Connor - new blog site

Hi all - I've switched over to a WordPress blog, and my new address is jpatconnor.com

Best,

Pat

Lake Discussion and Wavefield

A concept for combining interviews about personal subject matter and abstract video performance. University of Michigan Art & Design 2010

Studio Practice

I've wanted to add more documentation photos to the blog, and here is an image of the present state of my studio. Today, I'm working on generating ideas through drawing and brainstorming. The purpose of the work is to prepare for creating the "final" images that will be exhibited in April. I've done some good searching and experimenting last semester, and in the next month I will use those ideas to create more refined video pieces.

Also, I'm brainstorming the latest round of interviews for my project. My professors may remember that I had planned to combine my visual/metaphorical images with spoken interviews. I still plan to do this, but my biggest concern is putting these two very different types of artistic video together. So far, I'm planning to interview my past mentors in an effort to explore general teaching practices that can be related to the act of critiquing one's past. I apologize if this seems hazy now, but I'll post a sample video of my desired effect later this week.

New Media Scotland

I talked to Professor John Marshall yesterday about incorporating an internet element into my IP. One of the resources John suggested was New Media Scotland. They have interesting works, and I hope to learn more about internet art soon.

Pat Blog

Hi all,

If you're interested in finding out more about my IP, or want to check out some websites that I find inspiring, drop by my blog! http://jpatconnor.blogspot.com/

1st locket

The D

I just wanted to quickly post in regards to our Detroit adventure. In speaking with students from other IP sections, there seems to be a universal message of admiration for the degree to which our section is functioning as a group--I think this point is worth elaborating on. Even though we may already know each other from years past, I believe that events like the trip to Detroit help establish a common bond in the environment of IP that will be highly beneficial as we rely on group feedback for our projects moving forward.

On a personal level, I really enjoyed both Michael's show, and the soup kitchen/Earth Works experience. One notable point for me was the emotional transition that took place when we switched from gallery space to soup kitchen. For me this meant moving from a comfortable setting to an unfamiliar one. I was pleasantly suprised how comfortable the soup kitchen became however, once we moved in and started communicating/sharing the space.

Evan M.

Miniatur Wonderland!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN_oDdGmKyA

A talk on your prof's performance

Hi All,

Just wanted to let you know that I will be giving a talk tomorrow on my performance about Jewish blackface minstrelsy in the US and the Catskills Mountains Resorts in NY (aka the "Borscht Belt").

Here's the deets

"Routine: The Blackface of the Borscht Belt"
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
12 noon
4701 Haven Hall, CAAS Conference Room

If you're free, I'd love to have you there!

drawing lace ...strange practice in principal and action...tangent from collograph prints of embroidery...interested in exploring 're-creating' pattern through drawing and printmaking...cultivate a sense of volume, warp and structure...
referring to D'Arcy Thompson and Phillip Ball for inspiration and information on implicit pattern, natural formation, etc. ...think there is an important reflexiveness between natural and cultivated patterns...perhaps this relates back to the Wunderkammer themes that seemed to have infiltrated my consciousness
weaving this afternoon...working on a felted Shibori piece.

D'Arcy Thompson
http://www.archive.org/details/ongrowthform00thom

Wunderkammer
http://www.a-website.org/mnemosyne/arrange/pages/6wunder.html

Shibori


shibori piece by Constance Rose (right)
http://www.blogcatalog.com/blog/constance-rose-textile-design/83fc034e5b34342b009dbfdb4081d08b

tissue sample (left)
http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artsep00/hucell1.html













crocheted lace bacterial growth

One man's junk is another man's treasure

I bought a goblet, a fog machine, and a giant bag of toys/figurines. I had no idea who I was until I thought back to a friend's mother. She was an avid "collector" of dolls who had turned her hobby into a hoarding addiction. Along with her dolls she also holds onto random things she thinks she will need later and small treasures, each holding a certain memory.

I thought to myself, my person is a obsessive compulsive hoarder and each of my toys has a specific part of me in it. I can't let go of these toys for this reason. If I did, I would be throwing away a piece of myself.

I am caught in a cycle of disgust for the clutter in my home, having the inability to part with pieces that I believe to have relationships with, and purchasing more things that I find connections with.

Maybe, I have poor relationships with people and am extremely introverted. My closest relationship is with my things. I am taking the easy way out, avoiding rejection by forming bonds with objects that can never reject me.

I am middle aged. I have the potential and ability to save myself from this harmful cycle, but who knows if I can overcome my addiction, my crutch.

I know that many hoarders believe that hoarding is much more than collecting useless junk. Many live by the saying, "One man's junk is another man's treasure."

To make this into more of a project and to complex my person, I decided to take inventory of my toys (because my obsessive compulsive hoarder must know always how much and how many memories she has):

1 Green Disney game character with stretchy mouth
1 Hog/Bat in trenchcoat with light up birdhouse
4 Dinosaur figurines
1 Plastic skeleton
2 Horses (1 with starry butt, 1 golden sandie)
3 Frogs (1 that squeeks)
1 Anteater
1 Tiny gray monkey
1 Tiny lion
1 Toddler turtle
1 Glow in the dark centipede
1 Fish clip
4 Lizards
1 Shrek baby
1 Shaman figurine
1 Rhinoceros beetle
1 Green M&M figurine
1 Buzzing fly
3 Scorpions
1 Measuring tape dog
1 Disney Princess Snow White
1 Barbie figurine
2 Miscellaneous bug clips
1 Rubber bat
1 Praying mantas
3 Black rats
2 Moose
1 Giant ant
1 Scared pirate
1 Rubber ducky
7 Arachnids
13 Snakes


Snakes 13 and counting.

Everyday, twice a day my character takes inventory of her "collection." As she collects more she adds to her list, causing this task to take up more time in her day and slowly she loses her connection to a world outside of her "things."

So... My persona - An optimistic Beanie Baby collector. 

I'm sure we have all bought a few beanie babies in our day. Maybe even bought some tag protectors for the ones we really liked! But me.... I'm going to make a fortune of these little stuffed bags of joy some day... All my BB's are in mint condition kept in an air tight official 'ty' protective case along with official 'ty' tag guards. I have every bear that has ever come out and I am going to continue to collect them until I can cash 'em in and retire. 

I don't even like the little devils.... In fact I'm running out of space to store them all in my basement. But i know it will all pay off someday... and ill be rich! :) 

Right now my primary investment is in Beanie Babies, but i do dabble in Pokemon cards and various types of blades from the Home Shopping Network. If you ever need a hard to get BB you know who to call!! (but its gona cost ya) 

UPDATE!!

I spent some time thinking in the studio about what type of artwork I would like create and all I could think about is how I don't want to save or keep anything... I want to sell it! I came to realize that my possession of these beanie babies is purely for monetary purposes and I have no emotional attachment to them. The only object that I truly love is money!! I will do anything for it! Greed consumes me! ! ! therefore my goal is to use the concept of "Art" to make worthless junk grow exponentially in value over night. I shall collect items tossed aside by those foolish enough not to see the potential in them and turn them into my own money making masterpieces!

Studio? Log? One?

So lets talk about this Value World alter-ego project. To be honest, I was a little put off with the notion of playing the part of someone else in the context of IP work (I might still feel this way). My initial plan was to make my own work and chuck in my Value World Mace just to cover my bases. This all changed when Michael visited me in the studio and wanted to speak with the person who owned the mace. Evan did not truly fit this qualification.

I decided to go find that person. The key was the weapon of course. Who would use an object that appears menacing, but in reality is completely harmless? I decided on a professional wrestler with some Feudalistic flare from the 1980s. In this way Evan's alter ego-> the wrestler Ronald, would have his own alter ego->'Medieval Justice', who would be the person using the mace.

I wrote a short biography as an artist statement and made some work to go along with it.

To be clear...Ronald wont be an impressive artist to you---even though in his universe he is a visionary, and a genius.

Can't wait to share

-Evan M

80's jumpsuits

During today’s studio time I was focused on trying to get into the mindset of the person who wears the 80’s jumpsuit. It started off slow, but as I stared at the jumpsuit, now hanging on my wall, I started to get a few ideas. My first idea was that the woman who would wear this jumpsuit would be into making clothing that represent the fashion of the late 80’s. As I started researching the fashion of that time though, I got an inspiring idea, as this woman, to make a set of jewelry pieces inspired by my outfit and geometry. Usually, my artwork is not so geometric and composed of simple forms, but the jumpsuit woman started to take over and ideas started flowing. First, I started sketching and writing down words that related to the fashion of the 80’s. I then proceeded to the metals studio and began my first piece as “jumpsuit woman”. I actually quite enjoyed working as “someone else” and straying away from the typical stuff that I do. I started realizing how similar much of my previous work is and this project made me want to start searching for new ideas and design aesthetic. I know I will not continue this project for much longer (only for the week), but the sketches I have come up with have got me rethinking other projects, and I believe for the better.

Studio Log 1

Okay everybody come close. There is a bit of cussing in the post but my adopted persona demands it.

My studio time today was first spent trying to feel out my persona and figure out how to use the object I chose to my advantage. As you might remember, I bought this pretty absurd fur and leather bag (real), which pretty much grossed me out. I told Danielle that I felt like an über-bitch just carrying it around Value World. So therefore, I am to be an über-bitch in the studio. I was thinking about it during the break between IP classes and the best features of being an über-bitch are:

1. Being completely unapologetic.

ex.) "SEVERAL BUNNIES DIED MAKING THIS PURSE AND I DON'T CARE." = "I AM NOT GOING TO BE SELF-DEFEATING ABOUT MY PROJECT IDEAS BECAUSE THEY ARE SUPER."

2. Okay, I don't know if this is 100% accurate for all you bitches out there, but I'm just going to say that bitches are organized, if for only the sole reason that they have to keep track of who needs bitching out from one day to the next. So, organized I will be.

3. Being demanding. Of myself and others. (This means that if I need help or information, I'll actually ask for it.)

So, in trying to adopt my new persona I bitched Michael all the way out of my studio (sorry Michael :(! Oh shoot shoot, I mean I'm notsorry) I must've been pretty bitchy because he didn't come back.

So after all of this soul-searching, I got to work. I finished sculpting the base of my first marionette--the hands and feet were the only things left to get on the basic form, and so now it needs sanding and painting. I also typed up my one-page description of my project, sent it in, and started sketching ideas for the overall form of my puppet installation. The details are kind of daunting, but for right now I'm just focusing on the overall idea and I'll hone in from there. I also got some books from the library about puppets and marionettes, and they have some great images in there. I also found on mirlyn that the university has what they call a "yearbook" of international marionettes in the Buhr Shelving facility, which is apparently a yearly journal showcasing different designs of old marionettes. The years they have are all in the 30s and 40s, so it should be pretty interesting to see marionettes from so long ago. I've requested them, so I should have them in a few days if anyone is interested in looking at them.

I'm going to go read In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust, because I'm convinced it's going to influence my project in some way. "Proustian Memory" is another phrase for "involuntary memory", which was coined by Proust to describe memories that aren't actively sought after. Okay off I go.

Heather

blog

Today, I am utilizing my time in the studio as effectively as possible. First, by emailing my who what where why and hows to ip03pro, followed by brainstorming. At Value World, I accumulated a Girl Scouts of USA sash, a piece of cloth as well as a jersey. The sash is significant in the sense that I use to do pageants and my mother was a brownie. The jersey signifies the fact that I can be quite careless at times, often signifying the acts of a child. Although it's not reversible, most jerseys are, showing flexibility. In the art school you cannot afford not to be flexible. 

Flexible: ready and able to change so as to adapt to different circumstances

^ basically what I intend to face throughout IP

Katie's First Post

I've been thinking a lot about this piece by Yives Klein. It's a series of works called Anthropometries and is this strange (and amazing) mix of a performance piece, a painting, a photograph and a concert (he hired an ensemble to play his piece called The Monotone Symphony, which consisted of a 20 minute chord followed by 20 minutes of silence.) Amazing!

J.S.G. Boggs

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104909/