Nerman Museum of Contempory Art

Nerman Museum of Contempory Art opened offically to the public this past weekend. Here are some images from the collection. My favorite was finding the Sue Williams drawing in an office corridor.

Brief Epigrams: Ryan Macdonald

Ryan Macdonald always as something interesting to say on his blog Brief Epigrams. Whether it be his overview of heartbreak through the ages, or his own art and storys. He recently had some op-related work in the Painting galleries Conversations with History show, and he's currently got some wax diaoramas going on in his studio that have everyone wandering by talking. Ryan has his sights torwards his MFA in creative writing, and I'm sure we'll all be reading and hearing a lot about him in the future.

http://briefepigrams.blogspot.com

H & R Block ArtSpace

The Ovitz family collection at H & R Block ArtSpace is a great show to have in Kansas City. This was the first chance I’ve gotten to see the work of Julie Mehretu in person, and I’m just as impressed as I was before. The rest of the show is good as well.

TinyVices At La Esquina

Tiny Vices a traveling show curated by Tim Barber is on view at Urban Culture Projects La Esquina gallery. The gallery itself was pretty empty with more people being at the Paragraph galleries show curated by Jamie Warren. It was nice seeing almost a solely photo show but I found myself only impressed by the photographers who's work I was already aware of before the show.

Intersections

A figurative show is up at Rockhurst Green Lease Gallery. I found the show itself to not have anything that really stood out to me, and was pretty tame. Though it seems child birth art is in this year.

Rain Garden Update

I went by the rain garden I helped design and plan with my Persuasive Ecology class the other day do see how the plants have developed. It looks like it needs a little help, and possibly some replanting. I haven’t received any updates recently on the progress, or if there’s an intern to even care for it. But it’s nice to see a project I played a creative role in not washed into the creek…yet.

Art School Critique?

The past month I’ve been thinking way too much about art school. I started out with the intent of critiquing art schools in general and started by focusing on the school I currently attend, the Kansas City Art Institute.

My interest started with how art schools sale themselves to perspective students. Through accessing the KCAI archives I’ve viewed most of the catalogs dating back to the early 1900’s. I photographed elements of the catalogs I found interesting and started making collages out of the photos. But then I started to think too much.

I don’t have a negative opinion of the school, and have benefited tremendously from going to school at KCAI. I’m not interested in work that is merely complaining or reacting off the current administration. But using the school as a subject matter seemed to make perfect sense. I want to teach at the college level after I attend grad school, so why not explore the world I’m about to embark on.

Upon going back into the archives recently they had recently been sent a yearbook that a gentleman had found at a flea market in California. Only one class in the history of the school had put together a yearbook, the 1948 graduation class. The book itself is rather bland and not that interesting, just an ordinary yearbook. But on the front inside cover where a name should be and in the back, the autographs page there was an absence. Someone had gone to the trouble of burning out the signed names. They could have cut out the names, but instead choose to burn them.

The sense of trauma the book has to it became a metaphor for me about what happens to the artist that don’t succeed. But in romanticizing this symbol I left out one factor: That most artist that don’t exceed do so because of his or her own lack of ambition, drive, and talent.

I’m currently still working with theses issues, though my thinking phase is over and I’m just focusing on “Making and Thinking.”







I will be posting some of the work I’ve been making here soon.

Johnson County Community college: Nerman Museum of Contempory Art

I find myself more excited about the opening of the Nerman Museum of Contempory Art then I did the new Nelson-Adkins wing. Not that I don't enjoy the new building and the art. I think it's the fact that it will have CONTEMPORY art on display that is n't handpicked by the owner of the museum (Kemper Museum.) Crits on every other Museum aside I hope that the Nerman sets the new standard.




The musuem opens October 27, and I will have pictures of the opening weekend.

Sarah Luther and Erica Mahinay

"Thresholds: Inscapes and Adaptations"

Sara Luther and Erica Mahinay two seniors in the painting department at KCAI have a show up at the KCAI crossroads gallery. Being there studio mate I have an obvious bias towards their work, and think everyone should go down and check it out. The gallery is open from 6-9 pm on Fridays.

KCAI Crossroads Gallery
1908 Main St.
Kansas City, MO