SEMESTER 2- week 6

BARBARA KRUGER

American conceptual/pop artist Barbara Kruger is internationally renowned for her signature black, white and red poster-style works of art that convey in-your-face messages on women's rights and issues of power. Coming out of the magazine publishing industry, Kruger knows precisely how to capture the viewer's attention with her bold and witty photomurals displayed on billboards, bus stops and public transportation as well as in major museums and galleries wordwide. She has edited books on cultural theory, including Remaking History for the Dia Foundation, and has published articles in the New York Times, Artforum, and other periodicals. Monographs on her work include Love for Sale, We Won't Play Nature to Your Culture and others. She is represented in New York by Mary Boone Gallery. A major exhibition of her work will be presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles in fall 1999, and at the Whitney Museum in New York in 2000.

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.



Find 2-3 works by Kruger to add to your blog.

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

A spacial piece involves the viewer, it demands a different kind of attention than a canvas or poster. I think its the size or placement that calls for a different kind of interaction than a poster. Something mounted on the wall is completely different from something covering the wall, ceiling, floor, or towering over the viewer.

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

I think its the shock factor through text, she kind of confronts the viewer in a demanding way. Many of her works question and challenge the media or.. politics.. social circumstance in general. In this way her work rebels against uniformity in society, and by doing so draws attention to itself. Negative attention is always more surprising and interesting than positive attention. You never see cars slowing down to watch a family going for a walk or some one helping an old person across the street, but they will slow down to look at a wreck or some one getting arrested.

Comment on the development of her work over the last 30 years.
Barbara Kruger's work has been expanded and pushed from visual art to advertisement, fashion, and into spacial design. She uses innovative text to illustrate rather than a brush or easel. I think it is because of this that her work has crossed so many mediums and remained in tact, more than in tact it has enhanced.


Comment on the examples that you find on other students blogs.

SEMESTER 2- week 5

Last weeks ALVC class focused on the Post Modern them "INTERTEXTUALITY", re-read Extract 1 The death of the author on page 44 of your ALVC books and respond to the oil paintings of Kehinde Wiley. How do we make sense of his Kehinde's work? Identify intertextuality in Kehinde's work?

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

Well pluralism basically means there are two different concepts or references being made in a single work. What happens withe Kehinde's work is he takes classical prints and patterns for his backgrounds and uses gilded frames which were popular during the 17-1800s and then pretty much puts himself in the middle of the piece in realistic modern clothing and style.

Kehinde's work raises questions around social/cultural hierarchies , colonisation, globalisation, stereotypes and the politics which govern a western worldview.

Information on specific paintings was difficult to obtain however Matt has the info for the last 2 paintings.

3. Kehinde Wiley Count Potocki, 2008 oil on canvas, 274.3 x 274.3cm

4. Kehinde Wiley Support Army and Look after People, 2007 oil on canvas, 258.4 x 227.3cm

Yes I can definitely see how questions would be raised on all of those accounts. The fusion of time and culture is an interesting and uncommon one. Direct references to pop afro american culture in particular with a colonial backdrop could be offensive to any one who knows their american history. In terms of the 'stereotype' presented a black dude with a ball cap, wife beater and athletic shoes, wearing baggy jeans pretty much hits that nail on the head. There are two different worlds from two different times kind of patched together and the satiric nature of these works is definitely entertaining.

SEMESTER 2- week 4

ANISH KAPOOR


Celebrated for his gigantic, stainless steel 'Cloud Gate' sculpture in Chicago’s Millennium Park, Anish Kapoor is changing the cultural environment with his public works.

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

a_ Sea Mirror, 2006
Sea mirror is a beachside sculpture which reflects the ocean.

b_Temenos, 2006, Middlesborough, in collaboration with Cecil Balmond, ARUP AGU
I like it because it looks like a giant net, and because its massive.

c_Kissing Bridge, 2004-2005
I like the title. Kissing Bridge is a rounded chrome piece of metal witch connects two shores.


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

The farm which is located here in NZ is a trumpet shaped red steel tunnel burrowed through a hill. This 1,000 acre was designed for a private estate outdoor art gallery in Kaipara Bay, north of Auckland. Its quite large like kapoor's work tends to be and quite rounded as well.

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

"The sculpture is fabricated in a custom deep red PVC-coated polyester fabric by Ferrari Textiles supported by two identical matching red structural steel ellipses that weigh 42,750kg each. The fabric alone weighs 7,200kg." I think the piece is created to enhance the experience of the hillside view.

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

My favorite of Kapoor's work would be Sea Mirror. I love the contemporary shape and materials and size in such an organic and romantic setting. I think its really beautiful.

Youtube has some excellent footage on Kapoor-take a look at Anish Kapoor at the Royal Academy!!
http://fabricarchitecturemag.com/articles/0110_sk_sculpture.html

SEMESTER 2-week 3

a) Saskia Leek
b) Fiona Connor
c) Dan Arps
d) Alex Monteith


This week we will be visiting the Auckland Art Gallery to view, research and write about the artists selected for the Walters Prize 2010. Discuss the work in the gallery with your tutors and other students and answer the following questions.

1. What is the background to the Walters Prize?

The internationally famed Walters Prize is the most "prestigious and contemporary art prize ". The Walters Pirze is said to , "...dominate biennials and triennials the world over" also recognize contemporary artists' work native to New Zealand. This years four nominees are:


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

-Dan Arps : Explaining Things shown at Gambia Castle, Auckland (7-24 December 2008)
-Fiona Connor : Something Transparent (please go round the back) shown at Michael Lett, Auckland (15 April – 16 May 2009)
-Saskia Leek : Yellow is the Putty of the World shown at Ivan Anthony, Auckland (25 November – 23 December 2009)
-Alex Monteith : Passing Manoeuvre with two motorcycles and 584 vehicles for two-channel video shown at ST PAUL St, AUT University, Auckland (19 June – 7 July 2008)

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 judge for this event is Vicente Todoli former DIRECTOR of the Tate Modern in London. He has worked at New York's Whitney Museum, the IVAM in Valencia, and the Serralves Contemporary Art Museum in Oporto, as well as working alongside the ICA in Amsterdam and the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid.


5. Who would you nominate for this years Walter's Prize, and why? Substantiate
you answer by outlining the strengths of the artists work. How does this relate
to your interests in art? What aspect of their work is successful in your opinion,
in terms of ideas, materials and/or installation of the work?

I would nominate: Saskia Leek, Untitled, 2009, from Yellow is the Putty of the World, 2009. I like the colors pallet she uses aesthetically it all works really well together, and in terms of her sense of form and abstraction its quite beautiful. Over all the feel of her work is fluid and seamless everything on her canvases fit together really nicely. I guess thats something I'd like for my work, is to achieve a unity and cohesive feel about it all. There is something about her work that is just pleasant.


6. Comment on other blogs from your ALVC group to agree or disagree with other people,always backing up your answer with clearly stated reasons.


http://www.thinkspain.com/news-spain/17799/valencias-vicente-todoli-to-leave-london-tate-modern-in-summer

http://www.eventfinder.co.nz/2010/jul/auckland-cbd/walters-prize-2010

SEMESTER 2- week 2

Hussein Chalayan is an artist and designer, working in film, dress and installation art. Research Chalayan’s work, and then consider these questions in some thoughtful reflective writing.


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 fashion and art are two in the same. So often fashion is kind of seen as something superficial and ephemeral. Something which is ever changing from season to season. Since its wearable and directly interacts with an individuals body in terms of weather protection. Or is used as a personal means of communication by its audience, and because it can be mixed or matched and used as a a brush and pain by any one who buys it... it becomes its own category.
Anyway I think Burka and Afterwords are fashionable art.

Not all clothing is fashion, so what makes fashion fashion?

Fashion is less function more concept. Fashion is specifically designed for the body, clothes are designed for human function in the weather. Fashion is calculated design which caters to trends and movements through societies, it is an industry.


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?

His work leans more art, but in terms of afterwords and burka he pushes and expands the limits and bounds of fashion.

The second question is debatable, it spills a bit into marketing and advertisement. I think that art is meant to move people to influence them make them think a little, in essence its just like any other expression like smiling, crying, or gasping when surprised. Art is something which comes naturally and the use of art wether some one is communicating their own message or promoting another person's message, it is still the same concept. Art is art.


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?

Science. The whole feel of the work is technical, sterile, and very calculated.



Hussein Chalayan, still from Absent Presence, 2005 (motion picture)



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?

I think it depends on the piece, the message and concept behind the piece, and the roll or setting the work is produced.

SEMESTER 2-week one

Nathalie Djurberg's 'Claymations'.

Swedish artist Nathalie Djurberg's intricately constructed claymation films are both terrifyingly
disturbing and artlessly sweet.

The new works created for the Venice Biennale explore a surrealistic Garden of Eden in which all that is natural goes awry.

She exposes the innate fear of what is not understood and confronts viewers with the complexity of emotions.

Nathalie Djurberg was awarded the silver lion for a promising young artist at the Venice
Art Biennale 09.
(http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/6886/nathalie-djurberg)

Research Djurberg's work in order to answer the following questions;

1. What do you understand by the word 'claymation'?

The animation in question is comprised solely of clay. The fragmented and subtle movement of the cay is what makes up each frame.

2. What is meant by the term 'surrealistic Garden of Eden'? and 'all that is natural goes awry'?
its pretty literal.

3. What are the 'complexity of emotions' that Djurberg confronts us with?
Theres a lot going on in her work, mostly sex or naked people being crazy. Her work is like a nightmare which draws in the viewer with the clay which are essentially 3dimensional people running or crawling naked while being attacked or fornicating. I think that with the title "the garden of eden" its a view of humanity itself, from the stance that the garden of eden is said to be the birthplace of our race. Perhaps its a comment on the 'natural man' instinct habit the nature of the beasts themselves. I also think if it were film or animation it would not have the same effect, it would be more easily dismissed.

4. How does Djurberg play with the ideas of children's stories, and innocence in some of her work?
Claymation or any animation suggests that the content is for children, but hers is clearly not. There is a strange sense of disapproval, which I suppose the character's interactions in this childlike context brings out. The surreal dreamlike world she creates with the clay is like a vacuum for attention. Much like the naughty kid who kicks every one in kindy.

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?
Probably because its disturbing and shocking and mass media has dulled the senses of millions of people worldwide. Therefore exploiting symbols of the innocent in new and inventive ways is the only means they can think of to turn the heads of journalists and the public eye in their direction.

6. In your opinion, why do you think Djurberg's work is so interesting that it was chosen for the Venice Biennale?
Theres been wobbly claymation before.. so I suppose the degradation of the female figure and disproportional mess that resembles the world in which she was featured must have done the trick.

7. Add some of your own personal comments on her work.
I cant say I particularly care for her works. I also cant say I know precisely what it is shes trying to communicate with them.
Some one thinks its art. So it must be so.

How can we categorize Banksy's work -graffiti or murals?
I'd say they are graffiti murals to be sure, with a pinch of Guerilla Art. Yeah that's what I said.

I had this kick ass book at home on it but its fading in the 405 at the moment.
check it: http://www.concepttshirts.co.uk/guerilla-art.php

Research Banksy's work to attempt to answer this question.
What are some of the differing opinions about Banksy's work?
I couldn't find too many official published work on his pieces. What I've found on Bansky is mostly rants, rants by bloggers and pretenders. I feel quoting another blogger directly is like resourcing wikipedia. So I'll paraphrase instead, some think his work is a cry for publicity. Works like the blow up doll of Guantanamo prisoner in Disney Land, and his piece on the security wall between Bethleham and Jerusalem, support this accusation. However, I disagree. Other than that the world seems to turn a blind eye to this masked vigilante. You want my opinion? Bansky's work is absolutely lovely.

http://hoipolloi.wordpress.com/2007/12/04/publicity-stunt-or-graffiti/

How does his work sit in relation to consumerism?
To begin with it's 'street art', 'guerilla art', 'graffiti', 'defacement of public property', 'tagging' there aint much more temporary than that. My generation has been labeled as "the instant gratification generation". Translates something to the tune of "live today for tomorrow we die". This first world western empirical society which exists is the epidemy of consumerism. The ephemeral nature of Bansky's work embodies through its progressive and controversial messages, consumerism in its mature development.

Can his work be sold?
There are works being sold online now, actually, but they are not really Bansky pieces. So no. Im going to go with a no.

What are some of his attitudes to the sale of Art?
Sarcastic.

Who is Banksy?
That question it seems, is debatable. I think we are all a little Banksy sometimes. Hopefully.

Do we know his true identity?
Ive come along about 5 different Banskys, and as to which is the true Bansky I couldnt say.

Upload 2-3 images of Banksy's work that you find interesting, and comment
on the ideas behind the work.