March 09 First Friday Artwalk

Though I was unable to attend the crowded walk down Broad Street, or even make it out the week after the First Friday due to Spring Break. Fortunately Katie Stanton had not attended the art walk either, so we decided to take a nice walk this past Thursday afternoon.

1708: Took a while to get into this gallery due to the struggle of the stuck door, but we finally got in before we walked off. At first I laughed at this art work. I mean... come on. A journal of stuff like eating toast or doing math. But then I thought about it. Some people can make ugly, unimportant art look somewhat enjoyable and entertaining. So I ended up liking its vastness. Moving around the room, we move to an artist whose work is concentrated on found objects and cheap material such as cardboard. I found this to be cool, as it allows us artists to think that something so simple can be used in such a different way. I always like to look for humor in art, and what made me laugh for about 5 years was a cardboard box and inside there was a drawing of a McChicken Nugget crossed with Chewy. I forget what the caption said, but I died.

Quirk: Not really my kind of art style. This artist used fabric as her medium and painted arms and hands, or legs and heels onto these canvases. But one piece I found interesting was the collared shirts with the button down still attached. For some reason I found this visually attractive and interesting.

Visual Art Studio: Upon walking in Katie and I came in contact with the owner's daughter screaming that she wanted more coffee. Must I inform you, this little girl had to be roughly 5 years old. The owner/artists was very nice. She questioned if we were students, and we talked about this course to her. She found that this Sophomore Seminar class to be very helpful and something she wished was there for her when she was in the Painting and Printmaking Department at VCU some years back. She showed us her studio area and all the work of artists she is acquainted with. She explained how when she attended VCU she studied abroad and thought that would be something we should look into in our near future. But now lets talk about the art. Nothing really attractive. There were a few photographs in the back that were not of my liking. Once piece next to the photographs, on the other hand, did strike my interest. It was a digitally printed work of a woman and a man sculpture of the Greek style. They were being struck by arrows while they hang in shame on their crosses. I found this piece to be interesting due to its 3D-ness and the irony of this classic piece on the background of a modern city.

Anywho. Saw some good stuff, and I saw some bad.