Stealing Images?

Having a website can be such a great way for others to see what you do.  Having a website can be an invitation for others to steal your images.  

My website is protected by Digimarc, a company that embeds a copyright mark in one's work and tracks your images should they appear on the web.  It does give one a certain sense of security.  Having said that, I also think that my images my be in danger of being stolen.  If you haven't signed up for one of the services that show you the activity on your website, I suggest that you do that.  You will find out what times of day the site is visited each day, which countries viewers are from, and other interesting tidbits, but the unnerving part is seeing how long people are on your site.  Most are on sites for less than a minute and others are on for 10, 15+ minutes.  The unnerving info is seeing that someone has been on for an hour or more.  Personally, being on someone's site from a minute to 15 minutes seems reasonable.   At this point, my site has been visited for more than an hour a couple of times.  I can only assume that people are helping themselves to some of my images.  None have been picked up by Digimarc at this time.  Perhaps, the images are being used in other ways.    I would be very interested to hear if anyone has experienced the same thing, has comments, or has suggestions as to how to deal with this.

The Best Small Art Museum

A few days ago, I was in Sheboygan, WI, about an hour north of Milwaukee, to visit the John Michael Kohler Arts Center.  In my estimation, it is one of the best small museums around.  The work shown is innovative and of high quality, and includes everything from outsider art to tech-based work.

The first time I saw Daniel Rozin's work, one of the artists from the Act/React show at MAM, was at JMKAC a couple of year's ago.  We were so fascinated as we walked past the various pieces and watched as our images emerged in them and followed our movements.  Either the wood tiles would shift or brightly colored paint dripping down the screen would change to the colors that we were wearing and in the shapes of our bodies.  What fun!  Sure made me wish I knew just how one manages to create these terrific installations.

Currently, the JMKAC has a show entitled "Renee Lotenero: Shape and Shatter".  Her pieces consist of mixed media collaged with intricate drawings.  Lots of empty, white space surrounds her pieces.  The more time that I spent looking at this lovely work, the more I found and the more that I liked them. (Closes Jan. 18, 2009).

In another room, being shown is "Kathryn E. Martin: Flotant".  Kathryn uses the rims of "50,000 styrofoam cups" constructed and suspended on plastic rods in such a way that you feel like you are floating in the space.  It feels wonderful to stand in the middle of the space and let yourself become a part of it.  My suggestion is that you go to the JMKAC website (http://www.jmkac.com) to see a photo of her exhibit.  I really can't do justice in describing it. (Closes Jan. 11,2009).

One other show that we loved was:  "Messages & Magic:  100 Years of Collage and Assemblage in American Art". (Closes Jan. 25, 2009).

I wanted to mention these shows as I am hoping that if you haven't been up to see this gem of a museum, you should, and if you haven't been for awhile, don't wait any longer.  

Act/React

The Milwaukee Art Museum currently has a show titled "Act/React" that is "interactive installation art" with work by Janet Cardiff, Brian Knep, Liz Phillips, Daniel Rozin, Scott Snibbe and Camille Utterback.. What a great show! Not only is it fun to interact with the pieces oneself but it is wonderful to watch others do the same. The day we were there (it's best seen with at least one other person) we watched a young boy, maybe 6 or 7 years old, interact with Camille Utterback's pieces. While mother sat on a bench and watched, he spent at least 20 minutes moving in front of the pieces fascinated with how they changed colors, lines, etc. Other than just being fun, this type of art challenges one's brain to to figure out how the installation pieces were created. Or maybe the fun is not knowing just appreciating the experience.

This show was curated by George Fifield, director of Boston Cyberarts, Inc., in conjunction with Joseph D. Ketner II, who was, at the time, Chief Curator at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Having had the good fortune to meet and spend some time with George, I can tell you that he is absolutely delightful. He's bright, charming, funny and talented. Joe is a good friend as is his wife, Patty, so I can tell you that he is the best!! He's a special person with so much to offer and we miss him. (Sadly, our museum lost Joe when he decided to move back to Boston. The saddest part is that Joe was bringing life and a new energy to MAM and, in my estimation....and others, the board will greatly regret having let him get away!)

I hope that you will go to the site (www.mam.org) to see the video on the Act/React show.

After Gallery Night

Gallery Night/Day had a large turnout both Friday night and Saturday during the day. I think that people know that soon the weather will change and we all want to get out and about before hand. The CoPA Juried Show came to an end this weekend. It was well received. I was quite pleased to be in it as the juror, George Slade, didn't seem like his interests included the type of work that I do. And from all of the other work that was picked, I am still surprised.

I had some of my new work at the VP Gallery. Some of our LUMA Collective members showed work across the hall from VP. The new work that William Mueller showed was terrific. He's come up with a technique that makes the images look more like illustrations in a bronze tone. Can't wait to see more! Jana McLaughlin also devised a new way to show her pieces...I love the way they turned out...textured paper but it was they framing that I liked the best. Sylke Vonk's triptych of her son and windmill is definitely a winner. Mark Stall had his photos from Panama, Jeff Weber had his river reflections, and Eddee Daniels brought his ecology images. To add to that, Eddee had his new book and John Ruebartsch brought his books, as he is currently working on a documentary as well as a new book. What I love about our group is that everyone does such diverse work.

Our new project, LUMA Gallery, seems to have hit a few snags and may take a new direction. We meet in a week to discuss which direction we will go. Personally, I hope that we take the less structured, more fun way of using our new space. Will keep you posted.

Work on View

Currently, my work can be seen in the "2nd Annual CoPA Juried Show" at the Walker's Point Center for the Arts at 911 W.National Ave., Milwaukee, (through Oct. 18) and at the VP Gallery (320 E. Buffalo) in the Third Ward, also Milwaukee.  Next weekend is Gallery Night and Day.  In addition to WPCA and VP, LUMA Collective, hoping to open their new gallery (LUMA Gallery) at 320 E. Buffalo on the 3rd floor that weekend, will temporarily be using the space directly across from the VP Gallery.  I will have a few photos there. Notice of LUMA Gallery's opening will be posted at a later date. 

Hope you will come out to view the great art during Gallery Night and Day.

Creativity

A simple definition of CREATIVITY is the use of one's imagination to come up with new/original ideas, especially in the creation of an artistic work.

Everyone has their own way of reaching into themselves to find their creative soul.  We all see things differently, so what seems creative to one person may not to another.

I was fortunate to  learn, a number of years ago, how to increase one's ability to think outside the box.  My friend, JoAnn, had gone back to school to get another degree, this time in Product Design.  One of her professor's projects was to have the class pick an object and then see how many uses they could get from it.  (For example:  a brick...could be used to build a building, used as a paperweight, a hammer,  a doorstop,  a base for something, used to prop up a table or it could be ground up for other uses.  How many uses can you add to this?)  Practice this and it will become easier and easier to come up with new ideas.

When doing my own work, I have found that the amount of difficulty involved with what I am working on makes the process more interesting to me and gives me great satisfaction when it is finished.

The charcoal drawing that you see was done by taking a number of images of flamingos and super-imposing over over the other and then adding and subtracting charcoal.  The test is to be able to keep each image in mind while adding the others to the drawing.

My photography is also complicated.  The technique came about by accident and I continue to develop it, but I do not share how I do it.  What I will say is that I create the image before it's photographed and then put it into the computer to be cleaned up and tweaked.  Many, many shots are taken before I find one that I like.  Lots of surprises!!

Welcome!

 I am an artist who uses a camera, or am I a photographer who uses my art experience to create images.  Which came first...the chicken or the egg?  Who knows!  

Although, I have used brushes, pastels, etc. to create, nothing has produced the passion more than that of the camera.  Cameras have been a constant in my life, from the Brownie that I used as a child at the zoo (took weird photos of a camel's weird hooves...sign of things to come?), to the Konica that traveled with me around the world, to the new digital cameras that I use today.

One of the most important things that I learned in art school was to see.  There is seeing and there is "seeing".  It's important in drawing as where you put that line can determine whether your object will be flat or 3-dimensional.  The use of paint teaches you the nuances of color.  Is the red that you are using a cool red or a warm red?  Which colors when put next to each other create what feeling?   One of my professors (Peter Mendez) told me that his favorite color was gray and that he loved all of the colors that he saw in the grays.  He would look at the clouds and describe the colors that he saw.  I still look at gray skies and try to see the colors that he saw.  Not so easy to do!

Why am I talking about drawing and painting?  Well, it has had a huge influence on the type of art that I create which is photography but often looks more like a watercolor or pastel (so I've been told).  My next post will include one of my photographs (which should help give you an idea about these influences) and some thoughts on creating.