Choice Artist Research

The main man in this research is Keith Harring. This guy is really really cool. His style of art is extremely simply but at the same time each work has so much life and color and emotion behind it that you don't see simplicity, you see movement and you see passion. His work includes vibrant colors intermingled with think bodied stick figures that together bring out the meaning of the work. In some, the meaning behind it is love or friendship or sharing. I think that his artwork would work really well with children and helping them interpret important life messages and lessons. I guess his work is considered to be graffiti which I love and has made me even more interested in him and what he does. Unfortunately, Keith Harring has passed away and I don't have the chance to meet him but if not this life then the next because his artwork is freaking amazing. I think the best thing about this artist is that he has his own foundation providing support for children and people effected by HIV/AIDS. This guy has a legacy that will live on forever and he will forever have my respect. Here is the link to his foundation site and some of his art.

http://www.haring.com/

Performance Artist Research

This research artist was really cool for me. I am always interested in stories and the art of storytelling because it is truly difficult to do and continuously have a positive impact on the listener. This artist, Damali Ayo, is one of those people with a true gift when it comes to communicating an idea and a story with such strength and character that it brings the stagnant to life. When you first click on her website, it takes you to a starter page that is not actually the home page but it makes you feel very warm and at home. It really makes you WANT to enter the site and see where it takes you. After viewing some of her audio tapes and readings, I could have her read me bed time stories every night until I fall asleep. I really enjoyed going over her site and the longer you are on it the more you observe just how comfortable you are with who she is. The pictures she uses aren't taken by a professional but by herself on what seems to be a laptop webcam. Damali Ayo seems to be not only a really cool person, but a great artist and a fabulous communicator. I would like to post some of her audio clips but instead I think that you should start at the beginning of the website for yourself. So, here it is!

http://damaliayo.com/

Choice Artist Research

For this research, I decided to take a look at the artist named Squeak Carnwath. To be honest I only chose her because of her awesome first name. Although, after looking at her website and her works I now do not only enjoy her for her name but for her outlook and style or artwork. She has a very different type of style then other painters that I have taken a look at. It seems like all her compositions have to do with looking into worldly and communal issues and stripping them down. When looking at her work holistically, it almost becomes an abstract piece by use of representational and not representational images which is very cool and I think not a lot of people can do while at they same time conveying a significant message. Being an American artist I believe that politics in America is something that she certainly enjoys to chip away at within her works. She is an amazing person and artist that has consistently been winning awards in the art world for nearly 20 years and her galleries can be seen in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and The Brooklyn Museum. I think it would be fun to have her visit WSU and hear her give a lecture about her thought process. Take a look at some of her art for yourself!

  P.S: I noticed that in almost every one of her pieces there is one of those black circles with the red and white circle in the center. I wonder why?

Choice Artist Research

For this artist research, I was actually typing in an artist's name to take a look at and spelled his name wrong and was pleasantly surprised by the person I got instead. John Coplan is the man that I ended up with and I would be extremely excited to meet him. Being a veteran of World War 2, he has a unique view on the world and his perspective is what gives his photography so much character and emotion. I love how his photos are in black and white because it gives each picture so much more raw power. Coplans is not uncomfortable with exploring the human body and exposing it for the natural beauty that it holds. I believe that this may be because of his involvement and time spent in the military and the war. The feel of the photos range from caring and passionate to striking and surprising. Here are some photos from his site:

Ceramics Artist Research

For this artist research I looked at the list for a person with a cool sounding name. I saw this as the only way. Thankfully my first choice, Jun Kaneko, had me hooked and I  looked through quite a few of his works. In doing this I saw a pattern that was repeated. He uses a great mix of abstraction and simplicity that creates a type of zen feeling and catches you staring at his work. I think the stripped patterns on certain pieces of his are especially zen. Whenever I see them I think of them being in the middle of a sand garden with an old man in the corner playing some kind of soothing strings instrument. It is very peaceful. His ceramic art is quite large and if you didn't see the photos with him standing next to his pieces you probably would think so. I would for sure have some of his art inside of my house in the future no matter how large it was. Go big or go home. Here are some pictures of Jun with his work:

Sculpture Artist Research

The artist that I chose to research for sculpture was Sanford Biggers. The reason I chose this artist was because his website was the first that I found interesting when I was researching the different artists in the category. Right when you enter, you are served with a video that has a pretty demanding presence and you are basically forced to watch it. So, I hit play and it seemed interesting until the second half came and then it took a turn toward crazy town and it actually creeped me out a little bit. Other than that, Sanford Biggers has an interesting take on art and the way that he uses so many different materials is really cool. His work seems to really take toward family heritage and tradition but with a new age abstract twist. That being said, he did not have a whole lot of works to view so this cut my time viewing his site short a little bit. But he does seem like he would be a cool person to talk to and ask about the process of making his creations and I didn't find anything about his art that I didn't like and I recommend that his site gets viewed. Here are some photos of his work from Sanford Biggers site:

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