Tampa Museum of Art

For my museum visit I went to the Tampa Museum of Art when I went home for the October break. This was my first time going to an art museum in Tampa and was really surprised with what I found. The most interesting piece I saw at the museum was a sculpture named Over the Waves by Paul Jennewein. I liked this piece not only because it was different but also because I am related to Paul. Designed as a fountain, this sculpture of a young boy standing atop a dolphin was created in response to the demand for garden sculpture in the 1920s. Three sizes were made: a 54-inch bronze of which eleven were cast; a 12-inch bronze, cast in an edition of six; and a 48-inch version of an unknown edition. The museum’s piece is from this latter edition.

Another a piece I found different was William Pachner’s “Landscape”. When I saw this piece it looked like a little kid made it. This piece does not look very hard to make and I was surprised knowing how art that looks easy can be put in a museum.  A winter resident of the Gulf Coast since the early 1950s, William Pachner celebrates the natural landscape of Florida in this abstract painting. As with much of Pachner's work, viewers are not always sure what they are looking at. Not only is the subject matter abstracted, but it also acts as a metaphor. The energy of the colors play off one another and buzz with feeling, resulting in what the artist calls an “imagined landscape, a scene from his inner life.” Pachner states, "It is memory, it is imagination, it is spontaneity, it is conscious and unconscious. Finally, then, it has to be art.

- Conner-

Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla

Allora and Guillermo are two artists who have embraced the recent globalization of art. Both artists are from profoundly different backgrounds: Allora is form Pennsylvania, Guillermo from Havana, Cuba. The two artists approach art as a set of experiments, and their works are a hybrid of various mediums. For instance, their work "Clamor" combines war music from a range of cultures. The work has music from the American Civil War to the traditional war music of Chile and Russia. In attempting to reveal how music can be used as a weapon, these two artists have combined the traditions of various regions of the world. Another work, "Under Discussion," creates a powerful political message. The work refers to the civil disobedience movement of Vieques, Puerto Rico. In the work, a table floats amidst a calm ocean. The table represents a discussion table, referring to the discussions that occurred during the disobedience movement. People often discussed the island's political situation, but such discussions never seemed to lead anywhere. Thus, Guillermo and Allora "mobilize" the discussion table by placing it upside down, as a boat, and attaching a motor to the back. Though this work refers specifically to the political movement within Vieques, the work can be a symbol for political discussions throughout the world. These political discussions often go nowhere because not everyone is involved within them.


-Tina

The Imaged Word

I visited the "Imaged Word" exhibit at the airport, where the works bridged the gap between literature and art. Scott McCarney's "Hanging Index #20: Last Lines, 2010" was my favorite piece within the exhibit. An open book has hundreds of pages flowing out from above. The pages are taken from outdated reference books that have been deaccessioned. The work reflects the prevalence of the internet, which has caused books to become obsolete. Yet, though the internet may provide a wealth of information at your fingertips, I don't believe the web can compare to holding an actual book within your hands. Paul Katz's display "The Prelude" was also an interesting piece of art. Various sculptures have been painted with lines of poetry from the poem, "The Prelude." The work is interesting in that the artist hopes to frustrate the audience's desire to read the poem's words by painting them in complex, nearly illegible patterns. The most interesting exhibit was that of Aaron Stephan's "Building Bridges." Stephan literally creates a bridge between literature and art by stacking books together to create an actual bridge. Books bridge various cultures and generations together, and connect us to ideas, facts, and experiences we would never have known otherwise. The work reflects the importance of literature within society, the importance of books that is often forgotten in light of the internet.

"Stacked Fabric" by Susie Brandt

"Hanging Index #20" by Scott McCarney

"The Prelude" by Paul Katz

-Tina

Uneven geography

Globalization has proliferated every aspect of our lives. Art is a human tradition that spans geographical, cultural, and generational boundaries. Though art is common throughout the world, until recently artists rarely collaborated across different cultures. As globalization proliferates, more and more art works have been created as a combination of elements from various cultures and religions. The Uneven Geographies display at the Nottingham is one example of this recent trend. The exhibit brings together work from five continents, and is truly a cross-cultural display. For instance, Steve McQueen's film, Gravesend, juxtaposes the deleterious affects of mining for coltan in the Democratic Republic with the scientific processing of this mineral. The mineral is used widely in computer devices in England. The work reflects the ironic dependence of England's wealth on a mineral which has caused environmental degradation and political instability within the Democratic Republic. McQueen's work reveals how trends such as capitalism have affected various countries in strikingly different ways. I believe that great art has the ability to create a statement, or reveal a truth in an aesthetically appealing form. McQueen's film shows that the free market, and social equality are ideas that have not spread throughout the entire world. While some countries such as America are able to celebrate various freedoms, other countries suffer to fuel the economies of these "free-market" societies. It's alarming to think that the resources we depend on daily are available to us because of the blood and sweat of those in less stable countries. McQueen's work has given me a greater appreciation for the many freedoms I have been given.













-Tina

Andrea Zittel

One of the most interesting installation artists we have discussed this year I believe is Andrea Zittel. In the early 1990s, Zittel created art that would help her within her surroundings. She created functional objects that fulfilled the artist’s needs relating to shelter, food and furniture.  Zittel produced her first “Living Unit” which was a structure intended for living simple and compact. This structure measured 200 square feet and was put in her Brooklyn storefront apartment.  This creation became so popular by 1999 the Public Art Fund commissioned her to created a site for Central Park.  The same year Zittel created a 44-ton floating island moving across the coast of Denmark, she lived on it for a month experimenting in isolation.  In 2005 Zittel received the Smithsonian America Art Museum award and the Lucelia Artist Award. She now lives in California and is represented by the Andrea Rosen Gallery.

 - Conner - 

Bansky

I believe the most unique person/ topic we have covered this semester was that of graffiti art and Banksy. Banksy is a British graffiti artist, who identity is unconfirmed. His unique way of combining humor and graffiti with a stenciling technique helped to create his style of art. His work can be found on streets, walls, and bridges of cities throughout the world. It is said he was the son of photocopier technician born in 1974 and raised in Bristol, England. He began his work in graffiti during the 1980s. His graffiti is also very unique in the way that he used stencils to create his works which helped to get him a part of a campaign on the London Tube System between the 1970s and 1980s. Banksy does not sell photos of his work directly but it has been seen that auctioneers will attempt to sell his street art on location leaving the winning bidder to have to remove it themselves.  Banksy extended his career by creating a film called "Exit Through the Gift Shop" made its debut in 2010 at the Sundance Film Festival. The film was released in the Uk on March 5. 

The Human Body as Art

Art is not just defined as a work of art with the addition of color, paint or figurines it also can be known for having human bodies to help portray your creative ideas. One guy that is known for having human bodies featured in his work is Spencer Tunick. Spencer is an American artist that is known for his installations of large numbers of nude people posing in artistic positions. These installations are often in urban locations around the world but he has created some woodland and beach works also. Tunick is the subject of three HBO documentaries. His models do not get paid and for helping in his work they get a photo of the work they were in.

 

Gillian Wearing an English conceptual artist, one of the Young British Artist, and winner of the British award The Turner Prize in 1997. Gillian also used human bodies as a form of art in her campaign she made in New York. Wearing would stop people walking on the street and ask them to write down something on their mind on a sign and hold it while she took a picture.  This campaign helped to show what people were going through and was a unique way of doing this.

Conner

The human body: a medium of art

Just like paint, or clay, the human body can be a medium by which an art piece is created. Many artists, including Spencer Tunick and Anthony Gomley, use human bodies as the central figures within their work. In class today, we viewed many works by Tunick in which many naked people are gathered together in various settings. Tunick stated that he just creates "shapes and forms with human bodies. It's an abstraction, it's a performance, it's an installation."One piece I felt had an emotional meaning was a photograph of many naked men within a New York City diner. The piece, titled "Positively Naked," is extremely realistic and touching. All of the men in the photograph are HIV positive, and must endure the various adverse social, emotional, and medical consequences of their disease.


Other artists, such as Gillian Wearing and Damien Hearst, have asked for more than just the bodies but also the active participation of their subjects. Hearst asked that identical twins throughout the world sign up to re-portray one of his works at the Tate Modern. Gillian Wearing created a series of photographs in which she asked random strangers in NYC to write down whatever they wanted on a sign. She then photographed the stranger holding the sign. She felt that the signs allowed the strangers to truly express their feelings. I believe that these strangers are so honest in what they write on the signs because they have rarely been asked to share their own feelings.



-Tina

The World of Art Collectors

When I hear the words "art collector," I envision rich, reclusive businessmen, socialites with an inherited fortune, and foreign ambassadors and royalty with superfluous money to spend. Herb and Dorothy are no Rockefellers, but this couple has amassed a great collection over many decades. The couple, a postal worker and a librarian, always had a humble salary, but presently has a worldly art collection. Herbert and Dorothy Vogel began purchasing mostly unknown art in the 1960s. Herb's salary was entirely donated to collecting art, and over the next three decades the couple had the works of artists such as Robert Barry, Pat Steir, and Lucio Pozzi. In the 90s, the couple had over 2,000 pieces in their collection. I greatly admire the Vogel's donating the majority of their collection to the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., rather than auctioning their pieces for money. Their collection would now be worth millions of dollars, but the couple never even sold one piece. The Vogels are proof that monetary gain is not the central goal of every art collector within today's art world. They prove that art may still be collected simply to enjoy, not as an investment. 

-Tina

The Loss of the Museum

Once upon a time, museums were centers of intellectual growth and exploration. Children could let their minds wander as they traversed the museum's halls, expanding their imaginations and seeing new possibilities. Lately, museums have not been able to escape the commercialization of the art world. The Guggenheim brand is a perfect example of the transformation of museums into marketable commodities. The Guggenheim name encompasses various museums throughout the world. Each museum has a distinct architectural style inside and outside, and a profound amount of money has been placed into designing the galleries within. As the distressed art critic Robert Hughes points out, the inside of each Guggenheim museum is built much like a department store, designed to show off the art pieces just like department stores show off their goods. Such design certainly implies that the art pieces are akin to marketable commodities, emphasizing their monetary value. This emphasis places the real meaning of art in peril. However, I disagree that “departmentalization” of museums is an entirely negative trend. The architecture of the Guggenheim can itself be viewed as art work. The Guggenheim's commitment to a creative display of its pieces may simply increase the public's interest in art, rather than distract the public from the art itself. The museums offer lectures and tours by experienced artists, critics, and docents, as well as classes for teens and adults. The Guggenheim has certainly invested a great amount of money into increasing the public's participation in its exhibits. I do not believe it relevant that the Guggenheim's directors may have invested so much money to increase their own profit from ticket sales, rather than because of a genuine interest in increasing the public's interest in art. Regardless of their motives, the museum's directors have successfully increased the public knowledge of art. Departmentalization of museums creates the danger of solely emphasizing the monetary aspect of art, but such departmentalization has also helped increase the global scope of art.

-Tina

The Mona Lisa Curse

Robert Hughes, in his documentary "The Mona Lisa Curse," discusses the downward spiral of the art world. In his opinion, artists are becoming celebrities, and museums are becoming department stores. "Auction houses are the new arbitrators of taste." Hughes uses the arrival of Mona Lisa in New York City, under the presidency of JFK, as evidence of the profound change in art's meaning. When the Mona Lisa arrived in the city, people lined up to catch a glimpse of this famous piece. However, most people did not endure countless hours of waiting to experience an art piece with dense meaning. Instead, many simply wanted to view the piece for its popularity. They flocked to see a painting that is worth an incomprehensible amount of money in the art world. Thus, as Hughes repeatedly states throughout his documentary, Leonardo Da Vinci's cherished painting became a commodity, its value based on its monetary worth, rather than the deep meanings within the painting itself. The Mona Lisa Curse has proliferated throughout the art world, causing artists such as Damien Hearst and Jeff Koons to become global brands. An interesting point brought up in the documentary was the fact that the art world and the drug world are the only two markets within this country that are not regulated. Thus, auction houses have unlimited power. As the price of an art piece increases, auctioneers hold said piece in higher value. Therefore, higher-priced art pieces are often viewed as "good" art pieces, though this is not necessarily the case. "The Walking Man," a piece by renowned sculptor Alberto Giacometti, may best exemplify the increased importance of money in the art world. The sculpture fetched $104 million in a recent auction, being the highest bidding price for any piece in history. When looking at this piece, I do not understand how such a sculpture can be worth so much money. The bronze sculpture, rich in existentialist themes, certainly has deeper levels of meaning that make it a great piece of art. However, supply and demand, rather than the piece’s characteristics and meaning, seems to be the central reason for its high price tag. Works by Giacometti rarely appear in auctions, and many buyers had been waiting decades to buy the artist's work. The sculpture was truly a once-in-a-life opportunity for interested buyers, and the simple law of supply and demand created the highest bidding price in history.  

-Tina

Art Collecting

A popular part of art today is collecting it. These people are known as art collectors. They will go far and wide to fine their favorite piece of art. It is becoming more and more a thing to do people will go to art auctions or rummage sales and buy art pieces they enjoy and add to their already huge collections.

There are many tips to collecting art that have been but together by people interested in this field. These tips consist of buying art because you like it and because it moves you. Visit art galleries and learn from the staff members to enhance your education. Join your local art museum and nonprofit art centers. Attend Art Fairs and Art Expos. Read books on art collecting to further your knowledge about the field.

 

"Herb and Dorothy"

Two of the biggest art collectors in the world are known to be Herb and Dorothy Vogel. This husband and wife collected so much art they were the feature of a movie called Herb and Dorothy. This documentary film by Megumi Sasaki tells the story of two middle class collectors of art and the enormous and valuable collection they amassed. This film won the Audience Award in 2008 at the Hamptons International Film Festival. The film has made 97,651 dollars at the box office since July 13, 2009. In 1992, the Vogel’s made headlines having their whole collection move to the National Gallery of Art. Most of the works they had acquired major value making the collection worth several million dollars. Staying true to the love of art the Vogel’s never sold a single piece to breakdown the collection.

- Conner-

Fred Wilson

An artist we discussed today was Fred Wilson who was a conceptual artist born in 1954 in the Bronx. Fred considers himself an African American, European and Amerindian descent. Wilson received the MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant in 1999 and the Larry Aldrich Foundation Award in 2003. Fred was also lucky enough to represent the United States at the Biennial Cairo in 1992 and the Venice Biennale in 2003. He is an artist and curator whose career has gone through four decades.

Wilson has a unique approach to his art is to examine, question, and deconstruct that usual display of art in a museum. His use of new wall labels, sounds, lighting, and non-traditional paintings of objects, lead his viewers to view the changes in the meaning. In his installation at the 2003 Venice Biennale he employed a tourist to pretend to be an African street vendor selling fake bags. Wilson also incorporated sculptures of African American people in the role of servants in his show.

- Conner-

Sunflower Seeds

Ai Weiwei is a Chinese artist, curator architectural designer, social commentator and an activist born in Bejiling. Ai was the one voted to be the artistic consultant on creating the Beijing National Stadium. He was also very the driving force of exposing an alleged corruption scandal in the construction of Sichuan schools that collapsed during the earthquake in 2008. Ai father was Chinese poet Ai Qing who was denounced during the Cultural Revolution and sent to a labor camp. Weiwei also spent five years there. In 1978, Ai enrolled in the Beijing Film Academy and attended the school with other Chinese directors. From 1981 to 1993, he lived in the United States, mostly in New York, doing performance art and creating conceptual art by altering readymade objects.

 

One of Ai Weiwei’s most famous pieces he has ever created was his installation of “Sunflower Seeds” at the Tate Modern Turbine Hall. The creations of all these seeds were done by 1,600 Chinese artisans in a town use to be known for their porcelain Jingdezhen. The Chinese workers created one hundred million hand painted porcelain each individually painted by the hard working men and women. When Ai created this work of art his ideas was for people to walk, stand or lay on the seeds to really be a part of the exhibit. But with the amount of people this exhibition brought and the porcelain seeds becoming dusty with all the people walking on them. Tate Modern had to ban people for health concerns from walking on the seeds, moving the crowds to see the exhibit from a viewing bridge.

- Conner-

Is all art political?

Doris Salcedo made the bold statement that all art is political. Slacedo's "Shibboleth" exhibit within Turbine Hall of Tate Modern contains a large crack down the center of the hall. The crack which spans the entire floor, literally shakes the foundations of our perceptions of art. Salcedo, born in Colombia, is an immigrant to London and has felt the harsh attitude felt by foreigners within England. Salcedo states that immigrants are as unwelcome in Europe as the crack is within the museum hall. Both immigrants and the crack intrude without permission, creating an uncomfortable environment for England's native, and the museum's visitors, respectively. "Shibboleth" itself refers to a custom or phrase that acts as a test of belonging to a certain group. With the crack, Salcedo has broken through the silent indifference to ongoing racism, and her work encourages its viewers to address the racial concerns of the present. Salcedo is one of many artists who use their art to drive forward their political agendas, to reveal political instability within their countries, and to force viewers to address the cracks within society. Though Salcedo and many other artists have political messages within their works, some art has been created without any political agendas. Not all art is political, but art and politics are intertwined.
-Tina

Installation art: The Bigger the Better?

Installation art's greatest benefit is also its greatest downfall. Installation art pieces are generally massive, and nearly impossible to move. Furthermore, installation art does not have the same effect if read about or seen in photos. One must witness the piece firsthand to truly experience it. However, installation art has not always been a field dominated by massive art pieces. Most early installation works were more concerned with engagement of the viewers than with size. Presently, artists must compete with larger-than-life media. Anish Kapoor's 12 ft. high "Cloud Gate" within Millennium Park in Chicago, Illinois is one example of art centered on size. Many other works of art, especially those which fall into the field of appropriation art, are predominantly known for their enormity. I prefer art which focuses on meaning, on leaving an emotional impact on the viewer rather than amaze the viewer by size. History's greatest works of art are simple and small. For instance, most visitors are shocked by the small size of the Mona Lisa. Most expect this famous painting to be a lavish portrait that consumes most of the wall it hangs upon. Artists must work to create work with substance, not just size.











"Cloud Gate" Anish Kapoor
-Tina

Repetition

Both the works of Ai Wewei and Louise Bourgeois reflect the aesthetically appealing and meaningful use of repetition within art. Ai Weiwei currently has an exhibit at the Tate Modern containing millions of porcelain, painted sunflower seeds scattered on the ground. During China's cultural revolution, Chairman Mao was represented as the sun with his millions of followers seen as sunflowers. The sunflower seeds represent the Chinese people in their vast number. Each individual seed has a story, for each seed was made by a person with a story. Thus, though the seeds may seem identical from the outside, each come with a unique background. A similar misconception exists for the Chinese. Many foreigners perceive the Chinese as clones, each Chinese person as just another sunflower seed. Though the art work is minimal in aesthetic, its significance is multifaceted. The sunflower seeds can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Rachel Whiteread was another artist to incorporate repetition into her art work. Her exhibit, titled "Embankment," contains many white boxes stacked in various ways. The boxes represent a highly cluttered, transient time within Whiteread's life which was dominated by moving boxes. While moving her own belongings, Whiteread received the grave news that her mother passed away. Whiteread then had to pack up her mother's belongings as well, and her life seemed to be consumed by boxes. Just as each sunflower seed of Wei seems identical, each box outwardly appears to be the same. However, to Whiteread, each box contains a unique collection of memories of both her life and her mother's life. Both Whiteread and Weiwei represent the powerful tool of repetition. By repetition, the object quickly grabs the viewer's attention and emphasizes its importance.









-Tina

Installation Art

Initially, the term "installation" was used by magazines and newspapers to refer to the arrangement of an exhibit. Installation of art did not imply that the space in which a work was displayed could be included in the work itself. More recently, the space of an exhibit has become art in its own right. Installation art refers to three-dimensional art created to transform perception of space, and installation artists are inescapably concerned with the experience of the viewers. Because installation art is not limited to a canvas, installation artists have a profoundly greater freedom to express their ideas. As popularity of installation art has increased, more museums have designated specific areas to installation art. In class, we have viewed the installation pieces within Tate Modern Museum in London, England. Within Tate's Turbine Hall, artists are invited to display their work within the enormous space. Artists covered in class include Ai Weiwei, Louise Bourgeois, Dominique Gonzalez, Rachel Whiteread, Olafur Eliasson, Anish Kapoor, and Doris Salcedo. These artists come from a variety of backgrounds and have a range of artistic styles. Each artist is similar in their use of the hall's 500 ft long by 115 ft high space to their advantage, creating vast works of art that overwhelm the viewer in their scope. Olafur Eliasson's "The Weather Project" immediately caught my eye for its unbelievable portrayal of the sun. Weather is a ubiquitous topic of conversation, often used to break the ice. Using mirrors and mono-frequency lamps, Eliassion transforms such a mundane topic into an ethereal experience, as an artificial sun shines throughout Turbine Hall, coated in a cloud of mist. This work would not have such an impact had it been confined to a smaller area, because smaller exhibits could not replicate the immensity of nature. 



Louise Bourgeois's UniLever Series is another exhibit that would not be as monumental if confined to a smaller space. The work contains three 30 ft. high steel towers, each with a platform. The platforms contain chairs surrounded by mirrors. The exhibit allows viewers to witness the enormity of the hall, and of the work, from various heights and angles. Viewers are encouraged to climb the towers, sit in the chairs, and contemplate their lives while surrounded by spectacular views. Installation allows the sculpture to become a powerful art piece that provokes an array of emotions within its viewers. The works of these and many other artists reflect the importance of installation art as an upcoming field within art.

-Tina

Song Dong

An interesting artist we discussed today was a guy by the name of Song Dong. Song Dong was born in Beijing in 1966. He graduated from the fine arts department of Capital Normal University there in 1989 ever since then he has been a house hold name in the development of Chinese art. Song’s ways of depicting his art is by incorporating performance, photography, projection, video and installation. He also uses his art to explore the relationships with his family, the public and objects. In Song’s photographic series and short video pieces, he addresses the fast development of his country. 

 

 “City of Biscuits”

Song Dong’s City of Biscuits depicts a traditional Asian city linked to a more modern city with a stadium and church.  He made this because he saw concern in every city in Asia looking identical and he wanted to show that things could be different. Song also says that Asians have to look towards the future and not make everything look the same.  Song enjoyed this project saying it was fun because he could create this with help from Asians like himself.  Dong said he chose biscuits because they looked like building blocks. It is estimated that 72,000 biscuits including chocolate digestives, rich tea and fruit shortcake were used in this week- long project.  Song has also built biscuit cities in Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai and Paris. Song admits he has yet to have one biscuit but plans on eating one or two before he finishes his art career. 


- Conner- 

Appropriation Art: A thin line

In visual arts, appropriation art contains pieces, which have been borrowed from other art works. The new pieces contain an adaption, interpretation, improvisation, or variation of the borrowed element. Many famous art pieces fall under the category of appropriation art. All such pieces tether dangerously on the line between creativity and plagiarism. For instance, in class we discussed the work of Shepard Fairey, whose two most iconic pieces are forms of appropriation art. Fairey first entered the art scene with his "Andre the Giant has a Posse," shown below. The image began appearing on street signs and other public areas along the East Coast. The image quickly spread throughout the country. As its popularity increased, the image gained the attention of Titan Sports, Inc. The sports company threatened a lawsuit against Fairey for using their trademarked name of Andre the Giant. Fairey's more popular image of President Obama is a cultural icon that has become equated with the president's "campaign of hope." Associated Press freelance photographer Mannie Garcia took the photograph Fairey used. Fairey sued for declaratory judgment that his work was fairly using the original photograph. Fairey argued his image tilted the angle of the original picture, and added a unique combination of colors and patterns. Upon comparing the original photo and Fairey's work, I concur that Fairey fairly appropriated Garcia's photograph. 

I believe that all appropriation artists must legally give credit to whomever they borrowed an element from. Artists must continually work to ensure that their borrowed elements are incorporated into their works in unique ways. Though appropriation art sits precariously on a cliff overlooking plagiarism, falling off the cliff can be avoided by giving proper credit. Appropriation art, when credited for, provides an art field that allows us to view traditional images in entirely new ways. 

-Tina

Performance Art

Art has been represented in paintings, sculptures, photographs, and various other tangible forms of display. In performance art, an artist's body becomes his or her canvas. One performance artist discussed in class is Marina Abramovic. Abramovic's 11-week performance at New York's Museum of Modern Art was a favorite of mine. During the performance, Abramovic sat silently in a wooden chair during museum hours for 11 weeks, allowing anyone to sit across from her. Her only rules were that those who observed her did not speak. Initially, I did not comprehend the difficulty of such a task, nor the tremendous effect it had on both its viewers and the artist herself. Abramovic described the profound connection she had with certain audience members simply through gazing into their eyes. After all, eyes are said to be windows to the soul, and though Abramovic never once spoke to her viewers, she began to feel unconditional love for complete strangers. Abramovic's viewers were emotionally touched by her work, with many crying as they sat across from her. Initially, I did not understand which aspects of Abramovic's work constituted art. However, as I pondered her performance, I uncovered many elements of art within her unorthodox work. Great art moves its viewers, both to laughter and to tears. Abramovic's silent presence on a chair caused people from across the world to become vulnerable. Even New Yorkers, famous for their indifferent, emotionless demeanor wore their hearts on their sleeves while visiting Abramovic. Abramovic acted as a mirror, reflecting various painful and pleasurable memories of viewers' lives. Since I was introduced to this work, I often wonder which memories would come to my mind if I were sitting across from Abramovic. Abramovic's work reveals that art certainly has healing powers, and observing her performance can be equated with a good therapy session.





-Tina

The Knife

An artist we discussed today was Marina Abramovic who was a New York based Serbian performance artist. She began her career in this field in the early 1970s.  Although Marina is from Serbia she still holds a Montenegrin passport, which in turn makes her describe herself as the grandmother of performance art. Marina has a unique way of creating her art she explores the relationship between performer and audience and the limits of their body and mind. Abramovic learned her skills as a student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade. She finished her postgraduate studies at the Academy of Fine arts in Croatia. Marina taught at the Academy of Fine Arts at Novi Sad from 1973 to 1975 where she created her first solo performance.

" Rhythm 10" 

Marine first performance was her rhythm 10 which she explored the elements of both ritual and gesture. In this performance Abramovic used twenty knives and two tape recorders, and played the Russian game where she aimed between each of her fingers. Each time she cut herself she would pick up a new knife from the row of twenty she had set up and would try again all this was on film. After she had cut herself she watched the tape and would try to repeat every movement and create the same mistakes. She would try mixing the past with the present. Marine wanted to explore the physical and mental limitations and the pain her body could take. She found out that when a performer is on camera that they would push their body farther then they could ever do before.  

-Conner-  

The Art of Creation

Ann Hamilton was a contemporary American artist best known for her installations, textile art, and sculptures. During her time at the University of Kansas she trained in textile design.  In 1999, Hamilton was the American nominee to create a work at Venice Biennale, which she installed Braille that would catch a red powder at the top and would smear down the wall. This work that Hamilton is best known for was called the Myein. Hamilton in 2007 was awarded another award this time she received a 50,000-dollar grant from the United States Artists. This public charity supports and promotes the works of distinguished American artists. Hamilton’s Myein we encounter the bleeding walls going with the Jeffersonian style of the museum it was unique to see a creation like this indoors. This blood was made to show all the pain that there was seen in slavery. 

"Matthew Barney" 

Matthew Barney was an American artist whose works involved sculpture, photography, drawing and film. Earlier in his career his works consisted of sculptural and actions combined with his personal drawing and film work. One of his most famous creations was his Cremaster Cycle, which was a series of five films vocalized by Jonathan Jones. This was said to be one the most imaginative works in history of cinema. These films were consisted on exploring the process of creation. The five films were started and finished between 1994-2002.

Barney's Cremaster cycle was not just created with film work but he also incorporated sculpture in it. For his sculptures to be seen at there best he would position and have the lighting to make them appear the way he wanted them to.  The cycles also use photographs and drawings in conjunction with everything else to make it come across the best to the audience.  Each aspect was key in the making of the Cremaster Cycles. 

-Conner- 

HOPE

An artist we discussed in great depth today was Frank Fairey who was an American contemporary artist, and illustrator who came on right from the skateboarding scene. Frank was widely known for his sticker campaign his first “Andre the Giant Has a Posse”, is in large part how he was discovered. His most famous work was widely known for his 2008 U.S. presidential election posters creating a Barack Obama hope poster. Frank is known now as one of the most effective street artist today. His work can be found in collections at many famous museums such as The Smithsonian, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Fairey wanted to leave a mark on the world he just did not know how he was going to do that. Franks thought up of an idea for a sticker for the Presidential race. He made a series of posters supporting Obama 2008 candidacy for President of the United States.  Franks created a sticker with Barack Obama’s face with the word Hope under him. This sticker was said to be on the most popular American political illustrations since the Uncle Sam poster. Fairey also created a Rock the Vote sticker to try to encourage people to go out and vote.  Although not in direct connection with the campaign Fairey was asked to change the sticker from the words progress to hope to go more towards Obama’s ideas. Frank made 300,000 stickers and 500,000 posters all the money he collected from these went right back in to making more works of art.  Fairey got a letter from Obama in 2008 thanking him for his support and help to further his campaign. This just shows you sometimes helping people out in life helps you out in the long run.

 

- CONNER- 

Saint Nick

After reading the quote and really taking time to think what it could mean in the sense of art I found Paul McCarthy's “Santa Clause with a butt plug". This is a very unique work of art if you ask me not only because it measured to 24 meters high but also for its odd identity. One thing I can not disagree with is the right artists have to portray what they want.  We do live in America and have the freedom of speech as well as making any work of art we choose too.

Paul McCarthy is a contemporary artist who was born in Utah and now lives and makes his contemporary works in Los Angeles. McCarthy first true love of art was for painting. Later in life he decided he wanted to create works of everyday activities and the mess that comes with them. Paul is usually considered to be impacted by the Viennese Actionism, he disagrees with this saying he sees a huge difference between his actions and that of the Viennese. Early in his career McCarthy did not want to follow in the steps of artists prior to him so he decided to be different by using his body as a paintbrush. Paul even decided to use bodily fluids or food as parts of his works. In one work he painted his body with ketchup, mustard and even feces and then used his body parts to paint his piece.

McCarthy has created several works around the Christmas theme but one I found bizarre was his Santa Claus he created for the city of Rotterdam. Due to the controversies there were a lot of sexual connotations with his work of art with the addition of the butt plug. This contemporary art is odd to me why would anyone want to go look at a huge Santa with a butt plug it’s a very immature work of art. I tend to not enjoy looking at this work, but this shows you artists are human to and can be different.

-Conner-

The Dark Night

When learning about art you come across people that take their talent they were given and use it to its fullest. One artist I have found this to be true for is Vija Celmins. Vija immigrated to the United States with her family when she was ten from Latvia. Celmins was awarded international attention early in her career with her creation of natural scenes usually created from photographs. Vija in every work she created used many medias such as oil paint, charcoal, pencil drawing, printmaking and sculptures. Every one of her works included black, white and gray in place of colors taking this from photos that did not have any depth. Celmins is now internationally known for her works involving little color and rendering details of the natural environment. By the 1960 she started using only graphite pencils. This is where she started on her most popular creations of the surface of the ocean and the night sky. Clemins would sit at her easel all day just shading out the night sky.  She even worked on a painting for a year making sure each gray mark was perfect. She could be considered to many as a perfectionist.

-Conner- 

Art around the World

When first hearing about Komar and Melamid I did not think that there idea of polling all different countries to see what the world saw art, as was a great idea. But it actually turned out to be very interesting seeing what different parts of the world enjoy and consider appealing to their characteristics and life styles. Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid both Russian born American graphic artists teamed up together to collaborate their unique art talents and take the world by storm. Komar and Melamid both teamed up to create a People’s Choice series, which took place from 1994 to 1997. This series considered the most wanted and most hated paintings polled from eleven different countries.  They polled all eleven countries from what there favorite colors were to what art they liked to show in their house. Born, raised, and educated in the Soviet Union where the government’s motto was in people or the citizen’s interest they decided to give the Russian people a chance to exercise their taste.  Another idea that helped create this series was while living the latter part of their career in America they saw Americas as an adequate judge of art in the historical precedence that the world was trusted with judging what President to elect that they also could judge art. They decided to poll ten other countries to see the vast differences in opinions people had on art. After finishing their polls and results they posted it on a website created and run by them where they showed all their findings and showed what each countries favorite and hated picture was. 

 

-Conner-

"Enter the Dragon: On the Vernacular of beauty" by David Hickey

In his essay, "Enter the Dragon," David Hickey declares the importance of beauty within artwork. Before discussing beauty, its definition must first be given. Hickey distinguishes between beauty and the beautiful. The beautiful is a culmination of aesthetics hailed by society as visually appealing. In contrast, beauty is whatever involuntarily catches our attention and excites our senses. Even the most grotesque pieces of art can therefore contain beauty. According to Hickey, beauty is a central issue of our generation, for beauty in artwork has slowly waned within the latter half of the twentieth century. I agree that beauty is important, because beauty holds power. As Hickey states, beauty within art will cause the viewer to take time to discern the meaning of the artwork. Thus, artwork can hold powerful political and ethical agendas and use beauty to push these agendas onto the viewers. Artwork without beauty "begs the question of art's efficacy and dooms itself to inconsequence!" However, Hickey argues, the modern institution distrusts images that are efficacious by virtue of their beauty alone. Modern artists strive to achieve a plain honesty free from efficacy and beauty. Such artists argue that beauty is idolatrous, a form of advertising that is sinful and lacking in truth. Hickey argues history's greatest art has always inevitably contained both idolatry and advertisement, and that "plain honesty" does not exist because "the truth is never plain nor appearances sincere." Hickey furthers his argument by presenting ""Madonna of the Rosary" by Caravaggio. He implies that Caravaggio’s painting would not have been so spectacular, nor survived so many generations, had it not had a political agenda that was successfully achieved.

           Though I agree that idolatry and advertisement are both forms of art, I do not believe the truth can never be simple. Hickey believes that an image has no reason to exist and be beautiful unless said image has the intention of reconstruction the viewer's beliefs. However, I feel that certain artwork has been created with the sole intention of creating visual pleasure. Not all art need contain political motives and the intention to create new beliefs. Furthermore, the history of art and beauty does not run parallel with the history of winners. Many, such as African-American and female artists, who created artworks promoting racial and gender equality, never lived to see their goals achieved but their artwork has flourished.

I differ from Hickey in my opinion of honesty within art, but I agree with the critic's belief in the powerful role of beauty. For example, Robert Mapplethorpe's pornographic photographs of men having sex are profoundly controversial not for their homosexual nature but for their beauty. The men within the photographs are depicted in a radiant, appealing light, implying that their actions are not sinful but rather positive. Beauty is certainly the issue of our generation, and will continue to be for generations to come.

-Tina

Clown Torture

Upon first viewing “Clown Torture,” I was profoundly unnerved. In the piece, by Bruce Nauman, five videos simultaneously display clowns in disturbing situations. Some of the videos are displayed within monitors flipped upside-down or sideways, with the same scene playing endlessly within each monitor. In one video, a clown uses a public toilet and appears to be taped from a surveillance camera. In another, a clown screams at an unseen antagonist, while in the third monitor a clown repeats a confusing tale with increasing frustration. In the final two videos, one clown is splashed by water each time he opens a door and another unsuccessfully attempts to balance a goldfish bowl. Each video alludes to controversial topics, such as insanity and public surveillance. The painted expression of happiness ironically contrasts with the agony each clown undergoes. The painted faces provide not only irony but also anonymity. Because of hair and makeup, each clown’s identity is unknown, implying that any individual, regardless of age, sex, or ethnicity, could be suffering the torture felt by each clown. I interpret such anonymity as necessary to reflect the universal scope of the controversial topics the videos hint at. For instance, the video of a clown within a public bathroom reflects the global issue of breaching of privacy.

Each clown suffers repeatedly, yet none is unable to change the outcome. This helplessness is extremely relatable. Many victims around the world are powerless to improve their situations. Though each video is disturbing and depicts pain, Nauman’s “Clown Torture” is extremely popular and has had many viewers. Such popularity raises the question, do we as humans enjoy watching misery?

The torture of the clowns may well be a symbol for global suffrage, or simply a symbol for Nauman’s own plight. Nauman, an extremely private person, may have felt that the art world was encroaching on his personal life, as viewers encroach on the clown within the bathroom stall. Overall, Nauman’s work has multiple layers of meaning, and can create a range of reactions and emotions from its viewers. Its universal appeal and disturbing nature have cemented its place within art history. 

-Tina