beauty is where you find it tour, a look back at 2008

In 2008, the summer art camps were structured in sets of three -- 3 sessions with 3 artists related to each other in some conceptual way. The final session was titled, Art of the Mind (Beauty is in the Details) 

These artist studies celebrate the inner workings of three conceptual artists and their analytical and even mathematical exploration of details and materials.

We begin with an exploration of Marcel Duchamp and his reworked painting of Mona Lisa (L.H.O.O.Q.). For these studies, we use magazines to find and rework faces into relief sculpture collages. Words and images provide additional ideas to draw in the viewer. It was a definite leap of faith for these young artists to change facial features and rework existing angles and line. The result was invigorating and thought-provoking.

Next we look to the work of Eva Hesse. This artist used a variety of materials to draw the viewer in to a world of her own making. In fact, much of her work cannot be exhibited or moved, some are actually disintegrating—all are intriguing. We use tangled wires woven between two matte boards as an evocation of her work, Metronomic Irregularity. We also used paper to fold into open boxes and by applying a matte-finish medium the resulting work featured a collection of waxy-looking honeycombs similar to her resin sculpture installations.

Finally we look to the work of Sol Lewitt and his room-sized lines and angles. Oil pastels on matte board applied line after line after line to mathematical precision. Although the children's work did present a departure from the precise measurements he used in his work, the finished pieces show the same riot of color and attention to detail. The work is sealed with a matte medium.