A Public Character Shannon Ebner Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami

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Shannon Ebner's substantial and borderline overwhelming amount of "A's" managed to work well with the intimacy-inducing black and white she chose to portray her pictures with. The space is quiet and you feel very engaged with the A's. For me, there's a sense of familiarity and childhood because of the letter being "A," I am vaguely reminded of how significant the letter "A" was for me (my name beginning with an A, "A for Ashley," "A for Apple," alphabet boards, "A" as a letter grade and all the positivity and praise that would come with it). I thought her approach of finding the different "A's" was quirky and almost innocent, reminiscent of the childhood associations I had with the "A's" specifically. This doesn't make the collection childish, however, it adds a sense of wonder and a willingness to explore.

Rubell Collection Response

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The Rubell Family Collection is presenting an exhibition that features all female artists. This concept for the exhibition is not only empowering but inspiring as a female artist myself. This collection was very successful at having an extensive amount of work in a space without it being overwhelming. Fortunately with this, there were quite a few pieces that I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated. Jenny Holzer's "Truisms," reigns in as one of my favorites. It features sayings and claims that offer retrospective way on viewing the world and how the world is viewed. Of course, with it's bench-like shape, initial thoughts were that it was a bench you could sit on, and metaphorically speaking, this piece does offer a way to support someone through the knowledge it entails.

Steven and William Ladd: Mary Queen of the Universe

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"Pink Cadillac's" stark and seemingly "adorable" pink is what essentially drew me to this piece. Pink being a color of femininity and little girls, the title is seemingly fit for a princess. The meticulously crafted set of boxes(in rows of 4x6) each seem to provoke very strong emotions and memories within the viewer, similarly to the memories that were used as inspiration for the separate pieces in the series itself. The idea of incorporating these memories into a box is very reminiscent of JOSEPH Cornell and his shadow boxes. However, "Pink Cadillac" and the other pieces in this series maintain a more cheerful, childhood -based demeanor. 

CIFO Response

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The Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO) presented a solo exhibition by Gustavo Pérez Monzón at the CIFO Art Space in Miami, the artist’s first solo exhibition in the United States. Initially, the gallery seemed overwhelming, primarily because of the amount of people. However, in the more subdued areas of the gallery, where the walls were painted an olive grey color, I found enough solace to actually appreciate the framed works. These paintings are full of expression and muted colors, opposite ideas and functions literally complimenting each other to create these pieces. 

Margulies collection

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The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse is a non-profit institution located in a 45,000 square foot retro-fitted warehouse in the Wynwood Arts District of Miami. My piece is a reflection of the three rocks shown at the entrance of the gallery, by Michael Heizer, called "Elevated, Surface, Depressed." His pieces play with perception and the idea of art coming from the earth/land. In my piece, I chose to reflect my job through form and material. The company I work for takes pride in their use of organic and recycled material in everything they manufacture, so I wanted to use the "throwaways" as representatives of objects that have potential to be manipulated just like other products that have been produced. Being in grass is representative of garbages and landfills, relating to things from the earth decomposing to be recycled again. However, through this singular object, I feel it emphasizes the potential of these materials. 

 

#prayforposter

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Massimo Vignelli's graphic design work contains elements that are bold, tact and simple. Being a graphic design major myself, I understand his approach in maintaining cohesiveness through a straightforward approach. I wanted to recreate this in a poster that reflects current events in a borderline capitalistic way. 

Freedom Tower Response – Robert Huff

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Essentially, Huff’s use of the mixture of found objects in an almost borderline "collage" type combination creates an engaging composition for the viewer. There are resting spaces for the viewers eye, as well as an enchanting area full of detail. Huff integrates his architectural background and forms with a subdued and calming "fragmented" collage.

"Nick Gilmore: Paper Pavement"

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For this exhibition, Gilmore states that he tells a story of "the history and the future." Three prints of a manhole onto paper allude to the story of the process of industrialization. These "prints" carry a "silent beauty," being the paper is white and the embossed print of the manhole being not fully rendered on the paper, the viewer is provided with a sense of what once "was," "can be" and "will be." It is almost as if the embossing is a suggestion.

Project #3 - Line

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The hair industry is exactly what it claims to be:  an industry, a business. Its goal is essentially to sell, make money. Hair, like a lot of other products in the world is naturally made and grown by humans- literally.  African Americans are the main consumers in the hair industry. Coincidentally, African Americans have the most diverse and manipulative hair type out of all ethnic groups.

With this piece, I stuffed two pieces of fabric with different type of hair: synthetic, braided, and human hair. I sewed the two stuffed pieces shut; the separate pieces now resemble “bundles,” unprocessed, “virgin” hair ready to be used as extensions and placed on the head.


In terms of line itself, I was inspired by African Americans’ hair being able to be a line that takes on the shape of other shapes (coils, corkscrews, O’s, Z’s, etc) despite it naturally being a line (when pulled). I wanted to show how African Americans and the hair industry are intertwined tightly, knotted and sewn together, much like our durability and strength in all we've accomplished.

The Poetics of Place

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I work in a warehouse for a Brazilian leggings company. I work here everyday. I am in here everyday. I feel like I'm here more than I am home and although I am not pleased with the actuality, it's become second nature.

The setting is much like the real world; a college students metaphorical "dive," so to speak.Watching, observing, reacting when the time is right. Everyone in this office speaks a different language as their first. Therefore, English is barely spoken in the office itself. Portuguese is the primary tongue. Not understanding what is happening around you, trusting your instincts to do what the right thing. Being less experienced than those around you.

Today I've found that I have started to make out actual sentences and that the language is no longer incoherent babble. I'm a listener and I don't say much unless asked. I do my work, help others, then go home. This repeats everyday. Every week, every month.

This is the same for the "real world."

A haiku:

I constantly think,
One day I will be boss.
"Ashley, please help me."







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