Internet Research Project - Sullivan

Artists I Liked

• Justin Gibbens
• Sol Kjok
• Julie Comnick
• Shino Soma
• Mira Burack
• Z Behl
• Craig Stockwell
• Jessica Nissen
• Ethan Hayes-Chute
• Judith Braun

Artists I Didn't Like/ Understand

• Maria Judite dos Santos
• Jajehan Bath Ives
• Dirk Dzimirsky
• Steve Stelling
• Amy Stacey Curtis
• Noah Simblist
• Davide Zucco
• Nico Pam Dick
• Whitney Wood Bailey
• Derek Dunlop

Maria Judite dos Santos

Dos Santos uses landscape as metaphor, trying to make sense of her life and of the world. She incorporates trees and stones into her work, due to their significance in landscapes. She says all works of art are autobiographical in some way, so her "body, mind and history are located in the work." She's fascinated by archaeology, memory, entropy, transformation, and history, and all are reflected in her art.

I encountered dos Santos through her graphite drawings first, and did not care for them. They seemed purposelessly crude; I couldn't tell why she had made them so rough and unfinished-seeming. I didn't understand the narrative she wanted to tell in each one.

When I looked at her website, though, I realized that she had created a series of public installations that I had seen before and loved. I thought that they were very clever and insightful, both ominous and mundane at once. Looking at the rest of her work, I realized that I liked most of it, after all.

Craig Stockwell

Stockwell's entire artist statement is, "Drawings built from a grid generated by chance and response."

That is exactly what his drawings are. I understand what he's doing--in fact, I think this is a really good example of conceptual art. He has a plan or method that he adheres to in order to produce art, and he prioritizes this method above the finished product. That's why he is on the list of artists I like.

However, the finished product doesn't  necessarily satisfy me as a viewer. I don't really like his work, although I understand it and have to acknowledge its worth. Looking at his site, there were individual drawings that I enjoyed, but I felt that he didn't have sufficient variation in mark-marking or materials to sustain my interest throughout his entire body of work. That said, the use of color in some of his pieces was beautiful, and really surprising after the series of works that the one I've posted belongs to.

Jessica Nissen

Nissen's artist statement reads, "As a steady distraction from painting I have folded hundreds of ink stained pieces of paper. After years of staring at the inkblots they became the catalyst for my on-going drawing project, “All in Our Head.” [...] The shapes are Rorschach inspired and much like a non- verbal version of Rorschach’s own diagnostic system, I have the blots before me and respond by drawing into them." She describes this process as fluid and intuitive.

Nissen's images are fluid, grotesque, high-contrast and beautiful. The psychological aspect of this project appeals to me as a viewer; the imaginative responses that Nissen has to each inkblot delight me as an artist. This is also a very successful example of conceptual art; Nissen has her own particular process that she follows rigidly. However, the results of her process connect with me on a much more personal and emotional level than Stockwell's. Looking at her website, her paintings and installations share the fluidity and psychological focus of this collection, while using a wide range of techniques and materials.