Martin Kippenberger
Hotel Drawing
Mixed media on paper 1993
11.6x 7.9”
A selection of these drawings is on view at the Portland Art Museum right now!
This drawing brings together the weird combination of a man and a chair, superimposing the chair on the man. Layering something that usually supports the body on a depiction of the body could be an interesting bridge. Also using materials not intended for art making, like hotel stationary, creates an intriguing conversation between two distinct elements.
Brian Calvin
Oh Me, 2004
acrylic on canvas
61 x 45.7 cm
In this painting, Brian Calvin creates a metaphoric bridge between a person and their reflection, also perhaps punning on how we, the viewers, look for reflections of ourselves in art.
Jessica Stockholder
#291 1997
Acrylic and oil paints, couch cushions, plastic container lid, shoe laces, hardware, chain, plastic scoop and toilet plunger
65 x 57 x 36 inches
In this wild piece, Jessica Stockholder creates a conversation between disparate materials and objects through color and shape.
Lee Krasner
In this painting she creates a bridge between the rapid process of paint application and the slow process of analyzing composition.
Bridge
For our last assignment, we’re interested in works that create a transition, a bridge from one distinct point to another. Use form or content to show a spectrum or shift from one element to another. Your bridge work could create a unity between two disparate styles or between two opposing concepts like “solid and diffuse.” You could create a continuity between a fast method of working and a really slow, considered one.
FOCUS
For our next assignment, we’d like you to make something focused. As with the other assignments, this is open to interpretation but essentially we’d like to see something you’ve worked very hard on. We all have different creative strengths and bents and there are a million different ways for an artist to focus. Putting everything you have - all your time and energy and heart - into a single work of art is sort of crazy when you think about it, but it’s also wonderful. For this assignment, challenge yourself a lot. Do something hard that will make you nuts while you’re working on it but proud when you’re done. Below are some examples of ways to focus. We’ll be working on this assignment for a few weeks beginning next Tuesday in class so spend some time thinking about it and get started as soon as you’re able.
Focus by using a labor-intensive medium; something that takes forever but is so worth it in the end.
by Vello Vin
Focus by studying your subject closely; by working and reworking until you get it right.
by Kathe Kollwitz
Focus by finding a drawing that you made with a good composition, redrawing it and making it better.
by Brecht Evens
