{blog entry 3} place

Do we define a place or does a place define us? I believe it is a bit of both.
Each one of us makes our enviorment our own somehow. Whether we decorate our rooms, or we leave debris of our life around, we are creating a space which resembles us. It is also a space that makes us. We can be transformed by a place that lies deep within a city, we can grow amongst a forest. Our enviorment has a tremendous effect on who we are. And an artist has the ability to become their place, and to tell its story.

Richard Serra [installation artist] He create these round rooms composed of steel. He begins with models, working from the inside out. Serra is concerned about the elements and how they work together; so that they have continual movement, even if his creation is still. He pushes to create the illusion that the steel is being stretched. With his ability to manipulate the material, he fools the viewer into seeing something that is massive as something that is weightless. His works deal with the coordination of hand and eye, enabling him to "see" the eye as a muscle; and if continually used one will learn how to better see.

Sally Mann [photographer] "If it does not have ambiguity, it is not worth taking." Sally Mann is a photographer who sees art as fun. To Mann there is no need to conceptualize every bit of art, simply take photographs because they are an expression of beauty. Photo taking is Manns bible. She says that even though she is involved in the process of photography, the final image is a work of its own.

Margret Kiliggan & McGee [painters/ graffitti artist] Killiggan has a fascination with things that are hand made, showing peoples hands in the world. She is inspired by folk art and incorporates collected imagery into her own art. She is a typographist, and printmaker who has a love for flat and graphic imagery.
McGee has a passion for graffitti, he says that the public views graffitti as garabage, but to him it is art. Graffitti on trains are all about folklore. He feels that the more he does commishioned work he looses touch with the world around him, so he continues to contribute to the graffitti culture. He says that if your art work is outdoors it is open for anyone to lokk at, and that the insid world is getting smaller and smaller.
When I was young I had certain emotions with differant places. My basement at night was scarry. My parents room was calming. My cottage was adventure. My garage was intoxication. My room was my sanctuary.
My room was my favorite place to be. It was in the attic of my parents home, and it was filled with art and my treasure artifacts. I decorated every square in of that place; it was a collage, a working art piece. My bed was at the center of the room against a chimney. My sheets, blankets and pillows were in shades of blue; a net draped around my bed. I had a guitar hanging from my ceiling.I also had a retro green and yellow couch, "complimented" by a shockingly orange stuffed chair. My record player and stereo also made up a big portion of the space. The lighting in my room was very unique. There was not much light because there were no windows, but i created myself a city of lights by twisting hundreds of Christmas lights around the wooden support beams. I loved to squint my eyes, because it would look like Paris at night. My room was romantic, imaginative, and a forest of art. It was my sanctuary.