Progress on Thesis Artwork

2/26/2010 Progress on thesis Artwork


After constructing the glass vessel, I began layering in the contents. Multiple layers of newspapers were laid in a horizontal fashion a sheet at a time. This would be similar to the mountain streams carrying sediments downstream from the peaks to the spring pond.


On the sloping beds of the pond the sediments settle. When the pond dries during the summer the dried sediments will form a new layer, to be covered by the next years spring thaw of mountain snow.

Some years there are greater snow accumulation of winter snow and more sediments are laid down in the dried up pond. After millions of years and thousands of feet of sediments accumulating, the heat and pressure of the earth above and below compress the sediments into

sedimentary rocks. The layering effects of seasonal accumulation of sediments will remain in the sedimentary rocks. Only in the superficial layers will there be loose soil to trap the organic matter and be able to support surface vegetation.

We hope to have grass grow on top to represent the meadow that has arisen from the dried out pond.

2/19/2010 Critique Group 2A

The critique was held at the Livingston Art Building. This was done for the benefit of the sculpture students, including me. From the previous critique I concentrated on this one artwork first. The layering of the newspapers was started. I thought that the addition of dirt interlaced between multiple layers of newspaper made a clearer statement of the effect I wanted. The group agreed. We will need to see if the grass will grow on the surface.

I am thinking of creating another piece to complement the one that I am currently working on. Several ideas were discussed with the group. I could make a similar container or I could make something quite different but with a consistent message.

First Week Group 2A Critique

Group 2A Critique

January 29, 2010

I have been thinking about my thesis since last summer. I have since then been collecting newspapers and soda cans to recycle for the basis of my work. From our first group meeting I had gotten a lot of positive feedback on the idea for my recycled newspaper project. The concepts of earth, tree growth, newspaper production, communication, and change were well received. However, there was much discussion about the project of recycled soda cans. I believe further needs to be given to it before I can formalized a well defined project.

Victor suggested concentrating on one aspect of my thesis at a time. He recommended on focusing on the newspaper portion of the project. He feels that the newspaper project is interesting and he would like to see more works done with newspapers.

I am very excited to work on my thesis "the good earth" which incorporates artworks using newspapers as its founddation.

1-30-2010 Arthur Ross Gallery

Miler Lagos at the Arthur Ross Gallery at the University of Pennsylvania




This is part of Philagrafika 2010. Philagrafika 2010 is Philadelphia's international festival celebrating print in contemporary art. Its mission is to promote and sustain printmaking as a vital and valued art form. Many local institutions are planning and implementing a wide range of exhibitions, public programs and events, resulting in a citywide collective effort to promote printmaking. this reflects the collaborative nature of printmaking itself.





I visited the Arthur Ross Gallery at the University of Pennsylvania, which presents a site-specific installation by artist-in-residence, Miler Lagos. Miler Lagos is a renowned Columbian contemporary artist. In order to achieve specific aesthetic and expressive goals, contemporary artists, like Miler Lagos, have drawn from inherent characteristics of the print. Concepts of imprinting, multiplicity, reproduction, and seriality, as well as physically printed forms are frequently used by artists who do not think of themselves as printmakers. In the most simple sense, here Miler Lagos is turning paper back into a tree. He has taken a ton of regional newspapers and rolled them, one page at a time, into what seems to be a large section of a tree. This repetitive action of rolling 58 kilometers of recycled newspaper establishes for me the cycle of seasonal rings one sees on cross-sections of the tree trunk. So, this sculpture looks like a few hundred year old tree to me.

Just as the rings of a tree trunk comprise as environmental record, the rings of this paper tree are made of thousands of daily stories, compressed into newsprint.

The Columbian artist calls the sculpture Silence Dogood, the pen name used by Benjamin Franklin when he was a teenager. Benjamin Franklin is also one of the founders of the University of Pennsylvania and he was also a printer. Here at the University of Pennsylvania, the sculpture sits at the site of the college founded by the originator of the name, Silence Dogood.

11/21/09 Guggenheim Museum

Kandinsky at the Guggenheim:

I visited the Guggenheim Museum. There were long lines to get tickets for the Kandinsky Exhibit. Although the museum was crowded the exhibit was easily viewed. The Frank Lloyd Wright design allowed for adequate spacing of the art works in a way that it could accommodate large crowds. The spiral design was basically a long corridor which wound itself to the top. The viewers proceeded in an orderly fashion in one of two directions, bottom-up or top-down. The flow of viewers did not have to fight for optimal viewing position since each individual saw the art works in the same way. I found this to be less tiring.

Kandinsky was forced to move around to many places because of political and economic reasons. But, he never came to America, although he was invited to come, 'home' was always in Europe. Because of his 'inner need' to express himself through art, he never finished his university studies in law and economics. He believed that art should express the innermost feelings of the artist, a new spiritual reality. A vocabulary needed to be developed to allow for this kind of expression. Much of his inspiration came from the his association with Arnold Schoenberg, an innovator of contemporary music. As much as the twelve-tone system of Schoenberg was used to break away from traditional conventions, Kandinsky also wanted to break away from representational art and become more abstract. His first truly non-objective painting was "Black Lines" done in 1913:

His color palette was changing from vibrant primary colors to subtle pastel hues. This conveyed to me a truer sense of spiritual regeneration. A later work, Movement I (1935) demonstrates a sophisticated vocabulary:

In this colorful galaxy, ribbons of color float amid complex geometric structures against a backdrop of circles large and small. Their edges are irregular. By now Kandinsky has stopped using the compass to draw his favorite motif, he wants to achieve the evocative powers of the circle:

1) the circle is the most modest form, but it asserts itself unconditionally.

2) it is precise but an inexhaustible variable.

3) simultaneously, it is stable and it is unstable.

4) simultaneously, it is loud and it is soft.
5) the circle is a single tension that carries countless tensions within it.

--indeed, the circle is the ideal symbol for this image which suggests infinity.

"Yellow-Red-Blue" is an important painting of the Bauhaus era.

While teaching at the Bauhaus, he collected images of embryology, zoology, and botany. He used these images for his lectures and re-formulated them into his abstract vocabulary. Blending the natural sciences with formal abstraction and Surrealist elements, Kandinsky worked in a free-flowing style. A style in which I can appreciate freedom of form while retaining the motif of opposing forces that has always been pervasive in his work. I can feel how he is creating tension in his works and then finds resolution of this tension. So, it is free of conventions, a more personal style which is internally liberating and self-motivating. Kandinsky's view was that the "inner necessity" of artists could be translated into universally accepted statements that could offer a regenerative vision of the future.

November 13, 2009 MFA Show

MFA Show

Installation of show in the gallery space:

I think the overall installation of the art works was done well. The space was used wisely. Since there was a pre-dominance of art work on the walls additional partitions made sense, by increasing the amount of wall space where art works could be hung. This was done in such a way that the largest hanging piece had an unobstructed view from a distance.

The walls allowed light pieces to be hung. They were not solid enough to have heavier pieces of art to be hung on them. The mobility was important since the location of the art piece needed to be illuminated in the proper perspective. The light could cast a shadow from the piece making it very interesting.

I am interested in land forms. The black and white photos and videos of Megan Flaherty dealt with those land forms in a wonderful way. For me, there was a feeling of sentimentality similar to "film noir" only in photo style. The photos had low-key lighting creating a chiaroscuro effect. I love this effect since it accentuates the contours of the landscape and trees. The video that was presented did not achieve the same effect, but it did provide movement of the scenery to the landscape. Importantly, the arrangement of the three unframed photos on one wall with the video on the opposite wall worked well with the longer wall with the six framed photos in between. I like the balance on this side of the room, compared to the crowded opposite side of the same room.

Christopher's Guerra's pieces of 'Spaghetti' and 'Life forms' had a lighter feeling and playfulness about it. I loved the colors, especially the intense primary colors used on the objects suspended from the ceiling. He invited me to his studio to see how he made the pieces. The processes to breakdown the newspapers to be applied to the chicken wire seems ingenious. But, what was exciting was how he built up his canvas with the processed newspaper before applying the paint. He threw the processed newspaper on to the canvas. The two of us were excited that we were both using recycled newspapers for similar environmental reasons for our art works. Actually, we came up with some ideas that may be useful to me in the future.

Overall, most of the art works were interesting. I am very optimistic about the graduate students and their abilities. They have a fertile imagination. But, some of the pieces seem to be unfinished.

Additional Image Collection for BFA Thesis

Jaime K. An-Wong
BFA Thesis Image Collection



















Jaime K. An-Wong, Untitled, 2009

Experimental model for BFA Thesis sculpture.
Newspapers layered underneath soil and growing grass in a glass container.

Proposal for BFA Thesis

Jaime K. An-Wong

Proposal for BFA Thesis

I am concerned, as many people are, about the environment and the effect humans have had on it. We are the only species that can destroy all life on earth as we know it, and we are the only species that can save it. It is hard for me to express what art means to me. But, as I am working with my hands, I am thinking. Sometimes I am lost in deep contemplation and that is when I am closest to my soul. My other sanctuary is in the great outdoors. The more pristine the environment, the closer I feel to the truth. It is a place where I can gather my thoughts. At times, it arouses the subconscious bringing forth memories and emotional attachments associated with the past and present, but also, hope for the future.

In Aldo Leopold, we find a reverence for nature in the outdoors. Leopold gives you a sense that we have much to learn from observing nature and listening to it. Although we can learn most principles thru science, only thru contact with nature and contemplation do we gain that reverence toward it. And, then we gain the determination to preserve it. In doing so, we will be perpetuating our own existence. I believe that many of the principles we discover about life and behavior crosses most of the disciplines. In discovering these principles we are unifying all knowledge, called consilience. This is best described by Edward O. Wilson.

The earth beneath our feet or the land which we live on, has always had a special place in my heart. It is the well that I can continually go to for sustenance. It is always there for me, especially when I need it the most. Appealing to me in a different way is Land Art. Working in the wide open outdoors brings a very special setting and a complex set of environment factors to work with. One dilemma I have wrestled with is how to bring the same vitality and life to the indoors. However gradual and subtle the processes in nature are, I hopefully can bring a bit of it indoors. One very important aspect to Land Art is the need to “know the land” well through investigation of its physical forms and spiritually connect to the land beginning with its primordial stages. Whatever we do to destroy the environment we live in, the question is not whether the earth survives but whether we are on the land to enjoy it. I prefer to be present with my children or my children’s children.

Humans have battled against the elements from the very beginning of our history. We have survived all natural occurring obstacles thus far, but are we going to help ourselves from our own destruction? The photographer, Mary Mattingly, has a very specific but very dire prediction of the future. She is warning of the coming apocalypse. Mattingly is sure the land will be here, the only question is whether humans remain to enjoy it. Her photos and projects are attempts to bring attention and consideration of the inevitable. What are we going to do about it? With one scenario, climate change will bring a rise in sea levels inundating the coastal cities and lands.

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In certain regions, such as the Netherlands, they have been fighting back the sea waters and claiming further land to build upon. Perhaps there are lessons to be learned and appreciated. The land needs to be appreciated and treated as one of our precious resources. Living in a sustainable way requires us to understand it and to stand up for the “land,” to be stewards of the land. In addition to the land, the materials we consume are of limited quantities. Do we have a responsibility to future generations to conserve some of the resources for their enjoyment? After all, most of us have a direct interest to this end, since we are talking about our children and their future offspring. Are we that selfish or can we find alternatives or at least recycle our precious resources?

I want to investigate the relationship of my artwork to humanity. Am I doing good? Am I doing something to help improve the human situation? I want to think big, about the natural forces that we all contend with, whether they are violent and powerful like a hurricane or whether it is gradual and slow moving as geological forces may be. More importantly, I want to have people look inward toward their psyche. It would be wonderful to be able to stir up enough motivation to get people to commit to the grand ideas that are out there. There are shared commonalities among all of us, so we are really in the same boat. The most assured path to transformation within us, is through self-examination by each individual. This is where art fits in. Art has the ability to reach “the masses,” and if successful, art will get them to commit to the cause. Only through collective means are we going to solve some of the global problems. We owe that to the future generations.

There are alternative paths to a better future, than our present materialistic, consumer-driven society. Think of the scale of the problem. The newspapers or soda cans were collected over a short two to three months this summer by our family. What is the scale of the problem for a small town, a large city, the state, or the country? What becomes of all the garbage and are there any other alternatives? We can be more creative. We just have to get people to consider it important to find the right solutions. It starts by contemplating about the problem and getting the critical mass to consider it important enough to commit to make the situation right. This is where art can be effective and it may excel in this role.

I had an opportunity to learn about the works of Steven Siegel last semester. One particular sculpture, “Scale” at the Abington Art Center, I followed for several years. “Scale” is an outdoor sculpture composed of recycled newspapers. It was expected to survive 15 to 20 years before decaying. The sculpture actually collapsed earlier. The idea of trees arising from the soil to be subsequently made into newspapers, and finally, the sculpture of newspapers will eventually decay and become part of the soil for future trees was an interesting life cycle. Steven Siegel had been greatly influenced by “deep time” and the geologic processes that are always at work. This aspect is apparent in his work. The question is can this translate into better stewardship of the environment.

Finally, the story of Arshile Gorky is very tragic, yet interesting to me. He had mostly taught

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Jaime K. An-Wong

himself skills by studying the masters who came before him. Gorky’s own “distinctive art” comes only

when he re-discovers the memories and associated emotional overtones of his youth in Armenia. What aided this development was establishing his studio in rural Connecticut and also visiting a farm in Virginia. Being back in natural surroundings quickly brought out his creative abilities and inspired him to produce amazing art works. Although he came to a tragic end, I feel that nature and natural surroundings have a similar stimulus for me. But, more than anything else, it is being productive in art that sustains me. I am at peace with myself when I am in the studio. I have time to think and experiment. I want to make this a better place to be and this is where I find my piece of mind.

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Jaime K. An-Wong