Tony Oursler

Tony Oursler is know for his narrative homemade video tapes. He elaborates sounds tracks, painted sets and stop-action animation with special events created by the artist. His early worlds are in dark room environments with video, sound and language mixed with color contracted sculptural elements. He used reflections in water, mirrors, glass and other devices to remove the moving images from the monitor.

I am not really a fan of his video work because it doesn't really leave me wanting more and i think its because it was kind of disturbing in a way. I Just didn't really get any fascination out of his work. One of his installation from 1991is called "Unk" and in this video it featured a doll and a dummy. He uses handmade soft cloth figures that were combined with expressive faces that were animated by the video projection. His work is displayed as sad and pathetic.

This is the first artist that I have researched and found no interest in looking more into his work. I don't really understand the point and message of his work that he is trying to entertain the audience with.

"Unk" - http://youtube.com/watch?v=Dqz71gFKtcs

James Luna

James Luna is know as "the most dangerous Indians alive" -  some of his subjects deal with ethnic identity and how people perceive us (indians) and how we (indians) perceive ourselves and he says "not everybody can talk about that, so I gees that makes me a dangerous character." I really got attracted to Luna's work because he uses himself as the subject matter. James Luna uses his body to critique the object of Native American cultures and cultural displays.  He dramatically calls attention to the exhibition of Native American peoples and Native American cultural object.

 I believe that he does this because he knows himself better than he knows anyone else. he sacrifices himself and therefore it becomes much more dynamic. He works and talks about something he knows because he has lived it as to something that he has read about. There are a lot of artist out there that do reflect their work on themselves, but its about something in history, something that they have read about and how they have had experiences about it. James looks at his work that relate to not only himself, but his family, tribe, comity and reservation that he grew up with. He tells a true story and I think that is what I was attracted to.

A piece that really interesting to me was a piece that shows how he dealt with ethnic identity and perception. Its called "The Artifact Piece"- it shows how he became an indian and lied in state as an exhibit along with his personal objects. With that, the piece his a nerve and spoke out loud i the Indian country. He took objects that represented the modern of the indian culture and which happened to be himself. He collected his memories such as: his degrees, divorce papers, photos, record albums, cassettes and college mementos. As I see it, he tells a story about a man (himself) who was in college, happened to be native and that was the twist, that was what left you wanting more. I liked that he wanted to show that we as humans are simply objects among bones and bones among objects.

Luna wanted his audience to walk around, look at installations and become part it and as i looked at his different work i did. I really felt like i understood, I got control of my imagination -  i was shocked at some, but then got an emotional sense on other pieces and i really believe that is the power in an installation. It's educational as though that is not his focus.

Francoise Duresse

Francoise Duresse is an African American artist that focus's on the complexities of memory and place, body language, the spoken language and shifting political realities of race identities. A lot of her work reflects on her oral history where she has transformed her personal experiences int the work into a poetic visual dialog. Francoise uses life, color, sound and performances to communicate to with her paintings, drawings and her video works. Duresse is a Professor of Painting and Drawing at the University of Colorado. She exhibits her work internationally and nationally including: The Middle East, Europe, South and Central America along with the United States.

Her most famous work is the "Paper Bag Test." The history behind the paper bag test was a practice in the African American community, they held a paper bag up to someone's face to determine if they could get into public places. The ones that had lighter or equal to the same color of the bag were able to get in and those with the darker skin were not. It was one of my examples of "colorist" -  the lighter skinned people were known as smarter and better than the ones with the darker skin. That theory still exists within a many ethnic communities around the globe.

When Francoise came to BSU she had her collection of the "paper bag test." It was a collection of ink drawings based on culture, she had portrait paintings of her self along with documentary style interviews.  What I got out of the work was that it was a display of the social status that reflected skin color differences that went on from one generation to another.

I really appreciated her work because she was able to express her history and what she went through during the civil rights time. She was able to put her experiences in and make them art. Her work was beautiful and really had a powerful message. People were able to understand her. While i was looking at her display I was very engaging, I was able to really ask questions to myself. It left me questioning and wanting more information.

Museum Research Project.

Human Rights Memorial -

 I believe that the display at the memorial is informational, it helps to viewers understand what people were going through back them in the times of the holocaust, civil rights and war. They have a collection of quotes from inspirational people and a couple pictures to go along with it. As I read the quotes it really brought an emotional feeling to me. I learned about the time in my history classes in high school -  but standing and reading actual quotes in front of me was really a dramatic effect.

 The way that the architecture and the way that it was displayed really had an effect on it also, it was simply yet bold. The information was very beneficial to not only me, but the other viewers. When I was reading and observing the memorial I started to think and really ask myself, "How did they get through it all," "What was it like," and "How they have grown and dealt with it throughout their life." Even though I have all these questions that can only be answered by the ones that experienced it, some of the quotes and stories that were writing on the stone helped me answer the questions that I had.


 As you walked down the display there seemed to be a "Tableaux" display -  It started with the earliest time and ended with the most recent time. As it was telling the story in order. Even though it was only words it helped communicate and spoke to the viewers. There wasn't a display or somewhere saying who the architect was, but what was more important was the information that was given and displayed. There were not only quotes and stories from the adults, but children at a young age as well.

 I really enjoyed the memorial because i appreciated the information that it gave, it was written and displayed for the viewers to actually picture what was going on. It can be very educational to the ones that aren't clear about the hardships back then. It was beneficial to me and really made me have respect and hope for the ones that had to not only go through that times of hardship, but experienced it. The ones that were suffering and the ones that died for standing up for what they believe in.

Here are different pictures that I took of the memorial. You can see and read the different quotes and stories that have been told. Some of the inspirational people that have quotes there are: Anne Frank, Martin Luther King, Jr, Henry David Thoreau, Helen Keller and Eleanor  Roosevelt

Yinka Shonibare

Yinka Shonibare uses batik in costumed dioramas to explore race and colonialism, he also does painting, sculpture, photography, and film in work that shows cultural identity. He shows western civilization with its achievements and failures. At the same time, his sensitive use of his own challenges (physical disability)and he provides a perspective to show emotions and paradoxes of not only his examination of also of the individual and political power.  


His piece called "Black Gold II" really got my attention because when I look at it displayed and everything it seems as if the pieces really changes the space that it is installed into. It is very bold and would be the first thing that i notice. Yet, it has dark colors the piece is very vivid and is almost breathe taking. He is representing just one of the many other resources that muti-national corporations exploit especially in Africa for all the people that suffer and starve. Most of his work is a powerful subtle message. Looking at his work not only this piece but other ones as well, i don't walk away scratching my head or wondering "why" about his work. I like that his work is sharp and solid -  it allows me with a fresh memory and to rethink about Africa and how often people forget about their past and present struggles. 

Tim Hawkinson

I really enjoyed the piece called "Drip" - I think I really appreciated this piece was because of the rhythmic pattern that it creates when the "droppers" release the water because blind people can also appreciate and enjoy the art piece as well. The art piece is in the shape of a octopus and at the end of the tentacles the water droplets fall onto aluminum pie dishes that are in buckets and the sounds that combined are what makes the musical rhythm.  Hawkinson attached long stripes of plastic wrap to a drill and then turned it so the plastic would twist into tight curls. I really thought that it was an interesting way, i've never seen it done that way and i think that is what really caught my attention to the piece.

One day Tim was walking into his studio and there were buckets all around the floor catching the drips of the water that was coming through the studio ceiling. He liked the sound especially in the space that it was in, so he wanted to use dripping water somehow. He explained how he didn't want just random drips -  he wanted something that you could dance to. Each bucket makes a different sound, and that is how he got inspired to his piece "drip"

First Project Drawings.

I gave you the hard copy of my drawings out of my journal when i turned my artist statement in.

Body Project - 5 Artists.

Ann Hamilton:

Ann made a piece called "toothpick suit" she used thousands of toothpicks and layered them like a porcupine style along a suit of clothes that she wore. This piece represents and shows the human body because it reveals her vision of the constructed body and how it may be understood in space and time, but also how it can be read differently in different moments of time. It was presented in photographs -  but was served to three directions of her art making of: objects, installations and performances.

Ana Mendieta: 

Ana's piece called "Facial Hair Transplant" -  she implies a fake beard to her face and she used to her friends facial hair. Her scientific objectivity is shown challenged in her other works like this by her own physical shapes and form of her body/face. The photograph is a side view and her face is also shown serious. She is not looking at the camera, but looking down. It also seems as though she tried to make herself like a man because the way that she slicked her hair back.




Jana Sterbak:

Jana's piece called "Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic" was made to describe the 17th century dutch still life of rotting meat, gutting candles and skulls. They were intended to fleet the nature of life, death and spiritual life.  She points the viewer towards ideas that animate her work. She shows the alienation of how humans feel from their own flesh, aging, and mortality. As you look at the dress -  the aging process takes places before your eyes. It addresses the issue with fashion, women and the body. 60 pounds of raw flank steak was stitched together.



Nick Cave: 

His "Sound-suit" pieces are usually in shapes of creatures and undefined bodies hovering a human and abstract form. He as diverse groups of the sounds suits made out of found fabrics,buttons, sequins and beads and they are all sewn together to make patterns and designs. He first makes a metal armature with a objects that range from ceramic birds, flowers, ornaments, to beads. The top figures serve as headdresses that provide a visual and textural contrast of the soft bodysuit.

Background Behind - Running Emotions: Journal Entry

I wrote this piece to allow others to see the background of my Running Emotions Project. It really makes you think.. answer the questions in your head. It's hard to share such horrific memories and thoughts with you, but art is all about expressing emotions and either taking pictures, sculpting, poetry and so many other things. I believe this is art. I am expressing my past in a poem that i wrote. I hope you enjoy it. 

Do you know what it's like to live with fear? 

To be afraid every day of your life, and to know you can't escape from the the source of your fear?

Do you know what it's like to struggle for acceptance, and find only

criticism and condemnation instead?

Do you know what it's like to wake in the morning and know that nothing

you do today will be right?

Do you know what it's like to wake in the morning and KNOW that today you will be hit.  To know that if today is a "good" day, you'll only get a couple of slaps across the face, and if it's a bad day, you could find a hand around your neck, shutting off your windpipe until you pass out.

Do you know what it's like to hear words such as "you're useless", "you're

stupid", "no-one will ever love you", and to hear these words so often you

believe them?

Do you know what it's like to feel as if every breath you draw is a waste of

oxygen. To feel as if suicide is the only option, but be too afraid to do it.   Do you know what it feels like to think you are so useless you can't even kill yourself?

Do you know what it is like to reach for help, only to find none, and then

find things are actually worse because the one causing your pain now holds

another grudge against you?

If you answered no, then you are lucky, 

because it means you have never been abusedIf you answered yes, then I pray you have had the courage and strength to turn your life around, and find all the beauty and goodness buried deep inside you. Because it IS there, no matter what anyone else tells you. The healing road is long and hard, but it is worth the journey.

Damien Hirst: Journal Entry

When you showed us this artist in class i was really inspired and appreciate his work. The piece "Dead Ends Die Out" really caught my eye. I really appreciated this piece because I am against smoking. I believe that you are committing suicide. People that smoke see and hear the stories about people dying from lung cancer. I really connected to a quote Damien said about the piece "Dead Ends Die Out" - "I thought hard about the ashtray being a sort of graveyard, a death ... The whole smoking thing is like a mini life cycle. For me the cigarette can stand for life, the packet with its possible cigarettes stands for birth, the lighter can signify God which gives life to the whole situation, the ashtray represents death" -  Damien Hirst

This is a quote that you shared with us in class that was said about the piece and I thought it was really interesting and it definitely gets peoples attention. "The cigarette packet is possible lives, the cigarette it's own actual life, the lighter is God because it gives fuel to the whole thing and the ashtray is a graveyard, it's like death". Damien is also fascinated by the fact that smoking is a "theoretical suicide" in the sense that it is not deliberate self-inflicted death, but people know it will kill them and they continue to partake. He stated that "the concept of a slow suicide through smoking is a really great idea, a powerful thing to do".

Running Emotions: Journal Entry

My last project was called Running Emotions. I gave my project the name “Running Emotions” because the words that are written on the beanie represent all the words that I have been called throughout my life. The positive and negative. I put the negative words on the left side because we use our right side of our brain more than the left. I try and concentrate more on the positive words than the negative. This project gave me the opportunity to reflect on my past and how much I have grown and put my struggles behind me. The emotional words are always running through my head, but I try to block then out as good as I can. I found a mannequin head that is close enough to my hair color, eye color and skin tone so that it could represent me when I present my project.

The process of making my project was simple, yet an emotional effect! I started out by thinking of colors that could represent each set of words. I went with the black on the negative side because black tends to represent something negative. I went with pink on the positive side because pink provides feelings of caring, tenderness, self-worth and love, acceptance. I cut the two beanies in half and then sewed the opposite colors two together. I then took “puffy paint” and wrote the words on each side of the beanie. I wanted to make the negative side depressed in a way so that is why I stuck with the white and black colors. The other side was the positive so I used pink,yellow and sparkles with a sequenced border to make it happy! 

I choose the beanie because it is something that you could wear, when you walk around people could see what you are thinking inside of your head, see the pain with the words that you have been called, but also see the positive and inspiring words. The project represents the human body because the words on the beanie are like the inside of your brain. I have taken the inside of my brain and moved it to the outside. People can start to understand you more. 

New Project: Journal Entry

For my next project i was thinking about doing something in relation or to express the acts of abortion. I want to show that i am against it. I was thinking about trying to do something that represents a pregnant male. I want to do that because men don't have to make the choice that the females to. Its harder for the females to decided than the men. As a female you are more attached to the baby before it is born because you are carrying it in your stomach, feeding and taking care of it. 


Some people believe that abortion is an act of mercy, its showing the love to a child that would endure the life of being unwanted. Abortion is murder. You are killing a life of a baby that could grow up and become someone, they could be an inspirational person/ individual. You not allowing them to experience life. Abortion is allowing the U.S death population to increase. If getting pregnant was a mistake and you are not ready to provide a fulfilling life for a child then do an adoption choice. There fore you can give the baby a better life, and to give a family that can provide it with a better life than death. 


I know pictures of aborted embryos and fetuses are shocking and most people cant stand to look at them but  they no more shocking than abortion itself. No one will truly understand what abortion really is until you are able to see it, and if you are not able to see it you will never know know or understand what is really is.There are things which using words fail to communicate, the brutality you are putting the fetus through. 


Photographs are very unpleasant, but it's easy for some people to deal with things that they can not see. Everyday there are thousands of tiny humans like the one below that are being destroyed so easily in a local clinic that people visit everyday. Abortion pictures show what a thousand speeches can't.






Here is a picture of an aborted embryos just from being fertilized for 8 weeks. Look - it is a fetus that has a body structure and starting to produce the eye sockets, rib cages, hands, legs, and stomach. You can see the skeleton of the hands and legs.  


So, i ask myself - i wonder what would happen to the abortion rates if the mothers had to watch as there babies hearts stopped beating..had to make it happen themselves with the doctor guiding their hands?

Michael Yon.: Journal Entry

After college with my major in Visual Arts with an emphasis in Photography i was thinking about becoming a photojournalist. I want to be a photojournalist because i want to capture the pictures out there of people in poverty or people that are suffering from a disease or cancer. I want to travel to different countries and then bring back the photos and share them. I was looking around and getting information about it and i came across a photojournalist named Michael Yon. Though i was doing some research on him and his technique on taking pictures i found one of his pictures that really stood out to me and made my heart grieve for not only the soldiers but the civilians in iraq that are experiencing. They have to experience it first had and have to go through the war. They have see their loved ones die. Soldiers have to put their life on the line. Some soldiers try and save the children and civilians from the war because they are innocent. 


I found this picture of an American soldier cradling an infant girl and as you can see the blanket the infant is in is covered in blood. After reading about the photo i learned that the child later dies on the helicopter ride to an american hospital for treatment, but this picture shows the love and compassion the soldier had to help save the young boy and try and help him survive. The picture was taken in 2005. The soldiers name is Major Bieger. 





About Yon's Work: He is a former Yon, a freelance journalist with troops and post his photographs online to report the war. He wrote about acts of compassion and heroism that the U.S Army gives to the innocent civilians that are in the war environment. His images are very powerful and can be used to see both sides of the war. The dramatic part of the suffering civilians but also the life of a soldier that is put on the line. By taking the photo's of war, the nature tells a the story, it is not very pleasant, but it helps people understand how they are suffering. 

Dorothea Lange: Journal Entry

I really appreciate her photographs that she takes. her most recognizable and influential photographs of all time, is called the "Migrant Mother". The picture was taken February of 1936 in Nipomo, California. Its of the migrant mother and her children that were suffering along side her. You can see that they have dirty and old clothes on. They don't look like they have showered and they just look sad and depressed they truly look "suffering" . She took pictures in the great depression time and it really allowed people to see how it affected most people during that time. It brought to their attention how others were suffering.  


Dorothea had gone through a rough life growing up. She was diagnosed with polio when she was 7 and she started to get weaker and she grew older. It was very hard for her around the age of 12 because her father abandoned her and her mother and left them fighting for themselves. I think that is why i really appreciate her work, is because she had a rough life with ups and downs, but got through it and became a well known photographer. She didn't let those bumps in her life hold her back. 


When the Great Depression started  to impact peoples lives, she realized that the importance of capturing and recording the problems that people were facing was really a big deal. She didn't want to take pictures indoor because those pictures are not where you see the most suffering the most dramatic suffering was on the streets, so she went out and started to take pictures. She began observing and recorded all the people that were struggling and how they were trying to survive and that is when she really reached out and wanted to take pictures and document the poverty, so that later on people could look back and not only see the pain, but also feel the pain they were living in. It allowed the public to become aware of what others were going through.


As people started to see these photos, they began to show compassion for those who were suffering and really wanted to reach out and help them. As public started to help change the government started to see it and they all worked together to help one another survive and develop a better life and environment. 


She is still credited with having some of the most influential photographs of all time. She passed away at the age of 70 in 1965 because she was diagnosed with esophageal cancer.