Yesterday was the big day! ITALYYY!!! *exaggerated screaming* It was my very first flight and I was scared to death. I have never flown on a plane before, nevertheless out of the country!! The amount of excitement I have is indescribable. Well we caught our flight to Rome yesterday at around 6:00 pm from Charlotte. Boarding the plane, checking luggage.. all of this was just nothing but constant anticipation. As far as the flight it was 8 HOURSS NON -STOP. I was excited at first, the plane had individual televisions per seat and we were all seated together as one big group.When we took off I was so nervous I must have been chewing like 4 pieces of gum; it was a lil shaky at first but the entire flight was smooth sailing. However, I didn't get to sit by a window to enjoy the amazing view. Sleep of course was uncomfortable but I didn't really mind at the moment. I made it work nevertheless. When we finally arrived (July 2nd), it was like lunchtime here in Rome but 2 am in SC . The minute we got here I thought about my family and how thankful I am for them making it possible for me to take part in such a great opportunity!  After we got here it was nothing but constant running around. No time to sleep. Rome is breathtaking, it's so beautiful--the atmosphere, the city, everything. I took as many pictures as I could.  We checked into the hotel- it is beautiful. It has an old-fashioned, modern look. Well no time to nap-we freshened up, and boarded on the train to head to our first amazing site. The Colloseum. Before boarding the train, me and some friends ate a small little restaurant that was near the hotel. We ordered pizza, I forgot the name of the pizza I had but it was something new. I have pics-- a lil on the dry side but who has time to complain? I'm in Rome, Italy! How many people can say that? Being in the presence of such powerful and extraordinary architecture is really a moving experience especially being an artist myself. Learning about these things is one thing but actually being able to physically touch and see it in person is an entire different level of experience. Lots and lots of walking continued the rest of the day...miles i will say HAHA. We viewed the Arch of Constantine,  Roman Forum, Capitoline Hill, the church of San Luigi dei Francesi to view Caravaggio’s famous St. Matthew painting series, the Pantheon, and finally the Bernini's Fountain of 4 Rivers. I FINALLY HAD GELATO!! The most amazing ice cream in the world- Ben & Jerry, PET or Bryers has nothing on this. I will be getting some more before I return to the US. KA'SIA I'M SO SORRY I didn't get a picture haha, I know you would have LOVED it.  I really hope these pictures can do justice of these memorable experiences I have captured but I sincerely doubt they will. After an EXTREMELY busy first day in Rome of trains buses and LOTS of walking, we had the rest of the night to do as we please. Most people headed to the hotel to call it a night but I don't want to ever forget this experience so SLEEP can come later. Rome here I come! Some of my friends and I went to a lili restaurant and ordered some Chinese food (I know typical right?) but it was really good..and different. Afterwards we walked some of the strips just viewing nightlife in Italy and went to a bar. Really fun! I'm overwhelmed with excitement for tomorrow, I had so much fun on my first day & night in Italy. I can imagine what the rest of these days have in store. Well I have to call it a night it is currently 1:50 am over here and I have an even busier day tomorrow starting at 8 am. I have to upload more pics later. For some reason the uploading pics process is taking so long, maybe because I have so many. I will upload them ASAP and when I have free time! Love you all! 

Marisa Merz

One thing that I can say about Marisa is that her combination of line strokes varies.  Some of her pieces have bold, defined, harsh strokes and others have thin, light, less defined strokes. I feel like that the fact that she showed that she is capable of expressing herself through more than one style says a lot about her.

Walter De Maria

Walter’s exhibition was the type that definitely was out of the box. The size and proportions of the objects that he used for his exhibit made it even more interesting; how did he do that? What made him think to even use that?; etc. The fact that he decided to include objects like that in his piece made it even more original.

Varda Caivano

In Varda’s work, it looks as if covering the canvas in its entirety was a pattern. This can be a negative aspect or positive but I think with Caivano’s artwork it was a positive method to use.  All of the pieces had little to no negative space left on the canvas.  The different types of media used added implied texture that helped the pieces in an interesting way.

Kamikaze Loggia

Architecture is an amazing showcase in itself. To think that you can incorporate geometric or not so geometric aspects into your work that could be life size is amazing. From the looks of the images, it looks like Kamikaze took the geometric, symmetrical route. Obvious patterns made this simple design even more beautiful.

Enrico David

Enrico used a material that not only striked up the millions of questions, how did this get accomplished, what did they get the idea to use these materials, and what they were trying to accomplish, it sent me a message that precision and neatness is key.

Henrik Oleson

The placement of the pieces of this artwork is what allows it to speak so profoundly to the audience. If you look at some of the portraits some of the ends are jagged, some are smooth and this is what helps make the message clearer. However, I am interested to see how the images would look in a colored version.

Sarah Lucas

This piece is beautiful. The twists, turns and curves of this artwork created depth and especially movement. It makes me want to actually in the presence of it so I can walk around the artwork in its entirety instead of relying on these snapshots. I know the bold color of choice is one of the many things that brought me in to this interesting artwork.

James Lee Byars

Simplicity is the key for some artists. They don’t feel the need to overpower their artwork with varieties of lines, shapes and movement. James definitely went with the simplistic route for this piece; the thickness, height, and engravings on the piece relayed a big enough message for me.

Mark Manders

Combining different types of media to create an overall body of art was a big winner for me. He did what honestly a lot of artists fail to do-relate each different type of media with each other. Each different type of media was in sync with each other making it possible for the entire piece to have one general message.

Carol Rama

A big pattern I noticed was the different types of frames that each piece used. This added to the overall theme. The artwork in the actual frames was a bit bold and  graphic but I think the different frames allowed that not to scare the audience away.

John Bock

Personally, I’m not a big fan of bugs, insects, etc, but the fact that John used a unique form of architecture to observe the movement and characteristics of the maggot was a unique approach to open the doors of nature’s lifestyle.

Hans Josephsohn

Using deformed, non-attractive material and molding them into bodies of art made this extremely interesting. What made them choose this material? Do the forms play off why this type of material was used? Not exactly recognizable works of art were created but was this also purposely intended?

Danh Vo

Adding these pieces gave this empty, blank room a little bit of life. The walls were so bare, empty and these pieces of cloth somewhat take away some of that emptiness. Is it a reason why these pieces were not evenly distributed or are only distributed to one side?

James Richards

Details, preciseness, tediousness all play a big role in this body of artwork. It amazes me how an artist can start out with something so small and end up with a work so big. Knowing how the artwork was created allows you to appreciate the effort, time and patience the artist used to create.

Daniel Hesidence

Beautiful choice of color for the background for these pieces of work. Choosing a background color that wasn’t dominating but rewarding to the artwork can be a difficult task to achieve. I think Daniel achieved it. Using black on top of the blue background gave the artwork a sense of depth.

Geta Brătescu

Using thin lines throughout this body of artwork was one thing but creating these lines through sewing was quite interesting to me. I’m not really that talented in the sewing department but I know that it is very tedious and not exactly a piece of cake.

Harun Farocki

The negative space and the different levels of texture in this piece made the intricateness of the piece even more interesting. Some features are extremely recognizable while you can’t say the same about others.

Helen Marten

It looks like the common size for all of the pieces were small. Still trying to understand the relationship between all the types of media but I also don’t think the confusion to the audience was intentional.

Simon Denny

The one thing that stuck out to me was organization. The way the artwork was portrayed made me want to explore what exactly is in these compartments? Are they placed in specific categories or just in a way that is visually pleasing to the viewer?

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye

All of the pieces gave off this dark theme. Since majority of the colors used in the pieces were dark, it pulls you in to see is it more than what meets the eye? There has to be a reason why the colors chosen were so dark.

Jos de Gruyter and Harald Thys

A very quirky way to portray realistic qualities in humans using non-realistic materials.  Not only interesting but out of the ordinary as well.

Pamela Rosenkranz

Using very little design with such a dominant background speaks volumes. Not only did the light and transparent use of design complement the background but it added subtle movement as well.

Trisha Donnelly

The environment is one of the big things that contributed vastly to this piece. I think such a bold piece placed in the middle of bold lines and movement made this white piece of work stand out even more.

Rudolf Stingel

Bold patterns behind such powerful photographs made this piece one of a kind. I think the fact that the images weren’t in black and white made it even more in sync with the bold pattern behind it.

Yüksel Arslan

Extremely interesting how antique, older and worn the artwork looks. I feel like this adds to the over-all theme of this body of work. Because the pieces look like they have age on them makes you want to learn, explore more about it.

Christopher Williams

Beautiful photography. Me hopefully being a photographer in the future loved how the artist used the photos as the focal point for the exhibit and not having any distractions in it to remove the attention from the photos to something else.

Katrín Sigurdardóttir

Beautiful piece of work. In fact the most beautiful I have seen. These snapshots somewhat remind me of something you find in The Sims game system. The pattern is amazing up against the texture and color of the architecture. The shapes carved into the negative space make it even more interesting.

Lawrence Weiner

I feel like picking this artwork as the centerpiece of the gallery made a great idea. The fact that it is not just placed in one spot creates vivid movement in a fun and colorful way,

Mathias Poledna

Ahh... storyboards. So precise and detailed; every little movement or big has to be recorded. A beautiful flow of art once all storyboards are played together in one timing.

           

 

My Favorite: Sarah Lucas

After doing thorough research of Sarah Lucas, I realized a common pattern in most of her works, which is including twists, turns, movement, etc. in them This is what pulled me in the first place. Not relying on solely straight lines to give her pieces movement is a big trademark with her and it made her pieces even more original. In my opinion, the twists and turns can be interpreted in so many different ways, maybe stress, frustration anxiety or a loving embrace to hold on to something tight and never let go or even holding onto something so tightly that you lose yourself holding onto it. Talk about possibilities! Sarah’s work is astounding and I not only want to walk around the pieces themselves but I also want to be in the presence of it. Will being in the presence of her piece change my outlook because I have a better view of the many different textures she used? Not only does she use vast movement she also subtly voices what feminism and having a voice.