Barack Obama's Inauguration Day

Having an opportunity to watch the Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama in class on our SMARTboard today was really a sign of how far technology has come (and I suppose having the signal drop out so often was a sign of where technology needs to go).

As a homework assignment this week I'd like all of you to think about what you heard in class (and the issues that surround it) and create a work in any media that reflects your feelings on it. Here's a link to the New York Times which has a transcription of the speech along with every presidential inauguration speech (it also has the words that were used repeatedly tagged with the amount of times it was used)- 2009 Inauguration Day Speech

We have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly." -Barack Obama

It's also important to note that President Obama made an interesting choice in using the artist we spoke about earlier in the year- Shepard Fairey, a modern graffiti artist (and creator of OBEY), to create his signature icon shown above. What do you think about that choice? What does that say to the art world?

Andrew Wyeth 1917-2009

Painter Andrew Wyeth died today in his home in Chadds Ford, Pa. at the age of 91. He is a monumental figure in American art best known for his 1948 painting "Christina's World". Ironically, he was an anti-establishment artist who became the establishment.

There's nothing else quite like Andrew's gritty, gorgeous brushwork and desolate, haunting imagery. I grew up with "Christina's World" hanging on my parents bedroom wall so as an artist and art educator it was one of my first influences. If you enjoy his work I strongly suggest visiting the Brandywine River Museum in Pennsylvania and the Wyeth Center in Rockland, Maine.

“What you have to do is break all the rules.”
Andrew Wyeth, July 12, 1917 – January 16, 2009

Modern Art Film Clips

Now that we are wrapping up our discussion about modern art history I wanted to share a few interesting film clips that we spoke about but didn't have time to see in class.


This clip is the commercial Marilyn Minter produced for her art show 100 Food Porn, a revolutionary idea at the time and I'm not just saying that because she was my teacher.


This is an interesting clip with Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat showing some of their collaborations and the two artists speaking about their work.


Here's a story about Damien Hirst's Shark at the Metropolitan Museum.


Finally, here's a story that actually shows graffiti artist Bansky working as he stencils the wall separating Israel from Palestine (which may be even more relevant lately due to the recent increased fighting).