tea and paint

M.I.A. Born Free

2010-05-03T22:06:00.000-07:00

Here's the newest video from M.I.A.

Born Free

antler chandelier

2010-04-19T11:53:00.001-07:00

Dan Graham

2010-04-12T23:03:00.000-07:00

During spring break I went to SF and visited the MOMA. I saw one of Dan Graham's outdoor installations entitled The Kiss.

Just from seeing his lecture last week, I can see how it is impossible to really get an idea of his work through pictures. Here's a few of some friends and I

They are really surreal environments. I felt dizzy and claustrophobic.

S.A.D.

2010-04-12T22:06:00.000-07:00

seasonal affective disorder, you have it.

LACMA

2010-03-30T22:54:00.000-07:00

Over spring break I went to LA and visited the Los Angeles County Museum of Art..

A few artists to comment on:

South African artist Robin Rhodes had a piece I found absolutely stunning. It was called "Kite" One wall had a white canvas with a set of hands painted on it. They were holding wires that ran across the corner to the joining wall. A diamond shaped projection of abstracted film played as the body of the kite. I found it a very creative approach to mixing medias, which is what I try to do in my own work...it's giving me ideas.

Joseph Beuys: This is one crazy man. I mean, anyone who would trap themselves in a room with a coyote for three days should be classified as crazy, right?...or perhaps whispering into dead animals ears hits the spot for me.

So yes, I am referring to the two performance pieces "America Loves me and I love America" and "How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare."

Very interesting man. I enjoy his use of symbolism in performances. The exhibit showed various artifacts from performances, constructed items, prints. etc.

Richard Serra: Two sculptures were on display entitled Sequence and Band. These things are huge.

Sequence:

Band:

Here's a video I found of Band.

disquieted: BILL VIOLA

2010-03-30T22:26:00.000-07:00

Bill Viola is currently featured in the Disquieted exhibition

His piece is titled "The quintet of the astonished." This room was filled with anxiety but so addicting you couldn't leave. You stare at a portrait of 5 adults. At first glance they appear to be still, but then you notice slight movements. The films speed progresses throughout the piece. Particular subjects are carefully animated with such subtlety you have to focus to notice the alterations at some points. The facial expressions are extreme and incoherent. The piece poses many questions...

Who are these people?

What is their association with each other?

What are they looking at?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR9av-I35ME

DISC

2010-03-28T16:40:00.000-07:00

Everyone needs to stop what they are doing and go to the Portland Art Museum asap..

This week I had the pleasure of experiencing Robert Irwin's untitled disc. To say the least I was very captivated. As you look at it, the disc appears as a sphere floating in the space between you and the wall. The simplicity, beauty and aura it creates is astonishing, I wanted to stand in front of it for hours. I now understand why Irwin has always been against having his work photographed. The the viewer cannot truly appreciation the piece and the energy it generates by looking at a photo.

BUT, here's one anyway to give you an idea of what I'm talking about..

Seriously, go to PAM now....and check out the Disquieted Exhibition too!

Nars are taking over the world

2010-03-03T21:07:00.001-08:00

Seriously. Whats the deal?

All of a sudden the secrets of the Narwhal have been revealed. I have been trying to hide them for so long.

The following pictures were taken of a creative process posted on a wall at Wieden and Kennedy

All very true statements, except maybe the last one.

But really, why all the hype? Is this Narwhal craze national, or is it just Oregonians? Are Narwhals really the key to creativity? If so, why do I get artist block so often?

You must be wondering...
Since my name is 2 letters shy of Narwhal it became quite apparent to me at a young age what my spirit animal was. In the recent years this 'secret' has emerged somehow along with a steady increase in popularity of this amazing whale.

..Three cheers for the Narwhals?

Stickers

2010-03-01T10:05:00.000-08:00

A friend of a friend designs theses stickers for your keyboard! A is for Airplane, B is for Bowie, C is for Cat, etc...
You can buy them on his website

BFA Project

2010-02-25T10:14:00.000-08:00

http://vimeo.com/user3135544/videos

Here's a link of the abstract film I have been working on lately.
Work in progress

Dane Eisenbart

2010-02-17T16:00:00.000-08:00

My friend Dane submitted this painting to the Portland Love Show. It is absolutely amazing.

Check out his website. www.danesart.com

Love Show

2010-02-17T15:52:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend I went to the Portland Love Show. This annual event exhibits the work of hundreds of artists. Here's the site.

Vinyl Shoe

2010-02-15T22:44:00.000-08:00

handbags and accessories on the way..

Jennifer West Installation

2010-02-08T13:27:00.000-08:00

Here's more

Chemical Balance by Jean Shin

2010-02-08T13:21:00.000-08:00

check it out

Dream Installation

2010-01-26T19:35:00.000-08:00

Today I presented a test installation of my thesis project. Here are a few photos.

Portland Grid Project

2010-01-25T19:18:00.000-08:00

Last week in my photography class we had a guest speaker Christopher Rauschenberg. He talked about the Portland Grid Project and his participation in it through the years. For this project, the entire city is divided by a grid. Photographers document a randomly selected square which is picked monthly. The photographs range in subject matter and are produced by digital and film cameras.

Check out portlandgridproject.com for the archives

Lately I have been inspired to take more photographs. I think I will arrange my own collection into different areas of portland.

77

2010-01-19T18:30:00.000-08:00

1 material. 77 days: white vinyl.

Dull Pen Printing

2010-01-19T13:35:00.000-08:00

The first of the Dull Pen designs have been put into production. Here are some images from the first session

New Blog

2010-01-18T14:14:00.000-08:00

So I've decided I really don't like tumblr and the formatting of the photos and such.
So I'm going to stick with blogger..

http://teaandpaintphoto.blogspot.com/

A Lesson in Photoshop

2010-01-14T16:06:00.000-08:00

Yet another lesson in Photoshop today..will they ever end?
No. Here's the before and after.

Methods: Crop, Curves, Photo Filter, Lighting Effects, Blur in background, Color to eyes and face.

Juan Francisco Casas

2010-01-14T13:30:00.000-08:00

My friend Andrew just sent me this link to this artist, Juan Francisco Casas Ruiz

I can't believe this is a drawing!
http://www.juanfranciscocasas.com/

Tumblr Blog

2010-01-10T18:08:00.001-08:00

I have started a new blog on Tumblr for my photography course, Imaging the City of Bits:
http://teaandpaintphoto.tumblr.com/

New Print

2010-01-10T17:03:00.000-08:00

So I've been printing on these canvas bags. Here's the infamous tree design abstracted. My classmates Daniel, Steven, Chris and I are starting a printing company called Dull Pen. Below is a logo idea I've been working on.

I saw an infomercial on this screen printing machine the other day:
http://www.whatdoyudu.com/default.aspx
This is quite ridiculous. All the machine does is expose and dry the screen. for $300?!
and all the materials are sold separately..

Art Down

2010-01-05T18:31:00.001-08:00

Just took down my art show at Artemis cafe last week. Here's a couple pictures of the space

The Cultures of Collecting

2009-11-23T12:37:00.000-08:00

Baudrillard speaks of objects as part of a system that defines the subject and their world. These objects define their 'personal mircocosm.' I think we all are collectors in some form or another. Our collections do define, or voice a clue to our personality, who we desire to be.

Defining personality based on ones collections can be somewhat predetermined or stereotypical in nature. For example, the lady who collects cats is classified as a crazy, the man who collects cars is successful and the child who collects rocks is curious and innocent.

I started to think about my own collections as I read the excerpt. Ive realized there is a fine line between collecting and accumulating. particularly if the objects are put to use in the everyday. I could claim myself to be a collector of clothes, of shoes.

More recently I have been collecting pennies, however, this is not a 'collection' in the sense of the term. The accumulation of these objects over the years has brought me some benefits. I have singled out several old pennies that date quite far back that may be worth something (now or in the future). This is my real 'collection', of old coins. The act of accumulating has created a means of finding the old coins. It is an attempt at making an otherwise worthless object gain some relevance. In addition, I have found a place to put unwanted pennies that I would otherwise dispose of. I have also benefited financially. The last trip I took to the bank earned me 87 effortless dollars. To me this is the type of collecting that has purpose. It can be done time and time again and it's very little work and no cost.

I also questioned the importance of other types of collecting that struck me as quite odd. My friend has a shot glass collection (for display uses only) that is prominently arranged on a dedicated shelf in her home. It exhibits dozens and dozens of souvenirs. Many are gifts from friend's vacations and are from locations she hasn't been to before. This is the idea of a collaborative collection in which one accepts objects they did not seek out themselves. Yes, I will admit I have donated several to the cause. So is it really 'her' collection, or does she just own it? The idea is odd. Perhaps it functions as a system of contacts the owner is associated with and the places those contacts have visited, somewhat of a catalog.

painted pixels

2009-11-19T21:56:00.001-08:00

http://kellymckernan.com/artwork/932176_Suspension.html

a slight obsession with deer has taken over my life

2009-11-16T11:32:00.001-08:00

what a luminous deer... by lisa dejohn

rainbows

2009-11-11T18:42:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c6HsiixFS8&feature=player_embedded

Alberto Alessi

2009-11-08T15:38:00.001-08:00

Alessi products have a certain appeal that separates them from the others. A clean, modern element is combined with a comical or 'cute' flare to many products. I remember seeing some Alessi products in a Pinkberry in Los Angeles last summer. One particular product had me stumped for a minute on what it was.

Eventually I figured out it was a paper towel holder. Other kitchen items were displayed that had this same playful cartoon theme. I looked at the website and was interested to find that in addition to this playful series there are many items that are sleek and elegant in design such as bowls, kettles and cutlery that are made of metals as opposed to plastics. The entire line of products is truly diverse and has the ability to appeal to many different people.

Above is a bowl for Alessi by designer Fratelli Campana. I find myself more attuned to this type of product. This series titled 'Blow up' includes many items such as an umbrella stand, flower vase and tealight holder. This piece got me thinking about a statement in the article. Alberto Alessi states, "Alessi is built on Aesthetics. Not rationalist functionalist principals." Clearly the above item was not built for function. However there are other items that seem fufill the role of high design for function and aesthetics. I am particularly fond of the Aldo Rossi conico kettle. The article mentions its popularity and iconic role for the company. I've never used one but I would assume its function is exceptional, purely based on the demand. Who would want to spend hundred of dollars on a kettle that was impractical? I think Alberto's words are an understatement for many of the products. It's not just about aesthetics. If the kettle didn't have high function it would be a sculpture, not a product.

I do however applaud the acceptance for failure as mentioned with the Hot Berta kettle and lemon juicer. Perhaps these designers were too focused on aesthetics. Experimentation and failure in necessary in such an industry.

AMERICA Jean Baudrillard

2009-11-01T18:32:00.001-08:00

The passage within the excerpt from America that I was most fond of was where Baudrillard discusses the polaroid. He states 'It is the optical materialization of a magical process.' That the polaroid was the 'special effect of the time.' There is something about the polaroid that puts it in a league of its own. All the technology and advancement in digital cameras today cannot produce what a polaroid can. On a digital, one can take a photo and view it instantly, however, it does not come with the gratification of a carefully chosen shot and the material photograph. These days people aimlessly shoot photos as they are unlimited. As a whole, there is not the same amount of time and work put into photography today as there was in the past. Digital cameras are affordable and accessible to a large majority. There are those who see polaroids as a thing of the past and those who still appreciate them for their simplicity, nostalgic and 'magical' qualities.

Baudrillard discusses the body and ones concern to be 'into' the body. 'Into your sexuality, into your own desire. Into your own functions as if they were energy differentials or video screens.' He then discussed the concept of the 'into' to the brain. That we attempt to translate our brains complexity. 'What we are wanting here is to see our thoughts unfolding before us.'

first things first, the medium is the massage

2009-10-25T23:12:00.001-07:00

First Things First..

The original manifesto of 1964 is quite harsh in regards to the commercial aspects of advertising. In most ways agree with the statement "by far the greatest effort of those working in the advertising industry are wasted on these trivial purposes, which contribute little or nothing to our national prosperity. Consumer advertising is thought of as the money maker for graphic designers. Design is extremely overlooked in society. The manifesto mentions several methods where design is more worthy. Books, periodicals, educational aids and films are a few listed, which today are more credible and thought of as designed than they might have been in 1964.

The 2000 manifesto reinforces the previous one by elaborating its urgency to use design for practical means. Some listed are environmental, social and cultural emergencies that are in need of the problem solving skills designers possess but are wasting on consumerism. This version also elaborates the negative aspects of marketing and how it is a threat to the way society functions as a whole. It says that advertising changes the way people speak, think, feel, respond and interact. I would definitely have to agree with this statement.

I think were headed in the right direction with using design as a means to 'promote our trade, our education, our culture and our greater awareness of the world.' Advertising for commercial purposes is becoming a competitive dead-end field that is extremely limiting and and unsatisfying for the designers. It is lucrative and nothing more.

The Medium is the Massage
I was exceptionally interested in the layout of this book. The pages flow randomly but fit well together. The book engages the viewer and holds interest. The author, Marshall McLuhan, focuses on the power of communication through the media. The first line of the book states 'The medium, or process, of our time-electric technology- is reshaping and restructuring patterns of social interdependence and every aspect of our personal life.' The 2000 manifesto echos this as stated above.

Walter Gropius, Dieter Rams

2009-10-18T20:37:00.000-07:00

Walter Gropius's view of the bauhaus idea was to create a school where men could function as a whole yet independently. Gropius's goal was that the co-operation would emphasize integration, co-ordination and inclusiveness. That the students would adapt to posses qualities of an artist, technician and businessman. Products produced would not embody a specific 'bauhaus' style. Gropius states "It was not based on external stylistic features, but rather on the effort to design things simply and truthfully in accordance with their intrinsic laws." Extensive training would take place to enable one to find their 'natural gifts.'

The whole bauhaus idea reminds me much of the bfa program. We are a diverse group, working collectively yet independently. We all carry different strengths and weakness and are investigating our 'natural gifts' in the realm of digital arts. Our 'products' will be our terminal projects, which cannot be labeled in one category. As we have been discussing in our issues and practices class, it is difficult to label our year with a name.

After reading the First Dieter Rams interview I could almost expect how he would answer the questions on the second interview. How he said his favorite occupation was his own and modern 'kitsch' is what he hates most. Just by looking at the images of what he's done for braun, many aspects of his character and evident. However there are things that jump out. He veers away from cultural norms. The hours he works, his neglect for newspapers, his disinterest in heroes.

For the question about what project gave him the most satisfaction, Rams responded with the TP 1 Phone/Radio. This surprised me. I was thinking he would say something more along the lines of a piece of furniture. The piece that stood out to me was the seater 620 for sdr+ or perhaps the universal shelving system. He mentioned the Schneewittchensarg's popularity in the press, perhaps the compact version (TP 1) gave him the most satisfaction because it had great success.

beware

2009-10-18T20:34:00.001-07:00

I saw this in the White Stag bathroom the other day, ladies beware.

Japanese Gardens

2009-10-18T18:12:00.001-07:00

This week I went to Portland's Japanese Garden. It was interesting to experience this space after last weeks Machine in the Garden lecture by Kenny Helphand. He talked about defiant gardens and what gardens represent. Helphand explained how gardens embody a range of different aspects including life, work, hope, home and beauty. The Japanese Garden was an exceptional example of these key ideas. I decided to do some research to learn more about the area. I found that the garden is actually divided into 5 different gardens. The Flat, Stroll, Tea, Natural, Sand and Stone Gardens occupy the five and a half acres. Their purpose is to instill a sense of peace and harmony and reconnect the visitor to nature.

If you haven't been...I highly recommend it. Check out the website to learn more.
Japanesegarden.com

2. Herman Miller, Hal Foster, Adolf Loos

2009-10-12T11:44:00.001-07:00

Herman Miller's furniture design company has a very non-standard way of operating. They have spend decades in the background staying true to their original non-marketed designs. The article states The product must be honest. Designer Gilbert Rohde claimed that 'imitation of traditional design was insincere aesthetically.'

I think a lot of the success of Herman Miller has to do with the unique operation method. Not limiting the designs to demand and price opens up an infinite opportunity for the designers. below are favorites by George Nelson.

Hal Foster's Design and Crime talks about Art Nouveau, the return of Style 1900 and how it has been adapted to create a new movement in art Style 2000. Foster describes this as 'objects being treated as mini-subjects' that are units of the design. The term Gesamtkunstwerk comes up, meaning 'total-work,' the combination of the arts. The combination of subject and object is also part of this. The article mentions a chamber pot and an urn being used in different ways. the Art Nouveau designer using the urn as a chamber pot and the modernist who do the opposite and call the utilitarian object art. I think today there is a mixture out both, that one can be interested in Art Nouveau and also be a modernist. This example of the chamber pot and urn reminds me a lot of antiques and how we display them as a piece of art when they were not intended for such a purpose. Should we use the object for it's intention of preserve it as a spectacle of a particular era. I'm reminded of an antique coffee grinder my mother bought and put on top to the fridge. The modernist in me moved it to a near by table to be on display. I thought of it more as an artifact. Why would one use it? it might break..On an opposite note I have also considered using a Turkish copper vase as a garbage can. So I think the distinction is being blurred quite a bit.

Architect Adolf Loos clearly wasn't a fan of Art Nouveau. He was a modernist that found ornamentation distracting and unnecessary. He felt that ornament had been outgrown and art had taken the place of ornamentation. This man would be shocked to see what is going on today. I found his take on tattoos to be quite laughable. How all tattooed men are either a criminal or degenerate and that 80 percent of inmates have tattoos. Loos would be disgusted by the amount of people walking around with colorful butterflies and symbols on their bodies. Loos also mentions the embroideress and lacemaker that work 20 hours to earn the equivalent of what a modern man can make in 8. This also doesn't hold true in today's society. The more time put into making something, the more it is worth. This doesn't hold true always of course but generally it is the case. The ending paragraph of Ornament and Crime was also quite comical to me. How Loos states 'Absense of ornament had brought the other arts to unexpected heights.' He merits Beethoven's success to lack of ornamentation.

Ditch Projects: Gretchen Hogue and Jared Davis-Haug

2009-10-11T17:28:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went to the opening at Ditch Projects in Springfield featuring the work of Gretchen Hogue entitled ESCAPE ROUTES/disposable Comfort and the work of Jared Davis-Haug entitled Turbulence Again.

Gretchen's central piece was largely projected on the main wall. It showed looping clips of models being filmed in different scenes. They are all walking toward the camera but walk endlessly as the clips repeat

Jared's Piece Turbulence Again was projected outdoors against the night sky. Two panels were attached to a pole where he projected his abstract film, the same clip being projected on both panels.

The White Box

2009-10-11T17:17:00.000-07:00

On Thursday Oct 10th I went to The White Box opening's Inspiration China. There was a lot of fascinating work including the work of 2 digital arts bfa students, Liz Bayan and Allison Ho. Thanks to Liz I got my very own soul purification kit, I think I'll save it for an emergency.

http://aaa.uoregon.edu/index.cfm?mode=news&page=news&id=945

1. Robert Irwin, Seeing is forgetting the name of the thing one sees

2009-10-04T11:13:00.000-07:00

Art and Science have always been a fascinating and complementary pair that are different yet alike in so many ways. Robert Irwin, James Turrell and Ed Wortz thought they couldn't be anymore different, yet their interests were very parallel. The artist, psychologist and scientist found their common ground. Lawrence Weschler describes it as "man's sense of environment, and particularly his perceptual sense of that environment." So this is the underlying theme that led the men to extreme experiments of sensory deprivation. They were trying to bridge a gap between art and science, find answers to their questions. Irwin asks of Wortz "Is it possible for me to understand how and in what way he sets his questions and structures his information?"

Now I've never spent any time in an anechoic chamber, but one can only imagine what these men experienced during and after their time in isolation. The closest experience to this I could claim would have to be loading film onto a reel in my photography class (and even then, there is a task to be done, the earth is spinning, outside noise is not completely dampened, and I'm listening to my ipod anyway)...So I guess I can't relate completely.

The way the men described the world when they left the anechoic chamber is something I can imagine, or perhaps only one a fraction of the intensity they experienced. Many would probably agree upon the lucid feeling one gets when leaving a movie theater and re-entering back to reality. As I'm leaving a theater I get this natural euphoria that lingers for quite sometime, everything seems different, more alive. This high takes over as you escape the dark theater and walk back to reality and re-introduce yourself with your thoughts. Sitting in darkness and being absorbed in a story, you are brainwashed by the film, you leave with a different mindset than you arrived with.

Irwin had a fascinating analogy of a chemist and painter. He described how they both go through the same process of trial and error. The chemist mixing chemicals and the artist doing a painting, both will not be completed until their goal is achieved. This analogy is one that I hadn't considered but definitely agree with. As a painter, I find myself structuring my paintings as I go. It is a lot of trial and error until I am satisfied and the piece is complete. Sometimes I might take a break from a painting. A day, a week, maybe a month. I work on something else until I find what my piece was lacking. The painting is done once it's chemistry is complete.

Update

2009-08-28T12:02:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while, but have certainly been busy...here's an update of the latest.

First and foremost, I have relocated to Portland where I am currently enrolled at UO in the Digital Arts BFA program.

Over the summer I have kept busy with the following projects

painting
photography/digital imaging
updating my web site
screen printing

Here's a look at each..

This is an acrylic painting on canvas that measures 16x20 inches. I entitled it "The two sides of Hell"

Here is a series I've been working on inspired by vague memories I have from when these photos were taken. The top two and bottom were taken during a road trip to California, the third down was a photo from a self portrait project for a photography class. I enabled the use of layers to give these images the dream like quality. Layered on top are other images and textures taken from other photos as well as some abstract paintings I've done. For the second, entitled "trees in nets," I added a pixelated layer. This photo is quite amusing to me as I had never seen or even heard of the idea to protect trees in large nets. Given that this was on the side of a busy road, it intrigued me further. It almost seems too futuristic to be real. The natural beauty of the trees are seized in exchange for a skewed man made attraction.

I have also been doing some updating on my website. Pictured above is the new logo I will be using. I have done some slight reformatting of the layout and added some new work.
You can find my site at www.uoregon.edu/~nalaoui/tea and paint portfolio.

Last and certainly not least is my new found love for screen printing.

Moon Phases

Narwhal

Tree

I have generally been interested in printing images of nature. My method is very loose as is evident in the pillowcase of Narwhals. I do a lot of overlapping and mixing of colors. In this practice, perfection is not necessary. Pictured below is a panel of wood I have been printing my images on as well. I think I will look into more of this in the future.

So there's the update. I will also be using this blog to post reading responses and such for my courses, so more posts to come soon.

Peach Detox

2009-02-26T13:50:00.000-08:00

It's great.

So to clarify the 'tea and paint' situation, the name refers to the harmonious connection between the two. There is nothing more relaxing than painting while you sip tea...nothing.

Unfortunately I haven't had much time for such activities lately as I've been consumed by my photography course which is currently eating up all my free time. Here's some photos from my last assignment...

My friends Kevin and Hilary were my subjects for this photoshoot. This roll was double exposed. The first time through, I shot many objects and textures in the space, the second time I photographed Kevin and Hilary. This gives the photos the superimposed look.

My first official blog

2009-01-26T16:36:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome to the blog site of tea and paint..if I sound like an answering machine, that's what I'm going for.

but really, how do I start?
how about a brief introduction...
name:Nawal
age:23
sex:female
location: Eugene, or
occupation: digital artist

Now that the awkward part is over, lets move on to business. You are probably wondering what I am doing here rambling on about tea and paint.. let me explain:

I am in my last term of school in the Digital Arts program at the University of Oregon. This term I am taking an independent study to focus on building a web portfolio. My adviser highly recommended I start a blog to link to my web site. so here I am. This blog will update viewers on what I am doing, recent work and whatever other garbage happens to fall in it.

so here's an update:

I am currently working on my website which will be completed by february 1st, 2009. This is the application deadline for the 2009 BFA in Portland. Which, if all falls into place, I will participate in. in other news I have submitted artwork for a wine label contest.
Here's what I've come up with:

I am also currently enrolled in a black and white photography course this term, so prints will soon be uploaded. Stay tuned.

Now I'm a blogger

2009-01-25T17:46:00.000-08:00

Such a strange word, blog.

I think I'll sleep on it