YBA Influence on British comedy?

Monarch of the Glen. Landseer 1851

I have been enjoying fine and young British comedy of Christopher Morris, regarded as an anarchist in residence for a brief period in 1997, creating BRASS EYE. (This may predate Gervais, but not the YBA) The documentary spoof ran for less than one season (6 Episodes) before being withdrawn, it was finally back on air in 2001 after the audiences criticism had waned.

The show had been cut after producing a work, a Special Presentation about Pedophilia, and the reaction to a sketch wherein the host's child was rejected by an presumably convicted pedophile, finding something not attractive about the child. The host, being the father was mortified and demanded to know why, it had spoiled the tell all documentary he was presenting... this was enough to cause some moral outrage.

I can explain affording the series and the work of other British comedians such as Johnny Vaughn, or Vegas, the blog as a philosophical luxury. The earlier Millennium produced a now ABC repeated series called IDEAL, Vegas is Moz, a small- time drug dealer and we learn through his experiences a lot about drug effects, masterfully achieved, and subculture.

It is all framed, within an intricate set of a disgusting council flat which he never leaves, coming across as having a character of its own because of its chambers and pockets of surreality, socio-pathy & paranoia and at times, frightening violence, amidst the fatiguing facade of good times and recreation that heavy drug users insist drugs provide.

Its underlying theme of crime is a kinky, corrupted, deforming, amoral, sulfuric atmosphere, that lets Underbelly be the glamourous example of TV apathy and cheap titillation that it actually is.

My point being that I can tie so much within the explorations of BRASS EYE and IDEAL as to suggest some response in culture and acceptance to the energy of the YBA, BRASS EYE features episodes titles that, a YBA artist may correspond (possibly utilizing the part of the brain Brass Eye knows as "Shatner's Bassoon...#", no less....)to, in terms of approach and the long- drawn bow and boundary breaking, outrageous and adult humour.

For example in BRASS EYE the episode about SCIENCE, I could equate the zeitgeist of MARK QUINN, for ANIMALS the obvious example would be HIRST for CRIME you may find parallel to the work of the CHAPMAN BROTHERS. DRUGS: TRACEY EMIN ("Alcohol isn't a drug, its a drink!--#") etc. These could be, though speculative assumptions, actually quite effective comparisons.

Brass Eye
www.channel4.com/programmes/brass-eye

Ideal (Thursday 1130 pm ABC2)
http://www.babycow.co.uk/flashmen.html


# Brass Eye- Drugs

Note This is an edited quote a stream of consciousness I was performing in the late hours of yesterday evening, pending a Friday I was not looking forward to, and for a change as well considering the practical component of the course, however, the rest can be found on my own, soon to be interesting, blogging page, detailed as a cut and paste below, for fans of the oblique literal.

http://wwwtripodotrex.blogspot.com

Wilfredo Prieto and the Humourous Narrrative.

Apolitico- Apolitical Prieto 2001- 2003


Grassa- Grease Prieto 2006

The Artist is Wilfredo Pietro of Cuba, An Artist I have followed recently, since scoring an Issue of the spoken of Frieze magazine containing an article on slapstick.

As a well produced Journal it is able to quantify a number of arts issues and understandings through genre. Using editorial to prove parallels that exist within life and culture, These magazines seem especially narrative, that issue, now donated to a friend for their pursuit of philosophical truth, is an Artistic object of use. The magazine maintains an aura, with voluminousness and extrapolation and intelligence.

Cuban(prof)Wilfredo Prieto (b78) has stunned the Modern Art world with prestigious prizes and critically acclaimed, mostly site specific installations, performances and gestures. Showing an intelligent humour that is all narrative, contradictory and sublime, it crosses many cultural boundaries, gently and may be appreciated as both art and great humor by all classes and ages of people, with the deeper end of Prieto's accomplishments providing vast justification and energy toward political debate and recently the environment.

The Pictured, Grassa-(GREASE) was an installation at a Cuban convent. Timed against the sake of its rotting ingredient, speaking volumes on the clean steps, while simply, remaining to be three simple household pieces of Grease, Soap and the Banana Skin.

Flags of nations(Apolitico, pictured) have their Sovereign colours dulled into a featureless grey. Other work includes a walk about Cuba, wearing thongs with a tread facing backward (Huella), and a crane in a pit tries to winch itself off the ground.

In, A Moment of Silence, the Artist will download two minutes of immediate idle time into your computer (links below), it is safe to use.

He was present I believe, in the recent Havana Biennale

[Humour is about timing and placement and 'narrative' builds or is revealed as the comedic moment bursts.]

http://www.diaart.org/prieto/download.html
http://www.frieze.com/magazine/

Kabakov and narrative

sorry this is late! my internet was down.

The Boat of my Life 

Installation view The Boat of my Life 1995 Ilya and Emilia Kabakov

This work represents the 'story' of Ilya Kabakovs life, from day to day, up until the creation of this work. The installation illustrates a sort of memorial of his life, a historical package of materials and reminders of his existence.

The work present its self as a interactable installation, in which the audience is entreated to endeavour through the contents of its cargo. Memories, events and different parts of his life, from the ordinary to the entralling, are sorted and displayed in cardboard boxes which are left open  on the deck of the boat.

The Boat of my Life 1995 Ilya and Emilia Kabakov

The deck is order and set up as a visual biography, some what like a museum display, that you are able to walk through and discover the intricately organised 'exhibits'  that summarise a life.

Each exhibit is accompanied by inscriptions or explanations of the day, event or items that are displayed. Allowing one to feel intimately connected to the piece through the availablity of knowledge and understanding.

The boat is an all encompassing haven that you are permitted to float through, to see everything he has experience, the joys and the turmoils, from the safety of the vessel.

Exhibition - Kader Attia

I went browsing online to find current exhibitions; I ended up finding the Saatchi London Contemporary art gallery, which is currently exhibiting - "UNVEILED: NEW ART FROM THE MIDDLE EAST" which contains mainly installations. Although there are about 20 artists exhibiting, my favourite is Kader Attia.

Go Too:
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/unveiled/index.htm
to see the full online exhibtion

Kader Attia
Ghost, 2007
Aluminium foil
Dimensions variable













In Ghost, a large installation of a group of Muslim women in prayer, Attia renders their bodies as vacant shells, empty hoods devoid of personhood or spirit. Made from tin foil - a domestic, throw away material - Attia’s figures become alien and futuristic, synthesising the abject and divine. Bowing in shimmering meditation, their ritual is equally seductive and hollow, questioning modern ideologies, identity, social perception, devotion and exclusion.

hotel suites, given a makeover. (free exhibition)

I read about this exhibition today and just had to tell you all about it. Artist Jesse Willesee and actor Kit Willesee are redecorating seven hotels into pop art and human installations. It’s free to visit between the art deco suites of Darlo Bar on Thursday, May 14, between 6.30 and 9.30pm, with drinks and music until late.

Jonathan Borofsky- art & narrative

As traditional narrative art has been mainly a focus on the retelling of biblical or historical events, modern contempery narrative art, as eleanor heartly states, seems to encompas the spectrum of fantasy, the artists personal stories or any thing that captures the artists imagination. Jonathan Borofsky, although in his art practice strived more in the direction of pop culture and minimalism, his gives narrative 'instructions' to the viewer in the titles of his works, such as the above piece from 1983 titled "I dreamed I was having my photograph taken with a group of people. Suddenly, I began to rise up and fly around the room. Half way around I tried to get out the door. When I couldn't get out, I continued to fly around the room until I landed and sat down next to my mother who said I had done a good job!"

Minka Gillian- Legge Gallery

I found an article on this exhibition in the paper on the weekend, it looks really interesting. Minka Gillian recreates these rare and exotic flowers using anything from fishing line to cable ties. They are really beautiful sculptural pieces, the exhibition finishes the 2nd of May at the Legge Gallery (Redfern).

http://www.leggegallery.com/GILLIAN/Gillian.html

Focus on Forsythe: Additive Inverse 8|5|2009 - 10|5|2009

I looked at the South London web page and found this art work in future events. ‘Additive Inverse’ is an installation that’s part of Sadler Wells’ ‘Focus on Forsythe’ season which is about to premiere in the UK. The exhibition is focused on one of the world’s foremost choreographers William Forsythe. The work is distinguished through his modern take on the practice of ballet and its escape from the stereotypical classical music into the contemporary 21st century art form. The solo performance is composed with a collaboration of thread and fog and heightens the senses through the use of music. The installation is performed at the SLG by Alessio Silvestrin and opens May 5
http://www.southlondongallery.org

Yayoi Kusama: Mirrored Years

As i mentioned in class i went to see this exhibition. It was absolutely amazing and like i said... i cried when i went into the Infinity mirror room. I literally did not know how else to react. Kusama works with many different media and forms including painting, collage, sculpure and insallation. It was quite evident as i wandered through the exhibition that there was a recurring theme of dots and circles. It was then explained that Kusama actually has a mental illness and throughout her life she had various episodes where she would see dots and circles (usually in times of stress or pain). So really it was Kusama's illness that led to her greatness. At this time in her life (shes about 80 y.o now) she resides in a mental institution AND of course her studio is just down the road...

Klippel's Exhibition at the Anna Schwartz Gallery

At the Anna Schwartz Gallery until the 2^nd May is an exhibition of Robert Klippel’s bronze sculptures. Klippel was an abstract artist who died in 2001. He was known for reassembling machines into beautiful and very precise objects. It took Klippel a long time, even years to finish his art. He would let his work become an obsession to the point where nothing else mattered. For him it was important to create his exact intentions and would not let anything distract his artistic brainstorming. This exhibition is a must see!

Anna Schwartz Gallery, 245 Wilson street Darlington; Tue- Fri, 11am-7pm; Sat, 1-7pm. Until May 2^nd.

Exhibition - Antony Gormley

I went looking through the link that Amanda gave to us and found an exhibition by Antony Gormley at the Galerie Thaddaeus Ropae in Paris . This artist is one of my favorite, this exhibition shows his newest work including sculpture and installation pieces.

http://www.ropac.net/

ART + Culture

I have received an email from the Director of this website: http://www.artandculture.com

(I referenced the website last week in class)...

He would love to get you all involved in his website!!!

Could you all please take a good look. I will pick up on this this next week however... I would love feedback.

ALSO>>>>> wondering if anyone has been looking at what is happening in exhibition land? 

I did ask that you post your findings here this week...???

TOMORROW

Hi everyone,

A reminder that tomorrows class is in the library!

Lets meet there at 2pm as usual... 

ART & Narrative has been moved to next week.

See you tomorrow...

A.

** Thank you to those contributing... There are some GREAT comments here - keep it up!

Art & Narrative

Darren Sylvester
Darren Sylvester is an artist who thrives on creative performance, whether it is being expressed through photography, music, film or sculpture. Sylvester’s artworks all display strong narratives, most of which are derived from pop-culture. One of his latest filmed performances is “I was the last in the Carpenters’ Garden (2008)”, in which the artist walks though what is a reconstructed version, of the band the “Carpenters” Garden. To view what looks to be an unnatural looking set up Asian garden, in which Sylvester embodies the modern day hero-worshiper known as the stalker, is fascinating after you know what it actually is.

 

Karl de Waal
Another artist I chose to rant on about was found by chance; who was chosen for Temperature 2: New Queensland Art exhibition (The Museum of Brisbane) Karl de Waal. The artwork that Waal chose to exhibit is called “Quilt for Melanie (2008)”, which is a collage of notes sewn together and is dedicated to the artists’ niece who committed suicide a year ago. The notes are in fact shopping lists, phone numbers, post-its etc. with a very simple narrative expressed: the most basic of communication these days, is lost and if you view the artwork long enough, you may find out the why to the narrative. I found this to be a very warm and loving artwork, executed carefully to support the narrative.

Double Take - Anne Landa Award for video and new media arts 2009

Double Take is an upcoming exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW. The exhibition consists a collection of artists ( some local , some international) whose works  are performance, video or new media based. Some of the artists include Phil Collins, Gabriella and Silvana Mangano , TV Moore, Lisa Reihana, Cao Fei and Mari Velonaki. The exhibition explores ideas of the 'persona' and indulges the fantasy of what it would be like to be someone else. 

It will be open to the public from the 7th of May to the 19th of July.

http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/coming/double_take

Art and Philosophers- Euclid (Euclid's Orchard) Patricia Piccinini in Tasmania.

Possibly a student of Plato, and definitely of Plato's academy, and from the text Elements, Euclid1 postulated upon, at around 300BC many of the laws of common artistic devices.*

In looking down upon Euclid's Orchard, the origin, or where the artists viewpoint extends from, is say, located at the bottom left corner of the square. the only visible trees this orchard (an orchard containing trees of roughly the same size shape and mass, planted in even rows with similar division. The trees are represented by circles, the visible trees are the blue or filled in circles. The red hollow trees represent the trees that are still there, but hidden by the algorthythm.*



Therefore the following image is of what would exist perpendicular to this as in the artists viewpoint if the visible trees were reduced to thin grey lines. The theorem exists mathematically.*




Many of the recent blogged works, perhaps have adopted Euclid's Orchard, the visualization of which, in- 3 Dimensional, walk through terms, is almost transparent, but within artistic composition this all, is almost always precisely intentional, being a visual means. Elements may have been juxtaposed and stories are to be told, but this is essentially about common communication and recognized accordingly.

Decidedly contrary, maybe unwittingly to the Orchard and specific to the site of the Tasmanian Museum And Art Gallery, is a recent exhibition in Hobart of Patricia Piccinini. Hidden sculptures burst into being around taxidermied specimens of Devils and other endangered fauna in their protection In a co - effort with Diorama (dioramas being operative toward Euclid!)specialist Brian Rooney(The Museum contains more than 800 000 items), the compelling exhibition wrought with emotive and dedication, brings together elements of her career(as pictured) and awe- strikes the audience, (including Adults?) with the sublime contradictions, of hybrids and genomes and femininity that only examples of something much like a whaling collection could contradict.


I was particularly sated by the creative dampening of the harsh colonization of Australia and especially Tassie, which was often portrayed in tabloid journalism of that age, a freak show.

With H.G Wells, The War of the Worlds (Profile picture etc...)was written upon the posterity and against the destruction of the Tasmanian Environment surmising, with parallels toward trees- bigger than Big Ben, of death by disease, of lip- less, many- tentacled monstrosities- pertaining to the case of a grossly mutilated platypus. The narrators neighbour in the book just happened to be an Astronomer, everyone was an expert on Australia at one stage.

Patricia Piccinini- Evolution (my own Photo)
http://www.tmag.tas.gov.au
Website note: The Free Teachers Reference is a great PDF on the exhibition.

*wikipedia.org
1Asimov, Issac- Asimov's Biographical Encyclopaedia of Science and Technology, Pan Books, London 1978

(I had trouble uploading some downloaded Patricia Piccinini photos, I was stopped by attendants before I actually could take more, but talked my way out of an Ear Wringing... The You Tube Author James Kalm habitually blogs exhibitions in New York I had long promised to describe thus: www.youtube.com/user/jameskalm , Copy and Paste)

Art and Yesterday's news

This one from Mullochs recent Auction of Hitler's Watercolours, and the devil is in the detail. Personally that red river is something quite ponderous and I keep wanting to tell the guy on the bridge to jump. There are words and the beginnings of some symbolic crap flying about behind his head, the sky and brickwork is over-painted, possibly giving some reason as to Hitler's wanton destruction of it (... such a try- hard).

I know this is NOT a sculpture (as in 1000 Paper Cranes just may be).... but, I am just not a fan of his later work. The writings of Spike Milligan will prove poignant justification of the research into such other exploits, if still interested however.

What is also disturbing is the collection selling so well at Auction (21 Watercolours fetching $120000), and having someone, being moderately satisfied with the results, somewhere.... Warnie's baggy green (also shown, also for sale at Mullochs auction- and looking quite sculptural) may not have been so impressed!

My former Landlord actually owns a painting by Mussolini's Brother of Sophia Loren, so I'm used to feeling like a bit of a dawn raid, well below the horizon, 1000 lbs at my disposal.

Field trip…maybe

How about we all get on a plane to NY and go to MoMA to visit:

http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/316

Klara Liden "Creates architectural interventions and installations by cannibalizing existing structures and materials, such as cardboard, corrugated metal, drywall, wood, and carpet remnants."

For anyone who is in my drawing class on Mondays, PLEASE READ!

I just spoke to Barbara. We will be in Computer Drawing, down in the dungeons from 4-6pm. Verena was 100% correct. 

Tuesday 28 April

Hi everyone,

Our class next week IS in the library. 

Lets meet there at 2pm... in the computer room at the back - on the ground floor.

This means ART & NARRATIVE (and each consecutive class) will shuffle along to the next week. In the meantime this week - lets look at some current exhibitions online... and post what we find!

Check out this blog for inspiration:

http://artpatrol.blogspot.com/

AND trawl the links I have posted to the left!!!

ENJOY.

A.

* Remember to focus on Sculpture + Performance + Installation artists.

Jamie Boyd exhibition

For those of you who were interested in coming to the Jamie Boyd exhibition tonight the details are as follows;

Christopher Day Gallery

Cnr Windsor & Elizabeth St 

Paddington

6pm

Thomas Demand and Representation

Originally trained as a sculptor Thomas Demand's artworks are the photographed representation of old archive images. He recreates anodyne looking interiors out of cardboard and paper, down to their finest detail. The works are then photographed and the physical copy of the archive is disposed of - leaving only the chromogenic print for the audience to grapple with.

The original photographs he choose to recreate often have an immense emotional or historical presence, such as Room 1994 - Hitlers bunker were the last failed attemped was made on his life, Corridor 1996 - The hallway leading to the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmers apartment, Office 1996 - The east Berlin headquarters of Stasi secret police, Kitchen 2003 -The hideaway were Sadam Hussein was found.

                                  

Kitchen (2004) by Thomas Demand. C-print/Diasec @Thomas Demand: Courtesy Museum of Modern Art

Yet the ultimate significance is placed on the final reproduction - the photograph, and not on the physical presence of the interior or his cardboard fabrication.

The seemless refinement and detail of the photographed interiors give the impression of eerie banality - an antithetical conclusion to the reason behind the original scenes being captured. The lack of description in the title also adds to this bewilderment of significance, bringing into question our perception of their importance.

They merely offer us a window into the traces of a world we have never really seen or experienced. The audience is simultaneously connected to and disconnected from the world he depicts - leaving the viewer with false sense of reality.

The work that i find most beautiful is Clearing 2003, the way he recreates the impression of light filtering through the apparently organic and delicate leaves is amazing. This work is an exception to the scenes he usually depicts!

   Clearing (2003) by Thomas Demand, C-print/Diasec. @ Thomas Demand: Courtesy Museum of Modern Art

Art and Representation Jake and Dinos Chapman

CFC76311561 and Chapman Family Collection (2002) Painted wood and mixed material, Tate London reproduced from http://www.tate.org Accessed 01.04.09.

YBArtists, Jake and Dinos Chapman, serve constantly to arouse fear and abhorrence. Depicted amoral juxtapositions, in this case, through xenophobia and ignorance, are constructed using the most honoured techniques and detail.

With the Mc Donalds paraphenalia resplendent seemingly among the most primal spiritual gestures, the specimens illustrated, refer obviously, to colonization and ethical issues of globalization.

The artists are often berated for a humour,seen as an insult to the intelligences of their audiences* and draw criticism from Goya zealots, having 'improved' upon The Master's images, at stages in their career.

The link is to the Chapman's video of the installation HELL2, a reconstruction of an epic work lost, to a now famous inferno.

http://www.jakeanddinoschapman.com

* ibid.

Art and Representation - Fiona Hall

Australian artist Fiona Hall is renowned for transforming ordinary objects and materials into complex and allusive works that are witty, humorous, ironic and fiercely critical.

Hall's "Understory" (1999-2004) employs glass beads (the currency of colonisation) threaded onto wire to create three-dimensional objects depicting elements of plant and human material. The use of camouflage patterning aptly depicts the juxtaposition of nature and the conflicts over territory threatening it. The works are realistic in shape of natural objects, however, are only representation of their texture and from. With Hall's use of materials, the works resemble less of a "real" object, and become a representation. A recurring motif is the use of camouflage patterning – a symbol of our time that transforms the patterns of nature into the fabric of conflict and hostility. "Understorey" brings together fragments of a beautiful, fragile, transient realm, and in the way of science, traps them in the filing system of the museum display cabinet.

Fiona Hall
"Understorey"
1999-2004.
Glass beads, silver wire, rubber, boar’s teeth.
Private collection, Sydney.

Art & Representation - Hiroshi Sugimoto

Sugimoto immediately sprang to mind when I was reading the text, specifically the discussion regarding the paradox inherent in representation which can be viewed simultaneously as an attempt at truthfulness or a fundamental falsehood.

Sugimoto's photographic series Dioramas and Wax Museums was started in the 70s, and ellucidates this paradox rather well I think. He made this statement about the diorama series:

Upon first arriving in New York in 1974, I did the tourist thing. Eventually I visited theNatural History Museum, where I made a curious discovery: the stuffed animals positioned before painted backdrops looked utterly fake, yet by taking a quick peek withone eye closed, all perspective vanished, and suddenly they looked very real. I'd found a way to see the world as a camera does. However fake the subject, once photographed, it's as good as real.

He uses simple lighting methods and a large format camera. Essentially, he photographs a "fake" scene, thereby making it "real", or as he states, "as good as real", maybe even better. But it was already in a sense real (you can't photograph what was never there). It is a real diorama, of which the purpose to represent ,in as life-like a manner as possible, a real scene. He takes this real fake thing and makes it into a fake real thing.

So he produces a photograph (a mimesis) of a mimetic object, and in doing so makes the subject of the photograph appear no longer mimetic.


Sugimoto's work is technically in the medium of photography, but I think the strong conceptual element overrides this to a point where it can still be included in this blog. It's all post-medium nowadays anyway i guess.

http://www.sugimotohiroshi.com/

Sorry no pictures, the library computer won't let me upload and I have not the internet at home...

Simon Yates (Art & representation)

I thought I'd make use of my trip back to Melbourne by visiting a few galleries. I went to "New 09" at ACCA and one work which I thought fitted neatly into the category of "Art and Representation" and appealed to me was the animated robotic sculptures by Simon Yates. 

As you walk into the exhibition 2 life-size figures stand in the foyer. They are made a range of mediums including fishing rods, balsa wood and thin paper. They hold a couple of helium balloons each which hold them upright as well as causing them to have a slight rocking motion which gives them the human quality of not being completely still. This was very effective but what was even more amazing was that when you stood near each one for a while it would start walking around the foyer of the gallery. Each figure held water-divining sticks which could have been a comment on global warming/water consumption.

Apparently on the opening night of the show Simon Yates and his partner were dressed identically to the robots which was amusing and confusing for everyone there

watch

ARTREVIEW magazine

Check out ARTREVIEW Magazine - it is free online.

The APRIL issue features Cindy Sherman's latest work: A take on the botoxed obsessed - 50 something woman.

THEN:

Jumping from one link to another... check out new work on the streets of New York and LA at this visual / exhibition journal -  ART BLOG

AND last but not least: this website is like a visual map for piecing together 6 artistic mediums - making connections and creating thematic / aesthetic groupings ...

http://www.artandculture.com/

Art and Representation

Upside down Mushroom Room, 2000

polystrol,polyester,wood,metal,electric motors,plasterboard,neon light,glass,acrylic paint,iron 

(4.5 x6x 12.5m)

installed at Fondazione Prada, Milan, November 2000-january 2001

I found Carsten Holler's work in another part of Art and today but thought that it was still applicable to this weeks topic. This piece in particular is representational of  a realism and anti-realism which i found compelling to view. The sense of anti-gravity and size compromise the realism of the giant mushrooms. however the detail used in creating them is such that they have to be big to appreciate the detail. 

Art & Representation, Abstraction, Aura/Quotidian

Art & Representation

When I was looking through pictures of artist’s works from Venice Biennales I came across Sam Taylor-Wood's work (in the 47^th Biennale). Her photographs are arresting in the way the figure and reflection of light draws you in. The piece ‘Self Portrait Suspended 1’is part of a series that looks at testing physical restrictions of existence in an endeavor to attain ‘absolute release and freedom’. A reflection of the boundaries of society and the limitations it enforces.

 www.harlanerskine.com/ blog/2007_07_01_archive...

Art & Abstraction

Phillip Wolfhagen is a landscape painter whose contemporary practice in horizon lines and presentation makes his vocation truly unique.  The use of uneven horizon lines, combined with the split panels, gives Wolfhagen’s work an abstract quality. Taking the subject matter of man dominating nature and giving it a unique spin, he stretches the image of humanity till it’s nothing but a thin vertical line separating the enigma of nature.

www.dominikmerschgallery.com/ Artist.aspx?id=42

Art & Aura/ Quotidian 

A few years ago I studied Thomas Ruff who’s an amazing innovative photographer. Producing barren and impartial images of everyday objects such as people, architecture and the sky, his defined pictures encompass a wild and eerie aura.

www.orbit.zkm.de/ ?q=node/164 

Art & Representation

I found Heartney's reference to Pliny's story interesting with the idea of realism and imitation to be seen as both an effort to be truthful to the appearance of an object and also be seen as false and as visual trickery. Over Easter i saw an exhibition at The National Gallery of Victoria which was similar to Artexpress featuring high school student's final artworks. I noticed that most of the students employed a very realistic interpretation of the subjects they presented,and by watching the audience i found the most photorealistic works attracted the most attention. One series in particular by Rania Tabet depicts everyday objects in these almost flawless paintings. I found it interesting that audiences are still drawn so strongly to realism.

http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/toparts/vce2008/student_EXHI008620.html

Eleanor Heartney, Art and Today. (London: Phaidon Press Limited, 2008).

Art& Representation- Vik Muniz

Art & Representation – Vik Muniz

Vik Muniz, born 1961 in Brazil, now residing and working in New York, originally trained as a sculptor, Muniz uses unconventional materials such as chocolate syrup, thread, peanut butter etc to create representational works such as portraits and recreations of other artists works. Vik Muniz’ works seem to be a juxtaposition in the realm of representation, as Eleanor Heartly (Art& today) discusses “the fiction of realism”, representational art has steered from being a mimicry of the visual world into what would rather be described as artists representing what ‘reality’ really is.
Muniz’ work has often been described as visual trickery, and some of his earlier works such as “Double Mona Lisa, After Warhol (peanut butter & jelly)” 1999, seem to be clever at first but the meaning is easily distinguishable and they leave room for no deeper exploration.

“Shovel” (sossego, copper mine 2006) seems to show a more developed sense of representation that goes beyond the tricks and mimicry of Muniz’ earlier works, as too do his latest works, a series called “Verso” in which Muniz and a team of artists, carpenters and forges recreated the backs of classic masterpieces such as Grant Wood’s American Gothic, and Matisse’ Red Studio right down to the smallest faded pencil mark. This exhibition of works takes a different spin on representation as all we see is a series of the backs of canvases, when on closer inspection we see the marks that show these to be works of master artists. They are of cause all fakes, but they impress on our minds the idea of ‘what if?’ what is the reality? If what we see is a true representation of the backs of these masterpieces can we be sure that they are the masterpieces themselves? And equally how can we know they are not? I believe this idea is summed up by Eleanor Heartly’s (Art & Today) reference to ‘science and technology continue.. [ly] to operate on the assumption that there is a reality out there that exists independently of human subjectivity, art increasingly takes issue with that idea. In the postmodern era, “reality” has become as mutable as our minds.’

Images (from top to bottom)

Verso (American gothic) 2008

Verso (The moment of impact) 2008

Verso (Starry night) 2008

Shovel (sossego, copper mine) 2006

Double Mona Lisa after Warhol (peanut butter and jelly) 1999

www.vikmuniz.net/

www.mocp.org/collections/permanent/muniz_vik.php

www.renabranstengallery.com/muniz.html

Everything we see is simply an imitation of an imitation.[1]

Everything we see is simply an imitation of an imitation.[1]

During the Easter holidays I went and saw the film Mary and Max. The director, Adam Eliot has chosen to represent many real life issues (which we all recognize and can relate to) through clay animation. This film offers a commentary on real actions, morals and beliefs in a positive, humorous way. It provides a reflection of the world and how most of us feel, have felt or will feel, for instance- lonely and depressed. The wonderful thing Eliot has done is to give the audience hope by giving Mary and Max not happiness but strength through their friendship. This representation on social issues is a nice way of being honest without being painfully realistic.

[1] Eleanor Heartney, Art and Today. (London: Phaidon Press Limited, 2008).

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Art + Representation - Hermann Nitsch

(Image derived from google image search; http://slought.org/img/archive1/1264+press1.jpg)


I found Nitsch in a different chapter of Art and Today (see pg. 219), and felt his performance works fell into the "Art and Representation" category.

Nitsch is known primarily for his candid and gory depictions of cult-ish sacrifices and his subversive re-enactments of Christian and pagan rituals (including staged human crucifixions). While such works may seem purely created to shock on face value, Herman's works are part of a larger idea he first executed in the late 1950's*; to create and perform a Dionysian celebration of life integrating the body, spirit and the mind; not unlike a more tangible version of theatre. These large-scale works were part of what Hermann called the Orgien Mysterien Theater (Theatre of Orgies and Mysteries). The image above, however, (derived from the work 6 Tage Spiel - Das Orgien Mysterien Theater. Day 3: Day of Dionysus ), does not depict the less gory elements captured during the rest of the day's filming; grapes and tomatoes trampled in staged village wide celebrations; the above image instead suggesting life is definitively finite; his constant depictions of death have a distinct existentialist feel to them.

Working mimetically , Hermann's re-enactment of key historical events (the crucifixion, the Festival of Dionysus) is, in a performative overall sense; an accurate representation; capturing the almost ecstatic crowd sentimentality. However, the still and focalised documentation of Hermann's work as a copy becomes clear via small details; the modern glasses worn by the man on the right of the image above; the runners on the woman to the left, the crisp artificial white of their androgynous "costumes"...

While I can appreciate the concepts fuelling his works, personally, Hermann's works made me feel kind of nauseous.

*Hermann is still exhibiting today, thus, I would consider his work (despite having been produced prior to 1980) contemporary.

Review: Ricky Swallow - Art & Representation

Ricky Swallow is a contemporary Australian sculptor whose most recent work has been said to honor the realism of Baroque sculpture. Born in 1974 in San Remo, Victoria, his experiences growing up as the son of a fisherman have influenced his work and practice.

Swallow’s earlier works were created through methods of casting and injection molding, using resins to create exact copies objects. However his later work moves away from these new technologies and methods, returning to more traditional methods of woodcarving to create his realistic and representational sculptures. Swallow has said “carving it is learning it, casting it is just having it there again.” (Paton 2004)This statement provides some insight into the reasoning for this shift. Carving is a way for Swallow to connect with and learn the object he is creating, developing a dialogue with the sculpture and hence a language. This is also one of the reasons he began carving skulls, because everyone has one and yet we aren’t familiar with it as an object. His clever use of the skull can be seen in the work Come Together.

Many of his works consist of a variety of carved objects that hold some personal significance or memory. For example in his artwork Killing Time all of the objects have some significance, the creatures are all representations of the fish that as a child Swallow had caught.

The realism that is evident in his work plays a vital role in captivating his audience.  Eleanor Heartney poses the question “ Is mimesis really all about fostering visual trickery?” (Heartney 2008) in the case of Swallows work creating something realistic for the sole purpose of tricking the viewer is not his intention. Trickery however, has a role to play and is part of the initial attraction to Swallow’s work. For example his artwork Sleeping Range a part of the installation Tomorrow in Common was carved from laminated wood with impeccable detail. By combining this with the lighting in the space it gives the surface of the wood the luster of fabric, creating the illusion of a real sleeping bag even though it is clearly fashioned out of wood.  It is only after this initial trickery subsides that it becomes evident there are underlying themes of time, memory and loss being alluded to through this work.

Ricky Swallow has been successful in using representation to attract and connect with his audience.

Book References:

• Heartney, Eleanor. Art & Today. London: Phaidon Press Limited, 2008.
• Parton, Justin. Ricky Swallow  Field Recordings. Victoria: Craftsman House, 2004.

Web References:

• www.rickyswallow.com

Images:

• Image 1: Come Together, 2002, laminated jelutong, 66 x 63.5 x 81 cm.
• Image 2: Killing Time, 2003-04, laminated jelutong, maple, 108 x 184 x 118 cm.
• Image 3: Sleeping Range, 2002, laminated jelutong, 198 x 71 x 20 cm.

( all images from www.rickyswallow.com/collections/view/sculpture )

 

 

Art & Representation

Interrogation Room (2008)

When researching “Art and Representation” I found that representation describes the signs that stand in for and take the place of something and this is why I chose the artist James Casebere. He constructs architectural settings or interiors (models) and photographs them. The subject of his artworks range from suburban interiors to institutional structures. These scenes are finely constructed to deceive the viewer into thinking that the image is real but he then places some unlikely elements to his works. Things such as the lighting or filling his scenes with water inevitably communicate to the viewer that the reality is improbable. I find it humorous how the simple addition of an unlikely element changes how the image is viewed and thus the representation has changed from something that is real to something fake.

Image taken from http://jamescasebere.com/group5.html

*non sequitur- NED KAHN*

Absolutely bursting with, rough inspiration from a jaunted holiday in Tasmania I had to share a surprise of honourary Tasmanian, Ned Kahn's work at my Brother in Laws office at the Dept of Meteorology which they are in a privileged position to own, even grander to have met the young artist.

The Tornado Machine is a platform housing a fog generator, there are four poles each containing fans that feed into, but counter rotate from, a large ceiling fan. The effect produces a vortex of simulated atmospheric conditions, thereby creating a tornado, indicated by the operation of the fog machine. Larger versions may operate without use of the fog machine, due to larger manipulated areas of complex pressures.

A spectacular artist, whose work, (even out of Blogger context) needs to be seen (being considered a genius and all, and as in Gaudi), the humble meanings and appreciation of his works, in fields and virtues of ecology and the environment, chaos theory and of course, specific meteorology, can be greatly extrapolated upon following the website link contained.

Non Sequitur- there was a distinct irony on the day of my particular visit having 174kph recorded winds, locally, in the storm that swept through on Tuesday Morning, Launceston is on the threshold of the roaring Forties in patterns eminating from a long empty ocean ring around that part of the globe and the wind it maintains.

http://www.nedkahn.com

TEXT BOOK ARTRAGE!!! Art and Today available in Hobart for $120!!!!!

Art and Representation- Hanne Darboven

Kulturgeschichte (cultural history) 1880-1983, 1980-83

After reading the art and today book i found the installation "kulturgeschichte" by Hanne Darboven really interesting. This artists use of materials and distinct sectioning used to create relationships seen in culture caught my attention. This work comments on reality and culture - reality through representation. An essay by lynne Cooke referred to the work as "Weaving together cultural, social, and historical references with autobiographical documents, it synthesizes the private with the social, and personal history with collective memory."
The detail and size of this work is fascinating, take a look at this link if you want to see more images also the essay i referred to is on the same website.

http://www.diaart.org/exhibs/darboven/kulturgeschichte.html