It has been unseasonably warm in the Great Smoky Mountains this past week — 70+ degrees in mid-December. While I appreciate the bonus, it also made me think of the AAAD’s Artist of the DayPedro Marzorati. His work is a perfect physical embodiment of climate change, and it changes based on your perspective, time & place. Simply perfect. (continues below)
Where the Tides Ebb and FlowbyPedro Marzorati, land art installation
“The statues speak for us, it’s a way of interrogation,
just ask yourselves!”–Pedro Marzorati
“Where the Tides Ebb and Flow” was introduced for the first time in 2008, as a part of Land Art “Kielzog” festival, near Amsterdam & then again at the “Sentier du Rhone 2009” festival, in France. The sculptures illustrates the human silhouette that are more or less submerged in water depending on the increasing water levels.
As the new year approaches, I find myself more isolated and in my head as I set goals for the year and contemplate creative direction. Today’s Artist of the Day, Liz Hustoncaptured my inner dialogue with storytellers of her very own. The pieces below that spoke to me are from a couple of years ago. But please take the opportunity to look at her new work and find your own story. (continues below)
The Dreamkeepers(left) &Creative Isolation and the Map of Authenticity(right) byLiz Huston!
“I am fascinated with the way memory influences how stories change and evolve over time. This happens not because the facts change,but because the inner orientation of the storyteller has. Their perspective grows; expanding and contracting with experience. The storyteller journeys us deep into the timeless aspects of the human experience; the kingdoms of love and loss, through grief, resolve, growth and into the balance of purpose… This time traveler, this storyteller, unites the treads of time–leading us home, bringing us back into ourselves.” — Liz Huston
The written word is my window to art. The written word was my media before the visual or performing ever took hold. Today’s Artist of the Day, Kathleen Probstcaught my attention with the simple pillcrow, a proofreader’s mark (¶). I had never been presented with work that made me think of the mark in any other way. Until now. This is thoughtful, considered work. (continues below)
“The symbol for a new paragraph is called an ‘alinea’. It is a french word. One definition of the word alinea is a new train of thought. This design concept is not about holding back, it is about finding just the right amount. Alinea searches for answers on my quest for simplicity. The gestural lines of Alinea are becoming more organic as I learn to work with them, each making a bold step forward.”
The season of mass consumption is upon us. I will not waste my time trying to dissuade you of the want to give gifts to loved ones. I just want to ask you to consider value. Does the item you are bestowing add to the recipient’s lives? Does it help them grow? Does it better equip them to dispel hate or anger? Does it convey how you value the one who will receive it? Mixed media artist Frédérique Morrel, today’s Artist of the Day.,has addressed the question of value beautifully, and I offer it to you as yet another perspective. (continues below)
“…these neglected tapestries, seen and re-seen along these journeys, suddenly appeared to me as the idealized transference of my own visionary. These tapestries appeared to be the most accurate material to illustrate my work about modern vanities, loss of the paradise and rebirth in a better world. These tapestries are the most obvious and literally impicturing vocabulary to depict loss of some values, consequently to the injection of hyper consuming in occidental societies. These tapestries are telling the stories of these key and essential casualties:
loss of sale value : these tapestries are expensive (material & time consuming), but worth peanuts.
loss of aesthetic value : these tapestries are considered ugly and out of date, but have their own hidden beauty, particularly for those who are them.
loss of emotional value : these tapestries are telling love and family happiness stories, but are abandoned and thrown into mud.
“I revitalize them, offering a redemption, beneath animal appearance and covered with this popular language.” –Frédérique Morrel
Process can be such an immersive experience. My own work is focused, often figurative with meaning in the minutia. I get lost in my own process, but I envy the abstracted expression of painters like S.L. Baker, today’s Artist of the Day. The inclusion of the ensō below perfectly captures the heart of this work and why I love it. (continues below)
Red Enso LandscapebyS.L. Baker, acrylic on canvas, 20 x 24
“The work that appears on my canvases is a confluence of social, spiritual and familial concern. Working mostly in acrylic and using my hands instead of brushes, a moment, an injustice, a joy becomes a color, a texture, a line, another language. I do not know the exact meaning other than I find gratitude within the process and believe that it says something.” — S.L. Baker
Technology is what allows AAAD to offer free resources to artists. But I have days when I look around the restaurant or library (or my own livingroom) and I wonder at the blue glow of electronic devices on nearly every face in the room. Is this where & what we want to be? Have we weighed the positives & negatives of the constant immersion? Today’s Artist of the Day , Maurice Mbikayi, has given us his perspective in a series of works that are definitely worth investigating. (continues below)
“I a dragged into a virtual world of codes daily. There, an irresistible fascination and a whispering concern transform me into something alien.”–Maurice Mbikayi
You know that game you play at the airport when you’re bored where you try to tell the story of a complete strangers life as they walk by you on their way to baggage claim or ticketing? Today’s Artist of the Day , Stacey Page, has found a way to tell the story of random, discard portraits of the people someone loves. (continues below)
(left to right)Bee &Richardby textile artistStacey Page
As an artist, I am inexplicably drawn to boxes and bins of photos at thrift stores and antique shops. I always wonder how they got there, who they were, what they meant to the world. But textile artist Stacey Page already KNOWS. She has discovered their inner demons, secret fantasies, heights & depths –in embroidery floss. I couldn’t be happier to share her work with you.
I live rurally, by choice, and find the environment I live in almost overwhelmingly inspirational. Today’s Artists of the Dayhas found a way to put my inspiration to work for him AS art.Enjoy the gorgeous, ephemeral work of Richard Shilling. So many of his works are powered by the sun, just like today’s Power It Forward Call.(continues below)
“Through his ongoing relationship with nature he explores themes to do with time, ecology and the constant flux of the seasons and expresses these ideas through his unique land art images. Every sculpture is photographed in natural light, using normal camera equipment and without any Photoshop… Each photo accurately depicts how each sculpture appeared, at its most vibrant moment, before the elements reclaim the materials back to nature.” –from richardshilling.co.uk
I know the psychology of color dictates that blue is symbolic of sadness, but it always conjures the quiet of standing water for me. It is always of surprise to me that blue is the most commonly-claimed “favorite color” (my own is red). But I doubt the popularity of this hue is of any question of today’s Artists of the DayJason Hallman & Stephen Stum of Stallman Studio. And it IS the perfect work and hue to feature with today’s Blue Call.(continues below)
Detail of“Rising Currents”by Jason Hallman of Stephen Stum of Stallman Studios
“Stallman is pioneering a new technique using paint and canvas as sculpture, naming this body of work Canvas on Edge. They are taking canvas and paint and giving it a creative edge. Now the canvas has the leading role, creating form, highlight and movement. The cut edge of the canvas creates an elevated line drawing and when seen at an angle, fields of color emerge as your perspective to the piece changes. The hue of the painted canvas reflects on the background creating a spectrum of color. By using reflecting light, pigment and structure they can multiply the hues and tones within each sculpture.” –from stallmanstudio.com
I have experienced so much loss in my lifetime. In the late 1980s & early 90s, I lost dozens to AIDS & a handful with HIV to suicide in the throes of gripping fear. Beginning in the mid 1990s, the prognosis of those living with HIV+ opened up to a hopeful future as the expectation, not the exception. Today’s Artist of the DayEric Rhein creates intimate work that addresses the full scope of emotion surrounding diagnosis and post-diagnosis living. And, with the approach of World AIDS Day, December 1st, AAAD is privileged to share this work with you. (continues below)
“Rhein’s considered and intuitive use of repurposed objects is a hallmark of his work. The act of giving such cast-offs a new life mirrors the artist’s own spiritual path. Rhein felt a calling to address the universal aspects of the human experiences-particularly its vulnerability, resilience, and possibilities for transcendence—as experienced after his diagnosis with HIV in 1987.” –from ericrhein.com
