Grace Langdon Art : September 2012

*Warning! I have a cold so I feel pretty foggy. If this post doesn't make since dont judge :)

Today was my first 5 week review!

The art department is complicated so if you missed my post explaining what a 5 week review is and how I got here, check it out over ... here because its a lot to type out again :)

As I mentioned before I decided to dissect a bankers chair.

This is what I showed in my review.

I'll explain in a minute :)

This is a rough video that just documents my process of "dissecting" this chair.

It took a while, but was actually quite enjoyable, and I'm pretty stoked about the out come.

Because of my foggy-ness I'm going to upload my artist statement.

I kept it pretty simple, I hope you can fallow along!!

Chair Dissection

As an artist we are called to ask questions. I have no idea what questions I want or need to be asking. So, to figure this out I have started researching my interests. This piece is a research-based work that I have tried to do in a way similar to a dissection. I figured that if I could explore my interest of furniture and learn as much as possible I would then find what exactly it is that I am trying to ask my viewers.

At the beginning I had no intention of showing this piece, but as it progressed I began to think back on a visit from Mark Dion. His artwork is fascinating to me yet it seems so much more scientific than any art piece I had seen before. Unlike Mark I am not going deep in to some jungle or setting up a habitat I am simply interested in the chair as an object. I soon came to find out that the simplicity of this task is just as deceiving as the mundane-ness of the chair.

My findings from this dissection have led me to the answer that the chair is not a simple or mundane object. There is much history to be uncovered and many pieces to make it functional. Bringing the intricate details to light is something I have thoroughly enjoyed and hope to continue to do.

Now, the whole point for the 5 week review is to get feedback from your professor.

This ^ artist statement was written before my review.

If I wrote it now it would be completely different.

While I enjoyed the dissection of this beautiful chair I was still left clueless.

But of course, my professor helped me figure out a starting point with one of the simplest of questions.

"Why did you pick that chair?"

After answering the question I realized that what draws me to furniture is its quality.

I almost always pick antique/vintage anything over something new.

I always assumed this was because of my mom, and the fact that she saved everything.( we have some awesome things around our house). But I realized today that while that may be a factor it really is that I appreciate the integrity of something old.

What I mean by this is simple.

Old chairs are awesome because they have been made to last.

I enjoy objects that show good craftsmanship.

Figuring this out was so exciting!

It may sound dumb, but it really was an "Ah Ha Moment"!

I've constantly referenced how society has cheapened many things that at one point had loads of meaning. I've commented on our language in this > post and how many of our words are "meaningless".

Now, I am looking to comment on how so many products are purposefully manufactured in a way that they will need to be replaced rather quickly.

I'm not saying that everything that is new is cheaply made and has poor craftsmanship,

but it is pretty darn close!

So be looking for a new project soon! Hopefully I can gather my materials and start working by the end of next week!!

PS> I'm getting a new camera this week!! My pictures are gonna be 100 times better! Hopefully...

Ok, now this one is REALLY heavy on the photos :)

I want to just brag on the photographers here.
Allie and Levi Monday of The Mondays Photography are responsible for these amazing pictures.

We found them through a friends wedding in June of 2011.

Reed and I were both in that wedding and really enjoyed how the Mondays worked.

What we really appreciated about them was how they captured the moment.
I loved that they didn't put us in too many poses but rather made suggestions and then captured our personality. Now, Allie and Levi had been out of the country for a while when we booked them so we got to know each other through the internet. And when we first met they sure did not disappoint!

Our engagement pictures are TOTALLY RAD!
Check some of them out here.

Basically I feel like we totally meshed! I was able to completly trust Levi and Allie with everything!!

We even gave them keys to my car and let them roam around our empty house to get some of the detail shots!!

So, enough ranting.

They are awesome and if you need any more proof here are about 100 pictures :)