The New Jersey Pine Barrens near Whitesbog Village, September 2019
It’s been a busy and productive year, with a lot of professional experiences that were good for my soul. I created art works for two exhibitions, one in Chicago and another in Philly, and in the summer I was asked to be a visiting artist instructor at the University City Arts League (UCAL). The visiting artist gig ended up being extremely rewarding, as I worked with three classes of kids aged 6-12 for one day during their weeklong lesson on abstraction in art. I was asked to develop a project for the kids to work on, and I spent some time working through ideas in my head that were similar to abstraction assignments I received as a kid: maybe painting on paper, maybe cut shapes on paper, maybe something with cardboard, all pretty tame and small scale. In the end, I decided to throw all of that out the window and give the kids an assignment that was way more ambitious. And man, did those kids deliver.
I put together a short Powerpoint with images on famous abstract artists, quickly going over concepts like color, line, and installation. And then we gave them a large expanse of taped off wall with brown paper on the floor and basically told them to go to town. Their project was to create a large-scale immersive abstract installation, with all three classes collaborating on the same one. And really, I can’t emphasize enough how impressed I was with their project. They weren’t timid, they did not hold back, and the piece they created was strong enough to hold its own. Everyone who came into the room wanted to examine it, get close to it, and add to it. I was so happy to give the kids an opportunity to paint and draw on walls, which they’re usually not allowed to do, and they left the experience knowing what an installation is, which I definitely didn’t know when I was that young.
In the final months of the year, I worked on an exhibition essay on a complex art project called Middle of Nowhere, which was staged in the forest of the New Jersey Pine Barrens in late September. Curated by David Scott Kessler and Jen Brown, the event featured interesting works by 20 artists, including a documentary by Kessler that was screened on site. Documenting this event was a challenge, since there was so much art on site and that meant there was no possible way I could cover everything in a relatively short art writing piece. Nevertheless, I was happy to attend the event and check out the Pine Barrens for the first time, and writing about some of the exciting work that was on site for Middle of Nowhere was a wonderful experience. The full article is here, if you want to check it out.
In short, I feel good about my professional accomplishments as I close the book on 2019, and I’m excited to see what projects take shape next year. I plan to spend a lot of time in my studio this winter working on new art projects, and will keep you all updated on creative endeavors as they unfold. Onward to 2020!