Sunday, March 1, 2009

You Shouda Been There - Report: the Cleveland Institute of Art Recent Artist's Talks



Last Friday, February 27, CIA’s Lunch on Friday’s Series presented Chadd Lacy a local but noted glass artist (http://www.chaddlacyglass.com/). The series has been lucky to have the support of the glass department this semester with Brent Kee Young (http://www.jsauergallery.com/sagemoon/artistPages/bky_lg.html), the head of the glass program, speaking on February 13. The Cleveland Institute of Art is noted for its glass program, as well as its many other craft-based disciplines. These two artists (Lacy works as the department’s Technical Assistant) make it abundantly clear why the school maintains such a strong reputation.

Young spoke to a full house and gave a talk that allowed rare access into the creative process of a committed glass artist. Through video and still images he step by step revealed the source of his nature-based and fossil inspired forms as well as his technical process for realizing these works. An affable speaker, his generosity of spirit was made clear in his willingness to openly share his methods for achieving the stunning visual effects of his work.

The evening of February 27th also saw Nina Katchadourian speak as Foundation’s Visiting Artist. Nina is a wonderful artist and we were lucky to get her. If you didn’t get to go her talk you should definitely check out her website - http://www.ninakatchadourian.com/

Katchadourian is diverse in her approaches to making working work using installation, photography, video and sound. She has shown internationally including such prestigious venues as PS1/MoMa, Artists Space, and the Palais de Tokyo. In 2006 the Tang Museum in Saratoga Springs presented a 10-year survey of her work and published a monograph titled “All Forms of Attraction.” She is currently represented by Sara Meltzer gallery in New York and Catharine Clark gallery in San Francisco.

On February 20, 2009 Charles Tucker (www.charlestuckerart.com and http://theaestheticcompass.blogspot.com/) and Saul Ostrow took the stage in CIA’s Aitken Auditorium to present “The Rehetorical Model and the Aesthetic Compass: Systems of Research.” This talk was a presentation of their collaborative work begun spring 2008 during their joint residency at the Banff Centre located in Alberta Canada. Well attended, the talk made clear the depth of their own researches. While still in progress, what they have produced are conceptual devices that allow for systems of analysis helping to locate the position a given work is attempting to advance. In other words the device attempts to clarify points of articulation (things one can talk about) in relation to a work and to test the validity of what is said about that work. These systems seek to reconcile qualitative and quantative information.

Ostrow and Tucker will be returning to Banff this spring as organizers of the Analgous Fields residency.

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Watch this space and become friends through facebook with Vac Lane and Lane Cooper for other updates.

Thanks to -- Anna Cottos; Tom Hamilton and Marc Tomko as well as speakers for their assistance with the Lunch on Fridays Lecture Series...

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