Press Release

For Immediate Release: March 14, 2016

 

Change is Good

An exhibition by James Didriksen

March 17 – March 21, 2016

Public Reception: Thursday, March 17, 5pm-7pm

 

The Northcutt Steele Gallery is pleased to introduce James Didriksen’s Change is Good, a collection of pieces ranging from small to large-scale drawings, paintings and sculptures. A reception will be held on Thursday, March 17 beginning at 5pm in the lobby of the Liberal Arts Building immediately in the front of the gallery.

Didriksen’s style of art corresponds to how his life and skills have transformed over the years. The phrase change is good is referring to how life itself changes every day for an individual. Tomorrow will be different than yesterday. The title is also refers to the fact that everybody gets one shot in life, and during that time change will occur every so often and individuals will have to accept it.

Didriksen was born and raised in Helena, MT. He is currently attending MSU-Billings to acquire his Bachelors of Fine Arts. After graduation his choices are still uncertain as to what he wants to after he acquires his BFA. Currently his music, family, and friends keep him motivated to get through the days. And his smile puts anyone he talks to in a good mood.

The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.

The Northcutt Steele Gallery is located on the first floor of the Liberal Arts Building on the Montana State University Billings campus. Gallery hours are from Monday – Friday from 8am – 4pm and by appointment.

Chapter 4 and 9 Questions

Chapter 4 How Do Museums Know What They Know?

Provenance are records related to an artwork that document its ownership, generally beginning with the date of creation. Provenance includes information that is made available for any artwork that comes up for sale or is donated. The earlier a piece of art was created the more likely it has an incomplete provenance. I think the shift took place because the sums of Vinci's artwork were very high and attribution followed behind Leonardo's fame and success. We value his creativity and talent, however, fame and fortune apparently overthrew Vinci's lifestyle.

Chapter 9 Ongoing Challenges

If I was on the American Society of Independent Artists I would have allowed Duchamp's Fountain in the show. Duchamp shows creativity in the piece, and creates art without the use of what the fountain is primarily used for in society. The piece is glazed with a black china which means that the piece has had some serious work done to it. An artists' hard work should be shown to anyone no matter how unusual or confusing it looks. My criteria for acceptance would be a rubric that involves form, style, theme, color and other variables that could be found in the piece.

Chapter 3 Questions

Kiki Smith's artwork interacts with the physical space around it by showing her audience how the function of her work independently in the space that surrounds it. In her piece, Lying With the Wolf the artwork seems to be alone with the wolf leaving the person alone in the space that is being occupied.

Installation art involves the presentation of an artists work with a message that they are trying to get across to their audience, instead of just achieving the means of the message. Installation art is defined as grounded because it ties to a physical space. I enjoy how installation art can be defined by different types which include video, audio, computers, performance and performance. I am definitely for the principles and ideas of installation art.

Drafting an Exhibition Call Exercise

Northcutt Steele Gallery Fall 2016 Exhibition

About:

The Fall 2016 Northcutt Steele Gallery Exhibition will begin this October. The exhibit will begin on October 17, 2016 and end on November 11, 2016.  Submissions must be made before September 26, 2016.

Eligibility:

Individuals who are eligible must be a current student here at MSU-Billings. Previous works that were used are not applicable. All medium will be considered.

Award:

There will be a total of three awards given to the public.        

Requirements:

Individuals can use up to three pieces in the exhibit. Works cannot exceed 40” wide and not over 8’ tall (including frame).

An email notice will be sent no later than October 3^rd for acceptance or decline. Accepted work must be received by October 13, 2016.

Vanessa German's Exhibition

Traffic I think has been planned out because the public can easily have access throughout the room without it being to cluttered. I can't really see any problems with traffic flow because the room has high amounts of space and pieces that are sorted out greatly.

The exhibition materials seem durable. The materials used in the pieces have a variety between small dolls and various knick knacks. 

The labels explains the artworks seem to be adjacent with their respective piece, meaning that the audience members should have a comfortable view of the information regarding each piece.

The only dangerous aspects would involve the pieces getting caught on someone's clothing. If a disabled person wanted to experience the exhibit they could with ease because of the open spaces that surround each piece makes it easier for the people to travel from one piece to the next. The chosen typography is easy to read because the font is crisp and clear.

The aesthetics found in the typography seem effective because the font is inviting and clear for its audience members.

Most of the components have a sense of unity because all the pieces correspond to one another and have similar qualities.

The visual style that comes to mind is a sort of lifestyle. The style is appropriate for the public.

One's life can be described by various types of art no matter what the material. The exhibit has a fluid sequence because the audience can choose any piece at any time and go to another in whatever order they desire. The sequence seems effective because people may have different likes in the material and form compared to others in the audience.

The most popular aspect for visitors under the age of 25 would be the food because it catches a person's attention. The least popular aspect would be the plain uninviting feel of the room itself. The most popular aspect for visitors over 25 is probably the opportunity to drink alcohol because it's optional. The least popular aspect would be again the uninviting feel of the room containing the pieces. Visitors can share their experiences of art with others because everyone has their own opinions and people want to hear about them. The one thing I would change in the gallery would be the interior, so that visitors feel welcome and won't be bored.

Placement Exercise

The second picture below shows compositional direction because the pieces have iconic meaning to them therefore they should be in a group to present their meanings to the audience. The cow skulls that were hung in the exhibit I would have also hung them side by side to demonstrate how all of them go in the same direction. The wood sculpture that a fellow classmate created I think would be a great stopper. People could stop and admire each angle of the piece and its composition.

        The paintings with animals in them seemed to have a relationship with subject matter because they collided perfectly in the show so audience members would not get thrown off focus. As the audience members progress through the art show they will want to see certain categories if you will of art that is related to other pieces of art.

         The ceramic medium might be "humdrum" do to the fact that there was more pictures and paintings than ceramics. I would have the ceramics work with the few sculptures in the show just to define how they are all 3-D works of art.

          The works in the third picture seem to have both less and more visual weight and I would arrange them to where the more weight would be separated from the less weight.

          The pictures at the bottom of my list show the best use of dramatic color. I think I would put the first piece with all the colors with the piece that also show various colors and the sunflower painting with the pieces that use only a few types of color.

           I want to take all the pieces presented to me and sort them out from category, type, color and form. To not have to much going on in one spot I would arrange them in a manner where the audience could take time to appreciate each piece without feeling rushed to observe everyone's piece in the show.