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Jessica Libor

~ Studio Journal

Jessica Libor

Tag Archives: Installation Art

An artist should never avert their gaze

04 Wednesday Nov 2015

Posted by Jessica Libor in art, Inspiration, Journeys

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

art, art school, artist, artist bios, artist interview, artwork, beautiful art, city, contemporary art, creative, creativity, culture, design, getaway, halloween, Installation Art, jessica libor, Master of Fine Arts, moma, new york, New York City, NYC, pennsylvania academy of the fine arts, weekend

View from the Moma, photo by Jessica Libor

View from the Moma, photo by Jessica Libor

This weekend I spent an entertaining, delightful and educational weekend in New York City. The entertaining part was from spending Halloween there with some friends, and getting to see first hand all the revelry the city had to offer. What struck me most was how almost every person we saw was dressed up in some interesting costume, had painted their face in an artistic way, or was at least wearing an eye catching hat. My favorite costume was two people dressed in white, who had a cloud-like hat on their heads, glowing with blueish white lights. From the cloud-like hat ribbons of white streamed down, also lit up at intervals with the sparkling blue-white lights. At first I was confused. Were they clouds? Angels? Ghosts? But as the pair moved down the sidewalk and the ribbons gently swayed backwards, I got it. They were jellyfish.

While in town, I stopped into the Modern Museum of Art to see what was there. Going through the galleries, I stopped at what was interesting to me. I don’t know about you, but when I go to a museum, I feel guilty if I don’ t stop, look at, and read everything. But under time constraints, I let go of that guilt and just stopped at the pieces that struck me. I tried to disassociate myself from being an artist and trying to learn something–to be a person just enjoying the art.

Looking at Jacob's Ladder.  Photo courtesy of John Warner.

Looking at Jacob’s Ladder. Photo courtesy of John Warner.

I liked Jacob’s Ladder by Helen Frankenthaler, an American artist who lived from 1928 to 2011. The label said, “Although it shares a name with the Biblical tale of Jacob’s dream ascent toward heaven, and with an ancient Egyptian toy, Frankenthaler insisted this work had no preplanned illustrational intention: “The picture developed (bit by bit while I was working on it) into shapes symbolic of an exuberant figure and ladder: therefore “Jacob’s Ladder.” Working in New York in the 1950s, Frankenthaler painted large-scale unprimed canvases on the floor to explore new ways of handling distinctively thind paint. The artist said she borrowed from Jackson Pollock her “concern with line, fluid line, calligraphy, and…experiments with line not as line but as shape.”

My favorite piece was a huge installation/sculpture by Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang called “Borrowing Your Enemy’s Arrows. It was made in 1998 and had to be over 20 feet long, and was suspended from the ceiling high above you. It immediately had a magical, transportative effect on me when I saw it–the whimsical nature of a flying boat, and the feathery aspect of all the flocked arrows stuck into it, immediately had a “wow!” effect and also made me curious what it was all about.

The wow factor.  Photo by Jessica Libor.

The wow factor. Photo by Jessica Libor.

The story behind the piece made me even more fascinated. The label said, “The work of Cai Guo-Qiang often merges cultural and political concerns of both the East and West. This fishing boat, excavated from his hometown of Quanzhou and flying the Chinese flag, is pierced with thousands of arrows. The title refers to a legendary episode from the third century in which a resourceful Chinese general had to replenish a depleted store of arrows. According to the tale, the general tricked the enemy by saying across the Yangtze river through the thick mist of early dawn with a surrogate army made of straw, while his soldiers remained behind yelling and beating on drums. Mistaking the pandemonium for a surprise attack, the opponents showered the decoys with volleys of arrows, which the general then appropriated, returning triumphantly with a freshly captured store of weapons. This work suggests the enduring importance of cunning and strategy, not only in the distant past, but also in the present, as geopolitical power dynamics seem to be in constant flux.”

The piece, even though it was about war, politics and cunning, was still magical and beautiful. It reminds me of a quote I read recently by Lera Auerbach in her book Excess of Being, “An artist should never avert his gaze. Look at it. However awful it may be, it’s life, real life in all its majestic and gory glory. What do you see? What do you see? Now, give it form.”

Another view.  Photo by Jessica Libor.

Another view. Photo by Jessica Libor.

I came back refreshed and excited to work on my own art again, with lots of new ideas. That’s what travel is all about, I think–getting outside the normal routine of your life and seeing new things, people, and places, so when you return you see your own home and life with fresh eyes and appreciation.

Waterfall park...photo courtesy of Elizabeth Mier.

Waterfall park…photo courtesy of Elizabeth Mier.

Tender Missive: an installation by Jessica Libor at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

29 Friday Nov 2013

Posted by Jessica Libor in Exhibitions, In My Studio, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

artist, beautiful art, chalk drawing, contemporary art, contemporary artist philadelphia, drawing, drawing rembrandt, durer, gilding, gold leaf, Graduate Student MFA, Installation Art, jessica libor, large drawing, letters, love, love letters, Master of Fine Arts, MFA, pafa, pastel drawing, pennsylvania academy of the fine arts, Philadelphia artist, rembrandt, romantic art, young artist

Detail 1 Tender Missive by Jessica Libor

Detail 1 Tender Missive by Jessica Libor

This month I was able to exhibit an installation called Tender Missive in installation room 849 at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Tender Missive was an interactive installation that involved over 450 diverse love letters from men throughout the century such as Edgar Allen Poe, John Keats, Richard Steele, Lord Nelson, Byron, Pierre Curie, Alexander Pope, King Solomon, Mozart, Ludwig Beethoven, King Henry the VIII, Benito Mussilini and even Adolph Hitler. The letters were written to the women that these famous (and infamous) men were romantically involved with, whether it was their wives, fiancees, or lovers. The letters are all historically accurate, but all presented in the same manner. Each has been printed in a different handwritten font on parchment paper and dipped in coffee to age the letter appropriately. The letters therefore all have a distinctive look, with no two being exactly alike. What is striking is the sweet vulnerability underneath the letters, even written by men who have committed horrific acts against humanity, in some cases even executing the women they wrote these love letters to. There is a realization that the feelings of love and affection are not only reserved for good people. There is also the question of the women involved with these men—was their romance worth the cost?

Detail 2 Tender Missive by Jessica Libor

Detail 2 Tender Missive by Jessica Libor

When the viewer walks into the installation room, the letters are seen covering the walls from floor to ceiling, layered on top of each other like dragon scales. On the far wall, a warm sepia toned pastel drawing of a forest covers the wall, drawn on white paper, and accented with gold leaf. The drawing has an antiquated feel, as if etched by Rembrandt or Durer. The gold serves to add a precious element to the drawing, and brings out the warmth in the letters on the walls. Also, depending on the lighting, the gold either shimmers to life or recedes into the drawing. The drawing serves as the symbolic presence of the feminine as a contrast to the masculine presence of the letters, and also brings to mind the setting of A Midsummer Night’s Dream or other romantic forest setting where lovers might meet.

Tender Missive by Jessica Libor

Tender Missive by Jessica Libor

Tender Missive by Jessica Libor

Tender Missive by Jessica Libor

Tender Missive by Jessica Libor

Tender Missive by Jessica Libor

Back view of Tender Missive

Back view of Tender Missive

Front view of Tender Missive

Front view of Tender Missive

Writing pedestal, feather and ink bottle for viewers to use

Writing pedestal, feather and ink bottle for viewers to use

Detail of Tender Missive

Detail of Tender Missive

Pastel/chalk drawing with gold leaf as part of Tender Missive by Jessica Libor

Pastel/chalk drawing with gold leaf as part of Tender Missive by Jessica Libor

Detail of Tender Missive drawing by Jessica Libor

Detail of Tender Missive drawing by Jessica Libor

Detail of drawing for Tender Missive by Jessica Libor

Detail of drawing for Tender Missive by Jessica Libor

Detail of Tender Missive drawing by Jessica Libor

Detail of Tender Missive drawing by Jessica Libor

Detail of Tender Missive drawing by Jessica Libor

Detail of Tender Missive drawing by Jessica Libor

In the center of the room, an altar-like pedestal is set, with a pile of parchment paper and a glass ink bottle with a falcon feather resting inside. This is an invitation for visitors to pen their own love letter. The original instructions were for the visitors to write the love letter, tear it up, and place it underneath the drawing, where the residue of the chalk had darkened the floor. I had torn up a letter and placed it there to show visitors what I meant. However, of all the people who participated in the writing of the letters, none of the visitors tore up their letters. At the end of the installation, the pile of letters was whole and not torn. As one of my professors explained about the behavior, “No one wants to tear up love.”

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Love letters from viewers to a memory or person

Love letters from viewers to a memory or person

As the viewer exits the installation, there are five letters placed on the bare far wall for them to closely examine. These were letters I found particularly thought provoking: from left to right, John Keats, Adolph Hitler, Benito Musselini, King Henry the VIII, and Lord Nelson.

The installation was lit by several warm spotlights that focused on the drawing and the letters, so as to create strong shadows beneath each letter. The effect was meant to be warm, theatrical and almost candlelit.

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It took me a week of preparation before the installation room opened, but once it was opened there was a positive response. I once again found the interactive part of the installation very rewarding and fascinating. I love that people were moved enough to participate, and hopefully it provoked questions about our ideas of love and romance—its worth, its reality, its cost, and the importance of what the character of the person is you’re involved with, not just the romance of the relationship.

Tender Missive was open at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from November 23-27th, and is now closed.

Jessica Libor in her installation Tender Missive

Jessica Libor in her installation Tender Missive

 

The Rending

24 Thursday Oct 2013

Posted by Jessica Libor in Exhibitions, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

art film, artistic, beautiful art, film, fine artist, Graduate Open Studios, graduate program, Installation Art, jessica libor, MFA, pennsylvania academy of the fine arts, philadelphia art, pre-raphaelite, romantic art, sculpture art, student, video

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This past weekend I exhibited my first installation piece, The Rending. It is a combination of video and interactive sculpture elements. I would like to thank Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the staff there for allowing me the chance to exhibit, and for the ample help and support in setting up the installation. The Rending was exhibited October 19, 20 and 21, 2014, in conjunction with Graduate Open Studios.

The centerpiece of The Rending is the video, which I could not have produced without the filming and technical help of my friend Michael Grasso. Thank you for your patience and assistance! Also, there would be no star without Julianne Kelley, who did an amazing job getting into character.

The Rending starts before you enter the installation, with the request to remove your shoes. Once the viewer removes their shoes, they pull aside a pink silk curtain to reveal a semi-darkened room, with the video projected onto the far wall.

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IMG_4231IMG_4194As the viewer steps inside, they are stepping over 14,000 rose petals that are covering the ground. The scent of fresh roses permeates the room. The viewer may watch the video standing or choose to sit on the cushions placed in the center of the room, covered with a pink and gold tapestry cloth. If the viewer looks up, they are confronted with their own image surrounded by rose petals, reflected in a rectangular, gold-framed mirror. The mirror hangs at approximately nine feet above the ground by four gold chains. The audio of the film, with a soft, siren-like voices, also lulls the viewer and allows them to step into a dream like state.

The Rending has a reflective mood that is meant to be experienced by one or two people at a time. The video plays on loop, which allows for the viewer to watch it a few times if they choose.

This was my first time exhibiting an installation, and it was a very positive experience! I thought Graduate Open Studios would be the perfect time to test the idea on strangers who had no prior contact to my work. I stayed close to the exhibit during the times The Rending was open, working on a painting, but paying attention to how people responded and how I felt working in this medium. In a way it is more instant-gratification, like theatre. You immediately get a response from viewers, and engage them more directly by encouraging participation with your art. My favorite part was seeing people’s faces as they emerged from the installation. A lot of people seemed happy and uplifted, and a few told me they were really touched. Everyone had a unique response. I also enjoyed hearing people inside the room as they responded to seeing the thousands of petals, and to different parts of the film.

Julianne Kelley, star of The Rending, enters the installation

Julianne Kelley, star of The Rending, enters the installation

Mary McCann in the installation

Mary McCann in the installation

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I want to thank everyone who came out to see The Rending, and for my fellow students and professors who made this such a great experience for me by participating in and supporting this venture. I hope to do more in the near future, as an extension of my paintings and drawings.

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