Daniel van Benthuysen

Daniel van Benthuysen was born in St. Louis, Missouri and currently lives in Huntington, Long Island, New York. He studied at Saint Louis Priory School in St. Louis, Missouri, Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan Tulane University in New Orleans, Parsons School of Design in New York, Art Students League of New York, and Hofstra University in New York. He has focused in Studio Art, Art History, and Graphic Design.

Van Benthuysen works with many drawing materials, such as pencil; charcoal, conte, and pens, as well as watercolor, gouache, and oil paints. Van Benthuysen has showed work in New York, Connecticut, Georgia, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Illinois, and Missouri. His work has been accepted to several juried group shows and shows at the Art Students League of New York. In 2010, van Benthuysen had a solo show called "The Light Which Defines Them" at the Northport Wine Cellar.

He is currently working as an Assistant Professor of Informational Graphics at Hofstra University and as a freelance writer for Newsday with the Wall Street Journal.

“The image of someone wearing a paper crown is almost inevitably facetious and self-deprecating. The wearer usually has an expression that seems to say, "I'm a king or queen -- but we all know this is just silly pretending." I find it refreshing to do portraiture of people in attitudes that show they don't take themselves too seriously. There is enough genuinely pompous portraiture in the world already.”

This is a part of Daniel van Benthuysen’s Artist Statement.

I like how his paintings are somewhat gestural. I enjoy the imagery, but I do not believe that is has to be all about not taking themselves seriously. A lot can be said from the portraits. Each face has the ability to tell a story. Messages can be embedded in the appearance of a person. 

http://www.danvanb.com/home

RJ Clark

RJ Clark is currently working and living in Virginia Beach. Clark works in both painting and drawing. Clark earned degrees from North Carolina State University and Duke University. RJ Clark has shown work in Washington DC, North Carolina, Connecticut, New York, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Florida. In 2007, Clark won Best in Show at the National Juried Fine Art Exhibition in Richmond, Virginia. He also won an Experimental Art Award in the Southern Watercolor Society 30th Annual Exhibition in Moultrie, Georgia. In 2008, he won Potomic Valley Watercolorist Award in the Southern Watercolor Society 31st Annual Exhibition in Quincy, Florida.

Clark’s portraits represent a powerful image. Many of them look photorealistic. The quality of his portrait drawings is something that I admire. When I look at Clark’s portraits, I see a powerful gaze from the subject. Each of the people looks like they have a story to tell. The people within his work are placed in a setting that does not distract from the gaze of that person, but adds to the overall image.

http://www.rjclarkart.com/

I've come a long way...now how did I get here?

 

Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei was born in 1957, in China. His father is a strong example for him. Ai Weiwei’s father was well known poet, Ai Qing, who was exiled in 1957, which lasted 20 years. Ai Weiwei spent most of his childhood growing up in political exile. After returning to the capital in 1978, Ai Weiwei attended the Beijing Film Academy. He spent 1981-1993 working in New York. He studied at Parsons School of Design, but did not finish his degree. 

Ai Weiwei on the Met rooftop

In 1993, he returned to Beijing. He became involved in the “experimental art scene”. Ai Weiwei started the FAKE Design, a studio for art, architecture and design, in 1999. His work has been shown in New York, Germany, London, and China. He has worked in photography, installation, and other media and projects, including the design of the National Olympic Stadium for Beijing games in 2008. In 2008, Ai Weiwei was also a major activist in the aftermath of the Sichuan Earthquake. The Sichuan Earthquake Names Project was “an effort to record the names of more than 5,000 schoolchildren killed in poorly constructed classrooms.” During his work for this effect, Ai Weiwei was attacked by police. 

As Ai Weiwei’s work grew increasing involved in politics and activism, he also grew to be more of a target of the Chinese government. Under government surveillance, his blog has been monitored and shut down; he has suffered from police brutality; he has been placed on house arrest, he has been denied access at the Beijing airport; and his studio was demolished in Shanghai in January 2011. Through all of this, Ai Weiwei still works in advocating for freedom of expression. 

 Alison Klayman has been working with Ai Weiwei since 2008. She began documenting his artistic process in preparation for exhibitions, interaction with family members, and his “increasingly public clashes with the Chinese government”.  AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY is a film documenting Klayman’s interaction with Ai Weiwei and his work. 

http://www.aiweiweifilm.org/en/

Tate exhibition, London. "Sunflower Seeds"

“I have to always, everyday ask myself ‘How long can I last if I’m in extreme conditions, such as jail…the answer I don’t really know.” –Ai Weiwei with Dan Rather Report*

“I don’t think I’m brave, or have any crazy ideas to change the society. But I really want to be myself, just to tell other people you also can do so. To be yourself, to state your mind clearly, and to tell people what is right and what is wrong…because it is impossible to stop freedom…How could you stop it? Unless they put me in jail, then maybe that could stop it.” –Ai Weiwei interview with Dan Rather Report*

“Nobody can stop the course of change.” –Ai Weiwei interview with Dan Rather Report*

* “‘Dan Rather Reports’ will air one of the last television interviews that Ai Weiwei conducted before his detention on Sunday morning at Beijing Capital Airport. The interview airs on HDNet April 5th at 9 pm ET” (From http://www.aiweiweifilm.org/en/news/)

“Even when you’ve spent a lot of time with him, you don’t feel like you completely understand him. You never know what his next step will be.” –Wen Tao, Journalist

After being told to leave his job at Global Times, Wen Tao participated in demonstrations for Ai Weiwei and reported on his case. Wen Tao has been missing since April 3, 2011.

On April 3, 2011, Ai Weiwei was detained by police in a Beijing airport. 

Amnesty International’s response: http://www.amnesty.org/

Chinese authorities have placed heavy focus on activists, lawyers and bloggers, since an online outreach for Chinese “Jasmine Revolution”. These protests are inspired by the people’s movement, starting in February 2011, in the Middle East and North Africa.

The Chinese government has also arrested and mistreated human rights lawyers. Lawyers have been faced with harassment and intimidation. “China is abandoning the rule of law…The government is trying to systematically break the will of the country’s lawyers…It is giving its security forces free rein to pervert the course of justice and deny activists and critics the right to a legal defense,” said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Director for the Asia-Pacific.

“If the authorities are so bold as to grab this world-renowned artist in broad daylight at Beijing airport, it’s frightening to think how they might treat other, lesser known dissidents,” said Donna Guest, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Asia-Pacific.

 

The Beginning

I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in.

I am lost...I am hopeless.

It isn't my fault.

It takes forever to find a way out. 

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don't see it. 

I fall in again.

I can't believe I'm in the same place.

But it isn't my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it there.

I still fall in...it's a habit. 

My eyes are opened. 

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it. 

I walk down another street.

-Sogyal Rinpoche

"Tibetan Book of the Living and Dying"

The Intersection of Arts and Activism

The Prometheus Project focuses on the intersection of arts and human rights, in collaboration with the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.)’s production of Prometheus Bound and Amnesty International. The Prometheus Project team really wanted to change the idea of the audience being unengaged and just leaving after the performance.

Prometheus Bound was adapted from Aeschylus' 2500 year old Greek play. Writer and Lyricist, Steven Sater (Spring Awakening) translated the play and transformed it into a new rock musical, with music written by Serj Tankian (System of a Down), and directed by Diane Paulus.

After the performance, the actors bow and a curtain speech was read. During the curtain speech, the actor describes what the Prometheus Project is and about the collaboration with Amnesty International. During this time, the space turns into “The Happening.” The Happening, or Act II, is when the Amnesty case is discussed. The actor briefly describes what the case is about and directs the audience to the Amnesty volunteers, around the room holding up case posters. After the closing speech, Amnesty volunteers discuss the case and get the audience to sign postcards urging for action on that week’s case.  I have been a member of Amnesty International for the past few years and I volunteered with the Prometheus Project for seventeen shows.

The collaboration with Amnesty and the A.R.T is a beautiful way to shine a light on those suffering from injustice. The eight Amnesty cases represent a modern day Prometheus. The story of Prometheus reflects the injustice that is so relatable with an unfortunately large number of cases. 

This project indirectly relates to the portraits I am working on now. I am working on craft, so that I can draw more realistic portraits. I would like to transfer the craft of portrait drawings to depict a strong message. This relates more to work I have done in the past. Below are a few pieces that have done relating to my work with Amnesty International.

Aung San Suu Kyi is an active member of the pro-democracy political party in Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi was detained for 15 of the last 21 years. This portrait of Suu Kyi was done for my Conceptual drawing class last year. The shading is done with quotes from Suu Kyi. Aung San Suu Kyi was released on November 13, 2010.

Tissa is a well known Sri Lankan Journalist. He was detained on March 7, 2008. The Sri Lankan government is very repressive regarding freedom of speech. These two paintings were for my Conceptual Drawing final, last year. The focus is on the difference of freedom of speech in Sri Lanka and the United States. He was released in June 2010. I met Tissa on November 13, 2010 at an Amnesty International conference at Boston University.

For more information about the Prometheus Bound production or Amnesty International:

http://meghan-robbins.blogspot.com/2011/03/prometheus-bound.html

http://www.americanrepertorytheater.org/events/show/prometheus-bound

http://www.amnestyusa.org/

Pamela Murphy

Pamela Murphy studied at Rhode Island School of Design and got her MFA in India.
Murphy has had Solo Exhibitions in Boston, MA, Chicago, IL, Neenah, WI, Ephraim, WI, Birmingham, AL, and Charlotte, NC.  Murphy has showed work in group exhibitions in Wilmington, VT, Atlanta, GA, Ephraim, WI, Chicago, IL, Duxbury, MA, Milwaukee, WI, Galveston, TX, Sturgeon Bay, WI, Lahore, Pakistan, Grand Rapids, MI, Santiniketan, India, Calcutta, India, Providence RI, Palm Beach Gardens, FL, Charlotte, NC, and Wilmington, VT.

From her artist statement: “I collect old photographs and choose figures from them for my paintings. The people whose lives are recorded in those pictures are strangers, yet they are familiar to all of us. They remind us of ourselves, our families, and our issues on both personal and cultural levels.” (pamelamurphystudio.com)

I love how powerful a portrait is. I am very interested in the story behind the figure.

http://www.pamelamurphystudio.com/  

http://www.chaseyounggallery.com/Artist_Profiles/Murphy_extra/PMstatement.html