Barbara Kruger

All Violence is an Illustration of a Pathetic Stereotype - 1991


Chessboard - 2006


In Space no one can hear you scream - 1987

Research Kruger's work to find an example from the 1970s or 1980s to compare with a more recent work. How has Kruger's work changed with the developments in contemporary visual arts? Describe a recent work that moves away from the 'poster' type work of her early career.

Not alot of of things have changed from Kruger's famous 'Futura bold oblique' font boxed in red, black or white. But what is different is her more recent works in comparison to her works back 30 years is that she is more experimental with other things such as making her layout designs on a Chessboard (2006) and shes been doing things on a larger scale such as billboards and room installations. She also does these interesting four 'Face It (Cyan, Magenta, Green and Yellow)-2007'. These posters are relatively the same apart from colour, and what is written in the small box on the shirt.

How does the audience experience a more spatial, installation art work compared with a poster?

How does the audience experience a more spatial, installation art work compared with a poster is through the room itself, and it somewhat relates to the bubble we tend to keep ourselves in. How this appeals more than the poster itself is that it surrounds this 'bubble' that we secure ourselves with or with things in life a visual image of what it might look like if it were to be seen. It could also be seen, more of an invasion of the 'personal bubble' as well.

What elements does Kruger use in her work to create a strong impact?

Her ongoing political, social, feminist provocations and commentaries on religion, sex, racial and gender stereotypes, consumerism, corporate greed, and power are elements of what her work is based on. But the thing that creates a strong impact is the fact its simplified in image-wise but in return creates an extremely strong point that it's making through use of quotes with the 'in your face' futura bold oblique font.

Comment on the development of her work over the last 30 years.

Well by looking at the stuff she's made over the last 30 years, to be honest, the majority of them, scarily, look very similar, apart from a few such as 'Pray -2001' 'We wont play Nature to your culture - 1983' and 'In space no one can hear you scream - 1987'. By where I see her work, the development of her works is developed when the human race makes another wrong turn in history such as 'White, male, western = ideal person' which is stupid. Overall, I enjoy looking at her works because to me, its kinda like an artwork that you look at and it sucker punches you in the crumple zones, which all woman wish to do to a man who's ego goes against them.









reference:
http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/feminist/Barbara-Kruger.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Kruger

Kehinde Wiley

Count Potocki, 2008


Support Army and Look after People, 2007

Kehinde Wiley is a gay painter based in New York. Known for his paintings of contemporary African-American men in in poses taken from the annals of art history, he has also gained recent acclaim for his heroic portraits which address the image and status of young African-American men in contemporary culture.

How do we make sense of his Kehinde's work? Identify intertextuality in Kehinde's work

Like a book, his work is a 'refined and re-written' of those of great portraitist such as Reynolds, Gainsborough, Titian and Ingres. Combining the traditional portrait style painting with the contemporary style figures such as the 'red flag' of the Bloods gang and how the 'gangster' dressed. This ranges from French rococo, Islamic architecture and West African textile design to urban hip–hop. The works shown such as the two with horses is kind of similar to the Titian ' State portrait of Emperor Charles V, 1548' in which you see a link between the two. This is also seen in the first picture with the Red Flag Gangster, and with Ingres 'Napoleon I on his Imperial Throne, 1806' painting, have kind of a similar layout style and also very similar when it comes to the person in the picture as well. The red flag gangster could also be seen as the modern day street 'Napoleon' in conquest for a street.


Kehinde's work relates to this weeks Post Modern theme "PLURALISM" re-read page 50 and discuss how the work relates to this theme?

What Kehinde is trying to do is to put the 'black man' in a position of which it goes against with the typical 'White, male, middle/high class, western' and somewhat, tries to put it on the same level to be equal as the 'white man'. In what, he places the typical black man in the same position of what a white man would be as such, the very 'my little pony' like horse and the red thing he has on his back. With the last painting of his ' Support Army and Look after People, 2007 ' kind of looks like it points out 'queer politics'. Being gay himself, he knows first hand how society depicts gays/lesbians today.




reference:
http://www.artnet.com/awc/kehinde-wiley.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kehinde_Wiley
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titian
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingres

Anish Kapoor

1.Research Kapoor's work in order to discuss the ideas behind 3 quite different works from countries outside New Zealand.


Svayambh, 2007 - The work itself is a huge deep red wax-like block that slides on tracks at the entrance of the gallery of which takes in some form of an abstract train. To me, it looks like a coffin, trailing blood along its path, like some form or sign of an apocalypse.


My Red Homeland, 2003 - Made out of more than 20 tons of dark-red coloured Vaseline, the cylindrical sculpture with a diameter of 12 metres is a piece of work which has this aura of Chaos and Order to it, mixed with a feel of India to it. That is quite a recipe. There is also a metal arm which churns the substance into a smooth surface in the middle.


Marsyas, 2002 - A 150 metre-long, ten story high sculpture which looks like an over-sized flute instrument is comprised of three huge steel rings joined together by a single span of PVC membrane. The title itself was inspired by the he Greek myth captured in Titian's 1576 painting, The Flaying of Marsyas, in which the eponymous satyr is flayed alive by Apollo for playing the flute better than the god.



2.Discuss the large scale site specific work that has been installed on a private site in New Zealand.

The sculpture itself was built on the private site on the 400ha (1000acre)

3. Where is the Kapoor's work in New Zealand? What are its form and materials? What are the ideas behind the work?

His work is located in Kaipara Bay in Northland Region. The sculpture is fabricated by Ferrari Textiles in a custom deep red PVC-coated polyester fabric which alone weighs 7,200kgs. This is also supported by two identical matching red structural steel ellipses which weigh 42,750kgs.

4. Comment on which work by Kapoor is your favourite, and why.

I dont really like choosing favourites, but if I really had to choose one, I would choose Marsyas because it has this futuristic feel and look to it with its over-sized morphed trumpet look.








reference
http://fabricarchitecturemag.com/articles/0110_sk_sculpture.html
http://www.absolutearts.com/artsnews/2003/09/29/31404.html
http://www.sculpture.net/community/showthread.php?t=6790
http://www.culture24.org.uk/art/sculpture+%26+installation/art13875

The Walters Prize 2010

1. What is the background to the Walters Prize?

The Walters Prize is a biennial award for New Zealand artist who have made a outstanding contribution to the visual arts in the previous two years. Honouring the life of an artist called Gordan Walters (1919-1995) the award was founded by the Auckland art gallery of which the prize includes $50,000 and an all expense paid trip to New York to exhibit at Saatchi & Saatchi’s world headquarters.

2. List the 4 selected artists for 2010 and briefly describe their work.


Saskia Leek - The picture is small so it hard to go into detail of it but by looking at it, looks like an island made out of ice or some floating piece of ice from Antarctica with tree like things surrounding these two figures which one looks like an ice witch lady who is getting captured by a super woman from the comics. The thing that first comes into my mind is global warming.


Fiona Connor - Another small picture, but by the looks of it, its a modernist-like building.


Dan Arps - Yet another small picture of a photo which captures that stereotype look of the pacific islands or tropical islands in general.


Alex Monteith- I think this is the video which shows 3 slides of a someone riding their bike on the motorway, which I thought was an excellent way to get a POV and feeling of a driver.

3. Who are the jury members for 2010?

Jon Bywater - Programme Leader, Critical Studies at Elam School of Fine Art, The University of Auckland.
Rhana Devenport - Director, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth
Leonhard Emmerling - Visual Arts Adviser, Goethe Institute, Munich, Germany, former Director, ST PAUL St, AUT University
Kate Montgomery – Director, Physics Room, Christchurch

4. Who is the judge for 2010 and what is his position in the art world?

The Walters Prize judge for 2010 is Vicente Todoli. His position in the art world is that he was the Director for the British national museum of international modern art, Tate Modern until just recently he resign.

5. Who would you nominate for this years Walter's Prize, and why?

I will have to nominate Alex Monteith. The reason why is because its different and involves more of today's technology such as use of the video itself, cameras and in fact the motorbike and car used in the video. It really doesn't relate to my artwork entirely but by looking at the video, it reminds me of how it feels to drive, that drowsy feeling of following the road to your destination and all of a sudden snap back into reality when the ride is over. In a way, it does point out what I want to try and do in works in the near future which is trying to capture a feeling at a certain place and time using things from the place and morph it into something surrealistic.

Hussein Chalayan

1. Chalayan’s works in clothing, like Afterwords (2000) and Burka (1996) , are often challenging to both the viewer and the wearer. What are your personal responses to these works? Are Afterwords and Burka fashion, or are they art? What is the difference?

I think the two works are both art and fashion, but it sways 70/30 to art than fashion. The reason why i think this is because Chalayan combined both fashion wear, or for the Burka (2000), an everyday clothing and by simply by challenging the wearer and viewer is a point made by art. But the reason why the scales tip more to the art side than the fashion side is because fashion, to me, is more for everyday wear or a special occasion dress as opposed to what the Burka (1996) and Afterwords (2000) is something you might show inside an art gallery with like-minded beings and to run around naked waist down or carry a huge table like structure is not something seen as comfortable, yet see as 'acceptable' in today's society.

2. Chalayan has strong links to industry. Pieces like The Level Tunnel (2006) and Repose (2006) are made in collaboration with, and paid for by, commercial business; in these cases, a vodka company and a crystal manufacturer. How does this impact on the nature of Chalayan’s work? Does the meaning of art change when it is used to sell products? Is it still art?

The impact on Chalayan's work should be a positive one, if seen in a positive way. It gains recognition for the work itself, but it will be seen differently in the art world and the people who are in it, because to me, its like getting one of Raphael's paintings and running around Queen street with it above your head. Its still art I reckon, just like a Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-SV is art on wheels and it should still be art if it was created as art such as a human was to be human.

3. Chalayan’s film Absent Presence screened at the 2005 Venice Biennale. It features the process of caring for worn clothes, and retrieving and analysing the traces of the wearer, in the form of DNA. This work has been influenced by many different art movements; can you think of some, and in what ways they might have inspired Chalayan’s approach?



Having a look at the picture itself makes me think of someone or nearly everyone in today's society confined in a box or room like that. Its actually quite post-modernist due to it's meta-narrative theme of gathering traces in the form of DNA from clothes. And saying so about DNA and stuff, kind of makes you think about shows like CSI and SVU, which also has a pop culture influence to it.

4. Many of Chalayan’s pieces are physically designed and constructed by someone else; for example, sculptor Lone Sigurdsson made some works from Chalayan’s Echoform (1999) and Before Minus Now (2000) fashion ranges. In fashion design this is standard practice, but in art it remains unexpected. Work by artists such as Jackson Pollock hold their value in the fact that he personally made the painting. Contrastingly, Andy Warhol’s pop art was largely produced in a New York collective called The Factory, and many of his silk-screened works were produced by assistants. Contemporarily, Damien Hirst doesn’t personally build his vitrines or preserve the sharks himself. So when and why is it important that the artist personally made the piece?

It is because we, as people, want to see what we are capable of individually. We see that when an artist hands down and actually putting in the soul and passion into his or her's work which would give that quality and special touch to it. That all disappears when we know it wasn't them who made the work, which leaves the buyer's paying for the name of the work and not both the work and the name, like a car for example, Lexus and Toyota. Same company, but you almost pay $10k extra for the name Lexus on the car.

Nathalie Djurberg's 'Claymations'.

1. What do you understand by the word 'claymation'?
I have a slight idea to what the term 'claymation' means, but by looking at the word, i reckon its got to do with the moulding of clay into figures and taking photos of each and every movement it does. Kind of like a person who draws cartoons.

2. What is meant by the term 'surrealistic Garden of Eden'? and 'all that is natural goes awry'?
What i think what they mean by the term 'surrealistic Garden of Eden' by looking at the pictures, is that it has an 'exotic' feel to it due to the use of colours such as red along with the unusually shaped trees and plant life. In a way, it kind of makes you think 'Amazon' or some exotic jungle or something you get from a child's fiction book like 'Where the wild things are.' And for the term 'all that is natural goes arwy' what i think that they're trying to say is that the view of 'The Garden of Eden' is some what, different or even twisted to the point to make you think, 'Is the Garden of Eden really like this?'

3. What are the 'complexity of emotions' that Djurberg confronts us with?
The emotions Djurberg was trying confront us with is the feeling of fear of the unknown and the not understood.

4. How does Djurberg play with the ideas of children's stories, and innocence in some of her work?
How she plays with the ideas of children stories and innocence in her work is through the characters and figures used in the work. Figures such as a beast in comparison to a little girl with blonde hair something we all see in children's books from little red riding hood to the beauty and the beast.

5. There is a current fascination by some designers with turning the innocent and sweet into something disturbing. Why do you think this has come about?
I think this becoming a popular thing amongst some designers not only because they wanna do something different, but because it is easy for one who is sweet and innocent to change into one that is sour and sinful due to their pureness.


6. In your opinion, why do you think Djurberg's work is so interesting that it was chosen for the Venice Biennale?
The reason why i think the claymation work done by Djurberg was chosen for the Venice Biennale is because its different, it successfully put many points out there into one work, use of technology and skill and how it was interpreted in a way it makes you think whether the work was made for an audience that was for kids or for adults due to its cartoon-like nature to it.

The 'Claymation's' done by Djurberg is interesting on its own way, but by looking at the clay sculptures in comparison to the clay figures makes me think, "Clay sculptures - Looks like a prop used in a primary school play. Clay figures - Nostalgic feeling of cartoons such as Pingu."

Memorial Project Nha Trang, Vietnam- 'Towards the Complex-For the Courageous, the Curious and the Cowards

The 'Memorial Project Nha Trang Vietnam (2001)' is a video project done by Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba. This video shows 3 cyclos getting pulled by two men for each cylco under the Nha Trang Bay. The reason why Jun wanted to make a video on something like this was to show the culture of the country slowly fading away into the modern western world. He used the cylcos as an example to show that this once prosperous way of transportation is now slowly fading into a tourist attraction and how it relates to the country slowly becoming more 'Westernized'.

It also features 30 mosquito nets which was set amongst the coral in the bay. What this symbolized a pilgrimage or a place of offering to the drivers of the cyclos. Jun also tells that the cyclo drivers or who carry people on their cyclos for a living would be pushed or put into a 'complex' situation of trying to find ends meet. Jun also says the nets should represent rest, repose, security, comfort, social and historical boundaries.

Ideas and concepts from the Enlightenment such as 'progress' can relate to this situation as it shows improvement of natural and social conditions of the people who get the benefit out of the fast growing technology of which most people adapt and use the benefits. But this also leaves out those who don't want to step out of their comfort zone and into the world of which developed so much in the past years or unable to keep up with a fast growing nation, in this case the cyclo drivers. This also makes you think if we were to look back just 10 years ago, what technology was available to the world in comparison to now. Also the view of Modernism with its idea of 'making human life more easier using machines' also plays its part here as it replaces cyclos with taxi's and buses as a means for better transport in the modern city.

What i think the title of the video 'Towards the Complex - For the Courageous, the Curious and the Cowards' relates to the artist's intentions to the art work is that it tells different points of view of which to look at the video. Complex; shows how complex life of a cyclo driver is through mosquito nets. Courageous; shows the cyclo drivers pulling their cyclos in the water. Curious; the cyclos plus the water equals something that would arouse your curiosity. Coward: for those who dared not to carry on the cultural lifestyle or avoid altogether.


References:
http://sites.asiasociety.org/arts/nh/interview.html
Hamilton,P(1992). The Enlightenment and the birth of social science, in Hall,S & Gieben B.(eds.) Formations of Modernity

Landscape and the Sublime

What and when was the Enlightenment?

Taking place during the 18th century centered in France, the Enlightenment was the creations of ideas about man, society and nature, which challenged existing conceptions rooted in a traditional world view, dominated by Christianity.

Define the concept of the Sublime.

The Sublime refers to something of greatness in very way which nothing can compare to and is beyond all possibilities

How did the concept of the Sublime come out of the Enlightenment thought?

Being not encouraged to add landscapes in paintings and drawings to the point they would discard it and leave it out in general, people saw the landscape as 'unimportant', until a statesman and political theorist Edmund Burke (1729-1797) and his beliefs of life of feeling and spirit depend on a harmony within the larger order of the universe, which made the sublime, the ultimate experience of divinity. He also saw this and the landscape 'connected'. This too was also encouraged by a writer called Wilhelm Wackenroder saying that "... there exists only two languages through which God allows the human to comprehend the Divine: one of these is reserve for God alone, but the other is given to a few "anointed favorites" who in turn interpret them." He also explained " the second language had components: "They are: nature and art." Through words like these, they encouraged artists such as David Friedrich and his work of the 'Cross in the Mountains'.

Discuss the subject matter, and aesthetic (look) of Misrach's work to identify the Sublime in his work.


Photos by Misrach such as the Pyramid Lake (Red & Yellow), Nevada (1991), which shows 3 small land masses and mountains from a distance on water which looks like it goes on forever, gives off a warm, tingly feeling you kind of get when you look at a great sunset but also a dark mysterious look as shadows and areas where light from the sun cant get them turn darker than before, a feeling which no human hasn't touched or tainted whereas the Playground and Shell Refinery, Norco, Louisiana (1998) photo has a deserted feel with the basketball court abandoned and left untouched with a power plant is in the background which shows the relationship between man and the environment.





Identify some other artists or designers that work with ideas around the Sublime, from the Enlightenment era as well as contemporary artists.



Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) and his painting of the "Fire at Sea" shows the early works during the rise of the Enlightenment of the idea around the Sublime. This painting shows a more power sense of feeling of what nature has and what we don't as humans as we see the ship get torn into pieces by the immense raw power of the waves.
Leon Chew and his photo of "The Architectural Landscape" which was a photo of Las Vegas taken from his hotel room which gives a feeling that there is a pot of dirt and greed dressed up in a nice lights and buildings to cover up the bad side of what happens there, which also relates to the saying "What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas". While sticking to the buildings, it also gives off another feeling and buzz of electric of unlimited things to do in the nightlife.



How does Misrach's photography make you feel? Does it appeal to your imagination?

Depending on what photos I was looking at, they gave me a feeling of 'Nostalgia' and makes you imagine to a point back in time that the certain area used to be inhabited by children or a place in your childhood that you used to like going and spending time there.


Reference:
Edmund Burke, A philospical Enquiry Into the Origings of our ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful,London, 1757, in Collected Works, T.W. Copeland, ed. London: 1865-1867
Wilhelm Wackenroder and Ludwig Tieck, Outpourings of ant-loving friar (Dresden, 1797). English ed. trans. by Edward Mornin. (New York: Grederick Ungar, 1975), p59. Wackenroder is the author of the essay "Of two Wonderful Languages and their mysterious power."
http://www.artnet.com/awc/richard-misrach.html
www.edelmangallery.com/misrach.htm
http://www.leonchew.co.uk/index.php?s=Architectural
http://www.en.utexas.edu/Classes/Moore/sublime/subPaint4.htm

Damien Hirst

Damien Hirst, also known as the 'rock star' of the art world and is claimed to be the most richest artist living to date. He also specializes in a few fields in art such as conceptual art, installation art and painting. Through his many great artworks from sculptures to paintings and designs, he relates them mostly to his central theme of 'Death'. During the the 90s, his career was closely linked to Charles Saatchi of the Saatchi & Saatchi agency group, in which help with his rise to fame. He is also well known for being the mastermind behind making one of the most expensive artwork to make called 'For the Love of God' which is a platinum casted skull covered with 8601 flawless diamonds. Using the idea from the Aztec Turquoise, Hirst created out of what was originally an 18th century human skull, a diamond encrusted skull which weighed in at 1,106.18 carats. The only bit that still in tack from the original 18th century skull is the teeth which is also the only thing not to be covered with diamonds. Germaine Greer from the ' The Daily Telegraph' Newspaper said that [1]" Damien Hirst is a brand, because the art form of the 21st century is marketing. To develop so strong a brand on so conspicuously threadbare a rationale is hugely creative - revolutionary even."Being as he is, he has set the status of the artist to a whole new level as he approaches art in a way that makes you hate it or love it.


How Hirst's persona and his works relate to the Renaissance and concepts of mercantilism is that it shows how art is seen nowdays through his works, show a great example when both a changing point and an economic interest such as the diamonds put into a visual concept. It also shows that the bridge to from the 'Middle/Now Day and Age' to the 'Modern Age' is built through materialistic desires and continues to be built by materialistic world, which goes well with Hirst's theme of 'Death' because greed will be the death to all of those seeking more than they already have. His works also show a new form of how art is depicted which the Renaissance was about and how it could be seen by society as some form of 'celebrity' if one was an artist of some caliber and I believe will be a turning point of how art is made in the near future or taking the art perspective to a whole new level.







Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_Love_of_God
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damien_Hirst
Greer, Germaine (22 September 2008)." Germaine Greer to Robert Hughes: Bob dear, Damien Hirst is just one of many artists
you dont get " The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2008/sep/22/1. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantilism

The Trienniel

What are the themes behind the title "Last ride..." for the Auckland triennial?

The themes behind the "last ride..." for the Auckland triennial are referred to a topic of interest by Natasha Conland, The curator of the triennial which is exploring the ongoing relationship between adventure and risk taking in contemporary art today .

The curator was also trying to achieve with the triennial was to create a sense of pathway by connecting the history of contemporary art across the city. The idea of the walk was to point out that the 'walk/travel/ to art is an important theme of which is examining what adventure means and characteristically what we aspire to when we think og adventure and later risks to the topic. She also talks about how mercantilism provides routes into adventure and exploration into the world of contemporary art. The themes this year are also more focused on Middle East/ East Asian and New Zealand contemporary art and how it varies to the 'Western' Art.

What does a curator of a exhibition do?

What a curator does is decide what art works are put up to relate to the theme. They would have a theme or topic in mind and both the curator and artists(s) work together to determine how the artist's art would be featured, displayed and organised. The curator are also in charge of looking after the artworks.

Which Countries are represented this year?

There are many countries that are represented in this year's trienniet such as Lebanon, China, France, Ireland, Germany, Australia, Thailand, Sweden, Argentina, Iran, Scotland, New Zealand, UK, USA, India and Denmark

Name 4 artists who will be showing work in the show

Laresa Kosloff, Gerard Byrne, Johana Billing and Jorge Macchi are just a few of the artists that are going to show their works in the show.

Is Auckland the only country to have a trienniel? Are there other similar art shows?

There are similar trienniels around the world such as Uk's Asian Trienniel of Contemporary Art and the Queensland Asia Pacific triennial of Contemporary Art, but none that compare to what the Auckland Trienniel has to offer.

This work done by Gerard Byrne called the 'Loch Ness' is a collection of pictures showing the myth and reality of the legend of the Loch Ness monster from films and photo shoots.

How i find this work of art interesting is of its layout working from 5 pictures on the left hand side and slowly works to only the one picture in the end on the right hand side. It also kind of tells a story which starts from the first sightings of the Loch Ness Monster and the Loch itself and then the last picture which shows what seems to be a mysterious future sighting of the Loch Ness Monster. I also like the black and white theme which gives an old and mysterious feel amongst the works. How it relates to my own interest is that I like it when photos are taken in black and white and how the photos tell a story, something that I would like to do in my own works if I ever get the chance to and someting I try to do when im painting.