“A lot of things trigger my inspiration. It can be the most banal things”
- Manolo Blahnik, shoe designer.
Inspiration. It can be a fickle thing. Sometime’s it comes to you so quickly you can hardly create something fast enough. And other times it’s like a drought, not a drop of inspiration to be found. Well this blog is your Inspiration Well my friends!
The August Deadline for Park Pictures is getting closer (4 months and counting down!) and I’d like to provide you with some more artists and ideas that could inspire you for this years theme: Consumerism. As the famous designer Manolo Blahnik pointed out, inspiration can come from the most basic things. Above are examples of works by various artists from all over the world that have taken the idea of consumerism and the everyday, and turned them into something amazing.
Starting at the top and working down clockwise:
David Shapiro, July: 112 bills (detail), 2010. From his collection: Money is No object. Ink, gouache and color pencil on Vellum. Currently a piece of this collection can be seen here, at the North Carolina Museum of Art in our exhibition 0-60: The Experience of Time through Contemporary Art. Shapiro collected every ticket, receipt, check, pay stub, slip of paper that he had over the course of a year. He then had reproduced each on vellum. His work documents his life as a consumer for simply a year. The sheer volume of receipts that one person can collect is astounding. You can see his work through August 11th.
Next on the continuum of art we have a portrait by London Artist, Nick Gentry. This work is from his collection, Social Art form the Obsolete, is created from hundreds of floppy discs. He uses obsolete technoboly, floppy disc and film strips mostly, to create unique portraits of modern day society. You can view more of his work here.
Continuing clockwise: Porcelain (fine china) Soda Bottles by Chinese artist Ma Jun. Jun created these bottles in 2007 to help illustrate a connection between the traditions of old China and the commodities of new China. His collection features porcelain cars, televisions, radios, keyboards, all manner of modern conveniences. And they are all rendered through traditional Chinese porcelain designs. To learn more about Ma Jun and his inspiration behind this collection, you can visit his site.
Clockwise, bottom: Next along the spectrum we have a photograph by Dennis Darzacq. The Paris born photographer created the series, entitled Hyper, by photographing urban street dancers in modern conevenience stores. The explosion of movement among the colorful stagnant goods creates a visually appealing message. What that message could be, is up to the viewer to find out. You can discover more of his work here.
Clockwise, moving back up: American born Scott Blake has began to create an extremely unique style of art. His medium? Barcodes. His website, Barcodeart.com features videos, portraits, and interactive displays of his work all of which are created with hundreds of barcodes. The Warhol portrait for example, when installed features and interactive display of Campbell soup cans and a barcode scanner. Scan a barcode, and a specific flavor of Campbell soup will light up. Each barcode was painstakingly recreated from actual Campbell soup cans. He creates similar interactive work with other celebrities like Marilyn Monroe.
Lastly, there are the shoes. These shoes, Boot Bling, were created by artist Sherrie Knipfe and are currently in an exhibition entitled, Bootiful, at the Sullivan+Stumpf fine arts gallery in Sydney. Her collection features consumer products, mostly shoes and handbags, that have been turned into sculpture. Knipfe created these Chuck Taylor look alikes from pine veneer and cotton. For more information about the exhibition and Knipfe’s commentary on consumerism visit Aesthetica Magazine.
There you have it. I hope that these fine artists have quenched your inspirational thirst for now, and perhaps inspired you to create your own visual commentary on consumer culture. If you’re feeling parched, and you’re still need of some inspiration, continue to check back. New content is uploaded every Tuesday!
Last week Isaiah Johnson, one of last years Park Pictures winners, shared with us some words of wisdom and encouragement for up and coming artists. This week Cindy Kohnen discusses her winning piece, Cycles, words of encouragement, and even a super power or two.
Who are you and what do you do? Or What’s your background with art?I am a Meredith College graduate with a B.A. in Graphic Design. I currently work as a creative director for Maggie’s Crochet…an online crochet pattern and craft store. I also create images, graphics, and websites for my freelance clients.
Describe your submitted piece in 10 words or less.
Minimalism meets nature’s colors, shapes, and textures.
Has your process for creating art changed since your submissions last year? If so, how has it changed?
I’ve never really had a set process. As a graphic design student I wanted a portfolio of work that was as diverse as possible. My imagery for Park Pictures was a successful experiment. I would like to revisit the technique I used though.
What inspired you to create your submission for Park Pictures?
My work was originally created for a project in my Digital Imaging class. In the final critique of that project the only comment I got was to make it bigger. I originally presented my work in three separate 8”x8” panels, so when I saw the Park Pictures competition I knew my project had to be submitted.
What research did you do for it?
I was really scared that my images would not scale up to 5’x12’. I researched ways to increase the size of my image without killing the resolution. I ended up resizing in Adobe Illustrator and doing test prints before submitting.
What were you trying to communicate with your piece?
The cycles of life—a call for introspection.
Describe your experience with Park Pictures in 140 characters or less. (Twitter style!)
It was really exciting to have my work so large since my work is generally small scale or virtual. The competition setup was really user friendly too.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
Don’t be afraid to show off your work. If you are happy with your art that is what matters, so be proud of the creations you like.
Are there any other tips or inspiring words you have for artists submitting their work this year?It is easy to make a pretty picture, what can set you apart is your ability to make other people think (not just look).
What have you been working on since?
I have been involved with the creation of a new nature park in my hometown—photographing the trails and newly planted trees along with creating a park map, logo, and website. It is nice to have freelance work that resonates with my personal interests and love of nature. I have a lot of fun at my job too though, I mean where else do you get paid for photographing a life-size crochet gingerbread man or make graphics for cool fashion pieces?
And lastly, what superpower would you have and why?
I would like the superpower to make what I see in my head pop out into existence. I get so busy that it would be nice to blink my eyes and boom—website works, boom—laundry is done, boom—drawing is made the exact way I see it in my head (my work almost never comes out the way I see it in my head though, and sometimes I like it better…so maybe there are some kinks to work out with my superpower).
To see more about Kohnen’s process and thoughts behind her winning piece you can check out An Artist’s Process.
Deadline August 31st.
Last week to see A Life, Still and Still-Life Masterpieces: A Visual Feast from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston at the North Carolina Museum of Art. Raleigh road-trip, anyone?
Food is one of the most popular objects within still life masterpieces throughout art history. But, can a plate of food be art? If you’ve been to an event at the North Carolina Museum of Art, you’ve seen the culinary masterpieces of Executive Chef Andy Hicks. We asked Andy some tips in plate presentation.
- First impression is important; poorly presented food shows a lack of caring and thought
- Put your best ‘foot’ forward. In other words, put your best component on the plate in the most prominent position. However, be sure to balance variety in color, texture and shape of components without making your plate look jumbled up.
- Never cover your border, like the frame of a painting. Get it?
Want more tips how to create your own visual feast? Stay tuned from more tips from Chef Andy!
This month, we are exploring the art of food with some ‘behind the scenes’ look at the culinary arts at the North Carolina Museum of Art. Jennifer Hicks is the Executive Pastry Chef and Special Event Designer who adds the flair our Museum has become known for. Where does she get her inspiration? Pinterest!
Check out Jennifer’s NCMA Evenings + Event’s Pinterest board or her NCMA Food for Thought for inspiration and recipes!
Do you love Pinterest as much as Jennifer? Follow our NCMA Pinup board for images of the last two pinups at North Carolina Museum of Art and updates for the next one February 2012!
