Periodic Table of Elements: A Collaborative Installation
Posted by David Mazure | Filed under Digital, Installations
I would like to introduce you to a project that has been in the works for quite some time. Last year I proposed over 14 different ideas for artwork installations in the new Hoeffner Science and Technology Center to the administration at East Stroudsburg University. The first of these installations is based upon the Periodic Table of Elements (see below for details). It has been a long process of approvals and revisions but it looks like this first installation (hopefully of many) is going to move forward rapidly — with hopes of it being completed by the end of the spring semester.
Normally, each semester, in my Communication Graphics class I have my students work on an introductory typography project called the Letterform/Counterform Project. This project’s goal is to take two different letterforms and combine them in such a way as to accentuate/highlight certain interesting and/or aesthetically pleasing elements of these letterforms while also considering the overall composition in a rectangular format. This semester my Communication Graphics students will be doing this project, but instead of choosing arbitrary letterforms, they will each be given 5 or 6 of the elements on the periodic table of elements to use. When completed, they will be printed, and displayed in frames in the hallway of the 2nd floor of the Hoeffner Science and Technology Center, directly opposite of the Chemistry Analytics labs. The frames will be arranged in the same order and configuration as the periodic table of elements, as pictured below. This is the first step in (hopefully) a few more collaborations between the science and art departments.
The location:
Innovations
Posted by David Mazure | Filed under Digital, Drawings, Events, Installations, Shows
Of all of the juried shows that I have had my artwork shown in these past few years, I am most excited about this show: ‘Innovations’ at the Dowd Gallery of SUNY Cortland in Cortland, NY (the show runs from January 18th – March 2nd, 2012). The work accepted in this show “represents innovations in concept, subject or media use” — which is one of my main objectives in creating any piece of art. Both of the pieces I submitted were accepted to the exhibition [pictured below] and I will be venturing up to SUNY Cortland’s Dowd Gallery to present an Artist Talk/Lecture and/or a Workshop for the students at SUNY Cortland sometime in the first week or two of February 2012. Please read the written statement that I submitted for ‘Innovations’ here.
The first work that has been accepted to ‘Innovations’ is a digital print intervention titled: Mapping the Probability of Archetypical Configurations of Elementary Particles in Thought-Space and will appear in Bowers Hall (the science building) on the campus of SUNY Cortland.
In case you are interested in some of the jargon on this poster, here are some details:
The other piece that was accepted is Transmeanderation Helix (Parts 1, 2 & 3) and will be installed in the Dowd Gallery. Here is Transmeanderation Helix as it appeared at the William King Museum in 2010:
Unfinished Projects Part 2: Collected Subconscious
Posted by David Mazure | Filed under Drawings, Installations, Unfinished Projects
Welcome to Part 2 of the Unfinished Projects series. The piece I would like to discuss today was originally conceived in late 2007 (while I was still working toward my MFA) and is titled Collected Subconscious. At this time I was looking at the automatic drawings of Austin Spare, as well as, the Surrealists. I think there are some really interesting conceptual ideas happening here and an interesting use of light and shadow in a work of art, but, overall it was lacking in several areas and that’s why it got benched. Maybe I’ll revisit this concept in the future. Who knows?
A much more ambitious alternate arrangement.
A sample conscious/subconscious line drawing on plexi-glas.
When searching for images for the Unfinished Project series I came across the image below. I have no idea what it was intended for. All I know is that I spent a great deal of time on it and I never used it for anything!
Aljira Center for Contemporary Arts
Posted by David Mazure | Filed under Events, Installations, Shows
Where are you going to be on Thursday, June 9th from 6:00-9:00pm? With any luck, you’ll be at the opening of Studio Montclair’s “Viewpoints: A Contemporary Survey” at the Aljira Center for Contemporary Art in the heart of Newark, NJ. Besides the fact that I installed my first wall painting for a juried exhibition, there are going to be many other interesting pieces in the exhibit. According to juror Dr. Rocío Aranda-Alvarado (Associate Curator for Special Projects at El Museo del Barrio in NYC), the exhibit “encompasses a broad spectrum of works that touch on a number of themes relevant to contemporary life. The works in this show reflect the personal and the universal, the organic and the abstract, the mundane and the extraordinary.” I am very excited to see the other work that is included in the exhibit and I hope to see you there! Click on the announcement below to see the other artists included in the exhibition and read below that for the official press release:
Studio Montclair Inc (SMI) announces its 14th annual juried exhibition, View Points: A Contemporary Survey which opens on June 1, through June 25, 2011, at Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art in Newark, NJ. An opening reception will take place on Thursday, June 9th, 2011 from 6 – 9pm and is free to the public. View Points: A Contemporary Survey features the work of 68 visual artists of international backgrounds who explore how the choice of subject shapes perception.
“Seen together, these works explore a broad scope of abundant conceptual, visual, and expressive themes.” writes Rocío Aranda-Alvarado, Ph.D. who juried the exhibition.
Aranda-Alvarado explains: the exhibition encompasses a broad spectrum of works that touch on a number of themes relevant to contemporary life. Works in this show reflect the personal and the universal, the organic and the abstract, the mundane and the extraordinary. Aranda-Alvarado cites three core themes that inform the personal views embodied in the show: the landscape, human nature and the abstract.
Ever present, the landscape is an important player in the development of the narrative around the idea of a view point. In the works seen here, the landscape is approached as the subject of a botanical project, an object of romantic admiration or a backdrop to the experience of the everyday … Direct and intimate views of plants that fill the picture plane are offered by Gary Paul Stutler, while more playful, conceptual and fantastic views are presented in the paintings of Charles Geiger.
Human nature and the effect of humans on the landscape are represented by ghostly figures and family snapshots; by race and social class with their effect on modern society’s landscape and by sparing figures and silhouetted forms and how struggle is a powerful, but essential, part of the human condition. Laara Cassells’s whimsical painting is part “Jersey Shore” and part fairy tale. As a young girl leaves behind the fantasy of the white horse, her sullen figure is embellished with early teen concepts of beauty.
Lastly, abstract forms and concepts look at human emotions: Playful shapes and powerful juxtapositions of color beg the viewer to investigate the depth and breadth of a wide range of emotions. Kurt Dyrhaug presents us with enigmatic and suggestive propositions, playful objects that beg our interpretation.
Rocío Aranda-Alvarado is the Associate Curator of Special Projects at El Museo del Barrio in New York City.
Studio Montclair Inc. is a non-profit organization of professional exhibiting artists who promote education, culture and the visual arts.
Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art is a co-sponsor of View Points: A Contemporary Survey and is open to the public from Wednesday – Friday 12pm – 6pm, Saturday 11am-4pm.
This program is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts and
administered by the Essex County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs.
Studio Montclair’s 14th Annual Juried Show
“Viewpoints: A Contemporary Survey”
Featuring the work of 68 national and international artists
Exhibition Dates: June 1 to 25, 2011
Opening Reception and Awards: Thursday, June 9, 2011 from 6 – 9pm
Program: Saturday, June 11, 2011 from 1 – 3pm
Juror: Rocio Aranda-Alvarado
Gallery: Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art
Gallery Hours: Wednesday – Friday 12pm – 6pm, Saturday 11am – 4pm
Address: 591 Broad Street, Newark, NJ 07102; 973-622-1600
Viewpoints
Posted by David Mazure | Filed under Events, Installations, Shows
Although it is quite a long time away (June 1st – 25th, 2011), I was just notified that my wall painting, Supersymmetry Exists. . .just not here was accepted by Studio Montclair for inclusion into their annual juried exhibition, whose title this year is Viewpoints. I’m very excited about this show for two reasons: 1) this will be the first time one of my installations has been accepted into a juried show and 2) because it will be held at the Aljira: A Center for Contemporary Art (Aljira = Australian Aboriginal word for dreamtime) in Newark, NJ. Part of Aljira’s mission is “the promotion of art perceived as problematic by mainstream institutions.”
In other news, I am looking forward to posting some new artwork on this blog-site very soon. The semester is over and I want to get to work!
Embrace Details
Posted by David Mazure | Filed under Drawings, Installations
As promised, a closer view of the graphite drawings in Embrace (thanks for the pics, Jessica!):
