RECAP: DANIEL PHILLIPS & EUGENE FINNEY

DANIEL PHILLIPS & EUGENE FINNEY from Greyory Blake on Vimeo.

TONIGHT: DANIEL PHILLIPS & EUGENE FINNEY

MFA Thesis Exhibition
December 4-December 21, 2008
Tisch Gallery

Opening Reception: Thursday, December 4, 2008
Artists' Talks: Thursday, December 4, 5:00 pm and Thursday, December 11, 6pm
This exhibition is the first in an ongoing series of MFA thesis exhibitions shown annually at the Tufts University Art Gallery as part of the joint graduate degree program of Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

EUGENE SCOTT FINNEY

"For my Master of Fine Arts thesis exhibition, I will present sculptural works constructed from excavated and antique building materials. The focus of the exhibition will be the two sculptures, Boat and Dwelling, both constructed to human scale and intended for actual use after the duration of the exhibition."
Boat, 2008, Excavated and antique construction materials, 14x14x14, photo: E.S.Finney


DANIEL PHILLIPS

"The first room of the exhibit will display videos, both on monitors and projected, showing the transformation of my studio over the past year, as well as other collaborative projects involving the use of scavenged materials to create objects and transform spaces. Thousands of animated photographs show the process of creating, destroying, and restoring as essential to the value of this work. Salvaged paint, wood, paper, metal, and various other construction materials are appropriated both for their function and aesthetic value, informing a desperate and playful search for meaningful imagery.

The second room in the gallery will be a working studio, around which an elevated platform seven feet off the ground affords viewers a privileged look down into the workspace. This studio within the gallery will function as an ongoing process-based installation for the entire course of the show, serving as an environment for individuals to collaborate, experiment, and transform the gallery space beyond its normal confines."
Still From Studio, 2008, photo: D. Phillips

DANIEL PHILLIPS AND RE: EUGENE FINNEY

I hope you still remember Eugene Finney whose found object architecture inspired my entry concerning Glory at Sea. Also, I hope you still remember the show that will be featuring him at the Tufts University Art Gallery between December 4th and 21st. Well, not that you needed it, but here's one more reason to go to that show (and go to it on opening night):

Today, I met Daniel Phillips, the partner artist of that very same show. Daniel takes stills of his studio floor from a bird's eye view where he splays a disarray of found objects, recycled items, and salvaged materials across the floor, then loops the stills to create a moving collage of materials (using the floor as a canvas in itself). While Daniel (sometimes shown in frame) creates a nest out of his studio, you can see colored lights being set up across the floor, wooden materials coming together to show abstract structures, and a variety of materials displaying form without function.

It's pretty fascinating stuff, and Daniel noted that for the Tufts show, he will create a new studio space in which he will start another series of these birds-eye view video loops within the actual gallery. When seeing Daniel's method in person (which on the opening, I'm assuming will happen), it's very different than what is shown on screen - in fact, much more organized than I originally assumed. Visitors at Tufts will be able to experience his artistic planning and see it executed via a scaffolding that he will build over his faux-studio. It's also interesting that Eugene and Daniel signed up to show their works during the same period, and are the only artists showing their works in the two floor gallery space at Tufts during this period. I'm curious to see how it turns out.

In these artists' studio visits, I'm seeing a modest trend outlining a very childlike fascination with junk aesthetic, as if the artists are playing with their materials to see what becomes of them rather than striving for any specific form. There's this really unique convergence of minimalist structure and clutter (see: graffiti aesthetic).

I couldn't find any images of the correct Daniel Phillips' work, and am having trouble finding any examples of Eugene Finney's newest work, so above is a photograph I took last year in New York City.

EUGENE FINNEY AND GLORY AT SEA

Today, at the SMFA, we met (among others) Eugene Finney who, trained as a painter, now makes some pretty wonderful sculptures that he likes to call "post apocalyptic design theories." His works included a shelter made out of wood scraps from a an old brownstone that was being renovated as well as a boat made of scraps and found objects (complete with skids for a base and a projector screen for the front sail). I didn't get to see the pieces in their full glory (pun noted for later), but was rather forced to view them in his cramped 3rd year SMFA Masters studio. For this reason, I propose that anyone who wants to come with me should go to the MFA Thesis Exhibition at the Tufts University Art Gallery sometime between December 4th and 21st (2008). It will be a great time.

Honestly, these works really interested me not only because they were assemblage sculptures meant for very distinct functions (taking assemblage to a new level), but mainly because the sailboat reminded me an incredible amount of Court 13's Glory at Sea:

Glory at Sea is a tale with elements of magical realism that depicts a small town outside New Orleans who discovers that they can visit their lost loved ones who still remain very much alive in the ocean. Once realizing this, they band together build a makeshift ship out of "the flood's" wreckage and attempt to discover "where the dead people go."

So, naturally, to round out this entry of shameless plugs and inspirations, I bring incredible news (at least for Family Family Tree). The following has been posted on the McSweeney's website:

Wholphin No. 7 will feature a short film by Gus Van Sant based on a William S. Burroughs short story; a documentary exploring autism from the animators of Waking Life; Field Notes from Dimension X; the SXSW award-winning Glory at Sea; and a curious documentary about men living in relative isolation on Bodmin Moor, one of whom in particular subsists on a strict roadkill diet. Issue 7 will also include a special bonus disc containing a highly controversial interactive scientific experiment in retroactive causality, in which the Wholphin audience, just by watching, will help to determine the role of consciousness in the establishment of a physical reality.

AWESOME!