Ryan Turley Contrasts Light, Minister of Art? and the Creative Class
Posted on 25 April 2012
“This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” ~ Winston Churchill
Some Sculpture Park Scoop: Nam’s sculpture is moving in different directions, Jesse is beating out volumes, Josh’s sculpture has made its first un-supported vertical stand, Sophie is placing color and making ‘head’ way, Carissa is headed to Albany in the fall!, trees are being moved, I have some beautiful red cable (thanks Tory!!!), the poetry studio has another cantilever- it’s periwinkle…. and the stairway got some slats, John and Nam moved stones with the crane, Alex has a ship headed to the park (seriously), the fire pit has been burning brightly, Ryan is working inside on prisms (more info below), there was an alligator sighting in a taxidermy shop while Alex was checking in about ground squirrels, rainy adventures took some of the artists on a very fishy trip down by the river and SO so SO so much more!!!
Ryan Turley is Bending Light- Jerome Fellowship artist Ryan Turley is hard at work in the inside studio up at the sculpture park. His sculpture is unlike anything that we have had up at the park before. He describes his future sculpture: “As you approach the field you will notice in the distance atop one of the many lush green lawns an explosion of coloured light. Make your way closer to this spectral mirage and you will notice that you are entering a large field of triangular prisms the size of grave markers. There are hundreds of these glowing prisms lined up like soldiers in marching formation.” He continues, “The hard-edged prisms projecting these intertwining rainbows are expressing sombreness, as they appear to be acting as memorial markers yet they are celebratory with brilliant light.” I can only imagine contrasting images when it is installed. Ryan’s prisms are made of clear resin and are lined with holographic diffraction film which will be lit with natural sunlight by day. Ryan says that “It is important for viewers to encounter this installation in the outdoors as one would a cemetery or as you would experience a rainbow in nature. My goal is to inspire wonder and excitement while emoting a serious tone of memorial and mourning. I aim to provide access to difficult subject matter through elements of beauty and familiarity. This piece for me furthers my need to explore ideas that relate to sexuality, death, and dualities like good versus evil and happy and sad.” This is going to be exciting to see. He plans on finishing up around mid May. After he finishes installing his piece in the park, you’ll have to come and experience it for yourself.
A National Secretary of the Arts? Should the United States have a national Secretary of the Arts like several other countries? I read Jennifer Rivera’s blog post about Arts in America and her answer to this question is- “YES!! Of course we need a Secretary of Culture or a Secretary of Arts or even an Undersecretary of Anti Reality TV! We need somebody to run naked, wearing nothing but a hat made out of ketchup bottles, up and down the aisles of the televised Grammy awards screaming, ‘WE NEED MORE CULTURE IN THIS COUNTRY -AND I DON’T MEAN NICKI MINAJ DRESSING IN RELIGIOUS ROBES AND PRETENDING TO LEVITIATE!!!’ (If you don’t know what I’m talking about check YouTube — it totally freaked me out, and made me feel about 150 years old when I saw it on TV). But realistically, are we ever going to get one? And the answer to that, I fear, is, probably not.” What do you think? Do you think that art and artists should become better ambassadors of their own work? Thomas Vannatter recently shared this article about how taxpayers are willing to bail out Wall Street but ‘creatives’ continue to struggle to make ends meet. Scott Timberg writes, “More typical than a celebrity artist feasting on enormous grants, he says, is someone like Morton Lauridsen, who is now one of the most performed living composers – after decades of scraping by, teaching and writing choral works. Or a writer like Kay Ryan, who, until becoming U.S. poet laureate in 2008 was known to only a small few. ‘She never applied for a grant, never taught writing,’ Gioia says. ‘She taught remedial reading at a community college.’ I often create art without the hope of being able to be fairly compensated for my time. Should I? If my artwork is of a nature that it isn’t easily marketable should I? I often find myself creating art out of other people’s generosity which supplements my work income. I encourage feedback from you about this topic… I’d like to know what your take is.
-aRe Verse: The first poem is mine. The second is written by Raina Wirta. The third poem is by Jesse Bercowetz. Thanks Jesse! and Raina!
The Creative Class- A few years ago I worked for a store that ‘catered to the creative class.’ What does that mean? Apparently the creative class can be subdivided into two groups and these are… From Wikipedia: the Super- Creative Core and the Creative Professionals. The social scientist Richard Florida finds that the Super-Creative Core are creative innovative problem finders and solvers. He describes Creative Professionals as people who draw on academics to solve more specific problems. Do you fit into either of these groups?
The poetry studio is getting more and more colorful. I think it is humorous when someone says “did you just add that” after I have painted something that has been there forever. Color changes the way you see things. I hope to put some cable up for my roof this coming weekend. I need to stop and get a load of cable clamps. This has been a busy week for me. Argh. Friday is so soon. When I consider a life lacking all art- I see a world without me in it.
What was your favorite storybook when you were growing up? I loved it when my parents read to me. I think that is one of the reasons my imagination is so … shall we say… developed?! I encourage you to read to your kids. I remember very fondly of when my dad read me The Hobbit. I can hear him saying in his very best Gollum voice, “my… precious s s.”
Franconia Sculpture Park- where sculpture meets sky, deuces are wild and we supersede catering to the creative class.
Start Seeing Sculpture- over and out
Bridget Beck
http://bridgetbecksculpture.com/
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