Sweet! Cartoons and contemporary painting

I am an artist, and I use cartoons. My work consists mainly of images that communicate to the viewer through recognizable forms. I also use text to help tell my stories. I often create visual elements that function in place of text or information. I use a third visual tool, a hybrid descendant of images and words: the cartoon. Cartoons, once situated at the margins of visual discourse, now have a place in the fine art world. There are comics and animated television shows created for adult audiences. There are gallery and museum shows of work influenced by cartoons, not to mention exhibitions of original comics from early in cartoon history. Antique dealers buy and sell animation cels. The high-low culture dichotomy is no longer dogma. In this essay I will examine how other contemporary artists use cartoons, and how their practices have influenced my own work. Many artists of the past century have invented their own pictorial languages, and incorporate elements of popular visual culture. Artists today continue to do this through the use of recognizable cartoon elements. Four artists who have been influencial for me – Gary Taxali, Jeff Soto, Gary Baseman, and Saul Steinberg – share this cartoon language. There are many themes in my work that would make appropriate topics for this thesis. I choose cartoons because they are the most relevent to contemporary visual culture. At first glance it may not seem that I create cartoons per se. But there are identifiable characteristics of cartooning that I find useful: the synthesis of words and imagery, the use of stylized line to create simple but idiosyncratic forms, and the recognizability of cartoons as an avenue for communication. In the course of researching material for this thesis, I was unable to find in-depth discussions of cartoons as they pertain to our understanding of language in general. It is agreed that contemporary artists use cartoons, and the history of cartoons and comics are widely discussed. But the hows and whys of this usage are not. I hope to explore aspects of that idea here. I have attempted to place the significance of my own work in a cultural context through the language of cartoons. Cartoons are a viable visual language, an effective tool of communication, and an important idiom in our culture. They are simple, yet very powerful. Their omnipresence in our culture speaks to their adaptability. Artists use cartoons because they say something. They are visually compelling, and they come packaged with certain messages. The language speaks

Narrative at Risk: Accident and Teleology in American Culture, 1963-2013

Accident in fiction is always inevitable. When a character in a novel suffers a car accident, for example, the accident is the effect of the author\u27s intentions, and therefore it is not accidental. The words and images that constitute the meanings and events of the text do not change. The accidents in the narrative always happen the same way, reading after rereading. Drawing from this observation, the question that Narrative at Risk attempts to answer is, in its simplest iteration: how can narrative accurately represent accident when its textual representation is not subject to the effects of accident? I ask this of a number of American cultural objects that were produced over the last fifty years, from the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to the present. Narrative at Risk interrogates representations of accident primarily in novels and films--but also in television, roleplaying games, comic strips, and videogames--in order to examine how contemporary American culture ascribes meaning to the accidental. I read a wide array of accidents--from mechanical failures to failed suicides, depictions of biological evolution to games of chance--as providing a broad but nonetheless coherent understanding of how American society has conceived of accident in relation to individuals, communities, and the species as a whole. Narrative at Risk, in treating media such as film, television, and videogames alongside literature, broadens our understanding of how accident developed as a danger over the past fifty years, as well as how various media influenced and shaped one another through borrowed reading practices. In the introduction, I focus on the crystallization of the mass media that brought traumatic events into American homes again and again, specifically, the moment of President John F. Kennedy\u27s assassination and the epistemological and ontological crises this event and its media coverage initiated. The first chapter reads the role of this mediation and the crises of the 1960s as they jointly inform representations of accidental mechanical failure. Through readings of four texts, I theorize a politics of accident, taking as my initial subject what Ronald Reagan called his most formative moment: his role as a train accident victim in King\u27s Row: 1941), and his discussion of this role in his 1965 memoir Where\u27s the Rest of Me? I delineate how Reagan\u27s obsession with narrating accident later shaped a politics of the accident in texts such as David Cronenberg\u27s film Crash: 1996), Don DeLillo\u27s novel White Noise: 1985), Colson Whitehead\u27s novel The Intuitionist: 1999), and Rockstar Game\u27s Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas: 2004). The subsequent chapter shifts from the first\u27s broad historical range to texts composed and published at the end of the Cold War: Paul Auster\u27s novel Leviathan: 1992); Jeffrey Eugenides\u27s novel The Virgin Suicides: 1993); and Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man : 1996) an episode of the television show The X-Files: 1993-2002). I read the failure of suicide attempts in these texts as accidents that express the limits of intentionality, which bring to the fore the nation\u27s inability to conceive of a future beyond the ideological bounds of the conflict with the Soviet Union that provided meaning during the Cold War. The third chapter recontextualizes the final years of the Cold War. Here I read Richard Kenney\u27s poem, A Colloquy of Ancient Men from his collection, The Invention of the Zero: 1993), alongside two novels: Michael Crichton\u27s Jurassic Park: 1990) and Richard Powers\u27s The Gold Bug Variations: 1991). Rather than depicting the futurelessness of the United States, these texts look to deep history on the scale of evolutionary time. They depict evolution as a series of random, accidental changes that take place in the history of a species\u27 development; in doing so, they together trace the Cold War fear of thermonuclear annihilation shifting to an anxiety of genetic manipulation. The fourth chapter turns to the 1970s to investigate the early years of the culture wars. I begin by reading how chance disrupts the narrative of Kathy Acker\u27s novel Blood and Guts in High School: 1984), then consider the religious right\u27s hyperbolic condemnation of chance in TSR\u27s roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons: 1974). I then scrutinize games of chance in three other texts: Michael Cimino\u27s film The Deer Hunter: 1978); Thomas Pynchon\u27s novel Gravity\u27s Rainbow: 1973); and Sam Lipsyte\u27s short story The Dungeon Master : 2010). These three cases demonstrate how chance undermines the paranoid fantasy that there are external forces authoring the world. Finally, Narrative at Risk concludes with an exploration of accident in the present through a discussion of two television shows--Breaking Bad: 2008-2013) and The Americans: 2013-)--and Steve Erickson\u27s 2012 novel These Dreams of You. Imagining accidents as the fault of the government, these texts collectively suggest American culture\u27s continued reliance upon teleological thinking and conspiracy theory

JSU Writing Project Anthology | Summer 2005

Theme: Stepping into the Spotlight as Teachers, as Writers, as Leadershttps://digitalcommons.jsu.edu/eng_writ_proj_anth/1017/thumbnail.jp

JSU Writing Project Anthology | Summer 2005

Theme: Stepping into the Spotlight as Teachers, as Writers, as Leadershttps://digitalcommons.jsu.edu/eng_writ_proj_anth/1017/thumbnail.jp

Differential Outcomes: causes and pedagogical responses

This study aimed to investigate and, to find pedagogical solutions, to support students who appeared to be vulnerable to ‘differential outcomes’ in summative assessments. The students were studying on undergraduate degree courses in the Education department at a college of Further Education in south London. The research was informed by my professional role as director of higher education and I planned the research with my colleagues as a collaborative project. The twin aims of investigating the causes of differential outcomes, and thereafter, seeking pedagogical responses to these findings meant that I carried out the research in two phases. In both phases I used an interpretivist approach, within a participatory action research methodology. I used mixed, quantitative and qualitative methods, in phase one; a student survey (n=372), in-depth student interviews (n=3), analysis of student support records (n=60), analysis of students’ summatively assessed essays (n= 9). In phase two; student feedback including end of research feedback (n=30), observations of students’ in-class reading behaviours (n=158), observations of students during a coaching tutorial (n= 26) and analysis of students’ assessed work, (n=132). I also used an interpretivist approach to interpret the data and in-keeping with my intention to centralise the student voice I prioritised student’ feedback as the primary data source. The findings of the first phase revealed a variety of unmet learning needs, the nucleus of which was the students’ challenges in developing deep academic thinking skills. A sub-theme related to students’ academic confidence and their identity as a student, much of which could be traced back to negative early education experiences. The findings of the second phase showed that students tended to value learning experiences that promoted academic self-confidence and allowed them to develop a more positive self-image as a student. The benefit of enhanced self-confidence was higher levels of autonomy and more independent thinking skills. Additionally, real learning benefits were brought about by opportunities for students to use innovative and practical strategies within a coaching tutorial. This allowed them to develop their academic skills within a very personalised and nuanced learning environment. Students placed significant value on the personalised nature of the coaching tutorial and the opportunity to reflect on their own learning processes and patterns. A number of practical proposals for staff and the senior management of the college to consider are recommended when reviewing the matter of differential outcomes within the higher education provision. These include; an Institutional Reflective Framework that seeks to capture the matter from institutional level through to individual practice. Opportunities to improve and develop the delivery of tutorials were identified and I have created coaching tutorial guidelines to be considered by those staff who are supporting academically vulnerable students

Ch\u27ullus in Cosco: Identity in the Andes

This study centers on the ch\u27ullu, the knitted cap, usually with ear flaps and an elongated peak or tail, a hat that identifies the wearer as an indigenous Andean male. The long history of the ch\u27ullu is marked by both its use as geographic identifier, and as a canvas upon which to present the same designs that represent ancient Andean ideas about ancestry, land and time. Because the knitted hats of today function exactly as ancient ones did, the ch\u27ullu is proven a descendant of ancient hats, an important element to be preserved rather than discarded for factory made caps

Crooked Data: (Mis)Information in Contemporary Art

The University of Richmond Museums exhibited Crooked Data: (Mis)Information in Contemporary Art on February 9 through May 5, 2017, in the Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art. The exhibition features art by twenty-one contemporary artists and studios who work with data in nontraditional ways. Some artists incorporate data from known sources, using it as an aesthetic device divorced from its originally intended interpretive function. Others gather and manifest data that might normally be considered not worthy of collecting. And some of the works explore alternatives to standard data visualization forms and practices.Some of the works featured in Crooked Data include a selection from R. Luke DeBois’ series A More Perfect Union, in which the artist presents maps of states, replacing the names of cities and towns with the most frequently used words from residents’ online dating profiles that are unique to that region. For example, in the map of Virginia, the city of Richmond and local towns are represented by the words “tobacco,” “reasonable,” and northern Virginia, not surprisingly, is denoted by the words “Pentagon,” “diplomat,” and “beltway.” Other works in the exhibition include Blast Theory’s app Karen which features a pseudo life coach who provides personalized personality profiles based on user input. Nathalie Miebach translates science data into sculpture, installation, and musical scores. In the series Wars and Conflicts, Dan Mills uses vintage maps as a space to investigate global data on international tensions, conflicts, and refugee statistics. Clement Valla reproduces Google Earth images that reveal anomalies within the system, images that are correctly formed with the data used by the software but are incorrect in accurately depicting their subjects. Artists included in the exhibition: William Anastasi (American, born 1933) Blast Theory (British Artists group) David Bowen (American, born 1975) Martin Brief (American, born 1966) Stephen Cartwright (American, born 1972) Jax de León (American, born 1986) R. Luke DuBois (American, born 1970) Hasan Elahi (American, born in Bangladesh, 1972) Laurie Frick (American, born 1955) Chad Hagen (American, born 1970) Holly Hanessian (American, born 1958) Tiffany Holmes (American, born 1968) Brooke Inman (American, born 1983) Nathalie Miebach (American, born 1972) Dan Mills (American, born 1956) Casey Reas (American, born 1972) Ward Shelley (American, born 1950) Sosolimited (American design studio) Stamen Design (American data visualization practice) Clement Valla (American, born 1979) Lee Walton (American, born 1974) The exhibition included an artwork created by University of Richmond students enrolled in the fall 2016 Introduction to Printmaking class, taught by Brooke Inman, Adjunct Professor, Department of Art and Art History, University of Richmond. Their screen-printed mural consists of data derived from usage statistics from the University’s Weinstein Center for Recreation and Wellness. Digital America, an online journal on digital culture and art, will be featured three art works in conjunction with the Crooked Data exhibition on its website (www.digitalamerica.org). Each piece in the online gallery explores the deceptive nature of digital data through various digital media. Digital America is supported by the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Richmond. Organized by the University of Richmond Museums, the exhibition is curated by N. Elizabeth Schlatter, Deputy Director and Curator of Exhibitions, University Museums. It is presented in cooperation with the University’s Departments of Art and Art History, Geography and the Environment, Boatwright Memorial Library, the Digital Scholarship Lab, Recreation and Wellness, and Partners in the Arts. The exhibition and programs are made possible in part by the University’s Cultural Affairs Committee, Data Blueprint, and funds from the Louis S. Booth Arts Fund. The exhibition is accompanied by an online catalogue featuring works in the exhibition and interviews conducted by Elizabeth Schlatter and Lindsay Hamm, ’17, art conservation (interdisciplinary studies) major, University of Richmond.https://scholarship.richmond.edu/exhibition-catalogs/1005/thumbnail.jp

Between physics and art: Imaging the un-image-able

This thesis explores the ways in which art practice can engage with science, and more precisely, how my own practice interacts with scientific knowledge. The theoretical underpinning and contextual position of the practice make it particularly suited to explore the concept of visuality, here deployed as a shared notion between scientific and artistic production. The artwork testifies to a deep interest in and fascination with the latest research in physics and the complex problems associated with the aesthetic visualisation of scientific concepts related to extreme scale, distance and mathematical abstraction. Through two volumes (a written thesis and supporting material) and an exhibition of artworks, the research asks: how can meaning be translated, transformed, and transfigured between one domain (science) and another (art), using the visual as its mode of mediation?Following an opening survey of the broader field of investigation, looking at past and present literature and practices in the realm of science and art, the thesis analyses my art practice (considered as a hybrid between graphic design, illustration and visual communication) in terms of its immediate context, underlying motivations and methods for the production of art. In its present form, my practice does not fit any of the current sub-domains identified in the landscape of contemporary art, and is often situated outside the dialogues and concerns of fellow practitioners. Nor does it fully belong to the realm of scientific visuality (or of an “aestheticised science”): the field has shown some limitations in relation to art’s own domain of images, where modes of practice are not shared. In this instance the art is often reduced to explaining and communicating science in visual form. In contrast, my practice deploys a more sophisticated engagement with its referent, which needs to be positioned in relation to other practices, and its wider field of enquiry. To address this issue, findings from the initial investigation are reintroduced in order to conduct a reflective analysis through which the practice – argued as distinctive, and yet related to other visual traditions – exposes the problems that exist in the loosely defined domain of “Art and Science”.Taking the position of the reflective practitioner, the thesis demonstrates how the notion of research is intrinsically embedded in the creative process; therefore the enquiry also argues for the production of artworks as artistic research. Through the formation of a three-fold proposition – a method-practice-discourse – the investigation shows how this body of work can participate in, and question, the dominant dialogues in Art and Science. Furthermore, it serves to revisit the conventional views in the study of visuality by articulating an alternative form of engagement between two otherwise specialist domains. Ultimately, the research presents its proposition as a contribution to knowledge by providing a model for both practitioners and scholars

A Naked Lunch with the Modernists: Painting as Practice

This thesis project intersects between both formal and creative writing styles that explore the potential of the written language to generate and promote material practice. Contextualizing contemporary painting both art historically and opening it up to broader range of influences such as memory systems and creative writing, all help to support my notion of painting as an open thinking model that acts as an oblique reply to both the everyday and art history. The thesis traces the reductive Modernist agenda with a particular focus on Australian art history, Dadaist diagrams and Modernist painting from 1958 to 1965; as an enquiry into the semiotics of gesture and the narrative potential of mark making. Working towards Post Modernism and how this has opened up the creative possibilities of painting now outside a critical and stylistic agenda. Through intersecting existing historical practices with more contemporary painters, I aim to suggest that painting is a practice that frequently looks to the past for answers, which subsequently leads my enquiry into various modes of appropriation Key notions through out the text are painting as a diagram and network, with Cezanne’s technique of ‘Passage shape,’ which I argue has had transitive effect throughout the course of modern art up to more contemporary practices such as Jutta Koether, who enacts the behavioral passage between objects in a range of multidisciplinary crossovers. This leads the enquiry into the transitive potential of animating these passage spaces with the semiotics of gesture and mark making

Daily Eastern News: April 28, 1994

https://thekeep.eiu.edu/den_1994_apr/1020/thumbnail.jp