MAeX Art Blog

Three cheers for “normative” Yale

There has certainly been a mountain of chatter about one Yale University student's thesis project. I've read lots of it, good, bad, and ugly. While not teaching any such graduating students myself, I wonder what I would have said if such a project had been proposed to me? Knowing my own reactions when students do come up with wild ideas, I probably would have been against it but, I'm also willing to let students slept in the bed of their own making even if they've soiled the sheets.

Three cheers for “normative” Yale:

"In the post below I wrote that Aliza Shvarts ‘probably knew she wasn’t having abortions’ and that her project was likely the result of laziness and lack of imagination abetted by faculty irresponsibility. Looks like I spoke too soon. Ms. Shvarts has written an op-ed insisting, despite Yale’s reassurances to the contrary, that she did [...]"

(Via The New Criterion.)

Yale U. Says Student Must Acknowledge Her Artwork Is Fiction

I was talking to several students over the past couple of days because it's time for finals. Two of them are planning "performance art" works with a high dose of conceptualism. One of them is a former student that I have told he needs to confront himself and make his work have more authority and authenticy, something he seemed to lack for much of his work. He's a good student and I support him totally even if his work fails to reach its mark because, he's sincerely working at it. I also remind him to do more research because without it, one might look uninformed and be vulnerable to harsh critique.

Yale U. Says Student Must Acknowledge Her Artwork Is Fiction:

"A Yale University art student who has claimed that she videotaped her own self-induced abortions will not be allowed to display an art project about the abortions unless she acknowledges that the project is 'fiction,' university administrators announced today.

The project, by Aliza Shvarts, a senior art major at Yale, started an uproar on the campus and in the blogosphere, and a debate over whether her project should be protected by artistic freedom. It is supposed to go on display [22 April, 2008] in Yale’s Holcombe T. Green Jr. Hall. Ms. Shvarts has created confusion and angered Yale officials by telling Yale’s student newspaper that the abortions really happened, but then acknowledging to administrators that the project was merely 'performance art.'

Experts differ sharply on whether a planned art exhibit on abortion goes beyond what anyone intended in terms of guarding the right to free expression at universities."

(Via Chronicle.com - Today's News.)

Interview: How Cellphones Change the Way People (students) Learn

Interview: How Cellphones Change the Way People Learn:

"Rich Ling argues that cellphones strengthen ties with users’ close friends and family, but might also narrow people’s understanding of the world by limiting interactions with strangers. Mr. Ling is an adjunct research scientist at the University of Michigan and a research scientist for Telenor, a Norwegian telecommunications company. He’s author of a new book, New Tech, New Ties: How Mobile Communication Is Reshaping Social Cohesion (MIT Press, 2008).

Q. How are cellphones reshaping social connections?

A. If you think about social networks, there can be strong ties and there can be weak ties. The mobile phone is really an instrument for the intimate sphere — your closest family and your closest friends. But weak ties are also extremely important because that’s where you get information about important things. If you only spoke with your strong ties, you just hear the same things being echoed back and forth.

Q. What does that mean for a college setting?

A. It raises questions about emancipation. I grew up in Colorado and went to college in Boulder. It wasn’t that far away from home, but I hardly ever called home. I would come home every other weekend just to do my laundry or something like that. It was only like an hour’s drive. But I understand that college students now call their parents quite often, several times a day. So how is the child’s emancipation from their parents going? Are they establishing themselves as independent individuals that are ready to go out into the world on their own?

Q. Does text messaging have a different impact?

A. It’s sort of under the radar. Quite often when I’m lecturing, halfway through the class I’ll say, ‘How many of you guys have gotten a text message since you’ve been here?’ And a third of the class or something raises their hand. It’s kind of interesting that their social world is going on in the background while they’re more or less paying attention to the lecture.

Q. More or less?

A. Yeah, hopefully more. They kind of sort of zone in and out. And that’s sort of an interesting aspect of it. It’s not very interruptive; it goes on in the background.

Q. Can that be disruptive though?

A: There are all kinds of awkward social dynamics associated with having to deal with the mobile phone."—Jeffrey R. Young

(Via The Chronicle: Wired Campus Blog.)

In my classes students mostly have their phones off and very little disruption takes place. That's because it's a studio/ lab and students can go outside to talk on the phone. We have, at various times, talked about the phone's influence but, I think it's only one of many things that allow the student to be unengaged with the learning process unless, of course, that student is really interested in learning. Just that fact reduces the number of serious students dramatically compared with those who are just floating by.

Free of Charges at Last!

Steven Kurtz Cleared of Charges

04.21.08 - The Associated Press reports that a judge has dismissed charges against Steven Kurtz, a college professor accused of illegally obtaining biological materials for an art exhibit protesting US government food policies. District Judge Richard Arcara ruled that a mail and wire fraud indictment brought nearly four years ago against the University at Buffalo professor, was "insufficient on its face." Kurtz is a founding member of the Critical Art Ensemble, which has used human DNA and other biological materials in works meant to draw attention to political and social issues. His arrest drew international attention, with artists in several countries protesting the charges as an intrusion on artistic freedom. He became the target of a federal terrorism investigation in May 2004 when firefighters found the materials — two kinds of bacteria — and equipment they deemed suspicious after a 911 call to his home. Kurtz had called to report that his wife was dead from an apparent heart attack. Investigators later determined that the lab equipment used for DNA extraction and amplification equipment was part of his artwork and that Hope Kurtz died naturally. But Kurtz was indicted a month later on mail and wire fraud charges that carried a maximum of twenty years in prison.

Kurtz was accused of plotting with Robert Ferrell, the former chairman of the University of Pittsburgh's human genetics department, to improperly obtain potentially harmful organisms. Prosecutors said Ferrell used his university account to order bacteria for Kurtz from a supply lab that does not do business with individuals. In February, Ferrell was fined $500 but escaped a prison sentence after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor count of mailing an injurious article to Kurtz. Under sentencing guidelines, he could have received up to six months in prison and a $5,000 fine if convicted.

This had been going on for years now. And, what a cost to friends and family. Steve Kurtz is a person I respect and, this decision is great news! I tried to work with him one semester during grad school however, I ended up working with Doug Ashford based on the limited number of students each of them had to work with.

On the Lam: Revisiting MAM's tribute to the Cuban master

On the Lam: Revisiting MAM's tribute to the Cuban master:

"With his engrossing Flor luna (Moonflower), artist Wifredo Lam delivers the portrait of a woman with generous breasts, thorns in her hair (or is it a mane?), a Bogeyman face and a horse-like mouth rendered the more grotesque by what appears to be an engorged fang."

Scholars to discuss Lam influence:

"The Miami Art Museum will host a symposium on Cuban artist Wifredo Lam and his contributions to modern and contemporary art on May 17."

(Via MiamiHerald.com: Visual Arts.)

American sculptor Alexander Calder embraces Wifredo Lam in 1965 Sache, France.

Artist Entrepreneurs Meetup

South Florida Artist Entrepreneurs Meetup Group this afternoon sharing information from sponsor, OPEN small business from American Express. Every month OPEN Meetup Group sends us information packets to share and discuss individually and in the group.

I'll also be posting less in the next two weeks since I need to finish moving and I have final critiques at school. I need to finish grading projects I have in my possession right now. Mercy, I'm too busy!

The Sad Sad Shape Of Writing About Art Today

I think the situation locally is rather complex in that we have a few venues for more writing but, very few have stepped forward to do so. Even fewer have supported it financially. Miamiartexchange.com, now in its 8th year, has ALWAYS AND CONTINUES TO ACCEPT ART WRITING. I personally have done less writing because I have sought out other ways to keep it online rather than ask the direct beneficiaries of art writing, artists and galleries, because it is a failed option. Artists want their shows covered but, time and transportation costs are to be borne by whom? Miamiartexchange.com is now trying to run a solvent operation after having run a deficit for too many years.

The Sad Sad Shape Of Writing About Art Today:

"'From the late 19th century to just after World War II, writing about modern art was clear. It had to be. Today, when curators and critics can count on a large audience willing to embrace new art simply because it is new, they don't have to try as hard.' The result? Sludgy writing that is a pleasure for no one and is purposely obscure.

In certain circles, the Whitney Museum's Biennial exhibition of contemporary art is known as "the show everybody loves to hate." Usually the criticism comes in the form of negative reviews. But this year it's different, with the brickbats directed at the exhibition's accompanying commentary instead of the art itself. Texts written by the Whitney's curators and outside contributors are being widely (and accurately) dismissed as unalloyed gibberish.

What makes this complaint particularly significant is that it comes not from the public, whom the museum might privately dismiss as benighted philistines, but from insiders -- artists and critics who know their stuff and are generally well-disposed toward the museum and its efforts."

(Via The Lost Art of Writing About Art.)

Elizabeth Condon at Dorsch Gallery

More from last weekend's openings. I'm hoping to get other images from Dorsch Gallery because I was not able to get good shots of all the works. More openings tomorrow too.

Remember, this blog will be totally moved over the summer so, please check the new location via our main site at, www.miamiartexchange.com

April 2008 Openings

April 2008 Openings:

"miamiartexchange posted a photo:

Museum of Contemporary Art from their permanent collection."

(Via Photos from miamiartexchange.)

Moving

Yesterday was spent removing my final belongings from my residence and into my new residence. Afterward, just before filing taxes I redid them only to find out something was incorrect and I didn't owe a ton of money. Then a project deadline stared me down that needed completion. And before the day ended was hunting down documents from two different computers, several flash drives, two external hdd's and, CD's. I eventually found what I was looking for by 10:30 pm. Then I had to drive home, unload my car with some new needed items: towels and sheets. Sounds like fun doesn't it?