Scott Anderson: Contemporary Painter

 Scott Anderson

            When starting a painting, Scott finds that he often follows a pattern of a process. He usually works from a photo that he has taken or a found photo as a blueprint.  However, he does not copy the photo, he uses it as the base idea only;  often times he says that he even pushes himself away from that original blueprint anyway.  His main example of this was a painting he did of a boar’s head, which he ended up turning on its side and made it into a sort of geometric landscape. 

            He sometimes finds inspiration from things that are found in his life.  Wunderkammer is a German word that means collection of small things to represent curiosities or rarities in worldly items.  You see the influence of Wunderkammer in his works along with interior design (the interior design influence comes from his mother and his wife).  Another influence of his is Mythology.  He finds the progression/change through time to be intriguing.  An example of this change in history is how the ancient god Odin translated to Norwegian gnomes and then to Santa Clause.  An example of a work of his that shows this progression is Funeral (not shown) which depicts a Viking Funeral that looks futuristic but historical simultaneously.  He also finds influence from little shops in his town that sell folk art.  A way that he translated those ideas into his works was the painting Under Earth (not shown). Finally, he has an interest in utopia/dystopia society in relation to the future and world fairs.  This is clearly shown in his painting that depicts the Heliport building.

            He also draws influence from historical famous artists, in particular: Robert Rauschenberg.  Anderson spoke of his person connection to Robert Rauschenberg’s works from the 50s and 60s.  He had a special interest in Rauschenberg’s ability to take images that by themselves can imply strong narratives but Rauschenberg places them in a way that they lose that meaning and just become part of the painting.  This is something that Anderson, too, has mastered in his own works.  His identifiable imagery gets well mixed into a confusion of interior/exterior spaces and geometric patterns.  Anderson’s works seem chaotic, but really they are quite compositionally masterful. 

Alexandra Levasseur: One Drawing a Day

Alexandra Levasseur

Let Me Sleep, acrylic & colored pencils on paper, 14x11"

Alexandra Levasseur, who lives and works in Quebec, challenged herself to a "therapeutic investigation" by completing one drawing a day from 2011 - 2012. The final project consists of 35 pieces, each 11x14", each made with acrylic painting and colored pencils on paper.

"My objective is to explore the spontaneity and inspiration that every morning gives me, either by environmental or emotional circumstances - states of mind, energy, desires, etc." Because this project began in the fall, Levasseur found herself gravitating towards the impressions and perceptions she finds of autumn and winter in Quebec: the increasing tendency toward hibernation and laziness is a common phenomenon and mood during the dark and cold months.


This need for comfort and warmth is illustrated through the physical comfort of the blankets, pillows, and wool clothes that surround her figures.

Winter Bed, acrylic & colored pencils on paper, 14x11"

 In contrast, the walls and coverings often feature flowers and bright colors, elements of spring in which the figure can hide.

Couverture, acrylic & colored pencils on paper, 11x14"

Levasseur's figures encapsulate the difficulty of waking and getting up, the tendency to oversleep, the anxiety, the irritability that comes hand in hand with the cold and the dark winter. Whether these figures are still in bed or are going about their day, these feelings linger.

In her statement, written before the final completion of the project, Levasseur states that she hopes to bring the "diary of seasonal emotional transmutations" through to the spring and summer as the irritability and anxiety of winter disappears.

Not only does this subject matter pertain to my own experiences, but also I find myself drawn to these pieces in general. What I really seem to respond to is the obvious marriage of illustration as an art form and the overt need for telling a story. Each piece does tell its own story. Levasseur's style in general seems to include the fragmentation of the form itself apparent in the samples shown here; I think this only adds to the narrative aspect of these pieces. It sets up a continuous narrative of sorts. At the very least, it establishes movement through the piece, further adding to the anxiety and the irritability she discusses.

Insightful at a Young Age

Dieter Roth: Artist 1930-1988

At the age of ten in 1940, Roth was put into membership with a paramilitary organization of the Hitler Youth,the Pimpfe (Cubs).  He was removed from Germany for a period of time in 1943, and he began writing and drawing frequently commenting on the society’s anxiety from war being a burden on the individual. In 1945 he wrote:

“And as long as this war is raging-it is probably my inner war too - one of development - I will not have personality for the world outside. The war has to be over first, the big one for the development and ultimately the peace of mankind, and the same, small one inside me, then mankind will be mankind, then I will be Dieter.”

The Neverending Hallway of... Stuff?

All we were told for this project was to get a suitcase.
Little did we know that it would take us down  a dark hallway of thrifting misfortune...

Well, maybe not misfortune. That sounds a bit ominous.
Overly dramatic much, Kelly?

Today In Art Class: 12/6/2012

10:30am - I overslept and a text from painting professor reads "Come to class we are having a party/dancing!"

11:00am - Get to class; there is no dancing, but there are several people are gathering bugs to look at under a microscope?....  Just because!

2:00pm - Printmaking professor starts to tell a story about two freak kids in Florida ("freak" being the derogative term used after hippies went out of style)....      

4:25pm - Printmaking professor is reminded he didn't finish the story; his response is that the two freak kids really liked bom-pops!! ...(End of story)

- by Dana Potter, Art Major

FFT: Being an Art Student is Terrifying

I hear a lot of "oh being an art student is easy. You get to do what you love every day. You don't have to be smart, you don't have to work that hard, you don't have to do... anything." 
I don't think people who say this have any idea what actually goes into being an art student.
Being an art student is hard.
Being an art student is terrifying.
Being an art student is perhaps the most important thing I've done. It's maybe the only thing I think I've done right in my life. And I wouldn't change it for the world.

Yes, I get to do what I love every day. But that doesn't mean it isn't work. I struggle with projects like you might struggle over math problems. Except I'll come up with an answer that is completely different than what someone who is sitting right next to me might come up with. And that's okay. That's expected. Actually, if you come up with the same idea as whoever is sitting next to you, odds are, you are going to fail.

It gives me a sense of satisfaction to struggle over these problems, to work through thoughts and emotions, and come up with better work because of it. When my entire life is going down the drain, my art only gets better. I want to say that there's a reason to be thankful for life being shitty.

I don't know how I want to justify my choice to be an art student, though.
The first problem, I guess, is all the people who say "But what are you going to do with an art major?"
My answer: I don't know.
Why would I know?
Why would I want to know?
Wouldn't that take all the fun out of life?
I'd much rather take things one day at a time, figure things out as I go along, rather than have a plan and follow it to a "T". Because what if things go wrong? How could I pick my life up after that? Would I try to continue down that path, or would I have to scrap everything I've done in the past and start over? No. And I get that everyone is different about this, but that would not make me happy.
I need a little spontaneity, a little spice in my life.

I've already addressed people that say that being an art major is easy.

But my main point: being an art major is terrifying.

You pour all your energy, all your soul and heart, your literal (and figurative) blood, sweat, and tears into a piece, and then... you put it out into the world. How is that not the most terrifying thing in the world? To know that your peers, your teachers, people you want to like and respect you, are judging what you think and feel and create. 

That to be the best, you have to be torn down and built back up. 

That to excel and succeed, you have to fail. 

And people say that I took the "easy" path in college. That I am wasting my potential. 

They can't see it. 

That not only am I doing what I love, what makes me happy, but I am challenging myself. I am working harder than they could know. I may not be spending every hour of free time on a lab report, but how is my work not as important?

Art Building Madness

You know those crazy people walking around with weird things on their heads? The ones always locking themselves in display cases while they sit around doing some crazy thing or another? The ones who put everything, every random thing they can imagine, on their walls so that it becomes one giant collage and you can't even see the walls anymore?
Those are art students.

There's always crazy crazy stuff going on on the walls in the art building.

You never know what you're going to find in the art building.

Today In Art Class: 10/7/2012

Today I opened my school email box, to find a letter from my art professor.
The subject line read: More Advice
All the email contained was a link to this youtube video:



I just find it hilarious that this constitutes as advice.