Semester 2 - Week 6 - last blog Barbara Kruger

American conceptual/pop artist Barbara Kruger is internationally renowned for her signature black, white and red poster-style works of art that convey in-your-face messages on women's rights and issues of power. Coming out of the magazine publishing industry, Kruger knows precisely how to capture the viewer's attention with her bold and witty photomurals displayed on billboards, bus stops and public transportation as well as in major museums and galleries word wide. She has edited books on cultural theory, including Remaking History for the Dia Foundation, and has published articles in the New York Times, Artforum, and other periodicals. Monographs on her work include Love for Sale, We Won't Play Nature to Your Culture and others. She is represented in New York by Mary Boone Gallery. A major exhibition of her work will be presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles in fall 1999, and at the Whitney Museum in New York in 2000.

Research Kruger's work to find an example from the 1970s or 1980s to compare with a more recent work. How has Kruger's work changed with the developments in contemporary visual arts? Describe a recent work that moves away from the 'poster' type work of her early career.
Find 2-3 works by Kruger to add to your blog.

 

How does the audience experience a more spatial, installation art work compared with a poster?
When the audience is viewing a spatial or installation work, they a placed in a position where they can possibly interact with the work giving them a chance to be in the art work, leaving them with a memory of the art work, creating a lasting impression in there minds. This is more effective than a poster because, rather than a design on a poster, although posters can have an impact on the public, it depends on the place it is displayed, for instance, an installation work can be placed almost anywhere in the world, where as a poster must be placed onto something, like a billboard, street wall, bus stop etc. The installation works have the upper hand when it comes to choosing the location, which in turn allows them to create something near the public.


What elements does Kruger use in her work to create a strong impact?
The elements that Kruger uses are bold lettering the consistency of black and white imagery throughout her years of work as an artist, she also incorporates red into allot of her works; “a characteristic sign, and one which has not changed substantially over the last twenty years”. The use of red lettering in only some instances is very eye grabbing, it grabs our attention as the only colour on the work, and a very vibrant one at that, the use of a single colour in a black and white image brings our attention to the reason why that one colour has been used over all others.



Comment on the development of her work over the last 30 years.

Barbara Kruger was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1945 and left there in 1964 to attend Syracuse University. Early on she developed an interest in graphic design, poetry, writing and attended poetry readings, her earliest works are dated to 1969 these were large works of yarn, beads, sequins, feathers and ribbons. In the fall of 1976, Kruger had abandoned her art making and moved to Berkeley, California, where she taught at the University of California for four years and steeped herself in the writings of Walter Benjamin and Roland Barthes.



In 1977 she began producing a series of black-and-white details of architectural exteriors paired with her own textual ruminations on the lives of the people living inside. Published as an artist’s book, Picture/Readings (1979) foreshadows the aesthetic vocabulary Kruger developed in her mature work.

By 1979 Barbara Kruger had stopped taking photographs and she began to incorporate already existing images in her art, mostly from mid-century American print-media sources, she then coll aged words directly over them.

During the early 1980s Barbara Kruger perfected a signature agitprop style, using cropped, large-scale, black-and-white photographic images juxtaposed with raucous, pithy, and often ironic aphorisms, printed in Futura Bold typeface against black, white, or deep red text bars. The inclusion of personal pronouns in works like Untitled (Your Gaze Hits the Side of My Face) (1981) and Untitled (I Shop Therefore I Am) (1987) implicates viewers by confounding any clear notion of who is speaking.

Most recently Barbara Kruger has extended her aesthetic project, creating public installations of her work in galleries, museums, municipal buildings, train stations, and parks, as well as on buses and billboards around the world. Walls, floors, and ceilings are covered with images and texts, which have the viewer right up with the works, she covers the entire gallery in her designs. Giving the viewer no choice but to look at her work. (very sneaky =P)

I think her works have changed allot through the years, they have gone from being self taken photographs with lettering placed onto them, to recreated images with more meaning than the original images. She helps the viewer understand more about the world and its issues. Her works are very persuasive.

(http://www.artmarketmonitor.com/2010/08/29/a-short-history-of-barbara-kruger/)
(http://swindlemagazine.com/issueicons/barbara-kruger/)

Semester 2 - Week 5 - Kehinde Wiley

Last weeks ALVC class focused on the Post Modern them "INTERTEXTUALITY", re-read Extract 1 The death of the author on page 44 of your ALVC books and respond to the oil paintings of Kehinde Wiley. How do we make sense of his Kehinde's work? Identify intertextuality in Kehinde's work?
Kehinde's work relates to this weeks Post Modern theme "PLURALISM" re-read page 50 and discuss how the work relates to this theme?
Kehinde's work raises questions around social/cultural hierarchies , colonisation, globalisation, stereotypes and the politics which govern a western worldview.
Information on specific paintings was difficult to obtain however Matt has the info for the last 2 paintings.

3. Kehinde Wiley Count Potocki, 2008 oil on canvas, 274.3 x 274.3cm

4. Kehinde Wiley Support Army and Look after People, 2007 oil on canvas, 258.4 x 227.3cm

I think Kehinde's works are almost a clash between medieval and the modern day iconic hip hop look, also i think his works are very busy, almost cluttered, this is because of the background and the figures becoming one image, making it difficult to look at for long periods.Kehinde's works relate are shown with Pluralism as his works incorporates the diversity of ethnicity's, economic status, religions and ideologies, the work takes a 'what if' role as Black men are portrayed as an renaissance upper class men, which was not the type of thing you would see back then.

Kehinde Wiley was born in Los Angeles, California in 1977, he is a New York based painter who is known for his paintings of contemporary urban African American men in poses taken from the various parts of art history, so its almost as if he is bringing back the past so it is not lost or forgotten by the world, His painting style has been compared to that of such traditional portraitists as Reynolds, Gainsborough, Titian and Ingres.
Kehinde's works are based on photographs of young men. Most of these paintings are of men that Wiley has met himself out on the streets, this all began last year with men being mostly from Harlem’s 125th Street, one of Americas many well known neighbourhoods for its crime and its current economic status, the series now includes models from the South Central the neighborhood where he was born. These Paintings are of men dressed in street clothes similar to what you would see in a rap video, the men are asked to pose from the paintings of the Renaissance masters, such as Titian and Tiepolo. he also brings in a feminine style to his paintings by adding the floral Victorian designs in the background, this and the vibrant colours bring the image to life.

Semester 2 - Week 4 - Anish Kapoor

Celebrated for his gigantic, stainless steel 'Cloud Gate' sculpture in Chicago’s Millennium Park, Anish Kapoor is changing the cultural environment with his public works.




1.Research Kapoor's work in order to discuss the ideas behind 3 quite different works from countries outside New Zealand.

svayambh

‘Svayambh’ is a Sanskrit word, meaning something that is “created out of itself”. Anish Kapoor got together with Aerotrope as consulting engineers in creating this amazing piece of work ‘Svayambh’, this piece is only one of his series of artworks using wax, some get more complex than this one. Anish Kapoor’s vision for the project was to create an installation where the final form and texture of the wax would be shaped by the motion of a mechanically driven object. It was decided that this movement was required to be barely visible both visually and audibly, whilst both sculpting and moving the large mass of wax through the gallery space

Drip (2008)

Part of Mr. Kapoor's passion for red, the most passionate of colors, is certainly evident in Boston, but it dominates his show at the Gladstone Gallery’s flagship space on West 24th Streetinstalation is the work 'Drip' Kapoor's works focus around the metallic red interiors and exteriors. This large tear-shaped wall piece titled 'Drip' in metallic red, implies both blood and another abstract pregnancy.

'Cloud Gate' (2004)

Mr. Kapoor has managed to surpass many of his ancestors in the widely growing popularity of his art and the ways its confusing yet elegant puzzled sculptures, open up the subtly to deeper forms of thought. Kapoor’s wildly popular 'Cloud Gate' an enormous, shiny, ok so too me this looks alot like a giant bean mysteriously balancing on both ends, not a 'cloud gate' as it is titled, Kapoor's design for this piece was inspired by liquid mercury and the sculpture's surface reflects and distorts the city's skyline at Millennium Park in Chicago.

2.Discuss the large scale site specific work that has been installed on a private site in New Zealand.

Anish Kapoor 'The Farm'

(2003-2008)

This is Anish Kapoor's amazing, 84m-long, twisted red cone. It cuts through a ridge like some celestial megaphone but being made of red polyester fabric and steel it holds no other similarity/likeness of materials to one. This piece is is located here in New Zealand in the Kaipara Bay just north of Auckland, It is designed to reflect and twist the images of the surrounding landscape and to withstand the high winds that blow in from the Tasman Sea. It is made of red polyester fabric and steel.



3. Where is the Kapoor's work in New Zealand? What are its form and materials? What are the ideas behind the work?

As previously stated, the work is located in New Zealand in the Kaipara Bay just north of Auckland, this work was designed to cause the viewer to question certain factors of what they already know, the viewers perception of space, time and reality.



4. Comment on which work by Kapoor is your favourite, and why.
My favourite of his works is 'The Sea mirror' essentially because of the idea that something could be two different things at one instance, he has done something similar, if you are staring out into the ocean and then you turn around seeing the same image but the wave is towering over you, this would be quite a shock if you did not know of the effect before hand. The wave is taking two different forms but the truth is they are still one image.

Sea Mirror 2005

Youtube has some excellent footage on Kapoor-take a look at Anish Kapoor at the Royal Academy!!

Semester 2 - Week 3 - The Walters Prize 2010

This week we will be visiting the Auckland Art Gallery to view, research and write about the artists selected for the Walters Prize 2010. Discuss the work in the gallery with your tutors and other students and answer the following questions.







1. What is the background to the Walters Prize?

The Walter's Prize was named in honor to the later New Zealand artist Gordon Walter's. The prize itself was established in 2002, by founding benefactors and principal donors Erika and Robin Congreve and Darne Jenny Gibbs, working together with the Auckland Art Gallery. Gallery Patron Dayle Mace provides additional support to the artists for their participation in the Walter's Prize Exhibition. The Walter's prize winner is to receive $50,000.





2. List the 4 selected artists for 2010 and briefly describe their work.


a)
Alex Monteith
New Zealand, United Kingdom, born 1977
Passing Manoeuvre with 2 motorcycles and 584 vehicles for two channel video. Dual channel video installation.


 b)
Saskia Leek
New Zealand, born 22 Oct 1970
Yellow is the putty of the world. Oil on board.

 c)
Dan Arps
New Zealand, born 1976
Explaining Things 2008 mixed media


d)
Fiona Connor
New Zealand, born 1981
Something Transparent


3. Who are the jury members for 2010?

Jon Bywater - Programme Leader, Critical Studies at Elam School of Fine Art, The University of Auckland.
Rhana Devenport - Director, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth
Leonhard Emmerling - Visual Arts Adviser, Goethe Institute, Munich, Germany, former Director, ST PAUL St, AUT University
Kate Montgomery - Director, Physics Room, Christchurch
 

4. Who is the judge for 2010 and what is his position in the art world?

 The Judge for 2010 Walters award is a man called Vincente Todoli's. Vincente has had a career in visual arts for 20years now. He was director, Tate Modern from 2002-2010, Chief Curator 1986-88 and then Arte Moderno 1988-96 and founding director of Museu Serralves, Porto, Potrgual from 1996


5. Who would you nominate for this years Walter's Prize, and why? Substantiate
you answer by outlining the strengths of the artists work. How does this relate
to your interests in art? What aspect of their work is successful in your opinion,
in terms of ideas, materials and/or installation of the work?

Personally i would nominate Alex monteith's 'Passing Manoeuvre with 2 motorcycles and 584 vehicles for two channel video. Dual channel video installation.' because i believe it to be the most realistic of all the works, i find the 2 unmarked motorbikes weaving in and out of congested traffic to be very interesting and also appealing to see how easily a motorbike rider can elude traffic just by slipping down the middle of the road. I think that showing both view points is very successfully in creating the illusion that you are on the motorbike weaving through the traffic, also at first i did not realise there were two motorbikes (this was before i read the description of the piece) I wanted to see if i could guess what it was about.


6. Comment on other blogs from your ALVC group to agree or disagree with other people,always backing up your answer with clearly stated reasons.

Semester 2 - Week 2 - Hussein Chalayan

Hussein Chalayan is an artist and designer, working in film, dress and installation art. Research Chalayan’s work, and then consider these questions in some thoughtful reflective writing.

1. Chalayan’s works in clothing, like Afterwords (2000) and Burka (1996) , are often challenging to both the viewer and the wearer. What are your personal responses to these works? Are Afterwords and Burka fashion, or are they art? What is the difference?
Not all clothing is fashion, so what makes fashion fashion?

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEjNNyc5ojH28O-duaQdJFKb_eRHbpuSgu5DDs3cP1uWm_pb1G0KOPdghJ3E__TdpsCW9Ve7FHFSa88h9cWAm40GscQuEmhLXYgxTCrpjsfy-Jb_aaUeejnm7Ir0AM1UF9GkenJSEXDdo/s1600/hussein_chalayan+burka.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8sHbzzU7MBqOc9ovJJXNMQSRZ20eFrGTsQAGTy-jMUxiPqjd250dXqAgwU7qfneQ5gKbEfugq2Bupk79bxTNnPgagNB29KYUy36anA2JoGGijOctYtikSMm468yMdu4RnAFymYivGNps/s1600/chalayan.jpg

I don't see anything challenging about the work 'afterwords' all i can see is a fashion piece that you would usually see on a catwalk or runway, perhaps the challenge is actually what is in the background than what we see at first in the foreground but then why would the front most figure be so dominant and stand out over the rest of the image.

'Burka' shows us the contrast and progression of fashion throughout the years, or the differences of western civilisation and eastern civilisation. It is very contrasting going from the fully gowned female to the completely nude female. It is contemporary art in its own little way bringing more of an arty sense to the fashion world seeing as the line between fashion and art is so very subtle.


2. Chalayan has strong links to industry. Pieces like The Level Tunnel (2006) and Repose (2006) are made in collaboration with, and paid for by, commercial business; in these cases, a vodka company and a crystal manufacturer. How does this impact on the nature of Chalayan’s work? Does the meaning of art change when it is used to sell products? Is it still art?

Art is art no matter how it is used, if someone has created a piece of art to sell a product it is still art because that art could then inspire others to create work. Everything in the world is created for a reason and purpose. That being said all art is created from a something be it paint, digital art, spray paint, pencil, clothing, it is all art. If an art piece is created and put in a gallery then sold to a person from the public that is the same as creating art for a product. Its still the same concept of someone gaining profit from there art.


3. Chalayan’s film Absent Presence screened at the 2005 Venice Biennale. It features the process of caring for worn clothes, and retrieving and analysing the traces of the wearer, in the form of DNA. This work has been influenced by many different art movements; can you think of some, and in what ways they might have inspired Chalayan’s approach?

Modern art may have inspired this work considering today's technological advances and how fast it is progressing, this way of creating the work and tracing the original wearers DNA is almost futuristic, this could have inspired Chalayans work.


4. Many of Chalayan’s pieces are physically designed and constructed by someone else; for example, sculptor Lone Sigurdsson made some works from Chalayan’s Echoform (1999) and Before Minus Now (2000) fashion ranges. In fashion design this is standard practice, but in art it remains unexpected. Work by artists such as Jackson Pollock hold their value in the fact that he personally made the painting. Contrastingly, Andy Warhol’s pop art was largely produced in a New York collective called The Factory, and many of his silk-screened works were produced by assistants. Con temporarily, Damien Hirst doesn’t personally build his vitrines or preserve the sharks himself. So when and why is it important that the artist personally made the piece?

I think it is rather ridiculous that an artist can call him self the artist when they have not even created the works them selves, if the artist has given some form of help to the creation other than thinking up the idea then no i don't think is as important for the artist to create all of it themselves, but when they do create the work by them selves it gives us the thought that they have put their sweat and bone into the works adding the sentimental value to the pieces.

Semester 2 - Week 1 - Nathalie Djurberg's

Nathalie Djurberg's 'Claymations'.

Swedish artist Nathalie Djurberg's intricately constructed claymation films are both terrifyingly
disturbing and artlessly sweet.


The new works created for the Venice Biennale explore a surrealistic Garden of Eden in which all that is natural goes awry.


She exposes the innate fear of what is not understood and confronts viewers with the complexity of emotions.

Nathalie Djurberg was awarded the silver lion for a promising young artist at the Venice
Art Biennale 09.
(http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/6886/nathalie-djurberg)


Research Djurberg's work in order to answer the following questions;

1. What do you understand by the word 'claymation'?
It is a form of animation that works with clay figures that are moved the slightest bit and then captured by stop-motion photography to produce a short film and a realistic look. Clay animation is one of many forms of stop motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable" made of a malleable substance, usually Plasticine clay

2. What is meant by the term 'surrealistic Garden of Eden'? and 'all that is natural goes awry'?
Surrealistic Garden of Eden sugests that the land is a paradise/haven, as in the bible the garden of eden was seen as a perfect utopia like world, however the garden in Djuerbergs work isnot so and is more of dream like, almost like something you'd see in a Lewis Caroll novel. 'All that is natural goes awry' refers to the oddities in her claymations, the strange disturbing distortions that carry on in her films.


3. What are the 'complexity of emotions' that Djurberg confronts us with?
These are the feelings that are caused because of the materials used and the actions that the characters perform. So this causes us to see claymation refered to as a childrens demographic and we can easily see children viewing these animations. Sometimes when we see something we're unsure about we dont know what to think of it, so we automaticaly subconciously place it into a group in our brain

4. How does Djurberg play with the ideas of children's stories, and innocence in some of her work?
Because Djuberg uses the sexuality element to the children's stories it takes the sweetness right out of the works. Children's are view as happy, cheerfull fairy tales, perfect stories with happy endings , whereas is a child was to view Djurberg's work they would most likely be emotional traumatised.


5. There is a current fascination by some designers with turning the innocent and sweet into something disturbing. Why do you think this has come about?
Designers today are not always looking for the sweet and innocent designs, most of us know that the designs and decisions that are the most horrifying/disturbing are the ones we remember the most, i think this came about because designers are always looking for new designs to shock the world.

6. In your opinion, why do you think Djurberg's work is so interesting that it was chosen for the Venice Biennale?
I think that Djurberg's work is so interesting and was chosen for the Venice Biennale because of how Djurbergs work is really disturbing, her work makes you feel squeamish and uneasy whilst watching it. It makes you feel slightly freaked out at the plants and sculptures in her display, then watching the disturbing video works doubles the the total uneasy feeling of it all.

7. Add some of your own personal comments on her work.

I think Djurbergs work is amazing how it causes you to feel so disturbed and uneasy, her work can put you in the stories.

Last blog question for semester one - Banksy's work

How can we categorize Banksy's work -graffiti or murals?

banksy's work is very much related to politics and their game of playing around with our lives like a ball of string, eventually there wont be anything left of life, he incorporates, courts filled with chimpanzees and graffiti can wielding chimpanzees. His work can be describe as both random and simple, depending on how you see art through your eyes. Banksy's work is very grungy and almost messy, but we can tell a lot of time and preparation has been put into each work of art.

What are some of the differing opinions about Banksy's work?

His way of portraying politics with a humorous side is a great way to attract the audience and leave them searching for more. He assaults you with the fact that it's graffiti. So it's not permanent, it's slightly illegal. Secondly, it's graphic visually. He mixes up a variety of styles from urban to stenciled imagery to create provocative statements that challenge us socially to think more in depth about the artwork. His visuals and text provide us with puns that have more than one layer of consciousness. The joke makes us think twice about the message of his works. He challenges us about socially relevant issues, about art, about politics, about what we perceive to be important. This is what art truly is about.

How does his work sit in relation to consumerism?

Banksy’s work has been said to almost never be on sale. But his works are often put onto t shirts and other various items but Banksy does not gain any profit from these.

Can his work be sold?

Banksy’s work is not for sale on a regular basis. Banksy does not sell any products there for he does not gain profit for anything that is sold, you could say, 'in his name'. Banksy does not do commercial works. Also his works are placed around the country on various buildings, objects and walls that he may or may not own. Although one of the ways Banksys art is often sold is through street auctions.

Who is Banksy? Do we know his true identity?

Banksy’s identity still remains anonymous to the world. With out the artist, we are left to think who is responsible for these amazing works of art and will we ever know who Banksy really is? While there has been alot of questions as to the true identity on Banksy, an official quote on Banksy’s website stated “I am unable to comment on who may or may not be Banksy, but anyone described as being 'good at drawing' doesn't sound like Banksy to me.” Does this mean that the website is not even run by him? Will we ever be privileged to see him.

The 3 Pieces i have chosen are

'Art and Thieves go hand in hand'

A stencil of two constable's, perhaps hey are looking for the culprit, he is toying with the law by stenciling the very force that puts an end to many graffiti artists. He is lucky to be such a renowned artist.

'A self-portrait, featuring a stencil of a chimp's head'

This is a self portrait done for Simon cowell, American idol judge, Sony approached Banksy to depict Simon cowell as a stern-faced judge in a reproduction of one of his favourite pieces of art - and Cowell's delighted with the finished result "Sony wanted something totally unique and special to give to Simon - but he's not the easiest man to buy for. He's a secret art collector and loves the work of Edgar Degas - plus he's a huge fan of Banksy."

'Question time'

This artwork shows a court room filled with Chimpanzees rather than politicians, this is very clever as he is possibly referring to politicians as chimpanzees. They fight and fight over over something only to make things worse between them.

(http://www.banksy.co.uk/indoors/greenriotcops.html)

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksy)

(http://www.google.co.nz/imgres?imgurl=http://www.arton-canvas-prints.co.uk/banksy-prints/banksy-not%2520simon%2520cowell.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.arton-canvas-prints.co.uk/banksy-prints/banksy-prints-simon-cowell.htm&usg=__UC8gXvzKgWXvpt8LR3qRr9jzKUk=&h=461&w=468&sz=43&hl=en&start=6&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=8mq9vs4vK2KrmM:&tbnh=126&tbnw=128&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbanksy%2Bmonkey%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1T4GGLL_enNZ347NZ348%26tbs%3Disch:1)

'Memorial Project Nha Trang, Vietnam' (2001)

This project was originally planned out to be a solo performance of Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba pulling a cyclo suspended in a large water tank which then escalated into a video of 6 cyclos riders in the sea, with the whole thing being filmed entirely underwater, Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba’s 13-minute video shows a strange yet familiar feat of six Vietnamese fisherman pulling cyclos along the sea bed. Filmed in 2001 off the coast of Southeast Vietnam this work of art will engage with the viewer letting them visually dive into the what and whitness the fishermens Silent duty, through the water.


Its almost as if it is a ghost town with the blue tinted look of the water and the still/slow images of the fishermen. 'I wanted to create a cyclo museum. That idea actually led me to this video. Cyclos are still refurbished if anyone needs them fixed; however, this happens less and less'
So in fact, Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba was stearing towards this style even before he started to create the work.

Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba’s video work, Memorial Project Nha Trang, Vietnam: Towards the Complex—For the Courageous, the Curious, and the Cowards, was first video work and offers captivating images of local fishermen pulling cyclo underwater toward an area where the artist had about thirty stretched out mosquito nets across the sea bed. The cyclos, deep underwater, represent the weight of tradition and reference Vietnam’s historical past in the context of the country’s struggle with the processes of modernization.

This piece of work could almost be said to be about modernism, with the decline in the use of veitnams unique transportation device, the cyclo, Nguyen-Hatushiba seeks to immortalise the vehicle in their work. Like a statement against Modernism, saying that progress is not necessary in some cases and if it continues at this rate, Vietnam could lose an important cultural icon.

His work has a very spiritual connection to many things beyond his work. He mentioned that he got a supernatural feeling when filming this, 'I remember getting goose bumps looking down at the bottom of the ocean where we had placed the mosquito nets. I interpret goose bumps as an interaction with the supernatural.'

So the title has its hidden meanings in relation to the work, ‘Towards the Complex-For the Courageous, the Curious and the Cowards’ this title could mean many things, ‘Courageous' symbolizes the cyclos riders for carrying on their cultural tradition even though they know they will struggle along the path to bring back the 'cyclos' heading towards the complex filled with 30 mosquito nets this depicts the safe haven from modernisation. ‘Curious’ describes the audiences reaction towards this bizzare sight of underwater cyclos. ‘Cowards’ is refering to the people who have struggled to hold on to their traditions in order to adapt new eras of technologies and ways of life.

Week 7 - Industrialisation and Art

'Impression Sunrise' (1873)

1.Define the Industrial Revolution and Industrialism.

The industrial revolution may be defined as the application of power-driven machinery to manufacturing. It had its beginnings in remote times with lesser technologies, and is still continuing in some places. all of western Europe began to industrialize rapidly during the 18th century, but for England the process was highly accelerated. England's head start may be attributed to the emergence of the number of numerous factors.


2.Research Monet's painting 'Impression Sunrise'(1873) to analyze the work in relation to Industrialisation.

During the 19th century the industrial revolution was at its peak. Manet illustrates the ideas of progression and the build up to a, you could say, bigger and better world. To the viewer, the sun gives the feeling that it is pulsing. This may be because our eyes are so used to seeing the sun in our everyday lives, and we naturally think of it as a pulsating object in the sky as it sends it heat waves down to us. Monet's shows this with the sun being a warm luminescent orange, this blends seemlesly with the grey clouds in the background. Also having the clouds behind the sun makes the sun seem as if it is in the foreground.

3.Olafur Eliasson's 'Weather Project'(2006) is a contemporary work that relates to Monet's
famous landscape.

Olafur Eliasson’s work and Manet’s works are very similar in colours both using the illusions of the sun with the viewers eyes. But with Olafurs work 'Weather project' he uses hundreds of monochromatic lamps to recreate the illusion that it is a sun. Both artists create a feeling of warmth and serenity by using orange, yellow and grey and black.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olafur_Eliasson#The_weather_project)

Week 5 - Science and Progress - Tony Oursler

Research Tony Oursler's projection sculpture to identify some of the ideas and methods he uses in his work.

How do you think the Enlightenment concepts of Science, progress, reason, individualism, empiricism, universalism, freedom and secularism can be applied to Oursler's work?


Tony oursler's work is based on installation projects which combine spoken text, performance, moving images and sculptural objects but mostly using video projection on a 2d or 3d surface such as balls, bubble like scupltures and also treetops and clouds of smoke. According to the artists website he has been said to have 'freed the video image from the "box" creating a hybrid of art and cinema'. He has been regarded by many as one of the unique, revolutionary contemporary artists of modern times. In one of his shows of works he focused on the head of the human body where the works were based on the head and the notion of the head as the premeable centre of consciousness. These works relate to the flow of elements such as smoke, thoughts, language, impulses, light, voice, memory, which interact with this central icon of the human head.
Tony oursler's installations are influenced by his interest in our information and media society and its effect. The elements listed previously are expressive of this interest as they use video technology as the central focus to create a strong relationship with humanity through the subject matter (the human head and in particular the eye).


Enlightenment can be described as influencing the current way of thinking. Tony Oursler is very well-known for his video and installation work around the world and he has been making works since 1981. He integrates sound, performance, moving images and scuplture in his videos and projects them onto oddly formed objects as mentioned above.

Week 4- Damien Hirst and the diamond skull.

Discuss how Hirst's persona and work relate to the Renaissance concepts of Mercantillism and the (increased) status of the artist.

The work of Damien Hirst relates to the artist and the economic system of the renaissance period. Originally part of the YBA (young British artists) he led the movement of conceptual art in Britain in the early 90s.

The artists commonly used shock tactics and had fresh new ideas . Hirst particularly pushed away from the traditional art of Britain in the 90s and his exhibition, 'the physical impossibility of death in the eyes of someone living' was exemplary and similar to the acts to the Renaissance artist of the time. similarly pushing away and thinking for themselves as to what art is? In the same way the role of the painter and the sculpture of the Renaissance period, (traditionally thought of in the lower social role of the crafts person) wanted their profession to be recognised as a member of the liberal arts, Damien Hirst and the YBA wanted their art to be recognized as a true artists movement in Britain at the time. His work 'For The Love of God' a platinum cast of a human skull encrusted with 8,601 flawless diamonds, including a pear-shaped pink diamond located in the forehead. Costing £14 million to produce, it is an interesting look into modern mercantilism. The idea of mercantilism was for a nation to increase imports and collect precious metals in order to best serve wealth and power in their given country. I find that Hirst's persona is somewhat arrogant and flamboyant, a prime example of his flamboyancy is his skull, the most costliest piece of art in history, it relates to the idea of precious metals being collected for ones nation. Relating to the saying 'no man is an island' which clearly doesn't apply to Hirst.

I believe Hirst makes the statement that man is his own nation in particular the rich. Collecting and spending and growing as we all constantly are as individuals, some more so than others. As his critics have commented on; "work of art? He is not an artist. It's all commercial value to him. Is this just another way for rich people to deal with their time and excess of money. If Paris Hilton or Ali G say they did it, instead of Hirst, would you call that art? or just another publicity stunt?"

http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=5721243092885760241&postID=8586704498988537630

I believe that Hirst makes clever observations on society with His Art, 'For the Love of God' in particular commenting on the social status of individuals in today's society.

Week 3 - Fiona Hall's work and Mercantillism

'Leaf Litter' (1999-2003)
'Tender'(2003-05)

Fiona Hall's contemporary work relates to the Renaissance concept of Mercantilism.

Research the two examples; 'Tender'(2003-05) and 'Leaf Litter'(1999-2003) to explain how they relate to this concept. First define mercantilism and explain how it has developed since the Renaissance. For each work you will need to describe the shape, form and materials of the work, and explain the ideas behind each example.These works were part of an art show titled 'Force Field' which can be viewed in one of the exhibition spaces on YouTube - Part Three: Fiona Hall: Force Field.

Definitions of Mercantilism

Mercantilism is the economic system of the major trading nations during the 16th, 17th, and 18th cent., based on the premise that national wealth and power were best served by increasing exports and collecting precious metals in return. It superseded the medieval feudal organization in Western Europe, especially in Holland, France, and England. The period 1500–1800 was one of religious and commercial wars, and large revenues were needed to maintain armies and pay the growing costs of civil government. Mercantilist nations were impressed by the fact that the precious metals, especially gold, were in universal demand as the ready means of obtaining other commodities; hence they tended to identify money with wealth.
(http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/mercantilism)

Mercantilism can as the economic system of major trading distributions during the 16th, 17th and 18th century, these focused on the idea behind national wealth and power were best received by increasing exports and collecting precious metals in return, such as gold, this would allow others to determine how wealthy an individual was. But since the renaissance the government has adapted to new customs and ones wealth is no longer judge by how much gold they have in their possession, but how much money they have.

Fiona Halls work 'Tender' relates to the concept of mercantilism as she incorporates nature(the leaves) with modern society(the dollar bills). Fiona Hall shows the fragile nature of money through her work 'Tender'. In Fiona Hall’s work there is an evident sense of her passion for the beauty and dependency of all living things. Only with dedicated love and commitment towards art would provide the immense patience required to create these delicate works of art.

With the series 'Leaf Litter' Fiona Hall seems to speak out that money is just paper, its not in any way tying us down or restricting us from what we love the most. She is pationatly concerned with the enviroment and the protection of it and how some enviroments are being overtext by the demands of commercial profitability. Also she reminds us that some of the once most burdened parts of the world are now amongst the poorest parts. There are some things in life that no amount of money can fix such as the enviroment. In this work she again reminds us of the fragile diversity of the natural world and how it can be broken so easily with just one small decision.

References

• http://dl.screenaustralia.gov.au/module/849/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantilism
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiona_Margaret_Hall
• http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/mercantilism

Week Two - Auckland Triennial 2010

Nick Austin, ye old age
2009

Mahmoud Bakhshi, Tulips Rise from the Blood of the Nation's Youth, 2008,neon, tin, wood, plastic, electric engines, courtesy of the artist andKhastoo Gallery, Los Angeles

'Last Ride in a Hot Air Balloon' is the title for the 2010 4th Auckland triennialwhich is on show from 12 March - 20 June. Watch the video of the curator,Natasha Conland discussing the art show.

Youtube conland348. MP4

Use the information from the video andon the Triennial website to answer the following questions;

1.What are the themes behind the title "Last ride...' for the Auckland triennial?

The themes behind 'Last Ride in a Hot Air Balloon' are the on going relation between adventure and risk taking in contemporary art today

2. What does a curator of an exhibition do?

A curator is a host and guide to places such as Art Galleries and museums etc. A curator develops, maintains, and researches the collections of the exhibition.

3. Which countries are represented in this year's triennial?

Here's a list of where this year's triennial can be viewed:

New Zealand, Germany, Australia, USA, Ireland, Sweden, Argentina, Denmark, Mexico, Iran, England, Scotland, India, Lebanon, China and France

4. Is Auckland the only country to have a triennial? Are there other similar art shows?

No (As listed above) there are many countries that are displaying. Here are some similar art shows and exhibitions.

Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art:

http://qag.qld.gov.au/exhibitions/apt

Indigenous Art Triennial

http://nga.gov.au/exhibition/niat07/

5. Name 4 artists who will be showing work in the show.

Some of the artists showcasing their work in this years triennial are Walid sadek, Zheng Bo, Nick Austin and Sharon Hayes

6. Select an artist's work from the website, copy the work to your blog and write a short comment on what the work is, and what it represents.(Reference your sources)

This is Nick Austin's work titled 'Nick Austin, ye old age 2009' (the yellow piece of art at the top of blog) This work represents ones eyesight getting worse/less adequate as they get older in life. The magnifying glass represents the glasses which increase/improve the sight of the user, this relates to eyesight because when someones eyesight is getting worse they result in having to buy prescription glasses to more or less renew their vision.

7. Comment on why you find this work interesting, how does it relate to your own interests?

I find it interesting as he has displayed his message clearly and i like that almost anyone can see what is trying to be conveyed through his work. It does not relly relate to my own interests, but i have noticed that my eyesight has been geting worse lately.

Students doing the commentary should comment on their partners answers, and answer questions 6 and 7.

Resources:

http://www.aucklandtriennial.com/artists/nickaustin.asp

http://nga.gov.au/exhibition/niat07/

http://qag.qld.gov.au/exhibitions/apt