Why food? I am asked all of the time. Food & art are connected as inspiration, nourishment & care-giving. Food is ripe with meaning. My developing palate & the evolution of my culinary abilities (and responsibilities), as well as my attitude about the suitability of food, echo my growth through the years as an artist and arts administrator –all marking the passage of time. That’s why.
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“I am attracted to objects that are already
infused with meaning.”—Ruth Tabancay
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The most recent work of today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Ruth Tabancay, features the installation of burnt sugar forms that slowly melt during their installation. Sugar marking the passage of time, marking the beautiful fluidity, ignoring your impatience or desire to know the destination. Beautiful.
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Be patient. Take your time. Enjoy the work ofAAAD Artist of the Day,Ruth Tabancay!
Two views of“Solemnity”(porcelain, steel & fabric) byYana Goldfine
“I vividly remember playing with dolls and stuffed animals as a young girl. They brought me comfort, pleasure and new coping skills and on occasion, solutions to conflicts. This current work is an attempt to recreate some of those childhood characters and to interact with them both as an artist and as a woman.” —Yana Goldfine
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The experiences of our childhood help shape us –for the good or for the bad, often both. But for me, my childhood was a strange place, disconnected from whom I chose to become as an adult. Any time I am met face to face with an artifact of my youngest years, it gives me pause. Today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, sculptor Yana Goldfine is on a journey to revisit her own artifacts. Where do they take you?
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Explore your own artifacts through the work of the AAAD Artist of the Day, sculptorYana Goldfine!
left to right“Oblivion 006, Industrial [R]evolution”&“Oblivion 005, Gravity”byAndrea Constantini
” . . . art represents for me the power to escape the constraints of social and economic differences and the limits of space and time . . . “ —Andrea Costantini
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Magic pills for all that ails you, emotional, psychological & physical. Wouldn’t it be a dream if all those ails could be remedies by the transformative power of art? Today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Andrea Costantini, offers us at least an escape, if not a remedy, from the weight that holds you down.
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Enjoy the transformative gifts ofAAAD Artist of the Day,Andrea Costantini!
(left to right)Grandma Cleaver & Grandpa CleaverbyFelicia Olin
“. . . A family friend placed me into a basin of water and rose pedals and said ‘This is a felicitous experience’ and I was named Felicia Suzanne. Unlike my sister, who was saying words before she was one, I rarely spoke. My father remembers being surprised when I had my first conversation with him when I was 5 or 6. My early communication mostly consisted of funny noises and the slamming of doors.” —Felicia Olin
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A strategy for selling art is floating around that suggests that it is how interesting the artist seems, as opposed to their work, that sells work. And several artists, gallerists & dealers have confirmed with me that when you talk to a collector about the work they buy, they almost always talk about the artists, not the art. Interesting notion. Social media already makes it possible for people to create a persona that fulfills any role they choose to put out into the world. Does selling art mean that we now have to invent new artistic personas for buyers to parallel those romanticized versions we already paint for our alumni publications and holiday newsletters? It is all too much some days.
I read the bio of today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, painter Felicia Olin, before I saw her work. I was so enamored of the way she put herself out into the world, that I wanted to like her work. And, I do. I have a soft spot for portraiture and texture. I also appreciate less “artspeak” in favor of “realspeak”. I am entertained by the menagerie of characters created –stories easily inhabiting the shadowed corners of our dreams. Intrigued, I am, by both the art and the truth which she speaks about herself and her work.
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Explore the characters of today’sAAAD Artist of the Day,Felicia Olin,
& don’t forget to read the rest of that bio.
“This series of paintings was inspired by a 1968 photograph by Ernest Withers of marchers during the Memphis sanitation workers March. Martin Luther King was assassinated while there in support of the March. The men carried signs which read ‘I am a Man’. I found it fascinating that the the phrase I grew up with was ‘I am THE Man’. The collective statement became individualistic in the age of integration. Reflecting on American history I wanted to riff and remix the text, ultimately ending with the revelation ‘I Am. Amen.’ MLK showed us that our greatest gift is our consciousness and it is up to us what we choose to do with it.” —Hank Willis Thomas
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I implore you to listen. Listen. Understand your privilege, whatever it may be. Being defensive doesn’t serve you. Don’t just look at people; SEE them. Love people for their humanity — both strengths & flaws. Respect the space each person needs to work and speak and react to community in which they live. Recognize that people have the right to be who they are, regardless of, and even in spite of, your expectation of them. I am inspired by the work of today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Hank Willis Thomas. You can change the world.Start with you.
“Container 1”&“Container 2”(oil, acrylic, rust & charcoal on canvas) by painterAnthony Garratt
“The more I paint, the more I realise that we are at the mercy of the landscape and elements . . . In a world where we are obsessed with ownership and control, it is humbling and important that we are reminded to respect the weather, sea, hills and landscape on which we rely.”—Anthony Garratt
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The work of today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, painter Anthony Garratt, from large scale installations to smaller works on paper and canvas, remind us that we are at the mercy of the physical world in which we live. As a resident of the Great Smoky Mountains, I remain mindful of the seemingly random willfulness of nature — both the beauty and the danger.
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With the sun in your face & the wind at your back, explore the work of AAAD Artist of the DaypainterAnthony Garratt!
“They change drastically as hard edges become soft lines and muted colors become vibrant.”—Ronan Considine
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Context. Election coverage has reminded me, once again, of how context matters. Today, almost anything can known; however, without context, any statement can be made to mean anything. Are we training people to be mistrusting? Vigilant? Both? The photography of today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Ronan Considine, employs long exposures to create ethereal, painterly images. I find the Rectilinear series, purposefully devoid of context, make me want to know the context. I want the how. But would the context rob me of the joy of experience alone? Again, context.
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Explore the astounding range ofAAAD Artist of the Day,
photographerRonan Considine!
“I focus on how the commonality of
shared patterns connects people” —Phyllis Gorsen ___
I quietly seek connections among us. I find solace in subtle cues from the universe that I am not alone. I find the accidental proof, like universal symbols found in pictorial language, give me the strongest feeling that we can find a way to communicate, eventually. Today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, painter Phyllis Gorsen, seeks those same connections through pattern.
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Find yourself in the patterns ofAAAD Artist of the Day, painterPhyllis Gorsen!
“Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth and when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.” –David Bowie
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Art is always an exercise in bravery, in chance, in putting your creativity out to be judged. The payoff in freedom from the fear of failure and growth through experimentation are immeasurable. Today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Anne Blair Brown, has such a great perspective on art sales, testing technique and being brave. Read more here.
(left to right)Neighborhood 1 & 2, collage,byHollie Chastain
“I have an affection for a great city. I feel safe in the
neighborhood of man, and enjoy the sweet security
of the streets.” –Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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The one thing for which we all seem to long is feeling safe in the ‘neighborhood of man.’ Now, here, it feels like such an unlikely longing. Today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Hollie Chastain, creates glimpses, tiny microcosms of personality, individuality, of comfort. Welcome home.
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Find a place to BE in the collage work ofAAAD Artist of the Day,Hollie Chastain!
![left to right "Oblivion 006, Industrial [R]evolution" & "Oblivion 005, Gravity" by Andrea Costantini](https://www.artandartdeadlines.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Oblivion-006-and-Oblivion-005-by-Andrea-Constantini.png)
