tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35315878590515988862024-02-06T19:31:39.503-08:00Maximum SculptureMusings on making, teaching and being around sculpture.Matt Burke Sculpturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15173482917985735965noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531587859051598886.post-51477226293628266762012-07-15T16:47:00.004-07:002012-07-16T04:12:51.701-07:00Inside-Baseball-Sunday @ KU<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em;">The Sculpture Program in the Art Department at the University of Kansas continues to build upon a prestigious history. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em;"> <span style="font-weight: normal;">Sculpture first became an area of concentrated study through the efforts of Bernard Frazier in the 1940s. Professor Frazier envisioned a program of study that combined fine art, architecture, and physical therapy. Eldon Tefft joined the program in the 1950s and helped further refine and refocus the sculpture curriculum as fine art. He was also instrumental in joining sculpture with the School of Fine Art. In the 1960s, Professor Tefft created a series of national sculpture conferences at KU. In the 1970's these conferences grew to become the International Sculpture Center, which is the foremost organization in the world for the dissemination of knowledge about all three dimensional artwork.</span></span></span></h2>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5em;">Professor Tefft continues to be listed on the masthead of Sculpture Magazine as the founder. In addition, in the 1970's and 80's, Tefft worked with newly hired professors Phillip Blackhurst and Richard Gillespie to create a vastly expanded sculpture program in the new Art and Design Building. The program grew from a crowded 800 square foot studio in a quonset hut behind Bailey Hall to a 7,000 square foot program with separate studios for metal, wood, and foundry. In the 1990's John Hachmeister was hired to redesign and upgrade the foundry program.</span></h2>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5em;">Following Phillip Blackhurst's retirement, Matt Burke was hired and redesigned and expanded the wood studio. Jon Swindell stepped in to re-invigorate the metal studio program following the retirement of Richard Gillespie. In addition to the current faculty member's service and research in their respective studios, all three have contributed to expanding the sculpture curriculum including Public Art, Environmental/ Installation Art, Art Car, The Figure/ 3D Anatomy, Wood Studies, and 3D Scanning-Rapid Prototyping. In addition, the sculpture program has implemented public gallery spaces in Kansas City, helped create two arts incubators, and created a cognition-motor skill enhancement research program at the Kansas School for the Blind. Our program outreach includes the design of a state-of-the-art, carbon neutral foundry program for the University of Costa Rica.</span></h2>
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</div>Matt Burke Sculpturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15173482917985735965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531587859051598886.post-50413566338392790132012-07-13T10:57:00.002-07:002012-07-13T10:57:31.894-07:00Traveling-Tall-Tale Wednesday<br />
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in Ohio</b>. Church and breakfast are the day's priorities for the natives. David,
my traveling companion, and I are nearing Delaware, OH and David requests a
pit-stop. Foretelling, because no sooner had we pulled over, then I saw grey
goo squirting from the tire of the trailer in tow. (right side) After a trip
inside myself, thinking, "maybe the grey goo is just normal, you know,
like sweating," I retruned to pancake flatness. Time to put the spare on.
But first, we needed to unload the trailer, probably about 800 pounds of wood
in managable batches. That done, I realized we have no lug wrench and a trip
inside confirmed that our handy pit stop didn't go as far as servicing vehicles
(They would later also not be able to even offer me air, "oh, they took
that out a year ago..") Traveling about 20 miles, I purchased a lug wrench
from a very nice man at Advanced Auto Parts. I then returned to where I had
left David, the trailer and all the trailer's contents. But wait, I jumped! The
nuts had been removed by some kind fellow traveller with a spark plug socket.
Great! I used the new wrench on the other tire--you see, the spares were a
different size than the originals, so if we changed one, we changed both. Next,
fill with air. I used a small electric pump I just happened to have in
the back of my truck. A little water on the tire to test for leaks and bummer;
Don Ho's "Tiny Bubbles.." became more than just a fun song. The
spares leaked. (Time check:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><strong>3hours</strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>since we pulled off.) Now David and I
both ditch the trailer and all my wood, strewn about the front lawn of the
service area, to go find tires, on a Sunday, in Ohio. I knew from years
experience that most components of a sculpture look like trash to civilians. So
I trusted no one would steal my stuff. After a long trip through rural OH, we
hit Delaware proper and I went into the first open store I see, a Tattoo
parlour.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>So this is where the
other half hangs until 1pm.</em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>The
nicest man directed me to<em>Tractor Service Center</em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>"just down the road," which
always turns out to be an eternity if you're not from the area. So,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><strong>4 hours</strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>into the stop, we have 2 new tires.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><strong>An hour later</strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>we are on the road.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Matt Burke Sculpturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15173482917985735965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531587859051598886.post-55302224767956807282012-07-13T10:55:00.005-07:002012-07-13T10:55:26.894-07:00Traveling-Tall-Tale Wednesday<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18pt;"><b>In 2010 I was invited to
install a work on the lawn of the Lexington Art League.</b> Long--impossibly
long--story short. The work was 1.<em>crushed</em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>by a 200 year old tree 2.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>burned</em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>by a homeless man in an effort to
"keep warm."The final work was much different than my initial idea,
and I have been fortunate to be able to install my latest work in Lenox, MA as
part of the annual<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><strong>SculpureNow</strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>show. I don't know what got in the way
in Lexington. I probably never will, but the twice loss of a work did teach me
something; the press loves disaster. My misfortune generated tons of press. I'm
told it even made the crawl of the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><strong>Today</strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>show. Onward. (caption: The tree
obviously didn't have it in for the cheap lawn furniture.)</span><br />
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<!--EndFragment-->Matt Burke Sculpturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15173482917985735965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531587859051598886.post-71399012594865316082012-07-13T10:50:00.002-07:002012-07-13T10:50:49.001-07:00Traveling-Tall-Tale-Wednesday<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16pt;"><b>Here's a
traveling tip if you find yourself in the Albany, NY area.</b> The hotels that
surround the city fill up on weekdays</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16pt;"> </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16pt;">not</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16pt;"> weekends.
It's opposite from what you encounter in most parts of the country. Typically,
Friday and Saturday are the busiest days for most hotels, but In Albany (and
maybe other capitol cities) the rooms are booked during the week. This is
because the state legislature is in session and assembly men and women must
travel to the state capitol in order to engage in</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16pt;"> </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16pt;">sausage making.</em></div>
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friendly reminder when you find yourself in Albany on a Monday!</span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Matt Burke Sculpturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15173482917985735965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531587859051598886.post-28695100766524892722012-07-13T03:04:00.001-07:002012-07-13T03:04:15.891-07:00Onward-and-Upward Friday!<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18pt;"><a href="http://artproject4wetland.wordpress.com/">http://artproject4wetland.wordpress.com/</a></span></div>
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<strong style="line-height: 18pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">CHENG LONG
WETLANDS International Environmental Art Project in Taiwan </span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18pt;">Artists from
all countries are invited to send a proposal for a site-specific outdoor
sculpture installation that will involve working with local elementary school
children to create an artwork focused on making the Cheng Long Wetlands a
“greener” place where biodiversity can flourish.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://www.nps.gov/gaar/artistinresidence.htm">http://www.nps.gov/gaar/artistinresidence.htm<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><b>The artist
accompanies a Park Ranger on a backcountry patrol. </b>Patrols may accommodate the
artist to a certain extent, but artists must be both physically fit enough to
attempt such a journey and possess the skills and experience for extended,
rigorous wilderness travel. Each year there is one Artist in Residence Patrol
of 10 to 14 days. Residencies usually take place during the summer from July to
Sept. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://www.franconia.org/callforart.html#jerome">http://www.franconia.org/callforart.html#jerome</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Matt Burke Sculpturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15173482917985735965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531587859051598886.post-53213106256169523752012-07-11T11:24:00.001-07:002012-07-11T11:24:30.061-07:00Inside-Baseball-Sunday<br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Sculpture
engages<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>our bodies and our
minds</em>. Sculpture is a physical exploration of relationships within and
between forms and ideas. In Sculpture we tackle physically essential dilemmas;
drop something, it falls to the ground; strike a blow on a material, you’ll
leave a mark. Yet art making is also the act of giving shape to spirit. Artists
make the invisible tangible, they conjure something the world doesn’t know it
needs, yet something the artist desperately needs to see for him/herself. In
sculpture we explore the technical aspect of making art, its
mythical/conceptual aspect, and methodologies artists use to make work. Through
exploration, we come to realize these facets are inter-connected.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Matt Burke Sculpturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15173482917985735965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531587859051598886.post-16348966553426180702012-07-11T04:16:00.001-07:002012-07-11T04:16:44.707-07:00Inside-Baseball-Sunday<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; line-height: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande'; font-size: 11pt;"><b>From an interview with Art Is Moving</b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="line-height: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande'; font-size: 11pt;"><i> </i></span></span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande';"><i>http://artismoving.blogspot.com/</i></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande'; font-size: 11pt;">Can you talk
about your sculpture?</span></strong><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande'; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;">My work is
rooted in physical and poetic understandings of nature, (and I mean
nature in the sense of an inter-connected web of people, places, and things.) I
place a special emphasis on the relationship of these understandings to my own
emotional life. The invisible life of emotions is fascinating to me, and
while I’ve used many materials over the years, wood, intensely familiar and
knowable, remains the best-suited material for constructing three-dimensional
objects that serve as metaphors for human stories. For me, the most prominent –
and interesting – characters in these stories are unfulfilled desires, fear,
and the expression of a longing for safety and comfort in all its
manifestations. I make vessel or “basket” informed work – pieces I
call bascauda, from Latin meaning kettle or table-vessel – and think of
these as keeping places for past remembrances. I also make work I
callmembrana – from Latin meaning parchment or that which covers members
of the body – these works recall boats and/or shields, essentially objects
that cover and protect the self. My work method involves a lot of
laminated wood construction, weaving, binding, etc. I’m drawn to very low-tech
assembly methods because I like the direct connection with the materials. I use
machines and current technologies, but simply can’t stand the “distance” this
puts between me and my work. I like to think of the layers of wood like layers
of memories accumulated over time that, like memory, possess both a sense of
certainty <em>and</em> a sense of the uncertain.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>Matt Burke Sculpturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15173482917985735965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531587859051598886.post-41542855256633473772009-04-26T18:04:00.000-07:002009-04-26T18:22:16.448-07:00WHO does sculpture?<h3 id="siteSub">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</h3> <div id="jump-to-nav">Jump to: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprioception#column-one">navigation</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprioception#searchInput">search</a></div> <!-- start content --> <div class="thumb tright"> <div class="thumbinner" style="width: 182px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Illu_cerebrum_lobes.jpg" class="image" title="The cerebellum is largely responsible for coordinating the unconscious aspects of proprioception."><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Illu_cerebrum_lobes.jpg/180px-Illu_cerebrum_lobes.jpg" class="thumbimage" border="0" height="133" width="180" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Illu_cerebrum_lobes.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="" height="11" width="15" /></a></div> The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebellum" title="Cerebellum">cerebellum</a> is largely responsible for coordinating the unconscious aspects of proprioception.</div> </div> </div> <p><b>Proprioception</b> (pronounced <span title="Pronunciation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)" class="IPA"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English" title="Wikipedia:IPA for English">/ˌproʊpriːəˈsɛpʃən/</a></span> <i>PRO</i>-pree-o-SEP-shun); from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin" title="Latin">Latin</a> <i>proprius</i>, meaning "one's own" and perception) is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense" title="Sense">sense</a> of the relative position of neighbouring parts of the body. Unlike the six <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exteroception" title="Exteroception" class="mw-redirect">exteroceptive</a> senses (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_perception" title="Visual perception">sight</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taste" title="Taste">taste</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olfaction" title="Olfaction">smell</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatosensory_system" title="Somatosensory system">touch</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hearing_%28sense%29" title="Hearing (sense)">hearing</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense_of_balance" title="Sense of balance" class="mw-redirect">balance</a>) by which we perceive the outside world, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interoception" title="Interoception" class="mw-redirect">interoceptive</a> senses, by which we perceive the pain and the stretching of internal organs, proprioception is a third distinct sensory modality that provides feedback solely on the status of the body internally. It is the sense that indicates whether the body is moving with required effort, as well as where the various parts of the body are located in relation to each other.</p>Snipped from wikipedia, if you resonate with the above description, then get yourself to the nearest sculpture class. I regularly have students who do very well in sculpture and at the end the semester tell me, "I don't really like it." After I take a breath and I shrug it off, I tell them "well you've had the experience and you'll take away a host of hand skills."<br /><br />But why don' they like it? It's not me, the projects, or the time, it's none of that. They just may not like the jostling, the lifting, the pulling or pushing, or any of the many movements and disruptions that is part of making sculpture. In a sense, they may not need the extra physical input, or proprioceptive<b> </b>feedback, that is baseline usual in sculpture. The reason is in their brain!<br /><br />So, who stays? The ones who like the feel of a fire engine siren as the sound reverberates through their guts, the ones who smile when we light the propane burner and the thing goes "boom." That's who.<br /><br />Is that you?<br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Matt Burke Sculpturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15173482917985735965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531587859051598886.post-59453396595894016902009-03-15T13:41:00.000-07:002012-07-23T13:30:56.663-07:00Behind my work<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVG0m2kxqCSEgTz9cwsm76rqyiFuEzJTomCfadvCqvhC40uQwp7UDiJjv4P_RSDK3jhBPmWuNDqN3RrKNA2hEXgxYtwUxtlGFA1SVBewGSUmgcANS1u3qaLfFfF1QdlBA4W8fk9SBm_i4/s1600-h/AboutAbstraction08057.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313783601449924882" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVG0m2kxqCSEgTz9cwsm76rqyiFuEzJTomCfadvCqvhC40uQwp7UDiJjv4P_RSDK3jhBPmWuNDqN3RrKNA2hEXgxYtwUxtlGFA1SVBewGSUmgcANS1u3qaLfFfF1QdlBA4W8fk9SBm_i4/s320/AboutAbstraction08057.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 213px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a>Amusement and passion for organic form—trees, plants, people, animals—anything that <span style="font-style: italic;">grows</span> in a biological sense (as oppose to pure-gravity formed structures like buildings or piles <span style="font-weight: bold;">and</span> as oppose to configurations that derive from industrial design) are the interests that drive my work. My work has been a slow release from dependency upon armature/skeleton, toward objects that utilize balloon or shell construction in order to support weight and formal organizations. With this, I have de-emphasized the use of hardware or external mechanical devices (think hinge or nail.)<br />
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The formal organization of my work is inspired from natural rhythms and cycles—breath, seasons, the repetitive pulse of modern life—and despite a lack of affinity for the mechanical world, the work also re-presents mechanical processes and functions through organic references. The result is what can be called meta-machinery, or, a combination of the mechanical and the organic (think Mary Shelly's, "Frankenstein")<br />
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My attraction to curves, arcs, or any line that signifies the existence of the third dimension, I equate with a rooted interest in human brain function, or consciousness. Why do we think what we do, or rather, <span style="font-style: italic;">how</span> do we think. Our thinking, living experience, is more than words alone can address, and my goal is to capture this intangibility in form.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix5e9et3uVcdczzBXFqM1_lSwhn7qUYTzds6VC170VUlApBp_5UqkJqQp6pXBQt91UKzI0uyaif2tRhwDFIdG78g_hS-sEcn_Yt1AbuaM2Ah4HP3d8DTpd_nMa8BAQTDJo-t5wykiDGkA/s1600-h/AboutAbstraction08101.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313784690900096850" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix5e9et3uVcdczzBXFqM1_lSwhn7qUYTzds6VC170VUlApBp_5UqkJqQp6pXBQt91UKzI0uyaif2tRhwDFIdG78g_hS-sEcn_Yt1AbuaM2Ah4HP3d8DTpd_nMa8BAQTDJo-t5wykiDGkA/s320/AboutAbstraction08101.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 213px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
The approach I take to constructing these forms ranges from solo studio practices, ever informed by interaction with habitat, to community constructed forms whereby, groups of people complete a form I began. Both approaches begin with a "wire-frame" armature (http://www.paverpolaustralia.com/images/wireframe.jpg.) My forms center on snakes, vessels, tubes, and so on, upon which I weave strips of wood lathe. As the lathe is incorporated into the form, the wire frame gives way to the forces of the process. The final form is transformed into one that exists in harmony with all forces.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCcw_9POFOghKjLwyvrrFPVXve7LdIawNlCNk1G5dm8BKu1zKu0wW99ouKYnbBXmQT2jhH57vWDuc780-vrBBbMOBbv3yGebLG4tmRYhOxmiNXcdhaAqDlDU66275xHh33_tUNrnothsY/s1600-h/DSC_0127.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313784978927661378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCcw_9POFOghKjLwyvrrFPVXve7LdIawNlCNk1G5dm8BKu1zKu0wW99ouKYnbBXmQT2jhH57vWDuc780-vrBBbMOBbv3yGebLG4tmRYhOxmiNXcdhaAqDlDU66275xHh33_tUNrnothsY/s320/DSC_0127.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 213px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
This makes me think of sea creatures, whose forms are also proscribed by a balance between the structure of form and external moments. However, our own non-aquatic atmosphere exerts a pressure upon all organic/mechanical form and hence, I consider this a related realm to my work.<br />
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With this in mind, I envision the context of my work to be quite wide. From dense urban areas—both indoor and outdoor, including both—to venues like fields, state or federal parks and reserves.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiWMdBVMKYZZMJKJ5noWtaPkosqu7QKDyw4jHQHZJwVcta9X31hNvrgckrZfGBMln3ducYu3fDtx1Gfb4yoqXyKm3lfIVUya2mUhg6EkFecjI2wL4I9cs04KTmHtaUCZJdyRc52D5nJd4/s1600-h/WaterJug.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313786220986139138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiWMdBVMKYZZMJKJ5noWtaPkosqu7QKDyw4jHQHZJwVcta9X31hNvrgckrZfGBMln3ducYu3fDtx1Gfb4yoqXyKm3lfIVUya2mUhg6EkFecjI2wL4I9cs04KTmHtaUCZJdyRc52D5nJd4/s320/WaterJug.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 214px;" /></a><br />
The vessel, no matter its function, represents trust. Gas tanks, cereal boxes, buildings and even our own bodies are granted a trust in their ability to function typically hard-won by entities such as presidential candidates, lovers, or friends. As such, I see vessels as pure examples of what a culture values.Matt Burke Sculpturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15173482917985735965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531587859051598886.post-60140966948577032282009-03-05T02:46:00.000-08:002012-07-12T05:15:29.000-07:00Why bother teaching art?1. Visual language is an expression of thought. Lawyers go to school in order to learn to communicate "legally", artists go to school in order to learn to communicate "visually".<br />
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2. Because sculpture students must work with many different material processes and types of equipment that depend on mutual cooperation and respect, they develop a sense of community as well as individual responsibility. These are qualities worth developing.<br />
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3. Students are encouraged to make the clearest possible connection in their work between methodologies (how they make their work) and content (what their work is about.) Like driving on ice, how ones drives greatly depends upon the type of ice. Same with making art.<br />
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4. From early childhood, we are trained to behave and work within the parameters of our teacher’s expectations. We either meet them, or not. Unfortunately, this survival tactic simultaneously discourages self-sufficient thinking. When art students focus on their own ideas, they discover possibilities that otherwise would be impossible to predict through instruction.<br />
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5. By forcing students to examine their assumptions, art education attempts to clarify leaps of faith in their thinking. <span style="font-style: italic;">Why</span> do students believe what they believe. Scientists do this everyday, all the time, and look at what it has help yield: Newton's theory of gravity, better braking systems in cars, more options for lettuce in the grocery store. Good for the goose...<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzizzrvJppgxFYIytaBKbMrhwdpTilszg21c4Rlr_hRdycq7lm7xe5poWA1SLf8UpibYctaqA81cevxIlHf0g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Matt Burke Sculpturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15173482917985735965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531587859051598886.post-74819674541229820632009-03-04T11:22:00.000-08:002009-03-05T09:41:20.897-08:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg38CvPthn5nRrzUhgas99UepET6Wcc4dUuBI2ORxOec2AXAf795BTA8TSB1hvS4fj2synbhk-ANaPEFD9z6o_riGmKf0MU3nsLaldvhmmcrxLM-PFz8qdEl4j0TaY3IxScv801vOGWFTI/s1600-h/Canoe_002.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg38CvPthn5nRrzUhgas99UepET6Wcc4dUuBI2ORxOec2AXAf795BTA8TSB1hvS4fj2synbhk-ANaPEFD9z6o_riGmKf0MU3nsLaldvhmmcrxLM-PFz8qdEl4j0TaY3IxScv801vOGWFTI/s320/Canoe_002.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309760106335839138" border="0" /></a><br />Does language have the mandate on meaning?<br /><br />I’m thinking about the two commonly divided parts of the brain; right, left; verbal, visual; reptilian, modern, and wondering why we still cling so tightly to the superiority of the rational, verbal, analytical sub-routines at the expense of mystery, pleasure, and feeling? I see this as a continuation of the rational mind, let loose by the Enlightenment and evidence that humans must hold to knowable, quantifiable tid-bits out of evolutionary fear.<br /><br />The old chestnut in art “form vs. content” which was widely discussed when I was going through school in the late 80’s and early 90’s, I believe hasn’t been answered, rather largely forgotten. I think the rationalists won. They categorized art as being interested in either form or content, with the majority of Abstract Expressionism art being formal and everything after being content (Pop, Minimal, etc.) I think the argument was the final blow to relegating Abstract Expressionism to the dust bin. But it also has taken a toll on what we should expect from art. Does a work of art have to have obvious signs and signifiers in order to have meaning? Is the meaning absent without these cues? Or is it merely too blurry for anyone but a select few to understand?<br /><br />Idea is prime. Everything is an idea or collection of ideas. A plastic bag, the Mona Lisa, etc. Artists use ideas to re-present bits of the world back to an audience in order to reconstitute meaning. So, art can come from a gathered pile of carefully considered newspapers waded-up and scattered on the floor, as easily as it can come from cutting up the words on said papers and making whole new sentences. One yields and idea that is more “formal”, the other an idea that is more “verbal”. But both contain an idea.<br /><br />Now the rationalists make the mistake of claiming only the verbal piece to have meaning because it has more accessible clues to it’s meaning. The lump of paper on the floor, has to be felt, like the land, a sun-set, etc. Therefore its meaning never goes through the language machine in our mind and as a result leaves no language in it’s wake, just sensations.<br /><br />And why have the rationalists won? They own the very media they use to fight the battle. Words. Like taking your ball from the kickball field and going home. Game’s over when you say it’s over. Formalists, as a personality, may not care. We may be content to feel and know there is great reward in that, and choose to congregate with other “feelers” for company. But I think we feel less-than, or believe we’re less-than because we’ve been told so.<br /><br />What’s to do? First, we must help our rationalist friends use their eyes, ears, and hands to understand the world through something other than language centers. And in understanding through the whole body, they might begin to see another vector of meaning, and might even take the risk to trust an entire industry that deals in this currency (us.) We’re not here to hurt you.<br /><br />The recently passed veteran radio personality, (what does a long time in any industry have to do with fighting in a war?) Paul Harvey, gives a scathing critique of the visual sense when comparing it to the written word, stating that Shakespeare’s words offer far more for the mind to chew on than any movie could, or has (my paraphrase.) I associate his deep suspicion of the sensual, the body, with the Puritan/Protestant roots of our nation, especially in the Midwest. It seeks to vanquish the corporeal as just a temptation from the more important rational.<br /><br />Bogus.<br /><br />But dangerous when he preaches this hogwash to the semi-to-completely non-curious (we know who you are.) This is what leads a nation to believing that recess, visual art, music, gourmet food and the like should be looked upon with suspicion, even hatred, and definitely not funded with public monies for the public good. They then become entertainment and must compete with every other form of pass-time.<br /><br />Be careful when you’re about to be swayed by an argument made by a rationalist. They will be very convincing because that’s what they’re good at, using language (much as I am here, maybe...) There are many ways to communicate, where would we be without the ability to read body language? (Besides engineering school) The list here is long and stands to justify that being human, and part of a “great nation” means we can make meaning from more than words and strong signifiers, we have a mandate to find meaning in forms, sounds, and good ole fashioned art too.Matt Burke Sculpturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15173482917985735965noreply@blogger.com0