Graffiti Art by Missy Ramsey

When I saw graffiti art, I absolutly loved how it was so different then what I even expected it was suppose to be.  I actually thought that graffiti art was going to be these gangs that draw on the walls of buildings, but the fact that people give out their wall space for artist to paint on makes me think that everything you see out there today is a canvas and can be made into one.  When you think of graffiti art, its hard not to automatically assume that you are illegal drawing on the walls of buildings, but rather with graffiti actually legalized, it makes you realize what you can do once you become an actual artist, and if you have the desire to draw or paint on walls, then become and artisst and you will get paid to do it!
Reverse Graffiti Art

My visit to Albany Airport Contemporary Art Gallery by Missy Ramsey

When you visit the Albany internatinal airport and walk up to the third floor, you will find a beautiful art gallery.  With light streaming from windows overlooking the busy airfield, Concourse A boasts 130 linear feet of wall space that functions as an auxiliary exhibition area to the third floor Gallery. With the advent of this new space in 2005, the Program broadened its ability to showcase the work of regional artists in biannual one person and thematic group shows as well as exhibits from other regional art centers and galleries.  There have been different types of exhibits at the airport with Scene/Reseen July 2008-January 2009, Joy Taylor: Drawings January-June 2009, Surface Tension in June 2009-January 2010, The best of SUNY in June- January 2010 and Benjamin Swett, Route 22 from June 2010 to January 2011. 
Going to the Albany international airport was not your normal day feeling of going to an art gallery, rathery it was a personal expience that you have alone looking at the paintings and trying to get sense of what they art wants you to feel without looking at the discripition...  I enjoyed going to the airport after have a stressful time with exams and the school year. 

These are pictures of the portaits that I really enjoyed at the art gallery!  The art work shown is done by 1) Joel Griffith, Oil on Panel, "The corner of Washburn Avenue",  2-4) Ken Ragsdale, Mixed Media, "Its in the book, Site Specific Installation", and 5-7) Stevan Jennis, Paint by Numbe Collage, "Plymouth", "Eagle", and "Boy Fishing".

Response to Collections by Missy Ramsey

When you look at collections, I do not think it will be art actually, rather more a hobby...  I do have a collection of all the movies and events that I have with my boyfriend to, I also give him a card for every annivesary that we have and intentionally put the date on the card so that there is one for every month.  However, Fred Wilson and Mark Dion believe that collections and art work that people do in their own homes can be considered art work.
 By filling up the art room with shapes out of wood or pictures of shapes is, I believe hard to make it an art piece because I would not understand why it would be art work in the first place.  My grandma collects precious moments, but I think that she only does this because she is religious and likes the dolls that are made, but not the art work that is made from them.  That is why I believe collection is a hobby rather than an art work.

Response to Appropriation Art by Missy Ramsey

To appropriate is to take possession of something. Appropriation artists deliberately copy images to take possession of them in their art. They are not stealing or plagiarizing. They are not passing off these images as their very own.  Appropriation artists want the viewer to recognize the images they copy, and they hope that the viewer will bring all of his/her original associations with the image to the artist's new context, be it a painting, a sculpture, a collage, a combine or an entire installation.  Some people may think that appropriation art is stealing another persons work, but rather the artist is actually borrowing the art work and making more meaning come out of the picture. 
Installation art, is a differnt type of art work, but in some ways I actually like them, but I do not like how they are from different artist, I do believe that these artist are in actually stealing the first art work.  If the artist who first orginally wanted that art to have that meaning, then he would have done it that way, that is why I do not think it is right for people to take a piece of art and "recontextualize" it.

Response to Installation Art by Missy Ramsey

Installation art is based more on a system.  The artist art work is by filling the space with what they have, filled edge to edge with so much stuff.  "Essentially, installation art takes into account the viewer’s entire sensory experience, rather than floating framed points of focus on a “neutral” wall or displaying isolated objects (literally) on a pedestal. This leaves space and time as its only dimensional constants. This implies dissolution of the line between art and life; Kaprow noted that “if we bypass ‘art’ and take nature itself as a model or point of departure, we may be able to devise a different kind of art… out of the sensory stuff of ordinary life” (Kaprow 12)." (wiki.com)
The way in which installation art insists upon the viewer’s presence in a space has necessarily led to a number of problems about how it is remembered. You have to make big imaginative leaps if you haven’t actually experienced the work first hand. Like a joke that fails to be funny when repeated, you had to be there.  I really enjoy installation art, because I thnk that it challentges the artist  to be able to go beyond what they are used to (canvas) and broadent what they can do into a large amount of space.  Installation art also allows the audience to have their personal experience, like the feeling "you just had to be there."  Its a feeling that you can't explaink, but try to allow the other people to have the same feeling, but can't unless they get to go.

Response to Performance Art by Missy Ramsey

Chris Burden is a performance artist, that I believe takes you back by surprise!  Performance art is when the artist experiences and some how there is interaction with the audience.  The artist can be a single performer, or can be a group or digital and normally the performance is held in a gallery or in a museum.  When I observed Chris Burden nailed to the back of a volkswagon, it made me wonder what in the heck was he thinking when he did this?  What made him think of doing this?  What reaction was he trying to get out of his audience?

Chris Burden was not the only performance artist of his time, there was also "Hermann Nitsch in 1962 presented his “Theatre of Orgies and Mysteries” (Orgien- und Mysterien Theater), a form close to the performing arts, and a precursor to performance art."  When I look at this image, I can only imagin what he is trying to capture to his audience.  It is a very moving piece, and when I saw it, it took me back by surprise.  I believe that Burden aqnd Nitsch have the same idea for what type of response they are trying to get from their audiences.  I'm not a big fan for performance art, because I do not think I understand the way it should, but also I'm afriad that I might find something out about myself that I might not want to know...

Response to Alison Watt- Contemporary Art by Missy Ramsey

"She gained early recognition as a painter, winning the National Portrait Gallery’s annual award as a student, then a commission to paint the Queen Mother’s portrait in 1989. Inspired by the nineteenth century painter Ingres, Watt’s portraits often focus upon the drapery which is traditionally used as a backdrop for the sitter. In her recent large-scale works, the human figure is entirely absent, allowing the texture and folds of the fabric to take centre stage." (contemporaryartetc.com) 

When I saw Alison Watt's fabric art, I was intrigued with how well she was able to shade and make it seem like you could just touch the fabric yourself. When I look at fabric art, I feel relaxed and imagin myself able to lay in a warm blanket that is soft.  Also the way she is able the whole canvas just amazes me with her technique.  I really like her contemporary art picture of fabric painting.