Artist Talks 12/5/18

Hayden Done

ARTS 552

Artist Talk

Artist Lecture December 5

            The artist lecture I went to featured 5 different artists who had 5 different mediums of art. The artist who spoke were Bradly Castellanos, Julee Holcombe, Don Williams, Leah Woods, Liese Zagabi. They were all interesting artists with their own way of looking at the work and how they interpreted it through their art.

            Bradley Castellanos is a painter and photographer. He takes large-format photographs and manipulates them using photoshop and an Exacto knife. He then layers his work with the manipulated photographs, oil and acrylic paints, and resin. The works that were featured in the exhibition were transitional pieces to do landscapes from urban and industrial pieces. Some of his work is even composites of over 50 different images. I personally enjoyed his work and his style of art. The way Bradley out it was a window into the wilderness. As opposed to his window of Brooklyn.

            Julee Holcombe is a photographer. She mostly photographs landscapes and architecture but is transitioning into more street photographer and is even considering herself a street photographer now. She likes to tell a story with composites of historical references. She gets involved with her work through cultural experience. The work that was presented was from her trip to China where she wanted to identify the label, “Made In China”, and identify the people. Another thing she is working in is becoming a better straight photographer and to take better pictures in the moment compared to how she usually photographs by making composites. I also enjoy her work and how she shows body language of her subjects.

            Don Williams is a sculptor. He collects many different objects then incorporates them into his sculptures. The pieces in the exhibit were of thrown clay and things that he had found. Many of his works he leaves unfinished, so he can continue to add onto them as he goes. I didn’t care for his work much. They didn’t speak to me in any kind of way and their meaning confused me.

            Leah Woods is a woodworker. She has 3 different categories on how she makes her work; figure, outdoor sculpture, and map making. Traveling and maps and what they convey are her major interests. Her work that was exhibited were a set of three pieces. The exterior of the subsequent piece was the material from the one before it. Before she worked on this piece she thought of her experiences as unconnected, but as she worked on it she found how they could connect together. Her work was visually pleasing with the different textures of the materials she used.

            Liese Zagabi works with digital media. All of her work extends from the internet. When she was younger, she was fascinated with the computer labs at her college where she discovered the internet. She is also interested in the history of memories in a moment of time. The work she presented was a portrait of Lady Bird. She didn’t know her when she stared on this project, but soon learned all about her through her work. She likes to think that she collaborated with Lady Bird on this project she presented in the exhibition. I wish I had more time to enjoy her work. From what I did see it was a fun and whimsical piece into Lady Birds life.