Image from Audrey Heller Photographs
At the 57th Street Art Fair in Chicago this weekend, I was a little disappointed by the artwork for sale. Nothing really struck me as original or showed any imagination or creativity. I was tired of seeing gaudy clothing and boring landscapes. In other words, I was not impressed considering this was my first visit. I was happy, though, to come across the work of Audrey Heller. She hails from San Francisco, and in her own words, her photographs are, “a melding of the influences of Dr. Seuss and Edward Weston.” They are truly humorous and thoughtful photographs. Plus, they are beautifully and meticulously photographed. She takes small figurines and places them in a world that is too big for them. For instance, Bubbly, the artwork I purchased this past weekend, is a diver diving into a glass of champagne. Although this picture is not on the site, there are plenty others that demonstrate her style. I think Never Be Lonely Again! is a great example. It shows a small maid figurine sweeping up a coffee cake on a plate next to a cup of coffee and a newspaper. We will see what the Wells Street Art Fair has to offer this weekend.
Audrey Heller
Joe Ledbetter
Image from Joe Ledbetter
I’m going to keep this one short, but I thought I would pass along another artist doing some cool things. Joe Ledbetter has a great flair for doing characters. His paintings are about poster size and, in a lot of ways, they don’t make any sense. The characters seem to fuzzy and furry cartoon characters doing a number of strange things. For example, there is a monkey who has cut off the top of head and is eating his brains. It is aptly titled Monkey Brains. These really have to be seen to be appreciated. The great thing about them is not necessarily the subject matter, but the strong, bold lines and bright, dynamic colors. Everything just pops off the canvas. Many artists lately seem to have this focus on creating characters, and Joe Ledbetter has one of the best eyes for this.
Digital Maoism by Jaron Lanier
I came across Digital Maoism by Jaron Janier through Boing Boing, and I must say that Lanier seems to be most upset that people are changing his entry in Wikipedia. He also seems to be upset that the collective takes away from the personal glory of the individual. In the supposed race to be the most Meta site, individual voice and a human side to the Internet are lost. He looks down on the collaboration of ideas and the aggreggation of the Internet.
It seems that Lanier bashes “online collectivism” because credit is taken away from the individual…namely him. As an educator, I feel that collaboration is one of the most imporatnt tools that I own. If anything, I feel that online collectivism gives the Intenet a more human side because what has been created was created by individuals to help access information and increase learning. Most of the people who create all of this information are not out for credit or personal glory. They are interested in the process of learning and doing something right for the sake of doing it right. That is the main reason Wikipedia works. They are not motivated by money, but rather the personal satisfaction that they have made accessing information easier and they have brought people together. No, I don’t believe that it is necessary to have the ultimate Meta site or that it should even be wanted by the general publc. Like anything worth having, you need to spend time with what the Internet has to offer and make it work for you.
I hope the recent backlash towards the social Web does not lead to extended policies against its endless possibilities as a learning tool. Essays like Digital Maoism only add to the fire that online collectivism is to be feared.