Samantha Spritzer-350S

Samantha Spreitzer Exhibition Review ART 350S Date of Visit: March 24, 2018 Larrakitj (Burial Poles), various artists, 2004-2015, various dimensions             The work, or rather works, I chose were the burial poles as part of the Marking the Infinite exhibition at the Nevada Museum of Art showcasing contemporary art from aboriginal artists in Australia. There are twelve burial poles in all, each unique, but all combining either wood or bark and pigments, as well as feathers in those created by Lena Yarinkura and Bob Burrawal. They follow the style of much of the aboriginal art displayed both in this exhibition and previous exhibitions I’ve seen the museum put on, though this scale is certainly larger. There is a focus on patterns created with dots, lines, and other shapes on backgrounds that can range from black to brightly colored to white.          ...

Samantha Spreitzer Lecture Review ART 350S Date of Lecture: April 12, 2018 Morgan Craig Lecture             I was often thoroughly impressed by Morgan Craig’s pieces. Admittedly, I am impressed anytime someone has a sort of hyper realistic style of painting or drawing, so this definitely fit. But he also played with ideas of angles and color, often brightening colors to draw the viewers in, which, in his words, is a play on capitalism’s spectacle. His works often addressed capitalism in some, normally fairly negative, way that made sense for his subjects. More than anything else, they seemed to be places where capitalism had failed to deliver on its bountiful promises, instead leaving behind deserted shells of places that once held life, but not so much anymore. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but it does largely hold for his pieces as a whole. I do like that his pieces tend to be extremely large...

Samantha Spreitzer Lecture Review ART 350S Date of Lecture: February 13, 2018 Claudia O’Steen Talk             I found several parts of Claudia O’Steen’s talk about her work interesting. As I do have my own fascination with space and the universe beyond our little blue planet, the fact that she worked with NASA somewhat was fascinating to me, and it serves as a good reminder that NASA does far more for us than just study space (which is also pretty important if you ask me). I also enjoyed her project where she had her residency on a ship in the arctic circle. Shipboard life has always interested me, as ways of vacation, living, and learning. What an excellent way to travel around such an area to learn about it. O’Steen’s own fascination with the colors of the water and sky were interesting, too, and it made for a unique way to keep track of time and location. It is also a good reminder of the fleetingness...