Happy Halloween

Having a Halloween party this weekend complete with Halloween shaped jello shots and mini pigs in a blanket. I am super excited. This is all part of my goal to be more social. Also, the room mate and I don't want to leave the house but instead have the party come to us. We are, however, going to two parties Friday night, so I think I'm doing a really good job of being social.

Speaking of the room mate, bonding time is going quite well and things are going swimmingly. Definitely feeling good about the move and much less nervous about messing things up.

Still missing John but we have been talking a lot and he seems to be succeeding now that he's gone from Syracuse. Not sure if I should feel good about this or bad (since he couldn't get his shit together when he was here with me), but I'm just really proud of him since he's actually making money as a freelance writer.

Glee!

Glee is my new obsession. I cannot miss an episode. And now that

they are on hiatus until November, I'm not sure what I'm going to do for

entertainment. The music is amazing and these kids are just so

talented. I'm also in love with Mr. Shue.

This is a cover of Queen's "Somebody to Love." Another great song

choice and Lea Michelle really shines.

Rene Magritte, The Lovers

This is my favorite work by Magritte. As a surrealist painter, he creates images that are born from the subconscious or a dream world. His works tend to be ambiguous in their intended meaning. I argue that this work is about the loss of identity when one is in love. The identity of these figures is hidden by the sheets that cover their faces as they embrace and kiss. When one falls in love he/she becomes consumed by it and loses his/her autonomy in the process. Love was very important to the Surrealists who felt that desire was an avenue into revealing the subconscious.

So Far From Me

I realize that Brett Dennen is the only musician that I've posted on this blog, but there is something about his music that really inspires me to post it. He really captures my feelings at certain points in my life. I

think the meaning of this one is obvious so I'll leave it at that.

Lynda Benglis, For Carl Andre

Another Postminimalist work from the 1970. Benglis created this piece using foam which becomes known as her signature material. I think there is something really powerful and compelling about this piece in the way that it looks organic and bodily. I'm not sure if the title is serious or ironic since she mentions the well known Minimalist sculptor Carl Andre. Benglis was also very active in the women's movement and promoting feminism through her politically charged works.

Moving On Up

That's right; I'm moving out of my current place and into a new apartment closer to campus with Jessi. I'm excited/nervous. It's been a while since I've lived with someone so I'm nervous about getting along/not getting along. But I am excited about living with Jessi, who is cool and fun. Currently working on packing up my apartment which is a bitch.

Jackie Winsor, Bound Grid

This is the new artist that I'm working on for my Postminimalism class. Her body of work as a whole has a variety of different kinds of sculpture, but her bound objects are the ones that I'm most drawn to. Her works, like most Postminimalist works, use unconventional materials and transform the values of Minimalism to create works that are more expressive. This work has a great sense of potential energy from the use of sticks, which were once alive, and the areas of bound twine that represent the artist's obsessive labor. Her works also make apparent the artist's hand which contradicts the cool and detached works of the Minimalist. The scale of the pieces is huge at about 7x7 ft in order to relate to human beings.

I'm trying to play up the environmental movement in my paper because of her use of natural materials; I'll let you know how it goes.

Winter Descending

John left last week to go to Sunny Florida. As soon as he left, Syracuse got really cold. Coincidence?

I've been sad since he's gone. I actually enjoyed living with him more than I thought I would. We coexisted quite nicely and got to spend quality time together before he left. It was really wonderful having him here and I liked feeling like I was part of a couple. Although we've been 'involved' for over two years now, because of the distance I've never felt like we were a couple before. And I love the feeling of being with someone. I liked having someone to come home to. And specifically, having him to come home to.

I do think that maybe things will work out some day for us. I'm definitely not ready to give up at this point, even though now he's far away again...

Taweret

This is my potential object of research for my Egyptian art class. Taweret is the Egyptian goddess of pregnancy and childbirth. Part human, hippo, lion and crocodile. Thus far, I know no more than that. But I'm definitely intrigued by this goddess.

Also, some new developments since I last posted (over a month ago). In the next couple of days I plan to give a full update on personal life and will be putting up the new art that I'm into.