MonicaElayne.com

It is finally up and running! Excellent. It has taken some time, but only because I needed to take the time. Feel free to view and enjoy. This blog will become more of a where to eat, where not to go, good shows, sucky art.


MONICAELAYNE.COM

Final Strip...through violation comes insight.

When I first came to CalArts, and was hurting for money, i asked Andrea Bowers if I could help her with her work at her studio anticipating some upcoming exhibitions...there were several CalArts alum...Sade...Noah...Shizu...Shizu told me to be careful, that although CalArts was a good school, that she realized that "through violation comes insight". I carried that through my first year and now, in my final semester, I know what she means. I have isolated myself from the "in" crowd, from the biased and cloudy judgement of those in my class. I am going to do exactly what I want to do, and how I want to do it. I don't want to be asked where I am locating myself in art history..I just am in it, obviously...making art here and now..right?

I am going to make easy obvious, aesthetic work...yummy.

Eat it.

If you don't like whatis about to happen, pretend it isn't happening, and then blog about it.

Now really...art...art school. They don't match. Thesis coming up...I cannot pull an idea out my butt, much less out of my head, thorugh my arm and into my fingers to put graphite on paper in anticipation of genius for exhibtion show. A few weeks and counting. Someone pray for the artist.

GOOGLE SEARCHES

SUCCESS

I taught a class about culture and identity at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. It was the most amazing experience I have ever been a part of. I think the students got something special and valuable out of it, and I KNOW that I learned something from them as well. Very enriching, and very fun.   I am working on a new body of work about weaving, blanketing ourselves, comfort, history, craft, assemblage, and beauty. I have been inspired by a Vietnamese artist named Dihn Q Le. Beautiful tapestries of photo and tape...intertwining East and West, Black and white, and color. So great.

WEBSITE, FOCUS...MAINTAIN

I am about to compile my website. I realize that I make a lot of semi focused, yet interesting work. I am thinking that I will divide my practice into paintings, drawings, sculpture. Some of my work relates to history and cultural identity. Some of my work is about social and biological constructs of race, and the bulk of the work relates to technology and access to history as a google search. (A metaphor for the glazing over of specific identities, much like the way history is told and passed along. Finding a story with keywords)

LACMA- Phantom Sightings

Amazing. No other words for it. In fact, i discovered a young woman named Shizu Saldamando has work in the show. Amazing and gorgeous. I worked with her for one day for Andrea Bowers. So great to see young women doing their damndest to make it work with such beautiful skills.  Go see the show. It changes lives.