Art and Narrative

Narrative imagery is a very engaging method to depict events from literature, history, mythology, and current events. I find narrative art a fascinating thematic area for its ability to express storylines within a single work. Although performance art separates itself from theatre for not having a linear narrative, 'Glimpses of Protoplasm' by Bruce Charlesworth and Colleen Ludwig are a compilation of stories the performers attempt to converse with one another. They use collection of objects and two video screens, "where their ideas are filtered through technology before reaching each other or the audience". http://www.brucecharlesworth.net/ and excerpt of performance http://vimeo.com/3155648

narrative

The idea of storytelling- or portraying a certain tale in a work is very appealling to me. The concept that works can not only provide a vague focus on a topic, but instead tell a interwoven story is fascinating, and gives work mulitple layers of depth. Matthew Barney is an artist whom does this to great extent, and after seeing him in last weeks class, i found myself considering his work and contemplating his reasoning. his work the cremaster cycle is comprised of 5 different films, that can be viewed in varying order, to provide altered storylines. this idea is not only amazing to me, but seems nigh on impossible to be able to pull off well. I would very much like to explore his works further and sit down and watch his films the cremaster cycle series.

P.S.

if you haven't already done so, go to this website

http://www.martincreed.com/site/works/work-no-1090

to watch Martin Creed's video accompaniment to "Thinking Not Thinking" !!!!!!

So gooD!

Narrative in New Media

Sharon Daniel is an American professor and artist in the field of Film and Digital Media. Immensely dissatisfied with particular social discrepancies, Daniel “refuses to accept reality as it is”. her contemporary digital documentary and new media works are devoted to changing the current state of reality or “permitting others to change it for themselves” essentially using narrative to supply escapism. She uses the internet ability to bridge geographical distances and express ethical concerns, pertinent to a global audience. This incentive drew Daniel to the Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF) Prison in Chowchilla, California’s Central Valley, which stimulated the development of “Public Secrets” (2008). Developed to “penetrate the wall of silence surrounding prisons in California,” “Public Secrets” is a hyper text, interactive website with sound clips and textual narratives from female inmates in California State Prisons. Every voice over was recorded, over a period of 5 years, by Daniel as she conducted conversations with inmates, nearly 600 excerpts comprise most of the work. The women discuss everything from mundane aspects of prison life, the economics of the “prison industrial complex”, previous mistakes and unfortunate circumstances and the internal prison hierarchy. Daniel says, “The stories I heard inside challenged all my basic preconceptions of justice, freedom, and responsibility.”' narration open realms of anguish and memories riddled with adversity extending the viewers artistic experience to one exploring psychological, theoretical, and ideological realities of the prison in an incredibly personified and confronting manner. The collage of narratives with in this work stresses the call for social reform in modern society.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT SHARON DANIEL'S "PUBLIC SECRETS"

Art and Narrative

I really like the link that Art and Identity shares with Art and Narrative. I like seeing an artwork that almost makes you feel like you know the creator or the lives of those who are portrayed in the work, best achieved i believe by an underlying narrative. Works like those by Shirin Neshat and Norman Rockwell

Art and Narrative

I am finding it hard to tell if a work comes under the narrative category or another category but I came across an interesting artist called Fernando Mastrangelo who tells a story of love and a dangerous sea voyage in a show he had at Kumukumu Gallery called "LoVE is a smoke made with the fume of sighs…" In his works he investigates society, history, politics, and literature, in this particular show has has turned the gallery into a replica of a ship by casting sugar. Mastrangelo has used sugar as a symbol to adress the issue of obsession with commodoties in the world, in particular energy and the different resources used in the industry e.g. sugar cane. The politically motivated use of this material allows for references to different countries around the world and different moments in time. The use of sugar makes the work seem sweet and delicate despite their strong appearance, much like a loving relationship. One of the pieces in the show is a black heart, the heart clearly a symbol of love while the black implying death and danger. The pieces that appear to be parts of a ship tell of a sea-wreckage, where one lover may be lost at sea. The use of images that reflect love and the images that reflect danger tell a story of the dangers of love and the chance of a broken heart. It could also be telling a story about a sensitive lover who can also be tough and rough like the sea.

Martin Creed

here is an interesting piece of writing about the titling of creeds work that i found on this website

http://www.designboom.com/portrait/creed.html

the titling of creed's art
creed began to number his works,
not as a chronological catalogue but as a method of
description.
the titles given to the pieces also define them.

for example work no. 142, 'a large piece of furniture
partially obstructing a door'.
this work is exactly as the title describes:
a large wardrobe in a doorframe in the gallery.
you can physically walk past it, but you cannot fail to
notice it as the piece is nevertheless in the way.

and he comes up with equations:
the piece comissioned for tate britain gallery,
the large neon text, says:
'the whole world + the work = the whole world'
value reduced to zero?
is creed implying that art does not count for anything?
the paradoxical desire and contradictory impulse
to produce something and nothing?
is art part of our lives and it does not need to be
defined as a separate component?

i found creeds work quite interesting, as he seems to not take himself to seriously, the icorporation of music into his art, i find very effective, as it provides a full on assault on ones senses. His lack of seriousness in his art making gives his work a playful quality, thatuntil before i heard him talk of his works today , i had not seen before. I think his ethos is a very forward thinking ideology , and am very encouraged to research further into creed in future university studies./

IDENTITY: Kara Walker

For those interested in Kara Walker's work - she is currently exhibiting at LEHMANN MAUPIN Gallery

Art and Identity

Ah Xian is a Chinese artist who migrated to Australia and makes sculptures of busts with asian designs to represent his Chinese identity. His work explores how one always retains their cultural roots. His China Series works are made of busts with Chinese and Buddhist motifs which follow the contours of the individual busts, showing how culture is as much a part of someones identity as their body and that each person is linked in a different way. He says that he would not have had the idea if he had not come to Australia, showing that cultural heritage is such a big part of one's identity but you might not realise until you are in a society of a different culture.

Gallery Visits

Artspace - Talking Pictures

The piece I most connected with would have to be Sean Raffety's Fugitive Dreams. I love nostalic items that not only educate about the past but provide lessons and instill caution about the overuse of technology. The immense redundancy of this projector with the film extended out about 2metres just to show a reel of 'coming soon' images through a viewing screen hidden by its dark appearance. This piece just seems so lonesome and out of touch, yet those willing to bond with it share a strong connection. Its size alone gives it presense in a way, the images, notes and files on the outside serving as a backstory to add to its importance in the audiences mind. As a tongue-in-cheek kind of way, Raffety also places those televisions on the back of the 'cinema' as if to mock the use of film and show how fast technology moves. These themes also show in the work of Nicholas Mangan; specifically Some Kinds Of Duration, a concrete cast photocopier.

Thats the feel I got from those pieces, really enjoyed it.

The works a AGNSW were fun too, the ones that stuck in my mind would have to be the simulated transportation creations such as the 'looking out of a plane window' piece. The message that really got through to me as a sculpture student, besides the messages about technology and such, would have to be how versatile objects are, and how convincingly deceptive they can be.

Excursions are fun!

My favourite work at Artspace I think is the photocopier work as the more I think about it, the more I like it. One of the first things I looked at in the room was a photocopy of a picture stuck to the wall under a light with no explanation next to it so I was slightly confused. The last thing I looked at was the description of the show which linked everything together for me and gave me an understanding of the concept. I think this is a good way to view works as it allows you to notice everything about the work while trying to figure it out and your own interpretation isn't likely to be influenced by prior knowledge. The work used the whole space effectively by using sculpture, video, light and sound to show the less than obvious link that the Pyrmont incinerator has with a photocopier.

At the AGNSW, the David Haines and Joyce Hinterding work also uses space as a tool in the work, virtual and physical. The size of the projected screen creates a feeling of immersion in the vast virtual space which is amplified by the sounds within the virtual world. The controller uses two sticks to move around which may enhance the feeling of being in the worlds that have trees in them. The sticks sticking out of the table seem so simple compared to the complexity of the virtual world and the process involved with creating it, but they are just as engaging and makes the physical part of the work more than just a video game.

anne landa exhibit

All up i felt that the anne landa exhibit was a succesful exhibit. i thought every piece except for two works were very interesting, thought provoking and visually interesting pieces.I felt that the work the lament, was the weakest piece, and proved a rather dull watch with little thought provoking material. My favourite work was the outlands by David Haines and Joyce Hinterding. The outlands is a piece that uses a gaming toolkit called the Unreal Engine 3 to create ‘a journeying landscape’. Whereas commercial games often involve rapid-fire carnage and a frenetic pursuit of rewards,The outlands is a world where viewers are free to take their time and look around.

It uses sticks as controls, allowing the viewer to travel around the worlds. After observing others, and myself having a turn exploring the worlds, i began to notice an appreciate the finite details of the various lands. the home land appeared to be comletely symetrical and reflective, and its soundtrack appeared to be matched too the players movements, making both sound and image that the player travel through different every time with no similarities....

Another work i appreciated was Ian Burns collection of pieces which i found very interesting and stimulating, as a result, i looked further into his works in my essay... yeah... read more there.

KUTLUG ATAMAN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Xa8sYRiYSY

this is a film by kutlug ataman. I noticed that he was in next weeks class so i researched a bit of his work. he has an interesting technique that combines documentary style film making with a home movie genreesque style. this particular film examines the issues behind homosexuality , from the perspective of a young turkish immigrant living under his brother in Berlin Germany. the segments of the film that i observed made me feel quite uncomfortable and i feel that this is a commendation to Ataman .

art and the institution

The Bauhaus

• The Bauhaus was one of the biggest influences on art in the 20th century.
• It started in the early 20th century after WW1 and during the reign of the left-wing Wiemar government who allowed more free expression an experimentation than the earlier regime.
• The Bauhaus students had both theory and practical lessons which became the model for many modern art schools.
  
• The Bauhaus promoted practically, a building should be designed with its purpose in mind. They attempted to bridge the gap between art and industry.
• Its influence was strongest in the US, Canada, Western Europe and Israel which has over 4000 Bauhaus buildings which are heritage listed.
• Its easy to see the links from Industrialization and Futurism to the Bauhaus. It embraced 20th century machine culture and the urban and technological.
  
• Some of the biggest artists of the time were lecturers at the school.
• To many traditionalists the Bauhaus and its culture and influence were formidable. German mothers told their children: "If you don't behave, I'll send you to the Bauhaus."
• It had to move twice because of political opposition to the school and its founders. It was often perceived as too liberal and when the Nazis came to power it was shutdown.
  
• The ideas and conventions developed at the Bauhaus have had a lasting impact on all areas of creativity including art, design and architecture.
  

Gallery visits

'Some kinds of duration' was my favourite work at Artspace. The flourescent lights and drab colours gave the artwork a sad almost mournful feeling, it was a cross between a dissection and a funeral. The old photocopier crumbled in the corner under the harsh light as sounds and video of its more lively days played between and on the walls of the exhibition space.
The works that most intrigued me at Artspace were Ása Ragnarsdóttir: Six interviews in Reykjavik and Operation Tully: A documentary (on the undercover work and disappearance of Garth Mayhew) because of their mysterious subject matter.
All the works in 'Talking Pictures' had a sense of mystery about them. We never see the face of the person with their back towards the camera in 'Everything put to use'.
'Fugitive Dreams (Road Pictures)' seemed incomplete, nothing was covered up, all the inner workings and processes of the work were exposed except for what the projector was projecting. It was easy to miss the small frame acting as a window through which to view the projection of 'coming soon'.
The works weren't as impressive at the Ann Landa exhibition. One that was quite engaging was the interactive 'The Outlands'. Maybe i found it so engaging because i cant imagine ever being able to create a work like that. The scale of the projection was also very impressive and gave the viewer a feeling of almost being in the realms created by the artists.

Exhibition thing

I engaged with Unguided tours, the Anne Landa Award exhibition at Art Gallery NSW more than Artspace's Talking Pictures. I found the Anne Landa works to be more interesting (subjective opinion) because they were playful visually and conceptually and literally ('The Outlands' -David Haines, Joyce Hinterding, what a mindfuck). I particularly enjoyed Ian Burns' sculptures. At first glance they just looked like assemblage works, a compilation of seemingly random objects. But when viewed on the live feed video, Burns creates extraordinary scenes mimicking space ('From Orbit'), a cheesy road movie ('Well Read'), a Hummer on the world ('Makin' Tracks') and the window view from a plane ('15 Hours v4'). With these four works Burns dismantles the glorification and glamour of exploring space, seemingly carefree life, ridiculous cars commercials and international air travel, respectively. I did take note of Nicholas Mangan's 'Some kinds of duration' in the exhibition Talking Pictures. The installation and the concrete photocopier itself were impressive, especially darkened room and the use of fluorescent lights that allude to the scanning light in the machine.

louise bouegious.....

"For Destruction of the Father, Bourgeois bought hunks of mutton and beef, decidely on the bone, cast them in plaster and then covered the plaster with latex rubber. She put them in a cave-like structure lit with a red glow. And although Bourgeois maintained that her autobiography was not necessary to an understanding of her art, after the huge success of her Moma show she talked often about her childhood and its effect on her."

I feel that louise Bouegioious work, has a very primal feminine feel about it. Her work 'destruction of the father' is a cavernous work, which is simulteiouaneous to that of the female sexual organ. The idea of having her 'fathers(a mans) innards' resting inside her cavrnous space, in sucha provocative and intrusive manner is a stark metaphor to that of womens sexual liberty, and the intrusion of male sexuality, which is then shadowed by each sexes organs, eg, the phallic organ is very intrusive and penetrative, whereas the female organ is much more cavernous and vulnerable. i find this very interesting, in that Bourgious manages through such a simple piece, to create such meaningful context and subtextual referneces to femininity(not feminism) haha. and the intrusion of males into womens femininity.

Annotated Bibliography - Identity, Post-Human - Orlan

Pollock, Griselda, Generations and Geographies in the Visual Arts, New York: Routledge Publishing, 1996. [Orlan: artist in the post-human age of mechanical reincarnation: body as ready (to be re-) made, Hirschhorn, Michelle; 110-134]

This chapter regarding Orlan’s most famous work, The Reincarnation of St Orlan could not be surpassed. Not only does it provide a concise and valuable history or Orlans work, but Hirschhorn’s brilliant writing covers almost every conceptual aspect conceivable on Orlans operations. Whether it be on the subject of politics, social, cultural or personal matters, Hirschhorn is detailed and compelling.

Deitch, Jeffrey, Post Human, New York : North American distribution, DAP/Distributed Art Publishers, 1992.

Post-Human is a book that gives a basic and fundamental picture of what the style is all about. It not only describes the main concepts and practices of artists participating in Post Human art but also provides many images by artists who have made a very distinctive mark in this style such as Wim Delvoye and Robert Gober

As of 2011, www.orlan.net

The site directly connected to the artist, this site provides images, video, literature, and information on commissions and exhibitions that covers her work with a large spectrum of mediums and themes. For those who want to know more on Orlan as a person, her biography is also present, as is the bibliography for the site. For pretty much anything on Orlan, this site seems the best.

As of 11 April 2005, http://www.izinsizgosteri.net/asalsayi37/Kubilay.Akman_ing.37.html

This site contains an article that centralises itself around the famous Reincarnation of St Orlan operations. It speaks in a less formal and encompassing manner than the books I used but does allow for a more accessible and relatable read.

As of 29 April 2009, http://theirishcritic.com/new-york-theatre/feminism-and-representation-an-interview-with-orlan/

This interview with Orlan reveals her opinions on feminism within her work, her intentions, political and social views as well as giving an insight to her artist thought processes. It helps when trying to understand Orlan’s intentions and practices as well as understanding her morals.

Heartney, Elanor, Art and Today, London, Phaidon Publishing 2008; Chapter - Art and Identity 242-265

This is a great source for understanding the concept of identity. It includes artists otherwise not necessarily appreciated as artists working with identity as well as other who demonstrate identity’s key role in art. Aspects of life including gender, culture, race and social life are focused on to take the viewers understanding of identity beyond the physical form. It did not help as much when researching for Orlan’s work as post-humanism was not a major focus. It did however help with issues of feminism.

ARTSPACE & AGNSW

I enjoyed the way many artists in the Artspace exhibition exposed raw components of their works - displaying pieces of documentation and incidental, relative objects (like in the projection one and each of the missing persons ones) facilitated a deeper level of engagement from the audience. I think, perhaps, that these processed based works are slightly more intriguing/ easy to engage with than more refined pieces of art because they provide the psyche with a linear framework through which to view and experience the work; in turn providing an insight into the artist's evolution of the work.

Interestingly, the exhibition at the AGNSW exhibited works of both a resolved and unresolved aesthetic. Ian Burns' works left wires, mundane objects and mechanics exposed for the audience to experience the kinetic nature of his works more holistically. On the contrary, works such as the video game one and the panning footage of the forest were executed with such technical precision that there was no evidence of humanity what so ever.

With cables and cords hidden it is interesting to note that these works were no less beautiful than those that expose steps in the art making process but they exuded more finesse and a 'high art' quality. To me, this "elitist" art is intimidating yet motivates me to learn about new technologies that can be incorporated into and enhance my art. However, the constant learning and relearning of new advancements that aligns with the fast paced technological progression of nowadays leads me to believe that i, personally, will gravitate towards processed based works where the mark of its creator can be acknowledged in the final product - whether it be tear of paper, a notch in the wood or even a fingerprint.

Art & Identity

Patricia Paticcinini uses digital technology and sculptural methods to explore the themes of science and its interaction and interference with nature. She is highly interested in the fast paced momentum of science, particularly in the area of biochemistry.

Paticcinini's creation of weird, almost half human looking creatures makes us feel uneasy, confronted and confused and leaves us wondering of the scientic possiblity of such unusual, hybrid looking creatures, and it also causes the audience to feel a kind of sympathy for these resulting creatures of biochemical experiments

Her work the Siren Mole explores the possibilities of biocemical science and our concerns of the consequences
This is a link to her website describing the project:
Siren Mole

Art & The Environment

Michel de Broin refers to himself as a trans-disciplinary artist, adopting a both a critical and playful attitude towards everyday objects. He works within a variety of different mediums, but has a main focus on intsilation/site specific works as well as videos.

Broin created a series of works involving street signs and bike paths which i found rather interesting and humorous as they aim to undermine the practicality of urban planning

First Image: 'Encircling' (2006) shown at the Scape Biennale in Christchurch, New Zealand
Second Image: 'Entrelacement' (2001) a permanent instillation at Lachine canal, Montreal

Annotated Biblio for Art and Identity

Heartney, E. 2008. Art & Today. London: Phaidon.

This book was an excellent source on identity and its significance in the history of contemporary art. The chapter illustrates the chronological development of identity as a conceptual liberation for ethnic and gender minorities in the mid-20^th century, including detailed analyses of artworks by said minorities. An art critic and scholar, Eleanor Heartney’s references to quotes by art critics and artists provide a solid essay examining identity as a malleable form and a hybrid of influence. Its maturity as a thematic field in contemporary art is the focus in this chapter and was of incredible use for the study of art and identity.

Storr, R., Golden, T., Siegel, K, Herbert, L.M. & Sollins, S. 2001. Art:21: Art in the Twenty-First Century. New York: Harry N. Abrams.

This chapter centred on art and identity written by curator and art critic Robert Storr was extremely helpful. His introduction gives a great outline of conditions that contribute to the development of human behaviour. Louise Bourgeois is amongst the artists in his analysis whom I had selected to discuss. His examination of her works was very in-depth, though I would have preferred an inclusion of more recent works, in particular her fabric sculptures. It provided a thorough overview of Bourgeois’ concepts, especially the fragility of human relations.

Morris, F. 2010. A Fight to the Finish. Sydney: Art & Australia Pty Ltd, Vol. 48 No.

Written after her death, this article Frances Morris provides an insightful overview of Louise Bourgeois’ material practice. She does not give a close study of individual artworks but reviews the artist’s skills over her artistic career. She aligns Bourgeois’ choice of materials (which she refers to as “weapons”) with significant moments of her life, specifically her fabric works, which marks the period before her death. Morris lacks specified data on Bourgeois’ art concepts but provides a good description of Bourgeois’ experimentation in the field of sculpture.

Conn, C. Delicate Strength. Retrieved from

http://www.launchprojects.com/IMAGES/Cyndi%20Conn%20Louise%20Bourgeois.pdf

This essay by founder and curator Cyndi Conn was well written and gives an incredible overview of Louise Bourgeois’ life and artworks. A great number of sources and quotes from art scholars and Bourgeois are provided that reveals various aspects of the artist’s complex practice and identity. Conn’s analysis of Bourgeois is thorough and offers a range of works throughout her career and was a detailed and useful source for my study.

Art and Nature

Alan Gibbs is a super rich New Zealander who has a super big property and pays famous artists to make massive works specifically for his 1000 acre farm. Artists include Anish Kapoor and Richard Serra and Tony Oursler and my favourite work is by Neil Dawson and is called 'Horizons'. Neil Dawson uses the land and the sky to make his sculpture work and apparently it even works from multiple perspectives.

It's hard to find a proper site dedicated to the artworks but heres some links about it.

http://www.robgarrettcfa.com/thefarm.htm

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/executive-lifestyle/alan-gibbs-landmark-decisions/story-e6frg9zo-1225793569299

Land art

Speaking of the 'double negative' work reminded me of another land artist whose work i enjoy: Andy Goldsworthy creates transient, site specific works comprised entirely of organic materials. I particularly like his use of light through ice, it looks like something that could have been masterfully generated using electricity but but it's just natural light and ice, Genius!

This video shows the immense precision and timing that his work involves...

GOLDSWORTHY ICE SCULPTURE AT SUNRISE

art and the environment

Robert Smithson makes amazing land art. He uses both the idea of construction organic shapes into the land for example ‘Spiral Jetty, and he also takes land disasters man made and natural such as ‘Glue Pour’ and ‘Partially Buried Woodshed’ and seems to fuse the two concepts into one eg in Glue Pour the natural flowing of the glue down the slope is a real natural in contrast to the constructed avalanche like condition of ‘Partially Buried Woodshed’.

click this

art and its institutions

Duchamp’s readymades (‘fountain’ in particular) were considered one of the most controversial artworks for his time and were redeemed unsuitable for exhibition for example. Duchamp entered it into an art exhibition by the American Society of Independent Artists, a group that Duchamp himself was a director of. Duchamp entered the readymade under the name Richard Mutt that turned the entry into a test for the society.(randomly putting this in here to see if anyone actually reads these things) The exhibition was one where artists of all schools can exhibit only a payment of the initiation one dollar and the annual dues of five dollars. Duchamp sent in his sculpture with the required fees and according to the rules should have been accepted. However, his readymade was originally manufactured to be a urinal and considered by the society, to be too controversial and inappropriate for the standards of this time, and they therefore turned it down. There really hasn’t been much change to this where certain institution rejects artworks based on the fact that they do not accept the artwork as art.

art and popular culture

• Was a hasty, young and fun art movement of the 1960's.

• Pop Art was heavily influenced by Pop Music and youth culture.

• Pop Art sculpture had an interest in mass-media, mass-production and mass-culture.

• Pop art was strongly influence by the ideas and concepts of the Dada movement.

• Pop Art in America was a reaction against Abstract Expressionism.

• Andy Warhol has influenced many contemporary artists such as Jac Leirner

Claes Oldenburg was the sculptor of the Pop Art movement, creating many large scale public works such as ‘Spoonbridge and Cherry’. Oldenburg was inspired with the imagery of consumer merchandise. Oldenburg first started with a shop creating replicas of consumer goods made from plastic.

This is a quote by Claes Oldenburg "I am for Kool-art, 7-UP art, Pepsi-art, Sunshine art, 39 cents art, 15 cents art, Vatronol Art, Dro-bomb art, Vam art, Menthol art, L & M art, Ex-lax art, Venida art, Heaven Hill art, Pamryl art, San-o-med art, Rx art, 9.99 art, Now art, New art, How art, Fire sale art, Last Chance art, Only art, Diamond art, Tomorrow art, Franks art, Ducks art, Meat-o-rama art."

art and abstraction

Characteristics of Minimalist Sculpture:

• Serial repetition of geometric forms
• Manufactured
• Industrial, commercially available materials
• Focus on the material rather than metaphor
• Simple colours and shapes

Dan Flavin strongly pursued the artistic possibilities of fluorescent light both as a solid installation using simple shapes and as a light installation using light. Dan radically limited his materials to commercially available fluorescent tubing in standard sizes, shapes, and colors. Flaven took the minimalist concept by occupying both the sculptural and surrounding space creating an atmosphere around the sculpture.

Nature and Technology in art.

Savvy article. Also includes technology mimicking nature in human performance.
http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/002409400552216

The Clipperton Project

Clipperton is a deserted island off the Mexican coast. Its so far removed from the rest of the world its ecosystem is completely unique.
A group of 16 scientists and artists from 6 different countries will be travelling there in October, the scientists will study the island and its environment and the artists will document the trip. All the work will be exhibited around the world and a book will be made to commemorate the trip and publish its outcomes.
The island has no fresh drinking water, no food, sparse vegetation and plenty of poisonous crabs.

This project is a clear combination of art and science, one of its aims is to enhance the relationship between art and science, nature and technology. These relationships are usually tempetuous however many artists, and scientists, are now exploring and connecting the two (notably Stellarc, Catherine Wagner and Laura Cinti). This project and its outcomes will further blur the lines between art and science. There will be artistc documentation by dancers, photographers, filmmakers, sculptors and musicians.

Art and its Institutions

Every art institution has a differing role in the art world and a differing view of art. Each institution has its own values and codes which are generally determined by the people in the important roles. This is fine for commercial and private galleries or art education institutions as people have the choice to go to these places however I think that public institutions such as the AGNSW and NGA are too influenced by the directors, curators, board members etc. The AGNSW has had Edmund Capon as its Director since 1978 who is an expert in the field of Chinese art. The gallery has clearly been influenced by his taste in art which is not a bad thing, however someone serving in that position for that amount of time leaves less room for the tastes of other people to be explored. The tastes of the people running the well known institutions has a great impact on the art world. For example, a large John R. Walker painting was offered to the AGNSW as a donation but was rejected as it was not seen as ‘needed’ at the time. For an art gallery that receives a lot of its work through donations, to turn one down shows the problems that can arise due to the people within the institution. Another example is the Archibald Prize, the works in which are selected by the Trustees of the Art Gallery of NSW. These people use their own judgement to make a decision on the finalists and the winner, branding them as ‘successful’ portrait artists even though they are only the best according to the small group of people. The point is, art and its institutions involves a lot of bias and can not be objective. It can bring a lot of different ideas to the table but in the end major galleries will fall into the same patterns.

sorry im late..... i forgot...

Heartney, Eleanor. Art and today. London: Phaidon, 2008.

The Book Art and Today reviewed art and its institutions in great depth, predominately focussing on the element of conceptual development in the contemporary art world. Through a chronological walkthrough of the ‘birth’ of the modern conceptualist, Heartney discussed how certain ideas and houses of thought came to the for front of the art world, and how in turn society and the art world reacted and dealt with the artists of the time. The authors research narrowed in on how contemporary artists felt they were simply a tool of economic trading, and how they reacted to this through their work, and in turn how the galleries themselves morphed into houses built to cater to these new revolutionary artists. The main limitation of the article is in its lack of critical analysis of individual works intent – in that it rather focuses on shows and collections of works by an artist. I found this article very useful, and will use it as the basis of my theory, however will need to find more information to specify my details and help solidify my slightly differing perspective to Heartney.

Shulevitz, Judith. “Hans Haacke: Art or Punditry?” Slate, (16^th March 2000)

In this article, Judith Shulevitz examines contemporary art, its relevance and what it has become today. She draws the conclusion that it has through becoming a parody of itself – become quite literally a joke, that of which artists themselves do not comprehend. She does this by unsubtly putting down clichéd topics and mediums of conceptual artists, before then moving on to Haacke. Interestingly, she appears to have quite an opposing view to Haackes work in comparison to her views on the vast majority of all other contemporary art. She goes on to examine Haackes intent, and how he, unlike most contemporary artists, does not beat around the bush with attempted satire and parody, but rather simply puts his message across. This is very useful to me, as I plan on using Haacke as my selected artist, and it goes a long way towards helping to identify the ideology that Haacke brings to his own art.

Appleton, Josie. “Conceptual art: Whats the idea?” Spiked Culture (20^th November 2003)

This journal entry by Josie Appleton, discuss’ a) the quality of ‘conceptual art’ and b) what art can actually be correctly called ‘conceptual art’. It brings forth very intrigueing points about art, and ponders over whether simply an idea can be considered art, or whether a process must be applied to bring this idea into existence to be able to label such a thing as art. The author reasons that for a piece of art to be truly Conceptual art – it must contain both a CONCEPT and an ARTISTIC element.

Art Nature and Technology

After searching for information I found these sites which turned out to be really insightful:

http://www.greenmuseum.org/generic_content.php?ct_id=186

This one deals more with the nature of landscape in art and land art in general, also taking a brief historical look at landscape art

http://www.modernedition.com/art-articles/use-of-nature-in-art/natural-process-in-art.html

This website focuses on specific artists and how nature and technology have played roles in their practices like Andy Goldsworthy, Anya Gallaccio and Tonico Lemos Tauad.

http://qag.qld.gov.au/kids/exhibition_archive/nature_machine

This site for the Queensland Art Galleries exhibition The Nature Machine: Contemporary Art, Nature and Technology gives a talk about how we use the natural world and how technology changes our perception of that world.

Art and its Institutions

Don't have too much to say about art and its institutions.

I guess what I'm most disappointed about is how some institutions feel its right to dictate the definition of art. I don't so much have a problem with a gallery rejecting a piece because it doesn't suit the space, or even because the curator just doesn't like the work. What I don't like is an institution deciding something like textiles doesn't classify as art.