Persian Cat Handbags

I was watching Cats 101 on Animal Planet and saw what is quite possibly the strangest thing I have ever seen. Danelle German is a cat groomer who has taken up spinning the hair of Persian cats into handbags (which sell for over $100). The idea came to her when she was shaving Persians for the summer weather. German said that she just hated to waste such beautiful fur and set out to find a use for it. People off of the street were interviewed for the Cats 101 show and they seemed to be divided as to whether this was creepy or cute. Many people seem to think this is a great keepsake of a beloved cat while others think it is strange and gross. While I adore cats, I have to say I'm not sure about carrying around a purse made of one.

Worlds Largest

Here is a collection ow "Worlds Largest" items that I found online. Much like the previous post about installations compiled of collections of everyday items, these items wouldn't be anything special if they weren't so HUGE!


This is the big guy that inspired my search for large things. This is a Capybara, the worlds largest rodent. I saw one on Animal Planed that a woman is keeping as a pet. As pets, they are apparently much like dogs. They can even learn many of the same tricks as dogs. Capybaras love to swim and, strangely, only use the bathroom in water!



This is supposed to be the worlds largest cheese wheel. It is a wheel of Gouda weighing 1,323 lb!

Here is a picture of what is supposedly the worlds largest burger. There are many restaurants that claim to have the "worlds largest" burger but this one was the largest that I came across online.

This is allegedly the largest ball of foil. Its accompanying Craig's List advertisement is quite humorous. Apparently the owner of the foil ball was being forced to sell the item by a lady friend who refused to visit unless the ball was removed. The post also mentions that the ball was created after a mysterious incedent involving over a miles worth of foil. I can't even imagine!

A collection of collections

Here is a collection of some beautiful installation pieces that I found online:

Bloom by Sam Spenser

Doris Salcedo's Chair Art in Istanbul.
This piece uses thousands of wooden chairs to fill the space between two buildings.

The thing that these pieces have in common and I think the thing that drew me to them initially, is that they are each made up of many of the same item. They are in a way collections in themselves. None of these items, a chair, an umbrella, a Christmas ornament, would be anything spectacular on its own. It is when they are displayed in hundreds or thousands that they become special and beautiful.

Thousands of strands of Chinese Christmas balls come together to form this colorful installation in La Havre, France.
Cormier says that this piece was inspired by the impressionist movement.

Grand Pergola by Claude Cormier Architectes Paysagistes Inc.

I am also intrigued by the fact that these pieces are in outdoor, public spaces. I am always curious when I see outdoor installation pieces what the process is of getting permission to put it there. I like to imagine that Doris Salcedo simply filled up this space between two buildings without asking anyone. I’m sure there are permits, etc. for pieces like this but the idea of someone just doing this is funny to me. Imagine walking out your door one day and seeing the alley completely full of chairs!

This piece is made up of thousands of clay sculptures of people.

Asian Field by Antony Gromley.

I am also intrigued by the sheer amount of time that it must take to compile a piece like this. Particularly one like Asian Field which is made of thousands of hand made clay sculptures.

Collections

This website has a list of the strangest collections on the web including this very interesting collection of belly button lint.

To label or not to label...

Our class discussion today about the Dion piece got me thinking about the idea of labeling items in museums and titling art pieces. I loved visiting Eclectic Electric however, I found myself wishing that the items were labeled. I would love to know what all of them are, when they were made and even where they were found by the family. While it was obvious what many of the items were, many were quite obscure. Also, because most of the items were so well preserved and some had even been refurbished (particularly the fans) it was difficult to guess their age.
While I believe that artifacts in museums are probably best viewed with labels and historical information, I am not sure that the same goes for art. I very rarely title my paintings. I feel that it will limit the audience and tell them what they should take from the piece or what feelings it should evoke. I like the idea of provoking thought and questions. Titling a painting might answer any questions upfront. For example, I often include old family photographs in my paintings. I like to keep people guessing about who the people are and what their relationships are rather than giving a piece an obvious title like "Sisters."

Collages

Here is the collage that I made for our Ray Johnson inspired project. I used acrylic paint, newspaper, magazine clippings, potato sack etc. The magazine clippings are from a 70's magazine. I noticed that the magazine featured quite a few advertisements for woman's beauty products, particularly hair die and stockings. I included the potato sack pieces to mirror the fishnet stockings, however it is not entirely visible in the scan. I was thinking of adding some text on the right, I feel like it needs something but I'm not sure. Comments would be appreciated.





These are some other paintings that I have done which have some collage elements. I'm not sure if they would be considered "collages" because they consist primarily of paint but do include some pictures and other materials. Most of these were don in high school for my AP art class. I haven't really been able to take many art classes at VCU as a psychology major which has been really disappointing. It actually makes me sad to go in the art building and know that I can't take art classes...

(pictures to be added)

Mail Art

In reading the section of The Accidental Masterpiece about the artist Ray Johnson, I was interested to discover that he was particularly active in mail art. Mail art can be described as art in which the act of mailing becomes a medium. Artists typically mail items such as post cards, trading cards, hand made stamps etc. which are often collaboratively altered. It has been said that mail art began as a way to pull away from the classical art world and gallery setting. It has been seen as a way that anyone can get involved in art.

I was particularly interested to learn about Ray Johnson's involvement in mail art because I have participated in a couple of different forms of mail art myself. In high school I joined an online group in which members exchange artist trading cards. These tiny cards are the same dimensions as traditional playing cards. Each month the group would have a different theme for the cards. I would make a certain number of cards to send out and would receive the same number in return. As a student I thought of this as a great free way to collect some art. It is really fun to see different people's interpretations of the same theme. Themes were often very broad such as a particular color so that they would not be overly limiting. Here are a few artist trading cards that I made using mixed media and printing techniques.

Another form of mail art that I engaged in was the 1000 Journals Project. This project started with 1000 journals being sent to different people who had signed up online. They were passed around from person to person until they were full and they were then sent back to the anonymous founder of the project to be scanned and uploaded online. Sometimes the journals were worked on by one person at a time but some were also placed in community locations such as coffee shops to be worked on collaboratively. The project has grown to include far more than 1000 journals. Today, anyone can start their own journal to be passed around and upload their own images. I started a journal for a class that I took, Art and Community. Most of the people in my class added to it but I haven't been brave enough to mail it out to people I don't know yet! If anyone would like to add to it please let me know in class or in a comment.