art diva studios visuals and verbiage by Rachelle Díaz
observations
video/painting/portrait
I was finishing one of the last of the colorbars paintings, working directly from my computer screen. On a whim, I decided to fire up photobooth and shoot a video of me painting (I’m always firing up photobooth on whims!). I was hoping to get the painting on the desk in the frame since I [...]
Mechanically inclined: Cloth Studies
Many times I feel a need to take apart someone else’s art to figure out how it works (but not put it back together), just to satisfy my curiosity. These cloth studies were inspired by Pattie Lee Becker’s Ropes exhibit I saw at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art earlier this month. [...]
Staring At Screens painting #2, and some thoughts on technique/theory vs tips/tricks
Staring at Screens painting #2 (original photo) Acrylic on canvas worked on June-November 2009 An issue of layered solids Although I have a BA in Art with a concentration in painting, I was never taught basic techniques how to wield acrylics or oils. Yet, at as artist, I’m highly skeptical of “tips/tricks/helpful hints.” in art. [...]
Farces and Fabrications
After reading Paul Maliszewski’s Fakers, lately I’ve been wondering about the devices of farce and hoax that visual art can use, which writing (journalism, literature) cannot. In Fakers, Mr. Maliszewski mainly cites examples of written hoaxes, primarily American since the mid-19th century. Yet he doesn’t delve very deeply into the theory as to why these [...]
Equations
I just had my first ever television interview on the local PBS station’s news magazine, Arizona Illustrated. I was really nervous because although I love to talk about art, I tend to clam up when put on the spot, particularly when questioned by “authority” (art institutional types, administrators, posh curators or artists, academics, media), so [...]
Semiotics of Relationships and Memory
I saw Easy Rider (one of my favorite movies for tragicomedy, fashion, weirdo characters, editing, music) in a movie theater last week. This scene stuck with me, I think because of the friends I saw the movie with. I started thinking about relationships, and how it’s not about who are what you are, it’s about [...]
Cindy Sherman Idol
Wind Digital April 2009 If there was ever a Cindy Sherman Idol, I would totally be into that. But really, what’s the point of the self-portrait? I mean, what’s the effing point? Our ancestor artist-shamans painted vales full of game. Historical mythology brought us images of gods, saints/bodhisattvas/hench(wo)men, heaven, hell, the in-between. Then I recall [...]
Post and Re-post
An extremely bastardized title of The Atlantic‘s* “Post and Riposte” section. Oh, well. I’m re-posting this from Tu Scene to here because I feel it’s more in the art-writing vein, which I have guiltily neglected for the past couple of months. (Don’t worry CAG, I didn’t forget about you either, the title was just too [...]
Quality Control: Balance, Part II of II
Part II of an essay on the ingredients of a visual art scene/community in outline, diagram and equation form. Communication – Infrastructure = Expansion Longevity is maintained when artists, institutions and the public have solid infrastructure in the form of spaces and supporting financial and community organizations to ensure a reasonably comfortable existence for the [...]
Quality Control: Communication, Part I of II
An essay on the ingredients of a visual art scene/community in outline, diagram and equation form. Communication + Infrastructure = Longevity I. Communication. How does an artist get oriented in a community? How do we meet each other? How do we find out who is conversing? About what? A. Artist <-> Artist Venues 1. Non-mediated, [...]
Where-houses
This weekend I attended the Central Tucson Gallery Association‘s fall opener, The Big Picture. Unfortunately, we ate dinner a little later than intended so we didn’t actually get down to the warehouse district till about 7, so we only had an hour to look around. Unlike Austin, whose warehouse district consists of, let’s see – [...]
Velvet Rebellion
Prologue 1. Sametová Revoluce. The Velvet Revolution (Czech: sametová revoluce) (November 16- December 29, 1989) refers to a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that saw the overthrow of the Communist government. On November 17, 1989, riot police suppressed a peaceful student demonstration in Prague. That event sparked a series of popular demonstrations from November 19 to [...]
Galveston
Galveston is just about one of my favorite damn places in the world. It’s a place of bizarre beauty, shocking decay, bright colors and nearly all forms of decadence. I’ve been going there for the last 10 years every 4th of July weekend for an extended family reunion at a shorefront hotel. Long-overdue relaxation on [...]
Ft. Worth Foray
As a working stiff, I don’t get no Spring Break, but I took a short one nonetheless. I didn’t take any furloughs during the busy seasons of last spring and fall wound up feeling ruined and depressed by Memorial Day/Christmas. A couple injections of sxsw chaos and a jaunt up to visit family in Cowtown [...]
Fabrotica
I mentioned in my last post that I was going to Katy Heinlein’s show at Women & Their Work, Unknown Pleasures. I wasn’t disappointed. On a compositional/first-impression level, all the pieces were wonderful examples of balanced, yet exciting design: straight lines contrasted with ripples, muted tones and bright, almost neon colors. Then, as I took [...]
The Art of MMVII
Here’s a list of things that caught my eyes this year, besides what I’ve previously written about. This year I seemed to miss all the well-reviewed and hyped shows and catch mainly the “off” shows. I still think the “off” shows were equally valuable experiences. The openings aren’t all crowded and noisy, you get a [...]
Beauty vs Decoration
Revisiting the bird silhouette that was a major element in my 2004 paintings has made me realize how much my experiences over the past 3-4 years have changed my approach to making art. When I first started using the bird silhouette, it was basically a copy of some hipster pop art I saw on Gallery [...]
Historical Correlations
I finally found what I was looking for in Culture and Society in Venice 1470-1790: the connection between the Postmodern and the Post-Renaissance (may be my own coinage). The Counter-Reformation was a conservative backlash against the Humanists and the Protestants in which the Church machine sought to regain control of the people through art, music [...]
What a tangled web I weave
As a graphic designer, I find it easy to nail down a message and visual style for most businesses. The hard part is getting clients to accept my ideas. I usually have to tone it down considerably to accommodate the tastes of less-creative businesspeople. I realize they must know their business model and market in [...]
No Mercy
What I liked about this series was that the women in the images were old, not that attractive, but still dressed nicely and wearing makeup. Yet instead of being contrived anti-models (who are fantasy) these women were very real, gritty. Something rarely seen in advertising. 2003 Acrylic on canvas, 36″ x 48″ $400 Bookmark on [...]
Deja vu all over again
Yesterday I had a long conversation with a good friend and former colleague about financial support for arts organizations. He is the executive director of a non-profit organization that produces many jazz and blues events and runs a small art gallery. I worked with him for 4 years, through rare ups and many very low [...]
Where my ladeez at?
So I’m organizing a multi-media art show at Pump Project Art Complex that incorporates collaborative painting, film/video installations and live music. One of the coolest parts of curating is connecting with and really being impressed by other artists. It’s by far the best way to get to know the processes, techniques, and individuals out there [...]
Can do or can don’t?
I noticed that Coke has very recently launched a redesign of its cans. It’s a much simple 2-color, slightly retro-looking version. The red is a bit less intense, I think, and the sweat water-beads are missing. Can’t find anything about it online, except to say that the new design was originally launched in Japan. I [...]
Sophomore slump?
Some wonder where all the fuss was in the art community was in response to the Texas Biennial. I think we all needed some time for everything to sink in, to watch, wait and see what direction it would go. Although I have no doubt the Biennial will continue to grow and surprise in the [...]