Project #5/Field Trip #6: You’re the Curator!

                                         " Strange Creations of the Egyptian Minds "

Growing up I always had a major interest in the Ancient Egyptian ways of life and their take on the afterlife. This fascination was inspired through how their way of life was so abnormal compared to the lives of people today. So, for my exhibit I chose the theme “Strange Creations of the Egyptian Mind”. The idea for this exhibit was construed through how many artworks like statue of Egyptian Gods were made fusing human and animal forms. Many times these gods were created this way to display what they were the keeper or God of. For Example, One Egyptian God that was created in this form was Anubis, the god of Mummification. This God was created with the head of what appeared to be some type of Canid and the body of a human being.

On my trip to the MET museum I was given the assignment of imagining myself as a curator, putting together my own exhibit. With this I then created a theme and gather ten pieces from the museum that helped to bring that theme to life. From the beginning I knew I had to do something with Egyptian culture and their way of life because it had fascinated me since I was young. With this theme I took inspiration from my favorite Rap Artist Kanye West's song "No Church in the Wild" where he lyricises the lifestyle and Domain of Ancient Egyptians in Life and After Life, and how they praised the afterlife. I then merged that with my interest in Egyptians and their Anthropomorphic ideas of fusing their Gods to be animal and human in one based on what they represented. With this I came up with my theme " Strange Creations of the Egyptian Minds". Each piece that I chose displayed the Egyptian customs of life. The pieces that struck me the most were the "Winged Nut" figurine, which displays the goddess of the sky with long beautiful wings that signified her protection of the animals above. Another piece that caught my attention was the statue of Egyptian God Anubis , the God of mummification who has the face of a canid animal , and the body of a human. And another piece was the statue of the sitting Goddess Sakhmet, who is displayed with the face of a lion wearing a sundisk, but the body of a human signifying her representation of danger and and violence. I chose these pieces because the goddesses were fused with animal features of what they represented. Which is what interested me from the beginning. 

                              Rogers Fund, "Tomb Chapel of Raemkai", 1908, Gallery 102 

Rogers Fund, "Sphinx of hatshepsut", 1931, Gallery 131

Unknown,"Coffin of Irtirutja",1886,Gallery 133   
 

         J. Pierpont Morgan, " Canopic Jar representing the Diety      Duamutef", 1912, Gallery 131



                                                           Roger Fund, " Outter                                                  Coffin of Hettenway",1925, Gallery 126





                                                

Edward S. Harkness, "Winged Nut", 1929, Gallery 130

Mrs.Myron C. Taylor, " Statuette of Anubis", 1938, Gallery 133 

(left) Henry Walters, "Statue of the Goddess Sakhmet", 1915, Gallery 135

(right) Rogers Fund, " Statue of Hatsheput",1929,Gallery 115

                                            Egpyt, "Temple of Dendur", 15 B.C., Gallery 131

Field Trip 5

       During our trip to the Whitney Museum of art , we explored the exhibit " Rituals of Rented Islands". This exhibit displayed works from the 1970's through the 1980's of artists who took part in New York's performing arts. From this show the three happenings that I chose were Theodora Skipitares " Skysaver", Sylvia Palacios Whitman's " Greenhands" , and the Kipper Kids by Martin Rochus Haselberg and Brian Routh.

       In Theodora Skipitares "Skysaver" made in 1981 , was based on Theodora's personal experiences with the mentally insane, and their life through art. In this performance it displays a woman going from scene to scene using different props as means of serenity or peace. This piece identifies socially with the ideas of the mentally ill and how they are portrayed in society as unruly and inhumane. The presented Epherma detracts from my understanding of the piece because the props described in the recording don't match the background of the story given. Getting to see the performance personally would have no sense of sanity of self control. The presented Epherma detracts from my understanding of the piece because the props described in the recording don't match the background of the story given. Getting to see the performance personally would have gave me a better understanding of what was going on because I would be able to see it first hand.
     The "Green Hands" by Sylvia Palacios Whitman, during the performance using the green hands Whitman uses the hands as an extension of her own hands. Whitman got the idea from her obsession with morphing and being able to change yourself making it part of you". Based on all her other works the green hands made sense to me because she uses her imagination to enlarge real life objects making it art, making it better. Attending the Green Hands performance would give me a better understanding because it would give me a better understanding of what she was trying to portray of perform with the hands. It would also give me more insight on what her purpose for the hands and why she created them.
      Lastly, the "Kipper Kids", Martin Von Haselberg and Brian Routh were a performance duo who created character called Harry Kipper. In their performances the guys would make references to cultural works. One example of this was their performance " The Japanese tea Ceremony", where they painted their faces lile Geisha 's and acted out a tea ceremony from the Japanese culture. The presented Epherma helped me to better understand this piece because it broke down what they were trying to accomplish with their performances. Attending the actual performance might have given me a clearer understanding of why they were trying to portray. enabling me to have a personal
connection or interaction through the experience rather seeing it through a screen.
   Each of these three performance have their own sole purpose. Yet all so different they connect in the way that they all cause some type if affect on people wether socially, politically, or culturally. within these categories they all enlighten us on the world of performing arts was like during the 1970's - 1980's era.




"Skysaver"

Audio video

1980


" The Kipper Kids"

Audio Video "

1978


"The Green Hands "

Plastic, Rubber

1977

Art food yumm

Basic Sunday Dinner :

in this blog post i will be giving a step by step collage of how to prepare a simple sunday dinner consisting of  fried Pork Chops, Rice and beans , and String beans.

step one : thaw out and and season the pork chops

ingredients

2 packs of Goya Sazon
Lawry's Seasoned salt
Black Pepper
Onion and Garlic powder
Diamond Crystal Salt

Step Two : batter Pork Chops in flour getting them ready for frying

ingredients: Flour







\








Step Three : After letting cooking oil heat for three to five minutes place floured pork chops into the oil

Ingredients : Conola Cooking Oil

Step Four : While waiting for pork chops to fry begin cooking the rice and beans add ingredients then add water

ingredients : Parboiled Rice , Red Kidney Beans, Chopped Garlic , one pack of Sazon , water

: 

Step Five : While waiting for rice to boil and pork chops to fry , add green giant canned string beans into a pot with butter for 20 minutes

Completion :

Les Galleries - Class Trip #4

Les Galleries - Class Trip #4

Les Galleries in comparison to the Galleries in Chelsea had many differenced.  The work in Les Galleries seemed to be more abstract in comparison to those in Chelsea’s galleries.  The art work that I saw in the Les galleries had more of an urban feel and a grabbed my attention more than those that i saw at Chelsea's galleries. Les Galleries no matter what art gallery we went into had at least one piece of  art that i could see myself owning personally if I were wealthy. it consisted of a lot more art that i could actually see myself having in my own home. Although the spaces that the art works are kept in were both of similar size the art works that costumed the spaces were totally different.Being that Les galleries are found on Canal street it turned out to be exactly what i expected. Urban, Chic, and to say the least cool, which is the vibe that area gives off. One gallery that really caught my attention was the Hyon Gyon , Shin Gallery. It was in my opinion the most creative of them all. The ideas behind the artwork, the color choices and the overall themes of the gallery made me not want to leave. Where as Chelseas galleries was found on the upper east side for a less cultural group. These galleries focused more on historical art in a sense that wasn't as interesting as those of the Les Galleries. Although a lot of the art works in these two galleries were different in appearance they made up for it by comparing in price. Even though the artist that made these pieces were fresh faces their pieces went for thousands.

This is one of the pieces that I saw while in the Hyon Gyon Shin gallery. This piece is called " Phantoms on Parade" and was actually created this year along with a lot of the other art pieces that were in the Les Galleries , which could be why the were so appealing. due to the time period differences between the art in the two galleries.

This is one of the pieces found in chelseas galleries. This piece is called "Degradation of film" by Tamar Halpern. as you can see although different and abstract in a way . it isn't as mind provoking or attractive as the Gyon painting above.

                SOURCES

http://www.shin-gallery.com/exhibitions.php

http://artsy.net/artwork/tamar-halpern-degradation-of-film/auction-results

Design in Our Lives”; The Museum of Modern Art

Ergonomics - the study of peoples work efficiency in their work environment.


LOW FUNCTIONALITY :

- The Post War Kitchen 

One of the first things that caught my attention on the design floor of the MOMA was the Post War Kitchen. From my first glance and understanding of what it was I knew that this was of Low Functionality. Due to the old make-up and appliances it just wouldn't be efficient in the working environment of a more modern person. The antique look and old set up would be a hassle to use and get accustomed to. To make the Post war kitchen more ergonomic I would update the look of the kitchen , changing the appliances and making them more up to date and of greater use to the modern human. 

- Sweepers Clock 

 The sweepers clock was one of the most interesting designs in the MOMA. Its literally created from two men sweeping garbage clockwise. this is definitely a low functional object because no human has the time to stand there and watch two men sweep trash to watch every second, minute and hour. Along with the fact that the time might not be accurate because the clock is made by two men natural human beings just like everyone else who also make mistakes . One way that i would change this design to make it more ergonomic id by putting metal plates instead of the two men that would push the garbage around as if it were an actual clock , just to be more accurate and to save more time.


HIGH FUNCTIONALITY :


Mine Kafron Wind-Powered Deminer -

The Mine Kafron Wind-Powered Deminer is an indestructible toy made by Massoud Hassani from his personal experience in his home town Qasaba in wartorn Afghanistan. Losing many friends to the detonation of the land mines when going after their toys , he decided to create a large toy that would go onto the land-mine and be able to resist the attack of the detonation. It would merely detach but would be able to reassemble. made of bamboo and biodegradable plastic parts this design is of high functionality because it serves a purpose, and its useful.

Christina Frederick " Home Motion" :

This slide show was a blueprint to the differences between a good and bad kitchen and how the differences played a role in its efficiency. With this it described how a kitchen from for example " the post war kitchen " which was found next to this , differed from the modern day kitchen. it explained how that kitchen would be difficult for a person from the modern day because they wouldn't be able to adapt to the appliances. it also showed the break down of each appliance and how it differed from the appliances that we use now. for example how long it would take to boil a cup of tea now as opposed to back then. I found this played the role of high functionality because it gives a breakdown of appliances and how they've advanced .




                                              Sources 

http://www.moma.org

Sweeper's Clock

Date:

2009

Medium:

Video (720:00 min.)

Credit Line:

Gift of the designer

MoMA Number:

764.2011

Mine Kafon wind-powered deminer

Date:

2011

Medium:

Bamboo and biodegradable plastics

Dimensions:

87 x 87 x 87" (221 x 221 x 221 cm)

Credit Line:

Gift of the Contemporary Arts Council of the Museum of Modern Art

MoMA Number:

923.2012

The Postwar Kitchen 

Date:

1936

Medium:

Gelatin silver print

Dimensions:

8 x 10" (20.3 x 25.4 cm)

Credit Line:

Gift of the Farm Security Administration

MoMA Number:

323.1938

Christina Frederick " Home Motion"

Date:

1931

Medium:

Pencil on tracing paper

Dimensions:

16 1/2 x 21 1/2" (41.9 x 54.6 cm)

Credit Line:

Lilly Reich Collection, Mies van der Rohe Archive

MoMA Number:

R9.139

Magritte: The Mystery of the Ordinary

Extra Credit 1

         

 Of all the artworks from the Magritte : The Mystery of the Ordinary gallery the one that i chose was the Girl Eating Bird ( Pleasure). This painting skirts the lines between reality and fantasy because it uses nature and a human which lives in the natural world , but the fantasy part comes into play with the girl eating a bird for pleasure. This picture is basically expressing the tie between what is built in to be right and wrong apart from what it actually is. For example , in reality no person goes outside picks up a bird and eats it , finding it pleasurable. Yet, if we were not taught to right from and just lived as human beings this may have been a normality for us. This painting crosses ties between reality and fantasy because it takes things from the relative realm or what we have been taught to see as ordinary or natural and warps it into fantasy by adding imagination or the unthinkable.

Illustration Collage project #3

The story I chose was about a woman's personal experience during the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. In this story she explains how she was working in the towers on the 99th floor watching the first plane flying toward her window. she then went onto explain how her  boss saved the lives of a few of her co-workers and herself by leading them to a staircase as the first plane came toward the building. The woman then goes on to tell about the events that took place the following day and the phone call she had gotten from her boss's son saying that his father had never made it home. He had made it out of the building but i was hit by falling debris when letting a man use his phone.With my collage i tried to illustrate the story line by collecting all the information from the story and breaking down the important parts. for example the background is an actual image someone had taken from their cellphone of the second plane going into the tower. This event was actually taking place at the time Labetti had been running down the stairs from the 99th floor with her coworkers. I added a target like swirl over that image to show confusion and to also display how every innocent person in that building was a target that day. I then added a picture of people frantically running down stairs to show what i envisioned when Labetti said that she and her colleagues were running down the exit as the plane was coming toward the building. Below that i added a tomb stone which represents the Boss that had saved them and all the people that were lost in that historic moment. There is also a phone ringing off the hook to show the frantic phone calls that had been going off and the phone call that Labetti had received from her Bosses son. And Lastly I added the wings for the Boss Ron who sacrificed himself for his co-workers.