Eva Hesse, Sol Lewitt, Ideas, Great Art, Artists & Stories

I found a wonderful video today on line, concerning a letter from conceptual artist, Sol LeWitt,  which he wrote to his good artist friend, Eva Hesse. It employs a great sense of fun, play, and humour, considering the benefits of giving ourselves permission to have artistic expression, free from boundaries and preconceived notion or preoccupation with, what great art is, and what defines a great artist.

I am not a conceptual artist, though I attended one of the foremost Universities where conceptual art was the modus operandi. That said, I am always fascinated by the idea behind art work and the lives of artists themselves and how their ideas and lives inform their art practice.

One of my young Professors is a story teller and a visual artist. We sat down over the past week and we discussed his experiences with story telling. He serendipitously shared with me his opportunity to take some training with Gioia Timpnellia  who has been called, the Dean of American Story Telling. Gioia told him Eva Hesse was her best friend in art school. My Professor stated that he has also been a great fan of Eva Hesse. I first became a fan of  Eva Hesse,  in my Sculpture and Open Media classes and found her work and life very compelling. Tragically she died far too young
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Back to School !

Holy Crap.

I was up at four a.m. I think I slept a grand total of three hours. I got a drive with my neighbour who dropped me off at the Irving. I picked up a coffee and paid the rude grumpy, girl behind the counter. I ask myself, why to rude people work in the service industry? I say people get another job! I just wish I could get the nerve to say it out loud to them!

I didn't have to wait too long for a ride and a very nice truck driver stopped. He said he'd spent the last 22 years in Israel and was originally from Russia. He said he didn't like the Summer weather all the time in Israel. I thought on that a minute and about prying the icicles from my arse.

Well I have fifteen days within the month left to finish school.

We had our in progress critique today for Open Media and I got some good ideas regarding my final project which involves my late husband's writing and my long hand journals that span from 1972 up to the present. Someone suggested I scan them both. Good idea!

Good thing I got my painting done over the weekend, it's due on Thursday.

On a totally unrelated topic, I hate house work.

There was no need to do any housework at all. After the first four years the dirt doesn't get any worse. ~Quentin Crisp, The Naked Civil Servant, 1968

The Oh Shit Blue Monday Blog

Another Monday, a rather blue one. Not that I have any thing to complain about, I don't.
I'm just wanting to rant. Please bare with me here, I won't be long.
Awakened early, 5 a.m laying in bed like a carp, thinking to myself why can't I just sleep until it's time to get out of bed?
Fact is, I should have gotten up then because by the time my feet hit the floor at 6 a.m the power went out. Dark, cold, no coffee made but looking on the bright side I knew exactly where my underwear was and remaining clothes, I had put out the night previous and I had bought new candles for the next power outage. I may never be organized, but I strive to be prepared, it's a daily struggle sometimes.

Out into the dark morning and it's cold enough to freeze your grannies preserves. I head half way up the road realizing oh s _ _t! I forgot my lunch, and I'm broke! I carry on and pick up a cheap coffee at the Irving (don't get the Hazelnut Vanilla). I gum on my cold banana.

My first class, Open Media, which was very productive for me as I delegate Christian to assist me and I document some more of the ongoing process of the transformation project, which happens to be one of my soft sculpture projects from last term , 2010. It is the knotted rope ladder. I have unraveled it, ( thanks Christian for your help), and now have copious lengths of thinner rope. I may very well unravel that. It's a perfect project for the compulsive obsessive. Pictures will be posted within the next few days the document the transition. I love Open Media, regardless of not having a clue what I'm doing much of the time.

Post Script

Glad to arrive home from school, very hungry I made a bee line to the fridge and being so tired, thought briefly about hittin' the ole fart sack but instead turned on CBC Radio and heard that January 17th is considered to be the most depressing day of the year...really is Blue Monday! I feel so much better!