Thursday, December 21, 2006

I have left New York and was not able to meet with Tim Tomkinson. My hopes took a hard crash, but I don't think they are permanently damaged. In our correspondence, though brief, he did allude to the fact that he was very busy.....
"up to my eyeballs" I think was the exact term. I was busy myself. Margo came and spent about 5 days with me in the big apple, and it was splendid. Every day was full, and I have viewed so much art this last week that my visual art quota is more than filled, actually overflowing, for the present time. The weather was nice for her visit, not nearly as cold as I initially anticipated, which made all of the walking we did enjoyable.

I am not able to sleep right now, jet lag is kicking in, and I was just awoken with a dream about NYCAMS and professor Romaine telling me that my final paper, which I thought somewhat brillant, deserved a C, because I had not provided a thesis statement and had midway through the paper stopped writing about de Kooning and started writing about how Joseph Bueys was crazy (which is true).

Now I am in my room at my parent's house. I had forgotten how fantastic my bed is, but unfortunately it is almost too soft...I have been sleeping on a brick this whole semester. It is good to be home, but I may have left a part of my heart in New York.

Friday, December 08, 2006

NYCAMS, Fall 06


A group photo right before our Index Show opening. More pictures to come...

Dia: Beacon



Last Friday our class took a trip to the Dia center in Beacon, NY. The space is amazing. It was once a Nabisco factory that was renovated and now has a large art collection. It was a beautiful train ride as well, and we even passed the ruins of a castle on this island on the Hudson. The weather was warm and humid, but it was such a gray and misty day. The clouds rolled low over the water, and the bare, brown trees crowded around the banks. It was a day that was taken straight out of Wuthering Heights. I'm fairly confident that Bronte could have written her best stuff on a day like that. You half expect some tragic or romantic event to take place. Upstate New York was everything I had hoped it would be and more...and that was just the scenery. Inside the center, I saw Sol Lewitt drawings that would make you cry, Richard Serra's torqued elipses, and Joseph Bueys felt stacks, just to name a few.

And it Breaks my Heart...

My face is about to freeze off.

Rachel and I are debating what is better, winter hair, or summer hair. I make the argument for winter hair. In the winter, your cheeks get rosy and your hair may be tossed about, but it still retains some volume. Rachel hates winter hair. She gets static. She likes summer "because its not as frizzy and dry."

This is a completely nonsensical post.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

I'm Such a Stalker...

For the past two years, I have more or less idolized the work of illustrator Tim Tomkinson (www.timtomkinson.com). He is a phenomenal draftsman, and I really like his aesthetic. About two weeks ago I discovered that he lives in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, which is a neighbor to Brooklyn Heights, where I live. I sent him an e-mail and for the most part said, "Tim, I love your work, big fan here. Wanna meet up, you know, discuss art and grad school recommendations?" and after a week of anxiously waiting, I get a reply saying, "Hey Lauren, thanks for the interest, really flattered. Let's meet up, I'm really busy lately, but seeing as you are such a big fan, and are probably a really fantastic person, I'll invite you to my studio." And though this really happened, the dialogue was slightly more professional.
So I am of course, ecstatic right now, and i have already been making a list of quesions, you bet. But for those of you who are thinking, "woa, lauren, don't seem too excited, and don't ask too many questions..just play it cool," you have no need to worry, because if I have learned anything this past year, its to always act casual when meeting really fantastic people.

These are a few images from Tim's website. Check it out!

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

The artist is a philosopher who attempts to create imagery/environment that speaks of the human condition.

Musing on Rothko and Richard Serra.....

I felt the need to post these drawings. Not that they are amazing, but mainly because I worked on many for fashion week and most of them were never seen. I haven't been able to post any Thanksgiving pictures yet, but I will soon.

It is now down to the last week and a half, and among final projects I have 4 papers to write, I need to pack, and it is time to start shipping art and all of my supplies back down to California.