new art

Also very, VERY exciting is the new piece of art added to my little collection of other ppl's art made by my friend and studio-mate, Mark (who is an awesome-awesome guy who does awesome-awesome work: http://portfolio.colum.edu/markmoleski/work). (we traded art - he got "The Big D" http://projectsilkworm.blogspot.com/2010/05/022-big-d.html) i'm so excited about it for SOOOOO many reasons i can go on and on... i'll just show. Here's the piece:






















oh, here are some of the pieces i managed to "snag" in the last couple of years:


(Vera Berdich, whose work started me on the whole printing obsession - if only i could take a time machine back to take her class!)







(Robert Lebron - it's Paris - and it's a pair, with New York - and i wish i had his skill with the palette knife)













(if anyone knows who made this print, even if it's an educated guess - PLEASE let me know! i fell in love with it and the price of under $30 was totally right :P)












okay, so here's a preview of the last 25 of the 108 - the series is called "Sugarpill". will explain later. stay warm!!

Seven in 3434

Another thing i worked on during this time "away" was to learn how to string a bunch of jpegs together to make a wmv file. really, i'm not sure why, but it's somehow not as simple as it should be. i am happy tho, with the 1st piece i finished, which was submitted to the UICA (www.UICA.org).

(Thank you, Betsy, for showing me the secret of CS2 animation! I look forward to making more vids!)

it's also about Mary and Guanyin. In fact, have I mentioned how I got "stuck" on this discourse? This statement on the video piece explains it:

“Seven in 3434” resulted from my investigation of the similarities and cultural significance and practices of Catholic Marian devotion and Buddhist worship of the Goddess of Mercy. The examination began several years ago, after sorting through my grandmother's belonging for cremation. Then, it was a personal spiritual exercise to reconcile the religion (Catholicism) in which I was brought up and the lifelong devotion (Buddhism) of the woman who raised me. Gradually, the concepts behind my art expanded and circled back to discourse and themes of tradition, femininity and of seeking meaning.

“Seven” represents the seven Stations in the Via Matris Dolorosa, a Lenten devotional practice from the Middle Age initiated by the Servites - seven Italian friars who devoted their lives as Servants of Mary. 3434 are the number of words copied from the liturgical service, which included seven Hail Mary’s and seven gospel passages. The duration of the piece is just over seven minutes.

While visiting Buddhist temples, I heard recorded loops of chanted prayers. They reminded me of perpetual novenas. While Guanyin is about hearing the suffering of the world, perhaps because of the miraculous tears from the eyes of statues and icons, to me, Mary is about seeing. One of the words repeated in the 3434 frames is “misericordia”, which is translated as “loving-kindness”. In Buddhism, it is “Mettā”. The practice of good will, kindness and benevolence towards oneself, one’s loved ones, strangers, enemies and all sentient beings can even be exercised in solitary silence. One Stanford University study suggests that a 7 minute loving-kindness meditation can increase social connectedness.

In essence, “Seven in 3434” also corresponds with my goal to instigate both external and internal change through my work. The digital and time-based nature of this piece is in harmony with my sustainable studio practice.

Here's the final draft of the vid:



copyright 2011, Alexandra Lee (ATYL)

wow December already?!?!?

ok, so i have NOT been slacking off during this time, i promise! just busy busy making art and working as many hours as possible. in between this time, i restocked my art-o-mat (www.artomat.org) bin with the next 150 pieces of the 3x1000 series (devoted to the goddess of mercy - one of her incarnations has 1000 hands). here are some samples:





and the Works on Paper Residency has been extended for another 6 months - THANKS CAC (www.chicagoartistscoalition.org) for making it happen and MMPI (www.mmart.com) for its generosity!

plus, i did finish the 108 goal for the last 6-month - just need to "process" the photos of the last 25-piece series and post them! (yes, there is progress!)

the goal for the remaining time at the studio is to finish 4 series. i've started on 3 of them already. and hopefully this weekend, i'll have time to get the 4th ready to roll. first, we'll have to see how long i spend this coming Sat at the car guy's place to get the dead battery replaced (i think the 7F weather finally killed it). plus, x'mas is coming on like a freight train! what's up with that???

080 pc15 life

Yeah, this is a little out of order in posting, but somehow I liked ending the series in the blog here with "Life" instead of "Dream".

The childhood song just popped in my head. I disagree that life is but a dream, that our actions - our efforts in perfecting the rowing of the boat and be happy while doing it - are meaningless in the grander scheme. Maybe it is up to each individual to transcend that dreamlike, boundaried (stream) life into a worthwhile reality...

079 pc21 dream

078 pc20 see

077 pc19 heap

076 pc18 flowers

075 pc17 sunshine

074 pc16 nowhere

073 pc14 stanza

072 pc13 paramita

Pāramitā. The Lotus Sutra named 6 perfections:
1.Dāna pāramitā: generosity, the giving of oneself
2.Śīla pāramitā : virtue, discipline, proper conduct
3.Kṣānti (kshanti) pāramitā : patience, tolerance, forbearance, acceptance, endurance
4.Vīrya pāramitā : energy, diligence, effort
5.Dhyāna pāramitā : concentration, contemplation
6.Prajñā pāramitā : wisdom

Through these perfection of wisdoms, we're to transcend from our egocentric behaviour... hm...

071 pc12 lands

The word here is out of context vis a vis The Diamond Sutra, but it reminds me of "Pure Land", the sect of Mahayana Buddhism that one would reach liberation, awakening, salvation and the Pure Land of Bliss (Sukhavati; 净土) through prayers and devotion to the Amitabha, instead of solitary meditative work. It's interesting, as that seems contrary to the Buddhist tradition that there's a supreme being as world creator and adjudicator of humanity's fate.

Sometimes, despite myself, I find rules and regulations (and logia) grounding...

070 pc11 samadhi

Samādhi or 三摩地. It's one of the traditional Buddhist practices of meditation, the 8th and highest level of the Yoga Sutra, it's a "state" where joy and happiness disappear, where only extreme peace exists in the heart... At least that's my unenlightened understanding of the term.

One of my oldest and dearest friends is on a similar yet very different journey with our religious and artistic directions. I think it's interesting, the way she spends time in retreats and monasteries, and meditates. I think it would drive me bonkers to be so confined, and live with such strict rules. (Sometimes I think my id asserts itself via jaywalking and taking photographs in temples with 'no photography' signs ((Come on, I'm sure the gods and bodhisattvas don't mind/care.))) Despite my friend's attempts, I don't think I'll ever get the hang of traditional meditation. That said, the 'how to' on meditation seems to be about working to control the mind and release the self. It seems that I can do that and do that easily during the creative process. According to the literature, in the highest transcendent state of consciousness, nothing but pure awareness remains and nothing detracts from wholeness and perfection. Isn't that kinda like a "creative zone"?

069 pc10 fruit

#10 here. 11 more for the series and 3 more for the month (for the 18 pieces/mo. minimum I'd given myself for the CAC Works on Paper Residency.)

This week tho, I'm hoping to wrap up the next shipment of 150 for Art-o-Mat...

068 pc09 stream

The last pigment in this series is the ash of burnt sandalwood incense, which, applied in different numbers of layers form the various shades of grey.

Sandalwood is considered a sacred tree, incense made from same is used in religious rituals and worships. It is believed to transform one's desires and bring one closer to the divine. In Catholicism, it typifies prayers "enkindled in the heart by the fire of God's love."

Everyday, in the morning and in the evening, before breakfast and dinner, for as long as I could remember, my grandmother burnt incense for the bodhisattvas and the ancestors, and prayed to the Goddess of Mercy. After my grandmother's death, my mother and I took over the practice of honoring the gods and ancestors with incense. I've been saving the ash of the incense I burnt ever since.

067 pc08 dharma

Dharma. It is the teachings of Buddha. It's supposed to be the ultimate truth, the ways things really are, the source of lasting happiness. In Hinduism, it's supposed to embody one's righteous duty, morality and law. It's similar to logos (λόγος : I just like the way the word looks :P) in Christianity: the word of god.

It's such a heavy word, I feel / fear.

And confusing.

066 pc07 500

The rabbit on the moon used its mortar and pestle to make the pill of eternal life - it was a task it was assigned as its reward for sacrificing itself for another (a higher purpose, considering the old man was a spiritual teacher).

One of the main ingredients for the ancient alchemists in elixir for immortality is cinnabar. The mineral (zhūshā 朱砂, HgS - common ore for mercury) is used in traditional Chinese medicine despite its toxicity. It was also the pigment used in vermillion / China Red paint.

Synonymous with transformation and longevity, the mercuric sulfide's red colour also represents the fire of transformation from illusion to wisdom in Buddhism. Cinnabar from Phoenix County (凤凰镇), Hunan, China is the pigment used in this series.

065 pc06 merits

In Chinese Taoist sacred beliefs are talismans called "Fu" (符), drawn with words strangely put together and supposedly in closely-guarded secret ways, incorporating mantras, mudras (hand gestures), rituals, and invocation. Each talisman's power is different and can be used to manifest psychic or spiritual energy. The charm empowers its holder, its magic transforms the various energies and his/her mental state.

The archetype for this series then is the sorceress, the mystic, the witch, with the herbal and natural ingredients and her focus and energies she is making charms, for wisdom, intending to transform darkness to light.

064 pc05 form

For the "form" of the images in this series, I drew from the architectural drawing / drafting classes I took in undergrad. It's good to know I haven't lost that level of patience and care (or the mathematic abilities), with the rushing and going and always moving forward with the hurry-hurry of life. The geometric / scientific-looking drawings reflect my belief in the correlation between spirituality and science.

063 pc04 eggs

Cinnamon is also the tree on the moon, under which the Moon Rabbit lived. Wu Gang, who angered the gods for his insincere / loosey goosey pursuit of enlightenment, was banished to the moon to chop down the tree. He was told that when the tree fell, he would attain what his sought. It was a sisyphean task. It is believed that every autumn, the flower buds of the tree would fall from the moon, filling earth with its fragrance, and its leaves represent all that is good and wonderful.

The brown pigment in this series is cinnamon. The spice symbolises spirituality, healing, protection and love. Plus, according to legend, the phoenix collects cinnamon twigs for her nest, and when the time comes , the nest is set affire with her. Out of the ashes a new phoenix is reborn.

061 pc03 subdued

"PC" in the numbering stands for "Piel Canela", the title of the series. It is also the name of popular Mexican love song - a song I often heard in my neighborhood when the residents were predominantly hispanic (mixed in with old Polish; before gentrification).

Que se quede el infinito sin estrellas (let the universe be without stars)
O que pierda el ancho mar su inmensidad (or let the big sea lose its immensity)
Pero el negro de tus ojos que no muera (but the black of your eyes, let it not die)
Y el canela de tu piel se quede igual (and the cinnamon of your skin remain the same)

Si perdiera el arco iris su belleza (may the rainbow lose its beauty)
Y las flores su perfume y su color (and the flowers its perfume and color)
No seria tan inmensa mi tristeza (my sorrow wouldn't be as immense)
Como aquella de quedarme sin tu amor (as that of losing your love)

[...]

The song had been playing over and over in my head, and after I looked up the lyrics and the translation, I knew why. The stars, the sea, the flowers, the rainbow, they are all symbols of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and it fits well with the Mary/Guanyin motif of this work.

061 pc02 tathagata

Tathāgata - a word in in Pali and Sanskrit (Chin.: 如来) is the name Buddha used when referring to himself. Literally, it means Tathā-gata (one who has gone) and Tathā-āgata (one who has come). So, the Tathagata is beyond all coming and going. i.e. one who has transcended the human endless cycle of rebirth, beyond all death and dying, and beyond all suffering.

The Diamond Sutra (Sanskrit: Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra; Chin.: 金剛般若波羅蜜多經, or 金剛經) was presented as a conversation between Buddha and his disciple, teaching him to unlearn his preconceived, limited notions of reality, in order to reach enlightenment.

This is supposed to be one of the shorter sutras, and simpler to understand. For someone more enlightened than I, it seems. Because of the nature of the materials used, I basically have to think about every stroke I put down because nothing is correctable. (Graphite doesn't erase well on rough water color paper, the thin layers of acrylic dry almost instantly.) Kind of like life / choices... The process, however, does lend itself to "emptying" and "centering" of thoughts and heart in a way.

The paper used in this series is Arches 300lb Cold Press 12x16 Block. Matte, glossy, and combination acrylic medium / gel are used as binders for the pigments.

060 pc01 world

the works on paper continue. the inspiration for this new series came directly from a dream, in which i was like the rabbit on the moon, grinding the different pigments with pestle and mortar...

the words, drawn in graphite, are taken from a translation of the Diamond Sutra, a buddhist scripture of "perfection of wisdom", with carbon being the strongest, natural substance we have.

Here's the 1st piece of the series. More on the process and materials etc in later posts.

party favors 1 - 18 (recap)

so the pieces are all together. each is approx 4"x6", mixed media on watercolor paper.

I was looking at the thumbnails of all the pieces I've completed so far at the residency; and in the same folder, they appeared less schizophrenic as I had originally thought. Aside from the driving concepts, there's something about them that make them recognizably mine, I think. That reminded me of something one of my independent studies instructors (Paul Hinchcliff, painting) at the Art Institute had said: don't make everything look alike, make them uniquely yours.

I miss Paul. And Lynn Koons (indep writing), too...

057 - 059 pf16 - pf18

pf16


pf17


pf18

054 - 056 pf13 - pf15

pf13


pf14


pf15

051 - 053 pf10 - pf12

pf10


pf11


pf12

048 - 050 pf7 - pf9

pf7


pf8


pf9

045 - 047 pf4 - pf6

pf4


pf5


pf6

044 pf3

043 pf2

042 pf1

For this series, "Party Favors" the archetype is "The Barbie".

041 90 million

"Falling 90 million miles".

040 eyes no see

"L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." The fox's secret, from "The Little Prince": it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.

If I were allowed only one book, I think Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry would be it.