Art and the Body: Ron Mueck

Angel- 1997

Big Man- 2000

Its a Girl- 2003(?)

“Ron Mueck's sculpture explains why man has felt the need to invent the idea of a soul”- Craig Raine

Eleanor Heartney has the specific chronological example at work in Art and the Body, of the Feminist movement of the early seventies, she has maintained a careful criteria in the chapter, somewhat developed as a result of the movement, in the discussion of the use of body as medium and as vehicle for the Artist.
An pure understanding will prevent Mueck to be considered unless, his inclusion is qualified as I personally find, that if the feminist movement was to address sexual issues, then the English Punk movement is litmus to the changing attitude toward what is the understanding of Age & Generation in people. You could imagine, in Punk's instance, a particular sense of generational independence toward the custodians of an Empirical England, and coming from their very offspring. This could be as much catalyst for re-evaluation of the social recourse of the age in people, as warranted by the similarly incendiary and unmet Feminist need coming from the very siblings and spouses.
Heartney goes to identify a need to portray the use of the Body in art in “ways that depart sharply from traditional formulas”, an example Ron Mueck's uncanny objects still fall short of, for what is created is a literal representation, despite creativity, of mostly human replication and more to a comprehensive anatomical than to the ephemeral post- modern precept. It is a simple, emotional basis with which Mueck interacts and breaks down boundaries and preconceptions. It is colloquial and private, the language he communicates. It is often humourous, but contains the tragic, serious note of loneliness and alone- ness. Why he does belong to the chapter, is actually self evident and obvious: the continuous study of our “tears and ecstasies”.
Pulling emotional strings, is something Mueck was born into, being the offspring of toymakers, and a career that produced a succession of renowned appearances as puppeteer/ designer and illustrator He developed admirable associations, including that, with the creativity of Jim Henson, and through a unique opportunity was given lord-age in Charles Saatchi's Sensation. This exhibition never was to see day in Australia, Ron Mueck was an Artist who was subsequently offered the highest payment for the work of a living Artist in Australian history, an apology or excuse.
Imagine a puppet, being altogether still, it never loses personality. It has energy, surprise. A talent can find life in any object and give it voice or gesture, so in art it would seem, “the uncanny is considered an effect to be tackled, not skirted.” Alchemist, Ron Mueck, and from something in the stillness and uncanny realism, the lead in the pieces, produces gold – gold in the incessant yet absent whilst present, narration of his lonely and dispossessed and vulnerable characters. Characters impressed with knowledge of both, “the psychological need to give valid force and meaning to the (so perceived) forces of life” and our “deeply ingrained aversion to the lifelike”- contexts in their artistic being and principals dealt with critically in robotics and prosthetic engineering.
According to Mueck, there is a requirement to the production of the work, “Every gesture becomes a means of symbolic expression” as ultimately, this is “the viewers impression of the object”, whether in detail or from a safer vantage distance. Despite being personable “they have work as objects” or be more than that. The characters are overt, pure therefore and are almost wicked, shameless. Symbols of mythology have been eliminated however, these are often the means of such a goal.
He places juxtapositions at a critical depth in the pieces and balances conceptual inquiry in counterpoint to the persona of the investigation's physical presence, ideas such as globalism, in the image of a bundled child or as the politics of a deathbed scene. He will shift the stature and size,From the ornamental to the monumental just so that the gaze returned, will find the viewer in the centre of the circumstances.
Eleanor Heartney writes, the body is “an unusually versatile instrument” but is forever constrained by being involved with “conflicts...over social mores, gender definitions and community standards. The silent inner Monologue of Ron Mueck draws such immediate attention to the plights, the loneliness and vulnerability the absolute absurd madness, “the perils of human condition.”

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

Susanna Greeves, Heiner Bastian and Peter- Klaus Schuster, "Ron Mueck", edited by Heiner Bastian, Berlin: Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2005

Sarah Tanguy, "The progress of Big Man, A Conversation with Ron Mueck", Sculpture, Vol. 22, No. 6. July/August 2003, pp. 28-33, www.sculpture.org/documents/.../jul.../mueck/mueck.shtml

David Hanson, Andrew Olney, Ismar A. Pereira, Marge Zielke, "Upending the Uncanny Valley",Arlington: The University of Texas, 2002, http://www.aaai.org/Papers/Workshops/2005/WS-05.../WS05-11-005.pdf

Cindy Stelmackowich,"Life, death and the power of the Real", Canadian Medical Association Journal", http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/reprint/176/9/1314.pdf

Peter Hill, "The Un-Special effects man", Art and Australia, V-45, No 2 Summer 2007,www.artaustralia.com/images/.../Ron%20Mueck%20Vol45No2.pdf

art and the body

illusion.scene360.com/.../

Body painting is an ancient form of art, used by tribes for camouflage, identification, and rituals. Reemerging as an art movement in the 60’s, body art highlighted the beauty of the human body and broke through the conservative social constraints. Now days we embrace body art through fashion magazines, festivals, support for sport teams etc.
The annual Australian Body Art Festival is held in the sunshine coast each year in May.

Penrith Regional Gallery: Kate Rohde

I went to the gallery today and discovered this Melbourne based artist Kate Rohde. Although her works are quite kitsch they provide a fantastical and wonderous look into wildlife. Her works explore the spiritual, mythological, and symbolic meanings invested in wildlife, and the human desire to create and control nature for educational and aesthetic purposes. Having recently returned from a residency in Arnhem Land, her installations refer to the manifold histories and cultures of collecting, and to the commodification of nature in western society.

Made from a collaboration of different mediums such as papier mache, plasticine and faux fur, she makes these strange, childish environments and encapsulates them in a display case of a highly ornate nature. The works reflect decorative elements typical of Baroque and Rococo style which was an interesting twist.

Her work took me back and reminded me of when i was a young child and all i wanted were things that were pink and glittery! The three pieces i saw could link back to works by Petah Coyne who creates similar environments with the addition of taxidermy animals and flowers.

If any of you are down Penrith way anytime soon i recommend you check it out. Its pretty wicked.

Collaboration Artists

Cicada is a collection of artists who work with landscape - urban, natural, constructed and imagined.
On the web site it is made evident that a combination of results occur, including site-specific installations, performances and interactive pieces.
Cicada also make other bits of sound+image works for theatre, dance and performance projects.

In a street level interactive installation held in Adelaide 2004 by three aussie artists (Video: Kirsten Bradley + Nick Ritar , Audio: Ben Frost) a work was held which explores the delicate balancing act that unfolds when nature ventures into the city. It examines our relationship with the natural world, our desire to cultivate, capture, prune, tend, weed and above all dominate natural processes. It was rightly called Amensal. Amensalism is an association between organisms of two different species in which one is inhibited or destroyed and the other is unaffected. (Encyclopædia Britannica Online)
I really liked the visual organic appeal of this installation and if you were walking down the street, this would stop you dead in your tracks.

http://www.cicada.tv/projects/2004-amensal/amensal.htm

PARTICIPATION + MCA Exhibition

Can everyone please read the review for LOUISA BUFARDECI & ZON ITO at the MCA before we meet on Tuesday... it will provide us all with a grounding for the show and aow us all to discuss the work in an informed way.

+
And regarding collaboration - this is a great book for those interested:

Between the Folds

‘Between the Folds’ is a doco that was aired on the ABC on 9.8.09. It is a very interesting look at the art of origami and its uses.

Try to watch the quicktime clip on the website as it will amaze you. The imagery is beautiful.
PS the goateed geek near the end of the clip got his phd at 20..
http://www.greenfusefilms.com/

Postings for the coming week: ON COLLABORATION

Please take a look at this website - I am sure it will help you with your collaboration postings for the coming week.

http://collabarts.org/

In the last 10 years or so collaborative art practices have moved in to the mainstream of cultural production, and collaboration is now largely taken for granted as one of the numerous ways that artists can choose to operate. Despite this, artistic collaboration still raises some interesting and crucial questions about the nature of authorship, authenticity and the artists’ relationships to their works & audiences that inevitably disrupts the persistent and popular image of the artist as a ‘heroic’ solitary figure. While some collaborations have come from a reaction against political and cultural regimes, there are numerous other artists who have chosen to work together as a positive choice for collaboration. Common to most if not all collaborative practices though, is an implicit critique of the idea of the artist as a figure that stands outside of society engaged in an internal singular dialogue.

Art and Collaboration

I love collaborating. When you find that person that you can interact with to get a more satisfying and pleasing result it is a rush. It is as though a volcano erupts. The blood pumps and the excitement ramps up. To understand someone to this extent is unfortunately rare in my experience, but when it happens it’s addictive. The amount of ideas that can be churned out is unexpected.

Jake and Dinos Chapman is an artist collaboration that I enjoyed seeing recently in the exhibition Classified: Contemporary Art at Tate Britain. Their artwork ended up being my favorite of the exhibition. It is titled The Chapman Family Collection (2002), which was recently purchased by the Tate. The artwork filled a very large, dark room, which when you walked into gave you a very eerie feeling as you quickly saw that you were surrounded by34 wooden totems; all looking at you. Then you realise that they aren’t completely native statues at all. They have been stamped by the global goblin and become happy meal accessories.

www.whitecube.com/artists/chapman/

Art & The Body - Robert Gober

Roberta Smith, Against Delusion: Robert Gober's Nuts-and-Bolts Americana, The New York Times, August 23

If bodies are objects or things, they are like no others, for they are the centres of perspective, insight, reflection, desire, agency. - Elizabeth Grosz

American sculptor, Robert Gober, explores the psychological implications of the human body through hybrid anatomical forms, fragmented bodies, and architectural and domestic spaces in which the body is absent yet implicit. Gober's language is one of duplicities – male and female, interior and exterior, public and private, animate and inanimate, present and absent. Commenting on Gober's 2007 retrospective at the Schaulager Museum in Switzerland, Roberta Smith notes the artist's ability to combine that which is personal and political, mysterious and accessible.1 Gober, who draws upon a composite of childhood memories and current experiences, describes his work as “formally rigorous but emotionally messy”.2 Gober often sites a composite of personal memories and current experience as a source for his practice, with this reflected in the hybridity and fracture of the objects he creates.

Figure 1: Robert Gober , Untitled Leg, 1989, beeswax, cotton, wood, leather, human hair

In 1989, Gober began what would become a series of disembodied partial limbs with Untitled Leg (Figure 1). The wax “amputation” is a cast of the artist's own leg, embedded with human hairs and dressed with a man's shoe, sock, and partial trouser. The body fragment speaks of absence, of detachment, of loss; the object is loaded with all that is not there. Gober did not place the limb on a pedestal; rather it was installed as if emerging from the gallery wall, describing an uneasy balance between interior and exterior states. Gober's disembodied limbs and appendages imply a psychological fracture. Julia Kristeva writes that in a state of abjection, borders between object and subject cannot be maintained.3 Rooted within the tradition of Freud's uncanny, Untitled Leg is difficult and unsettling because it provokes a reaction in which there is a hesitation in recognising the object as animate or inanimate.4

Figure 2: Robert Gober, Untitled (Candle), 1991, beeswax, human hair, yarn

Gober has spoken of his work as it is informed both by his catholic upbringing and by his homosexuality. In Untitled (Candle) (Figure 2), human hairs embedded in a wax base, provide an ordinary candle with overt phallic connotations. Gober's use of wax in the construction of his body fragments mirrors the transience and impermenance of the human body, with Smithson noting that Gober's objects are imbued with a vulnerability that defines real bodies. The sense of vulnerability is heightened in Untitled (Candle), a work in which a symbol of masculinity and virility is reduced to that which is destined to disintegrate. Gober has written of the impact of the AIDS epidemic, and the struggle that artists faced in expressing that impact within their work.5 Here the hybrid object of the candle/phallus suggests a painful memorial, while simultaneously referring to the corporeality of the symbolism of the Catholic faith, and Gober's uneasy place as a homosexual raised within the Church.

Figure 3: Robert Gober, Untitled, 1991-1993, wood, beeswax, human hair, fabric, paint and shoes

Untitled (Figure 3) takes the form of a lower half of a male body, violently protruding from the gallery wall to impose itself within the space. Arranged facedown, the partial figure evokes a disquieting sense of powerlessness and unease. The surface of the wax figure is punctured with a number of ulcer-like drains. The drain motif is recurring in much of Gober's practice. In this instance it serves to suggest a body that is leaking, the separation between inner and outer broken down, and emphasises the dual nature of the body as both private and public.

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1 Roberta Smith, Against Delusion: Robert Gober's Nuts-and-Bolts Americana, The New York Times, August 23 2007, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/23/arts/design/23gobe.html?_r=1, (accessed August 10 2009)

2 Frances Morris, “Robert Gober” in Rites of Passage: Art at the End of the Century, 96, London: Tate Gallery Publications, 1995

3 Charles Penwarden, “Of Word and Flesh: An interview with Julia Kristeva” in Rites of Passage: Art at the End of the Century, 22, London: Tate Gallery Publications, 1995

4 Ruth Ronen, Aesthetics of Anxiety, 42, New York: SUNY Press, 2009

5 Neal Benezra, “Plumbing Robert Gober” in Distemper: Dissonant Themes in the art of the 1990s, 46, Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1996

ART AND THE BODY

concepts of the body in art has been something that has been explored by many artists, and as Heartney says in 'art and today' began performance art and also a readily avalible material for artists to use, test and experiment. the body gives us an insight into ourselves and others, our social and moral ideals, values what we find acceptable, unnerving and where we draw boundries or push them to the limits. It is a subject matter that i'm sure all artists have or at some point will explore, and one that i have also looked into in the past. Last year i created some sculptures realating to the body, 'Stress' is a head carved from airated concrete with hands pulling apart the back of the skull to reveal a rope which comes down and forms a noose around the neck. 'be ever watchful' a mirror placed behind an eye which is looking through broken slates of a cupboard explored the idea of ones sence of self in regard to how one is viewed/ that no matter how alone one might think they are even in their most private moments there is always a sense of being 'watched'.

Art and the Body- Ah Xian

The Chinese-born artist migrated to Australia and mainly produces these life size busts and complete figures. They are made from porcelain and intricately hand-painted in traditional Chinese styles and symbols.

"Xian believes that Asian faces, with their features generally less pronounced than those of Europeans, are more sympathetic to porcelain and more relative to the material, which originated in China during the T'ang dynasty".1

Although his works reference immigration and sense of culture identity, I also feel they reference our sense of physical self and beauty. He uses the faces that are familiar to him, drenching them in cultural symbolism to the point that they become almost unrecognisable as human let alone Chinese. The long process that is undergone to fire and decorate and even the casting straight from actual people, all investigate our exploration of the human form and its endurance.

1.ArtMolds Sculpture Studio. "Ah Xian." http://www.artmolds.com/ali/halloffame/ah_xian.htm.

Art and the Body.

Last year i made a series of works all focusing on the body and its ability to cope with extreame trauma. while some focused on the power of the mind over the the body others focused on the raw images of the bodys healing process and the ability of modern medicine to enter the body in an intvasive and non-invasive way.

Art & The Body - The Body & Endurance - Tehching Hsieh

Tehching Hsieh, born 1950 in Taiwan, is a duration performance artist who has made 6 well known pieces 5 "one year performances" and a single 13 year piece
while the works main focus is on time and the duration for all his work, the body and endurance become evidently an equal focus in the works; One Year Performance 1978–1979 (Cage Piece), One Year Performance 1980–1981 (Time Clock Piece), One Year Performance 1981–1982 (Outdoor Piece), Art / Life: One Year Performance 1983–1984 (Rope Piece)

in each piece Hsieh follows a strict set of rules surrounding the purpose of the performance.

in One Year Performance 1978–1979 also known as cage piece, Hsieh locks himself in a wooden cage 11′6″×9′×8″ for one year, he is brought food by his friend Cheng Wei Kuong, he refused to converse, read, write, watch television or listen to the radio.

in One Year Performance 1980–1981 aka Time Clock Piece, Hsieh punches a time clock card every hour for 24 hours a day, every day for one year. when the card is punched a picture was taken of him and the images where then put into sequence into a video
the video can be seen here ( http://www.mediaartnet.org/works/one-year-performance/video/1/ )

One Year Performance 1981–1982 aka Outdoor Piece, Hsieh lives outside for a year refusing to enter any sort of building or shelter, including tents, vehicles or planes.

Art / Life: One Year Performance 1983–1984 aka Rope Piece, Hsieh and his friend Montano attach themselves to a single 8 foot long rope, while connected they had to stay in the same room but never touch each other until the year was up

each performance was not notarized by a lawyer.
the works each focus on the body and endurance as the artist places himself in a restricted space or action for a prolonged period of time causing serious harm to his body. this is best seen in "time clock piece" and "outdoor piece" as the effects of sleep deprivation and constant exposure to harsh environments cause physical and psychological stress.

as a twist M.River & T.Whid have created a reversal of Hsieh's One Year Performance 1978–1979 (Cage Piece), in which the audience is challenged to watch a one year video compilation of a modernised "cage piece". the idea was to take the original idea of the artists endurance and place it on the audience. so far only 23 people have watched the 1 year long footage
the video footage can be watched here ( http://www.turbulence.org/Works/1year/index.php )

Art and the body- Marina Abramovic

The House with the Ocean View, 2002, performance, Sean Kelly Gallery, New York, November, 2002

I thought this artist discussed in art and today was of much significance when discussing the ideas Eleanor Heartney has presented, especially in relation to the body used in performance art. As seen in the work below the body has become a medium and a subject matter in her works. She has explored the physical and mental limits of her being, she has withstood pain, exhaustion and danger in the quest for emotional and spiritual transformation. I find her performance art fascinating. As Heartney believes “performers throughout the world have found the human body to be an unusually versatile instrument. The artist’s works accentuate self-control, physical endurance, and risk.” which Abramovic has encompassed. Through the use of her body as a material Abramovic is able to take control of her “own subjectivity”. I found this work which was featured in the chapter fascinating. The fact she was able to live without eating, speaking, reading or writing seems unbelievable. It makes one wonder how much she was challenged mentally and physically.

http://www.skny.com/exhibitions/2002-11-15_marina-abramovi

Art & The Body - Julie Rrap

Julie Rrap has been a very influential Australian contemporary artist. A lot of her work revolves around the body and comments on the female figure throughout art history. Her performance piece 'Mind Over Matter' is no exception. The duration of the performance is approximately 17 minutes long, and in this time she uses the rubber heads from the series Eraser Head 1-6 to erase images depicting her naked body. The body then returns in the form of a left over, becoming fragmented and distorted.

Images from: http://www.roslynoxley9.com.au/artists/32/Julie_Rrap/

Art and the Body – Tania Bruguera

Tania Bruguera is a performance and installation artist from Cuba. She uses the body in her installations and videos to explore issues of power and control. One of her most famous works includes El Peso de la Culpa (the Burden of Guilt). This was a performance work in which Bruguera is standing before the Cuban flag which she had woven using human hair, with a butchered lamb hung around her neck. For a period of approximately 45 minutes, she mixed Cuban soil with water and ate it. She later explained that the performance alludes to a suicide-ritual practiced by the natives of Cuba. “By eating large quantities of earth, many took their own lives when faced with the threat of the Spanish conquistadores.” Displacement is a performance work in which Burguera incorporates a body which alludes to Nkisi Nkonde, who is an African figure, also used in Cuban spiritual practices. This figure was covered in mud and had rusted nails sprouting out of its limbs. Nkisi is a figure to which promises are made in exchange for granting petitions. Each nail is proof of these promises, and when a promise isn’t kept, the figure ‘awakens’ and goes in search of the person who broke this promise. In the performance the figure (a performer) is still for many hours, then stirs and eventually goes out into the streets in search of those who’ve broken their promises.

Art and Body: It is amazing what transgressive potential our body has as an art medium.

Last Tuesday two girls and I made a body based performance for studio concepts which involved one girl being covered with white paper. These were (19cm x 4cm) rectangles with the words from John Marsden’s 21st century prayer. Audience members were asked to come up and tear one off and read a line from the poem out loud. Our aim is summed up best by Heartney, “Freedom, Liberty and self determination are not abstract ideals, but achievements that write effects on our physical bodies” p220. It was great to read similar ideas like Zhang Huan’s In 12 Square Meters, 1994 piece. Where he covered himself in honey and sat for hours in a public toilet while flies covered his skin. In the end, body art is extraordinarily effective in reflecting our common humanity p238.

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

Vito Acconci - The Body

‘At the beginning, setting the terms: if I specialize in a medium, I would be fixing a ground for myself, a ground I would have to be digging myself out of, constantly, as one medium was substituted for another – so, then, instead of turning toward “ground” I would shift my attention and turn to “instrument”, I would focus on myself as the instrument that acted on what ever ground was, from time to time, available.’

Body as instrument.

Instrument for “art doing” as opposed to “art experiencing”

“Art experiencing” is an assumption - a mere by-product of the completed form.

Vito Acconci, Step Piece, 1970.

102 Christopher Street; four months (February–April–July–November), 1970; 8AM each day.

Daily training makes for daily improvement.

The activity is left open; it is, in principle, a public performance.

Vito Acconci Steps into Performance (and Out) (1979)

1. Into Action

Excerpts taken from Theories and documents of Contemporary Art, Kristine Stiles and Peter Selz.

article review.. sorry its late!

Nicholas Zurbrugg article Installation Art – Essence and Existence examines the different elements that constitute a work with artistic merit or the innovative qualities ‘that widen the languages of creativity. Zurbrugg suggests Installations art’s position of autonomous ‘real-time’, as something that has the ability to co-exist through orchestrated time (duration), techno-time (data recording) or virtually outside of time as a separate and complete entity. These qualities of constructed ‘real-time’ and each works innate three dimensionality gives the artist the freedom to explore and assess new ways to develop and manipulate spatial impact on the viewer. Much Installation Art comes into existence through the artists desire to be self-governing and redefine the gallery space, whereby very exhibition is subject to the desires of the artist and the dimensions the installation is interfacing with, therefore the work also become self-documenting and self-conscious – its unique existence determines its essence. Zurbrugg emphasises that Installation Art has the potential to work on multiple levels of perception, participation, construction and idea/aesthetic essence, suggesting that we look towards the preceding modern movements of futurism, the Bauhaus experiments, dada, surrealism and constructivism in order to decipher the complex nature of the practice and stating that ‘many forms of contemporary Installation Art make historical sense as the systematic and technological realisation of modernist ‘dreams’’.

Zurbrugg reference to John Cage’s installation/performance-like happenings suggest the similarities between Installation Art and Performance and makes sense of the idea that because the audience is seen to be an active participant the work is always art-in progress and, therefore, is able to ‘consciously evade both pre-classification and post-classification’. Zurbrugg attitude seems to become a little more pessimistic when comparing the principles of Kurt Schwitters’ Merzbau 1924-23 and Marcel Duchamp’s Urinal 1917, suggesting that while Schwitters could be seen as the ‘precursor for the commemorative impulse in post-modern Installation Art, or those who take value seriously’ Duchamp’s initial impact have perhaps now given way to insipid and under considered ‘static’ installations. He further impresses that there is something insufficient about second-hand Duchampian shock-value installations through a statement by Joseph Beuys (Art monthly, 112 January 1988) that “the Silence of Duchamp is overrated” and that art should be “something which is related to humankinds creative structure and senses and to thought, feeling and the gaining of power”. This reference to the work of Joseph Beuys emphasises the notion that Installation art should be that of nostalgia, documentation, memorial and the artist and the audience (as one is the same). He moves on to point out that Installation Art with substance is generally in tune with current society and that kinetic works are most congruent. Perhaps again linking installation Art to performance – motion, or remarking that technology and progressive action is at the for-front of social values and must therefore be recognised as an artistic possibility. Zurbrugg poses a guideline to deciphering and recognising valid or cogent forms of installations and less valid substitutes, reinforcing that what advocates essence is Installation that actively invites the audience’s participation and contemplation.

Art & the Body

After reading the topic of the week I was reminded of several things, as this chapter to me, seemed rather graphic in nature. A reoccurring subject in the chapter was the portrayal of females in art; how it has changed or not. It left me thinking is there a right way to portray a woman in art? If you find artworks that are quite graphic, interesting – is that wrong? Especially if you are female?

The book ‘American Psycho’ by Bret Easton Ellis is a prime example of what I think to be a brilliant piece of literature and yet the feminists hate it. They even tried to shut the filming of it down, but it went ahead due to some say the fact that the director was a female. Yes it contains degrading images of women being ripped to shreds, but the reason why I have an appreciation for it was the whole story. ‘Patrick Bateman’ who is the main character is obsessed with himself, wealthy, intelligent, successful in his career and bored out of his brains. His boredom makes him do very bad things that only people in his situation could get away with.

Yes I am getting to the body with this story! His extreme obsession with the body beautiful is the only thing that he cares about and what he does with women only glorifies and feeds his ego and nobody stops him.

Critical Review

Zurbrugg, Nicholas. “Installation Art – Essence and Existence”. In what is Installation Art? An Anthology of writings on Australian Installation art, edited by Adam Geczy and Benjamin Genocchio, 25-31. Sydney: Power Publications, 2001.

Nicholas Zurburgg’s chapter “Installation, Art – Essence and Existence” is an academic essay which defines and explores the development of installation art from conventional to contemporary times, as a structured yet somewhat fragmented view is presented on what makes installation art and what makes a true installation artist.

Zurburgg’s introduction is straight to the point as he defines installation as “something that can be stored inside, outside, or round the exhibition space (25)” stating that installations are three dimensional and the art works expand creating a spatial impact in the place it inhibits. The basic features of installation art and its context are identified as a detailed analogy is made in terms of exhibition spaces, as the installations existence “responding to a particular spatial or environmental context determines its specific aesthetic essence as installation art.”(26)

The essay goes on to identify the origin of different contemporary styles of installation art which can be connected to early twentieth-century avant-garde movements including constructivism, surrealism, dada, futurism and Bauhaus experiments, these “derive from modernist experimentation in terms of evolutionary dynamics, elaborating, extending and making explicit the implicit potential”( 26)of installation artists differing aspirations.

Technological, or kinetic futurist experiments in terms of technological performance and mediated modes of instillation is discussed throughout a large proportion of the essay in regards to artists such as John Cage whose work broadens concepts and could be categorized as multi-media, his performance and kinetic installation works with movement using sound, light and heat waves whilst recording a lot of his work creates a perplexed spin in the installation artworks. Through addressing the space of the artist as a ‘curator’ Zurburgg has kept the subject matter flowing.


By the conclusion of the essay Zurbrugg has strayed from his objective in identifying installation in its entirety, opting for a more subjective view in which Duchamp’s ‘shock’ factor could be seen as influential when Zurbrugg states “the most rewarding installations are those which imply or enact some sort of movement, be this their own literal movement as kinetic structure or as installation-action, or be this the viewer’s physical or mental exertions, across material or space.” (31)

The flow of the essay is splintered and at times hard to follow, however the objective was well addressed if somewhat detached by the conclusion.

Review : Instillation Art-Essence and Existence

In this chapter Nicholas Zurbrugg describes instillation art as work which is installed in a space and created in "real time" in accordance with the artists reaction of the space. He states that installations use three dimensional space as a medium for interaction and extend beyond the frame of a picture. That use of and reaction to the space helps in defining the work and that the interaction and creation of the work is part of the performance of the piece through the kinesthetic actions of the work.

Zurbrugg touches on a number of movements that inspired and affect the creation and exploration of contemporary instillation practice. and touches on a number of works to explore his opinions such as Monholy-Nagys "light-space modulator", which he describes as a kinetic static work and Kurt schwitter's "merzbau" which continued to grow and expand into spaces.

Zurbrugg's statment that the most sucsessful installations are those which evoke Reaction, ether from the work or the audiences continued movement is able to be applied to all artwork. the was article also useful in gaining interesting points of reference from which i may continue to explore.

Critical Review: Installation Art – Essence and existence – Nicholas Zurbrugg

In his 1991 catalogue article, Installation Art – Essence and Existence, Nicholas Zurbrugg examines the nature of installation art both historically and as it is presented by artists today. Zurbrugg argues that the language of installation can be exploited by artists to produce contemporary works that challenge and extend existing preconceptions of the parameters within which art operates. Zurbrugg asserts that the complexity of installation art’s spatial impact and its site specificity is primarily what separates it from other art mediums. Zurbrugg states that “existence determines essence”, that is, the existence of the work within a particular spatial situation is what determines the essence of a work.

Much of Zurbrugg’s essay examines the origins of contemporary installation as they arise from the historical avant-garde. Kurt Schwitters’ Merzbau (1924-1925) and Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain (1917) are examined as two works that set guidelines for what would become contemporary installation art. Zurbrugg argues that Merzbau, an evolving and interactive architectural installation that was created over several years within the artist’s home, set a precedent for installation art by implying that the accumulation of any pre-existing materials in any space may be argued to be installation if the artist considers them to function with an artistic value. Conversely, Zurbrugg states that Fountain suggested that any object, irrespective of artistic merit, may be legitimised in an art context if it is exhibited within a gallery space or signed by the artist.

Zurbrugg suggests that often it is movement, wether implied or enacted, which may distinguish more effective installation art from less effective static works that may “appear dangerously close to flower-arranging exercises and conjurers tricks”. The movement to which Zurbrugg refers may be kinetic action within the work itself, or as “installation-action” such as performative elements, or some physical or mental movement required of the viewer in experiencing the installation environment. Zurbrugg does not expand dramatically upon this point, rather, it appears almost as if a footnote to the essay. It is an interesting argument that unfortunately appears somewhat truncated in the context of the writing that preceded it.

CRITICAL REVIEW

‘Installation art- essence and existance’ written by Nicholas Zurbrugg does have some compelling ideas and insights. His exploration into the beginnings of installation art and its connections to the artist and spatial dimentions… ‘installation art usually comes into existence as the artist’s attempt to redefine a particular exhibition space. In this respect, every instillation artist is their own curator, and every exhibition space is subject to the requirements of the installaton interfacing with its dimentions.’ This gives the reader the impression and expectation of a review that’s delves into something more concise and perhaps informative. Although the introduction does give space to the remainder of the essay, I personally found it to be somewhat simplistic and uninspirational … ‘perhaps the single- most common feature of all installations is their use of three dimensional space.’

The structure of Zurbrugg’s essay seems to loose much of its direction and flow which makes it difficult to follow and interpret through the sudden variation in lauguage… ‘considered in existentialist jargon, the aesthetic essence and the aesthetic impact of conventional art and sculpture might be said to precede their existence within exhibition space.’ On top of this, the introduction of the essay gives the reader no clear idea of the direction of the piece which once again disrupts the structure of Zurbrugg’s essay.

Having said this, Zurbrugg’s essay is not that at all, but rather, as is stated in the title, an extract from the ‘Australian Perspecta 1991 exhibition catalogue’ from the art gallery of New South Wales, which suggests a more subjective point of view. Therefore the broad statements which seem to have some semblance of substance such as…

…despite the widespread assumption that modernist and postmodernist culture are characterized by oppositional dynamics, it seems evident that postmodern instillation art derives from modernist experimentation in terms of evolutionary dynamics, elaborating, extending and making explicit the implicit potential of these arstists’ differing aspirations towards an art of installation…

become somewhat suspect. The lack of any form of annotated referencing gives the impression that there has been no reputable research to support any of the theories put forward in Zurbrugg’s study. There is no doubt that Zurbrugg’s ‘essay’ is well written, although the language is vague and abstract , which in essence creates a sence of confusion mixed with intrigue, an essential part of marketing. That is the only real substance which, i personally see, can be taken from a piece such as this.


p.s. and yes, i do realise that i haven't referenced any of my subjective opinion, although i've flayed Zurbrugg for doing just that.... !

Installation Art – Critical review

Zurbrugg, Nicholas. “Installation Art – Essence and Existence”. In What is Installation Art? An Anthology of writings on Australian Installation art, edited by Adam Geczy and Benjamin Genocchio, 25-31. Sydney: Power Publications, 2001.

In this chapter, Zurbrugg starts by explaining what Installation Art is, and that is something that is to be installed, employs time in some form, and utilizes a ‘three-dimensional space’. Zurbrugg expresses that the installation extends itself beyond the restricted parameters of traditional art making such as painting because there are not boarders containing the artwork.

Zurbrugg goes on to mention that even though the use of the term ‘Installation Art’ is relatively new, the type of art is present in many historical forms, such as ‘Stonehenge’. With the contemporary and most influential being the “early twentieth-century avant-garde movements”.

Technology played a large role in the evolution of Installation Art with the main early twentieth-century producers being from the futurists, Bauhaus, and kinetic artists. Dadaists are made mention for their impact on Installation Art through the use of unrestrained theatrics. Zurbrugg also attributes kinetic installation works as being the most accommodating with life today.

In Installation Art – Essence and Existence, Zurbrugg explores the origins of Installation Art, by investigating why it is and what it is. I found the chapter to be quite interesting and informative due to Zurbrugg’s clarification of Installation Art, and how it has transformed and progressed.

Reference:

Zurbrugg, Nicholas, Installation Art ­– essence and existence, What is installation? An anthology of writings on Australian installation art/ ed by Adam Geczy and Benjamin Genocchio. Sydney: Power Publications, 2001. pp. 25-31.

Critical Review

Nicholas Zurbrugg’s chapter Installation Art- Essence and Existence explores how installation art has developed over time, while discussing what elements are needed to produce a successful installation work. The first paragraph of the chapter reveals Zurbrugg’s opinion of postmodern installation art as being “some of the most interesting of the wider contemporary artistic languages...” as it broadens the audience’s ideas about “art’s material, conceptual, institutional and authorial parameters.”

Zurbrugg gives a rather interesting definition of what Installation Art is; “...most installations extend beyond the picture frame, exploring and asserting a more complex and spatial impact...”This could be “inside, outside or around” and exhibition space, the three-dimensional space, being the most common feature in all installations. Consequently space becomes a major factor to consider in installation art.

Zurbrugg moves onto the history of installations art, attempting to pinpoint its origins, in relation to the twentieth-century. He attempts to draw links between contemporary installation art and various avant-garde movements, such as futurism, dada and surrealism, in order to reveal how installation art has developed over time. I feel that his analysis of John Cage’s work, was quite relevant to the origins of installation art. It reveals how his work is an amalgamation of various avant-garde movements, as it uses technology to allow some sought of movement to the installation. “Cage’s performance installations, and installation performances synthesise both the futurist artists’ and Bauhaus artist’ enthusiasm for technological creativity, and the Dadaist artists’ enthusiasm for chance compositions...” Zurbrugg also points out that some of the most ‘interesting’ installations are “second-hand” installations, which provoke a more ‘figurative’ action, such as Marcel Duchamp’s work, which, according to Zurbrugg, “lay down two of the guidelines of all Installation Art.” By including the artistic opinions of Kurt Schwitter, and comparing them to Duchamp’s installations, I feel that he was successful in drawing this conclusion of second-hand installations. Zurbrugg suggests that the most successful installations are those which evoke some form of movement, whether it be a more literal movement by ‘kinetic structures’ or by evoking actions “within more fugitive circumstances”

Overall, I found the chapter was a rather interesting analysis installation art. I did find the article quite broad, however I thought that some of the points Zurbrugg raised were relevant to the discussion of installation art. By beginning the chapter with a definition of installation art, he moves on to describe the main characteristics which make a successful installation, and also gives us a brief overview of the origins of installation art and how it has developed.

Nicholas Zurbrugg- Installation art- essence and existence

Zurbrugg, Nicholas, “Installation art- essence and existence” in What is installation? An anthology of writings on Australian installation art, Edited by Adam Geczy and Benjamin Genocchio, Sydney, Power Publications 2001 (pp.25- 31)

It is essential to regard the practice of installation as “challenging and extending” the development of the artistic language and material constraints in response to preconceived notions of the “institutional and authorial parameters”. Zurbrugg's synopsis provides a succinct acknowledgment of the history of the art and regards the factors, intrinsic to the installation process by its practitioners.
The article offers perspectives on the art form's drives and catalysts and describes the often differing, yet inclusive philosophies. It defines the particularities of the “more complex” spatial relationship and points to how the ideas are transferred across media by actions and augmented by technology. He dedicates a reference to the role the artist must newly perform within the confines of the exhibition space, and makes warning, if not judgment, upon the the necessities of documentation and static, non -interactive installation, making notable exception to the idiosyncrasies of his referenced artists.
The reflection of previous art movements give context to some of the processes and infatuations associated with the installation artist, the initial experimentation and relationship with satire and performance. Zurbrugg cites the ideas of Marcel Duchamp definitively as the source of the “conceptual impact”. Duchamp, provided a freedom for the what the artist can work with in material terms. He divides the major philosophical references between Duchamp and Kurt Schwitters, but also relates its foundation, quite importantly to the practice of John Cage, an artist practicing as musician, whose galleries were music halls and recordings, who produced innovative and influential performance, fifty years after Duchamp and R Mutt. Cage's work seems to exemplify a dadaist “enthusiasm” for the idea of chance in art. The technological advancement of the twentieth century, gave the medium to Cage, who exemplifies characteristics of Futurist imperatives, the mechanical or kinetic is certainly present in terms of modern installation. In the article, modern artists such as Joseph Beuys appear to challenge beliefs held by more historical artists, perceiving restrictions in their aesthetic values and purposes.
The writer is aware of the failings in translation between the often oblique examples of installation art and its audience in terms of relevancy, he makes comment in regard to both the more asinine and acerbic of the artwork. Zurbrugg indicates the importance of an inclusive natured work, equal to the varying responses and discoveries of its audience. A possible factor determining this, could be controlled by the specific qualifying of an exhibits space. Zurbrugg has preferences toward a sense of movement within the artwork. He is aware of the sense of “inauguration” and the “commemoration” an audiences interaction with spaces and contexts can create, and will allow for an installation to develop an aura out of its earlier incarnations. He maintains that in Installation Art a real liberty exists through the freedom of mediums and technologies, and from the construction of the redefinition of the space within a gallery by an artist.

Critical review

Nicolas Zurbrugg in the article entitled “Installation Art – Essence and Existence’, gives a well rounded discussion of installation art. The chapter begins by discussing “what is an installation” and the development of postmodern installation art. Zurbrugg right from the beginning makes interesting statements about postmodern installation art. The writer states that an installation “typifies some of the most interesting of the wider contemporary artistic languages, challenging and extending our preconceptions regarding materials, conceptual, institutional and authorial parameters”(25). This statement is evident in many contemporary pieces as referred to later in the article such as, Jenny Holzer. Which through the use of text on buildings and billboards has revolutionized the gallery as an institution. Zurbrugg continues on to define an installation as something that can be installed “inside, outside or around an exhibition space (25).”

The ideas of existence and essence are mentioned throughout the chapter drawing on enthralling ideas. This being that “ its existence as an installation responding to a particular spatial or environmental context determines its specific aesthetic essence as installation art” (26) therefore, “Existence determines essence”(26) regarding an installation.

This article differs from others due to the fact that the writer has taken a different approach to establishing an understanding of installation art. Rather than looking at “ancient constructions”(26) he attempts to look at the differing periods in the early development of installation art in 20th century avant-garde movement. The writer looks at Duchamp's influential artwork “Fountain” (1917), and the works of Kurt Schwitters. Both were dominate artists within this avant-garde movement. Through the discussion of these works many intriguing ideas are unpacked. The writer states “schwitters implies that any selection of preexisting materials may function as an installation in any place if the artist considers them to have artistic value. Duchamp suggests that any materials, irrespective of artistic merit, must become art when signed by the artist.” (29)

This discussion continues with a few differing perspectives on installation artworks. The writer also makes the point that “installations that simply exploit a kind of second-hand Duchampian shock value”(30) are inadequate.
Overall, the chapter makes a knowledgeable discussion from the early 20th century to contemporary installation art. Making insightful statements about what makes installation art what it is today. This article makes reference to relevant artists, exhibitions, writings and theoretical discussion. From the discussion of defining an installation to the argument of its avant-garde origins Zurbrugg makes a compelling argument. I see many of his ideas having merit. Especially, in his final statements as he states in his opinion that “the most rewarding installations are perhaps those which imply or enact some sort of movement, be this their own literal movement as Kinetic structure or as installation action, or be this the viewer’s physical or mental exertions, across material or metaphysical space”(31). Even through he does make some fascinating points I felt that there could have been a more in depth discussion of views on installation art, looking at this art form from more different perspectives giving his argument more relevant continuity.

Source: Nicholas Zurbrugg chapter: Installation art – essence and existence from What is installation? An anthology of writings on Australian installation art /edited by Adam Geczy and Benjamin Genocchio. Sydney : Power Publications, 2001. pp. 25—31

Apologies

I didn't realise i'd posted my review 5 or more times, each time, it said it didn't work.. so I kept trying.

I don't know how to delete these posts.

Critical Literature Review

Reference: Zurbrugg, N. Installation Art – Essence and Existence in What is installation? An anthology of writings of Australian installation art edited by Geczy, A. and Genocchio, B. 25-31. Sydney: Power Publications, 2001.


Zurbrugg’s chapter within What is Installation? … is an academic essay within which he engages the reader in a discussion directed at obtaining a more structured and informed definition of the term “installation” and the subsequent academic and visual consequences arising from such definition. Within the chapter, Zurbrugg argues that

…it seems more helpful to consider the origins of different kinds of contemporary Installation Art in terms of the early twentieth-century avant-garde movements … it seems that post-modern Installation Art derives from modernist experimentation …

Within the first two paragraphs of the text, Zubrugg sets an over-arching, pragmatic definition of installation;

Installation Art might tentatively be defined as that which artists install, inside, outside or around the exhibition space … perhaps the single-most common feature of all installations is their use of three-dimensional space …

By initially utilising a simplified definition of installation; Zurbrugg facilitates an expansive discussion on the topic, comprising of three primary categories; kinetic, performance and environmental installation art. Zurbrugg formulates his own definition of installation via historical comparison; drawing references to schools of thought in art, to art itself, and visual analysis.

Kinetic, or technological installation, referred to early within the essay, encompasses movement in the form of sound, light and heat waves. Zurbrugg argues that the development and initial experiments with this form of installation can be attributed to the Futurists and those involved in the Bauhaus experiments of the 1920s. Within Zurbrugg’s observations of ‘Kinetic Installation’, Moholy-Nagy’s Light Space Modulator, is referred to by the author as functioning “both as a kinetic or static sculpture, as a twofold installation piece”. The artist’s work presents to the author only a minor comparative challenge to those exhibited by artists branching into a number installation ‘fields’ simultaneously.

Considered by the author as multi-media artist, John Cage serves as a transition between two of Zubrugg’s Proxy-Connection: keep-alive
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jor explorations; both kinetic and performance installations. Cage, having recorded a number of his performances, presents a larger problem to Zurbrugg in terms of defining installation;

The co-presence of such detail [the recorded documentation of the work and the live occurrence of the work] typifies the recurrent disparity between Installation Art as some sort of real-time process within a specific location … and Installation Art as documentation.

Posing the most significant problem to Zurbrugg, in his efforts to specify installation, however, is environmental art; the final component of the influences he presents as being precursors to the emergence of installation today. It is here that Zurbrugg struggles with the primary challenge associated with Installation Art- the notion of whether or not “any selection of pre-existing materials may function as an installation in any place if the artists considers them to have artistic value”. Schwitters’ Merzbau is used by Zurbrugg to exemplify this very problem; the combined static, and, at times, banal elements of the work ultimately leads to Zurbrugg’s final conclusion;

…when we ask ourselves which installation works or installation performances and installation-actions seem most substantial, it seems arguable that different kinds of kinetic works seem most attuned to present times …the most rewarding installations are perhaps those which imply or enact some sort of movement …

In light of the objective historical data Zurbrugg has gathered, he has seemingly drawn a somewhat frustrated and subjective conclusion based upon what appears “most rewarding” as opposed to what seemed to be his initial intention; to identify the holistic nature of installation in consideration of the entirety, rather than a selection of it’s influences.

Installation Art- Essence & Existence

REVIEW

In this chapter Zurbrugg broadly describes the importance of , the history/origins of and the characteristics of installation art. Zurbrugg writes "the single most common feature of all installations is their use of three-dimensional space". He explains that the artist is often attempting to "redefine a particular exhibition space" which means that "every installation artist is their own curator".
Zurbrugg is very positive about installation art and emphasises the philosophical nature of postmodern installation. He quotes the French surrealist poet Aragon saying when explaining that "the most positive forms of postmodern art realise and revolutionise what the most positive modernists 'dreamed' that art might become, 'after us, beyond us'".
Within his description of the origin of installation art Zurbrugg tells us that "there is something unsatisfactory about installations which simply exploit a kind of second-hand Duchampian shock value". Perhaps an example of this would be YBA artists such as Tracey Emin, Sarah Lucas and Damien Hurst.
Reading his chapter we get the feeling that he believes art reflects the social and political issues of the time. I agree with this. His (subjective) opinion is that "different kinds of kinetic works seem most attuned to present times" and that "the most rewarding installations are perhaps those which imply or enact some sort of movement". Perhaps this reflects our edgy, impatient technology-driven society.

I always enjoy reading about installation art, however, I must say I didn't learn much from the chapter. The broad nature of it implied it should be directed to those who don't know much about contemporary and/or installation art but the language implied assumed knowledge about these things. The reader is bombarded with an introductory sentence which is far too long, confusing and pretentious. This style of writing Zurbrugg uses I believe contradicts one of the key purposes of installation art. An important characteristic of Installation art is its accessibility and interactivity. Zurbrugg makes it seem as though it is something only super-academic types should be able to get their heads around. An example of this is when he says "considered in existentialist jargon". It seems as though through his language but basic information that he is trying to appeal to a very small percentage of the population. How can we be expected to engage the general public in our art when people like this scare them off?

Installation Art- Essence and Existence, What is installation? An anthology of writings on Australian installation art/Ed by Adam Geczy and Benjamin Genocchio. Sydney: Power Publications, 2001. pp. 25-31.

YAY TEAM!

Thank you to all who have posted so far - I look forward to reading the other reviews as they come in.

A.

pre-post colonialism and the rise of imperical analysis of critial readings

In the chapter "installation art- essence and existence" zurbrugg attempts to locate the beginnings of installation art as a medium and theory and it's essence. Zurbrugg begins by introducing the influence of installation art on the art world and it's purpose, which is "challenging and extending our preconceptions regarding art's materials, conceptual, institutional and authorial parameters". He then continues to suggest a definition for instillation art "that which artists install, inside, outside or around the exhibition space" with this he introduces the importance of spatiality for an instillation artist and continues to say that it is the artist's intent to redefine the spatial aspects of the exhibition space.

Zurbrugg makes connections between the early twentieth century avant-garde movements and contemporary instillation art. With this he suggests the flow of experimentation in the earlier movements of futurism, Bauhaus and dada into the realisation of "the modernist dreams" of contemporary works. Zurbrugg makes the connections through Mohole Nagy’s light space modulator and the works of john cage. Zurbrugg suggests that Mohole Nagy’s attempt to create a kinetic sculpture that existed as a static piece but could also become an "interactive, site modifying work" was a precursor that paved the way for john cage's "chance animated, musical installation and performances of the mid 1960s".

Zurbrugg continues to explain cage's works and their use of chance and technology. This is then linked to the futurist and Bauhaus' "enthusiasm for technological creativity" and the dadaist' "enthusiasm for chance". Through this zurbrugg successfully roots the beginnings of instillation art in the early movements of the twentieth century.

Zurbrugg then starts to question what makes a successful instillation. Stating that a sense of movement is required in relation to the responder in order to create a successful piece. Be that physically "across the material" or through "mental exertions" across a "metaphysical space".

Zurbrugg’s essay while well written as a whole, it seems somewhat disjointed in its structure and purpose, overall effective in it's conveyance of meaning and concept but lacks total fluidity. I found the reading interesting and insightful.

Source: Zurbrugg, Nicholas, Installation Art- essence and existence, What is installation? An anthology of writings on Australian installation art/ Ed by Adam Gauzy and Benjamin Genocchio. Sydney: Power Publications, 2001. pp. 25-31.