In But Not Of: Tiffany Shelly

"This is it." says a large portrait of a woman who looks out at me defiant that I am seeing her this way. As I look further I see that she is being pulled, pursued, trapped by this fabric that is so graceful and yet sinister in such a way that it becomes a character, a persona with attributes I can't quite put my finger on. I ask myself if I should feel frightened by it...but she is not, in fact she seems to dominate it at times. Her fingers grip the unruly thought, a controlling movement that still exudes beauty. The spaces she resides in are so familiar, tiny totems I can latch onto for certainty but the walls are white-washed and the floor drops out from under me and I am left in limbo... as she is. As I look at these photographs I am left to settle on empty rooms, maybe this is where she will go next, but I become caught in them. "It is inevitable" she says, "This room will wait for you." I will be pulled and pushed, the ceiling will disappear and where I thought I was will be nothing like it is. In the last frame the woman brings the curtain to the windows ledge...perhaps to take it with her.

But of course, this is the world that I imagine when I look at this work, it is as beautiful as it is provoking. Nice work Tiffany!
xoxo,
Charlie

The End of the End

It's here. The abyss is looming ahead of me- the unknown, the ambiguous, the unwritten. I am armed with many skills, the most valuable I will divulge
1. I can survive on 15 bucks a week
2. I can go 8 days without a shower
3. Exceptional problem solving skills (see 1 and 2 for details)
These are the basics, thanks TSA! You did me a solid these four years. Go into Photo these last couple weeks and all you'll hear is something about this or that show, gig, business venture, contest, ect. It's the big leagues, it is time to shine and to fall and to screw up and to do something crazy and daring and to take a major chance. That's what we did when we scurried in to Admissions and showed  work that was probably horrible but we made it in anyways. I am excited and freaked out but strangely feeling so anxious to start making new work (coping mechanism anyone?). For everyone not graduating-- keep on keepin' on! Every time you decide to go back for another semester in art school you are deciding to be challenged deeply. And if you aren't challenged I have a few Professors I can suggest!
I have more reviews to write, and more tears to shed...and two final papers.
Maybe I will see you at graduation, or in grad. school, or sneaking in to photo because I miss it so much.
xoxo,
Charlie