In Memory of Artist Jeremy Blake

Has there ever been a moment that you admired a contemporary artist's work, and you later find out that they are no longer alive? Well, that has just recently happened to me. Around the year 2000, I saw this really interesting artist's work in the Whitney Biennial; his name was Jeremy Blake. His work was really beautiful and unique. I remember seeing this colorful, abstract anamorphic shapes colliding in and out of form; it was a new media piece. The video was very painterly, and, come to think of it, it was like looking at a Morris Louis painting that came to life. When I first saw his work, I thought how clever. What I remember is seeing this psychedelic video of colors morphing in and out of each other and the sound that was emitted was a film projector.
The last time I remember seeing his work was on the CREATIVE TIME screen in New York City's Time Square. that was a year or two after seeing his work at the Whitney Museum of American Art. After that, I hadn't seen his work in a long while.
Yesterday, I had done some research on the web and I found out that the artist lost his girlfriend; she apparently committed suicide and not to long afterwords so did he....
He died last year at the age of 36 years old. Why do people I admire a great deal for their talent,skill and fame decide to die. I guess three Whitney Biennial exhibitions and having multiple gallery exhibitions in New York and L.A. was not enough. If you're not grateful for what you have, you'll never be happy. Artists are fragile people and this artist will definitely be missed, and his work will be admired by many.

Future Plans for Pratt Institute

I recently spoke with one of my former art professors Jos Smith.
He had informed me that the President of Pratt Institute Dr. Tom Schutte,had pulled him aside and spoke of some of Pratt's future plans. Dr. Schutte, spoke about Pratt working in conjunction with Ringling Brother's and Barnum Baily Circus.
This would allow all the different majors to work and collaborate with the Circus.
For example the students can draw the animals and clowns as a part of their life drawing classes, the fashion design students can design costumes for the performers and the media arts students can learn about stage lighting and production work. My first idea was how funny would that be, but you know the more I think about it the more infinite I see the possibilities. This kind of idea could really give Pratt's students, faculty, staff and it's alumni at a serious advantage. First of all we would be ahead of the game and each major would be even higher on the school ranking charts as far as reestablishing our global reputation as an Art and Design School.

Artists as Creators part 1

Artists are Creators and they usually create from their own experiences. The kind of Artists I am wanting to focus on are Visual. This is the realm of experience I speak from, this is not to exclude any of the other Arts. Because I think all the Arts essentially come from a common place of origin, that origin being what it means to be human.
Visual Artists are more often than not visual thinkers, that is they literally think visually and must utilize their eyes to see how something works in order to make sense of the world around them. Artists are image makers, and they utilize tools in conventional and unconventional ways. I believe Artists are not the only ones who are Creators, I think we all are whether we are conscious of it or not. Artists are just the ones who get most of the credit because of their compulsive need to fill the missing voids in their lives.