Archive for the ‘Fine Art’ Category
Carnivora: Ring
A short time ago I posted an article showing off a mold for a ring I had designed… clearly the actual ring has arrived, and I could not be happier. Cast in platinum silver with inlaid antique ebony (over 100 years old.)
Click the thumbnails below for another view, and an image of the mold from which the ring sprang.
Carnivora: a drawing + a mold = a ring
The other day I lurched into the local coffee shop and began to peel off my layers as I stood before the jeweler I had come to meet.
She had asked that I come to take a last look at the wax mold for the ring I had designed.
One of the many things I’ve learned in working with jewelers on the pieces to be showcased in my upcoming show, Carnivora, is that just because one can draw it on paper, does not mean that it will translate literally. I’ve come to live the expression “I make it pretty and you make it practical.” And so it was when I looked upon the small purple sculpture that sat in the hand extended towards me.
The ring, as imagined, will be cast from Palladium with onyx set into the “eyes” and is intended to be worn either with the point towards the wearer or away.
On the hand it just feels right.
Click the thumbnails below to enlarge…
VIDEO: Carnivora: A Production Diary
As one might expect, with time, Carnivora comes more clearly into focus.
Below you’ll find a detailed explanation and short video production diary of the process.
I hope you enjoy, and to find out more about this project please visit jasoncovert.com
CARNIVORA is a multimedia installation inspired and informed by the purported discovery of what are now being referred to as The Sacred Texts of Carnivora, in Greenland. If proven authentic, these simply marked stone tablets unearthed in 2004 would predate the earliest known cuneiform writings by nearly 5,000 years. The implications are history altering, and with that in mind during this time of uncertainty and economic strife, when our systems and structures have been called into question, CARNIVORA will invite viewers to consider how fragile and arbitrary our world can be and what can happen when our assumptions are asked to change.
CARNIVORA is massive: it incorporates elements of still photography, large format illustration, sculpture, painted works, ceremonial masks and robes, custom designed jewelry, poetry and literature, as well as an original musical composition, all designed to transport the viewer into the world suggested by The Sacred Texts of Carnivora.
Belize: Have Artist, Will Travel
click to view video
It’s rarely lost on me that I’m fortunate enough to have a job that allows for the types of travel that it does.
Traveling to warm and/or tropical climes in pursuit of bugs and critters to photograph would still technically qualify as a hobby for me, but I’m working on making it more.
My friends and family often ask “what was it like?” or “how did you do it?”, and more often than not I find it difficult to summarize in a satisfying way – there are just a lot of details (and planning) involved in a long trip to a far away locale.
Back at the start 2009, my partner and I traveled to Belize – the above video was an attempt to summarize some of the steps involved. Sadly I didn’t capture any of the process of actually getting to the marine reserve which was by small skiff (one of the best parts), but this should give a small idea of the journey.
To see images captured while on location and more, head to Photogrovert, my photography website.
A New Studio Cometh… Together Slowly
click image to embiggen
After spending the month of August on a small farm in upstate New York as an Artist in Residence with Chashama, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to helping artists find the space they need, Chashama has awarded me with a Visual Arts Studio Award: stated simply, this means I’ve been given access to a new subsidized studio in the Brooklyn Army Terminal.
Above you’ll find a photograph of the space with freshly painted floors (ah, satisfying… you know that appealed to my barely restrained OCD) and a few odds and ends.
One of the things I’ve immediately noticed about having a larger space is that it begins to let your thoughts and ideas grow larger, which is both exciting and potentially expensive.
I expect their to be much movement on the creation front; part of the obligation to keeping the studio lay in spending no less than 50 hours a month in the space.
A Career in the Arts? Really? – Part IV
What drives someone to desire a career as an artist?
What makes them say, I’m going to make “art” for a living?
Every single artist I’ve met along the way has a different story to tell and, seemingly, a different impetus behind what drives them to create their art.
There are those who create art because they enjoy it, but feel uncomfortable making the jump to working on it full time, and there are those driven by an all-powerful need to create that allows for nothing else, and so, create they will, all else be damned. There are then those who simply enjoy the creative aspect of the work as a hobby and nothing more: something to pass the time and calm the spirit. And there are those who work at other tasks for the majority of their lives, turning only to art when so many other hurdles have been vaulted. The list goes on…
For myself, I realized that creating was what made me the most happy, and at an early age I discovered that I was a slave to making sure I was happy if nothing else. I’ve been called selfish, single-minded, stubborn, foolish, courageous, and a litany of other words because of this, but in the end it’s the pursuit of happiness that is the most important part of being alive for me. There have been a slew of words published on this very subject, illuminating the modern origins of this philosophy, but at the end of the day I can’t help but think that this is what one’s forebears had hoped and strove for: the dream that is “a better life”.
And so, shamelessly, I turned to the arts in one form or another to satisfy my desire to be happy.
To that effect, when I was asked recently what I would do should my current plan to establish myself in the art world fail, I paused, thought, and answered: “I’ll do something else in the arts.”
You see, I don’t have another realistic choice if my first priority is to be happy. Happy is different than rich. Happy is different than successful. Happy is not, however, so different than fulfilled.
In an earlier post in this series I mentioned that my father was not around a lot while I was growing up, but fortunately I had a supportive mother. I was, however, also very lucky that my mother, though divorced, was dating a young man who was equally supportive of my interests. That man later became my stepfather, whom I think of as my dad, and provided me with much of the support that a growing child needs in order to see one’s creative interests as viable in the context of a world at large.
For whatever specific reasons I chose the arts as the path which I walk down, it was without question made easier by the support I received, and still receive today by those I choose to surround myself with.
At the end of the day, were I to offer advice to a person seeking to become an artist, it would be this: surround yourself with support.
In fact, I think that good advice no matter your pursuit.
And, oh yeah, honestly ask yourself, “am I happy?”
my dad: a supportive environment is important for the developing artist
To catch up on the previous parts of this meandering series click here: Part I, Part II, Part III
The things we do for our art…
getting the lights right, in all white, on a winter's photo shoot
Ah, the things that we do for our art!
Sometimes, just sometimes, one looks back on an image and thinks… “damn, this had better have been worth it.”
After having recently seen the fruits (coming soon) of the rather humiliating labor that brought this image to life, I can now say, it was definitely worth it.
I’m told that if you can’t laugh at yourself, you really have no right to laugh at others – which is something I’m absolutely not ready to give up.
The Quality of Line
As my August 2009 residency continues I’ve found myself talking quite a bit about “line quality”. And while most of the folks around me hear what I have to say, nod and move on, I’ve come to realize that it really must seem a throw away expression.
Why has no one said, “what the hell are you talking about?” (assuming they listen or care).
As I work, day in and day out with nothing but black and grey lines (ink and pencil respectively) I find that when I close my eyes I continue to see lines of varying width and sharpness, and as I read a book at the close of the day I find myself examining, almost subconsciously, the heft of the line used to connect the two pillars of a capital “H”, or the gentle slope of the letter “c”. One might think this bothersome, but really it feels like a meditation: the more time I spend with the line the closer I feel I come to truly understanding it.
Now, I know that may sound odd, but it really is what I’ve chosen to do with my life. I make images which, by and large, are comprised of a series of lines that when viewed as a whole, form an image greater than the sum of its parts. I believe that getting to know the singular line allows me a superior control of the overall work: that with the flick of the wrist a whole piece can be altered, perhaps imperceptibly to the uninitiated, but changed nonetheless.
Every artist, I would imagine, dreams of a time when their work transcends the boundaries of their mortal life, discussed in a far flung art history course on a campus full of activity long after the artist’s passing. For me, I would like it to be said that Jason Covert understood the line – that the body of his work spoke of an exquisite quality of line.
VIDEO: Live, from New York…
As mentioned previously, on Thursday, June 18th, 2009, I was fortunate enough to be offered the opportunity to speak publicly about my photographic work, entitled A Quiet World.
Programmed by Cannery Works (a not-for-profit based in NY, headed by the Spencer Chandler mentioned in the above video) and sponsored by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the event was a success: above you will find video of my brief introduction to said work. The artist presentations were followed by a spirited Q&A session unfortunately not featured here.
An Artist’s Dilemma: So Many Choices…
like a kid in a candy store... so... many... pencils
The photo above represents a question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately, “how much is too much?”
For me, though the seemingly infinite choice of pencils above is ponderous, the real question comes only days before departing for my very first artist residency and a proposed work of staggering proportions.
Let me backup a little: an integral part of maintaining one’s balance sheet as an artist comes in the form of grants, or rather, the pursuit of grants, because any artist who has tried can tell you: there are far, far more artists than there are grants to be won. And so we must look beyond the dream grants, those that simply hand the artist funds and say “do whatever you want!”. We must look towards those that offer the artist something less tangible than cold, hard cash: we must look at the residencies. Residencies come in many shapes and sizes, but the one I’m attending offers the artist a room to sleep in and a studio to work in, all whilst surrounded by thankfully few distractions.
The work that I referred to above, and which I hope to start and complete by the time my residency expires is to be a 6ft by 6ft, deeply detailed illustration. I’m nervous: and not because it’s a big drawing, but because I intend to use the same level of detail throughout as I would on a drawing 1ft by 1ft. Forget about needing a new eraser when I’m done: I might need new eyes!
So as I prepare to dive in, I ask myself again, “how much is too much?”
I suspect I’ll be able to tell you in about a month – one way or the other.