Pokemon and Potential

above photo taken in Smithsonian Museum of Art - Washington D.C.

I did not always like museums. Most likely because my early exposure to them was usually to historical exhibits that I was dragged to on a school field trip. Just the fact that I HAD to go was a turn-off. Typically monotonous tour guides did not help with that either. But I got older and my interests matured. I learned that I liked art. The abstract thinking and the stories behind creative works sparked my interest. All of the sudden, I found myself cluing in intently when my aunt with an art-history major would talk about different artists and periods. I started jumping at the opportunity to go visit art museums when I could. I saw some incredible ones while being a congressional page in DC including the Modern Art Museum and the Smithsonian. Over the last Christmas break I found a few to enjoy in the Houston area not far from where my family lives. I truly feel that art has the potential to help us see things in a new way- with more depth and beauty.

The New York Times recently included an article on the numerous art museums in New York City, and I must say I am pretty envious of the quality and variety of different ones that are there. Sure New York has the numbers and the diversity that I know College Station lacks. The culture just simply isn’t there. However, the culture is all about A&M and the most well known artist in College Station, Benjamin Knox, got his fame from doing paintings of nostalgic Aggie scenes like Bonfire memorial, baseball games, or Kyle Field. He has a local gallery that displays his work perhaps qualifying as the closest thing C-stat has to an art museum of some sort.

Though I seem to complain about the scarcity of good art in the area, it could be a good thing in some ways. It’s kind of like my obsession with trading and collecting Pokémon cards as a 3rd grader. The more rare of a card I found, the more I appreciated and admired it. I would go back to stare at the card with all of its holographic greatness over and over. Perhaps, people tend to treat art in the same way. The fewer copies available or the more historical the artist, the more buyers will shell out thousands to obtain such a coveted piece. Admitting this could make me a hypocrite though as I have preached with a “more art for everyone” attitude through out every entry of this blog, and I still hold to that but looking at art from a more formal perspective does cause me to question that. Either way, I would still be more than happy to see a museum open in the Brazos County area that displayed Texas art or even prints of more famous works. But as I have discovered, more opportunities have been coming up in recent years with events like Fashion week and Rock the Republic. So do not fret art lovers, College Station and Bryan community has potential for a greater artistic environment as it continues to grow in interest, diversity and numbers!

Unlikely Filmmakers

As I was reading in the Battalion today in between classes, filmmaking, another form of art that is lacking in the culture of A&M, was brought to my attention. The article titled “Filmmaking Aggies “ is a bit of an oxymoron as the first paragraph of the entry suggests, “Aggie" and "filmmaker" are two words that are rarely seen combined within the same breath. At a college where engineering and business reign supreme, it's no surprise that A&M's contributions to the film canon have been minimal at best…”

I would expand on this statement to include many other artistic professions that are uncommon for Aggie grads. The author is touching on the main issue that I keep going back to. The popular fields of study at Texas A&M are centered on business and veterinary, engineering and biomedical sciences. These programs attract less creative individuals who in turn effects not only the amount of artistic expression being relevant on campus but also the degree to which students welcome creative endeavors. Many people are at A&M strictly to get that business degree or have that 4.0 and do not see value in producing, enjoying, or attending events related to art. Those things are probably viewed more as distractions from their ultimate goal as opposed to beneficial additions enhancing their college experience. Often the organizations and time commitments that are deemed more worthy are social organizations such as fraternities and sororities, academic groups for fields of study, and leadership clubs. The popularity of these groups as opposed to artsy ones also reflect the main things that society prioritizes as being the most helpful in pursuit of our education and career.

However, there seems to always be those exceptions. The ones who manage to break a trend and jump over the hurdle of going to school in an environment that is not particularly geared towards your passion. The battalion article talks about two graduates from the class of ’98 who are entering into the film industry by making movies falling under the same category as titles like the Blindside and Fireproof.

Freedom to create, but to exhibit?

Howdy art seekers J Hope ya’ll are enjoying the cool weather we have had these last couple of days in Aggieland. And if you are reading from somewhere else in the world, hope that great days are being had in your neck of the woods as well! All of the natural beauty inspired me to take a bike ride with my pal Wendy to Rudder tower to see some man-made beauty at an exhibit that the MSC Visual Arts Committee (VAC) is currently hosting in Rudder Tower. The theme of the display is 2-dimensional work that portrays its artist/artists’ view of what it means to have the freedom to create giving the exhibit its title.

Wendy and I were excited to check out what other students’ view of creative freedom in their artwork. Personally, I was also hoping to find more insight into how art is playing a role in the overall culture at A&M and abroad. And I figure if I am going to be blogging about this stuff, I need to see it for myself! I had high expectations for the grandeur of the exhibition… finally a devoted space for artists to show off their stuff on campus! We went inside Rudder and quickly spotted our friend, Ziggy, as I often find familiar faces when going through the lobby there. We asked him to come along to see this special art exhibit and took the elevator up to the 11^th floor where the art was supposed to be. This was my first time to go to the top floor of the building so I was not sure what the set up would be like but I was sure it would be an open space with large canvases on tripods and walls strategically placed for optimal viewing around the room. But unfortunately we got up there to find a formal dining area with people enjoying their lunch on the right and two doors closed shut on the left. No art in sight. My friend Ziggy decided to open the doors on the left despite our hesitancies of getting in trouble for something. Thankfully, we didn’t come up to the 11^th floor for nothing. We did find some gorgeous artwork and a small indicator that this was in fact VAC’s “Freedom to Create” Exhibit. And guess what? They had the doors closed and the artwork seemed almost hidden because the room it was in was under construction! Tools and equipment were scattered around the room. Plants and other nick knacks blocked paintings from being fully visible.

I don’t mention all of this to bash on the Visual Arts crew but to suggest that they had to resort to a dining room to display there works because there is such a lack of good areas for a long-term exhibit available. I am more critiquing the culture for its treatment of art related things. Maybe we happened to visit on the worst day but I must admit I was slightly disappointed in the location. Despite the obstructed views, I very much enjoyed the incredible, unique pieces. I took a few snapshots to show ya’ll. The display is there until December 2^nd. The Visual Arts Committee needs to keep up the good work and hopefully space for these events will become more accessible and more prominent in the way of life around here.

Just for fun here's a cool video that Ziggy showed me of another form of art.. music using the everyday gadgets of a vehicle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFybwg4wadI

One Leads to Another..

I hope you caught last week’s post that includes an interview with my fellow Aggie, Wendy Weatherly, about the local art culture at A&M. During our time together chatting in the architecture studio, I had the privilege of meeting another creative Texas A&M student, Hugo Ochoa. As the Graphic Designer Executive for the MSC Visual Arts Committee, Hugo was able to give me his in tuned insight into the underlying artistic environment on campus. He agreed with the Wendy’s take on the condition of the Aggie art culture that it is in fact existent but struggling and not well known. However, he believes that there potential for the seed of art to blossom into a beautiful addition to the traditions dominating in Aggieland. I must say that I am beginning to see this potential as well.

This is Hugo’s second year being involved in MSC Visual Arts Committee (VAC), which is one of the few but awesome student organizations geared toward the art scene. VAC provides opportunities for student to connect visual arts into their personal, professional and academic lives through multiple outlets including travel, artist residencies, gallery programs, and art exhibitions. By doing so they are helping to fulfill one of the biggest gaps in for art being more evident in the local culture by giving artists the opportunity to put their work on display for an extended period of time. They do this through exhibits open to anyone and by having displays dedicated to specific artists. Currently, there is an exhibit of paintings by Joshua Chambers entitled “The Internal Sublime” in the Wright Gallery inside the Langford Architecture Building (Building A) being displayed until Friday! The "Halloweenesque" painting at the top left corner is an example of one of Chamber's pieces. I was also excited to see that VAC is hosting a “Freedom to Create” exhibit that kicked off back in September and will continue until December 2. In gathering artwork for this exhibit, VAC advertised for people to donate 2-dimensional work exploring the concept of creative freedom and what it looks like for an artist to express freedom of thought through the visual arts. I regret not having heard about this until I met Hugo! I am anxious to check out the artwork for myself sometime this week. And for those of you anxious to see the art culture take off on campus… stop by and give your support as well! :)

On a nationwide level, the increase in support for art is not quite as optimistic according to report in last month's Arts & Business issue. The gap of supporters between philanthropists and artists is growing and there are few signs of increased giving to occur. Check out the full article on this national issue: Arts Philanthropy: the facts, trends, and potential