Friday, May 3, 2013

Brian Kreuger Lecture

Brian Kreuger discusses in his mfa lecture, which he called 'the Unknowability Center,' how his childhood and his stint as a slot machine maker influenced his later art.  The fist thing he talked about was his ideas on the concept of a frame.  He said that frames determine the boundaries for everything, and determines what is allowed in and what remains outside.  The goal of his art, he said, is to always be outside the frame.  He wanted to push the boundaries in every way that he could.  One way he accomplished this, he said, was by having most of the art in his show made by other people.  He came up with most of the concept for each piece and did some work on them himself, but trusted his friends and colleagues with contributing a lot to the show.  An example is his dedication piece to his brother, who killed himself by drinking antifreeze.  Kreuger filled a refrigerator box up with antifreeze and commissioned one of his colleagues to finish it.  The end result turned out to be drapes hanging from the ceiling and descending into the antifreeze.  Kreuger, who didn't have control over the end product, said it came to symbolize his brother still existing in this world in one form or another.  Another important aspect of his art was the use of what he called the veil.  He talked about how beautiful things can remain hidden behind a veil, using the middle eastern hijab as an example.  This idea was very present in his show, as the majority of his work was obscured in some way.  For example, his boxing match behind a semi transparent curtain.  He fought another person behind a veil while only their silhouettes were visible.  He explained it as rage transposed to art, and the visual of bodies in motion is the centerpiece, but it just seemed like an ordinary, uninspired sparring match.  Other than that, it was interesting to see how and why someone would intentionally hide their art.  It's a unique part of Brian's art that sets him apart from others like him.

Questions:

1. Why did you choose to leave much of your work in the hands of others even though it's your show?

2. Did you choose to put your work behind a veil of obstruction before or after you finished it, specifically the painting?

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Cardboard Costume Progress

I'm trying to make ripto from the old Spyro the dragon games.  My first idea was to do a big daddy from Bioshock, but I switched to Ripto because he seemed more manageable.  So far, I only have the scepter and the necklace done.  Not sure if I'll have enough time to paint the purple cloak/hood, but the general shape of everything will be there.