4/24/09

is that the ocean in the hudson valley?


The sun is shining, warm weather is on the horizon and I could not be more excited to go to Storm King Sculpture Park this coming May to see the new work by Maya Lin. I have been waiting all winter for this!

Storm King Wavefield, is the largest site-specific earthwork created to date by acclaimed artist and environmentalist Maya Lin. Occupying an eleven-acre site that was a gravel pit until Ms. Lin
reclaimed it for the work, the ambitious Storm King Wavefield comprises seven rows—each over 300 feet long—of carefully scaled, undulating hills that give the appearance of ocean waves. The four acre work culminates a series of three wavefields by Ms. Lin. It is the newest addition to the
sculpture park’s distinguished permanent collection.

From Storm King's website:
The opening of Storm King Wavefield is accompanied by a special exhibition, Maya Lin: Bodies of Water, on view in Storm King’s museum building May 9 through November 15, 2009. The exhibition features several works that reflect the artist’s interest in water in its various states. The works include installation, sculpture, photographs, models, and drawings, among them examples related to the development of Storm King Wavefield. Several works also draw attention to the plight of sites around the world that suffer from human encroachment and industrial pollution.

Highlights of the works on view include a new piece, fabricated in recycled wood, that evokes a single wave; a work titled Pin River, comprising tens of thousands of straight pins set into the gallery wall, creating the illusion of a shadow image of the Hudson River system; and Dew Point, a series of cast-glass drops of water.

The exhibition also includes a video and photographs of Ms. Lin at work.

You may recognize Maya Lin's name as the designer of Washington D.C.'s Vietnam Veterans Memorial. While still a student at Yale University, Maya Lin's design was chosen for this project which launched her career. Since then she has taken on one ambitious project after another- welding together the lines between design, architecture & sculpture. Amazing woman!

You can also visit Maya Lin's website for more info on her.

4/7/09

my literary ramble



my literary ramble today highlights an old favorite of mine, mr. dylan thomas. thomas' work is a brilliantly choreographed montage of the english language. ochestrated so deliciously it resembles a verbal dessert. an apple pie a la mode for your nerve endings. i have included my "all time drop to my knees and worship these words" favorite poem. it was first read to me by a professor in college and it stuck and never let go.

Light breaks where no sun shines; Where no sea runs, the waters of the heart Push in their tides; And, broken ghosts with glow-worms in their heads, The things of light File through the flesh where no flesh decks the bones. A candle in the thighs Warms youth and seed and burns the seeds of age; Where no seed stirs, The fruit of man unwrinkles in the stars, Bright as a fig; Where no wax is, the candle shows its hairs. Dawn breaks behind the eyes; From poles of skull and toe the windy blood Slides like a sea; Nor fenced, nor staked, the gushers of the sky Spout to the rod Divining in a smile the oil of tears. Night in the sockets rounds, Like some pitch moon, the limit of the globes; Day lights the bone; Where no cold is, the skinning gales unpin The winter's robes; The film of spring is hanging from the lids. Light breaks on secret lots, On tips of thought where thoughts smell in the rain; When logics dies, The secret of the soil grows through the eye, And blood jumps in the sun; Above the waste allotments the dawn halts.

4/3/09

2009 workshops are announced


It has arrived! The Center for Photography at Woodstock's 2009 workshop schedule is posted on the website for all to see. this is a stellar year for our program...we expanded on our offerings and introduced new instructors and class topics.

Today I am at New York Press and Graphics in Albany where the catalog is being printed...which means it will be in your hands next week (fingers crossed).

But for now, check out the schedule and workshop details here. registration begins next week.

4/2/09

wanted: inspiration

image by Andrea Modica from series Treadwell, NY

i wish i can put an ad on craigs list that goes something like this:

wanted: artist seeking a jolt of inspirational fire. find me. zap me. and let me be.

what is my problem? have i gone numb to the psychotropic effects of art? i am in a work environment where we pray to the creative gods and yet i find myself in a rut of some kind. not only am i not really making any, but i am not loving any either. maybe this over saturation has weighed me down.

i believe it might be time to simply start making and seize all this thinking. keep it simple. more than one person in my life in the last few months has recommended this approach to me. keep it simple. focus on what i love and not what i think i need to do (or am expected to do).

image by Andrea Modica from series Treadwell, NY

as i search for this mind-bending fire I find that i come one step closer to a total zen-like state when viewing work by Andrea Modica. her photographs stop me in my tracks in the most profound way. they illuminate such a warmth that i cannot help but to gravitate toward them and ponder, imagine, relate, focus & feel all in one gasp. she is so in touch with every inch of the photographic frame- and transforms it into a poetic masterpiece. i respond. i respond again. i keep responding because it is deep and alive. ahhh.... that wonderful feeling.

guess what is even more amazing about andrea modica? she is coming to CPW this summer for our workshop program. keep an eye on our website for more info. all workshops will be posted by tomorrow. you think i am excited?

Check out more of her work here.