SPEMA conference held at Carnegie Mellon University.  She is a 2008 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow in Video as well as one of five national recipients of the 2012 College Art Association's Professional Development Fellowship.  

Julie and I became friends while we were in grad school together at the University of Albany

and she will be coming right here, to our Chatham Public Library on Wednesday* March 26th at 6:30pm - upstairs by the fireplace.  Come one, come all, and enjoy this free event where Julie will show us some of her work and have a conversation with us about the fine line between fact and fiction.  Take a look at the links on right that Julie provided to get ready!

*This is a special night for our ongoing reading and discussion group which usually meets on the second and fourth Monday at the library.  We will go back to our regular schedule in April, meeting on the 14th at 6:30pm.

One field trip, two artists...

We had a very engaging and fascinating time on our first field trip to Main Street, Chatham where we visited two local galleries.  At Thompson Giroux Gallery Kate Hamilton met with us and talked about her process to make her four times life size garments out of ripstop nylon.  Kate also talked about how clothing is a metaphor for shelter. Because of this it seemed only fitting that we enter into one of her works for a photo.  Kate was very gracious about allowing us to touch the work, an added treat in my book.  

This show, “Big Shoes to Fill” has now ended but you can learn more about Kate Hamilton’s work from her website.  I also want to thank Marie-Claude Giroux of the Thompson Giroux Gallery for helping make this wonderful evening happen.  

Next we went down the street to the Joyce Goldstein Gallery to delight in Kelly Bruneau’s captivating and joyful drawings on paper...and the walls!  Her drawings are expressive and often capture a particular moment in time of excitement, frenzied activity, or embarrassment that comes to life.  The show title, “Side Kicks and Friends” really sums up what these drawings mean to Kelly.  For more info about Kelly’s work please stop by the Grainery at 15 Main street and speak to Cathi Bruneau, Kelly’s mom. 

I would also like to thank Joyce Goldstein for allowing me to use the gallery during the winter months when the gallery is usually closed.

Feeling Lucky?  Here is an interesting list of links folks from the reading and discussion group have shared:

http://liferoar.wordpress.com/2012/05/16/the-masters-tools-will-never-dismantle-the-masters-rape-rack-feminism-and-animal-rights/

 http://www.fastcocreate.com/3027193/what-makes-art-popular-science-says-its-luck-and-the-opinion-of-others?partner=newsletter 

http://www.johngriebsch.com/GalleryMain.asp?GalleryID=13335&AKey=6n346rxe

https://www.facebook.com/berlinartparasites

http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/3/instagram-art-socialsharing.html

http://artomi.org/calendar.php  - Jim Torok: Drawings On view: March 22 - May 31 Artist reception & talk: 
Saturday, April 5, 2-5 PM

Threads of an Art Conversation...

Click the green flag to start and the red stop sign to stop.When all those "conversation" squiggly threads appear and start jiggling press keys a,b,c,d,e,f to see what happens next! (Be Patient, this animation takes a moment to load.)

Ok, so much I would like to share with you all, and so little time or perhaps too many threads to follow.  That is a good segue to talk about our Feb. 24 meeting at the library.  We had a very interesting conversation on the two artists (Sara Sze and Gregory Crewdson) we had looked at.  Several key points floated up to the surface in the conversation that I hope will stay with us as we continue.  Rather than use language here to describe these ideas, I used a simple, kid-intended, programming language called Scratch to make a little animation. This program was developed by MIT and is quite user friendly (particularly if you are a child, so the learning curve was a little steeper for me.) One of the key features that really drew me to using this form is it was a way to connect our little community with another, though virtual one.  This application is completely free. You can see how others made their works, borrow ideas and ask or answer questions.  This open source system contains a lot of ideas of what a community can be.  Follow this link to see the Scratch website and an alternate version of my animation that includes sound (I recommend head phones if you are viewing this in the library!) 

For our next meeting on March 10, we will look at a couple of artists that will in some way prepare us for our first field trip on Friday March 14th.  We will be visiting the Thompson Giroux Gallery at 57 Main Street and then Joyce Goldstein Gallery at 16 Main Street.  We will start at the Thompson Giroux Gallery at 5:30 where we will see  Kate Hamilton’s Big Shoes to Fill, a show where quotidian forms of clothing are transformed by scale and become a stand in for one’s identity.  Then on to Joyce Goldstein Gallery to see Kelly Bruneau’s Side Kicks and Friends, colorful, exuberant, drawings on paper and the walls.  Check on the right in the “what we are reading” box for links to all of the readings.  I can’t help but also include a few other links that include artists from the last meeting, or are just too wonderful to not share.  Enjoy!

First meeting with images and audio! (of a kind...)

We had a lively first meeting with a bit of meandering and a few tangential jags too.  Since the subject of Contemporary Art is so large and unwieldy - what else could we expect?  For those of you present at the first meeting, please feel free to add a comment or a question below.  If you are following along online, you are invited to add your comments/questions too.  The readings from week 1 are on the archive page.  Each Participant was asked to fill out a brief survey after the meeting.  Questions included the name of their current favorite artist or work of art, and their favorite yet most obscure band or song.  Clicking on each image will take you to a youtube link of each participant’s favorite song.  For me, this combination of images and audio acts as a metaphor for the intricacies and complexities that is Contemporary Art.  

Images: 1)Jackson Pollock - Autumn Rhythm, 1950, 2)Dale Chihuly, 3)Georgia O’Keeffe - From the Lake 1924, 4)Patricia Cronin - Memorial to a Marriage (I apologize for some brief commercials in front of the songs on youtube.) 

For the next meeting we decided we would focus on a few specific artists. We will look at their work and read a bit about them.  Although my intention is for this group to function collaboratively, I will select this first group of artists. Because our meeting time is just a bit over an hour, we will look at two artists, the sculptor and installation artist Sara Sze and Photographer Gregory Crewdson for 2/24.  Plan to find something in the readings about each artist that particularly interested you to share with the group.

Here are the names of two more artists we might read about next:  Jeremy Deller and Julie Mehretu. (Feel free to look them up on your own and see what you think.) Links for readings are on the right.  

Below are a few nice questions that came from one of the readings from the last meeting, by Art 21.  As we talk about all of these artists we will try to consider their work as it relates to us, right here in Chatham, NY.  Hope to see you at the library.  By survey choice snacks may include baked goods!

• A work of art can be produced using many different working methods and processes
• Art can serve as a form of critique (social or political)
• Art often references or appropriates elements from multiple disciplines and sources
• Art often integrates new technologies (digital media, computers, the Internet) or unconventional materials (found objects, nature, the body).
• Art often blurs the boundaries between art and everyday life
• Art can exist outside of traditional exhibition forums
• Art can unfold over time

A reading and discussion group on Contemporary Art at the Chatham Public Library

So...why create a reading and discussion group on the subject of Contemporary Art? I want to use the subject of art to prompt an interesting conversation with a diverse group of people from various generations and levels of art experience.  I want you to feel like an insider in the art world.  And I want us to find a way to connect this feeling with what happens right here in Chatham, both in the arts and in how we see ourselves in the community.  I also want to develop an audience for contemporary art, right here where we live.

And what can you expect as a participant?   Like all of my projects, this is a bit of an experiment; I don’t know exactly what the outcome will be.  There is one quote I remember (though not verbatim) from my high school english teacher “No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader,” by Robert Frost.  This phrase runs through my head every time I start a new project which I take to mean if I know exactly what will happen, why bother doing it?  Because Contemporary Art is such a large subject, we can’t possibly cover everything. I have some specific ideas to present and then I will be open to what the majority is interested in. 

Everyone will be encouraged to offer their thoughts and opinions, either during the meetings or as written comments on this blog.  I would like to keep the structure of our meetings relaxed and maybe even a little unconventional.  We might use a modified system of penalty cards (notion borrowed from soccer) to use when the conversation becomes too filled with art/artist references that are unknown.  And we might find some other uses for these cards including evaluating art works.

This reading/discussion group is a kind of art project in itself.  How could that be, you might ask?  Come, bring your questions and comments and we’ll figure it out.