alternative exhibitions & seven days in the art world

after looking through the alternative exhibit powerpoint again, i have a distinct favorite. i am already a fan of cai guo-qiang's explosion/bomb-esque pieces, but this one is even better:

this sculpture stays true to guo-qiang's experimentation with explosions. it seems as though the animals are all bursting from the ground and then smashing against the glass wall. i love the setup and size of animals used. this would never happen, yet he decided to keep the animals realistic. everything about this is so imaginative and outside of the box. i would love to see this piece in person. i wonder how it would look while walking underneath. the animals almost form a bridge which eventually leads to a fragile wall. the shape in which these animals are traveling makes me think of a cow jumping over the moon. i love it, i love it, i love it. i hope to someday make an enormous, powerful sculpture like this one. cai guo-qiang is not afraid of anything, therefore his art is always innovative and unconventional. this particular piece relates to my current project in senior studio, though not very much. i'm creating a unique sculpture of my cat out of clay. the only real connection between the two is that i am working towards making a realistic animal too, yet mine will be extending from the wall instead of jumping across the room.

the excerpt from sarah thornton's "seven days in the art world" is incredibly relevant to me. i plan to attend art school, therefore the art world is going to be an important factor in my life from now on. i am excited to attend college critiques and eventually immerse myself in an art industry career. in this packet, the critiques seem to be very intense. all of the students, not just those presenting, take it seriously. thornton claims that it is not uncommon for a student to fall apart during a critique, to really take it personally. as i said in my previous post, i want to toughen my skin and take the criticism as an opportunity to better my work. william e. jones, a filmmaker discussed in this reading, sums this point up very well: "When artists are put on the spot, Jones feels, it helps them "develop thick skins and come to see criticism as rhetoric rather than personal attack."another aspect of this critique that i need to prepare myself for is time. while ours last week was short and sweet yet helpful, these are unbelievably involved and long lasting. i know that many of my foundations classes will require being in class for 6 hours, therefore i need to work on time management and my attention span. i cannot wait to experience the art world outside of high school. my visit to parsons this weekend was incredibly successful. i was able to walk through classrooms and dorms. i feel ready to move into the next phase of my life.... it's all happening!