WEEK #1- INTRODUCTION
Research is a vital aspect of my studio practice. Almost every session in front of the easel is punctuated by forays into the jungle of the online art world. Strangely, the most fruitful finds are often only tangentially related to the original query. Once a week, I plan to post a couple of these web-based gems. Hopefully, my fellow creatives will see their utility (or at least use them to locate new and exciting rabbit-holes to chase).
The Way of the Shovel by Dieter Roelstrate
CITATION:
Roelstrate, Dieter. “The Way of the Shovel: On the Archaeological Imaginary in Art.” e-Flux Journal, vol. 4, Mar. 2009, pp. 1–7., worker01.e-flux.com/pdf/article_888851.pdf.
TO PUT IT SIMPLY:
Roelstrate shuns artistic illustrations of the past, in favor of unpacking a philosophy in which artwork can be “define[d]…first and foremost in the thickness of it’s relationship to history (pg. 1).” The article is based on curatorial analysis of contemporary artistic practices through an archaeologist’s lens. The process illuminates the motivations and mechanisms by which artworks interrogate, anchor themselves in, draw authority from, (and seek to clarify) given histories. The pursuit of history, like the pursuit of artistic expression seeks to divine “truth” from the unspeaking material “stuff” of our world.
THIS TEXT GIVES ME LIFE, BECAUSE:
It blew a hole through a set of conceptual dead-ends that I previously struggled to escape. I had always used found photographs as source-images. Hesitant to manipulate what I saw within their paper borders, my loyalty to their absent makers lead to creative paralysis. I found “The Way of the Shovel” while hunting down sources related to German memorial practices. illuminated the goldmine within my studio that I had completely overlooked: the snapshots themselves. Each was so much more than a disconnected picture downloaded from the internet. I realized that each print was simultaneously a backwards-looking telescope, and a tangible artifact ripe for investigation.
Click the button below to access the full text :
@ARTOPENCALLS (INSTAGRAM)
WHAT IS IT?:
An Instagram account whose sole purpose is to connect artists/writers/performers with professional opportunities. Posts advertising myriad events and publications are gathered by followers using the #artopencalls, where they are easily found on their profile. It is similar to listings on websites such as CAA (College Art Association) or Submittable but with fewer limitations, leading to a wider variety of opportunities.
I USE THIS TOOL:
I check their page a couple of times a day, and apply to shows and publications that pique my interest (especially those in Chicagoland). I have already gotten several shows and online features using the platform, most of which are accessible via a google form or an email entry.
MY ONLY RULE:
Stick to submissions that are free (exception: those that charge a small fee from accepted artists to fund the event).
WANT TO BE INTRODUCED TO @ARTOPENCALLS? CLICK HERE:
CURRENTLY ON THE EASEL:
Scrap #3 is based on this collage, made of photocopied snapshot photographs and vintage wrapping paper.
Seen above: a detail image of Scrap #3 (working title), 18 in. X 24 in., Oil and marble dust on canvas panel, WIP.