Wednesday, March 23
Today we began to watch the video "The Mona Lisa Curse" narrated by Robert Hughes. This video explained that the art world is different from the 1960s as the "Mona Lisa" created new expectations about art. This artwork became a piece of art to an icon of mass consumption. People came to see the "Mona Lisa" at the Met in the 1960s not to enjoy the painting itself but to just simply say that they saw it. It deeply changed the way that art was seen. In 1963, the painting was quickly scanned and then disregarded showing limited viewer interest. This video shows how money and wealth has become a curse in the way art is made, controlled, and experienced. Hughes focuses on New York in this video but speaks to art everywhere.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Week of March 14
Over break we were assigned a reading by Arthur Danto entitled "After the end of Art". This work presents Danto's reformulation of his original insight that art ended in the sixties. With abstract expressionism art has turned from what it was established to be in the Renaissance. Arthur engages the reader in several conversations that discuss the relevant philosophical issues of art. His reading covered art history, pop art, "people's art" the the role of museums. He states that it wasn't the invention of pop art and modernist art that ended the traditional ways of what art seemed to be. Danto challenges readers to think about the role that contemporary art plays and what direction it may be taking in the future. This article was interesting as it allowed us to challenge Danto's propsed thesis and formulate our own thoughts about how we felt about this topic.
Week of March 7
Wednesday, March 9
Today we discussed the work "Sunflower Seeds" by Ai WeiWei. This work was made of millions of sunflower husks in a turbine hall that seemed identical but were each unique in their own ways. Each seed was handcrafted and made out of porcelin. This gave the locals of the Chinese city, Jingdezhen, opportunity for employment as jobs were hard to come by. These workers individually sculpted and painted these porcelin seeds. "Sunflower Seeds" allows people to express powerful commentary on the human condition and the geo-politics of of cultural and economic change that takes place in our world today. In the turbine hall, people can no longer walk across the vast amount of sunflower seeds because of the air quality. The interaction between visitors and the porcelin creates a dust that can be damaging to your health if inhaled for a long amount of time. This work allows people to understand their individual (unique) role in society among the masses.
Today we discussed the work "Sunflower Seeds" by Ai WeiWei. This work was made of millions of sunflower husks in a turbine hall that seemed identical but were each unique in their own ways. Each seed was handcrafted and made out of porcelin. This gave the locals of the Chinese city, Jingdezhen, opportunity for employment as jobs were hard to come by. These workers individually sculpted and painted these porcelin seeds. "Sunflower Seeds" allows people to express powerful commentary on the human condition and the geo-politics of of cultural and economic change that takes place in our world today. In the turbine hall, people can no longer walk across the vast amount of sunflower seeds because of the air quality. The interaction between visitors and the porcelin creates a dust that can be damaging to your health if inhaled for a long amount of time. This work allows people to understand their individual (unique) role in society among the masses.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Week of February 28
Monday, February 28
On October 9, 1999 New York Time Magazine published an article about the importance of Matthew Barney, a performance artist. Barney came onto the scene in 1991 after making the cover of Artforum before his exhibition at Gladstone. His first solo show to be viewed at Gladstone was a videotape called "Blind Perineum." Barney instantly became successful and since then his work has only got better and stranger. His early works consisted of elaborate sexual and biological allusions and references to sports and fashion. His work was gender-bending and body-oriented; however it was also meant to be funny and silly. It was also meant to have its own strange glamour. He produces films and videos, most of which he performs in. Barney and his crew also make all the sculptures and objects for the films. The sculptures, photographs, books, and films are all expressions in different forms of the same ideas. Barney's works of art are a mix of autobiography, history, and private symbolism. He carries out death-defying acts and wears elaborate makeup. One of his most famous works was "Cremaster", a sequence of five films that took several years to complete. The films were wordless and shown on video monitors, along with his sculptures. They were slow-moving and weidly hypnotic taken place in desolate settings. The films became visually more deluxe as the series went on. Barney is now considered to be the most important American artist of his generation due to his big imagination.
Wednesday, March 2
The Installation art movement came into prominence in the 1970's. It describes an artistic genre of three dimensional works that are created to transform a viewers perception of space. It also changes the notion of what the artist does with the space. Space is utilized as energy and allows the viewer to look at many things instead of just one. Many installation art pieces have been created in museums and galleries as well as public places. These pieces incorporate many everyday and natural materials and are site specific (only designed for the space in which they were created in). An example of installation art is "Pharmacy" by Damien Hirst. "Pharmacy" is a room sized installation piece. It represents a real pharmacy setting with cabinets that contain bottles and prescription drugs. On the counter of the pharmacy there are four bottles that represent the four elements: earth, air, fire and water. Damien Hirst's intent was for each of his works to have meaning and contemplation.
On October 9, 1999 New York Time Magazine published an article about the importance of Matthew Barney, a performance artist. Barney came onto the scene in 1991 after making the cover of Artforum before his exhibition at Gladstone. His first solo show to be viewed at Gladstone was a videotape called "Blind Perineum." Barney instantly became successful and since then his work has only got better and stranger. His early works consisted of elaborate sexual and biological allusions and references to sports and fashion. His work was gender-bending and body-oriented; however it was also meant to be funny and silly. It was also meant to have its own strange glamour. He produces films and videos, most of which he performs in. Barney and his crew also make all the sculptures and objects for the films. The sculptures, photographs, books, and films are all expressions in different forms of the same ideas. Barney's works of art are a mix of autobiography, history, and private symbolism. He carries out death-defying acts and wears elaborate makeup. One of his most famous works was "Cremaster", a sequence of five films that took several years to complete. The films were wordless and shown on video monitors, along with his sculptures. They were slow-moving and weidly hypnotic taken place in desolate settings. The films became visually more deluxe as the series went on. Barney is now considered to be the most important American artist of his generation due to his big imagination.
Wednesday, March 2
The Installation art movement came into prominence in the 1970's. It describes an artistic genre of three dimensional works that are created to transform a viewers perception of space. It also changes the notion of what the artist does with the space. Space is utilized as energy and allows the viewer to look at many things instead of just one. Many installation art pieces have been created in museums and galleries as well as public places. These pieces incorporate many everyday and natural materials and are site specific (only designed for the space in which they were created in). An example of installation art is "Pharmacy" by Damien Hirst. "Pharmacy" is a room sized installation piece. It represents a real pharmacy setting with cabinets that contain bottles and prescription drugs. On the counter of the pharmacy there are four bottles that represent the four elements: earth, air, fire and water. Damien Hirst's intent was for each of his works to have meaning and contemplation.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Week of February 21
Monday, February 21
Movements in various types of visual art and design when stripped down to its original features is called minimalism. Minimalism existed in the late 1960s early 1970s with visual art. Many minimalist artists were sculptors who strived to reduce certain forms to their original simplicity. These artists felt that a work of art should not refer to anything but itself. They attempted to create their works of art without any extra visual effects. Flat surface colors, factory finishes and industrial materials were some of the tools used. Repetition also was entwined in artists work. Minimalism led to the future of process art, land art, performance art, conceptual art and installation art. Some of minimalism's most prominent artists were Carl Andre, Sol LeWitt, Robert Morris, Richard Serra, Donald Judd and Dan Flavin. Minimalism was an attempt to explore art through its elements.
Wednesday, February 23
Performance art began in the United States in the 1960s. Performance art was originally described as any large artistic event that included the actions of a person or a group of people. Their unconventional actions appealed to a large and public audience. Performance art contains four specific elements that include time, space, performance body, and a relationship between the performers and the viewers. An example of a performance artist is Matthew Barney. Barney's earliest works involved sculptural pieces with performance and video. Below is a picture of one of the images in Matthew Barney's "Guardian of the Veil" which consisted of an exploration ritual of Egyptian symbolism. The "Guardian of the Veil" explores eternal life as the protagonist dies in a fire and begins his journey into seven different stages of death. Matthew Barney is a very successful and imaginative artist with many achievements.
Movements in various types of visual art and design when stripped down to its original features is called minimalism. Minimalism existed in the late 1960s early 1970s with visual art. Many minimalist artists were sculptors who strived to reduce certain forms to their original simplicity. These artists felt that a work of art should not refer to anything but itself. They attempted to create their works of art without any extra visual effects. Flat surface colors, factory finishes and industrial materials were some of the tools used. Repetition also was entwined in artists work. Minimalism led to the future of process art, land art, performance art, conceptual art and installation art. Some of minimalism's most prominent artists were Carl Andre, Sol LeWitt, Robert Morris, Richard Serra, Donald Judd and Dan Flavin. Minimalism was an attempt to explore art through its elements.
Wednesday, February 23
Performance art began in the United States in the 1960s. Performance art was originally described as any large artistic event that included the actions of a person or a group of people. Their unconventional actions appealed to a large and public audience. Performance art contains four specific elements that include time, space, performance body, and a relationship between the performers and the viewers. An example of a performance artist is Matthew Barney. Barney's earliest works involved sculptural pieces with performance and video. Below is a picture of one of the images in Matthew Barney's "Guardian of the Veil" which consisted of an exploration ritual of Egyptian symbolism. The "Guardian of the Veil" explores eternal life as the protagonist dies in a fire and begins his journey into seven different stages of death. Matthew Barney is a very successful and imaginative artist with many achievements.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)