Gallery in the Galley

In which I blather again–oh, holy Jeebus, yes–and then some more.

If you can’t tolerate the video, or if it just makes you cry too much, the upshot is:

my husband can’t get a critique of his art work.

So that means you should give him one.

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27 responses to “Gallery in the Galley”

  1. flutter Avatar
    flutter

    the mohawk was my personal favorite, it is very relevant, modern and thus highly artistic.

    artsy fartsy, if you will.

  2. Nancy Avatar
    Nancy

    I liked that the skin colour varied from portrait to portrait. It says something about creativity and flexibility in how he views himself. It was an interesting view from the perspective of a person who has never seen the subject himself to get an idea of him solely from the self-portraits

    Blue man is my favourite.

  3. furiousBall Avatar
    furiousBall

    and see this cloud? this clouds has this adooooorable silver lining

  4. furiousBall Avatar
    furiousBall

    that poor grammar was an attempt at indicating a lisp… not really… i screwed that up

  5. AmyTree Avatar
    AmyTree

    (I am obsessed with David Hasslehoff in a totally ironic way.)

    Hmm… well:
    With regard to the issue of content, the mechanical mark-making of the negative space makes resonant the essentially transitional quality of the work. (I like the bit where people aere allowed to touch and even alter his portraits!!)

    In terms of the sculpture, I’m troubled by how the internal dynamic of the biomorphic forms verges on codifying the accessibility of the work. (Erm… I don’t even know what that means!)

    The plaster dryer-tube is my favorite! I hope it gets pride of place. Perhaps he could consider doing copies in bronze? Would make excellent coffee-table legs. 🙂

  6. monica Avatar
    monica

    allrighty…well…ahem.. good for him! all of his portraits will – I presume – get a special place on the wall with the other kids’ art class products! and there is also the one where you glue pasta onto matchstick boxes and spray them with gold paint… just an idea.. thinking of it, the tube – if it was a see through model – could work fine as a pasta container. only not spaghetti…only the round shaped pasta otl…

    sorry Groomeo, but you should take the next class too, the advanced one!! can’t wait to see the results:o)

  7. Jeni Avatar
    Jeni

    I thought the pop-up cardboard thingy was pretty darned cute but I loved the self-portrait -particularly the one with the variety of hair styles. Now that would be extremely useful I would think as it would give you an idea of what you would look like in this hair style, with this color, etc., etc.
    One comment and yes, a bit of a critique I suppose, of your blog though -when you do the videos, while I like the little dialogue boxes you post, they are very difficult for me to read as the print is way too small for my old eyes and the time span they are on the screen is too fast -also for my old eyes to deal with. Slow, girl, slow -that’s my motto in most every thing it seems these days!

  8. Becky Cazares Avatar
    Becky Cazares

    Okay (disclaimer first), I am not an artist in any way, nor an art student. (There, that’s out of the way). I was mesmerized with the pop-up book and thought it was a very creative way to achieve the rather benign assignment in a way that had movement and style. I guarantee the other students’ submissions just SAT THERE and didn’t move. Plus, I was trying the whole time to imagine how one manages to put this thing together so that all the folds end up folded at the exact same time and in the direction you want them to fold. He’s a mathematical genius, I presume, and it shows in his art.

    I also liked the choice of patterns in the clothing on the self-portraits. That also shows a vivid imagination and ability to see oneself in a variety of ways. He strikes me as very unassuming and someone who doesn’t put too much emphasis on how others might perceive him. He’s comfortable in his own skin, as they say (even blue skin!).

  9. Midlife Jobhunter Avatar
    Midlife Jobhunter

    Well, I’m not an artist. I do like art though. Will your groom be bummed if I say I’m with Van Gogh?

  10. Prefers Her Fantasy Life Avatar
    Prefers Her Fantasy Life

    Ditto what Amy Tree said. 😉

  11. ArtSparker Avatar
    ArtSparker

    I think the self-portraits are quite interesting and original. They are in line with a lot of what I see in American Illustration – an annual for editorial illustrators working in the edgier range.

  12. jess Avatar
    jess

    Groom make nice pictures. I like.

    The pop-up is like, totally awesome??

    And the blue guy reminds me of Bill Cosby, for some reason.

  13. Sunflower56 Avatar
    Sunflower56

    You are sure utilizing your new video camera in a creative way!

    I loved them all! Especially when viewed as a collection. Thanks for sharing. It is disappointing to hear that students couldn’t critique any better than that. Not that I can either for that matter, but, my favorite is the self portrait with the extra pieces you can play with. I always appreciate the “please touch” creations. What a great idea. (Don’t tell my husband, but that has given me a great idea for his next father’s day or birthday card.)

  14. Pam Avatar
    Pam

    Aahhh Jocelyn – be careful what you wish for!… “One’s attention is drawn to the medium in which the artist Groomeo’s work is presented. There are odd objects from domestic settings, withdrawn from their ethno-graphic context to give them a new setting, and perhaps to endow them with a new role and renewed power.
    Viewers are forced to look to be able to see.
    The last brilliantly illustrates the juxtoposition of hairstyles upon the human form.
    There is the combination of playfulness, humour and irony, the impact of which is highlighted by the construction and deconstruction of found objects.
    “Surprising” and “not what I expected” occur frequently in the comments of the intruiging and thought-provoking works of Groomeo.
    The presentation of this body of work, with its custom-designed natural lighting, visual presentation and highly amusing accompanying snippets of texts, is part of an attempt to educate a previously misinformed audience of this emerging artist’s work. The artwork is constantly placed at the centre of the display. It is in a readily-recognized format highlighting that the objects have been created in an innovative and surprising way.
    I am sure there will be more to come from this artist who attempts successfully to make an individualistic vibrant contributiion to contemporary art.

    (Ha ha!! xxxx)

  15. citizen of the world Avatar
    citizen of the world

    I’m not capaple of “real critiques.” So yeah.. cute floral linings! I have a couple pairs of shorts with secret flowery waistbands that please me no end as well.

  16. Kylie w Warszawie Avatar
    Kylie w Warszawie

    I kind of suck at giving critiques too. I’m like Andy in The Office, “This soup tastes bad.” “That painting is bad.”

    But really, I think they were just awestruck. He’s really talented.

    I do love the portraits. I think they show that he has many different facets of his personality.

    (Oh, and I don’t usually use the word facet because it’s the Polish word for “guy” and confuses me.)

  17. Shieldmaiden96 Avatar
    Shieldmaiden96

    I don’t know how to be an art critic either, but I notice that there is definitely a difference between a project completed by someone who is pandering to a prof for a grade and someone who has the freedom to actually enjoy the creativity AND whose life revolves around something more than texting and beer pong. I loved the self portraits because they reflect both humor and creativity. The cardboard sculpture is just neat; the kind of thing I’d spend a long time looking at in an exhibit.

  18. Alison and Julie Avatar
    Alison and Julie

    3 to 1 for feedback right? Just like Terry taught us. So…

    1. You’ve got a nice smile.
    2. Um…you used a variety of colors.
    3. Cardboard seems to be your forte. (insert your own accent there to make it sound like “fort–eh”

    1. And the thing to work on….hmmm. We’re not so good at giving things to work on. We’re too Minnesotan and not very good at critiquing art. We just really like the cardboard.

  19. Jazz Avatar
    Jazz

    Well, I know nothing about art, but didn’t Picasso have a blue thing going on at one point? And then there’s the whole Blue Dog thing.

    He may be on to something.

  20. movin down the road Avatar
    movin down the road

    I totally want to come hang out with you guys at your house and make stuff.

  21. Vic Avatar
    Vic

    Just followed the link from your comment – thanks for coming by my blog.

    You are hilarious.

    There. Now that that’s out of the way, I don’t have much in the way of articulate art critique, but I know I really liked the pop-up book, probably because the viewer can interact with a 3D piece from so many perspectives. It’s new at every angle. The intricacy of the cut-outs worked well with the plain cardboard.

    Also it makes a cool sound when you open it.

  22. Casdok Avatar
    Casdok

    Pam said it very well!! And a great presentation by the way!

  23. phd in yogurtry Avatar
    phd in yogurtry

    my husb had his colon removed in 1986. could he borrow that first sculpture? it would come in handy on vacation. I think.

    As for the hairdo project, I think your husband is creative, brave and entertaining. I like that he doesn’t take himself so seriously. And double chins are hawt, hawt, hawt, so there’s that.

  24. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    While I agree with Pam in principle, I think the whole collection shows a remarkable rejection of the post-modern.

    Clearly, the form of the plaster sculpture harkens back to the modernist credo of Form follows Function, as PhD in Yogurtry points out.

    However, all pales in comparison to the concept, composition, and color of the digital photo series. What they do when we’re not looking, indeed!

    iJim

  25. Diesel Avatar
    Diesel

    I still can’t tell if David Hasselhoff’s own obsession with David Hasselhoff is ironic or not. And isn’t that the true meaning of art?

    I think the styrofoam thing looks like a spaceship from Star Wars, from back when they used to actually make spaceships out of styrofoam for Star Wars.

    Is the George Washington one an homage to the Washington, Washington, Six Foot Four Weighs a F—ing Ton video? Because it looks like it is.

  26. Ann(ie) Avatar
    Ann(ie)

    Okay this is all I have to say:

    You are adorable.
    and
    You are also hysterical.
    and
    I too enjoy fun floral linings!

    Such a fun post.

  27. lime Avatar
    lime

    ok, i am crazy late getting here so for that i apologize. i shall now offer my critique, however for the sake of space, I will limit it to the portrait collection.

    the george washington portrait is clearly a cry of frustration at the post-modern tranasformation of substance to style as indicated by the bold use of color and the juxtaposition of a historicla figure with the “as seen on tv” logo. he slyly indicates “groomeo slept here” meaning he finds rest in the space where substance and style clash.

    blue boy is an obvious warning about going out in minnesota winters lacking proper attire. this should be put on tourism brochures.

    as for mohawk man, i believe his clever use of paper to simulate paint was fully intended to demonstrate that there is more than meets the eye with regard to his work. the students were astute to pick up on this subtlety.

    the grand work though is “uncle byron’s hair club” where we again see the “tv logo.” in it he brilliantly expresses his conflicted identity. should he be defined by madison avenue? should he be a chameleon who blends in? should he be the avant garde artist? that he allows the viewer of his work to decide indicates a post-modern abdication of self. bravo!

    now can i play with uncle byron’s hair club? i LOVE that one. really. it’s a hoot. I love the whimsy and fun in it and that he used lots of textures in the different pieces.

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