#people: have you seen the van gogh or dali exhibit

[fashionsfromhistory]

If you're in the Chicago area, highly recommend seeing Gio Swaby: Fresh Up at the Art Institute. Some truly beautiful textile work.

My work operates in the context of understanding love as liberation—a healing and restorative force. These pieces celebrate personal style, vulnerability, strength, beauty, individuality, and imperfections.

—Gio Swaby

[howwelldoyouknowyourmoon]

Look at me: the art of self-expression

© Jen Kiaba Barry. Hold Your Peace, which explores issues of forced arranged marriage, from the series, Burdens of a White Dress, 2013.

By Candide McDonald | 24 October 2018

Vincent van Gogh created a collection of 50 self-portraits, albeit painted. Andy Warhol is famous for his. So are Surrealism artists, Man Ray and Salvador Dali. This is not to say that self-portraits make you famous, but that creators have been representing themselves in their art for a very long time. Their reasons are fascinating. Their rewards, unexpected. Candide McDonald investigates.

The story of Jennifer Kiaba Barry is one of the more striking examples of this. “Self-portraiture, for me, is a tool for self-exploration. I use it to peer into my psyche, and to begin to unravel the inner workings there,” she says. “I was born into one of the most notorious cults of the ‘70s and ‘80s in the United States - the Unification Church. That experience warped my perspective on what it meant to be a woman and what my inherent value was. Since extricating myself from the group in my late teens, it has been a long road to healing and rewiring my mind in an attempt to undo the damage of the cult.”

Barry began taking photographs to try to make sense of her world. “But for many years I was afraid to turn the lens on myself. Perhaps I was afraid of what I might find, and the burden of confronting the demons of years past. Eventually, though, the need to express and explore became paramount and I began to create work that directly addressed those experiences. It was only when I began to step in front of the camera, however, that the work truly became powerful and meaningful to me.”

The self-portraits in her favourite series, Burdens of a White Dress, refer to her experience growing up in the cult, but also the struggle she went through in trying to find her way out of a forced arranged marriage within the religious movement.

Barry’s work has been exhibited internationally and has also given her the opportunity to begin teaching in an arts program for at-risk youth. “Being able to give young people the tools to explore their own experiences and create meaningful work has been one of the biggest joys of my career thus far,” she states.

Read full story here: http://www.capturemag.com.au/advice/look-at-me-the-art-of-self-expression

The Purity Knife

Jen Kiaba photos

Life Without Reverend Moon

http://summerofcheesecake.blogspot.com

Miss Mayhem and I decided to start this blog as a bit of a therapy project. We are sisters who grew up together, then grew apart when Miss Mayhem left the Unification Church that we had grown up in. After I left as well, we began to retrace our steps to begin our relationship as sisters and friends again. This blog is a part of that healing process. “I’m not sure where this misconception came from that a Moon-sanctioned union will be free of heart-ache, gut wrenching fights (either internal or with a spouse), and potential breakup. That should be Lesson #1 in any relationship, in any religion: there are no guarantees that it will work or be immediately fulfilling. A breakup can be a learning tool. But at least at the end of the day, outside of the Unification Church there is proper support for a struggling couple and less threat of “fire and brimstone” if things don’t work out. In fact, the breakups I’ve seen in the UC tend to be much nastier because of the religious ramifications.</rant>”

[saffronunwin-blog]

Saffron Unwin

My Paris trip and the artists who have inspired me:

On the 6th January 2019, the Foundation Diploma group enjoyed a residential visit to London and Paris, arriving on Monday and going straight to our Hotel Sibour then heading to the Louvre. The Louvre was my absolute favourite museum due to the sheer variety of artists and just how huge was the collection of art. I found the overall trip to Paris highly interesting and inspiring, especially when seeing artwork in person rather than just online.

One of my favourite artists was Jean-Michel Basquiat. We had a guided tour at the Louis Vuitton Foundation of both his and Egon Schiele’s work. Just upon hearing about Basquiat’s story and short life was truly noteworthy. His pieces often reflected the world at that point in time, touching upon racism, the civil rights movement and white dominance with figures like Muhammad Ali who actually inspired Jean-Michel Basquiat. His pieces were mainly done using acrylic paint as he liked to work fast and you can say his work links to sort of a graffiti style. I personally love his vibrant mixture of colours and how messy and unrealistic his figures are, changing the way we see art and people. I think people can connect more with a piece of art that is not ‘perfect’.

Another artist I enjoyed seeing was Maximilien Luce. I had actually never heard of him until stumbling upon one of his pieces in the Musee d’Orsay. The piece was titled ‘A street in Paris in May 1871’ and showed what appeared to be dead bodies grouped on a street floor. After doing some research I learnt that he had painted this scene more than 30 years after an event in his youth which made a deep impression on him. It depicts Bloody Week and the brutal suppression of the commune, a revolutionary movement with a very strong social agenda which advocated workers’ management of the city of Paris. It’s very easy to see how this could have such a deeply emotional effect on him due especially to the pure horror he had seen. I feel this carries a strong meaning of the fear and pain felt by Maximilien Luce.

Both Jean-Michel Basquiat and Maximilien Luce have motivated me to look further into how I can show meaning and how to convey my feelings in my pieces, even to make it so that it’s not completely obvious.

As well as looking at these artists, I also looked at many others whose work was also unbelievable to see in person, particularly Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Salvador Dali and Leonardo da Vinci.

To begin with, the Mona Lisa was absolutely breath-taking to see in real life and you can see why it is so famous, because of just the pure beauty of it. The history behind it makes it even more of a treasure. One of the reasons why it became famous was actually when it was stolen, it was a huge disturbance in the world and by the time it was found/given back, everyone knew about the Mona Lisa.

Salvador Dali was known as quite an oddball, which made me love his work even more knowing that his imagination was so wild and wonderful. He just seemed like he was full of new ideas. I saw one of his pieces in the Pompidou and I was blown away by the smooth and realistic look it had even though it was a horse flying which is not real. I find that sometimes the unusual things are the most interesting as we are not used to seeing them.

I researched a lot about Dali and have decided to keep pushing my work and to not be afraid to paint something even if it doesn’t look ‘normal’ as your imagination happens to be your greatest weapon with art.

I have always wanted to see Picasso’s artwork in real life and we spent Wednesday morning in the Picasso Museum. I wish I could have seen his Guernica piece as this had inspired my work at A-level so to have seen it in person would have been incredible however, we had just missed to exhibition of it when we got to Paris, which was moved a few days before. My favourite piece of his was definitely his portrait of Dora Maar (1937). Despite the distortions, or even because of them, Picasso achieved a striking resemblance that was said to be “truer than life”. Thus showing that just because we think it shouldn’t be realistic because of the weird shapes actually means that it could be more real than a normal painting.

I really enjoyed seeing Van Gogh’s work, mainly due funnily enough to a Doctor Who episode I watched where the Doctor takes Van Gogh to see his work displayed in a gallery, in which Van Gogh was overwhelmed with emotion as he had died not knowing how famous he would become. My personal favourites of his are his self-portraits and seeing how he changed through his lifetime, especially with the colours he used and if he ever altered his style. Unfortunately, he suffered very badly with psychotic episodes and delusions, once causing him to severe part of his left ear. He painted using mainly oil on canvas and was known as a self-impressionist artist, he tended to paint himself because he lacked money to pay for models. After doing some research on one of his very last self-portraits, I learnt that the dissolving colours and same patterns signal a feeling of strain and pressure, symbolising the artists state of mind which was under mental, physical and emotional pressure. From Van Gogh I feel we can learn to not give in and to keep going because one day you will make it, you just have to hang in there.

As well as seeing artist’s pieces in galleries, we also visited many other places, including the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral and the Galeries D’Anatomie (bone museum). My main focus in Paris was to look into the current riots however while we were there nothing really happened but I did see it appear on the news every day. In my project I want to explore how to get meaning across from the riots for my Paris in the Park piece, hopefully using inspiration from these artists and places to do so. I have got loads of ideas since getting back from Paris for the Paris in the Park exhibition such as spray paint pieces of the riots linking the artists Blu and Banksy.

Overall, I really enjoyed my trip to Paris, seeing the culture, the food and beautiful scenery. I hope to one-day visit again to take in even more of the city.

Bibliography:

https://www.theartstory.org/artist-picasso-pablo.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador_Dal%C3%AD

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vincent-van-Gogh

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/oct/14/leonardo-da-vinci-mystery-why-is-his-450m-masterpiece-really-being-kept-under-wraps-salvator-mundi

http://www.artnet.com/artists/maximilien-luce/

https://www.theartstory.org/artist-basquiat-jean-michel.htm

[ebellwood-blog]

Concrete Jungle...

A mere few hours from landing back from New York I have showered, half unpacked, eaten some bacon and caught up on some Netflix but with this banging jet lag I thought I must quickly write down some of my favourite memories from this unique exploration. 

1) The Brooklyn Bridge- I have been lucky enough to have visited New York in the past, but I haven't had the opportunity to investigate Brooklyn Bridge. Nevertheless, my friends and I took a real time searching the area for quirky vintage shops, fun food restaurants, and unique street art. After hopping on the subway, we found ourselves at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge looking up at the large vast structure which gives Brooklyn's commuters a beautiful view while they travel to and from work in the Big Apple. The inner geographer in me loved the man made the structure which not only looked astonishing on its own, it really brought the area to life. I loved how it brought the commercial side of New York to the individual and up and coming side of Brooklyn which I truly believe will be 'the' place to live within the next 10 years.  

2) The Modern Museum of Art (MoMA)- When I was younger, I had visited this museum however I was too young to appreciate some of the artists and collections this famous museum holds. From Van Gogh to Matisse, Picasso and Warhol and then also Dali and Mondrian. It was incredible to see some of these famous pieces of work in the flesh. I feel that the 'Starry Night' by Van Gogh was one of the most beautiful pieces of art I have ever seen. From the dark and deep textures and tones from the thick paint which is engraved by the thick bristle on the dense brush Gogh used is magical in real life. This makes you realise why paintings and artists can be so well respected as you can see and feel emotions within each brush strokes. Having studied Graphics at A-Level, I was also really excited to see some of the Warhol pieces that are currently exhibited at the MoMA. I loved seeing the details within each layer through his screen printing and the texture that was left behind from the screens, his work also varied scale vastly which was refreshing to see as many keep to similar sized canvases. If anyone were to visit New York, I would highly recommend this Museum as its very rare to see so many high-quality pieces of work in one viewing.

May I just add I am very annoyed at myself that I didn't get around to having any New York cheesecake. It's like going to Italy and not having a pizza!

3) Dover Street Market (DSM)- Luckily while I was in New York, DSM shut its store to renew its visual merchandise. This is where they change the layout of the store, designers and collections. DSM reopened the morning we were leaving, so we spent the morning snopping around the new store. What is so incredible and unique about DSM is that every floor there is a different story, tone and mood. There are different storage and displays for the clothes and different colour palettes this makes the shopping experience so unique as the displays really highlight and encourage sales of clothes. I feel this store was my favourite out of all the saw in my short stay in New York. I have visited the London one numerous times, and it would be great to see both to compare on different visuals they used and if it's displayed or presented differently because of different markets etc.

4) Wonderlust Girls- On the garment tour we were lucky enough to receive a presentation from two of New York's 'it' girls or better known the 'Wonderlust Girls' who started out having a fun fashion blog which led them to now being very successful fashion stylists, bloggers and public figures. They gave some very valuable advice on how to create successful and innovative blogs and how to get your name out there in the fashion world to start building up strong connects with the right people. It was just interesting as well seeing their vibe, how they dressed, presented themselves and how they carried themselves with such grace and confidence. They commented on personal branding, and how it important it is to create yourself as an approachable and attractive brand which made me think about maybe changing my blog name to something that is more relatable than my name. Also one of the biggest lessons I learnt from the girls is that fashion isn't everything there are so many other connects I can make in lifestyle, sports, food, etc. which could lead me to bigger and better things rather than trying to compete with all the other thousands of fashion girls out their, as it is such a tough industry. 

In addition, it was very useful going to New York to help support my summative brief. I was able to look at different colour palettes and brands, research different artists in the MoMA museum who were around during the same time period and see some interior displays which linked well with the retro theme. I will develop this all in further blogs and within my sketchbook. 

There are numerous other things I could waffle on about; the famous upper east side and their fancy doormen, the breathtaking view from the top of the Empire State Building at night, the MET museum and its costume exhibition looking at old pieces from the likes of Tom Ford, Chanel and Dior, the crazy breakfasts that are the equivalent of desserts in the UK, the gorgeous but bizarre decor of our hotel, the poor (?) customer service and the xoxo gossip girl steps. I will attach some photos, but I promise they don't do they wonderful city much justice. 

I did also have my film camera with me, and I took numerous photos. I will attach them and discuss the quality and other details of my new camera when I get around to developing the film. 

[travelteatv]

Being the brave adventurers we are, last month my mum and I left the averagely cold weather of London for the extreme cold that was New York at the time. We were there for 5 days and did about 5 million things. Not bad going. Plus, after panic buying jumpers and squashing them into our luggage, when we arrived the worst of the freezing temperatures and snowy weather had gone, leaving us with a mild -7 at worst and a jolly +4 on average.

We booked tickets after the economic miracle of the Norwegian Air sale, meaning flights were relatively cheap and you know what, the flight was probably the best long haul one I have ever experienced. I had enough leg room, the seats were wide, there wasn’t much turbulence (not sure if they actually have anything to do with that but if so they did a good job) and the on board entertainment was pretty good. The screaming baby even managed to hold out until we landed.

Then once we landed, we didn’t have to go through the hell that is the entry queue at JFK and instead went through the express entry side because we had both been to America on the same ESTA before and apparently that meant we could go through with actual American people. The only slight hiccup was being taken to one of those little rooms you see on TV because the airline had put my date of birth in wrong but thankfully they’re intelligent enough to know that I couldn’t have been born on the non-existent 25th month of the year and I left within seconds, with a message for the guy that had taken me into the room to “never do that again”.

Once released, we jumped in a cab – from the proper line, where they print you out a ticket saying how much it will cost you to get where you need to go to stop cabs overcharging (Great idea, New York), and we were on our merry way. Our flight was first thing in the morning, so it was only midday by the time we arrived at our hotel and we were able to hit the streets running. Well, it was a bit icy and we’re safety conscious so it was more of a jaunt, but still, we were in New York.

With only 5 days to fulfil all our New York hopes and dreams, we had a lot to cram in. Our first stop… The Empire State Building. The last time I went it was July 4th, absolutely packed and we queued for hours. For us it was so free of people we probably could have run up.

We had picked up our New York Passes on the way so we didn’t have to pay anything for the ticket, we showed them the pass, they gave us a ticket and we got in the lift. There was a small queue for that but it went fast; the people that work there are super friendly. One of them even took the time to compliment my backpack. Well, actually he asked me if I made it myself and was then disappointed to learn that I did not (It was from Notonthehighstreet though, so someone made it).

NYC LIFE

A post shared by Travel Tea Tv (@travelteatv) on Jan 10, 2018 at 4:28pm PST

  Going up the Empire State is actually such a great thing to do as soon as you arrive, not only because its a classic New York experience but also because you get a real feel for the city up there. The grid system means you can clearly see a million things happening at once, which gives you a nice reminder of just how big the city is and a large shove to get your ass in gear in order to experience it yourself.

So even though we were jetlagged, tired and continuously stopped by people selling bus tickets, we headed back out (honestly how do they know when you’re a tourist, we just had coats on like anyone else, its quite impressive on their part).

We weren’t far from MOMA and again, it was included in our New York Passes so we wandered round there. After being in tourist central it was nice to be among normal, like minded people to ourselves (aka not big tourist groups that want to take a selfie with nothing every two seconds). MOMA isn’t just tourists and it felt like a breath of fresh air after the empire state.

The last modern art museum I took my mum to was in Montreal and it was weird as hell. All of the normal exhibits had been closed for refurbishment so we were left with whatever they’d left up… I think my eyes would have rather they’d taken it down and we could have looked at the building site.

This left MOMA with the job of restoring my mum’s interest in the modern art world. No big deal or anything. Thankfully, it lived up to the mammoth task and we had a great time. It was just the right size to walk around and enjoy without completely exhausting ourselves. The collection is amazing, ranging from Monet’s ‘Water Lillies’ (to which mum commented “Wow this looks a lot like that famous painting of Water Lillies” / “Yes Mum, this is that painting” / “Amazing”), Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’, Salvador Dali’s ‘Persistence of Memory’ and Lichtenstein’s ‘Drowning Girl’ to Jasper John’s ‘Flag’ (my personal favourite).

  We spent a few hours there before jetlag really hit and went to John’s Pizzeria, just off Times Square, for some damn good pizza and beer plus a gander at their lovely ceiling. We also saw some real life NY cops chilling out eating in there, which is how you know its a good place to eat. Well that or something was going down and we didn’t know about it.

Amazingly, that was all in our first day of arriving. The best bit, we stayed at The Knickerbocker Hotel, one of THE most amazing hotels. Its just off Times Square, has a rooftop bar, all the amenities you need and the biggest shower cubicle I have ever seen. More on that later though.

That’s it for our first day but there are still another four to go and boy did we pack it in.

  Abi

X

@travelteatv 

NEW YORK | DAY 1 LDN - NY = FLIGHT -> EMPIRE STATE BUILDING -> MOMA -> PIZZA -> BED Being the brave adventurers we are, last month my mum and I left the averagely cold weather of London for the extreme cold that was New York at the time.

[auntiegilli]

This is one of my favourite blogs – mostly because I haven’t written it!  Let me start by saying how fellow Bristol artists Shab and JeeSee describe Mr Sleven’s work:

” Sleven’s work explores the relationship between Bauhausian sensibilities and recycling culture, shimmering phenomena frozen through emergent and practice, the viewer is left with an insight into the darkness of our future. Fascinating theoretical limits of the zeitgeist. What starts out as triumph soon becomes manipulated into a manifesto of temptation, leaving only a sense of chaos and the chance of order. Reminding me of influences as diverse as Camus and Miles Davis, new variations are created from both constructed and discovered narratives. As shifting phenomena become reconfigured through emergent and repetitive practice, the viewer is left with a testament to the outposts of our culture.” Shab

“Sleven depicts letters and characters with his own distinctive take on graffiti and street art. His style is unique, bold lines you can tell are his. His work demonstrates he has a thorough understanding of how colours relate to each other and how nature, both of the human and the urban, speaks to our eyes. An organic artist, with a hint of the struggles of the underdog, his art stands tall and is vital for the jilted generation. A life lived, taking in the rich sub cultures of Bristol, predominantly Hip Hop, is right there on the wall or canvas. And is difficult to deny the truths told by this experienced and honest artist.” JeeSee

And then onto an interview where Sleven answered in the third person. I cannot take credit for this delicious eloquence.

Bit of background and how you got into art

Slevens doesn’t know an exact point when he got into art but his earliest memory of being creative is drawing on the walls of his bedroom as a wee sprog. And just knowing that every time he had a pencil, pen, crayon or brush in his hand, it felt right, it felt natural, it felt like escapism from what was going on around him, it felt like freedom. Since that feeling he discovered from such a young age he carried on with his new found obsession for scribbling his world on any form of canvas possible. He learnt that his innate love  and ability to create art would help him escape the confusing, strange, cold world he’d been birthed into and it was also an excellent tool to amuse, bewilder, astonish and befriend people. Which helped him deal with being imprisoned in the archaic regime of school throughout his younger years.

Influences on your work

Slevens influences are vast and varied. His art is heavily influence from subcultures and countercultures (specifically hip-hop),  books on the workings of the inner minds eye,  graffiti culture, pop culture,  different historical and present cultures, all forms of art, nature, music, politics, his cat, random people he meets, his family and tight knit misfits he also calls family, and just the general day to day madness of life it’s self. But to put a specific point on the visual artists that have influenced him and his work, it would have to be H.R. Giger, Dali, M.C. Escher, Jackson Pollock, Van Gogh, Francis Bacon, Zdzisław Beksiński, Picasso, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kieth Hearing, David Choe, Mear One, Seen, Futura, Seak, OS Gemeos, Replete, Vaughn Bode and Mark Bode, Ralph Bakshi and Hayao Miyazaki, Todd McFarlane. To many more to list but these are the ones that have been most influential within finding his own style and technique.

What have you been doing since we last touched base on 3 is a magic number?

 Mr.Sleven’s been part of numerous exhibitions, events and festivals over the past 3/4 years. This is down to an event he set up in 2013 with a fellow limey from his hometown. The event was dubbed “Scribble’N’Scratch”. A monthly illustration battle league and hip-hop event. Which he took the title for in the first year. S’n’S opened up the doors to many opportunities for Sleven. Such as exhibiting work alongside numerous up and coming artists as well as established ones, in such cities as Bristol, Bath, Frome, Birmingham and Cardiff. As well as exhibiting at numerous exhibitions, he’s also started to curate them back in 2014. This came about when he was given the chance to turn a rundown loading bay at the P.R.S.C into a gallery and hold it’s first exhibit. A year later he became a partner at the Matchbox gallery on Stokes Croft. Which he’s exhibit and curated at since 2015. He’s also been in charge of the site art and decor for Wonder Fields fetival for the past three years as well as painting at Baltewr festival for the past two and Upfest back in 2012.

What do other artists say about your work:

The only thing he usually remembers on what other artists say about his work is “That’s a bit fucking dark innit or that’s sick” So here’s some quotes from some artists he asked specifically for this question : Annika Wilkinson “Dark but beautiful and reflective of your emotions and mind. Uplifting and unique in a distinctive style. Very Street art graff formulation unlike no other combined with a deep expressive and evocative touch”. Pekoe “Massively varied style that you’ve worked hard to develop. I’m impressed how all your work is definitely “yours” even when the actual style differs”.  

What have you got coming up?

Sleven doesn’t currently have any exhibitions lined up for the rest of the year as of yet but this is sure to change as soon as summer starts to move out of the way. He’s lined p to paint at Upfest this year as a solo artist but also with his Matchbox Gallery collective as well as taking on the Upfest Scribble N Scratch battle. He’ll also be doing decor for Boomtown festivals Wild west area, a graffiti jam in Glastonbury called Styles of Somerset which is in August, as well a couple of music events he has lined up with his collective B.A.M.P and he’s also booked in to paint the P.R.S.C outdoor gallery wall later in the year.

What is most important to you about your art?

What Sleven feels most important to him about his art, is being able to escape the day to day drag of this culturally enslaved western side of the world he lives in, through his art. It also gives him a sense of balance and purpose to the madness in his melon and life as it is. And if he’s able to effect at least one person with some form deep emotion through that art he’s created then that’s just as important to him as his escapism through art.

And about Upfest?

He’ll be painting at The Rising Sun as a solo artist, the South Street Park with the Matchbox collective and battling for Scribble N Scratch at The Tobacco Factory on the Saturday and again on the Sunday if he wins his battle. Sleven’s not completely sure what he’ll be painting as a solo artist as of yet, he just has a colour scheme of red, white, black, gold and grey. With his crew, they’ll be envisioning a quote from Sun Tzu’s: The art of War, in the theme of Afro Samurai. He’s looking forward to being slap bang in the middle of a smoldering paint pot of creativity, colour, cider and mischief. Which every year,  upfest undoubtedly bring, whether he’s painting or not.  

  Website        Facebook       Instagram        Upfest Profile

See NASKOOLs work at Ashton Gate

Upfest Saturday 29, Sunday 30 Monday 31 July 2017

Upfest Festival Map

Upfest 2017 – Delicious eloquence from Mr Sleven. This is one of my favourite blogs - mostly because I haven't written it!  Let me start by saying how fellow Bristol artists Shab and JeeSee describe Mr Sleven's work: