Wednesday, May 27, 2009
History in the making
A few amazing photos I found on nytimes.com celebrating Nikola Tesla's history.
Tom Marioni, 5/18/09, "Beer, Art, and Philosophy"
Considering himself to be one of the co-founders of Conceptual Art as well as the founder of the Museum of Conceptual Art (MOCA), Marioni certainly isn’t someone to take lightly, despite what one might think in the titles of his works. Many in the audience seemed to be drawn to his talk specifically for his work, entitled “The Act of Drinking Beer with Friends is the ‘Highest form of Art’,” Marioni performs a musical piece that he carefully orchestrates in both the beginning and end, allowing the audience to watch the interactions of the beer drinkers as well as listen to the differing tones and sounds made by the slowly emptying beer bottles. Marioni was very specific in his description that his performance was a musical piece rather than sound-art because of the work he had put into composing the piece.
Marioni discussed briefly how he grew up in a Catholic family, and how the ideas involving “relics, residues, and records” inspired him in his future work as well as his spiritual journeys within the studies of Zen and calligraphy. He was especially interested in the idea of calligraphy’s symbols looking like as well as the act of creating them being similar to the object that the symbol represents, and how in English we don’t have that kind of luxury.
Marioni hit upon intent several times within his lecture, especially when audience members asked him about how genuine his titles were and how some of his pieces came about. One performance in particular seemed to stand out to prove his point. He had a working janitor, an actor, a dancer, and an artist (specifically a sculptor, himself) sweep the floor in his gallery. While these four people performed the same action and completed the same task, they completed it in completely different manners with completely different intentions because of their occupations. It is this reason exactly why Marioni wrote an op-ed piece in the New York Times stating why he didn’t agree with the Guggenheim trying to recreate old performances from artists both dead and alive; by trying to recreate the experience in the first place, even though the artist who is recreating the piece is trying their best to keep the original artists intent in mind, they’re still doing a recreation of the original event, and will therefore not be able to give a pure performance of what originally occurred and rather will be “acting” the part of the original artist.
Marioni also spoke about his experience of living in San Francisco, and how it has shaped his future works. Marioni considers himself a sculptor who creates “artifacts” after the fact of his performances, including pieces such as “Tree, Drawing a Line as Far as I Can Reach,” (1972) in which he sits down on the floor of the museum and repeats the action of stretching up as far as he can reach for a specific amount of times, which he calls “out of body action drawings.” Specific physical actions, when armed with a pencil, lend a certain shape or overall image after the physical event is over. The idea of capturing the overall effect of a collection of repeated small temporal events in one piece was very interesting to me, almost a collective photograph of a single action.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Xiaoze Xie, 4/23/09
Xiaoze Xie, currently a professor at Bucknell Univeristy, first began his studies in a background of architecture and then moved into the fine arts. Upon graduation, he traveled a lot and sketched within the mountainous regions of China. This structural, sparse, and mathematical quality of work is reflected within his earlier series, entitled “The Libraries” (1993), “Digging into old papers” (1994-1999), “The Silent Flow of Daily Life” (1998-), and “Fragmentary Views” (2001).
Within “The Libraries” series, Xiaoze Xie captures rows of “sleeping” books that appeared to form walls around him as he visited these various libraries. The paintings realistic qualities lend themselves to his method: he painted from black and white photographs that he took for this series, and would continue to paint from photographs in his future works. Xie explained that in this series, he was more interested in the history of the book itself rather than the information that it was meant to convey; books as symbols of time, memory, and loss as opposed to methods of reference.
He then moves into more of a political realm with his series “Digging into Old Papers.” Through the use of acrylic underneath the oil image, Xie portrays the vulnerability of the young Chinese students protesting that he portrays. Xie discussed that he was “questioning the idea of revolution always as a form of progress.”
Xie continued to shape his political works within the series “Fragmentary Views,” in which bits and pieces of paper combine to make a “micro-history” as well as a commentary on media, mass consumption, availability of information, and the distribution of information to the masses. At this point in his life, he was able to combine his interest in books, the act of organizing information, politics, and history collectively into one series, which he entitled “The Theatre of Power” (2005-). In this, he expresses his interest in what he calls the “theatre of politics,” in which politicians always wear a mask and play specific characters within specific settings. He moves away from the realism of photography that he relied on so much before in his earlier works, and instead focuses on the texture of the paint and the tactile elements of the brushstrokes.
He also talked about his interest in the depiction of crowds, and how “history only records the great deeds of a few people.” This is reflected in his latest work, “October-December 2001,” and his current focus on a post-9/11 world. In his video piece, he records various headless and nameless figures riding the subway amidst the almost violent ambient noise and headlines announcing the violent acts of various dates.
While in answering his questions from faculty he didn’t seem to be 100% positive on why he made some of the choices that he did within his work (such as his use of large scale and how that relates to the viewers physical engagement with the piece), however his overall drive in a specific field of thought has taken his work in a specific and effective direction.
Guerrilla Girls, 4/17/09, UChicago
One of the many anonymous members of the Guerrilla Girls spoke at the University of Chicago concerning the lack of female involvement in both museums as well as current media. Known for their provocative methods of getting out their message including mixed media posters, billboard ads, and slogans (including the one found on their website: “Re-inventing the “f” word – feminism”), when in public the group always wear gorilla masks to conceal their identity. As the speaker noted, “It’s the work that we do, it doesn’t really matter who the people are.”
Established in New York City in 1985, the Guerrilla Girls first became known for their flashy posters that decorated the streets of the city. First focusing on statistics of museums in the area (usually specifically percentages of artists who were male and/or white), they eventually moved on to analyze problems of underrepresentation of women and other ethnicities within the film industry and gender stereotyping. Stylistically common in all of their work is a flashy commercialized front meant to draw the viewer in, so that they’ll pay attention to the statistics listed on their work. Considering the establishments that they target, I was quite surprised. For example, the National Gallery of Art has artists that are 98% male and 99.9% white. Although when one thinks about the older collections, considering social norms and constraints at the time, it would make sense that the best-preserved paintings would be those of white males.
The speaker started her talk discussing what the group was doing to move forward now that they were well known and considered to be “main stream” in some eyes. Other audience members expressed concern that they had “sold out,” as if the Guerrilla Girls were a small indie band that had signed onto a large record label and were being used in commercials. Despite their notoriety and their current popularity, isn’t it their purpose to get their word out to as many people as possible, and doesn’t this popularity help their message rather than hurt it?
Throughout the discussion, the speaker went through the evolution of their movement, ending on their interests in forwarding feminist ideals. The speaker noted “everyone wants to believe that Feminism is over, that we’ve somehow won,” and how they strive as a group to continue to bring feminist ideals to the public without the negative stigma that being a “feminist” usually has. An audience member aptly noted that the Guerrilla Girls only had female or transgender members, but no male members, and that a large part of the most recent wave of feminism was to include men as well. The speaker accepted this, but also said that this was just because it was the way things “had always been.” It seems strange that the Guerrilla Girls would push the boundaries in so many ways, yet not be able to push the boundaries within their own organization.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Sandra Bermudez at The Kasia Kay Gallery
Sandra Bermudez: “The Happy Pussy and Other Endings”
When one enters the Kasia Kay gallery greeted by the centerpiece of Sandra Bermudez’ work, a pink neon sign with the word “PUSSY” in all capital letters, one is almost not impressed. In our current culture prevalent with Bratz dolls and “graphic ” or “logo” t-shirts, slang terms for any and all kinds of genitalia and drugs have become wildly common in the English lexicon. However, Bermudez’ work brings forward a new interpretation to this slang by choosing only the words that she believes to be the most positive. “Conceived as a counter-balance to the negative driven lexicon for female genitalia… the artist selected positive, cheerful words and symbols creating 19 new sculptures.”[1] What’s interesting is that instead of questioning the use and symbolism of the slang in the first place, Bermudez chooses to stay within the form and language that these negative symbols were created in in the first place and put a positive spin on them. The sculptures are hung in various positions along a long white wall, the majority of them larger than a person’s head, some even larger than head and torso combined. While the sculptures in their use of language as well as colors (light pinks, fuchsia, silver and gold all coated with a high gloss) seem stereotypically girly and not that far out of the ordinary decor in a teenager girl’s bedroom, the sheer size, placement and arrangement of the sculptures is somewhat aggressive and confrontational, asking the viewer to question the use of these kinds of symbols and language. Bermudez doesn’t limit her sculpture to just words, using the imagery of peaches and a pink kitten to also question of such symbolism of the vagina in the first place.
The quality of the sculptures within Happy Pussy also question the production of the images used. The hyper-stylized text seems to be taken directly out of Microsoft WordArt, or possibly a graphic t-shirt available in the lower echelon of the mall[2] (This is also reflected in her “Charms” series, such as Wife, #1 Lover, and Beautiful Cunt). The images of text and especially the cat are pixilated and up close don’t have the same quality as they do from viewing at a distance. This along with the slightly jagged edge of the sculpture from where it was cut is a reminder of the mass production as well as the consumption of these images; how filtered and digested they already are when we finally get to them.
While Happy Pussy deals with the constant consumption, creation, and spreading of these symbols and slang, Jona’s Daughter is less of a positive attempt by the artist to spin the stereotypes and symbols behind women in today’s society. Instead of encouraging her audience to question stereotypes and symbols (and even come up with better ones), Jona’s Daughter encourages the viewer to be put in the place of the cut out woman, going even further than empathy and embodying that precise moment. The same tactic is used by designers of female-marketed “quick reads” who always conveniently leave out the face of whatever character they’re portraying, so that the reader can imagine themselves in that character’s place.[3] Instead of being able to identify the female victim in the image, distance yourself from the victim and empathise with her (and then quickly move on), one must personally embody the empty space within the image and question why one got there and why one made those choices in the first place, or if it even was a choice. The fact that his image is hung at eye level also aids in this process. Along with this personal embodiment of the female figure, one is also left to analyze the figures still pictured within the piece. The scopophilic male gaze captured within the image seems almost ridiculous to the point of photoshopping. However, in the gallery’s statement the image is implied to be real.[4] Both men and women stare, shoved into clustered rows at a hot sweaty day at the beach. The amount of media being used to capture this moment also seems insane: cameras on cell phones, actual camera equipment, and digital cameras can all be seen. This duel commentary on both the debasing role of the woman in this image and its constant duplication and spreading through various mediums also tie directly into Happy Pussy. Furthermore, the title itself lends an allegorical aspect to the piece, encouraging the viewer to take one step further from imagining himself or herself within the cutout of the image, and also include the judgment of this invisible father figure hinted at within the text.
Her final pieces in the gallery, Be and Mine aren’t as sexual as her other two pieces, but still bring into question the idea of rituals behind female identity and how engrained certain stereotypes are within our culture and society. A common request on candy hearts given out on Valentines Day, one often forgets the true significance of the words. As Hong-An Truong notes in her review, “the words [perform] both subject and object. One can never “be” except in one’s undoing in the face of another.”[5] These words seem to ring true for the entirety of the exhibit, as women in our society struggle to form their own identity outside of stereotypes and sexually submissive roles, there is always a struggle between one end or the other, with no place to settle into.
Note: When I went to see the Sandra Bermudez show on Saurday, May 2nd, not all of the works featured on the Kasia Kay Gallery’s website were hung.
[1] http://www.kasiakaygallery.com/
[2] http://www.shopjustice.com/detail/7460997, http://shop.pacsun.com/girls/tees/Starry-Night-Tee/index.pro
[4] “…a blown up internet photograph from a college porn website, where the topless female has been cut-out and all that remains are voyeurs photographing an empty silhouette of a female.”
[5] http://www.artslant.com/ny/articles/show/4226
Image courtesy of ArtNet: http://www.artnet.com/Galleries/Artwork_Detail.asp?G=&gid=424444055&cid=159472&which=&aid=424630223&wid=425960616&source=exhibitions&rta=http://www.artnet.com
Monday, April 27, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
I'm not always a negative nancy.
I swear I'm not always hatin' on our culture.
check out Thatcher Keats' work for some insane photographs that seem to put a wooden stake right in the heart of Americana.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Why I hate Flo rida, and other reasons why pop music sucks.
And my personal favorite, why Nickelback just sucks in comparison to itself.
Why Twitter could save the world...
The NYT's support for the website.
It seems to emphasize the value of Twitter's instantaneousness rather than the 140-word format. If the paper is valuing the websites instant updates of information, then surely wouldn't a less limiting format work in everyone's best interest?
It also seems vital that one "tags" your "tweets" (ugh) as you create them. However, these tags seem to be as variable as the writer who creates them.
Moreover, I just refuse to believe that Twitter can really prove to be useful.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Clash of the Technologies
Interesting to think how a cellphone can immediately be seen as something to judge someone by in our day and age...
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
V. I can't get no...
SATISFACTION.
There is something just absolutely insatiable about this show, and Hugh's character seems to be the main reason why. His composed wit paired with his cynical charms gives his audience pangs of jealousy (and sometimes lust) to be in his company. His odd-couple relationship with Dr. Wilson filled with friendly quips and bitchy bickering just makes me want to step right into the frame. Plus, it doesn't hurt that House just might be the most bad-ass doctor out there.
The consistent stereotype of American media is that as an audience we always crave some sort of "happy ending," whether it be our characters falling in love and getting married, the boy being saved from the evil creature, or three friends escaping from poverty only to be blessed with millions of dollars from a TV show and capture a final kiss together. Slumdog Millionaire was the Oscar-laden film of the year, including the undeserved Best Picture. One critic went so far as to call it the "feel good film of the decade." Since when has the only point of a film been to make their audience feel good?
This opposition to creating "likeable" characters and plots that always emotionally satisfy is what makes House stand out from the rest. What is beautiful about each of the carefully crafted characters on the show, House being the epitome of this, is that none of them are perfect, and all of them have their imperfections. They don't solve every case. People die. Yet despite their mistakes or misgivings, audiences still care about what happens to each of them.
Plus, I always enjoy the Baltimore-related Johns Hopkins shout outs.
Kubrick's final masterpiece seems to be, if anything, more of a puzzle than a film. Hotly debated and widely criticized in its initial release, it only seems like a matter of time before people will begin to dig deeper and deeper into the film's possible true meanings. Other than Dr. Strangelove, Kubrick's films never were initially met with a positive response. Rather, like a good wine, they needed to age a few years in the public eye before an audience could even begin to digest it. This doesn't seem surprising, considering the scope of his talent both in choosing material to shoot as well as the visual mastery of his films on their own. Even today, 2001: A Space Odyssey is considered to be relevant in the visual field of Sci-Fi films, which says a lot for an industry that prides itself on the use of latest technology, as well as a film that was made in 1968.
The majority of Kubrick's films, especially in his later years, were drafted from original written works or novels, and Eyes Wide Shut is no different. The themes that Kubrick encompasses within his films alone are so dense that it makes sense that he would crave an original and thought-provoking material that gave more to the reader than a simple screenplay.
I'm not going to lie, I've never been a huge conossieur of classical music. I have the usual Debussy here and Mozart there, but really when it comes down to it, I prefer Girl Talk/Pretty Nice/A-Trak/really anything I can get my hands on that's fairly new. After watching Marie Antoinette, I looked for the composer of the short piano pieces included within the film. A few were by Aphex Twin, a sort of Janus-esque band that specializes in acid techno and ambient music. The rest were by Dustin O'Halloran, and his album entitled Piano Solos does not disappoint. I've never been one to listen to an entire symphony in one sitting, and these little bites of piano-induced melancholy, excitement, urgency, just tug at your heartstrings like nothing else I've ever heard before.
Opus #7 and #36 are my favorites.
You can almost feel the wooden quality of the little hammers hitting strings through the song itself. Most music I enjoy because it makes me feel more energetic, or happier. This just seems to seep through everything. If you ever needed a song to "think" to, you'll find 12 of them on this album.
I went to Searle today to pick up some more cough medicine on the cheap, and as I waited for the kind pharmacist to pick out the best box of generic Sudafed he could find, he offered me the candy dish they generally keep out. I dug through the tiny dish the same way a child cautiously digs through wrapping paper on Christmas morning: Could it be THE gift I've been waiting for? (Apple Jolly Ranchers) Could it be another pair of knit socks from grandma? (Those swirly mints that always get too sharp and cut the roof of your mouth) Coal? No. Worse.
Grape Jolly Ranchers.
It is my first and immediate stance that "grape" flavoring, in popsicles, candy, really anything that isn't created directly from the grape itself and attempts to pose as grape, is really just flavored "purple." It doesn't taste like grape. It doesn't look like the luscious, reddish royal purple that a tasty grape beams. No. It dyes your tongue a hideous purple-black color, embarrassing you and anyone who notices for the rest of the day of the proof of said candy. The taste is just... No. Wow. Battery acid mixed with fruit punch from concentrate is the closest I can get without becoming too vulgar.
That being said, I guess my love for "apple" flavored Jolly Ranchers is just as hypocritical, since I don't really see any relation to the flavor of such a candy and its assumed partner in nature.
At least the color is friendlier.
For a culture that seems to be evolving into more and more of a shortened attention span when it comes to our media, Twitter seems to be the nail in the proverbial coffin. You can't sit through a 30-minute television show? Fine, watch some viral videos on YouTube instead. You don't feel like reading a book all the way through? Cliff Notes work just fine. Or hell, why not read it on your Kindle while you're also multitasking on your Blackberry. Now, finally, there appears to be a solution for those who can't even make it through a lengthy blog post: the "tweet."
Half of my annoyance with Twitter stems from its self-created verbiage: tweeting, twirting, tweeps... My brain can hardly keep up with all the (arguably) cool new Twitter lingo, let alone set one up.
Secondly, there comes with the territory of owning a Twitter of assuming that whoever you are or whatever you're representing is important enough to need to announce to the world at various points in time throughout the day, usually multiple times, what you're up to. I already want to throw my cell phone out the window, the last thing I need is when I'm trying to write an email to get a "tweet" that "Staci is out 2 dinner at nobu! luv their california roll. yum! xo."
Finally, the 140-character limit also seems to encourage some highly questionable grammar, which along with the overly-ecstatic Twitter logo, makes me want to tear out my eyeballs.
What I find most amusing about the Twitter website is its promise in the "How" section:
Twitter puts you in control and becomes a modern antidote to information overload.
Et tu, Twitter?
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