david huffman

David Huffman is influenced by asian landscapes yet is able to adapt them to today's world and make them all his own. "The representational elements in Huffman’s work are typically interpreted as social commentary. The imagery certainly represents Huffman’s experience as an African-American man who has an awareness of history and politics. Along with social awareness, there is an existential element—a sense of humans as small creatures who must operate in a vast, unstable, and dangerous world."

Huffman's pieces have a bit of a dramatic or tragic undertone due to objects associated with slavery but this tone seems to less apparent due to complexity of his pieces. His focus isn't just the past but also the present and the future. Also his pieces aren't all just about sadness and suffering but also about hope and imagination.

Huffman usually works with mixed media and on a large scale. He is a contemporary artist.

I like the complexity of his pieces and the fact that they have a message and meaning. I want my artwork to have a meaning and be visually grabbing such as huffman's art.

Josef Frank

so i went to google and realized that it looked really cool today and was influenced by josef frank. I really love his sense of shape, pattern and emotion of his pieces. they seem fun which i really love. I also love the fact that his art is practical. its on furniture and clothing. I think this helps to spread his art as well.
Here's a little bit about the artist.
He was an architect and designer in Europe. He is called the father of modern art in Scandinavia. He was born in 1885 in Austria and died at the age of 81. He ultimately settled in Sweden where he worked for a textile company. He spent many years at this company producing his patterns. This company also named him the father of modern art.

I really like the energy of his pieces. They're just fun and exciting to look at. They do remind me though of medieval tapestries a bit. I could see a bit of collage influence in these pieces as well. They're not so geometric and rigid but more organic and free flowing which I think attracts me the most. I love it because I feel like you look at the piece as a whole and not just repeating pieces.

this week's studies

so this week i've been focusing on color, shape and texture mostly because i figure i need to perfect these qualities before i can move forward. i wanttexture to play a part in my pieces but i was also thinking about how i would go about framing these works. if i make them too 3d tyhen i wont be able to put them behind glass. this really made me think about my materials as well. i feel that i am leaning more toward a definate theme but im still not completely happy yet with where my art is.

key west!!!!!

So i'm in key west and it's dinner time so i have to be quick. im glad to be here and unpack. can't wait to get out there and see everything. they even have art galleries around here. maybe i'll drag my family to one. well i'll update more later. this internet sucks :(

Berni Valenta

100 cardboard boxes

Berni exhibited his 100 cardboard pieces ranging from caricatures of animals to people of all races and walks of life. He is able to use everyday objects (cardboard boxes, markers and paint) to create amazing works of art. I love the humor in his pieces and the fact that he uses found objects. All his pieces seem to be similar in size and shape (mostly square) some with varying edges. Berni is a German artist currently located in Munich.
Berni also experiments with other art forms. He also has a collection of works based on taking inkblots/ paint blots and making them into finished works.

Joshua Allen Harris

Street Air Sculptures


Harris creates sculptures using plastic bags, shopping bags and other found objects and inflates them using air from subway fans, grates and other found areas all over the city. His work is very well recieved and often times unexpected. His pieces are playful and have great movement to them. I also like the fact that they are childlike and evoke a sense of imagination that one gets being a kid. His first piece was a white polar bear placed over a grate in the sidewalk. Since then he has created mythical beasts as well as other animals and is always trying to go bigger and badder. I think the fun of these pieces comes when they fill up or inflate. An ordinary hump of trash bags turns into art right before your eyes. It's amazing. He currently lives and works in New York.

Raymond Pettibon

Raymond Pettibon is an American artist. His work often resembles stills from a comic and are oftentimes ironic and violent. He works mostly in black and white with just ink and paper although he does use color sometimes. Pettibon uses both text and images together succesfully and tackles all kinds of topics in his works. Nothing seems to risque. I personally like the fact that many of these make me laugh and the fact that they're not traditional art. They remind me somewhat of one of my favorite websites marriedtothesea.com. Their comics always have me cracking up. I think I want to create something along these lines. Something that doesn't necesarrily use text but something that makes people laugh and has a clear message.