Inspiration and Last Details

Last week I had a goodbye dinner with a friend from college, she's doing her Ph.D. and NYU's IFA and the whole experience, learning German, living in NYC, and figuring out exactly what her future is going to look like is worth a long dinner to mull over the various possibilities ahead. After a long dinner and an even longer coffee nearby we left, but not before she invited me to the Whitney for one last visit before I head to Chile. I told her I'd let her know, in case in all of the planning, preparing and packing something came up. I was free, so we met at 1 yesterday. I had checked my Time Out and saw that the Dan Graham show was on and was asterisked. I figured this was the exhibit she was interested in seeing, but Claes Oldenburg was on too. The Dan Graham for me, was presented in a poor viewing space, and lackluster, but as we descended to the 3rd floor we were in for a delight. Oldenburg never seems to disappoint, his drawings are gorgeous, and simple, and his sculptures are whimsical and fun. 

In my own work I've often struggled with my desire to mind aesthetics and be quirky, but as a teacher staunchly tied to social justice curriculum, I teach art that is thought provoking, deals with issues, and has meat. I've always let my students explore their own ideas in after school art club, and when they come to me with things they've been working on in their sketchbooks, but as a teacher I've always felt it critical I deal with subject matter that affects and reflects their lives, so that they understand that art today isn't painting water lilies and haystacks. 

In going to Chile my goal is to make some art, build up my portfolio, and get excited about art again for myself. Oldenburg's exhibit helped me remember some of who I am as an artist. Growing up in a family where my dad hunted, I have handfuls of photos from age 2-10 standing next to a deer hanging in my parents garage, or photos of me watching my dad de plume pheasants and ducks. Not that I was complacent, or uncritical, but this was my norm, and after moving to the East coast for college and finding a different attitude to how and what we eat, I found a lot of humor in this. I painted for years on this theme, not really in a critical fashion but both exploring my own feelings towards it and trying to pull out some of the irony in addition to addressing some other midwestern traditions I found probed me in an uncomfortable way. 

I have almost two days left in New York and I am trying to pack the art supplies that I will need for the next four months. I am not entirely sure what I am going to end up making, so I am really struggling with what to bring. For the last few years I have mostly worked with metal and sewing, neither of which I will be able to pursue in Chile, and traditionally I have been an oil painter- which I don't want to hassle with bringing. I think, well I hope this will make for some exciting work, but it is also somewhat scary to delve into new media and hope that it doesn't become a really frustrating battle.

This photo is from South Africa on last years safari. Giraffes have a really hard time drinking water, and have to set themselves up a bit like tripods. This was a lucky shot.