Fire sculpture

To have Nina’s sculpture taken over by other artists in building to even people of the community volunteering to help watch the sculpture bake at night truly adds to the meaning of her concept behind this piece of work. However, with the sculpture being cooled down now, it has become another artistic piece that requires the artist statement in order to appreciate the piece fully. I believe this because there are other buildings surrounding this sculptural building. This sculpture essentially mimics those buildings and to the ordinary viewer would pass it with one glance at it as if it were any other building, unlike the PAO heads. Having gone through a few ceramics classes myself, I can understand the process of making a ceramic sculpture outside to be a very critical and slow procedure. This is because of ensuring the piece does not crack by the fluctuating temperatures and weather climates that surround it. At the end of the firing as well, is just as critical moment. Taking off the material encompassing the sculpture for one has edges scorching, so the volunteers don’t burn the grass as well. I also learned about the sawdust and salt technique to cool off the sculpture which is something I would never have thought of.

Undergrad fine arts show

Once again, I have had the privilege to watch and see the developments of an artist in this show, Sloan, through a printmaking class this semester. I really enjoyed her work because it stands out with the color choice and imagery in both a disgusting (by the paint) and humorous way (by the content of the image). With these images being her own, they are true and raw, yet these photos can have a different feeling due to media outlets. Typically, the content of this image would be seen in poor, negative light by news coverage. However, she is just trying to display memories that mean a lot to her and the lighter side of a darker image impacted by third parties’ opinions. Sloan gives a lot of attention to the details of her human subjects and allows for the backgrounds to be simple while adding to the content of the image. 

Caroline Owens

I have known Caroline Owens since last semester through printmaking. In fact, her book making during last semester intrigued me to do one of my own this semester as well. Seeing her work has allowed for me to see the combination of photography combined with other printmaking methods into different formations i.e. prints and books. The photos may seem similar to the viewer’s eye, however, there are different facial expressions that flow in a fluid motion as their titles entail them so as well. The common pale blue and faintly patterned background are actually overlaid lightly in certain areas of her face. This can add to some of the emotions she is trying to achieve by indirectly by allowing for herself to blend in with the background as she struggles to find herself. The setup of these prints allow for the eyes to focus on the image rather than framing them in which that could restrict her images conceptually. 

Brain bress

Bress has some very unusual work, and this is by far the weirdest to understand. There are multiple segments given what I would call a flashback. At one point he has in the background of one of the segments: because depression. There is then a coal worker with terrible speech/accent, a heavy man punching the wall, an unknown figure disco dancing, to even a red figure trapped between the mattress and box frames. The title of this video is Status Report, so these characters could be extension and feelings of one man “because of depression.” Depression is taken in 2 basic directions by media outlets. One perspective, it that depression is over diagnosed frequently, and depression is not a real illness. The other viewpoint, is depression is very much real, and for those who suffer, struggle on and off for short to long periods of time. 

Walead Besthy

I find it interesting that Besthy purposedly makes art without the intentions to reflect “sculpture” or “photography.” I think this is evident in his work by no subjects, but abstract visuals being his series/body of work. Beshy also notes that with these terms, the words themselves are ignored or obscured to what they are meant. This is also represented in his work in which the concepts “time” and “space” compliment/work together as one by his use of lighting, lines, and how the image is encompassed in the allotted frame size. His Barbican interesting concept to me that embraces all four of these terms. Essentially his studio works as one machine that makes one work. This in turns shows exactly that which he developed by machinery, technology, and socially. What is the most impressive aspect of this work is that this is a full year’s worth of material. To just make a simple piece of art once a day (or more) and to strategically place the items in a collaged form also demonstrated the blending of sculpture, photography, time, and space. 

what is conceptual photography

Grasping what concept is both by definition and by context is a challenge after watching this video. Hearing from different people’s perspectives, I can see each point and how they view the word concept/conceptual. I agree that the real question should be what isn’t conceptual. This is because concept requires one to view the image in a certain way. And yet, I feel as if there should be standards because of my education through art. Within my classes there are these rules and standards to what art can be, and yet here is this art that has no true standards. I, myself, struggle to come to terms that most of my recent work is conceptual even though I don’t understand some conceptual art because of how far abstracted the final result appears to be. I believe the word concept can be correlated to the word postmodernism in which both words are difficult to explain and can be explained in different viewpoints because of individual perspectives.

Sophie Calle

Sophie Calle from Hanna Vongpraseuth

Jason Salavon

Salavon takes the digital world into a different perspective, especially into the technology aspect. His breakdown of frames into coding is the under layer and perspective we, as viewers and artists, do not look to right away. This process, in its final stage, gives a muted town, but the emotional and psychological interpretations are deeper once you realize what the image is such as in Salavon’s 100 Special Moments: Little League, Graduation, Wedding, and Santa. This series really questions as to how society has cultivated expectations of highlights in events. For instance, if you were to apply this method to a 21st birthday in the USA (in order to appeal to an audience of both young, old, and even around 21) you would more than likely get an overall photo of a person with a 21st hat/sash taking a shot/holding a drink; or even apply this to the U.S. Presidential portraits as well (This image would be nice to see because of the race of each president and the ages of the presidents). Another series of images I would like to see is of every major terrorist or wars event across the world displayed out like the Titanic piece. Our life, with the utilization of social media documentation, has been dictated to conform to standards to prove we (individually) have a life.

Pina Bausch

Tanztheater Wuppertal

 

The fact that Pina began by asking her performers questions around the themes of the play gave insight to both the raw emotions/ideas documented in writings and how people (i.e. her performers) perceive or react to them. Applying these raw emotions to a performance can be difficult because the actions that are typically represented of certain emotions such as anger and harsh, forcefully movements do not mesh too well in a theatre setting, and yet these expressive gestures combined with ballet created a beautiful play. Rather Bausch created another world in which it does not seek to teach, does not claim to know better, but instead produces experiences that relate to things every member of the audience knows; has experienced personally and physically.

The Fall Dance

With the first fall, I immediately thought of the faith/trust exercise done as ice breakers in work/social environments. However, the dancers appear to be in a romantic relationship. As to what stage of the relationship they are in is debatable. Firstly, they could be a few weeks to a few months in, and thus are still in a stage they are getting to know each other more hence the trust fall act. Yet, these two lovers could be in a phase that they are losing trust in one another due to circumstances unknown to us. There is a third option, in which these two are simply strangers getting to know one another, however, there are multiple falls and the attire and setting appear that these two are in a romantic relationship. The woman appears to fall at random times in testing if the man will be there to save her. The need for love, for intimacy and emotional security in a poetic way also encourages us to wonder what distances us from it all too.

Edward Burtynsky: Manufactured Landscapes

I enjoyed this film because Burtynsky's view on the smallest details in the corruption and evolution of our planet are crucial reminders. In my own work I look into social awareness topics whether that is between human and human, human and nature, or human and the world, much like the general arguments in books. With “Manufactured Landscapes” I am taken aback by how these larger images such as a wide shot image of oil tanks or of a factory get to that point. Actions such as the dissecting of computer part from California in China to achieve the highest percentage of recovery. And although recycling is stressed high in liberal areas and throughout our country/globally, the process and need for recycling is intensified in these images of the workers. It may be easy to just categorize paper, plastic, aluminum, and glass, but the real work afterwards is never questioned. Burtynsky provides us with an image of 45 million tires. This goes against the recycling images, but this is also because method of recycling is much more prominent in China. Burtynsky shows two strong images from Chine: a still moment of workers in a factory and real-time footage of an assembler at their normal pace for a ten hour workday. What is very strong about the first image is that Burtnsky had to make the workers pause five to ten seconds to get this image. He need about five times to do this just to get an images. That is how dedicated these workers are to their jobs.

There is also strong relationship that can be symbolic to the greater picture: Burtynsky working with the corporations. Burtynsky works with the corporations rather than against; yet the corporations take their time sometimes. Now if we could put forth that effort along with the corporations meeting halfway, a lot more could be done and more efficiently.  He took images of oil fields in California. Thinking more into the purpose of oil, the effects: cars to roads to jobs and shopping. So much relies on this domino wheel.  I also liked the display of: Obey the birth control law. In the background is the adaptation of our way of life and embrace the leading ritual lifestyle.  Burtnsky’s video also encouraged me to view another show: Living on One Dollar on Netflix. The struggles these workers go through can be correlated to those in the factories as well, but there is a strong contrast between the two in a senses of technology and environment as in Burtnsky’s photos. 

Andreas Gursky

Gursky’s photos are physically distant from his subjects allowing the people to interact with the culture and influences around them naturally. With this approach, I find the pictures to be realer because the artist is not manipulating the image to his perceived notations of this relationship. He likes to capture the whole picture rather than cropping and focusing on one thing; in this sense, he is not being biased about the influence of cultures are around us. This can be seen in his image of Parliament. Even though he had to take photos both day and night, the final product showed so much. Gursky was able to show the inside of Parliament while the busy life outside of it (the citizens they effect) reflected in the mirrors. This image is truly showing a relationship between the two groups of people though they may never cross paths often. This image can even show how parliament may not always see the people with the citizens’ being represented on the outside in the reflections.

Another image such as the people on the elevator/escalade in the Paris airport, you are really taken aback by how the people are like clockwork as if in a factory setting. Moving along a converter belt one by one, packing up, and moving to their next destination. Gursky makes sure to avoid people sticking out or if they look directly at the camera as to focus more on the whole group. But Gursky is essentially noting these sites of commerce and tourism that draw attention to the industry and global markets within the images.

Even the people on the elevator have a reflection of mass-producing in their medias such as Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram. We have created the software apps to allow people to document every moment in life i.e. mass-producing. By this are the people disconnected or connected? People are definitely interconnected by technology uses and purposes, however, they are more disconnected from each other. There are no true human connections going on between them. The only communication between humans in this is by secondhand like conversations by digital text.

With Gursky’s knowledge of architecture, some of his images are also created within the landscapes of the beaten down pathways, you get a sense of time and story, imagining who walks these paths every day and why? In some images, there is modern interacting with nature (natural).

Deadpan style photography is what we resort to after natural or human-made disasters. We look to ways to cope and comprehend the situations. How and Why did this happen? Photography reporters try to capture images of the whole situation to up close views of after results. I don’t think these close shots necessarily try to persuade the viewers to feel a certain way. The situation such as the Syrian refugees, it is hard to not get those images because people across seas want to know. We want to know how badly impacted those people are. And the truth of the images speaks for themselves as is. No matter the angle a person could try to persuade, it is evident within the eyes of the victims and the landscape. It is rather the stories that go with these images and how those stories are told that persuade people in certain directions.

Sandy skoglund from Hanna Vongpraseuth

Jeff Wall

The split actions caught in the space of time relate to paintings such as Édouard Manet. Manet’s work was surrounded by this idea of capturing and perceiving ascents of events such as music concerts, café scenes, and war. This concept was successfully applied by Jeff Wall. Wall’s photos imitate life though resemblances, expressions, and inferences. Thus the illusion of a reality in a fictional world. Wall also creates his images to be life size so that the viewer feels an intimate direct or subtle connection. These sizers are very similar to the ones Monet also worked with.

The process of manipulating the models is Wall’s influence on the image, but this does not affect the cultural surroundings he is trying to perceive. The way he works with his models and how his models pose fixed expressions can be associated with theater too. Staged action replacing real action. Hence the authenticity of true documentation of events and people is eliminated with his subjects acting out his productions.

Wall’s process of creating these acted out scenes are similar to how true story movies are portrayed. The details and emotions of the story are told vividly by the director and fools the audience into believing the entire movie is scene for scene, detail for detail, true to how the original movie was. So in a way Wall is also mocking these movies for how easy it is to fool people.

The issue he works with in this reality is typically class related yet he never gives a political stance; he keeps himself distant from influencing the viewers’ opinion. His subjects are signifiers of a social status, employed to signal the idea of class, as if in a genre painting. This is similar to Manet’s work on social events of the rich class.

The Works

Dead Troops Talk

If you look closely the phot shows no true side of which the soldiers belong to, Rather the soldier are no names and the expressions they give conflict with the setting. The dead soldiers seem to talk and joke with one another. As Wall typically makes the viewer question if the photo is real or fake, it is quite certain by the models that this image doesn’t refers to an event found in history books. I think this image can be compared to Manet’s Battle of Cherbourg. In this painting, there are multiple ships out at sea with one that appears to have been hit. If it were not for the French flag on the bottom left ship, you would not be able to tell who is fighting for which side like the soldiers from Wall’s photo.

View From Apartment

Manet challenged established artistic values by rejecting the illusionistic painting techniques emerging from the Realism to Impressionistic period. Wall constructs a similar critique through his practice by deliberately staging his photographs. In A View from an Apartment, the artist gave his model a budget for the apartment over several months and then photographed moments during the model’s time there. He then used digital editing to combine multiple shots to achieve this final image. This creative process forces us to question the photograph’s value as an accurate record of the scene.

Dick Blau

Dick Blau's photography work in Polka! Happiness captured a lot of raw first moments. I felt that since it was his first time experiencing this, we were able to experience it secondhandly through his eyes. These pictures also broke my own stereotypical thoughts on Polka music and the atmosphere surrounding it.

With his first film, his experimenting and educating himself, gave a different kind of element. Blau was used to photography in which the end result was just one moment. This mindset helped to capture the emotional expressions from the church gatherers; in moments such as them praying with their hands held up high or hold their books so closely to their bodies. He was able to diversify the viewers from a larger to small picture and back and forth throughout. He would focus on the people within the church and then pair these images with scenes outside such as the parade down the street or the woman preaching by herself outside. This piece overall was strong not just in the obvious religious ways but also in the social aspect as to how this group interacted the world outside of their church.

The fairy tale video was my favorite piece of his.The conceptual idea of this video added to the essence of it since kids pretending gets jumbled up by "new intruders" and "obstacles" causing the story to constantly change. I really felt as though this piece could have been categorized as creepy or horror by the way the video would repeat areas or reverse the order of another area within the "plot line." I also loved that although Blau staged some narratives, he had to work with what he was given by the kids costumes. 

Georges Rousse

His early figurative paintings seem straight forward but they are different. Rather than photographing an image of the “empty hallway or room” of an abandon building, he gave life to it. And in a way created memories to commemorate previous residents in his own imagination.

The sculptural forms remind me of how an interior designer would imagine different pieces to be placed or the potential of the space. This technique is also similar to sidewalk chalk artwork in which their one particular point of view can deceive the viewer between 2D and 3D perspective.

The transparent shapes painted in itself seems contradictive. This is because typically when paint is placed on a canvas or piece of paper it becomes solid or not see through. On top of this, the shapes Rousse used are typically in a solid sense whether that is 2D or 3D. However, with this space and use of material Rousse makes these shapes appear translucent.  Allowing the elements that are in relief to become flat continues to draw my attention; 3D elements becoming 2D in a certain viewpoint.

When Rousse went onto his series of capturing light with the use of circles allows for us to look more into his medium. The base of these pieces being architectural reverts his idea in his transparent pieces in the sense that Rousse is trying to show more depth into the architect elements conceptually; and being that architecture is 3D form.  

The incandescence of the sun (where does it come), merged with his words puts a more literal sense than without the words. Before the words, I was appreciating the light source and how it appeared in certain areas of the pieces. But then bringing the subject of light into a religious term can be more depicted in his words because of his thoughts with death; these thoughts contradicting the light, a holy figure, is a beautiful thought and image. 

Still Moving

Charles Gick

                A cloud is theoretically tangible, yet unattainable to humans because of its properties and the elevation at which it is found. However, there is also a saying: Reach for the sky, because the sky has no limits. If you were to think of this while watching this video, the concepts would seem surreal. Poking a cloud is as if you have broken the saying/myth. Or perhaps reaching a goal or your full potential is like reaching the cloud.

Kevin Cooley

                There feels like there is a split timeline in this piece: one in which the water is constantly moving and the other is the sunset stopped in one brief second.Sometimes this is how I perceive moments in nature. A sensation of the sky never changing because of the constant combination of warm colors blurring during this time period. The water however is in a constant motion as though time is continuing into night and the gravitational pull of the moon is taking effect.   

Stephen Hilyard

                Using a projector also adds the presentation of this segment in which the viewer can interact their shadow with the video. This video of constant water can be interpreted to the viewer in different aspects. At first, I was just at peace because I love nature and appreciate the beauty in it. But then I thought more of the notion, purpose, and aspects of water.
                Continuity of Life: the constant running of water can symbolize the circle of life in constant motion.
                Pure/Healing:Water is in its most truest, wholesome state. We are mainly made up of water components so when our bodies become dehydrated water is the solution.
                Flexible/Adaptable: water is a liquid which allows for the particles to move freely as should our minds.
                Calming: the color blue creates a soothing sensation for most people.

Conceptual

Regardless of tool and form and material Content/idea is more emphasized

What makes you look at art one more time

Based on looking photography for conceptual art: what you look at is represent idea

Why important to photograph apple concrete idea persuade viewer

Content not formulated no reason to look at work

Photography most conceptual art form phot represent idea

Nature represent memory believe is real

Marking territory of memory when take photo

Ken Josephson

Pictorial experiments how we perceive photos transformation when 3 d transcribed into 2d

Photo has own visual code that creates illusion always there not looking at reality but picture of reality

Photo insert into original photo

                Layering time; cannot trust photos because of manipulation; one vantage point; remember places?

Postcard became representation of picture in mind

Reference to how camera works

Truth of photo ; viewer perspectives and influences

Rene Magritte-painting challenge reality like josephson obscured by painting how made accessories

Metaphoric fixated of image perspective

John Pfahl

Exquisite landscape

Installation artist

Alters space for depth and flatness

Brain think before analyze

Sense of space questionable

String compress foreground and background

Zeke berman

Georges Rousse

Similar optical illusion transforming architectural space by painting the space

Vantage point perspective

Very different around each point

David hockney

Explore composite and collage images challenges singular perspective of photo

Create movement natural to eyes

Challenege space chairs repetitive

How we enter the image

Vic muniz

Appropriate artist

Questions values of art system

Game child playing

Common mundane objects

Yasumasa morimura

Digital manipulation

Paint background turn into photo for backdrop

Questions on assumptions on western documentation

Western assumption of importance

Art history start with western. Why not eastern?

Create own history

Same value now that main subject is Asian

Question hierarchical education system of west describe feminism or masculine

Concept of male gays

Carrie mae weems

1980

Race and color

Colored people: tinted with colors conceptual challenges how we use the term color to label people

System of language

Skin tone values

Lora simpson

Notion of class race gender age defining people obscure

Manipulate memory and mind

Reading of image vs text

Media dictatorship

Gillian wearing

British artist uses models for performances

Shizuku yokomizo

Strangers

Ruth thorne thomsen

Pin hole camera

Dream like surrealistic

Aberaldo morell

Photo roots

Render capture camerless photo camera obscure

Perform quality

Adam fuss

Susan derges

Pioneered

Landscape as darkroom

Submerge paper in river with artificial lights is moon to expose what is around her

Midterm

Cindy Sherman

Cindy Sherman’s artworks are these one instances with certain characters for individuals to connect with in a nostalgic way. Using a camera as her choice of tool was the best way to present these subjects. This is because the subjects are mostly snippets of a frame in time so the medium adds to this sense. The way in which Sherman captures these moments and characters does allow for the viewer to think more into this space of time in a broader spectrum than what they have conceived it to be.

Sometimes her works is manipulated, twisted, and stretched thin until her work fits a concept or theory for someone to create. Sherman’s work is most notably debated to be feminist or political like by viewers; but Sherman does not see herself nor her pieces as that. There is no right or wrong to her work. It is there to be out in the open. This is the kind of work I hope to do. I want my art to be on social awareness issues just so they can be presented in a conversation; so that these topics can be expressed openly to the public in order to help resolve the matter or do something about it.

Sherman’s subject matter comes from influences of media related things throughout her time such as things from new television sets to women role models with obscured standard for young girls; these influences are deliberate and raw in her images. For instance, when the NEA pulled its money from obscene art, Sherman responded with fake body parts arranged into ways in which one is forced to look at because it is the main presence of the image. The simplicity of just having a massive penis as her artwork really pushed the censorship line the NEA had. But, this is also an instance in which her work’s intention could be stretched to be applied to sexuality, pornography, and aids when most of the time Sherman is making fun of a serious side that is not to be seen as something truly horrific.

Vic Muniz

This video is not just a documentation of Vic Muniz’s work, but rather an inside documentary. I feel as though that this was created in hopes to raise awareness once Muniz and his team saw how corrupt things could be i.e. when the organization’s wages of $6,000 dollars were stolen. Muniz’s work of the portraits were to be sold and the full percentage of the profits given back to them. However, this video expanded on that help. This video spreads the word by real documentation rather than by word of mouth. 

Yet, towards the end of the video Muniz and his wife revealed a deeper question on the project: is it doing the locals any good by involving them in the work? I can equally see both sides of their arguments. From Muniz’s side, I think it gave the locals sometime to see an opportunity for a better life; and even a look into the beauty of their everyday job. The aspect of these workers creating this art gives a sense of quality and retrospect. Day after day, these people rummage and sort through the garbage of their area; this is similar to what they are doing with the portraits. This technique may have been over seen by Muniz, but it was really created by the people. 

Also, another aspect of this video was the art materials to the place and subjects of the work. Using the trash connects the people to the health sanitation situation and also to their home.