2014

First Drawing for a 4-part photolitho series. In process. 2014. aprox. 24" x 36"

Two-layer woodcut in process, missing third layer. Aproximately 30" x 44"

Upon a great hiatus, I am currently re-vitalizing this website with my current projects. Deletion of anything past 2013 is in pending. As of lately, I have been integrating my art history degree and exploring Oskar Kokoschka's 'Bride of the Wind' or 'The Tempest' for my own artistic practices. Mesmerized by Kokoschka's usage of texture, dynamism in mark and expressive gusts, I am taking large-scale versions of small details of his work and re-contextualizing them through my own hand. By passing my own drawings from print medium to meduim, I am creating a constant change of the same image, almost to an unrecognizable degree. In Mid-May, my artwork on this subject matter will be hosted in SUNY Purchase's BFA Show and this blog will now serve as a documentation of my developments. Any questions or interests, please e-mail me at bettina.perez.martinez@gmail.com

The Best of 2012.

As the New Year approaches, I have tied together my favorite prints of 2012. Enjoy.

'Cómo te lo pintan'

4-layer Silkscreen

8"x12"

2012

'Return to Sender' (Better Quality Picture available later)

3-layer Silkscreen

2012

' Dr.Cornelious Rhodes le inyecta cáncer al despertar boricua'

Etching

8"x5"

2012

'Mano campesina disponible'

Woodcut

12"x17"

2012

'El martirio de Toño Capsulero'

2-layer Etching

9"x14"

2012

'Entrégate'

6-layer silkscreen

12"x18"

2012

Alyssa's Collection

Despite my disagreement with how most of the world engages in watching television, I believe there is a way to demonstrate some good out of it. In her collection, Alyssa presents a link to a series of photographs of people fully engaged in television sets from the dawn of the television after World War II until the 1960's. (( http://life.time.com/culture/life-watches-tv/?iid=lb-gal-viewagn#1 )) The only writing provided for this photo-gallery places television under a negative light and, while child obesity, apathy and higher murder rates are an actual consequence derived from television, there are still some positive aspects about it that are clearly illustrated in this photographs.

Because these photographs illustrate a time where television wasn't such an accessible comodity, many were brought together to experience special ocurrences or just the evening sitcom. Television, at that time, served as a form to congregate people and allow them to socialize. Nowadays that concept has been transformed. Because most have access to a television set, it's prone to secluding people physically yet many congregate for special televised events or speak and socialize about whatever they saw on TV the day before.

I don't think that, under the light of bringing people together, television is a bad thing. I am only against it when it promotes laziness and becomes a loss of valuable time.

-Bettina

Zane's Collection

Please take some time to watch this video: http://vimeo.com/44807536 .

I can't say I wasn't laughing through this video. I can't say it's a rare thing for me to laugh at things.

It's something that goes unnoticed, the perfect measurements placed behind architechtural structures in order for them to function correctly. Sometimes, these perfect measurements create a commodity for us to become less weary of our environment. I think it's pretty funny for this, sort of, serious debate to be presented in such a quirky fashion. The face of surprise of those that miss that one, unequal step is just quite funny. Especially considering how, when in New York City and using the subway system, some of us go on 'auto-pilot- mode and simply lack the attentio our surroundings truly need. New York City is simply so engaging that if we were to focus on every small detail in the surroundings, we would go mad.

All in all, thanks. I enjoyed this video.

-Bettina

Booklyn and Kerry Downing!

Despite the confusions of meeting in the city or not this past Thursday, I am so very glad we did because it was quite exciting. We visited two artist studios, all a few blocks from each other in the Greenpoint area, which was nice.

Booklyn!

Established in 1999, Booklyn is a collaborative between various artists where the primary focus is to publish and distribute editions of artist books and collaboratives. At times, Booklyn develops what they like to call 'Artist Banks' where they recieve an artist's work on paper that he/she independantly printed and then the studio is incharge of making a portfolio out of said works and selling them... Almost like an artist patron.

Booklyn makes most of its clientel by going to libraries, museums and galleries and there selling these collections of artists work. It is wonderful groups such as Booklyn are creating forms of archive to save works of contemporary, talented artists in a way that could historically preserve it for the future. For example artist 'zines' are slightly flimsy and would, alone, not stand the test of time, but Booklyn binds editions of a collection of an artist's 'zines' and thus, preserves them. These preserved collections of an artist's paper work can be sold to a library and held there to archive for art historical and research purposes.

The person who runs Booklyn was also very fun and upbeat. It was wonderful to hear her sense of humor and joking nature as she explained very fascinating things on how the shop works and presented lots of great artist work. I very much enjoyed myself and thought there should be more liberal and comical people in some tightly knit groups of artist such as herself.

There we saw many interesting works. As the woman spoke about Booklyn's functions, I couldn't help my eye wander and seek through the covers of various artists editions Booklyn had printed in the past and were neatly placed on the center table. Distractingly. Very distractingly. Once we could explore Booklyn's history of clients through the editions they had printed. I could not step away from that table. There were so many varieties of style, thematics, book binding, etc. It was simply marvelous! There were well known publications such as Evil Twin, Bonegût, Stretopia, etc. I took pictures of the most that captured my attention...

The texture on this woodcut is beautifully done. I had to take a picture of the mark makings the artist used to create depth and recession.

The inks used for this silkscreen really took me aback. The Purple was in a silver hue and it was just very well done. Also, the hidden incoropration of text to the landscape interested me. I just wish I remembered the artist...

Not a work of art, but I found this very funny. Due to my innept nature in translating jokes from one language to another and actually making them sound funny, I will refrain from explaining. It's usually phrased "No Fume" instead of "No se fuma".

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Kerry Downey Studio:

At first the work didn't strike me significantly, I will admit; although I was fascinated with the innovative fucntion of materials she used. It was later on, once she spoke, that I understood what it was about and that I really enjoyed. It all made so much sense and thus, I could provide a greater admiration.

Downey's work is fueled by peculiar curiosities she finds, some that most people wouldn't even believe to explore. Her mind was so innovative with her approach to and selection of subject matter. One of her obsessions is a magazine that sells pretty unnecesarry trinkets for cheap and targets older people. I had seen this so many times on my grandfather's table-top so a natural inclination towards her interest in this fascinated me.

The subject is much more complex that pointing how ridiculous and useless this magazine can be at times. Downey had worked for a while with senior citizens in various places in the US. She has seen, first account, the instability, regression and suffering that comes with old age. The usage of a handlebar attached to a shower wall by suction cups is a repeated element in her work.

With age the ability to shower becomes more and more difficult; with age one becomes more prone to slipping on the shower and getting hurt very, very badly and that is what this object, sold by this cheap magazine is supposed to be for; to help give 'support' to the elderly. But, what support can suction cups actually provide? Nothing. This is a recurring theme in Kerry Downey's work, the false illusion of support provided by this very peculiar object. The symbolism can be expanded with so much depth yet I believe it may not be the way I would like to direct this post. Interpret it as you will.

I greatly enjoyed asking questions to Kerry in her studio. I was so fascinated by her exploration involved with the elderly, as I found myself taking care of a grandmother with alzymers over the Summer. I just felt a little strange and too talkative because I was the only one asking...

P.S.: Also, to make things more exciting, latelly I've been staying after class and hitting up Gallery openings in Chelsea. This week I was just chillin' with Chuck Close, no big deal.

-Bettina.

Mental Illness and kittens

In refference to Rachel's collection and her having a blog on cats and song lyrics. Here's a kitten. Hopefully, one day, my kitten. (As soon as she gains .5 pounds to be at 2 pounds and thus, be able to be spayed.)

((Warning: If there is no need to place my personal life in this blog or if you don't want to read about it, skip this entry. Just skip it.))

Look at this piece of cuteness. This is Dot (soon to be re-named if all goes well) and we're planning to adopt her as a therapeutic cat. It has been studied that caring for another animal or human being can help those with severe trauma, mental conditions and emotional deficiency. Lately I have been looking into the study of this and it is what has motivated me to adopt a kitten, as the only family member to take care of I could have while living in New York. Growing up away from home, abandoning a culture you're extremely adapt and used to is difficult, I can say from experience. These past 2 years and a half of adaptation have been quite eventful, full of hardships yet blessings, chaallenges yet gifts...

Many say change, towards a harder circumstance, is not good for a patient of depression and anxiety. I fully agree and disagree with this statement. I believe that, if anything, distracting myself with difficult circumstances results in a great diversion and way to manage your own internal struggles... in an easier way. Of course, there were times I wasn't as strong and succombed to my emotions in my stage of adaptation but, for the most part, it helped.

I have been officially diagnosed with this (because hey, so many people take pills for that nonsense nowadays. Psychiatrists have to pay rent!) for about 3 years yet battling it since the time of my father's death 7 years ago. I can openly mention this and state it in a class blog thanks to years of therapy. There was a time I could not even mention/ accept this fact and confirming it is a strong enough stride for myself.

You may think all this is unrelated to my classmate's, Rachel, collection for this week, but I beg to differ. In her collection, Rachel placed a blog about deconstructions and presentations on psychiatry. Naturally, I was brought to search for mental illness on this page and found this article (( http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2007/12/deus_ex_homonymia.html#more )).

'Deus Ex Homonymia' presents the correlation of violence with children and young teenagers. The general perception of a depressed youth is that, according to this article, they are somewhat likely or very likely to be dangerous to themselves or others. Yet, clinical studies prove that that is not the case. These youths are more prone to hurting themselves and are just as prone as any other youth with no mental illness to have a violent disposition. This misconception society has against the mentally ill is counter-productive.

If a misinformed adult treats a child or youth with depression differently, as if any reaction could provoke their 'violent' nature, the child will feel marginalized and will only worsen their condition; it could trigger traumas of social unacceptance and, in effect, anxiety. This form of counter-productivity in the child's struggle to overcome or at least co-exist with his/her condition merely leads to a higher probablity of self-harm (mentally, physically or emotionally).

Now, why do I present such a personal background in combination and contrast to such an impersonal article? If the relation isn't evident by now, I will clarify. My high school was private, all girls, catholic; probably one of the worse combinations for someone struggling with depression/anxiety. High school and middle school are always awkward years of struggles and 'comming of age', yet place this with only women of wealthier classes and you have it at least twice as hard.

Upon entering my new school, I was very quiet, not well known and I guess awkward and chubby. Perfect target for bullying. That was all I dealt with in 7th grade. I even once got bullied in class by two girls because I hadn't ever shaved my legs when I was 12; they called me disgusting and boy-ish (major insult in a chauvinistic culture for a woman) for that. Then comes 8th grade and a month into the school year my father falls ill; he only lasted 5 days ill and on that Friday he passed away at 46.

He was my best friend and 'partner in crime'; this forever altered my life until this day as I write this entry(unsure if I should be writing this in the first place...). From that day forth I was known as that quiet chubby girl with long hair that had no father and was good at art. Girls and teachers in school treated me differently. Professors were kinder, a false kindness to be exact, and the girls were more cautious around me, thus resulting in very little friends and social interactions. I later on heard many thought I was satanic, unusual and intimidating... a projection of this sub-concious planting that kids who have faced harships in their lives and thus, fallen into the 'mentally ill' section are more prone to violent and unusally scary personalities.

I didn't know they had such negative perceptions, years later I did find out. Being oblivious to my classmate's negativity, I spent all my energies developing my drawing and painting afterwards, never speaking about the incident...a timebomb of 'mental illness' stored within me. It wasn't until years later that I finally spoke about the incident.

Now, I still struggle with this 'illness'. I take medication for it, yet little know I actually do or undergo it. It's very hard to put such a smile and charming sense of self when you feel this way. This is why I highly disagree with those that believe people with depression have a violent predeisposition.

I bring this forward to present a first-account experience on maginalization due to mental illness. This article struck me because, something I knew and experienced years ago, manifests itself as a scientific evaluation and study. I am thankful my classmate posted this, despite it's lack of relation to our course 'Printmaking Now', this website was great for myself to explore.

-Bettina

Whitney and The Metropolitan Museum of Art

I know art is something quite subjective (trust me, I've learned this so many times with this class) but it is of no use, despite disagreement I will present my opinion on my blog.

I really did not enjoy myself at the Whitney exhibit, 'OS' by Wade Guyton. Actually, scratch that, I really enjoyed myself by experiencing adrenaline filled shock, a bit of wrenching anguish for the 'world of art' I will one day sell my soul to, and a sick, disgustingly pleasing sense of humor. I don't know if it's productive or counter productive to write about how much I hated all of this, but I guess for this blog's sake, I'll present my Bitter Betty (Pun.Intended) experience.

I understand the concept of monoprints, (A form of printmaking that cannot be identically reproduced various times, yet is of similar nature between one copy and another.) but I do not understand the 'hype' of a computer format creating said monoprints. I will not be impressed or encouraged by the art world by looking at prints from an intentionally faulty printer. Yes, I understand Guyton wanted to convey the message of using technology to serve purposes it was not intended for but.... No. Just no.

If 'No' was an emotion, I'm sure that's what I was feeling at that moment. The piece that probably did it for me was 'Inverted Woodpile' (2002). The artist found scrap wood on a street in Brooklyn (because, where else would this artist 'hang out'?)and flipped it over.... then placed it on an exhibit. I now realize I was being too hard on Paul Ramírez Jonas' employment of having others do part of his installment materials himself. That was stupid of me. I now understand 'readymades' and their installment process in galleries... Except at LEAST Duchamp wrote 'R. Mutt'. on his work 'Fountain' in 1917.

I think my opinion on the exhibit at the Whitney is pretty clear here. I do agree my classmates exposed various good arguments that made me reconsider Guyton as not being such a joke; they helped me see depth in his work.... I'm still going to base myself on my initial reaction because it was my personal experience at the moment. I'm usually not the type to exhibit extreme opinions, but this brought it upon me, I hope I don't get penalized for this.

The best part of this exhibit was probably hearing some old ladies scoffing and pointing out some of our classmates as 'art types' "Oh look at all these artsy types..."

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Warhol at the Met.

So, when it was mentioned to our class we would see an exhibit on Warhol, his influences, contemporaries and those he influenced, I had low expectations. I, personally, am not a fan of Warhol's blotchy, uncrafted works but I do recognize the importance and impact he had in terms of pop art, especially with the advancement of printmaking in the mid-20th Century. So, props to him, I guess.

As we made our way into the exhibit it was filled with people, exactly what was to be expected of an artist that is sohyped up in modern day culture. It was so crowded you could barely spend much time contemplating the work in the cramped entrance at the beginning. Later on, the rooms expanded better and provided much more visibility in general.

Being a 'historiphile' by nature, I was drawn to the analysis of dates and the historic relevance at the time. Andy Warhol began publicity in the 1950's during Post-War America. In this period, the concept of the 'American Dream' (household, 2-3 kids, a car, wife, dog, consumerism and white picket fence) was in full development. The US had 'won' the War and was now economically above the other most powerful nations, devestated European countries, that were trying to rebuild their economy once more. American people had more wealth than more regions in Europe and Asia and meant to spend their money. Hard. With extreme advertisements and consumerism. The American Dream. Warhol's environment and time-period suited him greatly to portray a culture of capitalism, consumerism and the glamourization of such aspects.

The exhibit was divided within themes that were tackled by Andy Warhol (consumerism, glamour, margined minorities (homosexuality and racism), coorporate life, etc.). In each section, works of Andy Warhol, his contemporaries, his predecessors, and on the artists he influenced. I thought that was a very well done curration tactic and, despite the over-whelming amount of works presented, it helped the show run smoothly.

I took many notes on this exhibit (Yup, I'm that scholar Virgo taking notes on everything and making lists.) but the ones that captivated me the most were on Nan Goldin's work, 'Ivy with Marilyn, Boston' (1973), in the Gender Identity section. This photograph presents a made up, elegand drag queen next to a print of Andy Warhol's Marilyn. It is visually striking to have such a similarity yet wide contrast in femininity within the photograph yet, one quote that was provided with the exhibit was what captured me and pretty much summed up various elements of Warhol's work.

"Drag Queens are living testimony to the way women used to want to be, the way some people still want them to be, and the way some women still actually want to be. Drag queens are ambulatory archives of ideal moviestar womanhood." -Nan Goldin

In this quote, Goldin certainly exposes his influence from Warhol's thematic variation and also ties together concepts presented in this exhibit. He relates this superficial aesthetic perfection owned by hollywood starlets (idealization of glamour and beauty) to the transformation drag queens undergo. Drag, as mentioned by Goldin, is the proyection of a once and still idealized and strived concept of womanhood. These men that transform themselves seek to the superficial and glamourized image that portray women like Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, etc., and thus going back to the same concept of glamour that Warhol implied with his collection of celebrity portraits.

Also, on a loose end, these famous figures have an influence over consumerism. Because of the desired glamour they exhibit to the public, the public is compelled to buy their make-up, their clothes, etc. to then 'look' like these famous people and thus feel as alluring and dazzling as these 'stars' are.

Before I wrap this up, I want to mention something very morbid I found in one piece by Warhol. In 'Nine Jackies' (1964), Warhol reproduces images of Jackie Kennedy's moments right before the assasination of her husband, the late president, John F. Kennedy. These images were sold to papers and made so much profit out of such a heartwrenching moment, thus presenting the cruelty behind capitalism and how it benefits from other's suffering... as long as it has a large price-tag. I find this incredibly shocking and frightening, especially coming from a family of a widowed mother. I could never imagine anyone making profit out of a moment of suffering experienced by my mother, brother or myself.

It's great to have low expectations for many things in life. This exhibit proved to be much better than I expected and thus, provided a much more enjoyable experience that what I had intentioned to have that day. Definatelly made my day much better after visiting the Whitney for Wade Guyton's exhibit.

-Bettina