Process

There seems to be such an emphasis on seamless corporate identity in our visual culture and our society at large. How does this affect artistic production? Does it affect it at all? Do these constraints on production affect the artistic process? I think if not consciously addressed, I believe that a particularly desired outcome has the ability to constrain the element of experiment, play, and free exploration inherent in the creative artistic process. I think this is something that Picasso engaged with his entire career as an artist and the reason why I admire him. He was never complacent.
   So, what techniques can an artist develop to counter these strictures? I think each artist grapples with these issues in unique ways and maybe this is an important question to ask artists. I have personally found that approaching a project in an open manner allows me to discover surprising possibilities. This open approach is intrinsic to automatism and the dérive. An analysis after the act. It can provide a foundation on which to develop bodies of work. I have incorporated some of these techniques in my own practice. The result has been a discourse between the conscious and subconscious mind, which I only recognized upon reading David Eaglemans's book Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain. In Eagleman's book, he discusses how the brain operates on so many different levels. Eagleman then goes on to say that the various levels of operation in the brain are not necessarily cognizant of one another. I feel that art that emerges from the obscure realm of the subconscious and subsequently developed through conscious dialogue engages more of the whole mind than work that is predetermined in every aspect. This interchange between the various thinking processes of the mind may have the potential to contribute to more robust intellectual growth in the artist.
   As argued in this blog, an artistic process rife in rich intellectual exchange within the artist can affect both process and production of the artist. By extrapolation, I would propose that a further intellectual exchange within communities at large could potentially contribute to an interchange that has the power to countermand the pressure of a limiting product identity.
http://sstriepe.wix.com/fivedstudio#!blog/csf4

Instagram

I started using instagram in July 2012, but I feel this summer I was using it more as a sketchbook and more regularly than previously. Here are some of the themes that have caught my interest:

1. The sky (puffy clouds, the sun, and the moon)
2. Dew Drops
3. Spiders and Webs
4. Girdling

Yes, today it was girdling! Check the girdling pics out on my instagram.  I had never heard of the term girdling before. I looked it up on wikipedia. It is apparently custom designed by the red-naped sapsucker and no wonder…they occurred on the trunks of sugar maples!

Although these themes seem mundane enough, coupled with my magical thinking they have provided significant inspiration for future projects. The girdling looks to me as though it is a secret cypher and the spiders when photographed at a low angle look as though they are denizens of the sky. I am planning on exploring both of these themes in the future. That's what sketchbooks are for after all!

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Susan Striepe @ fiveDstudio

Summer 2013

This summer has been so constructive. I have been exploring both stop-motion animation and experimental movie making.

• I have found movie making to be surprisingly fluid. My approach has the same spontaneity as that of my dérive  (http://derive.weebly.com/) in the way insights were manifested after the experience, rather than by a strictly predetermined mindset or script. The visuals have determined the script, rather than vice versa. I have found that my movies tended to be reflective and existential. They appear to explore the negotiation between subjective and objective realities.
• My stop-motion has a way to go. I drew and painted 16 blue herons in various flight motions and have the greatest respect for animators. It is time consuming, but incredibly rewarding. I love the magic between the still image and the moving image—deadness and liveliness! I had endless technical problems, but found that the Stopmotion app for the iphone solved all the problems that my still camera posed. I also found that my thinking changes drastically when I use stop-motion. I meet another me! Everything seems to be enormously humorous. Yeah, I need to do more stop-motion…

I have uploaded both my movies and my stop-motion to vimeo.

Susan Striepe @ five D studio

Museum Inspiration

   The art museum can be an invaluable source of inspiration for artists. Spending time examining the works and comparing contemporary artists with artists from different time periods and cultures can illuminate some of the big ideas about art, as well as some of the meanings and roles that art exhibits. Currently, at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts there are three exhibits: Rembrandt and his contemporaries, pre-Columbian art from Central and South America, and a contemporary artist—Camille Utterback. What on earth could they possibly have in common? All of them represent their cultures with the reservation that museum's collections are selective.      Cultures in these three exhibitions are represented in the thematic content and the material form which the objects manifest. By analyzing and studying these works one can discover a significant amount about the represented cultures. The Rembrandt exhibit clearly demonstrates the Age of Exploration through several of the paintings that directly represent the tall-masted trading ships. Other clues are present through the inclusion of exotic items in still lives, like oranges which are not native to Holland or figurative compositions that include people wearing silk or musical instruments acquired from other countries. Even the landscapes reveal whether the artist traveled outside Holland or not. Many artists traveled to Italy, for example, and incorporated the southern light and vibrant colors of the Mediterranean contrasting with the overcast skies of Northern Europe. This is only one layer. Other cultural layers reveal topics such as fashion, religion, values, and even invention. Oil painting was an invention of the Northern masters and the exhibition is predominated by this media.
   The pre-Columbian time period is overwhelming vast geographically and spans approximately 4,000 years. How can one generalize about so many different cultures that arose over this expanse of time and geography? And what on earth could these cultures have in common with the Rembrandt exhibition? What is remarkable about this exhibition is that it is predominated by clay artifacts, just as much as oil paintings predominate the Rembrandt exhibition. This tells us about the technology and invention of these cultures. Where Holland's economy was driven by trade, the pre-Columbian civilizations were generally more focused on agriculture and trade is reflected in a supporting role. Clay is the very substance of agriculture and certain aspects of the cosmology reflected in the art objects present the recycling and rebirth that sowing, growing, and harvesting represent. 
   What about Camille Utterback? Like the other two exhibitions she uses the technology of the time period and the themes in some of them could only have been produced currently. Her art is interactive and she uses "coding as her paintbrush". The images are computer driven and the viewer can interact with words, specifically contemporary english, with time layered street scenes or with more abstract images. This is art work that represents our preoccupation with digital media.
   As an artist, it is helpful to see so many different iterations of art and realize we can draw inspiration from around us by understanding the past, by understanding other cultures, but reflecting what is around us today.