New Toy

I got a new scanner, yo.  Any tips on how to get the wrinkles out in the scanner?

425-0107

Oil on gessoed paper

12"x9"

Why... YES! I think I WILL!

When I set out about a year ago on my "Art All Year" experiment, I had a goal in mind.  Create, examine and write about art enough so that I can, at the end of the year, apply to grad school for a Master of Fine Arts program.  Somewhere along the line, I came to realize that as much as I loved the MFA idea, I grew to see it as romantic and not at all practical for me any longer.  I've never been one to be entirely practical though, so the realization wasn't without mourning time for another lost love. 

But through the magic that was my art year, I became exposed to some other ideas that I also grew to love.  I investigated a curatorial studies program... for a minute.  And then there was Art Education.  Ahhh... art education - that's where I started at the Museum School in 1991.  Why... YES... I think I WILL!  The little experience I had with it while studying at Storm King was intoxicating.  So I applied to the Art. Ed. program at SUNY New Paltz as a second degree transfer student. 

Application - check.  Portfolio - check.  Fee - check.  Essay and resume - double check! 
Wait.
Wait.
Wait.

And then yesterday - sitting in my mailbox - all alone - was an envelope from New Paltz.  I sat in my car at the end of the driveway and opened the envelope.  And there it was, "Congratulations..." and I didn't need to read any more - although I did... there's so much to do now!!!

I said throughout the year that my goal was to apply.  I met that goal and felt so good for doing it.  But then they actually accepted me.  Wow!  I can't wait for this part of the adventure to begin.  Don't know how much I'll be blogging about it, what with all the papers I'll be writing for credit, and what not, but stay tuned for highlights!

A New Drawing

 

Connections 1

Ink and oil pastel on paper

9"x12"

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http://www.facebook.com/artallyear

Art All Year, Every Year

One year ago, I was enveloped by the smell of linseed oil in Brigid's studio and fell in love once again with making art.  As everybody who has ever been in love knows, that state has it's ups and downs.  But you also know that as many times as you say you'll never do it again after a fall, you just can't help yourself the next time it comes around.  The end of "Art All Year" has come and gone, but that's not to say it won't continue.  I had a good enough time this year just getting started, that I choose art all year, every year.  I can look back and reflect upon what I've done, what I haven't done, and what I'd like to do going forward.  Autumn feels like a good time of year for that for me.

This past weekend, I celebrated the art  year with another trip to Boston.  Another trip to Brigid's studio yielded similar results - I am so inspired by artists who consistently make.  We also spent a day meandering through artists' natural habitat of Boston's Fort Point Open Studios.  The living-life-as-art spaces were each unique.  Some elegant, some cozy, some inviting and some off-putting, but all hopeful.  I think there's something inherently hopeful about making art that consistently.  I used to think that in order to make art, one had to be depressed or angry or desperate to send a message of some sort.  But now I think that art represents hope.  Why bother, otherwise?  Art is hope for yourself, for your society and your culture.

Some of the artists whose vision of hope was particularly of interest to me follow in no particular order:

• Martin Berinstein: http://www.loccoritoro.com/berinstein.htm
  Beautiful photographs and this one installation of an object inside a mirrored box.  The mirrors were at multiple angles and you stuck your head in the box to take a look.  There, you were greeted by the object, which was almost superfluous to the piece, so much so that I can't remember what it was, the mirrors, and your head, at myriad angles - up, down sideways, front and back infinitely to the sky and below.  It sort of reminded me of the Star Wars Galactic Senate.

• Kate Gilbert Miller:  http://www.kategilbertmiller.com
  Beautiful, light and airy paintings with lots of white space and concise earth tones, reminding me that I don't have to be so heavy handed.
  
• Dorothea Van Camp: http://www.unit35.com
  
• Christine Vaillancourt: http://www.christinevaillancourt.com
  Loved the process.  I was convinced that these pieces were encaustic until I read her statement.  Acrylic?  Whoda thunk it?!  I thought acrylic was for babies.  Another reminder that it's not the camera, it's the photographer.
  
• Valda Zalkalns (sadly, no website or postcard to swipe)
  Earthworks.  Etchings of scratch marks made by swans on a frozen Charles River.  Fascinating process and beautiful outcomes.  This art makes me want to investigate an interest farther than "I wonder".

And then we visited Bessie - the "mascot" at the Museum School.  I always wanted to take a ride on her back, but was afraid of the trouble I'd get in.  I've lived that way too much - being fearful of potential trouble and wanting, at all costs, to stay out of it.

Enter, year two of "Art All Year".  I've already set a goal for the year end which is to put pieces in the Holiday Alumni Sale at the Museum School, 2011, which puts me back in Boston first week of November.  WHY is this TROUBLE, you may ask?  It's the fear, and this year, I'm going to conquer it... get right up on it's back and shout, "Whoa, Bessie!"

Your art portfolio has been submitted for review. You will be notified via e-mail when a decision has been made.

I spent the better part of my weekend prepping my portfolio and essay to be reviewed by the art department at SUNY New Paltz.  I've applied to the Art Education department and now I'm all speedy.  Nightmares the past few weeks about moving to Boston - I know it's anxiety and that it will pass - no big deal, but I feel all of a sudden like applying to school is more of a big deal than I had originally anticipated.  I am totally excited at the prospect, though, of going back to school for art ed.  It's where I started off and now I feel as if I've come full circle.  When I started "Art All Year", I did it with the intent of applying to an MFA program.  That was my end goal - to apply.  I didn't give anything beyond that much thought.   I thought if nothing comes of it, well then at least I'd have this year of art under my belt and it will have fed me.  But as the year progressed and I decided that the MFA wasn't for me and that the BSAE was for me, I started to look beyond the year and to imagine what it would be like to have a career in teaching art.  It's an exciting prospect for me and one that I hope I get to see to fruition.  Come on, SUNY NP... git 'er done!

Signs of Our Times

I have a few photos in an online exhibit at Mobius, in Boston, MA, called "Signs of Our Times: An online study of signs, especially as means of language or miscommunication."  Check it out here or at http://mobius-signsofourtimes.blogspot.com/search/label/Helen%20Gutfreund. Also be sure to check out all the other artists' work by clicking on their names. 

Here's one of my photos, just for a teaser:

What is Art?

It's an age old question.  We've all pondered it.  We've all come up with our answers, and maybe, they're all right.  To me, art is broad.  It does not have tight restraints or rules.  It is wide open and all-encompassing.  That's why I love it and fear it all the same. 

What, then, when someone, presumably "in" the art world, tells you that your art isn't acceptable merely because of it's format?  I'll tell you what.  Fuck you is what. 

Art doesn't need the constraints of a frame - a frame of reference, maybe... but not a frame.

Apply Yourself

As you may have noticed in the header for this blog, I state that I am on a quest of all things art for the period of one year with the intent of applying to a Master of Fine Arts program at the end of said year.  The prospect of an MFA has always held a romantic place in my heart.  All the cool kids have one.  When I initially started talking about going back to school for mine, I got "mixed reviews" from those who let me chew their ears off about it.   I received both encouragement and discouragement on the topic and I shunned the discouragers as haters.  "What good will that do you?" they asked.  "What are you going to do with an MFA, teach??",  like that would be the worst thing possible for anyone to ever do in the history of doing things.  I usually answered by saying something to the effect that I was following my bliss and that I didn't need a financial or career oriented goal in mind in order to get my MFA.  I've always wanted to get it and so damned it to hell - I'm going to do it just cause I wanna.

My romance with the MFA, albeit a long and rocky one, has come to an end.  I tried it once in 2000(ish) and had to drop the program because my father died in the middle of it all and, well, I just couldn't deal.  And as much as I wanted the naysayers to be condemned to the pits of hell for trying to discourage me, it seems as if they actually gave me a better idea.  What if teaching art was something I chose on purpose (rather than something to "fall back on" as a certain tuition-footing parental unit of mine used to quip long ago).  Today, I put in my application for an Art Education degree.  I still need to tie up some loose ends on that, but they have my money and the ball's-a-rollin'.  Some of you may be saying to yourself, "But Helen - you don't even like kids!".  True enough, but teaching them art sounds fascinating to me.  Recall, my favorite teachers were always art teachers - I can still name all of them K-12:  Mrs. Sirotowitz, Mr. Hobart, Mr. Levine, Mr. Spitz, Ms. Lebenson.  College gets a little foggy (I was a little foggy) and there were a lot of them, so cut me some slack here (Brigid may be able to shed some light on this).  All of these people inspired me - even the ones whose names I can't recall.  They sparked something in me.  They taught me how to be creative and how to think and why I should. 

So think, I shall - and create too - and share the inspiration I've felt with art with others who want it.  There's no guarantee I'll be accepted to the program, so wish me loads of luck and keep your fingers and toes crossed for me (I'm not superstitious - really, I'm not).

And Then The Next Thing You Know...

How does two weeks of intertia turn in to nearly three months?  I'll tell you how - two consecutive bouts with bronchitis coupled with a business trip out of the country and an additional bout with allergies can really slam a girl down.  No excuses here, rather some serious painter's block and exhausting physical ailments.  That's not to say there aren't ideas swarming in my head from moment to moment, but when taking a clear breath is difficult to impossible, all else seems to just get put on the back burner.  Trying to be gentle with myself and not give myself too hard of a time for the inactivity, but also trying to give myself a kick in the pants.

Got back in to the studio for a little while yesterday, so am feeling nearly ready to jump back on that horse again.  I don't need inspiration, I just need to work.

A big thank you to Les Castellanos who was a great sounding board for me tonight.  Thanks for the ideas and the encouragement.

Inertia

So I haven't made any marks in like two weeks.  The dining room table where I had all my alternative process photography stuff set up was overtaken by my husband's tax receipts and the baby gate that cordons off my studio from the kitchen seems to have become increasingly higher, ever more difficult to step over.  (It is to keep the dog out of there while I'm not watching.)  A couple of weeks ago was the deadline to enter pieces in to a juried show that is coming up in a local museum.  I entered three pieces, figuring I had nothing to lose - there was no fee, after all.  But I feel like I've been holding my creative breath since the deadline.  Don't make a move, lest someone sees  you hoping for validation by the jurors or by other artists or community members.  At the risk of being publicly naked here - I found out yesterday that none of my pieces were selected for the show.  My husband reminds me that I just started painting again and that I said entering the pieces was merely an exercise in seeing how it felt to enter pieces for jury and that I wasn't actually expecting to get in anyway.  Yeah, right.  After the news, I did spend a fair amount of yesterday sulking and questioning myself and playing the "my art is better than your art sucks compared to their art yadda yadda yadda" game.  But this morning, I feel ready to get back in the studio and make some new marks.  My original intent was to do this for me - to get back to my art making roots and to rediscover my creativity, and although I am thoroughly enjoying everything that is coming along with that, ultimately, for me, right now, it has to be about the simple act of making, and that has to be enough.  There should be a big package of art supplies waiting for me by the time I get home from work today and I'm going to tear right in.

ANDY WARHOL: PRIVATE AND PUBLIC IN 151 PHOTOGRAPHS Exhibition Opening

I attended Andy Warhol: Private and Public in 151 Photographs exhibition opening this evening at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art... complete with wig.  Wigs were encouraged attire as a nod to the late Warhol, who, as you likely know, was a fan of artificial hair.

Truthfully, I'll have to go see the show again with fewer people in the gallery.  It was packed with people and I was concerned, initially, about how freakish I must look with dutch boy fuscia hair.  I quickly got over feeling odd (I was on the campus of SUNY New Paltz, after all), but the crowd still made it difficult for me to really take in the art.  I guess openings aren't so much about the art as they are about the crowd.  I did have the pleasure of briefly meeting Sara J. Pasti, the Director of the Dorsky.   Thanks for introducing us, Kt.  She even commented how she loved my wig.  Not just the color, but the cut as well... maybe I should consider this as a pernament look - hmmm...

One thing that stuck out for me was the accessibility of the medium.  The black and white silver gelatin prints take a little know how it's true, but the Polacolor 669 portrait prints were something anyone could do.  I'm not saying that anyone could have taken the photos that Warhol took, rather that the medium was a tool of the masses.  Heck - I have a bunch of the stuff in the studio right now to make slide transfers and portraits with myself.  This is probably why I felt a connection to these pieces, crowded as the gallery may have been.  Alternative process photography has always been a love of mine, even if I haven't done an awful lot of it.  Keep an eye out for some Polaroids and cyanotypes in the not too distant future.

A Moment at MoMA

I spent a good portion of my day today (er - yesterday - it is after midnight as I write this) in a car traveling to and from.  Well worth it.

Monet
Monet's Water Lilies exhibit.  Beautiful.  Yep.  New wallpaper for my phone.  Go see it.

Burton
I may become very unpopular by saying this, but the Tim Burton exhibit at MoMA left me cold.  I know, I know... everyone loves Tim Burton, and I know, I know - I am trying to be more objective about what kind of art I am looking at and what I think about it.  So yes - I reminded myself of that while in the exhibit and it just didn't work for very long.  In all fairness to the work, it may have had something to do with the hoards of people in the exhibit.  There were so many people in there, well... it was like trying to leave a Grateful Dead show when they played RFK Stadium in DC and you had to walk through this tunnel to get back to the parking lot.  The exhibition galleries acted as funnels for ushering people here and there.  I felt like I was in a wave and had no control over where I went next and I was overtaken by a big one.  Under water.  Uncomfortable.  You get the point.  I did take note of an interesting letter to Johnny Depp though about an idea Burton wanted to try in his version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  Interesting in an historical context.  I also noted Burton's use of acrylic paints in his sketches and paintings.  I never think to use acrylics because they seem so flat and, well, plastic to me, but I kinda sorta liked some of the results he got with them.  Maybe acrylics are like cameras... its not so much about the camera as it is about the photographer.  I'm not discounting the merit of Burton's work - just claiming in public that it isn't my speed.  So after deciding I didn't want to drown in a sea of teenage boys who dig movies, it was time to move on.

Kentridge
William Kentridge: Five Themes was my speed.  According to MoMA's website on the special exhibit, [Kentridge is] "Best known for animated films based on charcoal drawings, he also works in prints, books, collage, sculpture, and the performing arts."  What I really love about Kentridge is the sense you are left with that something has come before.  There is a history.  You have a sense of it even if you don't see it - but you do see it.  Many of his animated films are made via a process of adding to and erasing from a drawing and each step filmed for animation.  What is left is a one panel drawing, but you can see evidence of what was there.  It's almost as if you can see and feel the history of the character in the drawing.  Movement has happened here and this is merely one (the final) moment that we get to know about in the drawings.  They are beautiful too - we're not talking about stick figures here.  This man can draw.  And his torn paper animations?  Fuggetahboutit!  He can draw so well that he doesn't even HAVE to draw.  Gorgeous silhouettes of people, animals, costumes - mere suggestions of form from ripped up pieces of paper but that dance right off the screen in such a believable way that I sat and watched slack jawed.  This show closes on May 17th, so you still have a little time, but make sure you see this exhibit.  It was the best thing I saw all day hands down, and I wish I had spent more time with it.

...and More!
I managed to get to a couple more galleries while I was there, surprisingly, as I was pressed for time.  Architecture and Design was interesting - its always a hoot to see common household kitchen utensils in an art museum - historical context, ya know.  And who doesn't love an Eames chair!  Also managed to get to the Picasso exhibit, which I breezed through except for some quality time in front of the series of five "Bull"s.  Loved this because you could follow him through his time and process from a very  accurate, almost anatomical drawing of the bull all the way through the next four levels of abstraction ending in a "simple" line drawing.  It was easy and interesting to see the connections he was making and that the viewer can make visually.  I also noted that he always included the bull's "parts", no  matter how accurately represented or abstracted.

I got to a drawing gallery too.  Lots of great stuff for me there - Mark Tobey (a new fave I have to do more research on - I only was introduced to him recently by Amy Lipton in her curated show, Body, Line, Motion: Selections from the Permanent Collection, at The Dorsky Museum in New Paltz) , Jean Dubleffet, and more Kentridge, to name a few.  But the stand out in my mind was a drawing by David Smith, Untitled (Tank Totems) 1953.  I'm certain that getting acquainted with the Smith collection at Storm King Art Center as part of my docent training informed this for me, as it did for other exhibits as well, especially the aforementioned Picasso Bulls.  But being able to see the connections between Smith's drawing (which I am largely unfamiliar with) and his sculpture (which I am becoming sorta familiar with) was a little a-ha moment for me.  The artist only has his own "handwriting" if you will.  Something I;ve always know and expounded on in conversations before, but a good and solid recollection now.  Maybe it is different for other sculptors - I don't know.  Studying sculpture and sculptors is relatively new for me.  But in this instance, at least, it is clear to me that the marks made on the page and the marks made in space are one and the same, and I think that is lovely.

What I Wanted to See But Missed

• Painting and Sculpture galleries.  Really?  I missed these?  Sacrilege.  Next time, I promise.  
• The Sculpture Garden.  I did have a few  moments there, but mostly to sit and rest and while I did a wee bit of communing with the Calder there (ooh, aah), I didn't have enough time to wander the garden.
• Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present.  The artist was absent.  I knew she wouldn't be there - it was one of her very few scheduled days off.  But her exhibit space was lit and even without her physically being there, it felt as if she was holding that space for something to happen later.  It absolutely had the energy of things having already happened - not entirely unlike Kentridge's drawings from his films.

Work, then art. A few more elevens.

The expiration date on the cereal box this morning read, "11/11".

Then to a busy day at work - even with the gorgeous weather we are having, people want their massages.  I knocked off a little early so I could head upstream a clip to a brand new gallery in Saugerties for their inaugural opening.  Actually, this was the second opening reception for Jen Dragon's 11 Cross Street Gallery's first show.  Artist was on-hand and spoke casually but passionately about his "Rock &" exhibit.  One piece, "The four directions" by LDDD (I'm embarrassed because I dont know what the initials stand for - I want to know the artist's name better than this - Jen, if you are reading, help a girl out, unless LDDD is the artist's version of "Madonna" or "Seal" or "Sting", in which case "LDDD" is enough) took its inspiration from a Native American medicine woman's healing words, carved in stone, mounted on wood and arranged int he four directions.  In the center, was the artist's late wife's bag that she carried around Nepal on a trip there.  To me, it said that any way you look there can be healing.  Any way you look there is history.  Any way you look, there is a foundation.  What made it even more interesting, was the artist's story of how, tragically, his home recently burned down and this piece was able to be salvaged from the rubble.  Any way you look, there is hope.

Thanks to Jen Dragon for being such a gracious host and for welcoming me so warmly to her new gallery. 
www.11crossgallery.com

Photo of "The four directions" taken from:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Saugerties-NY/11-Cross-Street-Gallery/104505696249284?ref=ts

From Saugerties, I made my way back downstream - no, I wasn't in a kayak, but could have been with all the runoff and localized flooding we have in the area as a result of an 80 degree day at the beginning of Spring.  I noticed some roadside trickles that turned in to rushing rapids.  A quick stop at the used book store in Saugerties and $11 later, I had in my possession two art books which I intend to flip through this evening, if I can break away from the computer for a moment.  I am especially looking forward to thumbing through "Henry Moore Carvings, Bronzes, 1961-1970".  Ever since my days at Purchase College and a few covert and a few not so covert trips to the PepsiCo campus across the street, I've been in love with Moore's work.  And now that I am in training to be a docent at Storm King, I have a renewed love for sculpture and am fortunate that they have a Moore or two in their collection for me to gawk at.

OK - that's enough.  Time to go home.  But as I made my scenic route home, I remembered that it was the first Saturday of the month,  and so I found myself in Kingston at the Arts Society of Kingston's opening of a member show, "Three Dimensional Wall Sculpture" with pieces that ranged from silly to poignant.   Also showing was Lynne Friedman's, "Poetry of the Flowering World" consisting mainly of representational watercolors.  Not my cuppa, but I can appreciate the technical merit and creativity.

I've been trying to be more of an "art appreciator" lately, even if (or maybe especially if) I don't particularly like the subject matter, materials or execution.  I keep saying that making art can be purely about the making.  Whatever that means to each artist can be different, but I respect each person's own process, or at least, I choose to believe that each person is in their own process.  Props to photographer, Anthony Maddaloni (http://www.etsy.com/shop/archivalstudio), for sharing his own insights about looking at other people's art with me.  You never know what little golden bits of wisdom may be birthed in even the most casual of conversations or gleaned from a quick visit to a cute little gallery.

11/11.  Any way you look there can be healing.

Boob Brigade

Pencil on paper with encaustic and oil

Winter Ash House

9x12
Oil and Charcoal on Canvas

Cover Story!

I was recently interviewed for the cover story of Regional Report, The New Paltz Regional Chamber of Commerce's quarterly news magazine.

In "Nontraditional Becomes The Norm: Higher Education and the Adult Student", staff writer Kelly Granger discusses the educational pursuits of a number of community members and what their goals mean to them.

You can check out the article by clicking here or visiting http://issuu.com/chronogram/docs/rr_spring_2010_web.

38 House, 18 Mushroom Cloud. Friends Don't Know You.

36"x36"
Charcoal and oil on gessoed paper

Art All Year: An Intimate Discussion on Inception

March 20, 2010.  The Vernal Equinox.  The sun passes over the equator.  Buds are popping.  Birds are singing.  The sun is shining.  There are people in the streets.  Shoppers.  Demonstrators.  Tourists.  Dog lovers. 

March 20, 2010.  Third Saturday Art Loop in New Paltz.  At 6:15, Eileen Quinn began her talk at Van Buren Gallery about her experiences in a recent visit to Kenya, and resulting photographs.  Giraffes and zebras and elephants... oh my!

At 7:15, it was my turn to deliver a talk about "Art All Year".  If you've been following this blog, then I won't bore you with the details of the talk - you've pretty much already read it here.  If you're a new follower, then please feel free to catch up on previous posts.

The big news that was delivered is that I will have a solo show at the Van Buren Gallery in November as a sort of wrap-up of the year in art.  I can't wait to see what I come up with and hope that you'll join me then for another talk!

P.S. -  I once had a design boss tell me I should wear more black - that I'd be taken more seriously as an artist that way, and that he hired me partially due to the fact that he liked the amount of black I was wearing during my interview.  Hahaha!

A Bit of Press

I was recently interviewed regarding my "Art All Year" endeavor for an article about adults changing careers or continuing their education, whether it be in an existing or new field for them.  The article will appear in the Spring edition of the New Paltz Regional Chamber of Commerce's Regional Report.  If you are a Chamber member, it should be in your mailbox on April 1 (no foolin').  I'll also be posting a link to their online version here, so stay tuned!

Gallery Talk at Van Buren Gallery

I will be giving a gallery talk on my "Art All Year" project at the Van Buren Gallery in New Paltz, NY on Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 7 PM.

Are you on facebook?  If so, please RSVP to the event here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=348774742799&ref=mf

If not, then here's the info - I hope to see you there!

"Local Woman Artists Working in Paint, Pencil and Photography" a group show is featured at the Van Buren Gallery, Inc. 215 Main St. New Paltz, NY 12561 for the month of March. The show includes the art of Helen Gutfreund and Maureen Rogers of New Paltz, Eileen Quinn and Yong Sook Kim of Gardiner, Polly Reina of Wallkill and Patti Hokanson-Murphy of Walden.

A reception will be held on Saturday, March 20, 2010 from 4-8PM. At 6PM Eileen Quinn will provide a free travel lecture on her trip to Africa, which is the subject of her photography in this show. This will be followed, at 7PM, by Helen Gutfreund speaking on her year long commitment to art, which is the subject of her Blog entitled "Art All Year" and can be read at http://artallyear.blogspot.com/

March 20th is part of the New Paltz Third Saturday Art Loop. 13 Art and Cultural Venues in New Paltz are open for visitors to "Loop" through each third Saturday from 4-7PM.

Receptions are free and open to the public, light refreshments will be served. For further information visit http://vanburengallery.com or call 845-256-8558. The gallery is open at least 12-6 daily.