talk about a walking cliche

NYC with Rita and Heather was pretty awesome. Yesterday I went back to the city, this time on a field trip with my "Current Issues in Art" class. It made me think about being "an artist" again. There are actually artists in this world, in New York City, real live actual people who work their asses off making paintings, and ridiculous installations, and political commentary in the form of drawings in plastic bags and so on and so forth.

Our class got a tour from this grad student/art mag writer/curator guy. We went to a few galleries in Williamsburg -- Pierogi, Jack the Pelican, Black and White, and Momenta Art -- and visited a couple of artists in their studios. The curator was funnnny. He said things like, "Weaponize your intentionality!" and "You should live in Williamsburg because, as a curator, I don't feel like taking a train all the way out to Jersey City."

The artists we spoke with were pretty cool. They talked about being assistants and stuff before they got their own shows, etc.

Galleries:

Pierogi - very interesting, jackets with frames and then map-like things painted on them, plus an installation with rubber rats. Why is almost everything contemporary about performance? Or: why does it seem that way to me?

Jack the Pelican - "Artists work in teams, like socialist" something-or-other, says our guide. This way they can pool their skills. Or something. How the hell do you make money off of this? We saw a large ridiculous pseudo-machine made out of garbage, by Matt something and Jesse something. Gives me ideas for the Recycled Art show coming up here. WHERE ARE THE GOOD DUMPSTERS IN SARATOGA?

Black and White - hmmm, freaky. Apparently this guy works with some kind of processed tapioca to make attractive roadkill sculptures. The press release does not describe this well. These things looked like butchered cartoon animals, or like little toy creatures that had been in a horrible nuclear accident and were being eaten by survivors.

Momenta Art - this related to the discussion I'm supposed to lead for the class soon. It made me think, "Wow, I really did pick the right topic." Political art really is more exciting to me than other kinds of art. I am not just making this up, like I made up "I should be an environmental major".

So I stayed in the gallery while everyone else went to Chelsea. (I heard they went through three galleries too fast to appreciate anything.) I took notes, but I might need to go back. Then I headed to the Met and got lost because I didn't know 5th Ave is after Park Ave. At least the subways didn't confuse me.

Almost everyone on the trip seemed to be thinking about their futures as fine artists. I don't know how we are going to put this mess of impressions and advice into our discussion during class. For example, how to broach the issue of, "How the fuck can we afford to live in Williamsburg?" Is this a Current Issue in Art?

At one point while walking around Williamsburg I saw "Shomer Shabbat" spraypainted (in Hebrew) on a dumpster. This made me laugh. Was it graffitti? It looked stenciled. How bizarre. I looked around to see if there was anyone I could ask, but it's possible that no one else in my class is Jewish.

Back on campus, I joined the mainly-first-years crowd grooving out to The Bomb Squad in the student center. That was a lot of fun, and I felt brave instead of dumb for dancing by myself.

Today was the AIDS Walk in Albany. Twenty-six students from Skidmore walked. Skidmore students raised over $1500 for the Saratoga AIDS Coalition!