I've Moved!!!!

Hi All--

Just want you to know that I've started a new blog in a new location.

Come visit the new blog "Broke(n) Artist" at

www.karenfriedland.wordpress.com

See you there--

Karen

WALKING THE WIRE

I have recently been doing research on one of the greatest artist/sculptors of our time, Alexander Calder. Not only did he create a whole new form of art--MOBILES, he also was responsible for making us understand that art did not always have to succomb to the pull of gravity, that sculpture could be "light," it could take flight. (I put light in quotes because many of his monumental mobiles weighed tons.)

One of the things I love most about Calder is his joy. He delighted life with a vibrancy frequently seen in children but that gets lost when we reach adulthood. But not Sandy because he played all his life. He made things, out of wire or tin cans and bits of cloth. He created a circus that he performed hundreds of times. You can click the link and see him perform it, or go to the Whitney Museum and see the actual circus. He was the original performance artist.







He also created wonderful wire sculptures that were "space drawings," using wire to create a "drawing" in the air, but one that could expand the limits of the two dimensional surface and take it into 3D. I have been fascinated by these for a long time and decided to try my own. Here you see Zebra Drinking and Lizard. They each respond with wiggly jiggling when touched, a ripple that makes them feel more alive.

These are joyful sculptures. They are not profound. But they are unique, ingeniously crafted and original.



I don't understand why the art world is so reluctant to find value in play, joy and humor. I feel any way I can bring more laughter into this life, it is a good thing? What do you think?

INTENTIONS

We all know that what we intend directly impacts what we achieve. Sometimes knowing the intention behind an act or creation can help us understand the whole thing better. Sometimes what we intended and what we end up doing, (like when I say hurtful things that I didn't realize would hurt) are two very different things. It helps for the other person to know where you were coming from.

In my artist coaching group, we plan our goals and try to make ourselves aware of our own intentions. Uncannily, it is frequently the case that what you put out to the universe, the universe will deliver to you. "When one is fully committed, then providence moves too." So, I decided to put a message out to the universe.










I decided to put my intentions into tangible form. But first, I wanted to follow the admonition of the founder of the Artists Conference Network, Beverly Cassell, and "go shopping for possibilites."







So I made a shopping bag from my own personal Possibilities Shop!




















I then went about creating my intentions--literally! Firstly, I wanted to have public recognition for my work--seen here with the crowds cheering and applauding. Next, I would like to have critical acclaim, seen right there in my "revue" written on that cute classic typewriter and last, but definitely not least, I created the intention of financial success. Note those are one thousand dollar bills; anything less seemed unfit.


Now I know just saying it, doesn't make it happen. But speaking up and recognizing your own intentions, is the first step to making them a reality.




What are your intentions?

We saw a really lovely movie last night called TiMER. A romantic comedy with a sci-fi twist. Funny & sweet & compelling questions rolled together in a film that both Gary, Ari & us chicks enjoyed. Plus it's an independent film, directed & produced by women. It's starring Emma Caulfield of Buffy fame. The story asks "what if a clock could count down to the moment you meet your soul mate? In this alternate version of present day Los Angeles, a revolutionary device called the TiMER fulfills this very fantasy." Really good movie--try to see it!



Would you want to know when you would meet "the one," your lifelong soulmate?

WIRE WILDLIFE

As I may have mentioned, I am in school completing prerequisites toward my MFA that I hope to start next year. Along with a variety of studio classes, I am taking a course in the history of modern sculpture. Since I was eligible to take this course with honors if I did some extra work, I decided to do so, figuring that it will look good to graduate schools. It was a pretty easy decision as I reviewed the work of modern sculptors I admired. The work of Giacometti is cool and I love Miro and Matisse in any medium. Lots of others appeal to me but not one can match the joyfulness of Alexander Calder.
I love his mobiles, some recently on exhibit at the Gagosian gallery here in NY. But what first drew me to him was his Circus at the Whitney Museum. It is on permenant display there but he used to perform it and you can watch him perform it on youtube, much as he did in Paris in 1929.

Anyhow, his wire sculptures have always enchanted me and I have made them in the past and taught them to my young students. Here you see my most recent effort, Drinking Zebra (3 views)that is part of my honors project. I wish you could see how he jiggles and shakes!