Robert Knight, interviewed by Teen Docent Renee Saleh.

RS: Robert, you said that you get volunteers for your photographs, how did you get volunteers to work with you?

RK: I asked them as a favor. HEY! Can I do something crazy like take pictures while you sleep?! Then after I take the pictures, I show them. I did this…see? It is not totally crazy and looks interesting, so that allows me to get access to more people. I also put out cards with my number and a picture and put them in mailboxes in my son’s class. Flyers were also a good way to get the word across: I won’t show your face!

RS: You do a lot of work with outside noises, have you ever tried to use a microphone inside the house?

RK: I never actually tried that. Part of the reason is because I think that would be intrusive to someone’s sleep. But with the outside microphones I sometimes capture interior sounds such as the TV or bits of conversation.

RS: Did you know you were going to be an artist when you were young?

RK: I studied Architecture. The only time I used a camera was to document my work/building sites. I had never been in a dark room until I entered college. I took some classes in photography. The reason I did this was because I missed the creative side of architecture. Photography got me out of the world of finance and back to the creative side of the art world. But it took a long time before I realized I could make something wonderful out of photography.

RS: Do you think your work as an architectural style to it?

RK: Yes! I do photograph a lot of houses so that encompasses architecture and home décor. I also work commercially so I do photograph other architects’ works. I am obsessed with houses, so I love to photograph them in some way whether it’s inside or out. It’s an interest, obviously.

RS: Would you ever go back to architecture?

RK: Ummm. No. It’s important to realize: if you want to be good at something you have to do it for a long time. Malcolm Gladwell, the author of a book called the Tipping Point (2000), talks about if you want to get good at something you have to do it for 10,000 hours. So if you think about that, if you want to change careers you have to do it early to get good at it. Most people aren’t natural/amazing artists, you need to practice! Great artists, great musicians, or great actors, they all have spent those 10,000hours. I love what I’m doing and even though architecture is an interest I don’t think I would go back. I like working by myself not for someone else; your own boss. The great thing about being an artist is you can do anything you think of it’s just a matter of having an audience and a market.

RS: Do you think you raised your kids in a very artistic environment?

RK: Yea, as an artist you learn to really see things; you have a heighted sense of sight. I think I raised my son to see things clearly as an artist, and that might give him an advantage. I already see I am teaching him to look at things like a photographer. However, I am not pushing him to be an artist but I think what your parents teach you are what affect you.

RS: Do your kids influence your art?

RK: Absolutely! Having kids was a life experience that changed me and my artwork.

RS: Do they get to see your artwork a lot?

RK: Yea! They like to see my pictures because they don’t remember me taking them.

RS: Do you always have a camera with you?

RK: No, I usually only carry around my camera phone. I use it almost like a sketch book, I will take a picture of something, if I like it I will go back with my 4by 4 and take a nice picture with that instead.

RS: Do you have a favorite piece in the gallery now?

RK: Well usually it changes. I like them all! I tried to be much harsher with this edit (gallery) because I didn’t want to regret any pieces I put up there. I still really like Untitled (4hours, 15minutes, June 16, 2007) (picture of his son and beginning of interest with sleep).

Untitled (4 hours, 15 minutes, June 16, 2007)

Courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas

RS: Do you show/let your student’s critic your work?

RK: YEA. I show them and encourage them to critic it. I think it’s important that they know I am a real artist. Most of my students though don’t critic.

RS: Do you think they are afraid their grades will be on the line if they do?

RK: Actually no, if they say something their grade would go up! But they don’t know that.

RS: What advice do you have for new artists?

RK: Practice! Be passionate! And find a good mentor!

Gerry Bergstein

Screams Throughout Art History

Garden of Delights

Effort at Speech



*click to view larger*

Interview with artist Gerry Bergstein

As a teacher, what do you teach at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts?
I teach painting, although, this semester I’m either talking about painting or teaching studio painting. So I’m either talking to students about their work or teaching history courses for basic painters.

What do you think makes a good art teacher?

I don’t know, because my two most influential teachers were really different from each other. Henry Schwartz was very supportive, but could be brutally tough. My other favorite was just very supportive. I think that a good teacher can talk to a student about the student’s goals and brainstorm with them about how to achieve their goals technically, and also tell them what they should look at and think about. Empathizing with the student’s goals is very important. Also, widening the student’s horizons.

My style of teaching is to be open to almost any idea the student has, and to push them in that idea. Other teachers think “No, you have to do it my way”, and I think that can work too. The teacher has to challenge the student.

How do you go about challenging a student?

I challenge a student by being both supportive and honest at the same time. It’s important that if something is clearly not in synch with what the student is trying to do that you tell them that in a way that makes them think, but doesn’t’ make them want to shoot themselves. Sometimes pushing someone really hard can work. I think the student has to have confidence in their own; you have to listen to critique, but not necessarily obey all the time. You have to keep your center.

Artistic family:

Most artists are part of a family, I love Leonardo and Velázquez, and then Goya, and I think all those artists have things in common. I think they all have a funny, but dark view of humanity. I think that’s kind of my artistic family. Each generation is part of a family, but each makes art in a different way that is relevant to their generation.

Would you say that an artistic family is your influences, or that your share a similar style as them?

They’re your influences, and maybe there’s a psychological connection. For example, maybe you have the same kind of temperament. I would say that they are your influences. They’re the work you love the most, or maybe sometimes the work you hate the most.

What were your influences when you were younger?

I always drew; I wasn’t sure I wanted to be an artist until I went to college. My influences when I was younger were seeing shows at the Museum of Modern Art. My mother and father were both very interested in art and music, and would drag us to museums when we were too young to appreciate them. My mother said one time, “There’s this show at the Museum of Modern Art by Max Ernst, he’s a surrealist. I think you should go see it.” So I went to see it and I fell in love with surrealism, I fell in love with German expressionism. So I went home and tried to draw like those artists that I had just fallen in love with. So I became and artist by falling in love with drawing on my own, and then also falling in love with other artists.

How did growing up in Queens influence you?

My family was interested in the arts, and that influenced me. Then being around museums influenced me. Queens is not like Manhattan; it’s rows and rows and rows of houses right next to each other, and among the neighborhood there was not much interest in art. It was a little depressing. I think I got some of my dark viewpoint from that.

Do you start painting with an original idea?

I do start painting with an initial idea, unless I’m floundering and just experimenting. Usually, I start with an initial idea which often draws from a previous painting. So I if did a painting that explored something, I’ll often get an idea from that painting on how to further explore that idea more fully. Each painting extends from another painting. The original idea often half disappears.

How do you overcome artist’s block?

That’s a really good question. Sometimes keeping a journal helps, writing down things you are anxious or nervous about, sitting down in front of on old work and writing down adjectives, talking to friends, and having some confidence in yourself that you will have blocks and you will get over them. When in doubt do anything; just take out a sketchpad and start doodling. Don’t try to overanalyze, just let your mind and your hand go.

How has your style developed over the years?

I’ve learned technique a little better, and I’ve delved deeper into these themes that interest me; like what is reality, and what is the relationship between autobiography and art. I keep exploring these themes in different ways and different mediums, and also trying to master the techniques that I need for each one. I think I’ve gotten more confident, and that I no longer think that if I think I don’t have an idea for a few weeks that I’m doomed. I’ve realized that I will have an idea, and that it will be ok. I think that taking risk is important. For the first ten years of my career I was terrified of taking risk because I was afraid I couldn’t do anything else, but slowly I’ve learned that you really do learn from failures and you can do something else.

How do you think artists are different from other kinds of people?

I think they’re just as jerky as regular people. I think artists are lucky to be able to pursue their version of human existence as a career. They may have some insight into human existence, but it doesn’t necessarily help them become saints. It’s an interesting career, because you have the opportunity to explore beauty and truth. There are a lot of jerky artists; there always tends to be a lot f narcissist and ego maniacs. I don’t thinks there’s a direct cause and effect that being an artist makes you a better person, but there are subtle things that happen. I think art is good for the world.

An Interview with Cree Bruins

After giving a gallery talk at the Danforth Museum of Art, artist Cree Bruins sat down and spoke with teen docent Shireen Abrishamian about her exhibit 'Projecting Into the Past', what she’s learned throughout eight years of art school, and the present-day effects of watching her father work in the dark room as a little girl.

SA: Do you like to experiment in your work and capture moments of spontaneity or do you prefer a structure and plan when you design an image?

CB: Well I actually like to think I have two bodies of work. One is much more formal, where I think about my process before I start. The other is much more abstract. With some of the drawing pieces I had an idea where I was going with it whereas with a lot of the film it was just totally a surprise that came out of the dark room. I love that… the spontaneity. But then again sometimes it’s nice to have a more formal approach as well; you have an idea, you work it through, and you see how it can come out using the right materials such as with the iris prints. It’s an investigation in that respect.

SA: You also love the tactile-ness.

CB: Yes! You can tell- all of that cutting and pasting and poking.

SA: Can you explain the process for creating some of the iris prints?

CB: I have a good relationship with a lot of the labs here in Boston, most of which now have closed, so things are getting lean but I’m tapping my friends for their film pieces. Once I get the pieces of film I put them on a light box and find the ones that I feel are more exciting for the film itself or for the color, design or just something about them that’s appealing. Then I scan them [digitally] and if there’s dust or anything on it that I feel is distracting for the image, I will clean it up. Sometimes I’ll pump the colors if I feel it can be enhanced slightly, but I try to keep the image as true to how I found it. Then once I’ve got it ready I’ll take it to a person I work with who has an iris printer and they print them up for me.

SA: In your work, do you try to create pieces that intrigue the mind or entertain the eye? As in, do you prefer people to go up to your pieces and think about them or have the pieces there to view as something interesting?

CB: I think its nature for the eyeball to see first… you have to be grabbed. A lot of times if you walk by something it will first catch your eye. Visually, I think it is important [to be interesting]- something interesting has to be there. But I also love [personally] having something up that is makes you question like “how did they do that?” or “what material is this?” or “what was the process or the concept?” I think [those questions] are very important as well. Some of my most successful pieces aren’t particularly beautiful per se, but they’re very thoughtful. But I think it’s also important to have something that pulls the audience in to take that first look.

SA: What pulls you in? Shapes or colors or… landscapes?

CB: I’m very attracted to [what is] minimal and abstract. I love the beautiful colors that are presented by chance on the film. Its funny cause in art school when I first started I was monochromatic. Everything was black and white and I rarely used colors. It was through working with this film that excited me with colors.

SA: And [the colors] are always unique.

CB: Yes, that’s right, all of them.

SA: So, in eight years of art school what was the most valuable thing that you learned?

CB: That’s a toughie! I think it’s to keep going, don’t get discouraged. Many times you think “why I am doing this it’s just not working.” I think it’s important to [sometimes] step back and put [the project] away. I think it’s best to have several projects so if I get really frustrated with something I can walk away from it, do something that else that excites me, and more times than not I’ll come back to that thing that was driving me nuts and I’ll look at it and think “whoa that’s not so bad,” and then something else will spark. But I think it’s really important to keep your eyeballs open and keeping listening. As far as the actual projects, finding materials or a subject that excites you. Listen to yourself and find something that does excites you and start investigating it. Because usually, intuitively, you know what you want inside.

SA: Did you have any specific inspirations for 'Projecting into the Past'? Such as another artist or music, or did you just watch everything unfold?

CB: I think it’s dual. I think it does unfold the more you work with a particular material. The more you see the more you learn about it; you become familiar with the characteristics. So in that sense, it’s important to pursuit something if it intrigues you. It’s also important [for me] to have a sense of art history and to look at other artists. Like I said I’m really inspired by minimalists and conceptual work. Agnes Martin’s work has inspired some of my work. [Piet] Mondrian with his very simple black lines and colors inspired my work. So I think the more that you see and know about [other artists] might suggest something that you can try in your own work. But I think it’s both.

SA: When you were a little girl, watching your dad work with photography, did you ever think you’d be an artist someday?

CB: Not at that point but I think it contributed to my randomness. I’ve always been intrigued with doing creative things… just looking around, looking at nature, I appreciate beauty. When I was thinking about going to college, I was thinking about doing graphic design and at the time my dad said “Oh no you need to do something that you can provide money for yourself if you need it.” So I went into nursing and I think that was a good field for me for a while. But as you change, I think you also go back to your roots of wanting to do something more creative in the arts. Going to art school at an older age I had a larger well to draw from in experience. In my case it took me four years instead of eight years to go through school and I started late, so I came in with a different perspective but I think in my case it helped.

SA: There’s no better time than now.

CB: Anytime! It’s never too late!

SA: Are there other art mediums that you appreciate equally?

CB: I totally appreciate painting. I’ve never really done [it] so I’m in awe of people that can. I’m taking some of my materials now (the film) and playing with some of the same qualities of paintings. I’m trying to capture that slow process of creating a painting with light and color and using the film that I’m using now as a pallet. And instead of the more instant idea that is suggested with photography I’m trying to display it as more of a process with the suggestion of a painting, with the same style of an artist like Agnes Martin. I actually have four for five different artists now that I’m thinking about and want to translate their painterly style into my material.

SA: The way you blend colors in some of your pieces [I find] can really resemble painting. Do you ever hang up any of your own pieces at home?

CB: Oh for sure (laughs). I think its fun too to have your own art because you see it in a different light. I also like to have other people’s art in the house. It’s nice to be surrounded by it; it makes you think about things. At MIT, where I work, they have a student lottery program, and they have a collection of probably 300 pieces of well known artists. It’s a lottery in the beginning of the school year and students can have these pieces of art in their dorms for a year’s time. It’s a different perspective just looking at a piece of art and then living with a piece of art. It changes. And you become very familiar with it in a different way than if you just go by it.

SA: Like in a museum.

CB: Exactly. Well I prefer museums, where at least you can take your time whereas in a lot of galleries, it’s a lot more rushed.

SA: Any upcoming projects or ideas you’re working on now?

CB: Right now I have several pieces that I’m working on, some that I have scanned that will be in slide-show mode, and I’m working on making them look like sunrises and sunsets. Another is a process where [I have] some film [that] creates a line I'm doing a series of these that travel from piece to piece to piece, on iris prints with film and digital. [There’s] a lot of these painting pieces with the film as the medium of my “paint pallet.”

SA: Where can we see all of this when it’s finished?

CB: I believe there’s going to be a show here in a couple of years with more of my work. And let’s see… I’m working on a couple more projects but nothing is set in stone at the moment as far as where it’s going to be.

SA: Spontaneity.

CB: Yep, that’s right!




To find out more about Cree Bruins’ exhibit at the Danforth: http://www.danforthmuseum.org/cree_bruins.html

To view some of her works: http://www.barbarakrakowgallery.com/exhibition/exhibition_details.php?id=2114

it was a lovely evening, teen art night 2009

Recently we visited the ICA in Boston. We went on a short tour and were able to see some of the many exciting exhibitions. We saw the Foster Prize Show, for example. The photos below show the beautiful Art Wall along with some group shots of us. Above are some examples of some of the pieces we saw. For more information on the ICA visit: icaboston.org

-t.o.e

WELCOME to the new Through Our Eyes (t.o.e) blog! We, the DMA Teen Docents, have decided to create this blog for three reasons:

-Post entries about recent artist interests
-Share and discuss our art
-Post updates about recent events and oppurtunities at the Danforth Museum of Art