The Grain of the Clay - Allen S. Weiss

"The reasons for collecting are as complex as the lineaments of the soul, and collectible objects are indefinitely diverse. There are many forms of collecting and many reasons to collect, some psychological and some aesthetic, some sociological and others economic. One may collect to relive the joys and mysteries of childhood, to create an aesthetic environment. to further knowledge, to connect to preferred epochs in history, to exercise absolute control over a small portion of the world, to ease anxiety or to fill a void, whether the lack be an empty room, an unrequited love or an existential emptiness."

Song Dong – Waste Not, 2012

I find this exhibition really powerful for many reasons: first, the artist is trying to portray the art of saving and re-using things is in line with the Chinese principle of wu jin qi yong – 'waste not'. So, the collection makes a big impact on me because it makes me conscious about how we treat waste and how much obsolete programmed products exist among us.

On the other hand, this collection is a tribute to her mother and he develops a special way of reconnecting with her and his family every time he does the same exhibition. I liked that I feel it is a real personal project but at the same time targets a big cultural matter.

Screen Shot 2017-10-16 at 8.10.33 AM.png

Evocative Objects - Turkle, S.

"Object play engages the heart as well as the mind; it is a source of inner vitality."

Mark Didion: Methodology

Connections

"When Im starting a new project, I am not a studio oriented person, I rather go to the place and experiment history behind it. Architecture, museum, how people dress. Insert himself in the specific social history of the place."

"We miss in our culture to be able to see the connections between things in our actions, personal behavior and how it affects the rest of the world"

Mark Didion has a different approach for building ideas. I like that he becomes interested in different methodologies, it can be like he says " shadowing" archaeologists o sociologists. But I think his main intention is to always be part of the community or the context he is trying to study. I think he tries to become empathic with a particular surrounding in order to understand it better and work his way through through it.

Nicholas Nixon – The Brown Sisters

I find really interesting to see all the photos together and see the process of aging. Although you can see how their skin start to change the eyes and the look of every sister still remains the same.

I also think is important to remark that this started as a simple picture and it did not have the intention at the beginning to be a large art project.

Screen Shot 2017-10-16 at 8.00.08 AM.png