Kathryn Rodrigues

Advice to a Young Artist

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Sat, 05 Nov 2016 00:03:00 +0000

I'm preparing for a darkroom photography class I'm teaching and was looking at Dawoud Bey's work. I was reminded of when he came to visit Marwen Lab many years ago. His work and his words resonated so much with the students and teaching artists that were present. He wrote this piece on his blog in 2008 that I love:

Advice to A Young Artist

I participated in an Artists at Work panel discussion at the Chicago Cultural Center three nights ago. The hall was packed with people (presumably artists) who had come to hear me, Joyce Owens, Tony Fitzpatrick, Juan Angel Chavez, and moderator Paul Klein hold forth on "Turning Your Art Into A Career." I am always a little hesitant about participating in these kinds of events, not being sure what will ensue, and if one and a half hours is indeed enough time to say everything that needs to be said to an audience that presumably has a a wide range of experiences, but perhaps still feels lacking in that one or two crucial pieces of information that will perhaps move them forward in their careers. I honestly wasn't looking forward to trying to explain my thirty year career as a series of "how tos" which are, at best, unique to my own set of experiences and circumstances, even as I realize that I have learned a thing or two along the way to the career I have had. At any rate it did turn out to be a variably interesting evening, with a wide range of viewpoints and experiences being presented. I am posting here the comments I read for readers of my blog. They will also, at some point, be posted on the Chicago Artists Resources Website, an invaluable source of professional information.

(http://www.chicago artistsresource.org)

• Make good work! Be self-critical and informed enough to know if the work you are doing stacks up to the work you would like to be hanging next to. Through constant engagement with work that is being shown, know where and if your work fits into a particular area of current discourse. Nothing else matters more than this, and nothing else will make up for this if you are not doing it.
• Put in 10,000 hours (see Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers. Gladwell posits that successful people—across a wide range of fields--have put in 10,000 hours of practice to reach their level of success.) Like any other profession, being an artist requires physically getting up and “going to work.” The sooner you begin your professional journey the more time you will have to put in the requisite number of hours.
• Hang around people who are better than you think you currently are. The longer you hang around them and have conversations with them, the better you are likely to become. Be sure to actually listen to their feedback and figure out how you can use it.
• Assuming you are doing the above, show your work to as many people as possible. If you show the work to friends and associates, show it to those you think are doing work that is at least as interesting or more interesting than your own, who have even more experience than you do, so you can establish an ongoing critical dialogue with them. It is impossible to do good work, show it to a lot of people, and nothing happens. You have to believe this. If you are showing your work to informed viewers and no on is responding or talking your work up to other people, you need to take a long, hard look at your work. Do not be foolish enough to think that everyone else is wrong and that you are right! People that I know who look at work—even with very different interests and tastes—tend to agree when something interesting comes along. And if any one of them sees something interesting, they will usually tell someone else. I always talk to curators I know about interesting new work that I have seen, encouraging them to take a look at it as well. Usually we agree, and even if they are not able to do anything right away, they keep the work and the artist on their radar.
• Be informed. Know what part of the marketplace your work fits; both the marketplace of ideas and the marketplace of certain kinds of objects. Making art is not only about being creative, but understanding the broader context in which you are making your work.
• Cultivate a community of support, and keep in touch with people, even when it doesn’t look like they are going to do anything for you right away. Form a community, don’t just “network.” I have had numerous exhibitions that were the result of keeping in touch with people for up to ten years. People can often be interested in your work, but it takes time for the right situation to develop for them to be able to do something with it. They also want to know that you, too, are in it for the long haul. The last thing they want to do is make an early commitment to someone’s work who then decides to give it up and go work for Verizon!
• Join those professional organizations that can provide a community, network, and professional information, such as College Art Association, Society for Photographic Education, and others. Attend their events and conferences and expand your knowledge and community.
• Become an information junkie. Know about everything and everybody who might be interested in what you are doing. Allinformation is useful at some point.
• Be prepared to make work for the long haul. Be a long distance runner. The great novelist John Oliver Killens gave me this advise thirty years ago, and it's true. Your work should be something that you would be doing regardless of whether the larger market ever responds or not. Making art has to be your own particular obsession.
• Develop good communication skills. The ability to speak and write articulately and concisely about your work is absolutely essential, unless you have someone who will constantly transcribe and edit your thoughts for you, and also act as your press secretary so you never have to actually confront anyone or talk or write about your work yourself. The ability to write and think well is directly related to how much you read and absorb information. I would suggest that you read a lot in order to understand what a well crafted statement (about anything) looks like. Good writing tends to follow entirely conventional patterns and forms.
• Get a good education, whether from a good art or photography program or from your own obsessive seeking out of knowledge. They weren’t joking (whoever they were) when they said that “Knowledge is Power.” You need to know how to DO something; how to skillfully and consistently make something. This requires a respect for craft, knowledge and the necessary training to execute. If you choose to do it through an art school or program, it DOES matter where you go. Some places are better at this than others. Others are good at teaching a narrow range of conceptual theory and jargon, but may leave you unsure about how to give coherent and interesting form to those ideas. Art is a serious endeavor, and much like any other field requires training. You wouldn’t let a doctor with no training operate on you just because she was feeling ”inspired,” or because he or she had good intentions and some interesting theories about medical science. Unless you think art is a less serious pursuit, it should also require some serious skills and measurable competencies.
• Don’t be afraid to create new paradigms for how you can exist and function as an artist. A lot of the old paradigms were never meant to serve artists well in the first place. I don’t know any other field in which you can bear the full expense of production, then give someone 50% to sell the object or product, then pay the IRS the requisite 33% tax rate, and say you are doing "good business." This is the “normal” paradigm of the commercial art world, and at a certain level it does work, particularly at the mid to upper levels. It doesn't mean its the only way, and in the early stages your work will not be priced high enough to cover your costs of production, let alone pay your rent every month, under this structure at any rate. Other paradigms and strategies are possible. Much the way that musicians are finding ways to profitably get their work into the hands of their audiences without label support, so should other artists be devising ways of getting their work out there and truly supporting themselves. There are artists doing this with real success. Find out what they are doing and how they are doing it.

Irving Harper's World

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 15:49:00 +0000

Collage Scrap Exchange

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Fri, 07 Nov 2014 21:01:00 +0000

As someone who started a "paper collection" in the 3rd grade, you can say I've been a fan of paper products for awhile. I have boxes of old maps and collage materials that have been laying around unused for far too long. Now that I'm trying to recommit some time to creative endeavors, I was thrilled to hear about the Collage Scrap Exchange. Put on by Papirmass and Brown Paper Bag, when you sign up you get matched up with another person (domestic or international) and mail each other collage material. Then you make a piece using the other person's materials. The theme is new landscapes and I couldn't be more excited! I requested an international partner so it'll as least be worth it to get some fun mail:)

Lola Donaghue

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Fri, 07 Nov 2014 20:37:00 +0000

Just saw the work of Lola Donoghue via The Jealous Curator. I think I may add a print of hers to my wish list for Christmas! As someone who is timid when it comes to color, I think her work would look great in our house.

saying goodbye

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Thu, 22 May 2014 18:59:00 +0000

This post is a change of pace but it has been a rough week around here.
I got some heartbreaking news that one of my former students had passed away and the daughter of a woman in a mom's group I'm a part of also passed away. Both of these deaths were untimely and tragic. I'm sending a donation to this organization in honor of my student:

Hope for the Day
Hope For The Day is a nonprofit movement committed to utilizing music and the arts as a defense mechanism to suicide. Our alternative approach strives to offer education, prevention and hope through creative expression.

And there is a 5k run/walk this summer which raises funds to advance research and support services at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago for kids with brain tumors, here is a link to the team put together by women from the mom's group in honor of Meera, if you are able to donate.

california color

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 18:45:00 +0000

I have some b+w film getting processed but here are some color photos from our trip to California!

NEW55 film

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 15:55:00 +0000

Bob Crowley is trying to bring Type 55 polaroid film back! Check out the video above and his Kickstarter campaign for more info. I would LOVE to get my hands on some of this!

Joffrey Ballet- contemporary choreographers

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 16:44:00 +0000

I've been going to see Joffrey performances for the past few years after getting a groupon with some girlfriends. It is so fun to see friends, go downtown and be in the beautiful Auditorium Theatre. The latest performance was a few weeks ago and I wish I could find it on video to share but all I could find was their preview video. There were three performances as part of their Contemporary Choreographers, some were better than other but overall I was so happy I got to see them, it was so inspiring!

Kyle Abraham

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 16:31:00 +0000

Sad I missed this performance at MCA Chicago!

Fundraising

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Wed, 05 Feb 2014 17:33:00 +0000

I've come across two projects recently that I think are really worth passing on. The first one is from one of my former students from Marwen. Queion is in his first year of college at Drake University and is trying to raise money for a trip to South Africa this summer where he will visit Johannesburg, Cape Town and Kruger National Park. I was lucky enough to visit all of those places when I was young and it had such a huge impact on me, I'm so excited for him!

The next project is very different, our local bakery, La Boulangerie, recently had to close and they are looking to reopen in the neighborhood. I bought their bread every week at our farmer's market and was so bummed to hear they closed. They have started a kickstarter campaign to raise some money, check it out:

Anthem

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Fri, 17 Jan 2014 02:06:00 +0000

My grandmother included this quote in her Christmas letter to us this year that I LOVED.
It's from a Leonard Cohen song called Anthem. One more reason she is the coolest grandma around.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.

Thanks Baba!

Do Ho Suh- Home Within Home Within Home Within Home Within Home

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 20:05:00 +0000

Korean artist Do Ho Suh (previously here) has just completed his largest artwork to date at Seoul’s National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Titled Home Within Home Within Home Within Home Within Home, the giant installation represents two previous residences the artist lived in at 1:1 scale, one structure inside the built with jade-colored silk evoking the feel of a 3D blueprint. The smaller structure is a traditional Korean home where Suh grew up a child which he then suspended inside a replica of his first residence in the United States, a modern apartment building in Providence, Rhode Island. The piece is so large that visitors are invited to walk inside and virtually explore it which you can do through May 14, 2014. Learn more over atLehmann Maupin and MMCA. (via colossal)

Marwen Lab studio visits

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Tue, 29 Oct 2013 15:16:00 +0000

We took our students on some studio visits last week- it was so inspiring! Here are some photos:

The Universe Next Door

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 00:34:00 +0000

I'm so bummed I missed this exhibit of Abelardo Morell's work at the Art Institute this summer. Here's a short video on him and his work. I was excited to see there is a catalog for the show though!

Neighborhood sights

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 19:27:00 +0000

fall is here!

Love this wood installation a few blocks away from my house!

the loneliest pine needle floating in the air, suspended by a spider web

Caitlin Moran- My posthumous advice for my daughter

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 19:44:00 +0000

Here are a few excerpts from an article by Caitlin Moran titled My posthumous advice for my daughter. I found parts of this article to be so touching and a good reminder about what's important in life. I hope I can pass this wisdom on to my son!
Go here for the full article.

The main thing is just to try to be nice. You already are – so lovely I burst, darling – and so I want you to hang on to that and never let it go. Keep slowly turning it up, like a dimmer switch, whenever you can. Just resolve to shine, constantly and steadily, like a warm lamp in the corner, and people will want to move towards you in order to feel happy, and to read things more clearly. You will be bright and constant in a world of dark and flux, and this will save you the anxiety of other, ultimately less satisfying things like ‘being cool’, ‘being more successful than everyone else’ and ‘being very thin’.

Choose your friends because you feel most like yourself around them, because the jokes are easy and you feel like you’re in your best outfit when you’re with them, even though you’re just in a T-shirt. Never love someone whom you think you need to mend – or who makes you feel like you should be mended.

Whenever you can’t think of something to say in a conversation, ask people questions instead. Even if you’re next to a man who collects pre-Seventies screws and bolts, you will probably never have another opportunity to find out so much about pre-Seventies screws and bolts, and you never know when it will be useful.

See as many sunrises and sunsets as you can. Run across roads to smell fat roses. Always believe you can change the world – even if it’s only a tiny bit, because every tiny bit needed someone who changed it. Think of yourself as a silver rocket – use loud music as your fuel; books like maps and co-ordinates for how to get there."

Via Tania

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 02:15:00 +0000

Check out the Indiegogo campaign for my friend Tania's next record!

California Landscapes

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 21:53:00 +0000

Amalia Pica at MCA Chicago

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 21:50:00 +0000

eavesdropping

outside

inside

family reflected in giant reproduction of graph paper

venn diagram

Loved the Amalia Pica show at the MCA, curated by my talented sister!

Marwen Lab final exhibition

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 01:43:00 +0000

Here are a few photos from our last class, we were doing a post-it note critique, hence the post-its on the walls. I am so proud of my students! The official opening is Friday, June 14th from 5-8pm.

Inside Marwen Lab: The Voice and Vision of Young Artists

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 01:31:00 +0000

A lovely article just came out about Marwen Lab on Sixty Inches From Center. It features a description of the program written by one of our students, Lauren. We were so impressed with her essay, we are using an excerpt as the wall text for our exhibition!
Here it is:

Inside Lab by Lauren Auyeung

While many high schoolers will spend their Friday nights relaxing at home or with friends, a few will spend them hard at work in the art studios of Marwen Lab. To put it simply, Marwen Lab is a space of artistic creativity and freedom. For three 8-week terms, highly motivated young artists in Chicago, who have applied and have been accepted, come to the studios of Marwen to work on their own continuous project that exhibits their personal and artistic character. Whether it is in the field of drawing and painting, photography, or mixed media, Lab offers a variety of opportunities for artistic self development and discovery.

Laurel Crown by Lab student Nathaniel Knize ( Image Credit: Sophia Nahli)

Although Lab has three outstanding instructors, the project is very much independent. The students begin Lab with nothing more than an idea, a vision, or maybe even just something they feel strongly about. And no matter how ambitious, ingenious, or insane that vision may be, the purpose of the entire year is to turn that vision into a reality.

The process in itself, however, may not be as clean as it appears. The purpose of the three term schedule is to give the student plenty of time to mess up and start again. The majority of the students end up changing the idea they started with at the beginning of the year, or maybe even switching mediums. Despite the bumps in the road, Lab students can always find a way to get excited and push forward in their project not only from just the instructors, but from the entire artistic community that is Marwen itself.

Chandelier by Lab student Zoe Prekop (Image Credit: Sophia Nahli)

The year is filled with peer critiques, feedback sessions, and general advice in order to inspire the student. This also gives students the chance to view their project in a different way than they originally had. However, there is never a need for a formalized critique session for feedback. Lab is a very close-knit community, and the students are more than just peer-artists, they are friends. Just by stopping by the person next to them, they can ask “Hey, what do you think about this,” and a new inspiration can come as easily as the conversation. Lab students are encouraged to get out of their studio and learn about the projects of other students, help each other out, and ultimately learn more about themselves as individuals.

beauty is embarrassing

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:35:00 +0000

I watched this documentary not long ago about the artist Wayne White. You may know his work from PeeWee's Playhouse, I found his story to be really interesting. Check out the trailer and some images below...

Spring!

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:29:00 +0000

Spring arrived a couple of weeks ago right around my birthday and it was glorious!

Travelwide 4x5 camera

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:03:00 +0000

I was so excited to see this new project started by some friends of friends, a portable 4x5 camera- yes! It's called a Travelwide and is currently on Kickstarter. The project has been funded but I encourage you to go check it out and secure a camera for yourself. There's really no comparison when it comes to the quality and beauty of large format photography. Ben Syverson and Justin Lundquist have created a lightweight, portable 4x5 camera that is easy to travel with. I am so excited to try this out! I also love being able to support my peers in their creative endeavors. Here's a little video about it.

Shooting with the Travelwide from Ben Syverson on Vimeo.

p.s. this is my 200th post!

Paper love

noreply@blogger.com (kathryn.rodrigues) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:17:00 +0000

I have an addiction to paper- notebooks, sketchbooks, journals, stationary, whatever you want to call it, I can't get enough. I have a Pinterest board dedicated to this sort of thing. I've had to live with this affliction since I was very young. I remember starting a "paper" collection when I was in 3rd grade, living in Mozambique. My friends and I would get together and trade treasures. I still have my collection intact and let me say, it is the best time machine. I especially love that I have stationary and party invitations in a slew of other languages since all of my friends were from other countries. Check these out: