Some relationships between conceptual and performance art

Frazer Ward's article describes the strong connection that performance art has with conceptual, particularly through documentation. Performance art pieces are temporary works, performed in front of an audience who will remember the work, but for those of us who weren't there, the work is documented through video, photography and written descriptions. Vito Acconci's Step Piece for example, was a performance within his apartment where he stepped onto and off a step for as long as he could. It's relationship to conceptual art is that it is the execution of a predetermined set of instructions. The language contains the concept, detailing exactly what he will do, where he will do it, when he will do it and how he will inform people of it. The performance itself is just the physical enactment of the words that he has put together to create a work open to the public in his private home. The phographic documentation combined with the written form of the instructions resembles conceptual art more than the performance itself.

Art and Politics

Will Coles is an artist you may have seen around. He casts sculptures and puts many of them around sydney in public, including the washing machine in newtown, theres a tv around there too and he has stuck some remotes to the ground around waterloo. His works are obviously political, for example the bust of a soldier is has a covered mouth. Coles' statement is perhaps that soldiers are not allowed to speak out and against attrocities of war and must follow orders without asking questions. The plastic appearance of the bust makes it seem cheap and manufactured and insignificant, as opposed to marble and stone busts of iconic historical figures. The soldier wearing a tutu is comical yet the stare gives it a tone of seriousness that creates a sense of dark humour when looking at wars and the needlessness to get into them and lose so many lives. The colour and stance of the soldier is a reference to toy soldiers, implying that the individual soldier in a war is a toy in the political power's agenda.

Art and the Archive

Kylie Stillman is one of my favourite artists who cuts shapes into paper as well as old pretty books including law digests, encyclopeadias and novels. She takes these old books that often have no use anymore and turns them into sculptures, allowing the books to live on in a lasting work. The design that is cut into the books is what draws the most attention but the books themselves are more than just a material and relate to the design. For example, the image is a work called Barberry which I believe is made of World Book encyclopeadias which are now on cd or even online, I don't think I've use it in any form in years. The books were redundant so Kylie has created a barberry plant, a topic which would be found in encyclopeadias, and has given the books a new function and lasting memory. I also find interesting that she often does plants and trees, creating an image of where the paper for the books originated from.

Art and Globalism

So this is a tad late but I'm still trying to work out if globalism is a good thing or not. I guess from a broader general view it is good in some ways as developing countries grow and advance quicker. Cultures are spread throughout the world so we all experience many cultures instead of just one. However, some cultures disappear due to globalisation, languages are lost, traditions are forgotten. I think in the art world, globalisation affects almost everyone and few artists can make work without being influenced by a global society, even if it is minor as using materials manufactured overseas.

One important part of globalism that I see is the integration of global art and artists through events such as biennales and art fairs. For example, last year's Melbourne Art Fair brought Masayuki Tsubota from Japan to Australia or the Korean Art Fair brought together Picasso, Calder, Locust Jones and other artist from 17 different countries which attracted around 70 000 people. In this way, globalism allows us to experience artists from around the world, however it is highly financially motivated and a little culturally motivated so although I enjoy the outcomes of globalism, I think it has its downfalls.

Vantage Point and Image-Worlds - Vantage Point and Seeing Sight

In this section of his essay, Ron Burnett discusses what influences the methods with which we analyse images. We each have our own perspective on an image and therefore we have as much an influence on the image as it does on us. This perspective, or vantage point, influences the way people create images which are often the communication of one's image of themselves. The way one then chooses to interpret the image is just as much a communication of their own self image. These self images are never the same and are unique to individuals depending on issues such as political and social situation.

Burnett says that along with language, images are a natural part of the human mind and can transform the world within one's mind according to their own perspective. Dreams and daydreams are a large part of this as the mind runs free, creating images out of things that someone has seen or heard and stored away in their mind. These images can not be shown or even accurately described through language to other people.

Seeing sight is concerned with someone being able to be aware of the way they view things. It is the ability to know what social and political issues influence one's own way of interpreting or creating an image. Seeing must be a conscious act so that someone can determine why they have a certain opinion based upon their individual situation and background.

Art and Spirituality

Lachlan Warner is an Australian artist who grew up as a Christian and later converted to Buddhism. He incorporates his spirituality in his art as he creates Buddhas out of Easter chocolate foil. The direct link to Buddhism throught he image of the idol and the link to Christianity through Easter foil is a way for Warner to explore spirituality without completely removing one religion. Warner says about his materials: "for me it [foil] speaks to many facets of Buddhist teachings: impermanence, change, flux, non-duality (the illusory nature of conventional opposites), self-realisation, false sanctimony, and emptiness or carelessness". His choice of materials connote to the Buddhist teachings as well as consumer culture and its impact on religion these days.

Art and Architecture - Annotated Bibliography

Rachel Whiteread
Ghost, 1990
Plaster on Steel Frame
270 x 318 x 365 cm

Heartney, E. 2008. Art & Today.

London: Phaidon

The architecture section of Art & Today gives a small overview of art and architecture, briefly detailing the fundamental principles of modernist architecture. It discusses the failings of modernist architecture and how it has been drawn on by contemporary artists in this category. It gives examples of architectural artists, such as Rachel Whiteread, Gordon Matta-Clark and Philip Johnson. Art and Today describes many artists and their take on architecture, some subverting the modernist principles through casting negative spaces, some using video game technology to create virtual representations and others using modernist, industrial materials but altering them into states of decay. Art and Today was helpful in garnering a basic understand of the thematic area of architecture and providing me with an artist who I then further researched. Before reading the art and architecture section, I had a general idea about architecture and enjoyed the subject but the reading gave me a better understanding of how and why it is used by artists.

Mullins, C. 2004. Rachel Whiteread.

London: Tate Publishing

This book is a survey of Rachel Whiteread’s career by writer, editor and broadcaster Charlotte Mullins and is one of the Tate’s published works. Working with the artist, Mullins has been able to provide 100 high quality colour images with her own descriptions and analyses of the works. Within these analyses are visual descriptions and analyses, historical references if appropriate and relevant biographical events. Mullins has been writing on art and architecture among other things for specialist magazines, newspapers and exhibition catalogues since 1995 so I was able to learn about Whiteread’s work in depth from a professional in the written parts of this book. I was also able to obtain a greater understanding of Whiteread’s work from Whiteread herself as the book contains interviews between author and subject. The many images within the book also allowed me to make my own visual analyses before reading anything, and then expand upon them as I read. The extensive collection of works in this book gave me a large selection to use for the presentation while informing me on which works were perhaps the most important and well known, such as House, 1993.

Carley, R. 2008. Domestic Afterlives: Rachel Whiteread's Ghost. Architectural Design, 78: 26–29. doi: 10.1002/ad.670

This source is an article written by Rachel Carley in the Architectural Design journal and appears to be aimed at people within the field. It specifically describes and analyses Whiteread’s work Ghost, 1990 but also gives a deeper understanding into her work in general. The article was found on the Sydney University Library website when searching for peer reviewed articles and references other works such as Anthony Vidler in Rachel Whiteread’s House, published by Phaidon (London). The article required a dictionary to get through it but it was enlightening as it gave a view from an expert, aimed s at experts as opposed to Charlotte Mullins’ book which was written for a broader audience. I found that this source gave me most of the information for the presentation about the work Ghost such as how Whiteread aimed to ‘mummify the air in the room and make it solid’ as well as the significance of the title of the work.

Krauss - Sculpture in the Expanded Field

Rosalind Krauss's essay Sculpture in the Expanded Field talks about the development of sculpture during the period of modernism (1850's - 1950's). She discusses how the term Sculpture has changed over time as critics tried to find a place for the new types of works that were beginning to form. Works have changed dramatically and surprisingly to include works such as “temporary lines cut into the floor of the desert”.

These new works were made appealing by historicising them, making them seem unthreatening through linking them to the past.During the 1960’s-1970’s it became harder to historicise sculpture so critics had to look further into the past to things like Stonehenge.

Sculptures were monumental as in they were symbolic of where they sat, commemorative representations of the sites they were located in. The pedestal was an important part of the sculpture, as it acted as a buffer between the sculpture and the site, linking them.

The notion of monumental sculptures began to fade in the late 1800’s. Krauss discusses Rodin’s Balzac and Gates of Hell as important sculpture signifying this change. They were never installed in their proposed site, gaining a state of sitelessness.

This loss of site was part of the beginning of modernist sculpture as it operated in relation to loss of site and the abstracted monument. The monument had become ‘self-referential’ and functionally placeless, classifying modernist sculpture as nomadic.

The pedestal became incorporated into the work, not just a platform to lift the monument up. This incorporation made the sculpture transportable and therefore defined the sculpture as placeless. This point is particularly interesting to me and I wonder if sculpture can ever go back to the monument in times of bureaucracy and difficulty to install works in public sites.

By 1950 modernist sculpture began to be exhausted and in the early 1960’s sculpture was difficult to categorise, becoming defined by what it was not rather than what it was. Sculptures became classified as not-architecture/landscape (neuter) or not-landscape/architecture (complex).

Sculpture in the expanded field is no longer suspended between two opposites which it is not, but is within a broader field.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Head Show

Hi everyone,

There is a really cool show on at Utopia at the moment called 'Heads' which is pretty much just a show of heads from a range of different artists.

The opening is on saturday from 3-5 and here is a link. There isn't really much on that page but the artists in the show include Chuck Close, Alex Katz, Richard Larter, Rick Amor, John Beard, David Fairbairn, Marea Gazzard, Alan Jones, Dick Watkins and some others.

There will be drinks and lots of people from the art world I think so y'all should totally come.

Part 2 - Performance art

• The venue was an important part of performance art, an object in the piece that determines the events of the performance. It is even more important than the materials and performers.
• Rauschenberg's Pelican used the set and objects to determine what actions the performance took. It was performed in a skating rink with roller skated, backpacks and a mobile trolley. The skates and the trolley determined that the performers would glide around while another performer in ballet shoes performed ballet movements. The backpacks turned into parachutes which caused the skaters to slow down.
• Rauschenberg used costumes to blur the lines between objects and performers and the setting.
• Oldenburg integrated setting and performers and the audience while Whitman's performance kept them separate.
• Carolee Schneemann turned the human body into the artwork by making a collage of blood on the bodies of performers. Schneemann's performances were determined by the objects and performers that she found, as they became 'structural elements' for the perfomances.
  
• Dancers were a great influence on performance artists as many artists used the same dancers, likewise the dancers were influenced by the artists. The dancers had similar concerns and ideas in the artists, such as the importance of using everyday objects and activities in performances, however the dancers were able to show the artists more about the body in space.
• Yves Klein was a painter who was searching for 'the most perfect expression of blue' through monochromatic painting, eventually leading to collaborating with models who pressed their bodies into paint and then onto a canvas while he stayed clean and well dressed. This created paintings from 'immediate experience', the result of a private performance by a model and directed by an artist. This was then performed as Anthropometrics of the Blue Period in front of an audience, in doing so revealing the process of making the painting.