Queer in Normal, Normal, IL newspaper, 90's.

A recent show held at the Bloomington-Normal Arts Collective (BNAC) was honorably hosted by Normal's finest, Barry Blinderman. The BNAC held a three-day exhibition - titled, Art for a Change. The show was held on Worlds Aids Day. An epidemic Blinderman is quite passionate to explain to the community. Through the show, Illinois State University recognized current student work and Barry Blinderman, the man who directly found himself in a culture riot in the 90's.

Blinderman is the director of University Galleries in Normal, Illinois, and has been for quite some time. It seems as though Blinderman has been down and around the block a couple of times. He has seen it all. From the traditional art galleries, to the indie culture uncharted. Within his talk at theArt for Changeshow, he focused on the queer culture in the 80's and 90's - which has inspired many artists then and now.

David Wojnarowicz was a branch of the main idea Blinderman had expressed his enthusiasm in. So I, too will expand my views on Wojnarowicz, and direct this post to his direction. Wojnarowicz was an artist and AIDS activist in the 80's. Self taught and ready to stir the air with his roaring mode of communicative art, he did just that in the past and present. I believe that was what Blinderman was expressing through this art show - then and now. How much of the conflicting cultural perception in today's society is a duplication within its existence.

Through Wonjarowicz ambitions, his ability to capture moving, passionate, and perhaps timeless work has been a direct response to his reality. A reality in which you create and created through thoughts and emotions. Nothing is given light unless we shine it there. Wonjarowicz, was diagnosed with AIDS in the late 80's, and passed July 22nd, 1990. While he was labeled with AIDS, a stereotypical sexually transmitted disease for homosexuals, he created political content that needed to be heard. Throughout his career he made pieces that were conceivably hard for some viewers to handle. In 2010 the  removal of his video Fire in My Belly from an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in 2010 created an uproar of explanations and more. In this piece, there are images and sound that are indeed alarming.   

“David’s work continues to resonate with young artists, and provides a space for people, and especially queer artists, to make work.” -  Krystal Grow (AmericanPhotoMag, 2015).

I recognized that the show directly brought up a reoccurring theme within our community. Ultimate division. It never could be more obvious. Gays vs straight, red vs blue, black vs white, male vs female. It is all the same. The works I brought in was the agreement of healing the cure.

For the student show, there were many different kinds of art coming together. However, a majority of the work all had one thing to comment on. The election. A mundane topic in which I hate to participate in because it all seems to reflect is a pissing contest. Mind your p's and q's when trying to converse with someone today. You may upset someone with a contrasting opinion or idea that wasn't theirs. For them, it is something they feel they need to defend so badly because that is all they know and understand. 

Nonetheless, I understood to bring in any type of art into the show. So, I had. I brought in two pieces of work. However, I will explain only one of the paintings. Titled, Untitled. I left the title blank because I wanted ambiguous thought. As the artist, I am only concerned with leaving an idea to the viewer.

Untitled, 12" x 24". Canvas, thread, twine, medical tape, staples, acrylic paint, fire. 

For I was interested in textures, line work, color, and composition. The work is an exploration of emotion and natural function. I used stretch canvas to allow me to rip through the barrier – this is an expression of the tearing of flesh. The bruises simulate the process of healing. The thread and twine are expressions of freedom, comfort, and reconstruction. The staples are a statement of linkage. And the safety pins are represent the past. The colors I chose are directly suggesting flesh. All of the visual components are reflections of repair and improvement through self healing and time. 

By Erika Barber


Link(s):

http://www.americanphotomag.com/revisiting-wojnarowicz-era-conflict-and-change?image=0

http://galleries.illinoisstate.edu/exhibitions/1990/wojnarowicz/index.php

http://www.videtteonline.com/features/queer-in-normal-event-to-tell-story-of-aids-victim/article_80186e46-e341-5949-a214-cee832216cdb.html

A Fire in My Belly, David Wojnarowicz:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHRCwQeKCuo

Green Fish

Before we dive deep into the waters. I want you to click the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD7wrw03gzk,  grab some headphones - adjust to the appropriate volume, and breathe deeply and steadily through your nose and then out of your mouth.

Did you do the above? If so, great! If not, great!

Do you long for crisp cool air in your lungs? The cold stream at your ankles? Wet fingertips from the bushes? If so, put down all electronics and take yourself wherever that is as soon as you can. You may thank me later! And you will feel rejuvenated. Nature is within us. Previous visiting artist at Illinois State University, Jason Walker sure enjoys what purity nature has to offer for humanity. 

Jason Walker born in 1973 grew up in Pocatello, Idaho. Pursuing a college career in the arts, Walker graduated from Utah State University with a Bachelors in Fine Arts the year of 1996, followed by receiving his Masters in Fine Arts from Pennsylvania University in 1999. Walker spent two years as an Artist in Residence at The Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, where he was honored with the Taunt Fellowship award. He was also awarded an NCECA International Residency Fellowship for a residency in Vallauris, France. 

Wildflowers 1, 2, and 3

Since then, Walker's work is included in major collections and  has shown, lectured, and taught internationally through the years. Walker is currently a studio artist in Bellingham, Washington and Kona, Hawaii. Who focuses on studio ceramics. Walker's ceramic art explores the complex and complicated relationship between the American culture, landscape of technology, and the perception of nature.

While attending the workshop Walker held in an Illinois State University ceramic class, I was very much interested in seeing how he executes his master. For I have seen his work on a social media platform called Instagram. The detail within his painted ceramics expresses a bold narrative through imagery. Along with seemingly rejecting a touch on the production. The talk consisted of him explaining the importance of brushes. The delicate touch it leaves behind on such work - lucid, declared, and dynamic. He explains that there is not permanence within his exploration of his marks within his work. He may evolve at any time. 

Image 1. We Burn Things, Thats What We Do        Image 2. Jackrabbit                   Image 3. Desert Frog

The way he talks about his art even sounds something of a chattering brook. Gentle, fluid, and cultured. It brings me back to change. That we are evolving through imagery, words, and space. The exploration of shaping technology and nature together seemingly contradict one another. However, the representation Walker considers is within us and we may not escape even if we wanted. 

"Perhaps through examination we may once again reinstate our own naturalness and, one day, find balance between the planet and ourselves. Ultimately, in doing so we may come to a better realization of what it means to be human." - Jason Walker 

Artist Website: 

http://jasonwalkerceramics.com

By Erika Barber 

College of Fine Arts 

Student showcase    

The Transpace is a student gallery that is open to all types of artists at Illinois State University Center for Visual Arts. This show, Soft Boiled, allowed many artists to come together to express their most recent work. The design of the gallery theorize a connection between the environment and the hanging artwork itself. I reflected on this instantly as I walked through the Gallery No. 2 while peering up at the student work. I also distinguished that it was not purposely intended to make me sense this concept the way I have. Yet the gallery left me feeling like it was connected to the drawings in some way. Perhaps it was the enclosed space viewers are in. This left myself sensing a world which peers into another world. 

 Figure 1. Strange Teeth                   Figure 2. Desert Snakes                          Figure 3. Cheap Steaks 

The microorganism-like gestures within the canvas space, shape their own limited world. The use of color and loose movement made it possible to interpret. These bacteria shaped images reside within their own, but come together collectively to create understanding and meaning. Within a selected piece, we can see there are many characters or shapes holding the face of the canvas. Once fixated on that shape, there are unique personalities to be considered. For instance, not every shape is mimicking the one next to it. The color, shape, placement are all thoughtfully sought to take on new context. 

The titles given to each piece alone suggest a story to be told within our consciousness. For the Figure 4 below, the title is Lost Clog. The piece holds bright colors that catch our eyes almost at an instant. These amusing works are created through a series of stencil and color layering. A lost tradition found along the streets of our cities and transportation vehicles. 

Figure 4. Lost Clog                                                                        Figure 5. Hi 5

As a whole, the student work was interesting to comprehend. It was refreshing to see a "lost" technique brought to light once again. One could take a trip and find endless variations of the work entirely. The movement, color, and placement of the bacteria-like figures hold true to their own universe. Take away the title of the piece  and there are endless reflections awaiting to be acknowledged. Theoretically mimicking the congruous space it was showcased was something personal I took with me. Unfortunately,  I could not find an artist statement or information about the artist at all, so I do not have their information to report. They left a brochure to explain titles of the works and to thank family and friends, but no name. 

By Erika Barber