Yoshitomo Nara
Yoshitomo Nara: The Relentless Visionary of Pop Art
Yoshitomo Nara is a 51-year-old Japanese pop artist influenced by anime and punk rock. His sculptures seem cartoonish in nature and typically depict animals or children. Often, his subjects have contradictory elements, such as weapons or accusatory looks that belie their wide-eyed expressions.
The interesting thing about Nara is his consistency. Artists like Nara pursue the same relentless vision regardless of critics. Nara says he is helpless in this matter because he is compelled to create these works.
This fiberglass sculpture, called “Your Dog,” is part of the permanent collection at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
The traveling photojournalism exhibit
Catholic Charities American Poverty Photojournalism Project: A Year in Review
It has been a full year since we became involved in the Catholic Charities American Poverty photojournalism project. It has been a rewarding and challenging year, and now a certain rhythm has taken hold as the exhibit crisscrosses the United States. This coming week, the exhibit presents itself in Nashville, Tennessee. The map above demonstrates where the exhibit has traveled (in red) and where it is yet to travel (in blue). Additional cities might still be added, and no final confirmation yet if the final exhibit will take place at the White House.
Steve Liss, the Project Director, travels to each city immediately prior to the exhibit reception, artfully and tastefully documenting the slices of poverty unique to each community. Our job involves image preparation—printing, mounting, and packaging all the images for each exhibit—and delivering them directly to the exhibit venue. Usually, there isn't a single day to spare, and thankfully, UPS has delivered each and every package on time and in perfect condition. Ideally, there would be a larger buffer of time for production, but then, what would be the challenge in that?
It is a challenge, and from every challenge, you hope to learn and improve from the experience.
Put up or shut up!
Reflecting on the Artist's Journey: The 'Foot in the Door' Exhibit
Over the years and after working with countless artists, it's easy to forget the emotional journey they undergo when exhibiting their art. They open themselves up for critical review and significant exposure. They might appear nonchalant or even over-confident about exhibiting, but inside, their stomachs are churning. For me, it was time to put up or shut up.
The 'Foot in the Door' exhibit is different in this regard. It's completely democratic—if it fits in the box, it exhibits. Consequently, it becomes less about the art itself and more about the opportunity to exhibit and have fun. I submitted a photograph I took ten years ago, entitled "Midnight on Mason Street." It was taken in San Francisco, focusing the image exposure on a neon leg, which severely underexposed the rest of the image. The result is two illuminated signs on opposite sides of the street. It's a gimmick photo, but I'm partial to gimmicks. Growing up with comic books, my favorite part was always the Johnson-Smith page on the inside back cover (x-ray glasses and such)—the clearinghouse of gimmicks.
My favorite piece from the exhibit has to be the seed art tribute to wrestler Baron von Raschke. Classic.
More about 'Foot in the Door 4'
A Visit to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts
I love the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA). I know that isn't a profound observation for anyone who has ever visited the MIA, because anyone who has ever visited it also falls in love with it. It offers a friendly and welcoming arts atmosphere (which isn't as common as you would hope), the art is terrific, and it's free. What's not to love?
Be that as it may, the 'Foot in the Door 4' exhibit is shaping up nicely. I had the chance to visit a second time before the public unveiling. The total submissions were beyond all estimates, and the lines were long for nearly the entire four-day submission period. The final number is a closely guarded secret until the public reception, but sources close to the count have provided a range of between 4,700 and 5,000 entries (compared to 1,700 submissions ten years ago, the last time this exhibit took place). Three large gallery rooms will be filled, and the raw expression of creativity is almost overwhelming.
I managed to find my piece and two of the three pieces I had submitted on behalf of friends and family. It looked as if about half the art was up, and I did hear that all of the art had been photographed for the online gallery.
Behind the scenes of 'Foot in the Door 4'
Behind the Scenes at the "Foot in the Door" Exhibit
One of the perks of this job is being involved in interesting art exhibit projects from a 'behind the scenes' perspective. In other words, friends in the art world ask you to volunteer to help them with an event. Yesterday was a perfect example.
Every 10 years (this being the fourth time), The Minneapolis Institute of Arts hosts an event called the "Foot in the Door" exhibit. Essentially, any Minnesota resident, at no expense to themselves, can submit one original piece of art they have created to be exhibited at The Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The art cannot be larger than 12"x12" for wall art or larger than 12"x12"x12" for three-dimensional art. It is a terrific opportunity to exhibit in one of the most prestigious museums in the world for four months.
Art check-in takes place over four days. As a volunteer for the art check-in, my responsibilities were:
Ensure the art did not violate the size rule.
Collect the paperwork for each piece.
Assign a wall location.
Provide a receipt for the art.
Deliver the art to the staging area.
In other words, I was the first point of contact for the artists. The art itself was impressive, and the range was amazing. Each piece was cradled by the artists as if it were a newborn.
After the art is received, it is staged in an exhibit room and waits to be registered in the computer and photographed for the online catalogue. Over 1,000 artists checked in art on the first day, and over 3,000 submissions are expected. At the peak crowd size, the wait was 2.5 hours, but everybody was extremely patient and in a very good mood.
One of the other perks of volunteering is checking in your own art (and your friend's art) without the complication of waiting in line. Those will be posted later.
Today, my back is killing me (marble floors) and I am exhausted. It cost me a day's pay to be there, and the tuna sandwich was stale when I finally had a chance to eat. But I made many new friends, saw many familiar faces, and would do it again in a New York minute. I can't wait for the exhibit reception on February 18, 2010.
A busy gig
January Surprises and Exciting Projects
January is usually a quiet month in the art and framing industry. There might be a small bump in business due to some Christmas follow-up framing, but that trickles away pretty quickly.
This January was an exception. Several projects came in the door because of fiscal calendar years that started on January 1st. Another major Catholic Charities project was delivered, this time for a Centennial Leadership Summit in San Jose, CA. This was the largest venue so far (the 4th), and it will move across the United States every month until September, where hopefully it will exhibit at the White House. I love working on this project because it leverages the power of photography, and it is an absolute adrenaline rush to meet the tight deadlines. In this business, this is known as a 'good gig'.
We also had our first order from Turkmenistan, specifically Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. This is a former Soviet Union republic that declared independence in 1991. It was a nice-sized order of 10 large-format mounted images and one extremely large canvas print. There is a sense of satisfaction in knowing your handiwork is on the job in some remote part of the world.
On an unrelated note, Downtown Mainstreet agreed to co-sponsor a photography competition with Red Wing Framing & Fine Art Printing. It's always fun to have too much to do.
And finally, if nothing else, I learned a long time ago to surround myself with very smart people. Or at least stand close to them.
I am uber-excited about a new project that some very smart people I have come to know are advising me on. This is on a six-month timetable, so the details will roll out over time.
Hard Boiled Art exhibit
Hard Boiled Art: Original Pulp Magazine Cover Art Exhibit
Details have been finalized for our next original art exhibit. "Hard Boiled Art" presents original pulp magazine cover art from the 1930s to the 1960s. The exhibit will run from November 5th to December 6th, 2009, with a reception date still to be determined.
This is a unique art form. Pulp magazine covers were very sensational and were considered the most important aspect of the sales of any particular pulp series. The socially acceptable boundaries were often tested, and the topics reflected the popular culture of the time.
The covers were typically machismo in nature, with elements of evil or danger and at least one hero. The 1930s had strong detective and science-fiction followings, while the 1960s were all about the 'Red Scare' of the communists.
Regardless of the threat, the damsels in distress typically had a torn blouse. :)
Come and enjoy the exhibit. This is a rare opportunity to see the original art used to create the published covers. It's fun and an absolute snapshot of an industry that hardly exists any longer.