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I'm Kenney Mencher. I'm an artist who left a tenured professorship in 2016 to pursue making art full time. This blog is about art, art history, with a emphasis on human rights. I make homoerotic art featuring bears, otters & other gay wildlife.
Thursday
Barbara Kruger
In terms of her historical context, Kruger is probably the inventor of what we call today as “memes.” Kruger is probably the first artist to embrace the idea of collaging text and historical image as a way of sending a message rather than creating an advertisement. I suppose that this is at the heart of what Kruger was about was she was propagandist in some ways for fairness and reasonableness in a most basic way. She believed that a feminist agenda and an antifascist agenda were appropriate subject matter for great art. Today, if she were to publish her work it would probably be lost in the flood of political memes we see on Facebook. She was also commenting and warning about consumerism and materialism.
Although these two works were labeled or titled “Untitled,” and then refer to them by the text in them.
The formal qualities of “I shop therefore I am,” are pretty simple it’s a contrasty black and white photo that even in the 1980s would have looked dated. It has a sense of nostalgia from the 1950s. The Bureau that consumer culture began. The red text placed on top of it sort of modernizes it or brings it up to date with the 1980s and the technology of printing at that time.
In the other piece, “your gaze hits the side of my face,” Kruger is doing the same thing in terms of juxtaposing or contrasting text with a nostalgic image. However, the sculpture that is represented here is actually a piece of Nazi fascists sculpture from World War II. This brings in not just the idea that fascism is wrong but that Nazis and fascists are antifeminist in some way because they believe in an unreal ideal of both humanity and femininity. The text itself is kind of self-explanatory, however some men might not get it, the idea that very often men harass women simply in the way that they look at the woman and the parts of the woman they look at.
In this age of Donald Trump, many of Kruger’s messages are as relevant as they were in the 80s but it’s kind of sad that were still doing the same crap.
Study with me here: https://www.udemy.com/user/kenneymencher/
Wednesday
Kenney Mencher: Fine Art Consultant Services
Two years
ago, I quit a tenured teaching job to see if I could make it as a full-time
artist.
It’s working
for me, I’m making just under 40K and it seems like I might be able to keep
growing my sales each year.
I’m
interested in helping other artists to do this on their own so I put a free
course up on Udemy on what I know how to do and what has worked for me. (IT IS COMPLETELY FREE)
If you live
in Northern California and need help, here are the services I offer.
(I urge you to first look over the course and
read the first essay and watch the intro video to get a sense of what I do.)
Services and Prices
(All Fees Paid in Full Either by
Paypal, Credit Card or Check Before Work Begins)
$150 Initial Consult/Studio Visit and
Advice Session
· Before I visit you, you fill out and
email me this questionnaire.
· One 1.5 hour studio visit
· I visit with you and look at your
work.
· We talk I ask questions and take
notes.
· I make suggestions concerning
activities that might help you to:
o
Apply
to galleries
o
Sell
work on Line
o
Blogging
Ideas
o
Facebook
Ideas
o
Instagram
Ideas
· Within the next week I email you a
typed “wish list” of things I think you could do to improve your situation.
$1000 Photography and Photoshop 30 images and a studio visit
· Start up (intial visit to studio)
· 3 hour studio visit
· 30 images photographed processed and
sent via google docs
$1300 Initial Visit First Month Subscription Service and Two Months of Service
· Start up (intial visit to studio)
· 3 hour studio visit
· 30 images photographed processed and
sent via google docs
$200 Each additional month
· One 3 hour studio visit
· 30 images photographed processed and
sent via google docs
· FREE each month with any additional
services.
$1500 Create an online shop for a Client on Etsy and Etsy Pattern
· One initial 3 hour studio visit Start
up (initial visit to studio)
· 30 images photographed processed and
sent via google docs
· Two additional 2 hour studio visit in
which we set up the shop on your computer and teach you how to do it.
$300 Etsy and Pattern Updates
· Includes two studio visit a month a one
or two hour photo session.
· A studio visit in which set them up
on your computer or mine.
$3000 Catalog Creation
· Create a 12 page catalog of your
images includes 500 copies $3,000
· 3 hour initial studio visit and photo
session
· 30 images photographed (includes
studio and bio shots)
· · 1 hour follow up for edits
$1000 Instagram Set Up and Reminders for one Month
· One initial 3 hour studio visit Start
up (initial visit to studio)
· 30 images photographed processed and
sent via google docs
· One additional 2 hour studio visit in
which we set up the blog on your computer and teach you how to do it.
· Every Thursday and Friday I send you
either an email or a text that you post on Instagram
· $500 with any one additional service
· $400 with any two additional services
$300 Instagram each additional month
· Includes one studio visit a month
(approximately 1 hour)
· Every Thursday and Friday each month
I send you either an email or a text that you post on Instagram
$1000 Tumblr Set up and Consult
· One initial 3 hour studio visit Start
up (intial visit to studio)
· 30 images photographed processed and
sent via google docs
· One additional 2 hour studio visit in
which we set up the Tumblr blog on your computer and teach you how to do it.
Includes 1 Tumblr posts scheduled every evening for one month.
· $500 with any one additional service
· $400 with any two additional services
$300 Tumblr each additional month
· Includes one studio visit a month
(approximately 1 hour) and 1 Tumblr posts scheduled every evening for one
month. Using my computer or setting them up on your computer.
$1500 Initial set up of Google Blog for You
· One initial 3 hour studio visit Start
up (initial visit to studio)
· 30 images photographed processed and
sent via google docs
· One additional 2 hour studio visit in
which we set up the blog on your computer and teach you how to do it. Includes
3 posts weekly of your work scheduled every week for one month.
· $1000 with any one additional service
· $800 with any two additional services
$200 Google Blog each additional month
· Includes one studio visit a month
(approximately 1 hour)
· 3 posts weekly of your work scheduled
every week for one month.
We provide additional Blogging Content
4 posts $400 a month
or
Blogging 4
posts a month with Stuff You've Collected
4 posts a
month $200
$1000 Facebook Set Up (You Provide
Content and Images)
· One 3 hour visit. We come to you and
set up the following on your computer.
· Facebook (Basic Account Stuff)
· Facebook (Creating Fan Pages)
· Facebook (Find Groups)
$1500 Facebook Set Up and Photo
Session
· One initial 3 hour studio visit Start
up (initial visit to studio)
· 30 images photographed processed and
sent via google docs
· One additional 2 hour studio visit in
which we set up Facebook on your computer and teach you how to do it.
· Includes 3 posts weekly of your work
scheduled every week for one month. We
come to you and set up the following on your computer.
· Facebook (Basic Account Stuff)
· Facebook (Creating Fan Pages)
· Facebook (Find Groups)
· $1000 with any one additional service
· $800 with any two additional services
$300 Month Additional Facebook
Management ON MY computer
· Group Management: 5 group posts a
week on Thursday and Friday Afternoons
· Fan Page Posting : Posting 1 post on Thursday and 1 post on Friday
Afternoons (Weekly)
· Personal Page Management:
Posting 1 post on Thursday and 1 post on
Friday Afternoons (Weekly)
Kenney
Mencher
192
Everett Avenue
Palo Alto, California 94301
510-390-3952
Kenney.Mencher@gmail.com
Palo Alto, California 94301
510-390-3952
Kenney.Mencher@gmail.com
Tuesday
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Monday
I Do Not Know What She Saw in Me, graphite on cotton paper, 9x12 inches by Kenney Mencher
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I Do Not Know What She Saw in Me, graphite on cotton paper, 9x12 inches by Kenney Mencher
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Sunday
It shouldn't be called "The Arnolfini Wedding Portrait,"
Here are the facts.
It's a great example of Renaissance oil technique. It is one of the earliest paintings to be made with oil paint. Previously to this, paintings were usually made either with egg tempera or were fresco on plaster walls.
This painting was created with an underpainting of egg tempera and then successive glazes of thin transparent layers of color were applied using a mixture of pigments and linseed oil. This technique of using oil paint allows the artist to be able to shade and blend more accurately and realistically.
Although linear perspective was being used by artists in Italy, Jan van Eyck does not seem to use a consistent system of linear perspective in his painting. Probably, because the painting is a combination of studies of different objects in the room such as, the chandelier and the mirror.
This painting is also important because it is probably titled incorrectly. The interpretation of the meaning of this painting is still going on.
Irwin Panofsky, and art historian in the early to middle parts of the 20th century, base the title “The Arnolfini Wedding Portrait,” on finding an obscure reference to a wedding between two people from Italy that were staying in the northern part of Europe known as Flanders.
Years later another historian placed the wedding in 1447, 13 years after the date on the double portrait and six years after van Eyck's death. So interestingly enough the analysis of the symbols and the subject matter of the painting by Irwin Panofsky is probably incorrect, however, some historians insist on teaching the older interpretation of this painting and we are stuck with a title that is inaccurate.
The most recent and I think credible interpretation of this image is that the painting represents a kind of scene of everyday life called by art historians as a “genre scene.” It is a kind of sarcastic statement about wealth and morality. (There are plenty of examples of this, for example "The Money Lender and His Wife" and the "ill matched couple" themes in painting. That the scene might be an indictment of the wealth of some Renaissance businessmen. The obvious wealth of the clothing, furniture and other items, even the dog is a type of “toy” dog and might be just a rich person’s plaything.
The original, and I think incorrect interpretation is Panofsky’s. According to Panofsky, who based his interpretation on a document that does not seem to coincide with the right dates, this painting is that it’s a couple getting married in the sacred wedding chamber. The poses of the two individuals indicate that the woman is putting her hand in the hands of her new husband. The bare feet represent that they are on sacred ground and this is a sacred event.
The placement of the woman near the bed and the man near the window has significance for Panofsky as well in which he thought that it was a representation of what they did as a couple. The wife stayed home near the bedroom, and the husband usually leaves the home and is in a different realm. The chandelier with a single candle has been discussed a lot maybe it’s supposed to represent the light of God. The dog might represent fidelity. The green of the gown could represent spring time and fertility. The woman is not pregnant but the extra amount of material in her gown is held up against her stomach and at a glance could be mistaken for the stomach of a pregnant woman.
The mirror in the background contains the back of the two figures and the artist who is painting the couple’s portrait, the reflection combined with the inscription that translates “Jan van Eyck was here.” for Panofsky this could be interpreted as Jan van Eyck witnessing the wedding contract but since they were married in 1447 but the painting was made in 1434. Jan van Eyck would have to have been able to see the future if Panofsky was correct.
Study with me here: https://www.udemy.com/user/kenneymencher/
Ella Saw the Future Moving Away, graphite on cotton paper, 9x12 inches by KennEy Mencher
http://kenney-mencher.com/
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