The Academy Blog

FRESH PERSPECTIVES FROM TRIBECA BALL

Posted on April 17, 2014

by CAMILA ROCHA (MFA 2015)

We were anxious!!! … and there was tons of work to do before, during and after Tribeca Ball. All the studios in the Academy and all the artists were sharp and ready for one of the most successful events in Tribeca. Right before the event started I was taken by a fear and a kind of insecurity. All of my works in my studio walls  were in progress and I had no idea about what to expect from the crowd.

Tribeca Ball attendee John Bowman visited my studio
A wave of agitation arose with every single step footstep and sounds of voices from the other end of the hall. Half an hour later it felt like a natural. I enjoyed the range of collectors and fresh responses inspired by my unfinished work.  For me it was a humble feeling.
We had journalists talking about art.  Teachers giving us a feedback about the work that we were showing and a line of guests waiting to listen what we have to say. All the artists worked very hard, it was beautiful to see everyone’s works and being able to talk about our discoveries and conquering our first academic year.
It was an amazing success. Congratulations to the school for the awesome organization and the astonishing event!
My fellow classmate Eric Pedersen (MFA 2015) and I at the end of the evening
As we move closer to summer and the end of this semester, it will take couple of weeks to digest the storm of information that is just about to end.
Next up, I’ll introduce you to more of my classmates and share their views from the studios.

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Camila Rocha is the Academy’s 2014 Social Media Scholar.  You can learn more about her and her work by visiting her website: www.camilarochaart.com.  In the meanwhile you can find her musings about her first year experiences right here on the Academy’s blog.

2014 Tribeca Film Festival

Posted on April 16, 2014

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In conjunction with the Tribeca Film Festival, New Yorkers and festival-goers alike will be able to view the artwork of thirteen contemporary artists to be given as prizes to winning Festival filmmakers. Tim Barber, Tony Bennett, Stephen Hannock, Matthew Modine, Catherine Murphy, James Nares, Alexis Rockman, and Clifford Ross have each donated a work, consisting of paintings, photographs and prints.. The exhibition, sponsored by CHANEL, is free and open to the public.

Jason Talley Scholarship Tote Bag Pop-Up

Posted on April 12, 2014

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In the spring of 2014, a group of Academy alumni organized a pop-up exhibition to honor Jason Talley (MFA 2008) and raise funds for the Academy scholarship in his memory. The Jason Talley Scholarship Fund Tote Bag pop-up exhibition was on view April 12 and April 25. All tote bags are for sale with 100% of the proceeds going towards the Academy’s Jason Talley Scholarship Fund, created to honor and remember Jason through supporting future Academy artists. THANK YOU to all the artists that supported this project and continue to support the Jason Talley Scholarship Fund.

If you’re interested in purchasing available totes, please contact exhibitions@nyaa.edu or 212-842-5971.

 

ADVICE FROM THE CRITICS

Posted on April 10, 2014

By Claire Cushman (MFA 2015)

On Monday March 24th,  Sharon Louden’s Professional Practice Series presented esteemed art critics Roberta Smith  (New York Times) and Jerry Saltz (New York Magazine) in conversation with Randy Cohen for “Person Place Thing” in the Academy’s Wilkinson Hall.  The room’s walls, recently stripped of the ten “Big Picture” paintings and not yet adorned for Tribeca Ball, were, for once, bare. Guests outnumbered seats, and their excited chatter, along with live bluegrass music by Duncan Wilkel and Eric Robertson, filled the air.


For his unique spin on the one-on-one interview, Cohen, (former author of the New York Times “The Ethicist” column), invites prominent figures from various backgrounds to discuss one person, one place, and one thing they care about.

A hush fell over the room when Cohen introduced his guests, but as Smith and Saltz discussed their three items, (Donald Judd, the Met, and art), the audience often erupted into laughter. Though the atmosphere was generally light, some important lessons for artists emerged over the course of the conversation. Here are a few I believe are worth emphasizing:


Familiarize yourself with the Met (and art history at large).Before coming to the Academy, I knew very little about art history. I still know relatively little, but do feel that I have a much better understanding of the trajectory after History and Theory of Composition, and Art and Culture 1, which all Academy students are required to take during their first semester.

As the couple discussed their chosen place, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, they emphasized how important it is for artists to understand art history. They encourage all artists to really get to know The Met.  “It’s the greatest encyclopedic museum in the world,” says Saltz. “You have a responsibility as an artist to see how much there is, be humbled, and see what your options are.  And to know that you’ll never live up to it.”


You cannot see too much.

As we toil away in our studios, it’s easy to forget how much art is at our fingertips all over the city. Since I moved to New York for school, my friends have often asked me about living here, and my response is generally, “Well I’m usually at school…” This talk was a helpful reminder to get out more.
“We go to 20, 30 galleries a week, and museums on Sundays,” says Saltz. “Galleries and museums are ecstasy machines – you experience your autonomy while looking at an autonomous object, and it’s great.” The couple underlines the importance of going to see the things you don’t like, as much as the shows you do. “The bad shows teach you as much as the good shows, or even more,” says Saltz. “If you go to Chelsea and see a show and think it’s bad, figure out why.”

Copy, and Redefine Skill
In discussing Donald Judd, Smith explained how after emerging from the Whitney Independent Study program, she copied Judd’s writing extensively to better understand it, in terms of both craft and content.  Judd was a Renaissance man, “almost as powerful a writer as he was an artist,” she says. “He used words in a way that were unusual but legible.”
Copying to understand applies not only to writing, but of course also to art. Every Academy student is required to complete numerous Master Copies over the course of his or her two years at the Academy. To successfully copy a masterwork is to understand how the artist achieved his or her final product.
What’s challenging is taking the skills learned from copying to the next level.  “In this school, you’re learning time-honored skills,” says Saltz. “You need to reinvent them.” A common criticism most art students hear from their teachers is that whatever they’re doing has already been done.  “Don’t listen to ‘it’s been done’,” Saltz says. “Instead, do it again. Until you make it yours. Do the American flag until its not Jasper Johns’ anymore: Its yours.”


Follow your oddball nature:

What these critics are attracted to in art is a certain intensity. “I’m interested in a glitch,” Saltz says. “In some pieces, you can see that the artist is focusing so hard that it herniates, and boom! That’s art.” Saltz compares the type of art he likes with what he typically sees in Chelsea galleries. “The Chelsea stuff can be so generic in its failures. What I like has a certain kind of blatancy to it. The failures are more flamboyant.”
“All artists are self taught,” says Smith. “So much of what we do is inborn- our handwriting, our voice… Artistry comes in many shapes and sizes.” Saltz advises students to “follow your oddball obsession,” to make all that art that we are specifically impelled to make. “Make your bad art. Honor that part of your work. Do EVERYTHING. Don’t make PRODUCT.”
In short, Saltz and Smith advise us to first understand the variety of options we have as artists, then to make the art that is most meaningful to us as individuals. Although they may not have known it, their advice lines up incredibly neatly with the Academy’s mission.  At the New York Academy of Art, “We believe that rigorously trained artists are best able to realize their artistic vision.”
Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? One final note, from Saltz: “it only takes a lifetime.”

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To learn more about Claire Cushman (MFA 2015), take a peak at her bio and recent paintings.  Remember, your thoughts are welcomed. 
  

Please visit Person Place or Thing’s website to download the complete podcast. Follow these links for more details about the Academy’s Professional Practice series and it’s creator, artist and faculty-member Sharon Louden.