Knitted Animals

Animals are commonly recognizable forms, and many people empathize with a particular one, thus making Knitted Animals was a natural progression

New Art 3/15/08-3/21/08

Some One-off Photography and Drawings this week, but first I modeled at Rice this week and while there was a wide range of skills and styles, one student in particular was experimenting in an awesome way. Her name was Jessica Streets, and on the first day she was using painter's tape to describe the lines:


and then on the second day she was doing similar stuff, but with thread and glue:

It was particularly cool, and it's always neat to see someone doing a art technique that you wouldn't have ever thought of yourself.

On to what I did.
Starting with photography,
Skylight:

Morning

Express


I also played around with drawing in Flash with a kind of linear Flat Art Style. I like it, but no one else has said anything about it, so I have no idea if I'm onto anything or not:
The Business

Morning Time

The Vaguries of Love


knitted sculpture 1 on Monday

Exquisite Corpse

After first learning of the "exquisite corpse" (where in multiple artists make a single figure drawing, I wanted to take that as a spring board. I was especially taken with the notion of framing each section, and so I decided to take multiple shots of the subjects' head and shoulders, then torso, then legs, and seam them together, but noticeably. Let the viewer piece them together in their mind. I've only done two so far, and am looking for models for more. Here they are:
Matt

Trentyn

New Art 3/8/08 - 3/14/08

Some photos:
,
,
,
and, while bored today at work I made my first ever collage:

Knitted Nudes

Knitted Nudes

While working at the Blaffer Gallery, one show that I particularly enjoyed was Girls Night Out. It was photography from female artists, including one of my favorites that I knew of before, Rineke Dijkstra. From that show I also learned about Katy Grannan and Salla Tykka. But my favorite piece of the whole show was The Wall by an English Photographer, Sarah Jones. I was most often positioned by it, and the whole of it fascinated me. Eventually I thought that I should make a blanket out of it, but then I thought about some photographs I had taken for a class project, and that I could use them as bases.
So, after learning to intarsia, and working with the photo in photoshop, I started the first one, and finished six weeks later. Even working at a job where I can knit virtually the entire time I'm at work, they take forever.
Most of the finished pieces I have made since then have been shot specifically for this project. and I am going to vary it soon. After the ninth one, (which I will begin tomorrow morning) some will be full pictures, and some will be sections thereof. I have already made some 9"x9" ones, and this next set will be 2'x2'
the piece of colour in each one is mainly for aesthetic reasons, and each picture is hand-knitted over 4-8 weeks.

Kerrisa's Back

Trinidad's Faith

Krystal, Poised

Morgan, Standing

Notes on where projects stand

Just some notes to myself

Con*Text
Models to shoot:
Laura M
Jojo M
Billie Jean H

Prints ready: Life is Sparkly, Perfect

Knitted Nudes
1. Retitle
2. Blog Post
3. Stretcher bars for 7&8
4. Plot 9
5.Models to shoot:
Maddie
Thuy
Xuan
Laura
Ivana
Kelly F
Jennifer S
Rachel
Kim
Brittany
Lindsay
Aisen
6.Plot out 2x2s

NudeSuits
inquire about florida article
Models to shoot:
Vonetta
Lindsay
Zac
Tala?

knitted sculptures to do
Zodiac: Rat`, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit`, Dragon`, Snake`, Horse`, Sheep`, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig`

Develop
Exquisite Corpse, Drift, Video, Metal process(es)

New Art 3/1/08 - 3/7/08

Not much this week, some more ninjas, and some One-off Photos:
Locks

Blue Ribbon

and Lumen

also, probably going to strike the artist profile and the regular event notices, as they seem to be bad luck.

Con*Text

Con*Text
This Project was first started to fill up time. The initial idea came from the ending credits to the Anime Full-Metal Alchemist, in which all the landscape has text from books printed on it. I thought that that was graphically interesting, so I adapted it to my own style. The first of my projects that dealt with closure (the human minds tendency to fill in gaps in information) The text is mostly stream-of-consciousness while looking at the image. Sometimes the text relates to the model, (as in Giving You a Free Soul) sometimes it relates to me (as in Life is Sparkly in the Dark Places), and sometimes it is free association. Often I come up with a title while sketching poses, but sometimes the titles don't present themselves until I reread the text.

New Art 2/22/08 - 2/29/08

only Knitted stuff this week:
these I'm thinking of putting on Etsy:

and this is for my sweet friend in Montreal.

(Hopefully it remains a secret until she gets it in the post)

Upcoming Art Stuff

Tuesday March 4th, will be posing and drawing at Painted Tuesday (held every Tuesday at Avant Garden [411 Westheimer, upstairs] bring a sketchbook and $10, or model for free admission

Friday March 7th, I have work in a Self-portrait show in Austin at the Austin Figurative Gallery:


here are some of the included pieces:

So check it out if you're Austin bound.
http://www.austinfigurativegallery.com/

Chiho Aoshima

Coming out of the KaiKaiKiKi studio, Chiho Aoshima is a paragon of Flat Art.
Galerie Perrotin
I first saw her work while hanging it in the Blaffer Gallery. Before we even opened the crate I was excited as the name was so fun to say. Try it. Then I saw the work. Hers is a world full of beautiful zombies, living lands, and malevolent cherry blossoms. Every piece has a element of the end and beginning of a world. After a little research I found that she was an economics student (just like me) and I was hooked.
I hope to find some images of hers to post here, but for now, enjoy the above and below links.
London Underground

Nudesuits

Nudesuits
The oldest body of work that I still consider active (because it's certainly not finished) is my Nudesuits project. Born out of a school assignment, it was inspired by the work of Alba d'Urbano and Greg Friedler. Alba d'Urbano had a performance piece where she made a dress with the printed on pattern of her own skin, then alternatively had a model, or visitors to the art space wear it to be "In her skin." Friedler has an on-going portraiture project in which he takes pictures of the models first in their clothes, then out, and presents them side by side.

My project combines elements of each. I make a portrait in which the model appears to be wearing clothing printed with their own skin. This is a reflection of the self of the model, and also calls to the notion that clothing is the skin we present to the world. Each model is photographed in an area they are comfortable in, first clothed, then nude in the same position, then in photoshop I stitch the two together.





I currently have 12 finished images, and am hoping to one day have around 50. (as such I am seeking models) Particular images I would like to get if possible would be a tuxedo (maybe even a couple in their wedding outfits), Rollerderby players, a Burka, and a swimsuit, although it is the subject's choice of course.

This work has been feature in Bizarre Magazine (June '07) and should be featured again soon.

Upcoming Schedule

I'm going to try to keep to a regular schedule for the next few weeks, to establish a starting point:
Mondays: Body of Work- I discuss and give examples of one of my many projects
Wednesday: Artist to Look Out For- Basically giving attention to an artist that has influenced me, or that I just like
Thursday: Upcoming Art Events (if any)
Friday: New Work- Work that I've recently finished

Adorable Canadian Actresses and Controversy

With the Oscars upon us tonight, I've been bugged recently by the "controversy" surrounding the movie Juno. The crux of the argument is that as the titular pregnant teen doesn't get an abortion that the movie is thrusting a pro-life agenda down the audiences gullets. This, to put it simply, is ludicrous. And the idea that the movie may miss out on well deserved recognition for Ellen Page and Diablo Cody because of this manufactured controversy is appauling.

Firstly, she does consider an abortion and goes to the clinic only to be turned wigged out by the general disrepair and lackadaisical attitude she finds within. That coupled with scientifically incorrect information that she gets a misinformed protester leads her to have the baby. Not keep the baby like in Knocked Up and Waitress, both of which are also named in this perceived blitz by pro-lifers, but give up the baby to a childless couple.

Which leads to the Crux of my argument. This is a movie ABOUT teen pregnancy. Juno's pregnancy is the main plot point of the entire story. If we apply the argument of the nay-sayers to this year's Goliath favorite There Will Be Blood then we would be complaining about how Plainview was an oilman instead of looking for bio-fuel.

Let writers write a real story. Don't just backlash because realistic characters make a difficult decision.

*Lame beginning joke

Hi, this is an art blog, and as such it will touch on my own art (photography, knitting, sculpture, writing, drawing) and on others, with show reviews (maybe?) comic (sequential art) yappiness and other things as they strike me.

My name is Matthew Glover, and I'm an artist living in Houston, TX. You can see some of my work here: http://themightysven.carbonmade.com though I should update it some.

anyway, let's see where this goes...