Fall 17 Graduate Drawing/Painting ARTS 6033/6133

While in Chattanooga Tennessee I had the opportunity to give a slide presentation of the work that I have created over the past year and a half. At the end I opened it up for questions and the only one that took the opportunity to comment was one of the art history professors. The beginning of her comment centered on Duchampian connections in my work. This is something I have been aware of for some time (two of my works have been a direct appropriation of his work) but I am finding more connections as I reflect on my work and feel I probably need to do a more thorough investigation into him (any reading suggestions would be greatly appreciated). She also asked a question that has been asked of me before but which I have failed to come up with a concrete answer for, which is "who's the joke on?" I don't feel that my work is a direct attack on the viewer and an attempt to humiliate them. However, I certainly set up a situation of uneasiness in which the viewer is unsure...

Chase Young I spent one day this week at the 5 day long International Sculpture Center Conference and it was plenty. I attended two years ago and had thought attending grad school might give me a different perspective on what was being presented and how it was being presented. It didn't. The panel speakers read word for word from what was essentially a 30 minute long artist statement. It feels as though these panels are set up specifically to allow tenure track professors a chance to add a presenter line to their binders. Is there an international art english dictionary somewhere that is given to you after you receive your MFA? I’ve never heard anyone drone on for so long or use so many pointless descriptors for a pile of rocks with hair sprinkled on it. I enjoy the process of making art, and to an extent I enjoy looking at and discussing art, but I can't shake the feeling that these just aren’t my people. I don't know what I do with that.

My studio visit with Dylan brought up the concept of futility in my work. Futility has been present in the art I make for some time, but I am still working on the why’s of its presence. Dylan pointed me to a French philosopher and writer named Albert Camus. His work focuses on the philosophy of Absurdism. He has a whole book on the topic of the absurd that I am really wanting to delve into titled “The Myth of Sisyphus”. Part of a summary of the book states “ Absurd art does not try to explain experience, but simply describes it. It presents a certain worldview that deals with particular matters rather than aiming for universal themes.” I really like this explanation and think it relates to my art pretty well. I’m adding it to the ever growing list of reading material that I have no time to read.

Chase Young Artist Statement As my work is continues to address themes of relationships, humor, and absurdity, my focus has shifted in a direction that is increasingly concerned with the formal aspects and possibility of the work. I have been exploring alternative methods of mark making through action such as breaking and repairing glass and marking missed dart throws on a wall. Line has also emerged as an important element in this work providing contrast between the man made, and the organic character of natural forms. I’m continually evaluating the purpose of and need for humor as it plays a key role  in my work and have tried to see how I can make art without it and what the result is. Through continued exploration I am finding an interest in artwork as the residue of performance by the artist, the evidence of action. As I move forward I am allowing my work to influence itself creating subtle thematic and visual ties that allow seemingly disparate sculptures to inhabit the s...

Studio visit with Sean Morrissey I had a studio visit with Sean after midterm crits to get some fresh input on my work from someone I have never had a crit with except in a final critique with half the faculty. Some new things came up during the visit and some things that others have mentioned were reiterated. One topic that was brought up was the question of scale. A lot of my work seems very self contained and why I choose the scale I do is something I haven't given enough thought to. One thing that was reiterated from a crit with Mike was that high level of craft is one of my strengths and that I should embrace that quality. I am certainly happy to do that, I guess I have just felt that craft was looked down upon here as a crutch to avoid a more conceptual practice. Sean also used the term “ a return to analog craft” I’m not exactly sure what he was referencing, I think maybe some of the components in my reef, but I like the phrase.

As I have critiques and studio visits most people I talk to can get on board with the idea of making a really nice pencil and the idea of it eventually being consumed, however the parameters surrounding the process of consumption seem to be where there is the most uncertainty/input so here is a list of options I can think of, and I welcome more suggestions. break the lead off in the wall mimicking another piece I'm working on give it to my eldest son to use at school and sharpen down (likelihood of it being lost in the first week is very high) make a drawing with it, though it is not a drawing pencil. shade a pedestal with it. play that game where you put your hand on a table and stab between each finger. rent it out for use. give it to Dylan to pin his hair with (though it doesn't necessarily get consumed that way) cover it with chicken grease and leave it out for a raccoon to chew on. use it to learn to write with my toes.  just use it like a normal pencil.  eat...

I just had a studio visit with Daniel Feinberg and I thought I would discuss some of what came up. The most thought provoking comment that was made is that maybe I am making too much work. That took me back a little. When I look at the level of production of my peers I can hardly imagine slowing down my own. His point was that with all of the requirements that are associated with grad school, devoting time to thinking about a work or concept for a long enough period of time and parsing out the issues, implications, and thoughts behind it sometimes gets pushed to the background because there is very little physically to show for it. I'm at the point this semester that I come to every semester where I have to decide what items I am going to neglect because the numbers just don't add up. The thought of slowing down production among other things to devote time to quiet contemplation gives me a bit of anxiety.

I'm making a pencil. Its going to be a really nice pencil made from a mixture of maple, walnut and mahogany. I discussed the idea with one of the faculty and the discussion became focused on value and rarity, which is certainly an aspect of the project but not necessarily what I am focusing on. The conversation caused me to write a little about the idea, and this is an excerpt from an email that I wrote about it. I'm definitely still working on the conceptual framework of this piece. My process tends to lean in a retroactive direction, discovering concept in the process of creating the work, which is probably a bit dicey when my work is so representational. While value and cost are certainly aspects that the work engages in, I think I am more interested in the personal relationship between the work and the investment of the creator. Time/hours of life spent in an effort to create something so immediately consumable that regardless of its appearance provides no better experie...

I had the opportunity to have a studio visit with an artist named Kyle Peets this week ( http://kylepeets.com/ ) and thought I would reflect on some of the things that came up during that visit. We talked about failure being an underlying theme in much of the work, not failure in the creation of the work, but failure in the usefulness of the objects and systems that I have assembled. I’m going to spend time analyzing the use of failure in relation to myself. We also talked about the idea of the one liner in my work which is also a critique he has received in the past. I wrote down a quote from him… “What's the harm of a one liner in the context of a paragraph”. I’m going to continue exploring framing my work as a whole and letting one liners enhance and add interest to or engagement in a broader conversation.