current
reading through donald judd and robert smithson's collected writings in order to write a master's thesis examining the dialectical conflicts between them and the art historical impact of their criticism and philosophies.
curatorial project in our bathroom involving corkboard and cutouts from various magazines.
past
connecting the dots--a journey through dia's art collection: a multi-media presentation that simulates a road trip visiting each of the primary locations in the collection of the dia art organization including robert smithson's spiral jetty, walter de maria's lightning field, and the dan flavin art institute in bridgehampton, new york. created in collaboration with warmsilence affiliate (and tech genius) d. edward davis.
original ecstasy and the zips--barnett newman looks into the void: a discussion of the connections between primitive art forms, barnett newman's cultural and artistic displacment, and the aesthetic that newman developed in order to explore alienation, the origins of creation, and his own identity as an outsider.
nadja and breton--madness, disconnection, and otherness: a paper that deals with andre breton's surrealist construction of the feminine in his novel nadja. breton channels surrealist ideology through his central (title) character and simultaneously examines his own inability to surrender to the "madness" espoused by the artistic movement he spearheaded.
the constructivists: a powerpoint presentation that focuses on the general history of the russian constructivist movement and its primary practitioners. the cultural history surrounding the movement is explored, as well as the lives and works produced by artists such as naum gabo, aleksandr rodchenko, and vladimir tatlin.
in the heat of the moment--futurism flirts with romanticism and fascism: an analysis of the fatalistic and fascist language of various writings related to the italian futurist movement. manifestoes by mina loy, f.t. marinetti, giacomo balla, and carlo carra are examined from the standpoint of their effectiveness as both literature and political propaganda.
faraway logic: a collaborative work with warmsilence affiliate d. edward davis that uses poetry as the text for a choral piece. structured around the tonal sounds of solfege, the sung text works as a counterpoint for pre-recorded tape accompanient. performed december 2005 at the winter NYSSMA conference in Rochester, New York.
the surrealists’ serious mischief in important directions--revealing the language and nature of dreams by taking cues from freud: a discussion of sigmund freud's treatise on dreams and how works by surrealist artists like rene magritte and salvador dali exhibit multiple incarnations of Freud’s terminology and ideas.
seeing a microcosmos in the macrocosmos--piet mondrian’s balanced relationships: an analysis of piet mondrian’s plastic art and pure plastic art and specifically, the precepts he puts forward outlining a universal language of art. the interplay of mondrian's lines, color, and space creates a visual correlation with his belief that neutral forms, used in lieu of attempts to depict a specific natural reality, help to create a work of art that can be viewed as a universal depiction of beauty.
a series of collages utilizing collected and deconstructed text from the classic book everything you always wanted to know about sex* (images here).
monstrous beauty--freud's looming presence and nabokov's exploration of the public vs. private in lolita: an examination of lolitaand how vladimir nabokov blurs the lines between fantasy and reality, between art and pornography, and between the reader's individual experience and the reaction from society of large. through satirizing and imitating freudian analysis and psychotherapeutic techniques, nabokov shows his characters through a critical lens, explores both personal and private realms of existence, and demonstrates the difficulty in defining an absolute morality by which all people and art forms can be judged.
exquisite corpse radio show: an old-time radio play, produced by philip von zweck, written by multiple authors in the exquisite corpse style. heard on the blindspot radio show, on WLUW 88.7 Chicago.
a series of vignettes published online in the summer/fall 2004 issue of DIAL magazine.
three pigs follow persephone: a paper discussing the complex, masculine, multiple-person narrative of william faulkner's the sound and the fury. a central female character--caddy--functions as a linchpin for all three male narrators. she defines them as a family, as men, as humans and yet she is never given a direct voice. instead we only hear of her, not from her.
blank magic-- art as common experience: a project that creates an exhibition based on the unifying curatorial concept of bringing together works that collectively comment on how the viewer’s experience both consciously and unconsciously affects the interpretation of the art displayed. whether bodily or mentally, the reaction and prior knowledge of the spectator becomes an integral part of the work’s success. artists must rely on the viewer bringing their own meaning to an artwork. works included are dan flavin’s untitled (to you, heiner, with admiration and affection), walter de maria’s new york earth room, and jeff koons’ michael jackson (and bubbles).
de kooning and the feminine mystique: an analysis of willem de kooning's repeated depictions of women, a motif repeated throughout his life. through his use of disconnected yet familiar shapes, as well as his trademark palette and whipflash lines, de Kooning created multiple visions of women and in so doing, illustrated the way femininity refuses to be ultimately defined. the viewer is left unsure of how to interpret what they are seeing, just as de kooning always seems unsure of whether he reveres the power women held or whether he reviles the power they held over him.
[writing samples available on request]
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*but were afraid to ask
