Art exists right under the nose. It resides in my everyday experiences: In my husband’s sleepy smile, In the reassuring clutter of my house, laundry gathering on the bedroom floor, a mountain of junk mail, a greeting from my cat at the door. - Harumi Abe describing her series of works "under observation"
While I'm not completely convinced by her work, I do agree wholeheartedly with the above made observation. Lately I've been pushing to live my life more and more with this in mind.
Like meeting a celebrity or coming across a famous piece of architecture, it's always a surprise (to me) how famous works of art look immensely different in person. The size of an artwork can deceivingly seem more monumental or (the opposite effect) un-impressively small in photos, textbooks, and on the internet compared to the real thing. Nearly always I'm struck at how drastically a works impact can change when seen in person and I try to document the most extreme cases. . .
Artwork: Roy Lichtenstein's Pop Art classic Drowning Girl
Where: Museum of Modern Art, NY
In-person effect: This was a case in which I imagined a much larger, more monumental original, perhaps because of the work's imposing figure (the titular girl drowning) and overall composition or perhaps because of the impression previously left by Warhol's similar yet much larger works. Lictenstein is still a genius in my eyes, simply a more subtle one.
I graduated magna cum laude from Florida Atlantic University with a Bachelors degree in Art History. Exploring communal, shared experiences and participatory performatives; I am drawn to and explore the accidental, ephemeral, and transcendental. Living in Miami, I have been working on an ongoing series of works in which I allow the possibility of sharing something I love with whoever takes the initiative to participate, oftentimes complete strangers. Frequently my work takes the the shape of sweeping, (almost) utopian gestures in and out of an "art" context. A running theme in my work is the subversion of objects, situations, and actions that are often perceived to be personal, insular, and disassociating, turning them on their heads as participatory situations encouraging interaction. I strive to focus peoples' attention on the "here and now" through my exploration of momentary, communal experiences, and the ideas of collectivity and "oneness."
Art exists right under the nose.
