Nest

What is a nest? What does it mean "to nest?"

How many places have you lived?

Have you ever wanted your own room?

Have you ever been afraid of your cellar or attic? Why?

Have you ever lived with someone who drove you crazy?

Have you ever been able to choose where you’ve lived?

What adjectives do you associate with home?

What do the phrases “to feel at home” or “home is where the heart is” mean? What about homesickness?

-Consider the concept of nest or home. Think about different kinds of dwellings: apartments, houses, barns, nests, landfills, refugee camps, etc. Think about the significance of these shelters and the meaning, purpose and appearance of each as informed by neighborhood, region, country, class etc.

-Think about the various parts of a house/apartment, both their aesthetics and emotional meanings (e.g. bedroom v.s. cellar).

-Consider themes of form/function, comfort, belonging, belongings, safety, family, privacy, order, purpose, etc.

-Think about displacement, i.e. refugees and the homeless or nomadic peoples. Brainstorm and take notes.

-Brainstorm materials/objects/imagery that pertain to the theme of this project. Determine a topic upon which you’d like to focus. In choosing your topic, remember to challenge yourself; find a subject that is new to you. Also, be mindful of the implied narrative of your chosen subject/image.

-Collect/generate at least 8-10 objects or images. You must take your own pictures if using source imagery (though you may borrow in part if it’s necessary for your concept. (See me in that case.)

-Create 8+ thumbnails to arrive at the strongest possible concept and composition. (Each thumbnail should be no smaller than a baseball card.) Consider the full picture plane, including your background.

-Choose the surface, dimensions and material for your project.

Edward Hopper

Maureen Gallace

Maureen Gallace

Early September

2011

Oil on panel

Maureen Gallace

January

2007

Oil on panel

11 x 14 inches

Lewis Hine, documentation of tenement housing

Jennie Rizzandi, 9 year old girl, helping mother and father finish garments in a dilapidated tenement. New York, New York, 1913

Family of Onofrio Cottone, 7 Extra Place, New York, finishing garments in a terribly run down tenement, 1913

Cornell Capa

1972

Dan Weiner

Harlem Merchant

Becky Suss

Becky Suss, “Bathroom (Ming Green)” (2016)

Becky Suss, “August” (2016) (all images ©Becky Suss, courtesy of Jack Shainman Gallery

Aliza Nisenbaum

Aliza Nisenbaum, “La Talaverita, Sunday Morning NY Times” (2016), oil on linen, 68 x 88 inches, collection of the artist (courtesy T293 Gallery, Rome and Mary Mary, Glasgow)

Matt Bollinger

Independence I & II

Flashe and acrylic on unstretched canvas

96" x 144" (overall); 96" x 72"(each)

2016

Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, “Fall with Me for a Million Days (My Sweet Waterfall)” (2016), oil on canvas, 60 x 48 inches, private collection (courtesy the artist and Mier Gallery, Los Angeles)

Patrick Jolley, "Hereafter"

https://vimeo.com/35882401