Michele Brody: Mike Droske

Metal lace artist Cal Lane has some ideas that might work in this project.
She does plasma cut steel and iron sculptures, and the detail is amazing. I think the rusty metal would look really striking against some bright green grass.
Here's her website:
http://www.callane.com/
And here's a NYT article on her:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/realestate/30habi.html

Michele Brody: Teresa Moran

Research for the Ecological Pageant:

Going back to basics:

1) It is interesting to see how the elements are perceived:

2) It is also very interesting to see how many different ways the energy/spirit of these elements is expressed:

3) & to see the impact these elements have on our senses:

references

Teresa Moran

Michele Brody: Bradley Angell

Robert Irwin

"Perhaps the future role of the artist will be to act directly as the arbiter of qualities in our lives. Quality not as an add-on, as it is now, but as criteria in all matters of planning."
-Robert Irwin, Cullinan Lectures, Rice Univeristy, 1978-88.


Part 1: Prologue: x18^3

Currently living in San Diego, California, Irwin was born in Long Beach, California in 1928 and studied at the Otis Art Institute, the Jepson Art Institute and the Chinouard Art Instiute beginning in 1948 continuing until 1954. His first solo exhibition was in 1957.

“I tell people this will look like a group show,” said the San Diego museum’s director, Hugh Davies, a close friend of Mr. Irwin. “There will be Abstract Expressionist paintings, Minimalist paintings, architectural work. It’s all over the map. He doesn’t have a signature style.”

Robert Irwin is an artist of a multitude of mediums, and has an experimental attitude towards his exhibitions, stating:

“There’s no way to really mock up or simulate what I’m doing until I’m there,” he said. “An exhibition for me is not a statement but an experiment.”


The Central Garden of the Getty Center, Los Angeles

References:

Finkel, Jori, Artist of Light, Space and, Now, Trees, The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/arts/design/14fink.html?_r=1, October, 14, 2007.

Gardens (Visit the Getty), The Getty Center Los Angeles, http://www.getty.edu/visit/see_do/gardens.html, Last Viewed: January 29, 2009.

Robert Irwin, Excursus: Homage to the Square, Dia Art Foundation, http://www.diabeacon.org/exhibs/irwin/excursus/index.html, Last Viewed: January 29, 2009.

- Bradley Angell

Michele Brody: Bradley Angell

James Turrell

Now a resident of Flagstaff, Arizona, Turrell began his career in California in the 60's. Currently, he is overseeing the completion of his most important work - Roden Crater.


Roden Crater

Roden Crater is a project purchased with funds from the Guggenheim Foundation, and Turrell is tranforming the crater "into a space whose art is as much in the light of space and objects as it is in the spaces created in the crater."

Turrell was born in Los Angeles in 1943, studied psychology and math at Pomona College (outside LA), and then pursued art as a graduate student at Claremont Graduate School in Claremont, California. He is an accomplished artist, with work all over the United States (including the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas).

"Informed by his studies in perceptual psychology and optical illusions, Turrell’s work allows us to see ourselves 'seeing.' Whether harnessing the light at sunset or transforming the glow of a television set into a fluctuating portal, Turrell’s art places viewers in a realm of pure experience."


Roden Crater, East Portal Entryway

References:

James Turrell 1974, http://www.orbit.zkm.de/?q=node/311, Last Viewed: January 29, 2009.

James Turrell, http://www.greenmuseum.org/content/artist_index/artist_id-11.html, Greenmuseum.org 2008, Last Viewed: January 29, 2009.

Art:21. Public Broadcast Service, http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/turrell/index.html, Last Viewed: January 29, 2009.

- Bradley Angell

Michele Brody: Ricardo Solar

My initial topic of research was the lace, however I decided to research vertical gardens first, thinking it could be relevant to the Seed Post. Through this research I stumbled onto several other topics such as the use of felt as a hydroponic material, and an interesting metal lace artist!

I knew I had seen architects use vertical gardens before especially in Paris. Well, his name is Patrick Blanc, blogged as 'the father of vertical gardens,' not an architect but a botanist, this guy has specialized for decades in making plants grow vertically.

If you follow his website >walls>detail presentation, you will find a,well, very detailed presentation of his philosophy and his process; along with a ton of pictures of how architects and even some people in the fashion industry have used his method.

Basically , a 1inch layer of PVC is attached to a metal frame, then and a layer of a certain non-rotting felt that is stapled to the 1in pvc. The plants are then embedded on the felt as seeds and the the whole thing is irrigated from the top. The results are i think very beautiful, and I think also relevant to the Ecological Pageant project.




In my research i also found what looks like people trying to build a seed post on their back yard-- not very elegant but i thought it was worth mentioning.

Regarding the lace which was my initial topic of research. Brondy mentions wanting to replace the polyester lace with something more sustainable. Could perhaps the use of other materials such as felt substitute the need for lace?
Or, keeping with the lace idea, perhaps a metal mesh be more elegant and durable.
Here is a link to an artist that does sculptures out of 'Copper lace' her name is Lieve Jerger . Could something similar but less elaborate perhaps be a more durable replacement to the polyester lace?

Michele Brody: Bradley Angell

Richard Long

A Line and Tracks in Bolivia

Born in 1945 in Bristol, England, Richard Long studied in both Bristol and London before having his first solo exhibition in Dusseldorf in 1968.

To say that Richard Long is an artist that walks is an understatement. Long is an environmental artist that literally creates his art work from walking, as discussed in the article "In the Studio: Richard Long":

"That is the amazing and radical notion at the centre of Long's work: that walking could be the basis of a work of art."

When he isn't creating art by walking, he also has pieces created from other environmental materials, including the mud he can see from his home in Bristol, England.

From One to Another

References:

Gayford, Martin, The Telegraph, In the Studio: Richard Long, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/3651386/In-the-studio-Richard-Long.html, Last Updated: April 4, 2006.

Jackson, Steve, Richard Long Official Web Site, http://www.richardlong.org/, Last Viewed: January 29, 2009.

- Bradley Angell

Michele Brody: Barrett Davis

I did some research on the different deities for the pageants and found some generalities amongst the myths:

Sun Deity: Many of them had some sort of representation with either a circle, wheel, or chariot.

Wind Deity: Many of them were represented riding a horse.

----------------------

Brandon Ballengée

As according to his site, "[his] work attempts to blur the already ambiguous boundaries between environmental art and ecological research. [...] As an artist involved in wildlife preservation, global disappearances of biodiversity is both a concern and a focus." I found it fascinating looking at some of his works. They do seem as though they are documentation of scientific phenomena; however, the visual representation is rich enough to be hosted in an art museum.

There is some pretty extensive documentation on the project 'The Ever Changing Tide.' This project dealt with the collection and documentation of fish species that have been decimated by over-fishing and introduction of non-native species in habitats. Collected species were gathered from a New York fish market, photographed, and preserved for showcase in a permanent musuem collection.

Another fascinating work of his entitled "Deformities in North American Amphibians" includes documentation of amphibians with missing or deformed limbs. He attempts to chronicle why the deformities may exist while presenting the result of what may be a pollution of the water or parasites.



References:
http://www.greenmuseum.org/content/artist_index/artist_id-19.html
http://www.disk-o.com/malamp/bio-diversity.html
http://www.disk-o.com/fishsmart/

-Barrett Davis

Michele Brody: Michael Wilson

Seed Posts
Information Regarding Irrigation & Nutrient Supplies

Site on Hydroponic Methods
Simplyhydro.com
This site describes 5 different techniques. I am unsure which will be used so I am in the process of e-mailing Michelle to figure that part out. I will post the info as soon as I hear back.

Irrigation
It seems like a "drip irrigation kit" would work for this project, but the schematics are unclear whether a timer will be needed, a pump (water,air, both), or a nutrient reservoir. Again, I will post once I hear back.

Lowe's in Bryan sells drip irrigation kits for about 20$.
Lowes Link

Michele Brody: Briana Morrison

More artist summaries:

Andy Goldsworthy
This guy really floats my boat! It's the landscape architect in me, I suppose. You really should Google his name and check out some of the photos.

• British artist and proclaimed naturalist
• Artwork responds to the site, whether natural or urban
  
• Uses natural and "found" elements as his artistic tools (blades of grass, berries, ice & water, twigs, etc. instead of brushes or paints and his teeth instead of knives)
  
• Takes one photograph immediately after constructing his piece. The art exists for him only a moment, then nature takes back over (see below, "Iris Leaves with Rowan Berries"). In his words, "his creations as transient, or ephemeral."
  

• Considered the founder of modern rock-balancing

"Looking, touching, material, place and form are all inseparable from the resulting work. It is difficult to say where one stops and another begins. The energy and space around a material are as important as the energy and space within.

"Nature is in a state of change and that change is the key to understanding. I want my art to be sensitive and alert to changes in material, season and weather. Each work grows, stays, decays. Process and decay are implicit. Transience in my work reflects what I find in nature."
-Andy Goldsworthy

Sources: http://www.morning-earth.org/ARTISTNATURALISTS/AN_Goldsworthy.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Goldsworthy

Michele Brody: Briana Morrison

A little research on artists Michele admires:

Ann Hamilton

• Trained in Textile Design at the University of Kansas and received a MFA in Sculpture from Yale
• Specializes in large-scale, mixed-media installations which immerse the user in the experience/history/culture of the space (see "Corpus" below)
  

• Believes that the written and spoken language can be experienced with multiple senses, and often reverses the roles of the senses (i.e. making the mouth become an eye using pin hole cameras, below)

"The paradoxical structure of my work is often to engage that place of in-betweenness; to engage it, not to make a picture of it, not to make it its subject, but actually to try to work at that place in a way that demonstrates it, that's demonstrative, that occupies it. You know it's very abstract, but concrete."
- Ann Hamilton

Sources: http://www.annhamiltonstudio.com/, www.pbs.org/art21/artists/hamilton/index.html

---------

Anne Wilson

• Utilizes familiar materials (table linen, bed sheets, human hair, lace, thread, wire, glass) that embody some cultural meaning
• Many art pieces on her website show deconstruction and then reconstruction/reinvention of materials to create something new (see "Topologies," the reconstruction of black lace pieces to form surreal 'landforms')


• Utilizes the medias of video and sound in installations (such as "Errant Behaviors," were deconstructed lace from Topologies was animated to show strange actions coupled with sounds)
  

"Well, in one segment, called "Whack," there's a ball of thread on a white surface with a pin next to it, and that pin is simply going back and forth and back and forth, whacking away at that thread. The sound serves to further materialize the thread ball as being wet and soggy. It's sort of abusive--and funny; it's a behavior that's rude and unexpected."
-Anne Wilson describing Errant Behaviors

Sources: http://www.annewilsonartist.com, http://mouthtomouthmag.com/wfw7.html

Michele Brody: Mike Droske

Just a quick post about plant materials for the SeedPosts-
I know Michele expressed a desire to use Texas native plants, and there are a few grasses that may work.
One is Buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides). It's an extremely drought-tolerant shortgrass (usually 3-12" long when unmowed) that may work in a hydroponic environment.

Mexican feathergrass (Stipa tenuissima) is a bunchgrass that has a gorgeous soft and graceful texture, and would definitely have a striking look. However, it is prone to root rots and may not do well in a hydroponic setting.

I've contacted a few people in the Hort department, but I haven't heard back from them yet. Just wanted to throw a couple of TX natives out there for people to take a look at.

-Mike D.

Michelle Brody-C. Arcak

Hello All,

Check out this website...this is what the pageant costumes are for. If you read the text you will find Michelle Brody's name as one of the "artist in residence" for the "Earth Celebrations Hudson River Pageant." It's a pretty neat project and the best part (for me) is that it includes the Manhattan Youth Community Center. This will give us context as we work with concepts for the costumes and head dresses.

http://www.earthcelebrations.com/hudsonpageant.htm

Synopsis (taken from the website):
An ecological parade and performance art event, to raise awareness for the restoration of the Hudson River as a vital urban estuarine sanctuary, and address the future effects of climate change on the river and our shoreline in New York City.

Cheers,
C. Arcak