Journal entries by artist Arlissa Vaughn:
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| Still image from "A Fire in my Belly" video by artist David Wojnarowicz |
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December 2, 2010
Artist video "offensive to Christians"...
Christians and right-wing politicians around the world gave up a big fuss yesterday as news of a particular piece of art at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. spread. The piece of art in question shows 11 seconds of ants crawling across a crucifix lying on the ground. Apparently this is what offends Christians. There was no talk of the remaining exhibition, which I believe could be considered more upsetting, in which artworks depict homosexual partners in a variety of activities and expressions.
Read about it here>>
When I first read of this yesterday, I thought perhaps I had misunderstood something. I continued searching the internet for some missing piece of information about why the Catholic League and several US Republican Senators had condemned the artwork and the Smithsonian Institute. Thus far, I have found no further statements from either party regarding the offensive nature of the artwork -- only that the ants crawling on the crucifix is a direct insult to Christianity and was purposely displayed during the Christmas season. Really? I'm a devout Christian and somehow I don't find that part of the video offensive or upsetting. Either I'm very confused in my beliefs, or someone else is very confused about art.
Now honestly, I admit that I am bothered by other parts of the exhibit (only which I have seen online, sorry I can't afford to fly to D.C. to view it right now.) However, I don't ask for their removal. There are many pieces of great art that upset me mentally and emotionally, and yet at the same time I can usually find something of value in them. I do not like viewing images of blood and gore, yet most often the serious artist's intent is not just to put shocking images in our faces, but rather to make a comment about a much deeper issue. (I am speaking now of mature artists, not those who actually do wish to focus on disgusting imagery just for the sake of shock or a weird love for such images.) But, in the end, if I don't like what I see, I can walk away.
As an American citizen, I fully believe in the freedom of speech; and as a Christian who believes in salvation from Christ and following His teaching, I fully believe in loving my neighbor. How do these beliefs fit in with art? Well, freedom of speech allows for expression of ideas, emotions, and, at times, argumentative dialogue. I am ok with artists who wish to express meaningful insight to deep and controversial topics. As a Christian, when I engage with art that may depict images that hurt, images that make me want to look the other way, or images of beliefs that I disagree with, I try to consider the other side of the view. Why did this artist choose to represent something in this way? What is their intention? I want to understand my fellow neighbor, so that I can know how to better express my love for him/her.
Of course, there are times that some imagery may cause me to sin (i.e think evil thoughts, lust, etc.) In those cases, I will turn away from it and try to block it from my mind. But, something that may cause me to sin may not necessarily cause others to sin. For example, I have some Christian friends who cannot look at any nudity in art, they feel it leads them to sinful thoughts. For me, I'm quite alright with viewing the nude figure in most artworks; however, if there is a graphic display of intercourse or other highly sexual imagery, and that imagery causes me to lust or sin in some other way, then I'm not ok with it. But that doesn't mean I demand its removal from the gallery! Christian adults ought to know how to turn away from something that deters them from the path of purity AND ought to know that something that bothers them may not bother everyone.
Finally, why do Christians say something against God "offends" them anyway? When someone says something against Christianity, is it actually an attack against that individual person? I feel strange to say that anything someone does or says that goes against Christian beliefs "offends" me. I am not offended, it is God who is offended. If someone says I'm stupid for being a Christian, then I am offended, because that was an attack against me personally. That is totally different than someone who says that God is mean, God doesn't exist, or that they hate God. Why should that offend me? That is not my fight, I should not feel insulted. Instead, because I love that person, I would like to share with them how God isn't mean, does exist, and does love them...but not because I'm angry with them for their belief, rather because I believe they have been given bad information and I want to share the information that I have. That is the usual course in any scenario of argument.
No, I am not offended by ants crawling across a crucifix, and really I'm not even upset about that. The image doesn't cause me to think sinful thoughts, doesn't insult me, and, in fact, helps me understand the internal feelings of that artist at that time in his life. I feel that I can better love him, or those in a similar position to him, because of this portrayal of his sentiment. I have not seen the full 30 minute video, and according to descriptions of it, I may not enjoy much of it. But still, I don't believe it must be removed, especially since viewers have the option to not watch said video. I'm now going to write a letter to the National Portrait Gallery and to those senators which have called for the artwork's removal and explain my thoughts to them, I hope others will do the same. Why should Christians let a few of those in power do all their talking? I hate it when I, as a Christian, am misrepresented as a bigoted fool in the media.
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| Use coupon code SBMEJE for 25% off any Arlissa Vaughn art print |
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November 30, 2010
November
has been busy as I continue work on the series of artworks about
international views of America and as I now prepare for a temporary move
to Miami, FL! Yes, it's been an interesting year with first moving to
California in January and now making a short move to Miami. Alan and I
will be there for 4 months as he teaches kiteboarding and is a boat
captain for a company there. We'll be back to SoCal in May. Miami is a
great destination for art, and I'm looking forward to making new
connections there.
Also, coming up are the holidays. As a thank
you to all my friends and fans who actually read this journal, here's a
coupon to use in my print shop: Get 25% off any Arlissa Vaughn art print when you enter code SBMEJE
at checkout. The discount is available until December 31, 2010 and is
good only on the print, not accessories like frames, etc. Again, thank
you for all your words of encouragement and influences on my artwork!
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November 1, 2010
Yey! Yey! Yey! Because of all my wonderful family, friends, and fans, I was nominated as a finalist for the RAW "Artist of the Year" award! Thank you everyone who voted for me, it's because of you that I made it! Now, it's up to the judges to decide the final winner. That person will be announced December 17 at the big RAWards Show in Hollywood. I will also be painting live at the event. If you're in the area, you should come! (Buy a $15 ticket here>>)
If I win, I'll get an exhibition at the Rebecca Molayem Gallery in Hollywood, an interview in Flavorpill Magazine, a seminar scholarship from the Center of Cultural Innovation, an exhibition with RAW next year, and a few more goodies. Between you and me, I think I have a good chance with the judges...I took a look at the other 6 finalists, and let's just say I may be the only "professional" artist among the finalists. Pray for me to get it! :)
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October 15, 2010
With
the assurance of the $500 grant from the California Arts Council and
the National Art and Disability Center, I have seriously returned to
work on my series about the USA. (Read more below if you aren't familiar
with my project).
I decided to rework the "Trees as Tall as
Buildings" artwork. I started from blank pixels because I just wasn't
pleased the image I had made earlier (see journal entry from September 9). It didn't give reference to the beautiful
metaphor from an Aruban child who had heard there were "trees as tall as buildings" in America; that first artwork only gave reference to the trees themselves. This new version now takes
on a humorous and imaginative feeling as the trees are taller than
skyscraper buildings, but at the same time seem to be floating away like
balloons in the air.
The other artwork "Passport Required" is
inspired by a survey from a woman in France. She visited the USA just
after 9/11 and was afraid that people wouldn't befriend her because they
would be suspicious of her for not being American. While the irony is
that average Americans don't fear French citizens as likely terrorists,
this woman was seriously concerned that she might not be accepted. The
unfortunate thing is that the stereotype of who might or might not be a
terrorist has been profiled to bearded Middle-Eastern men with olive
skin, dark eyes, and dark hair. While this image does describe some of
the people who have been confirmed as part of a terrorist organization,
it is a rather limited stereotype. And of course, there are thousands,
perhaps millions, of people who fit this profile and have never dreamed
of plotting terrorist attacks against anyone.
In "Passport
Required," I want to share the social climate that has prevailed in
America since 9/11 and has had unfortunate side effects to our friendly
neighbors visiting the USA for work or pleasure. If you click the image
to enlarge, you'll read that the paper in the left hand is an invitation
to a dinner party where the last line indicates attendees must bring a valid passport to enter the party. While I haven't experienced this extreme level of suspicion or protectionism, I can imagine our society going that far if pushed. The fact that the passport in the right hand is that of a French white female with no Arab facial features is meant to evoke viewers to thought. Perhaps some viewers will think, "Someone like her shouldn't be required to show her passport," while others may think "I didn't know there was danger from French nationals," and still others "Maybe I need to have security at my next dinner party." Well, of course the thoughts people really think will go much deeper than all that, but it just gives you the idea.
Anyhow, neither of these two artworks are finished, despite the fact that I've already put in over 5 hours per image just in the digital portion. Next step will be to send these to Digital Arts Studio in Atlanta and have giclee prints made. Then the looser aspects of the art-making will begin! Encaustics, acrylics, and oil pastels will bring color and life into these works. Can't wait!
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| Trees as Tall as Buildings - artwork in progress |
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| Passport Required - artwork in progress |
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| Vote for Arlissa Vaughn for the RAW "Artist of the Year" |
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October 15, 2010
I could be the next RAW "Artist of the Year," with a little help from my friends and fans. Just visit my RAW profile
and vote for me each day from now - November 1, 2010 to help
assure my spot as a nominee in the RAWards show December 17 in
Hollywood. If I'm selected, it could really help my career as I would get featured in Flavorpill magazine, an exhibition in the Rebecca Molayem Gallery, a seminar scholarship from the Center of Cultural Innovation, and more. I would be so honored if you'd place your vote for me! :)
You will be asked to create a username and password. After you have done this, please click th link above again to be redirected to my profile for voting. You will then login with your username and password. THEN, please click here one more time and now you can actually vote! (You won't have to go through this process every time, just the first time).
Read more about the RAWards show>>
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October 11, 2010
Yes, I am still working on the mixed media series of artworks exploring global perceptions of the USA. I did a few tests to try printing the base images on my inkjet printer with fine art papers in hopes that I could find a suitable alternative to the expensive giclee prints I normally have made. I printed the images using an HP Photosmart D7460 on Canson cold press 90lb watercolor paper. Before choosing to invest in the paper to even consider doing these tests, I read up on the arcival qualities of the HP inks to make sure it was even worth my time. The Wilhelm Imaging Research suggested that my HP ink would do ok.
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| Failed Ink/Paper Test |
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Well, I bought the paper and resized my computer images to fit 8"x12." However, I quickly found this idea was not going to work. After pouring the liquid acrylic paint mixture and covering with plastic wrap, the ink smeared pretty badly. Also the paper felt a little thin and didn't seem to absorb the colors well from the paint. Here's an example of what happened.
Well, as a result, I decided I must buy the giclee prints (always done at Digital Arts Studio in Atlanta) and therefore I must find some financial assistance to complete this project. And, that's exactly what I did! I applied for a grant from the California Arts Council and the National Arts and Disability Center, and have just been awarded $500 toward the completion of this series of artworks. YEY!
Sometimes I really hate that I have retinitis pigmentosa and I worry about the future of my art. Other times, I think it may be a blessing in disguise as I'm able to apply for grants such as this because of my disability. Well, in any case, this is one time I'm happy that I was eligible and successfully awarded a grant for my art! Now, on to making these new artworks...
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September 9, 2010
In
2009, I came up with an idea for a series of artworks that I wanted to
produce. I included it in a proposal for a grant that would pay for the
materials, etc. and thought I had a pretty good chance of being selected
for it. However, when I didn't get the grant, I didn't make the art.
Well,
now a year and a half later I still want to make that series of
artworks, so I'm going forward anyway! The idea behind the work is
showing the United States of America through the eyes of people from
other countries. I want to share their failed or fulfilled expectations,
their experiences visiting here, and the surprises that came with it.
I've begun collecting testimonies from a variety of men and women from
around the world. (If you're not from the USA and you'd like to answer a
few questions to participate in the project, please click here. No
pranks please, thanks!)
The series will be mixed media artworks,
starting with a digitally produced image that I print and then paint
over. I did a few artworks with this
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technique last summer and
absolutely loved the result.
For some people, the beauty of art is partially from
the mystery of its making. If that's you, then stop reading now because
I'm going to get into the process. For other people, understanding the
method really heightens their appreciation of the creation. The painting
you see here, "Bike," was produced in a similar method as to what I'll
be doing with this new series of artworks. Here's a "before and after"
image, showing the digital image that was printed to archival paper and
then the final result after layers of acrylic paint, encaustic paint,
and oil pastels were added.
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| "Before" - digital image to be printed |
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I shared my method of production for "Bike" in hopes that
you can envision something of what these next two images will look like
in the future. The two images below were done in Photoshop by uploading
some digital photographs and then deconstructing them to achieve the
desired image. These will then be printed on archival paper with
archival inks and painted over with acrylics, encaustics, and oil
pastels.
More to come soon...(including explanation of the chosen imagery.)
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| "After" - acrylic, encaustic, and oil pastel over digital print |
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| "Trees as Tall as Buildings" - digital image |
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| "More or Less Patriotic" - digital image |
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September 4, 2010
Two weddings, a conference, a visit from my mother-in-law, and several roadtrips later...I'm back in California! I'm on my own time, with my own car, in my own apartment, and doing what I want! Hehe, do I sound like a rebellious independent teen? Well, I'm just happy to be back home and on my usual routine.
Somewhere in the mix of all that traveling, I was asked to paint at an event in San Diego. It was short notice and quite a challenge too. As I drove down I-5 I got all jittery like I was going to have to sing to an audience of 100 or something! I was nervous about the imagery this group asked me to paint. What if I didn't meet the challenge?
Well, this event was an open house for top San Diego brokers to come have a look at a $3.9 million dollar penthouse apartment with a 360 degree view of all of San Diego. I was asked to select a view from one of the windows and paint it during the open house party. In two hours. Yep, it's the two hours part that had me worried. Well, I finished in exactly two hours. The finished painting could probably be improved with another hour of studio time, but the client wanted it to keep right away. Whoever buys the penthouse gets to keep the painting. I framed it on-site and left my baby there.
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| San Diego Sunset |
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It
was a strange feeling to make a painting and then leave it immediately,
most likely never to be seen again. I got a quick snapshot before
leaving the scene, and have tried to improve the coloring and tonality
in Photoshop before uploading it here. It's not exactly right, but unless you buy that penthouse apartment I guess you'll never know. ;)
Painting live at parties
is exhilarating, stressful, and enjoyable all at once. The guests really
enjoyed it though, and the apartment managers said they want me back
again. Yey!
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| Underwater Portrait, mixed media |
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August 4, 2010
Travel, travel, travel! That's the keyword for this month! In a period of six weeks I will have been on 4 plane trips and 4 road trips. Weddings, family visits, conferences, and art trips all in the mix.
During one recent trip, I delivered this commissioned artwork to a collector in North Carolina. This is a mixed media work involving digital collage, encaustic paint, and oil pastel. This type of work begins by combining various photographic elements in Photoshop. Here, I used several photographs from my client's son's trip to Australia combined with photographed samples of my acrylic texturing technique on canvas. Using the Photoshop program I then layer, edit, and manipulate to get the desired image. The resulting file is sent to Digital Art Studio, my preferred giclee printer, for archival printing. Then I take it home and cover it with clear encaustic paint, using that as a drawing surface for oil pastels. I really enjoy the final effect these media have together - the encaustic especially gives a translucent 3D look.
Side note: Actually, I delivered two artworks to this collector. But, sad to say, I forgot to take a photo of the final image of the other painting! Ahhh, I hate that. Will have to wait until I go to NC again to get an image.
Interested in commissioning me to create a painting for you? Email me and we'll discuss the details.
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July 12, 2010
Running
your own business is great. It has it's ups - like a mostly flexible
schedule, taking breaks at the neighborhood pool, sleeping in or staying
up late, the satisfaction of doing a job well done, and more. But it
also has its downs too. For me that means I don't always get to create
as much of my own art as I want. I have to divide my time between the
magazine and my creativity. But there's a balance there too, because at
this point, without the magazine job I couldn't afford to be an artist! ;)
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| Red Skies in Morning, acrylic on canvas |
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This
month is a publication month for the magazine, which means there will
be long work days and little of my own art produced. However, before
things got too crazy I've managed to finish up one painting and get
about 50% done on a mixed media piece that is a commissioned project.
The
ocean wave painting was painted 90% live on July 2 at the artwalk in
Tustin. It's fun to let others see the process and become more
interested in your work. I think there's a definite connection between
a customer liking the artist and knowing a little about their
style, and the customer actually making a purchase. Humanity desires
communion - that is the feeling of being able to communicate and deeply
know something or someone. As a Christian I believe the most fulfilling
form of communion is that we can have with God, but I also think there's
a kind of communion amongst people too. Letting people see you create
helps form that communion, and sometimes people desire to take that
feeling home with them in the form of an object. So, they buy a piece of
art and keep it in their home or office; it serves as a sort of memory that there's something important
happening here on earth. Humanity is developing and progressing,
innovating and creating. That's why people like art. There's really
nothing valuable about the actual paint or canvas, sometimes there's not
even anything really valuable in the image created! It's the feeling of
connection and meaning that's valuable.
As I've started offering services as a live event painter
for conferences, recitals, weddings, and other parties, I've been
practicing painting live as much as possible.
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| Underwater Portrait at GBR, Australia - in progress |
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However, there are
some forms of art that can't be done live easily - like my digital collages.
Those I create using layers and layers and layers of manipulated digital
imagery, digital drawing, and colors in Adobe Photoshop. The image
you see here is a commissioned piece for a man who wants to commemorate
his son's trip to Australia. I'm currently working on the digital imagery but will
later physically manipulate it further with actual paint and other
media. My plan is to get a giclee print made and the coat it with
clear encaustic paint. This protects the image and creates an illusion
of depth. Then I'll probably draw on it with oil pastels and such.
Encaustics and oil pastels work very well together. I'm really excited
to work with them again soon during my upcoming trip to North Carolina.
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