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-