Artist Talk: Matilda Moors
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Moors' speech made me question art outside of the gallery spaces: how should art transpire when the possibility for interpretation becomes skewed and limited; also, how much personal elements are required when producing "high" art. The idea of "cuteness" is very apparent in Moors' body of work. Her utilization of cuteness in the context of human experiences or trait are critically intimate yet "socially distant"; in other words, her works reflect the subjects' opioions rather than her own reflective idealization of society. Moors questions the line between desirability and likeability: how are they different and why should they be. To her, the two are like close siblings but opposite in gender: related in blood line but vastly different in societal, personal, biological make up. Moors believes that society plays a large role in constructing desirability of an individual. How an individual is perceived is majorly decided by what society deems as acceptable or wanted. As a result, individuals become frustrated or anxious in a public space. Personally, the idea has helped me a lot in solidifying an already developed idea: revisiting a difficult time of my life to understand what particular "time frame" made me who I am today. Similar yet different from my past series, my current works focus more on confronting than questioning. It has been difficult for me to accept moments of weakness due to my experiences of when I first moved to the US. To a degree, her talk has diffused my self hatred towards times of incompetency and vulnerability. It would also encourage me to dive deeper in subjects that have interested me but didn't commit much time or effort into due to "guilt". I was unsure if the subjects of interest are "worthy" enough for further investigation. In this case, the personification of familiar figures; specifically, rabbit and duck.
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Artist Talk: Paul Noble
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Noble's project "intronum" introduces the idea that shapes are fanatic and have no meanings through an animation of militaristic formation of personalized type that is forever moving. When viewing the piece live, a sense of generalization of text becomes noticeable as time drags on. An individual gets lost in this loop of endless "thoughts" that is timeless, deadly, simple, and graspable. If were to summarize, Noble's entire body questions the relationship between the "animal sense" of human expression and "ways" that society practices to suppress it. Similar to Noble's breakdown of "animal sense" in human, my series "If I were a rabbit" and "Finally a rabbit" dissect societal "demands" on masculinity: be stoic, physical, angry and financially capable. Noble encourages me render experiences on a boarder spectrum: how does the research grow and impact communities, rather than just yourself. Critically speaking, Noble's work defies process of explanation: every answer needs frames of procedure and logical back up. By eliminating the necessity of enrichment intellectually, the individual becomes purely a self "maniac" that is driven by one objective: "express what is on your mind".
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Artist Talk: Manca Banjec
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Banjec's PHD research focuses on the idea of monuments being both a reminder, "reclamation" and "distortion" of significant historical event. The project questions methods of "concluding" historical events in regions that deal with "unresolved" and ongoing conflicts. Banjec hires local artist to sketch site of importance as a form of remembrance and counter movement against developed monuments. Banjec motivates me to "side track" momentarily when analyzing historical events: make logical prediction for future prevention, absorb information "temporarily" to avoid hasty conclusion. I've tried "ignoring" historical evidence briefly in hopes of seeking supports from real life in "Finally a rabbit" series: painting objects of day to day basis, and interacting with fellow artists to gather dialogue of "today". The "monuments" in my series would be my pursuit of idealization of masculinity: what traits specifically define the gender, and the set of consequences an individual faces when disobeys. The "blue rabbit" represents the ongoing and concluded idealization of masculinity- a form that exists to rebel against the "panel of judges" on masculinity in the modern age. On a further note, the blue rabbit embodies the "outcry" from victims of popular culture of this generation: brainwashed, stubborn, capitalistic.