Ms. Onkka's Example

Nugget for September 19:

With the list of artists that was emailed to you, complete the following Nugget assignment. 

You will be assessed on the following:

-Completion of all questions

-Quality of response

-Quality of writing

-Inclusion of necessary images and citations (artworks)

-Correct Titling and Labeling:

• Post Title: Your Name
• Labels: Your Name, "Nugget"

Deadline: 6pm, Sept 19

Part 1: Top 5

Choose your favorite artworks from five different artists (they should all be from the list of artists you received). Make sure you include Artist's Name, Title, Medium, Date.

Benjamin Jones, Kindness, graphite and colored pencil on paper, 2007

Jeff Feld, Stack, Inter-office mail envelope, enamel, ink, graphite, 2008

Scott Meyers, Key 1, Acrylic and Pencil on Paper, 2008

Maya Kabat, Break the Lake 5, Pencil and Pen on Bristol Vellum, 2010

Garrett Pruter, Asylum 9, Graphite, acrylic paint, collage, 2009

Part 2: Synthesize

1. Explain what it is you like about these 5 artworks (elements/common threads).

I'm attracted to these images because they use abstraction, strong mark-making, black as a graphic element, unevenness/imbalance in the composition, and a limited use of color.

2. What is it that these elements are expressing?

These elements express a sense of surprise, quirkiness, oddity, and/or awkwardness. The imperfections embody a human quality and verge on categorizing the work as outsider / naive art. They are not necessarily easy to interpret, their meaning is somewhat abstract, and they range between recognizable imagery and full-out abstraction. They are not a pure reality, but more lyrical, almost poetic.

3. How could you take some of these strategies and apply them to your own work -- either in terms of media, formal qualities, and/or theme?

I feel that they already connect to my work with the emphasis on mark-making. However, I could use more abstraction in my work and experiment with dropping the narrative/theme and instead focus on formal qualities. I'd like to adopt some of of the techniques such as collage and combining tiny pen detail with larger strokes. I'm also interested in experimenting with mapping and space.

Part 3: Artist In-Depth

3. Choose one artist and research what has influenced his or her work.  If the artist is alive and has a website you should look at what they've written about their work.  If the artist is not contemporary, then research what others have written about this artist.

I chose to research Garrett Pruter. The image I posted above is from a very specific body of work called "Asylum." To create this work, he took found images of 19th and 20th century insane asylums and collaged them into the artwork. I really like how he talks about mapping connections between mental space and physical space, as well as how his work aims to humanize dehumanized buildings. Personally, I think he is very successful in achieving this because his imagery of the asylums seems accessible and unsterilized.