tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56228201740047716002024-03-13T20:30:02.099-07:00YourFellowHumanI Was HereAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00655880946638738676noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5622820174004771600.post-62168611931849998082013-12-03T18:09:00.000-08:002013-12-04T07:40:15.885-08:00Gone Tomorrow: Evanescent Man from Antiquity to Modernity<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Man
has always fought against the idea of his eventual demise. Egyptian funerary
objects, ancient Greek grave markers, mediaeval depictions of Christ’s
crucifixion and resurrection all serve as artistic avoidance objects to escape
the grotesque idea that we die and decompose into nonentity. What intrigues me
is the way in which an artist both depicts and embodies this struggle by
creating works which attempt to survive him or memorialize the patron who
commissioned his work. Memento Mori, on the other hand, </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 24px;">thematically</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"> categorizes a number of artworks which focus on reminding us of the brevity of our lives, the emptiness
of earthly possessions and futility of vanity so that we are inspired to “seize
the day” and make the most of our finite existence. Time, vanity, judgment, and
immortality are all recurring themes in the memento mori arts correlating with
the images of clocks, wilted flowers, heaven, and hell. My exhibit “Gone
Tomorrow” explores the theme of evanescent man and his “dance of death” from as
far back as Ancient Egyptian times to the modern day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> This exhibit displays artworks such as that of “The
Singer of Amun Nany’s Funerary Papyrus” and Jan van Eyck’s "The
Crucifixion; The Last Judgment" which depict scenes of religious judgment
and the allure of the afterlife. These artistic representations of death would not
only remind the viewer of their mortality but that they must live righteously
so that they may be redeemed in view of the gods. “Vanitas Still Life” and “The
Penitent Magdalen” portray themes of vanity and its hollowness in the threat of
old age and inescapable expiry, warning the spectator of pleasure’s futility
and the pithiness of life.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgZlAq1LlbPb1KrkXs20xxf0EVpREgb45iTfOO-OWNTyXTtxlrrzbbylFDn7BUV3TJDVSALbsnszIATF1UNi7vSOPic-Q1pP5NrnBLcEoGYd7Jn_nPhMKWETM_YVTIO5F88ocOxEva2nw/s1600/1-the+singer+of+amun+nany%27s+funerary+papryus.jpg" width="320" /></div>
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Egyptian Dynasty 21</div>
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"The Singer Amun Nany's Funerary Papyrus"</div>
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ca. 1050 B.C.</div>
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Egyptian Art</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEHu1JlqtDvN5In3PrIINn_AwFslcRTMJZpiIcZ8YvEKTK6dss1FxAJMSsrrKKEH_IaYZcyNscPR5x2CIWWYfCobxdJgYCbCdF0TYbP1WG-Nf4lOjkm3smtY0VZVSHOqdRmpGKBbeWoNM/s1600/Miniature+terracotta+squat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEHu1JlqtDvN5In3PrIINn_AwFslcRTMJZpiIcZ8YvEKTK6dss1FxAJMSsrrKKEH_IaYZcyNscPR5x2CIWWYfCobxdJgYCbCdF0TYbP1WG-Nf4lOjkm3smtY0VZVSHOqdRmpGKBbeWoNM/s1600/Miniature+terracotta+squat.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Greek, Attic (Classical Period)</div>
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"Miniature terracotta squat lekythos (oil flask) with siren"</div>
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mid-5th century B.C.</div>
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Greek and Roman art</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWNAj3x8WXZpIO4__n-GS0Aa3ThIFplW5IyhOZpg_8xyL-T45KmbwSwnWVse2wUKMZaSYVLNvQEr-BeNuXkoXdwRdTQakOp0HgNDh8sn4PMez5qPUuUNzPYFL0GbqgW5Ns81ZZGt0BbZ4/s1600/2-the+buddhist+guardian+mahabala.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWNAj3x8WXZpIO4__n-GS0Aa3ThIFplW5IyhOZpg_8xyL-T45KmbwSwnWVse2wUKMZaSYVLNvQEr-BeNuXkoXdwRdTQakOp0HgNDh8sn4PMez5qPUuUNzPYFL0GbqgW5Ns81ZZGt0BbZ4/s1600/2-the+buddhist+guardian+mahabala.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
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Indonesian (Java)</div>
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"The Buddhist Guardian Mahabala"</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">11<sup>th</sup> century</span></div>
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Asian Art</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhokuIHkCn_9bWcnUUy_7Kvxl2t3f9Xw6-smmVL-DLakq6nUJhVsGFQd-TVjSnifpJYe3ooIQhb0Zm5ZV2gbf62fqbwnnD65sd067heua5Xj8_Z_79-gnMl-J2Mz3hQXKokDu_mGZSPtI8/s1600/3-the+crucifixion;+the+last+judgment.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhokuIHkCn_9bWcnUUy_7Kvxl2t3f9Xw6-smmVL-DLakq6nUJhVsGFQd-TVjSnifpJYe3ooIQhb0Zm5ZV2gbf62fqbwnnD65sd067heua5Xj8_Z_79-gnMl-J2Mz3hQXKokDu_mGZSPtI8/s1600/3-the+crucifixion;+the+last+judgment.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
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Jan van Eyck</div>
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"The Crucifixion; The Last Judgment"</div>
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1435-40</div>
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European Paintings</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpNflXcZXjCey1mckdzoXkSdDLegsiyk7xGDPGayCKye2RD56FntkzYwZKYOkFrBuDoBgdmOLbpJvfLyFNUnbVxTEbtWegXMRC6UnT7LjNUp3NBmt9uikdZlBEuIlKtD97qeqJS6NCVxI/s1600/5-vanitas+still+life.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpNflXcZXjCey1mckdzoXkSdDLegsiyk7xGDPGayCKye2RD56FntkzYwZKYOkFrBuDoBgdmOLbpJvfLyFNUnbVxTEbtWegXMRC6UnT7LjNUp3NBmt9uikdZlBEuIlKtD97qeqJS6NCVxI/s1600/5-vanitas+still+life.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
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Jacques de Gheyn II</div>
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"Vanitas Still Life"</div>
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1603</div>
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European Paintings</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipmdyqYpkAnovAdsPAubfvO7KdnLVx-1rgDNrm0AJtYBDVLOW163kUhtKVw4PtH58mwGWDkxgmrnW5q2HAnndHaacdr-6N-IEtk9niyNaFY7HuGQiC64UBsE_iH5TYOYtTVEg4u90HiOA/s1600/6-the+penitent+magdalen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipmdyqYpkAnovAdsPAubfvO7KdnLVx-1rgDNrm0AJtYBDVLOW163kUhtKVw4PtH58mwGWDkxgmrnW5q2HAnndHaacdr-6N-IEtk9niyNaFY7HuGQiC64UBsE_iH5TYOYtTVEg4u90HiOA/s1600/6-the+penitent+magdalen.jpg" width="224" /></a></div>
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Georges de La Tour</div>
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"The Penitent Magdalen"</div>
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1640</div>
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European Paintings</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfpCTPXIIbv1WB-mEoQbW_GH1Ozotxa-8m5khDEwvnoV3Y-wUMA_7Va9Z2pS3RpH_ZVLkLNu7mVvpI1Z8ho2yQnwKL63k8ck1mZhbz9vr-zr_s4kTH-z7m-Z6f0Gx06h56ktVe33lXewk/s1600/7-Takigawa+of+the+Ogiya+Pleasure+House.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfpCTPXIIbv1WB-mEoQbW_GH1Ozotxa-8m5khDEwvnoV3Y-wUMA_7Va9Z2pS3RpH_ZVLkLNu7mVvpI1Z8ho2yQnwKL63k8ck1mZhbz9vr-zr_s4kTH-z7m-Z6f0Gx06h56ktVe33lXewk/s1600/7-Takigawa+of+the+Ogiya+Pleasure+House.jpg" width="217" /></a></div>
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Utagawa Toyokuni I</div>
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"Takigawa of the Pleasure House"</div>
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Early 19 century</div>
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Asian Art</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5bTCb1O_QtA8r8rRQz43prilPiKm2qH51IYyubOFOrlw9kUGEmC_rUrGFQw-9QMxOw5OSR4yNvXz2PVefxlSnQ7TVgcH4XKdsgdx_dTvdTLRAQ5axL6w6qTyIcopt0pWb87hyexJjYQ8/s1600/8-the+dead+christ+with+angels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5bTCb1O_QtA8r8rRQz43prilPiKm2qH51IYyubOFOrlw9kUGEmC_rUrGFQw-9QMxOw5OSR4yNvXz2PVefxlSnQ7TVgcH4XKdsgdx_dTvdTLRAQ5axL6w6qTyIcopt0pWb87hyexJjYQ8/s1600/8-the+dead+christ+with+angels.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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Edouard Manet</div>
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"The Dead Christ and the Angels"</div>
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1864</div>
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European Paintings</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio9mqyeeZGomPbWXWxDYyA6rvqxadYgl8_qek2jVIRLWmuQURISHK6JtM_sLN-qfkwgUNfI2ZfYsL8vG0yN5sOCQyKhCZSAQBV4JGFSDi8NMz1Kp1fJXm88PoalmC_etkDYIr8Pmyr43o/s1600/9-A+Harvest+of+Death,+Gettysburg,+Pennsylvania.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio9mqyeeZGomPbWXWxDYyA6rvqxadYgl8_qek2jVIRLWmuQURISHK6JtM_sLN-qfkwgUNfI2ZfYsL8vG0yN5sOCQyKhCZSAQBV4JGFSDi8NMz1Kp1fJXm88PoalmC_etkDYIr8Pmyr43o/s1600/9-A+Harvest+of+Death,+Gettysburg,+Pennsylvania.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Timothy H. O'Sullivan</div>
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"A Harvest of Death, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania"</div>
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1863</div>
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Photographs</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9bIR5TFXShAu5CmbvbODPsvt5wTg8JNewZkIRr-r9-uKrn4NGYo28cPG0gt4n_Fr2AiKqmTAw5IR9kcwjcdouilC49xOcnTHvQlLPORGTmf38bqjrUc-UMvMTfapCcAGD8ZQc1USOJf4/s1600/10-Kentridge_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9bIR5TFXShAu5CmbvbODPsvt5wTg8JNewZkIRr-r9-uKrn4NGYo28cPG0gt4n_Fr2AiKqmTAw5IR9kcwjcdouilC49xOcnTHvQlLPORGTmf38bqjrUc-UMvMTfapCcAGD8ZQc1USOJf4/s1600/10-Kentridge_poster.jpg" width="313" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9k6s_NzAOmHvoLwKVVgPD4NUwctjyO-aEObPXCsUngsokShvNZAfecx3g96GpNg8kLYAz_qdZILc7NKK_gbVC2FnSmdu2egTOD_MistFKsFhJBKO_umJEuJ_I29aT6b4w8w-_X7vGdIs/s1600/1.-The-Refusal-of-Time_MMA-Installation-520x346.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9k6s_NzAOmHvoLwKVVgPD4NUwctjyO-aEObPXCsUngsokShvNZAfecx3g96GpNg8kLYAz_qdZILc7NKK_gbVC2FnSmdu2egTOD_MistFKsFhJBKO_umJEuJ_I29aT6b4w8w-_X7vGdIs/s1600/1.-The-Refusal-of-Time_MMA-Installation-520x346.png" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
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William Kentridge</div>
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"The Refusal of Time"</div>
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2012</div>
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Modern and Contemporary Art</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00655880946638738676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5622820174004771600.post-58427210253802715982013-11-26T14:17:00.000-08:002013-11-26T14:17:08.013-08:00Performance Art at the Whitney Museum<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> On our
class trip to the Whitney Museum, we were to focus primarily on the “Rituals of
Rented Island” exhibit which centered on ephemera (like photographs, video
footage, props, etc.) from “happenings” or performance art pieces performed
during the 1970s and 1980s. Artist’s creating within this temporal art form were
most prolific at this time, incorporating different traditions such as acting,
music, spoken word, and dance. These “happenings” would mostly take place in
dingy lofts, and alternative spaces; their work generally commenting on the social,
political, and cultural zeitgeist of that time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> One piece
in particular, Michael Smith’s “Secret Horror”, seemed to be</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7RyDfrgktvm2icKvxRqM_Lww4PZURNATlCWGp2fmYQBcBMgJEecjf0KJdeGA7pI-zuXX4s-kr0JTP7s8HPulvtm1xDjSnIN7Be0TGM8e9RbLt-ldrpIfkFQ3p1cHXyYmI_BRQBNwPes/s1600/horror3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7RyDfrgktvm2icKvxRqM_Lww4PZURNATlCWGp2fmYQBcBMgJEecjf0KJdeGA7pI-zuXX4s-kr0JTP7s8HPulvtm1xDjSnIN7Be0TGM8e9RbLt-ldrpIfkFQ3p1cHXyYmI_BRQBNwPes/s1600/horror3.jpg" height="218" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">a critique on the inconsistency and absurdity of American culture. This piece,
which is shown in a video format, involves Smith’s popular character Mike, a naïve
individual who constantly falls prey to trends and fashions and his own foolish
ambitions. We watch Mike as he wakes up and discovers he has a drop ceiling accompanied
by an</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> aimless voiceover.
The video shows Mike getting ready for a partyand as he irons his clothes the
situation gets continuously bizarre: sheeted ghosts arrive and take him away,
the TV whispers peculiar things to him, and he joins the ghosts in a song and
dance of </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Lion Sleeps Tonight</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">. Smith
utilizes the televised tradition of entertainment in order to shed light on its
homogenizing quality. His persona—Mike, serves as a prototypical example of an American
television viewer and the influence that may have as well as the silly mimicry that
can take place when the viewer attempts to amalgamate his own image with the one
onscreen.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGZgZrSqoIV7-g0RgyBuGjcAjEZgIYMIQmSXgWP6QqHlQ_0PHH8RN8-O7nzuG90wTbK-G2UNqqY7PkrUbtS9PVT49Cf7-5b5Xs5SoryveI8YFUv9cPZuscOpWFITtCL_ckZfk3QyDDC2A/s1600/acconci.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGZgZrSqoIV7-g0RgyBuGjcAjEZgIYMIQmSXgWP6QqHlQ_0PHH8RN8-O7nzuG90wTbK-G2UNqqY7PkrUbtS9PVT49Cf7-5b5Xs5SoryveI8YFUv9cPZuscOpWFITtCL_ckZfk3QyDDC2A/s1600/acconci.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Another piece at the Whitney was Vito Acconci’s “Claim 1971” (also a
video) which showed Acconci as he sits blindfolded in a basement; armed with
steel pipes and a crowbar—repeating the words “I want to stay alone. I don’t want
anyone to come down here with me. I’ve got to keep talking myself into it. I’ll
keep anyone from coming down the stairs.” The viewer can see this on a TV set
upstairs and must decide whether or not to join him in the basement even as his
mantra becomes increasingly violent and threating. With “Claim 1971”, Acconci
seems to put forth ideas of personal space and the relationship between the
artist and the viewer. This kind of work is especially confrontational and deliberately
places the viewers in a position of power as in whether they choose descend
into the basement or not. Acconci’s constant chant induces him into a state of
paranoia therefore provoking something similar in the viewer. In this sense,
words truly do have power—power to intimidate and power to lure.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFlmb3Fw4g40L5bot7LwP_iXBheis-dE1BPRXh-UCmRspJBKicZ-Twknq-sEaCMmwHWAAwcerLQnLPCD-5ClR8mbCnBbcHcal5O2Ly0pB2IyHjcTGOBZlhCTH78zg1DYOwTacoK4UyH1o/s1600/andywarholslastlove01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFlmb3Fw4g40L5bot7LwP_iXBheis-dE1BPRXh-UCmRspJBKicZ-Twknq-sEaCMmwHWAAwcerLQnLPCD-5ClR8mbCnBbcHcal5O2Ly0pB2IyHjcTGOBZlhCTH78zg1DYOwTacoK4UyH1o/s1600/andywarholslastlove01.jpg" height="222" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Squat
Theater’s “Andy Warhol’s Last Love” is a video in which a performer wearing a
mask of famous pop artist Andy Warhol rides the street of New York City on
horseback. This peculiar scene would seem to criticize much of America’s
actions during the 1960’s Vietnam War. As the actor gallops through the streets,
a girl raises her skirt for him, a man is shot, and a man with half of his face
burned passes on the street. However, the artist just rides pass, unaffected by
the turmoil unraveling before him—this disregard possibly paralleling the
indifference of those in power to the masses affected by the war at home and
overseas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The ephemeral quality of
this temporal art form is an obvious distinction from other kinds. Although the
work is mainly conceptual which is something yet to be diluted even with time,
the visceral nature of the <i>performance</i>
aspect is stripped from the piece. The living/breathing trait which defines performance
art is completely lost when shown in the showcase style of the gallery. While I
could still be somewhat affected by the pieces and grasp some vague
understanding, what I ended up experiencing were but vestiges of the intended
aesthetic of the artist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Michael Smith<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Secret Horror”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Video, color, sound; 13:17 min.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1980<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Vito Acconci<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Claim Excerpts, 1971”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Videotape, b&w, sound; 62:11 min.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1971<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Squat Theater<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Andy Warhol’s Last Love”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Video, b&w and color, sound; 60 min.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1978<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00655880946638738676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5622820174004771600.post-69449067376959994692013-11-05T14:31:00.002-08:002013-11-05T14:31:39.397-08:00LES Galleries Reaction<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> When visiting
the Lower East Side galleries, I definitely felt there to be a stark difference
in relation to the galleries in Chelsea. Spatially, the rooms felt more varied
in their arrangement, not resembling the “white cube” spaces in Chelsea. Additionally,
the LES galleries had a converted/industrial look, which instilled a more
comfortable feeling than the sterilized “white cubes” of Chelsea. One gallery
even had the smell of burning incense which contributed to this casual
makeshift environment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgidG6OMmJZYU3I0nNfxPcRy0LgakpjpGG5UeXEb6Zv-dyX3WQLogR2Bs7UO9QDhku3JjH0EhpmHpyZq30c0hKtj_-LvaBVbs6MXapcnOh9LnA3hdWXNFuRfe47xFVV5ahOp1tkp069W4c/s1600/Exhibition-view7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgidG6OMmJZYU3I0nNfxPcRy0LgakpjpGG5UeXEb6Zv-dyX3WQLogR2Bs7UO9QDhku3JjH0EhpmHpyZq30c0hKtj_-LvaBVbs6MXapcnOh9LnA3hdWXNFuRfe47xFVV5ahOp1tkp069W4c/s1600/Exhibition-view7.jpg" height="320" width="310" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Bosi Contemporary Gallery</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I noticed that several of
the exhibitions contained works of <i>several</i>
artists, not just one as in Chelsea, and the choices of medium also varied. For
example, the Castle Fiztjohns and Bosi Contemporary galleries exhibited works
by several different artists who used numerous different mediums such as,
resin, mixed media, cloth, silicone and satin. I found there to be more
installations using three-dimensional objects or video monitors, as in the Bosi
Contemporary and Shin galleries. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDs9bMw_ElEekjWB_ZaKlXAK978-luIEr5bb5PiBkUyID1xYflJynCE0ls-DpwGTjqTOajVQrt4e60MOBg2k1mSX35GzMvDq2tSxsUuMnVHWDe3CJjmniiXwW50igKYwLzUTDGjkea1o/s1600/hyon+gyon+park.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDs9bMw_ElEekjWB_ZaKlXAK978-luIEr5bb5PiBkUyID1xYflJynCE0ls-DpwGTjqTOajVQrt4e60MOBg2k1mSX35GzMvDq2tSxsUuMnVHWDe3CJjmniiXwW50igKYwLzUTDGjkea1o/s1600/hyon+gyon+park.jpg" height="320" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Shin Gallery</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Hyon Gyon Park<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>"M.M.M.H."</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>2013<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Satin and Silicone on Canvas <o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>56 x 80 in.</i></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Because of the LES galleries’
industrial look, I do feel that the environment would cater to a more casual
art viewer-maybe a curator who is interested in collecting interesting pieces
from “up and coming” artists. Chelsea tends
to exhibit more established artists which probably forces people to try and
rush in order to see as much as they can, LES has a more relaxed ambiance-if
not for the fact that they contain a lower mass of galleries to choose from. The
LES galleries are located in an area not strictly devoted to art; juxtaposed with
restaurants, clothing stores, etc. providing a different tone of setting when
viewing the artworks.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjswYzCXyDaJ_nubk2wiHB2a8IOeioU1VaBFr1JVrKpNCm6jyN3WLIyvmwUHHQT8imFcZvQgJOtP-fWucb5CrF5YKf20YwNl4EGCt7ygApN4mGpyZW5BHW3gZPoec9HCa7CscQ1NY8XLK8/s1600/1115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjswYzCXyDaJ_nubk2wiHB2a8IOeioU1VaBFr1JVrKpNCm6jyN3WLIyvmwUHHQT8imFcZvQgJOtP-fWucb5CrF5YKf20YwNl4EGCt7ygApN4mGpyZW5BHW3gZPoec9HCa7CscQ1NY8XLK8/s1600/1115.jpg" height="320" width="310" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Bosi Contemporary Gallery</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>André Feliciano<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>"Photographic Fruit (2012 Harvest)"<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>2012<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>archival inkjet print mounted in dibond with museum glass<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>23.6 x 31.5 in.</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Overall, the location and ambiance of both the Chelsea and LES galleries
did not affect my view of the artworks inhabiting them. Although, atmospheric
impressions of a gallery space may influence your general experience, I felt
that the art within the walls are what had the most lasting affect.</span></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg25ZvEvL_FJtpRiQzdelBajLo_HOymJIpVb_1uCBsc6hkAu7nLt3MKrmeqqiKAtEbaAgYKBRK9X6NaVyLZbyHDL5nrF97_esHpZfFxQhdkEQ2TxN_aAPhyVvQ4EuYn7SBd8e7dYLe8VMY/s1600/og+cunt+sin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg25ZvEvL_FJtpRiQzdelBajLo_HOymJIpVb_1uCBsc6hkAu7nLt3MKrmeqqiKAtEbaAgYKBRK9X6NaVyLZbyHDL5nrF97_esHpZfFxQhdkEQ2TxN_aAPhyVvQ4EuYn7SBd8e7dYLe8VMY/s1600/og+cunt+sin.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Castle Fitzjohns Gallery<br />"Original Sin"<br />Jeff Champion</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4X8_7-bCgkrBFiCWF264UJrCIh8GEu6Go8XguO9XYnzIPHIgPjHa5UO3zWpslP-nmsGz3IgMfy9sHMiV7GyJqcoqROhBRoXmD9esRH0m3xOL5ebrOR1qpYLSPDQUI_kh4_Rvsd1Sa5jY/s1600/gnomies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4X8_7-bCgkrBFiCWF264UJrCIh8GEu6Go8XguO9XYnzIPHIgPjHa5UO3zWpslP-nmsGz3IgMfy9sHMiV7GyJqcoqROhBRoXmD9esRH0m3xOL5ebrOR1qpYLSPDQUI_kh4_Rvsd1Sa5jY/s1600/gnomies.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Castle Fitzjohns Gallery<br />Sam Tufnell<br />"Lucky, Piss, and Red Gnomess"</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWhCFK9d9I0mpIeytg9Zp_pE72C6V8s8NSiD_5b7WRoAAPj74TU7zpqJYDfmTdPXmwm2g4KRNXOf1Nynp2K9VqXosSSRqCkYMb_nab1IBP0W8d1rkaZQxcDfo-O93Gfjh6HcNNAEbz1BM/s1600/monkay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWhCFK9d9I0mpIeytg9Zp_pE72C6V8s8NSiD_5b7WRoAAPj74TU7zpqJYDfmTdPXmwm2g4KRNXOf1Nynp2K9VqXosSSRqCkYMb_nab1IBP0W8d1rkaZQxcDfo-O93Gfjh6HcNNAEbz1BM/s1600/monkay.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Castle Fitzjohns Gallery<br />Jake Lamagno<br />"Baboon is Bright"</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00655880946638738676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5622820174004771600.post-86002023934019536962013-10-22T16:50:00.000-07:002013-10-22T16:50:09.216-07:00Magritte: The Mystery of the Ordinary<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHi-EJU6cgBuvzosS-IhFcRHqFrEgVDMiM0gYcIZTwUJvwzpOWP_DyAf184Kj5vNFwjwWZ2h38IgcspMsuUAIx86sUQjnr1y9NcqMBqjcy2Xa88GpP-RBlY1dx6g2cyvyPQKgMqgX9k-g/s1600/THE+FALSE+MIRROR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHi-EJU6cgBuvzosS-IhFcRHqFrEgVDMiM0gYcIZTwUJvwzpOWP_DyAf184Kj5vNFwjwWZ2h38IgcspMsuUAIx86sUQjnr1y9NcqMBqjcy2Xa88GpP-RBlY1dx6g2cyvyPQKgMqgX9k-g/s1600/THE+FALSE+MIRROR.jpg" height="215" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;">René Magritte</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;">"The False Mirror"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;">1928</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;">Oil on canvas</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>René Magritte, a 20th century artist known for his surrealist paintings, manages so surreptitiously to mask issues of psychology and the human subconscious beneath his deadpan style and fantastical depictions. <u>The False Mirror</u> (1928) is one such work, composed entirely of a lashless eye with a cloudscape in the place of an iris and a pitch black pupil in its center; the piece embodies the true nature of any surrealist work which attempts to defy our perception of the natural world. A body part we are all accustomed to seeing when directing our attention towards someone, the eye in <u>The False Mirror</u> almost seems to be looking right back at you, as if staring into some reflecting abyss. The eye, or mirror, or window that Magritte wishes us to delve into seems to conjure up notions of reality and perception. For our eyes provide the only interpretation of the visual world and yet possess so many limitations as opposed to other species of animals. Yet this concept of “sight” may not even be limited in terms of its physicality but can also refer to mental or philosophical sight; begging questions of possible multiple realities or worlds. Magritte’s enigmatic and cryptic piece seduces the viewer; luring them into a world of alternate perceptions and metaphysical distortion; reaching beyond the boundaries of what is “real”-a truly surrealist work.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00655880946638738676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5622820174004771600.post-31068496816157490882013-10-17T16:39:00.000-07:002013-10-21T17:21:33.875-07:00Design in Our Lives<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> On our second class trip to the MOMA, we were to consider
artworks in the Architecture and Design galleries in terms of high and low
functionality. Ergonomics is the applied science of equipment design, as for
the workplace, intended to maximize productivity by reducing operator fatigue
and discomfort. But this field of science is not only applicable to the
workplace, its principles are also appropriate in terms of household items,
architecture-even environmental health sciences.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At
MOMA, I came across two works of art that I found to have high functionality,
one being <u>IN-EL Mendori Lamp</u> by Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake (IN-EL
meaning “shadow,” “shade,” or “nuance” in Japanese),. Miyake’s lamp, aside from
being aesthetically beautiful, with its coiling geometric pattern and relaxing
glow, is an environmentally conscious piece constructed from recycled-PET
fabric. This work is one in a collection of nine collapsible lampshades for LED
bulbs and each lamp is folded from a single sheet of material thanks to a
mathematical program created by Jun Mitani (a professor of computer science at
the University of Tsukuba and a master origami artist). The object can be
considered high functioning due to the fibers that are strong enough to support
the lamp’s entire structure, making an inner frame unnecessary, not to mention
its collapsible property which makes storage very convenient.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just
a few feet away I discovered, what I consider to be, one of the most impressive
design works in the gallery. <u>Mine Kafon wind-powered deminer</u> is a large
spherical tumbleweed-like apparatus made from bamboo and biodegradable plastics
by Massoud Hassani. This wind-powered object is both easy to transport and
assemble onsite. Hassani, who grew up in Afghanistan knows all too well the
dangers of living in an area littered with landmines and has seen many friends
get severely injured or die because of them. This design is not only
ergonomically sound but it saves lives of innocent people who would fall victim
to the hidden landmines in the ground. This artwork also requires little cost
to construct as opposed to some current demining methods which can cost as much
as a thousand dollars.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While
at the Architecture and design galleries of MOMA, I noticed some artworks did
not seem as ergonomically sensible or high functioning. One of them was <u>Honey-Pop
Armchair</u> by Tokujin Yoshioka. This chair is made from the type of paper
honeycomb that is used in Chinese lanterns and folds out just like a lantern,
accepting the impression of the body of whoever first sits on it. What first
strikes me about Yoshioka’s armchair in terms of low functionality is its
medium, the delicate paper used to create the chair is beautiful and functional
in terms of lanterns but not for a chair which is meant to hold a human body’s
weight. This artwork may serve well as an aesthetic piece but its sheer delicateness
is not practical for its seemingly intended purpose.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Henry Dreyfuss’s <u>Josephine Anthropometric
Chart</u>, is another piece that I found to lack significant functionality.
Designed for the purposes of household ergonomics, such as physically easing women’s work in the home,
Dreyfuss’s artwork is based on the dimensions of the average woman which is the
standard kitchen work surface height (36 inches). This work would not only be
of low functionality today but it also excludes an entire gender from the ergonomic
advantages of such a work surface. In Dreyfuss’s lifetime a design as this
would serve a great deal but would be considered quite exclusive in today’s day
and age.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
is not my opinion that an object needs to be highly functional in order to be a
good design, depending on the type of design that is intended. If something is proposed
to be ergonomically smart than it should deliver its service in those terms but
a design can also be intended to install a purely aesthetic response from the
viewer that exists more essentially as a work of art.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhImOTVNbxVetaqPfMqRxswZ9y_kD9mb9yIa5eF2Hi9cxxuhyphenhyphent3HxTttc6jHitmcBYxmCVAvKDWK4TklkU9GCfSlJayTj2IMv2eWm9OE9x7kh9zd8ujoLB6nlWAJUAj6kE4Q7owzSXBzgQ/s1600/IN-EL+Mendori+(MOMA).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhImOTVNbxVetaqPfMqRxswZ9y_kD9mb9yIa5eF2Hi9cxxuhyphenhyphent3HxTttc6jHitmcBYxmCVAvKDWK4TklkU9GCfSlJayTj2IMv2eWm9OE9x7kh9zd8ujoLB6nlWAJUAj6kE4Q7owzSXBzgQ/s1600/IN-EL+Mendori+(MOMA).jpg" height="244" width="320" /></a></div>
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Issey Miyake</div>
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"IN-EL Mendori"</div>
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PET fabric and LEDs</div>
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2011</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG_1pcBWxg2Z1C_6ThOYOdnu1lh04jHI95xZr7pBNi69aYg8qDog6n4K04U66a7hnIMv89mjUDmitvKw65dO4bR6QqdM2g6eZ9nJ_P0vpFDaMym6VzlIrpap0DGA664zNTvu8zlcKDVF0/s1600/IMG_20131016_121628.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG_1pcBWxg2Z1C_6ThOYOdnu1lh04jHI95xZr7pBNi69aYg8qDog6n4K04U66a7hnIMv89mjUDmitvKw65dO4bR6QqdM2g6eZ9nJ_P0vpFDaMym6VzlIrpap0DGA664zNTvu8zlcKDVF0/s1600/IMG_20131016_121628.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Massoud Hassani</div>
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"Mine Kafon wind-powered deminer"</div>
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Bamboo and biodegradable plastics</div>
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2011</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDEX5MDCnKAY8jZltCdtCrU3GyBf3-0VZJWSzxxarOTWAp7Zg6Tu-BuR1W5ZoIHB_uVxYDsMhKG3hr4kZzF9tlEfMASXBnGyoDsH5pncT6NiWM2akKnDWSXj8WRkxoYoadHyra_05vSfU/s1600/Honey-Pop+Armchair+(MOMA).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDEX5MDCnKAY8jZltCdtCrU3GyBf3-0VZJWSzxxarOTWAp7Zg6Tu-BuR1W5ZoIHB_uVxYDsMhKG3hr4kZzF9tlEfMASXBnGyoDsH5pncT6NiWM2akKnDWSXj8WRkxoYoadHyra_05vSfU/s1600/Honey-Pop+Armchair+(MOMA).jpg" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
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Tokujin Yoshioka</div>
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"Honey-Pop Armchair"</div>
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Paper</div>
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2000</div>
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Hnery Dreyfuss</div>
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"Josephine Anthropometric Chart"</div>
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Offset Lithograph</div>
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1967</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00655880946638738676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5622820174004771600.post-56842494748489183992013-10-16T17:48:00.000-07:002013-10-16T17:48:54.521-07:00Illustrate a Story<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih5cuJkVAlhG2v1RVr42rpZpwZOIaJcjlFXdNG0X8neZq2BgJhN87uC0FjXsLrJ0ilTVNthzEJuiKFBQF6dY3essVDB-5TkG7WeiBpyAuijEFLqJtUPa6rzefnqXUlHCLO9cl7lpxioWk/s1600/lampert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih5cuJkVAlhG2v1RVr42rpZpwZOIaJcjlFXdNG0X8neZq2BgJhN87uC0FjXsLrJ0ilTVNthzEJuiKFBQF6dY3essVDB-5TkG7WeiBpyAuijEFLqJtUPa6rzefnqXUlHCLO9cl7lpxioWk/s1600/lampert.jpg" height="320" width="274" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://storycorps.org/listen/chuck-and-josh-lampert/" target="_blank">“Did you ever give up hope?” - Josh & Chuck Lampert</a></div>
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</div>
“My diagnosis was psychotic depression. You can hallucinate sounds and smells and tastes. And my mistake was doing drugs, because sometimes the line got blurred of what is real and what isn't. Other people seemed like they had so much--social relationships and girlfriends, and I was just trying to function.”<br />
This is the story of Josh Lampert, who started having psychotic episodes during his sophomore year of college. Prompted by recreational drug use, his hallucinations and severe depression soon began to overwhelm him. Now 32, Josh and his father, Chuck, reminisce on the turmoil they both experienced due to Josh’s illness.<br />
My drawing represents the disorder that was happening in Josh’s mind at that time. The person’s cracking skin signaling the salience of his psychosis. The creatures threatening to overcome him are his thoughts turned real by his hallucinations-the surrealism shadowing the blurred lines of his reality.<br />
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"Coming Undone"</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00655880946638738676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5622820174004771600.post-40914834461675346742013-10-08T13:57:00.005-07:002013-10-08T13:57:45.392-07:00Chelsea Galleries Reaction<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On our recent trip to the
Chelsea galleries, we were asked to play the role of art curator and choose two
works from two separate exhibitions that we would either choose to have in our
collection or not. In choosing said artworks, I decided to go by what moved me
aesthetically and what I felt would be most enduring in terms of public
interest.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> While at the Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, I got to see video
artist-Phil Collin’s exhibition. What first struck me about this particular exhibition
was that, aside from a few large photographs, the work was mainly installation
and video; requiring significant involvement of the viewer. <i>This Unfortunate Thing between Us</i> is the
first piece, consisting of two channel video installations presented in
caravans. I notice that my classmates and I are immediately delighted by the unorthodoxy
of the piece. All of a sudden we become children in a sort of playhouse and we’re
excited to be experiencing art through such an interesting medium. On the next
level of the gallery is <i>my heart's in my hand, and my hand is pierced, and
my hand's in the bag, and the bag is shut, and my heart is caught</i>, wherein you enter one of six listening
booths that contain seven inch vinyl records, listening booths, turntables,
amplifiers and speakers. One may enter and choose to play any of the seven
records, sit down and fully engage themselves in either a recorded conversation
or an original song. To me, Collins work would be a valuable purchase as a
curator because of its immersive quality and its way of including the viewer. I
would like to display this work and most of all see the reactions of the
audience when they are asked to enter a work of art and explore it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> At the Elizabeth Dee Gallery, I found
the Post Culture exhibition with works such as that of Torben Ribe and Julia
Wachtel. Ribe’s <i>Untitled with Pizza Menus</i> left me more than a little
underwhelmed. Consisting only of scarce drips of granite paint on canvas with
pizza menus tucked behind, there was not much to grab ahold of aesthetically. This
type of abstract work relies mostly on concept rather than aesthetic, leaving
myself or any potential viewer a bit confused as to what they are meant to
feel. I found Ribe’s piece to be just a bit too “left field” for my taste. In
Watchel’s piece titled <i>Acv2.4</i>, I also found there little to be desired. Composed
of a few blocks of color and an upside down photograph of a woman drinking from
a water bottle, I just found it a bit difficult to find an aesthetic quality in
the work that would inspire me to share it with others. Like Ribe’s piece, I assumed
that Watchel’s work probably relies on concept to convey its message; a concept
that I, unfortunately, did not receive.</span></span></div>
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Phil Collins</div>
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"This Unfortunate Things Between Us"</div>
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2011</div>
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Two channel video installation presented in caravans, color, sound.</div>
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60 min. per channel.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Phil Collins</div>
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"my heart's in my hand, and my hand is pierced, and my hand's in the bag, and the bag is shut, and my heart is caught"</div>
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2013</div>
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Sound installation. Ten 7 inch vinyl records, listening booths, turntables, amplifiers and speakers.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1G_6zGV3aPYSxBAs2SB4lEup2OjH5Z4ERnsXFNq1_opD_dQQD925hP0NuZkaYu_cwu0-SEZayH3kX-HIJhQLvsllwQZOakl2cXqTOC9c8LIrAe0kTqNvIY32dIpp33Ml-Z6tEuF2_k_w/s1600/torben+ribe+(untitled+with+pizza+menus).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1G_6zGV3aPYSxBAs2SB4lEup2OjH5Z4ERnsXFNq1_opD_dQQD925hP0NuZkaYu_cwu0-SEZayH3kX-HIJhQLvsllwQZOakl2cXqTOC9c8LIrAe0kTqNvIY32dIpp33Ml-Z6tEuF2_k_w/s1600/torben+ribe+(untitled+with+pizza+menus).jpg" height="320" width="226" /></a></div>
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Torben Ribe</div>
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"Untitled with Pizza Menus" </div>
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2011</div>
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Granite paint on canvas, pizza menus</div>
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39 × 33 in</div>
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Julia Wachtel</div>
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"ACv2.4"</div>
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2012</div>
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Flashe and digital print on canvas</div>
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46 × 42 3/4 in</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00655880946638738676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5622820174004771600.post-64408677354917262382013-10-08T13:57:00.004-07:002013-10-08T13:57:40.534-07:00Art and Identity: The Museum of Modern Art<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Identity in art is one the most prominent qualities one will find when cross-examining a work of art. Whether it is an artist’s individual, cultural or historical identity, the environment in which an artist produces work greatly affects the final outcome which we as viewers get to enjoy and dissect. On our trip to the Museum of Modern art, our objective was to find three works of art that pertain to those three qualities respectively. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As you enter the Contemporary Galleries (1980-Now) on the second floor of the MOMA, the first painting you will see is one by Henry Taylor, a Los Angeles painter who makes portraits of an assortment of different people in his life. In “Untitled”, he chose to depict his friend Will Gillespie (nephew of the great American jazz trumpeter, Dizzy Gillespie). In the painting, Taylor alludes to Gillespie’s Buddhist belief by depicting him with a Tibetan necklace and his hands in a prayer-like position, giving us an empathetic window into the relationship between artist and subject. Taylor’s quick way of painting gives the work an intimate yet immediate feel, almost as if you could picture being in the room as he quickly painted his friend while they conversed. The honest and simple portrayal of this work lends a keen individual quality to the viewer and allows them to be a part of this intimate moment between two friends.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In the photography exhibit, you will find such works by Hank Willis Thomas, a contemporary African-American visual artist and photographer. Thomas tackles cultural issues such as race, advertising, and popular culture, which is evident in his series titled Unbranded, where he removes logos and slogans from advertisements that feature black bodies, leaving them to “speak for themselves.” In works such as “Jungle Fever” the issue of racial equality is evident. Two hands, gently interlocked; one is of a white woman wearing red nail polish, the other: an African American male. With such depictions as this Thomas posits the still controversial concept of interracial relationships and the discomfort that it may still cause to some in our society. What is also interesting is that by nature of the series we know that this photograph was meant to advertise some sort of product which makes the image all the more intriguing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>One work of art that may not be of any novelty but still contain a certain level of innovation to most is “Starry Night” by Vincent Van Gogh. “Starry Night” is a painting that has proven its emotional and historical timelessness to those who can appreciate its genius. Although smaller in size than one would guess, Van Gogh’s masterpiece continues to enthrall viewers, with its swirls of sky and expressive brushstrokes, it seems to swim before your eyes (this particular style, being one of its most prominent features.) Van Gogh was infamously ahead of his time, painting in what would be known in the early twentieth century as Expressionism. He paved the way, as many genius artists do, and took the brunt of a stubborn and fixed society in order for the next generations of artist to more easily continue to stretch the limits of what is possible in the designated art form. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Whatever identity possesses an artist, it will always give their work a sense personality and context. Allowing the audience to connect to the piece no matter how much time has passed or how much the zeitgeist has shifted. The distinctiveness of a work of art will forever be the main attractive quality that keeps the attention of a viewer no matter the time or place.</span><br />
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Henry Taylor</div>
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"Untitled"</div>
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Synthetic polymer paint on canvas</div>
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2011</div>
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78 x 62"</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ1Y8hQpQVwq12M_1RDPyPhbEYSTRGhMtSRPwUHvYGGzSWzebkR_f99KBgb-TpCJXYXk0IA0tu7LJvvI1mDpJJ4IDD2Lwceo2NKOtOKn8stWK0d5DmU5vlLl3crBqYMUhyphenhyphenKGyvDhle-9s/s1600/001+HANK+WILLIS+THOMAS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ1Y8hQpQVwq12M_1RDPyPhbEYSTRGhMtSRPwUHvYGGzSWzebkR_f99KBgb-TpCJXYXk0IA0tu7LJvvI1mDpJJ4IDD2Lwceo2NKOtOKn8stWK0d5DmU5vlLl3crBqYMUhyphenhyphenKGyvDhle-9s/s1600/001+HANK+WILLIS+THOMAS.jpg" height="320" width="256" /></a></div>
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Hank Willis Thomas</div>
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"Jungle Fever"</div>
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Chromogenic color print</div>
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2007</div>
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29 3/4 x 23 15/16"</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGwT9xIOalywWuWfgrjfXcRK49KzsOmW9RBeZ92tha8AHfX_0Gc9kL5zIHVj5BPO5IRvKENuV-YCcJjdC7wGoHWvRrg6QC7yPYKFSBlimSLIIdlauPu62mDi8e7niw8BPjnvPzrGwBil4/s1600/000001+STARRY+NIGHT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGwT9xIOalywWuWfgrjfXcRK49KzsOmW9RBeZ92tha8AHfX_0Gc9kL5zIHVj5BPO5IRvKENuV-YCcJjdC7wGoHWvRrg6QC7yPYKFSBlimSLIIdlauPu62mDi8e7niw8BPjnvPzrGwBil4/s1600/000001+STARRY+NIGHT.jpg" height="254" width="320" /></a></div>
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Vincent Van Gogh</div>
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"Starry Night"</div>
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Oil on canvas</div>
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1889</div>
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29 x 36 1/4"</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00655880946638738676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5622820174004771600.post-51768479899448584552013-09-25T20:27:00.000-07:002013-09-25T20:27:17.756-07:00Narrative Digital Collage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio5lj6YOuevNQdHcBWFXsdwXAsc9v5bU_u87eu7cC17hW7LwAYoQUlzaKRvcNn2pYBw4Azp7xlCHUHNmAxqgKzgFvMXNqKi1CXioCfRkca50WV7r3CuorihBrDo9xlLy87a7K1scPJEA0/s1600/Perez_Bianca_Collage+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio5lj6YOuevNQdHcBWFXsdwXAsc9v5bU_u87eu7cC17hW7LwAYoQUlzaKRvcNn2pYBw4Azp7xlCHUHNmAxqgKzgFvMXNqKi1CXioCfRkca50WV7r3CuorihBrDo9xlLy87a7K1scPJEA0/s320/Perez_Bianca_Collage+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Intrauterine Dream</i></div>
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dreams in utero</div>
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memories of a life once lived in deep oceans</div>
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warm, vast, unbeknownst</div>
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unborn</div>
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yet with a sudden pull</div>
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all light came to see</div>
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all dreams ceased to be</div>
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and shadows encroached upon horizons<br />
crawling up to shore</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00655880946638738676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5622820174004771600.post-1334627726963896572013-09-17T21:41:00.001-07:002013-09-17T21:41:45.087-07:00Good Art vs. Bad Art<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There is no such thing as “bad” art. Yes, I said it-well, at least in my book there isn’t. Since art was first being created and sequentially analyzed by the public forum, the question of whether bad art exists or not has always been, as there have always been people quick to answer yes or no. It is my subjective opinion that there is no such thing as “good” or “bad” art, the creative process in itself is what counts; the communication between the artist and the muse is validation in and of itself. I know some people would disagree with me, and they would probably have very good reasons to, but I feel that artistic expression is much deeper and abstract than a skilled wave of a brush. Most people would define “good” art as what the art establishment deems “excellent” and worthy of millions of dollars in an auction and/or, of course, what moves them emotionally. A few famous names come to mind; the Mona Lisa, Monet’s Water Lilies; Edvard Munch’s The Scream. Most of us have either heard of or seen these paintings many times and there is no doubt that if “good” art is a thing, these are it. And, yes of course, I believe that some things are better than others, because not every work of art that I come across will leave me enchanted, but who am I to say it’s bad? When it could be life-changing for another. Art that I consider to be “good” is provocative and visceral, it dares to break dated paradigms that, while making us uncomfortable sometimes, may very well thrust us into a new age of self expression. Good art is protestant and timeless, it can lead revolutions and spearhead their zeitgeist. It forces introspection, so that even if the image is ugly, we may look at ourselves profoundly and with unblinking eyes, stare into the heart of who we are as countries, nations, cultures; human beings. Some of my personal favorite artists, although may be revered now, were considered to be “bad” or at the least, were deeply misunderstood in their own time. Salvador Dali, for example, a Spanish surrealist painter from the 20th century, although most people would agree he was an excellent painter in skill, he was not exactly well received by most critics. He was considered to be a little “too” eccentric, a bit too “left field”. One of his many bizarre antics for example was in 1934, at a Surrealist Ball thrown in his honor when he arrived wearing a pink brassiere in a glass case on his chest. That one is mild, but you get the point, the guy really liked attention. And although some may say that it is unbecoming of an artist to let their public/personal life at times overshadow their work, he become the work. He became the canvas on which you could depict any image your mind decided on, and he got to have all the fun watching the public’s attempt at understanding him. Dali’s situation is not isolated, however. Many a great artist are only truly appreciated posthumously by the greater public arena, Van Gogh being another famous one. It just goes to show that what is exceptional in art is completely subjective whether in the mind of an individual or a society.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Whether it be dogs playing poker or an ugly wallpaper pattern, there are some things the majority agree are just not up to par. There are just some works that never really tap into the zeitgeist of their time and are either forgotten in dingy attics for decades, or left to hung on the walls of a psychologists office. I can’t help but feel for those poor paintings, all they ever wanted was to be appreciated, yet all they ever are is laughed at or ignored. And it’s not only paintings, as art evolves with our society, new ideas emerge on what is key in a work of art: concept or skill. Conceptual art, for one, is something still debated. Is it good or bad? Does it really take “talent” or “artistry” to just take a picture of an object and stick it on a wall in a gallery? It’s a good thing that it’s not my job to decide, or anyone else’s for that matter. Conceptual art or conceptualism is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. One of the more famous examples of this branch of art is Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain, which is essentially a urinal, placed upside down, with a random initial written on it along with the year. This, of course, conjured quite the conversation about what is art, exactly and is this “bad”? Another example would be An Oak Tree by Michael Craig Martin. It consists solely of a glass of water set atop a glass shelf; below it a text mounted on the wall containing a Q&A where Craig Martin basically states that the oak tree is present in the place of the glass of water, just in a different form. The piece is meant to address questions of faith, Craig Martin considered "the work of art in such a way as to reveal its single basic and essential element, belief that is the confident faith of the artist in his capacity to speak and the willing faith of the viewer in accepting what he has to say”. At first glance, most viewer’s reaction were probably be a scoff and a roll of the eyes. How can this be art? But if art is someone’s attempt at conveying a concept or idea, than some would say that conceptualism arrives at the core of what it is or is supposed to be. Damien Hirst’s The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living is also an example of a controversial approach to self expression that pushes the limits of our preexisting notions of art. Hirst’s piece is of a tiger shark preserved in formaldehyde in a vitrine. The artwork conveys the concept within it’s title, to see a once living, violent, active creature suspended before your eyes, leaving the viewer in a state of shock-conjuring the ever-so timeless struggle of the human being to avoid or at least avoid thinking about death. Alas, there it is, stark and unmoving as the dead shark in the tank. While, Hirst did not go through the process of painting this scene, which most would think at least a level higher on the scale of the exceptional, but rather took you into the painting, allowing you to touch the glass and see the wrinkling, decaying skin of the beast in all of its glory. Forcing you to behold that which is most frightening and unbelievable-death in its inevitability and the fact that one day you shall be as still and lifeless as that shark is now. Some would not agree, however, that this work is art or even “good” for that matter. Stuckism, an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting in opposition to conceptual art, was explicitly against works as that of Hirst, Craig Martin, and Duchamp. They felt that the commodification of art in postmodernism was detrimental to the art world as a whole and that painting need be revisited as a worthwhile, maybe even superior medium. As they had been quoted to say, "Artists who don't paint aren't artists". I admire the stuckists zeal and belief in their ideals when it comes to art but I just can not see myself making such a bold statement. Concept is king in my castle and I believe that intention is of most pertinence in the matter of artistic expression. If something “floats my boat” then, by all means, I will sail it. Because if not for my own opinions and preferences, my only thoughts would be directed by some other power like a puppeteer. Art is art. But hey, what do I know?<br />
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