blog post #8

Recently in class we have crossed over from Modernism to Postmodernism and discussed the fundamental differences in each. The subject of our last blog post had to do with the current exhibition in Kipp Gallery...a good example of Postmodernism. As I concluded the comment run on that post by using examples from the essay in the catalog to the exhibition, I realized it was rife with buzz words of postmodernism. If you did not pick up the catalog or read the essay included...please take the time to do so.

A couple classes ago we also watched the art21 episode on Jenny Holzer. I felt her, work being almost completely text based, would be a good compliment to Mr.Noble's installation in the gallery. In this post, I would like to continue to explore the idea of text as the artwork. In comparison, Alastair Noble and Jenny Holzer share very different concepts on how their works are presented and the only thing that is similar is the fact that text is the basis of their works...other than that all similarities are out the window. Many of you had strong feelings about the fragmented bits of language in the installation...not being able to understand it...wanting something more than just the text...wanting images.

It is from the concept of Postmodernism that gives validity to work that is just text based...words are powerful and loaded with meanings other than what a word might be saying at a given time. That is why the frameworks of theory that we apply to visual art now, were once applied to writings and language. Language became huge and important in the art world in the early 60's, and through critics and writers on art, helped to change the way in which people thought about what art was at the time.

Take a minute to check out a few links that I have built in below and above, and then respond to the questions...

more Jenny Holzer from art21

more artists with text based work

Joseph Kosuth

After checking out some of the links...please comment.

Do Jenny Holzer's brief "Truisms" in the first link in the post, function as art in your opinion, is it enough to have a provocative statement over a provocative image?

Is it better to have full statements that speak directly and do not leave room for the imagination, in comparison to fragmented texts?

Both Alastair Noble and jenny Holzer use text as the basis of their work,which functions more as an image and why?

What about graffiti? Does graffiti have similarities to either of the artists that we are referring to? Would graffiti fall under the contemporary term, "text based art"?

Joseph Kosuth helped to start the Arts and Language movement that believed in the conceptual over the actual object...click on the images below to enlarge...although these works date back to

the 1960's, compare and contrast them with Holzer and Noble.

hands on...

Your Project:

The student will use an existing artwork that is well known and change the context and/or the content of this work. Making it a “new” artwork.

This can be accomplished through:
use of the computer (photo shop, paint)
collage
hand drawing
photo copier

Due: Next Tuesday…10/28

Blog post # 7

Up to this point we have looked at mediums, material usage, artists, Formalism, and a broad understanding of our current perception of art and how it is defined. The second half of this course will deal with more complex and specific frameworks that involve contemporary art. We will also be reading chapter 4 of your text to further help us understand how we, the viewer, come to derive meaning from works of art.

Today we watched Janine Antoni on art21 and she wondered if the viewer would be able to pick up bits of the stories, that she felt were embedded in the materials she used. She talked about her work and the underlying ideas and symbolisms behind them. When we see objects like Ms. Antoni's "Eureka",which is actually a bathtub filled with lard that she made an impression of her body in, we often wonder...what is this?...why would anybody do this?...and is this really art?! But, hearing her explanation and how it is related to a story about Archimedes, we understand the piece more and also accept the piece as what constitutes art.

Currently in Kipp Gallery, just outside our doors, we have an installation by Alastair Noble. The work is unconventional by many peoples standards, but fills the gallery for the viewer to walk through and ponder. During my installation of this piece with Mr. Noble, I came to understand that almost everything about this installation is tied directly to the content. I would like all of us to explore this exhibition, think about all the elements that make this work up, and use it as a point of discussion on the blog and also for some carry over into our class. As we talked about today, meaning changes by the way we encounter art work, and for many of us, we only see art as images on pages or computer screens, so lets take advantage of this exhibition...please take the time to visit the gallery and look at the installation yourself and then respond to one or more of the questions below.

When you visited the gallery did you understand what the artist was trying to communicate, or what the art work was about...the content?

Does the written word add to the public's experience of art? What helped you in this specific installation? Is something written that accompanies the art work necessary?

Do writings, like an artist statement or explanation on a wall, limit our experiences in an exhibition? How?

Once you understood the content of the installation were you more interested?

What aspects of this installation did you find interesting...formal qualities?...content?...material use?

Did the exhibit appeal to you in an aesthetic way?

almost there...

Midterm Blog Break!

We will resume the class blog next week.

So... study!