Nature as Public Art

Natural Bridge
Sewanee, TN

Nature is the perfect example of public art. Nature creates its out benches and walkways and provides us with breathtaking landscapes. Nature does not need the help of an artist to be created. A city does not have to pay money to create nature (unless they are landscaping, which in that case they do, but that isn't really true nature). Many tourist towns revolve around nature and the views it provides in order to draw in tourists. And it works. People like the views and hikes they can see and go on. Public art does not always have to be man made; it can sometimes be created naturally.

Out of the Ordinary Bus Stops

While at home this weekend, I started to observe more of the local art. Home for my happens to be Athens, GA. Some of the art can be UGA related, but I won't post about that. I found the bus stops that were decorated by local artists very interesting. I've seen them pretty much all my life, or at least all long as I can remember. (So that really means as long as I've be driving) Athens uses local artist to decorate public areas throughout the city. More bus stops were actually recently built with musical themes and more will be built soon. You can visit this website to see more information. I think that this is a great way to display public art in a useful way and encourage the use of public transportation.

Functional Public Art

The theme that I'm pretty positive I am going to use for my project is functional public art. I've had the best luck finding this type of art around Atlanta, and I can also understand functional art the best. Some example of functional public art I have found include picnic tables, bike racks, walkways, fences, and fountains. These things all serve a purpose and become art second. But since I was on a mission to find art, when i saw most of these items I immediately saw them as art, not functional piece. It wasn't until later when I uploaded the pictures to my computer that I realized that most of the pictures I took were of functional items. I hope to get out tomorrow and have one last day to take pictures. It just seems so hard to find art around Atlanta, at least compared to other places I have been. Atlanta is just not an artsy city. But by finding art in the things that most people would overlook I think that I will be able to come up with plenty of pictures for my project.

Animated Public Art

An example of one of the artist's walls

Here is an amazing video of a mixture of public art and graffiti. The artist uses graffiti, which can be seen as public art to some and not to others, to create images on walls that were put together to make this video. I personally agree that this is public art because he has made this available to everyone and the space used to create the art was public. This person's ability is extraordinary. How they can paint one picture then paint another and make them all cohesively flow together into a movie is beyond anything I could ever imagine doing. I hope this person continues to make public art so that onlookers can enjoy there work (or not enjoy it...everyone has their own opinions.) You can go to this person's website to view more of their work. It tends to be a bit more morbid, but they paint murals on publics walls and  more videos can be found on their site as well.

The Past Decade in Pictures

I came across this website that uses pictures to represent the major events in this past decade using pictures. I feel as though this website fits with the theme of Mirzoeff's article. Artistic views of real life events are shown using pictures. Some of the most life altering events of our lives are represented on this site such  as 9/11 and the election of Obama. It seems like at first glance that almost all the pictures are war related, but when you go back and take a closer look you realize that they really aren't. I was going to talk about how sad it was that this past decade is represented by pictures of war and terrorists, but then I found pictures of the Beijing Olympics and Michael Jackson's death. Each picture is amazing in that is can take you back to the moment when that even happened. You are right where you were when you first heard the World Trade Center had been hit by an airplane, which happened to be my fourth grade classroom, or you are taken back to last summer when H1N1 broke out at your summer school program...or maybe that one is just me. I found all of these picture wonderful and sad and a great walk down memory lane and none of these events ever need to be forgotten.

And for any followers who are not in my class here is the link to the article by Mirzoeff if you wish to read it.

Photography by People Like Us

While we were on the subject of photography, I couldn't help but think about several of my very talented friends. I don't know what constitutes a professional photographer, but my friend Jackson Spencer could take my wedding pictures any day and I'm sure I would like them better than anyone else's work. He does amazing work with everyday objects and lighting. I picked two of my favorite photos by him. The first focusing on an abandoned shed. The black hole in the middle of the picture captures my attention first, and something about not knowing what's inside intrigues me. I love the color scale and how the shed seems to random in such a dense forest. Why would a shed be built there in the first place? Kind of creepy right? The photo really emphasizes this feeling for me. 

The second picture I chose to post is naturally amazing because of the clouds, but the way the lighting makes the person and trees completely black makes the contrast of the sky so much greater. The first thing you see when you look at this picture is the person, then you notice to clouds. The face that is captured in this moment is a one in a million shot. Its something a little kid dreams of seeing when they are pointing out cloud animals. Or is is something that is photoshoped in. As far as I know, this is not a photoshoped cloud. I wish I had the ability to use a camera the way Jackson did. He did complement a picture of my dog once. But for the most part, I just snap pictures whenever and don't think about what they will look like or how lighting will effect the shot. The way he can make nature look ever more beautiful and use lighting to highlight the most fascinating aspects of a scene will always continue to amaze me. 

A quick biography of Jackson Spencer: 

He grew up outside of Washington D.C.. At the beginning of his sophomore year of high school, he began boarding school in Sewanee, TN, which is where I met him. He is now currently enrolled in the University of the South in Sewanee, TN. 

Pottery

Pete Pinnel Fluted Cup

My favorite type of art to make is pottery. I would say that I have a pretty decent ability to make pottery. I wish I had pictures to post of some of my own work, but it is all at home. I started taking pottery classes during my freshman year of high school. I had two amazing teachers, Burki Gladstone and Claire Reishman. I started out small and very bad. Some of my first little cups are not very symmetrical, but I got better. After 2.5 years of taking pottery I was able to throw teapots and pitchers and even make replicas of more well known potters. One of my favorite potters was Pete Pinnell. I made many replicas of his pots. He is well known for his attention to detail in his designs and etchings on each piece.

I would really enjoy taking pottery classes again, but Tech is much of an art school. My high school had one of the best pottery facilities in the country; even better than most colleges, so I was very fortunate. I learned a great deal about pottery and found an art form that I am passionate about. Pottery is something that takes time. I encourage everyone to try it. Not just once, give it a while because no one is a natural. Its a great way to express yourself.