Contemporary Art

 How'd You Get to be a Curator Anyway? Kelly Lidner is the Galleries and Collections Curator at Sacramento State University, overseeing exhibitions and programs for the University Library. She launched a project last year called "Hello Stranger" in response to COVID 19. Artists created art pieces to be mailed to participants outside of the art community, expanding their connections to those who have been affected by COVID 19.  Par Avion by Chris Daubert Being a curator isn't as easy as it seems, a silent curator who magically makes things happen. A description on a singular piece of artwork could take longer than expected! People seem to underestimate the work they do.  For a curator, a studio visit is where you can talk to an artist and get in depth on how they create their art and the possible inspiration behind it. With all that newfound information, the curator can engage with the audience at a gallery in a whole new way.  Most of the artists she's worked with

Shaun Leonardo is an artist who is best known for drawing male figures in reference to masculinity, race, sports, and culture. During the Zoom meeting that was held he explained to the audience that the body tells a story that might be more truthful than the words that might be shared.  Superhero - sign enamel on plywood cutout, 72" x 60" x 0.75", 2005. What's important about the work he does according to him is we try to understand or justify things, and to move information that would otherwise be stuck in headlines and make us become a part of it  He drew the same image six times over the span of six days in order to more carefully examine something that would otherwise have been thrown away in time, that way he could put himself there and truly see it. Michael Brown (Drawings 1-6) - charcoal on paper, 8.5 x 11" each, 2015.

Video:  Meriem Bennani's Exploded Visions Publisher:   New York Close Up Date:  2017 Duration:  7:41 Meriem Bennani is an artist who looks for humor in their works, finding it hard to connect with any art that lacks this specific trait. She states that she sees a video and wonders what could be added to that clip in order to make it funny or more interesting. She constantly posts her work on social media platforms such as Instagram or Snapchat in order to share her videos with the world.  Meriem Bennani's Instagram page One of her more popular works was a commission she did in 2016 called Fly . The video is a bit bizarre to watch as it features a little 3 dimensional fly buzzing around and talking. To me, it has a surreal feel to it, but it's also very cool to watch.  Meriem Benanni, Fly, 2016 Benanni's largest project as of right now was a 30 second looped video of women wearing hijabs featured on a large outdoor screen at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The hijabs ch