Summers Here and Schools Out

I did it! I completely my first semester at Clark, and quite successfully I might add. I received three A's and one B+ giving me a 3.8 GPA. I'm very happy to know that I was able to meet the challenges that the Clark educational experience had to offer.

Now here comes sweltering heat and the educational oblivion that is summer. I've never been a huge fan of the summer time, is it the sticky humidity, the frizzing hair, the rocket eclectic bill I get from trying to stay cool?? Not sure which, but I know I don't like it. The only positive aspect about the summer months is that DQ is open and trips to Hot Dog Anne's on a lazy weekend day.

Hopefully it will go by quickly with some interesting experiences and then I will be back in the classroom ready for more.

The DeCordova... Deux

Last Thursday night I attended the opening of the 2008 DeCordova Annual Exhibition. Marguerite White, an artist and Clark Professor was exhibiting her work and I was lucky enough to attend the opening.

Her piece Waterline (developmental drawing) was one of the highlights for me of the show. Her mix of vellum drawings, chalk, and silhouette creates a familiar yet almost fairytale like narrative and landscape, very reminiscent of Kara Walker.

"She sets us adrift in time by referencing historic imagery from the Rime of the Ancient Mariner while also calling attention to our current misgivings about harbors as sites of potential security threats. With a mix of images making up her narrative, White creates a space that is both fluid and disorienting, a place where you can become, even momentarily, lost on this continually shifting waterline." - Kate Dempsey, Koch Curatorial Fellow

Other artists that are worth going to take a look at are Mark Schoening, David Prifti, and Yana Payusova.

Farwell Ladies

Carol Burnett / The Ladies Who Lunch

So, as I mentioned in a previous blog about feeling down. Well, the reason behind that was that two of the best professors I have had so far at Clark and to be more frank my academic career, are leaving at the end of the spring semester. While the news is heart breaking for me and my classmates, I think there is an even greater tragedy to the Art History department and future Clark Students. I think one of the main issues now is that the Art History department will lack the full spectrum of panversity that art history has to offer.

I've learned so much from both Prof. Burns and Prof. Lepage in my brief time as their student, I wonder how much more knowledge I could have acquired if I was able to remain under their tutelage. They both will be great assets to the institutions that are smart enough to hold on to them. So this posting is dedicated to Prof. Lepage and Prof. Burns, two one of a kind Ladies.

Salut

Degas

Degas - Woman Bathing - 1889

So, I have been struggling with a research topic for my Modern Arts course when my professor suggested I work on Edgar Degas and it was like the clouds parted and and a heavenly light illuminated this divine understanding. Needless to say I am excited to start looking into Degas' work and how it relates to concepts of gender and misogyny. There is a wealth of research on the subject which will be vital for my research project so I will probably be spending spring break working on this topic and working out my presentation for class. I plan on focusing on his series of paintings that deal with women bathing and grooming themselves, the paintings are beautiful and it will be great to research more about them. Well now I am off to get my hair cut.