Monday, March 24, 2008
Zines Due Friday
Hello young witches and wizards of the visual art realms,
Our zines are due to me this Friday during the seminar class. They can be any format: online, collage, xeroxes, audio tapes, whatever, just have the six theoretical assignments ready to go:
1. create a readymade
2. manifest a sound poem or sound a manifesto
3. accompany a friend to work and observe them for 8 hours, draw conclusions
4. create a piece of right wing propaganda and destroy it immediately
5. write a one scene play with concise stage directions and dialogue for 2 actors
6. go on an overnight journey with a group of people and call it a happening the next day
Until we next meet,
Nathan Shafier
the Neo-Zine Master
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
huh
Nathan and all,
This zine is a little confusing to me and I really have no clue as to how to present it or show proof that I actually did it. Can we go over this in class tomorrow so I and probably the rest of the class are able to understand it a little better?
This zine is a little confusing to me and I really have no clue as to how to present it or show proof that I actually did it. Can we go over this in class tomorrow so I and probably the rest of the class are able to understand it a little better?
Friday, February 15, 2008
The Interweb
I am on the internet every day, both for fun and for work, so it's hard for me to imagine what it was like before it was around. I also have a terrible long-term memory, so that doesn't help.
The first thing I can remember about the internet was using AOL IM. My whole family used one screen name, "kizzoo2". I remember logging on when I was younger and one of my dad's friends from work would always IM me to talk to my dad. It was weird.
I also remember Expage.com. Everyone had an Expage back in middle school. The 'popular kids' would write about who all the 'hotties' were. I never entirely understood what the point of that was. I had a website, and it was much better than all the other kids'. Mostly because I wasn't popular and spent way too much time online, learning HTML and that sort of thing.
Nowadays there are sites like Myspace and Facebook, so no one has to be creative anymore. Or learn any kind of code. But I guess that makes what I do know somewhat valuable. Who knows...
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Susanna's First Internet Encounters
Dear Wizard Nathan: My children were not exposed to computers or internet at all as I did not wish it. They grew up surrounded by books, art and the time to love. Childhood is not a thing to be rushed. The world was already spinning too fast and they could do without having to become a part of it at an early age. So, we enjoyed family life instead at a leisurely pace. I knew that in later school years, they would inevitably have to become familiar with the realm of computers. In a nutshell, computers and internet do serve a purpose. Revisions for Rutgers classes work, for example, is facilitated incredibly. Internet shopping is something completely new to us as well and we, as a family, are having a grand time with it. It means that we have come across products that we were shocked to discover still existed, while avoiding crowded stores, the idiots in charge of customer "disservice" centers, neurotic cashiers, clueless managers, impossibly-long checkout lines, along with wasted wear and tear on and expensive gas for the family car. This translates into more relaxed time together. Sadly, families are such temporary relationships. If more people, young and old, would face this reality, society would be functioning at a completely different level. Instead of being wired with every conceivable device which the simultaneously cunning and immensely-profiting media forces us to believe will produce a liberating effect, quite the opposite occurs. Individuals lose their privace completely. They become units of availability -- on call at any hour of the day or night through cell phones or e-mail. Again, the latest technologies can be of great benefit, but only when used wisely and when a logical balance is maintained. As always, there is hope. People are not stupid -- just, perhaps, more impressionable than is good for them. Good night to all! Mayissa Susanna
Monday, February 4, 2008
www.com
So my first experience with the internet....
I got an e-mail from "Santa" informing me that I would be getting a puppy for Christmas. I thought it was pretty cool that he could get the internet all the way in the North Pole. Um, I dont think I really appreciated the WonderfulWorldWideWeb considering I was about 5 or something. It didn't take any real precedence in my life until later. I think my first AOL account name was LadyBaby101 or something. I named it after a horse I rode at my horseback riding lessons. I thought it was really cool at the time.
Other things that happened to me in the year 1994:
-I got stitches in my head.
-I got the Barbie horse I wanted.
-I realized Barney wasn't cool and commenced the destruction of every piece of Barney merchandise I owned.
-My Aunt told me Santa wasn't real. I began to wonder who really sent me the e-mail....
-The Lion King was released. It's still my favorite movie.
I got an e-mail from "Santa" informing me that I would be getting a puppy for Christmas. I thought it was pretty cool that he could get the internet all the way in the North Pole. Um, I dont think I really appreciated the WonderfulWorldWideWeb considering I was about 5 or something. It didn't take any real precedence in my life until later. I think my first AOL account name was LadyBaby101 or something. I named it after a horse I rode at my horseback riding lessons. I thought it was really cool at the time.
Other things that happened to me in the year 1994:
-I got stitches in my head.
-I got the Barbie horse I wanted.
-I realized Barney wasn't cool and commenced the destruction of every piece of Barney merchandise I owned.
-My Aunt told me Santa wasn't real. I began to wonder who really sent me the e-mail....
-The Lion King was released. It's still my favorite movie.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Videos to Think About this Week
Cory Arcangel
"Blue Tube"
play again for full effect...
MC Chris
"Fette's Vette"
think about pop culture, appropriation, etc.
Brody Condon
Worship
performance work inside a video game
"Blue Tube"
play again for full effect...
MC Chris
"Fette's Vette"
think about pop culture, appropriation, etc.
Brody Condon
Worship
performance work inside a video game
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Two Screams from 1994
Something to think about: "what was the first thing you saw on the internet?" The year was 1994, and a friend tried to describe to me what the world wide web thing was, and that you can put a music video on your computer and someone on the other side of the country could watch it over a phone line in the computer. My favorite band at the time was of course Nine Inch Nails. This video was the first thing I ever saw on the internet.
What else happened in 1994?
The genocide in Rwaanda.
Kurt Cobain kills himself.
NAFTA goes into effect.
Nelson Mandela elected president of South Africa.
OJ Simpson helps sell some Ford Broncos.
And in the world of high-profile art theft, Edvard Munch's painting, 'the scream' is stolen.
What else happened in 1994?
The genocide in Rwaanda.
Kurt Cobain kills himself.
NAFTA goes into effect.
Nelson Mandela elected president of South Africa.
OJ Simpson helps sell some Ford Broncos.
And in the world of high-profile art theft, Edvard Munch's painting, 'the scream' is stolen.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Holidays and Grades
You young witches and wizards,
You did well on your final. The grades are not going to be online for you until after January 2nd, because we took the final so late in the semester, but if you need to know your grades before then, I can email them to you individually this week some time, just let me know. And the graded finals will be in your folders at school soon. I also saved the flash slide presentation on this blog as a draft so that we don't have to sign in everytime we view the blog. We can reactivate them at anytime, and I will let you know if the password changes for the slides website. Enjoy the cold you enchanted Jersey folk.
Warmly, Yuley, and Scatologically Yours,
Nathan Shafier,
Professor of Defense Against the Dark Visual Arts,
Mason Gross School of the Farts
You did well on your final. The grades are not going to be online for you until after January 2nd, because we took the final so late in the semester, but if you need to know your grades before then, I can email them to you individually this week some time, just let me know. And the graded finals will be in your folders at school soon. I also saved the flash slide presentation on this blog as a draft so that we don't have to sign in everytime we view the blog. We can reactivate them at anytime, and I will let you know if the password changes for the slides website. Enjoy the cold you enchanted Jersey folk.
Warmly, Yuley, and Scatologically Yours,
Nathan Shafier,
Professor of Defense Against the Dark Visual Arts,
Mason Gross School of the Farts
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
???????
why is the slides list on sldies.rutgers.edu the ones from the first test? theyre the slides from fall only i dont get it! and the username is slides, password user right? HELPPPPP
Friday, December 14, 2007
Seminar Exam Review Notes
I was unable to attend the exam review due to the weather and a long risky commute. Nathan suggested that I obtain notes from someone in class. Would anyone be able to provide me with the notes as soon as possible? My e-mail address is susannap@eden.rutgers.edu. Thank you very much. Mayissa Susanna
The Final Exam
To all my wizards and witches,
The final; exam will be on Thursday, get there by 7:00 pm, bring a pen and pencil, there will be paper provided. Sleep well the night before, know the artists you want to talk about, and you will do well. Good luck to you all and have a festive Yule, Christmas, Eid, Hanukka, Kwanzaa, or however you folks celebrate good times and cold weather.
Nathan Shafier,
Servant to the Jingle Bells of the Black Lectroids
The final; exam will be on Thursday, get there by 7:00 pm, bring a pen and pencil, there will be paper provided. Sleep well the night before, know the artists you want to talk about, and you will do well. Good luck to you all and have a festive Yule, Christmas, Eid, Hanukka, Kwanzaa, or however you folks celebrate good times and cold weather.
Nathan Shafier,
Servant to the Jingle Bells of the Black Lectroids
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Questions for the Final and Study Guide
Okay, so it is crazy outside, but we gotta study for the final.
I am going to give you four questions on the final, you are going to pick two and answer them. You guys gotta give at least three examples for the questions, so get ready to talk about the artist, and example of their work, and issues they are working woth which are relevant to their work. An example of a right answer is "Smithon was dealing with issues of entropy, which he developed in his spiral jetty on the great salt lake." and then you would explain all of those things in detail. A wrong answer is just shoving things together, "the Vienna Actionists were dealing with color and form, they wanted to make murals in LA like the Vietnam War Memorial." That is not right, think about what you write abd don't just sling info together, build up an essay that makes sense, and thats something you know.
The questions:
1)
Discuss, compare and contrast issues of site-specificity in the postminimalist practice of at least three artists, gives names and examples of their work.
2)
What are the issues important to artists working with performance art? Give the names of at least three artists and examples of their work, then relate the issues to their art.
3)
Discuss the issues of appropriation, the aura, documentation, simulacra, advertising and technology in relation to photography and video, give three examples (name, example, etc.)
4)
Discuss Duchamp's importance in the development of conceptual art, what topics, issues and forms did he pioneer that became important for conceptual artists and their practices (give three examples).
Now we will study like the friggin winds of change.
Hazah!
Le Prof Shafier of the Obliqueness and Teen Poems about Dead Birds
I am going to give you four questions on the final, you are going to pick two and answer them. You guys gotta give at least three examples for the questions, so get ready to talk about the artist, and example of their work, and issues they are working woth which are relevant to their work. An example of a right answer is "Smithon was dealing with issues of entropy, which he developed in his spiral jetty on the great salt lake." and then you would explain all of those things in detail. A wrong answer is just shoving things together, "the Vienna Actionists were dealing with color and form, they wanted to make murals in LA like the Vietnam War Memorial." That is not right, think about what you write abd don't just sling info together, build up an essay that makes sense, and thats something you know.
The questions:
1)
Discuss, compare and contrast issues of site-specificity in the postminimalist practice of at least three artists, gives names and examples of their work.
2)
What are the issues important to artists working with performance art? Give the names of at least three artists and examples of their work, then relate the issues to their art.
3)
Discuss the issues of appropriation, the aura, documentation, simulacra, advertising and technology in relation to photography and video, give three examples (name, example, etc.)
4)
Discuss Duchamp's importance in the development of conceptual art, what topics, issues and forms did he pioneer that became important for conceptual artists and their practices (give three examples).
Now we will study like the friggin winds of change.
Hazah!
Le Prof Shafier of the Obliqueness and Teen Poems about Dead Birds
Friday, December 7, 2007
im posting!
What draws the line between video art and day to day television?
Can an episode of seinfeld really go up in a gallery?
What elements constitute a photograph worth being called art?
are other photographs just not as important or is there something else?
Can an episode of seinfeld really go up in a gallery?
What elements constitute a photograph worth being called art?
are other photographs just not as important or is there something else?
Thursday, December 6, 2007
1973
Ok....here goes...I'm finally posting my second question...
In what ways has television contributed to the progression of visual art?
(I thought I'd ask a question that pertains to my major :] )
What truely is the definiton of "video art" ?
Short and sweet :]
Shoutouts to Bri Bri, Mich Mich, and Angelrey...
WORD.
In what ways has television contributed to the progression of visual art?
(I thought I'd ask a question that pertains to my major :] )
What truely is the definiton of "video art" ?
Short and sweet :]
Shoutouts to Bri Bri, Mich Mich, and Angelrey...
WORD.
Minimalist Photography
Ok.
So after reading all the material, I realize that all the work is repetitive and mundane. The work is non-representational, anonymous and boring. Also, if you watch any of Nam june paik's video installations, you may have an epilleptic seizure even if you dont have epillepsy. Does anyone understand the point in the photographs and video installations? Can anyone justify it?
Postmodermist "Picture"
Douglass Crimp said "We are not in search of souces of images...but of structures of signification: underneath each picutre there is always nother picture" how does this relate to the legal authorship problem where Sherrie Levine took a couple of Weston's Untitled, AFter Edward Weston series of his nude son and cropped as to include no more than his torso? Does it Make her the legal author of these series of pictures?
It is kind of confussing but quite true to some of male statues from the High Classical period, as the book says: itself (the original statue) the model for endless Roman copies.
Hey Nathan I just saw you!!! lol What did you think of Joanna's video final?
It is kind of confussing but quite true to some of male statues from the High Classical period, as the book says: itself (the original statue) the model for endless Roman copies.
Hey Nathan I just saw you!!! lol What did you think of Joanna's video final?
question
in 1964b, warhol talks of his appreciation for "boring things" when talking about his repetitive images he goes on to say "I dont want it to be essentially the same, i want it to be exactly the same. because the more you look at the same exact thing, the more the meaning goes away, and the better and emptier you feel." warho claims to want a life of repetition with no meaning, empty of emotion or feeling. is this related to another famous warhol quote "i want to be a machine"? perhaps, like machines, warhol thinks that feelings and emotion are destractions to his productivity. does repetition or daily routine, like warhols claim of eating the same lunch everyday for 20 years, create a lack of emotion and meaning, like a machine, or frustration and discontent?
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Photography and Video
Okay,
So this is our last lecture class before the final. We are going to meet again in the slide library next week for the review. And someone has got to remind me to get you guys to fill out the course evaluation forms. I forgot to do it last week!
But here we go into the world of the lens. Go back to some of our first post and think about 'Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction', the idea of the 'aura', it will be on the test.
To study:
1) the aura
2) simulacra/simlucarum
3) appropriation
4) originality (think of the modernist holy trinity of origin, original, and originality)
5) the idea of photos or videotape as reality, or as documentation, remember that video is inadmisable in court, think of Rodney King, OJ Simpson, the show COPS, all that stuff, legally video tape is not REAL!
6) the role of technology in art making and our ability to make art
7) the connections between advertising, magazines, newspapers, photos, pop art, journalism, documentary
8) how can art exist without the lens of a camera?
We have gone over everything you need to understand this text, just grab it all and make a friggin' salad!
Professor Shafier goes into the night like a recumbent moon over Miami...
So this is our last lecture class before the final. We are going to meet again in the slide library next week for the review. And someone has got to remind me to get you guys to fill out the course evaluation forms. I forgot to do it last week!
But here we go into the world of the lens. Go back to some of our first post and think about 'Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction', the idea of the 'aura', it will be on the test.
To study:
1) the aura
2) simulacra/simlucarum
3) appropriation
4) originality (think of the modernist holy trinity of origin, original, and originality)
5) the idea of photos or videotape as reality, or as documentation, remember that video is inadmisable in court, think of Rodney King, OJ Simpson, the show COPS, all that stuff, legally video tape is not REAL!
6) the role of technology in art making and our ability to make art
7) the connections between advertising, magazines, newspapers, photos, pop art, journalism, documentary
8) how can art exist without the lens of a camera?
We have gone over everything you need to understand this text, just grab it all and make a friggin' salad!
Professor Shafier goes into the night like a recumbent moon over Miami...
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Judy Chicago " Dinner Party"
In Judy's "Dinner Party" she states " I firmly believe that if art speaks clearly about something relevant to people's live, it can change the way they perceive reality.."
How do you feel about this notion and how might this be true?
How do you feel about this notion and how might this be true?
Performance Art, Body Art, and Living la Vida Loca
Welcome back to school, and I apologize for the later post here, but time is scarce.
This week our readings covered a little too much territory, so we are going to have to spend a bit of our discussion sorting through when's and where's and who's, and did you notice that a bit of the stuff that was happening and being talked about was happening right here?
So what was important to remember from all this stuff? What is valid about it?
Hopefully our class so far has set stages for the development of most of these ideas to work through.
Remember our discussions of phenomenology, ontology...the idea of the viewer as a body in front of a work of art...what if the body itself was the work of art, and another body viewing it makes it a work of art. I know it sounds a little dark arts, and let's not kid ourselves, it probably is.
What I want you to know:
1) feminism (think about this word a whole lot, there isn't a 'feminist' style like there is a minimalist style...feminist art is an embodiment of theories and politics, not a way art is made, the variety is huge and feminist body art/performance can be hard to distinguish from the rather sexist performance work of the Vienna Actionists.)
2) internationalism and the 'global village': internationalism in the sense of the Fluxus artists, relate them to more nationally themed art movements (futurism, ab ex, minimalism) and look back to Marshall McLuhan, who we have talked about, and get to know his idea of the 'global village'.
3) theoretical work: start looking at how art will start incorporating theories and ideas into its 'process', compare this with the ideas of making 'conceptual' art. My best example here would be Freud, compare the way the Vienna Actionists used the thinking and theories of Freud to the way in which Mary Kelly uses Freud in here 'Post-Partum Document'
4) positivism, and the utopian gesture
5) collectives versus movements in art: the minimalists hung out together, but Fluxus and Gutai artists made work together
6) identity politics (think of its relationship to institutional critique as well) the body as object/ subject
Hopefully you are noticing the way these writers want to categorize everything. One, because it helps us talk about it better and two because it validates arguments and helps one 'prove things wrong'.
Ex.: is a work of art the object or the subject?
Take great notice at how the Fluxus artists are 'proven wrong' based on contradictions in their artistic practices or in their lives, in these texts. We have to be careful on this desire to 'prove people wrong'. Take it to heart that there is no right or wrong answer in art: whether it be an action, a task or a ritual.
Yours in magic,
Prof Nathan Shafier
WZMB New Jersey's Radio Zombie
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Midnight Spank
Hiiii. I'm posting.
1. Our culture has taught us that the power of women has slowly evolved and progressed. The woman today, or even 1979, supposedly has much more power than those of the past. Our society has recognized the wrongs that have been done unto women, and has, to the best of its ability, reformed that. Think of sufferage, divorce rights, property ownership.HOWEVER, Judy Chicago seemingly is telling us just the opposite. She says that the power of women, our spirit, our knowledge of what trials and tribulations we have and still face is limited. She paints the picture that society, more specifically that male population, is somehow doing us wrong by not giving us enough credit for all of our accomplishments. Is her way of thinking unfair? Overly feminist? Or have we had it backwards all this time? Is she right and it's just pretty hard to admit that we have been fooled into thinking us gals have been getting the pat on the back we deserve these past hundred years?
2. Which brings me to my next question; Is this complication, or, even better, traumatic realization that I stated in the latter paragraph a form of what Adrian Piper is talking about in his "Ideology, Confrontation...."? Am I justifying my belief (that the feminine population has not been taken advantage of and that we have gained more power and respect over the past century) by writing off Chicago as an overly-feminist antagonist?
3. I hope we can discuss Nancy Spero's idea that "the body is a symbol or a hieroglyph...an extension of language..." and how that pertains to the performance artists' reasonings. Furthermore, she says she wants to change the "idea of a woman's body to transcend that which is a male ideal of a woman in a man-controlled world." She's trying to bring woman onto an equal, if not higher, plane than man. She's serious about her subject matter, yet in this discussion she seems to have a more playful approach to it (i.e. the goddess with the dildo). She's not really attacking men so much as celebrating women and our control. Does her technique seem more validating and approachable than Chicago's to anyone else?
Well, that's it. I think I'll go listen to my Bikini Kill CD now.
GOOD NIGHT
1. Our culture has taught us that the power of women has slowly evolved and progressed. The woman today, or even 1979, supposedly has much more power than those of the past. Our society has recognized the wrongs that have been done unto women, and has, to the best of its ability, reformed that. Think of sufferage, divorce rights, property ownership.HOWEVER, Judy Chicago seemingly is telling us just the opposite. She says that the power of women, our spirit, our knowledge of what trials and tribulations we have and still face is limited. She paints the picture that society, more specifically that male population, is somehow doing us wrong by not giving us enough credit for all of our accomplishments. Is her way of thinking unfair? Overly feminist? Or have we had it backwards all this time? Is she right and it's just pretty hard to admit that we have been fooled into thinking us gals have been getting the pat on the back we deserve these past hundred years?
2. Which brings me to my next question; Is this complication, or, even better, traumatic realization that I stated in the latter paragraph a form of what Adrian Piper is talking about in his "Ideology, Confrontation...."? Am I justifying my belief (that the feminine population has not been taken advantage of and that we have gained more power and respect over the past century) by writing off Chicago as an overly-feminist antagonist?
3. I hope we can discuss Nancy Spero's idea that "the body is a symbol or a hieroglyph...an extension of language..." and how that pertains to the performance artists' reasonings. Furthermore, she says she wants to change the "idea of a woman's body to transcend that which is a male ideal of a woman in a man-controlled world." She's trying to bring woman onto an equal, if not higher, plane than man. She's serious about her subject matter, yet in this discussion she seems to have a more playful approach to it (i.e. the goddess with the dildo). She's not really attacking men so much as celebrating women and our control. Does her technique seem more validating and approachable than Chicago's to anyone else?
Well, that's it. I think I'll go listen to my Bikini Kill CD now.
GOOD NIGHT
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Conceptual Art
This weeks readings are around conceptual art and the relationship art has with philosophy. Now the book gave us a very unique look at who the artists involved with conceptual art are. Authoritatively concept art is actually a rather debated subject. It is clear that it emerged from Duchamp and Minimalism, post-war politics and positivist philosophy (as opposed to the existential dread). Several artists claim to be the originators of concept art: Kosuth, Buren, and Anastasi (the last of whom was not mentioned in the text). We talked about how minimalism was the beginnings of postmodernism, but concept art is now squarely in what Lyotard calls 'the postmodern condition'.
Think of Lawrence Wiener for this:
"you can make art, you can have art fabricated, you don't even have to make the work," type thinking. Or of artists who say things like, "I don't want to put more objects into the world, so my work will be documentation in the form of drawings, photographs and essays"....
Terms to think about in more depth:
1) deskilling (which is a slur, and negative connotations in the beginning)
2) institutional critique
3) epistemes (Foucault's term for the way societies organize their facts)
4) aesthetics vs. art (in terms of Kosuth's essay 'Art After Philosophy')
5) the house of muses (the museum)
6) and this statement by Clement Greenberg that, from my point of view, will end up being his one great legacy, that the world of high art has been attached to the ruling class (and the bourgeiosie) by an umbilical cord of gold.
I have added an image of some of Hans Haacke's recent work, when he was the Dean of Students, or whatever at Cooper Union in the city. (Hows that for institutional critique!) But Haacke is totally rad, I highly advise getting to know his work very well...
So tonight we go conceptual style,
Shafier of the Night Flowers of Utter Doom
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
1.) In Carl Andre's response to Anonymous Sculptures he read the Becher's work as though it were primarily defined by its compulsive attention to serial repetition relating them to Minimalism and Post Minimalism aesthetics. Do you agree with Andre's on how he read the Becher's work or is there something that sets their work apart from the Minimalist/Post Minimalist ideas.
2.) When looking at Broodthaer's work, Especially the piece Pense Bete, where he takes his last fifty copies of a recent volume of poetry and plasters them together to transform them into a visual object. The text says: "Bloodthaer's action implicitly askes the spectator why he or she refused to be a reader and wished to become a viewer instead. Therefore his work would take as one of its key questions the status of the work of art as commodity." Do you agree that he work would fall under that catagory of a commodity, of something obsolete?
2.) When looking at Broodthaer's work, Especially the piece Pense Bete, where he takes his last fifty copies of a recent volume of poetry and plasters them together to transform them into a visual object. The text says: "Bloodthaer's action implicitly askes the spectator why he or she refused to be a reader and wished to become a viewer instead. Therefore his work would take as one of its key questions the status of the work of art as commodity." Do you agree that he work would fall under that catagory of a commodity, of something obsolete?
Monday, November 12, 2007
Conceptual Art
Hey everybody. Time to post questions:
1. Collectivity, anonymity, and functionalism are all seen as key artistic values to Bernd and Hilla Becher. Why are these values important, and how does the work of the Bechers relate to minimalism (think of the grids!)? Also, how did the Bechers photographs effect the field of archaeological preservation?
2. Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, Joseph Kosuth, and Richard Long all opposed the installation of Daniel Buren's huge bannerlike work in the Guggenheim International Exhibition, stating Buren's banner "obscured the view of their works". Despite the flaws in their case, Buren's work was removed. Explain why the minimalists (Judd, Flavin, etc.) clashed with conceptual artists such as Buren. How does Buren's conceptual work activate space differently than the minimalists' sculptures?
1. Collectivity, anonymity, and functionalism are all seen as key artistic values to Bernd and Hilla Becher. Why are these values important, and how does the work of the Bechers relate to minimalism (think of the grids!)? Also, how did the Bechers photographs effect the field of archaeological preservation?
2. Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, Joseph Kosuth, and Richard Long all opposed the installation of Daniel Buren's huge bannerlike work in the Guggenheim International Exhibition, stating Buren's banner "obscured the view of their works". Despite the flaws in their case, Buren's work was removed. Explain why the minimalists (Judd, Flavin, etc.) clashed with conceptual artists such as Buren. How does Buren's conceptual work activate space differently than the minimalists' sculptures?
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Language and Communication
Here is one of Smithson's most pivotal pieces. It is called "Heap of Language", I believe this may help illustrate Smithson's ideas about language, communication and semiotic breakdown (think entropy) of what we mean when we use language. Remeber "The Phenomenology of Perception"? Melreau-Ponty talks about the differences between spoken language and speaking language? Refer to our "Midterm Study Guide 1" on this blog. He sees two modes of linguistic expression: the language we speak and the language that speaks directly to our perception. Smithson was very familiar with Maurice Merleau-Ponty.
Go New Jersey Phenomenology!
Le Prof Shafier,
Ordre de Fausrtroll, par les sédimentations de notre esprit collectif
woooo hooooo
ok fellow witches and wizards, i figure i should post 2 questions before i leave for artmaking class.
1. Do you agree or disagree with Michael Fried's claim that Minimalism is ideological, non-modernist, theatrical, and thus hostile to art? Use both personal opinion and Robert Smithson's article in the packet to support your claim.
2. Do you agree with Smithson and feel that movements incorporating industrialization (Anthony Caro and David Smith used steel and aluminum) has less of an artistic value than rust? Also, what do you feel about this type of sculpture material's use of time (does it just convey the concept of supply and demand?) For aesthetic value, do you appreciate earth art or minimalist art more?
3. I also wanted to talk about the link of language/communication through semiotics in terms of this reading, because i'm not finding much of a connection between the two.
may the force be with every young witch and wizard.
1. Do you agree or disagree with Michael Fried's claim that Minimalism is ideological, non-modernist, theatrical, and thus hostile to art? Use both personal opinion and Robert Smithson's article in the packet to support your claim.
2. Do you agree with Smithson and feel that movements incorporating industrialization (Anthony Caro and David Smith used steel and aluminum) has less of an artistic value than rust? Also, what do you feel about this type of sculpture material's use of time (does it just convey the concept of supply and demand?) For aesthetic value, do you appreciate earth art or minimalist art more?
3. I also wanted to talk about the link of language/communication through semiotics in terms of this reading, because i'm not finding much of a connection between the two.
may the force be with every young witch and wizard.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
A Sedimentation of the Mind
I finished grading the midterms, and you guys for the most part did exceptionally well. I didn't grade on a curve because if I did, half of the class would be well over 100%. So I am very happy about that. Otherwise, I will give the tests back Thursday and if we need to discuss anything extra at that time, like extra credit, we can. Speaking of extra credit, you can do an essay paper for me to get 10-15 points added to your exams, but you have to talk with me about it first!
Other than that dark entropy magic, Robert Smithson's essay 'A Sedimentation of the Mind' was our only reading for this week. we will continue on into post-minimalist practices this week.
Think of
1) Earth art
2) site vs. non-site
3) social entropy
4) language as a material (even an industrial material)
5) Art and Objecthood by Michael Fried (this essay by Smithson spanks Fried like Richard Feynman spanked NASA for it's O-Ring Conspiracy)
6) language and communication (think semiotics)
7) the metaphor of rust, decay and the idea that things fall apart
8) anti-architecture, etc...
See you guys in class.
Professor Shafier,
and his Reptilian Familiar Ms. Lutembi
Other than that dark entropy magic, Robert Smithson's essay 'A Sedimentation of the Mind' was our only reading for this week. we will continue on into post-minimalist practices this week.
Think of
1) Earth art
2) site vs. non-site
3) social entropy
4) language as a material (even an industrial material)
5) Art and Objecthood by Michael Fried (this essay by Smithson spanks Fried like Richard Feynman spanked NASA for it's O-Ring Conspiracy)
6) language and communication (think semiotics)
7) the metaphor of rust, decay and the idea that things fall apart
8) anti-architecture, etc...
See you guys in class.
Professor Shafier,
and his Reptilian Familiar Ms. Lutembi
Monday, November 5, 2007
Next Semester
Hey ya'll magical sorts...
Next semester we are still Section 3 if you want to keep the same crew, and we will be meeting in Room 404 at CSB on Fridays from 11:00 to 12:30.
Keep up the good work, and the midterms should be graded by next class.
Nathan Shafier, Order of Faustroll Zepto Sigma Poo
Next semester we are still Section 3 if you want to keep the same crew, and we will be meeting in Room 404 at CSB on Fridays from 11:00 to 12:30.
Keep up the good work, and the midterms should be graded by next class.
Nathan Shafier, Order of Faustroll Zepto Sigma Poo
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Post-Minimalism
Sorry about the later post, but I have had a busy week grading tests and all, which are not done yet, and several other aspects of this class for next semester. However, our class tonight will be on post-minimalism, which is a pretty big and open-ended term, which takes in a lot of different artistic practices, some of which are exceptionally important in how artworks are made today.
Some major points to come out of the readings you need to know:
1) the idea of site-specificity, particularly in relation to the idea of minimalist art as phenomenological objects.
2) the notion of entropy (the second law of thermodynamics), look up the scientific definition of entropy and apply it to culture/ the social, then think how Smithson used these ideas to fuel his projects. IT IS AN EXTREMELY NEW JERSEY AESTHETIC! This is our turf here young witches and wizrds...
3) anarchitecture, related to Gordon Matta-Clark
4) the abject, look up what is related to Julia Kristeva's theory of the bject from her book The Powers of Horror
5) I hope everyone is noticing the fetish art theorists have for scat. And I really mean that literally. They love poo. Eveything looks like it to them, and they love calling things 'shit'.
6) metaphysics (de Chirico in relation to Arte Povera)
7) mnemonics, or memory systems, (remember the cultural challenge Germans had with their own identities after WWII?, well the Italians had it too, look at how they coped, and how they still have scrap in them that goes nowhere...)
8) the expanded field, this was a term first set in stone by Rosalind Krauss, who is one of the writers of this text.
See you young and talented witches and wizards in class, bring a bell, book and candle, we are going to have an All-Saints Day Post-Minimalism Seance!
Professor Nathan Shafier,
Order of Faustroll, Ninth Belt
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Studying Help
I made these to help test my memory with the slides. Thought they might be useful for the rest of you guys. :)
Lecture 1 & 2:
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/slideshow.php?id=38188
Lecture 3 & 4:
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/slideshow.php?id=38189
Lecture 5:
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/slideshow.php?id=38191
-Jess
Lecture 1 & 2:
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/slideshow.php?id=38188
Lecture 3 & 4:
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/slideshow.php?id=38189
Lecture 5:
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/slideshow.php?id=38191
-Jess
Thursday, October 18, 2007
People who get other people to make their work for them
The Red Hot Chili Peppers made this awesome video using work from an Autrian artist named Erwin Wurm, he makes "one-minute sculptures" but he gets other people to do it for him. Try to think of how democratic and interactive it is, and how it is still very definately Wurm's work.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Review Night on Thursday the 18th
We are going to meet at CSB room 206 at 7:30 pm, and we will review till whenever...
Some questions:
1) Describe the roles that phenomenology and constructivism had in the development and production of minimalist art, in particular the works of Donald Judd, Robert Morris, Dan Flavin, Carl Andre and Frank Stella.
2) Discuss the roles of consumerism, capitalism, pop culture and the historical avant-garde in relationship to Pop Art, give examples of artists who employ these ideas in their work.
3) German art was changed dramatically by World War II, discuss the artists associated with 'Capitalist-Realism' and the work of Joseph Beuys, think of the art works they produced in relationship to their identities as Germans after the Holocaust and WWII.
4) Discuss some of the main issues raised and worked on by the Abstract Expressionists, where were they painting, what were they painiting and from what pools were they drawing inspiration from?
5) Think of the idea of the gestalt, what artists, or works of art seem to embody the idea that the whole is more than the sum of it's parts, give names and examples.
6) Describe the influence of Marcel Duchamp on two artists we have discussed, compare the similarities and differences these artists used in developing work after Duchamp, that was inspired by his aesthetic philosophy.
7) Scatology has been a major point of interest, in all of our readings, discuss the role of scatology in our readings about European painting and Abstract Expressionism, name two artists who incorporate the idea of scatology into their painting technique, discuss their aesthetic reasons for doing so.
8) What role has semiotics, or the study of signs played in our readings related to sculpture and painting? Give at least one example.
Some questions:
1) Describe the roles that phenomenology and constructivism had in the development and production of minimalist art, in particular the works of Donald Judd, Robert Morris, Dan Flavin, Carl Andre and Frank Stella.
2) Discuss the roles of consumerism, capitalism, pop culture and the historical avant-garde in relationship to Pop Art, give examples of artists who employ these ideas in their work.
3) German art was changed dramatically by World War II, discuss the artists associated with 'Capitalist-Realism' and the work of Joseph Beuys, think of the art works they produced in relationship to their identities as Germans after the Holocaust and WWII.
4) Discuss some of the main issues raised and worked on by the Abstract Expressionists, where were they painting, what were they painiting and from what pools were they drawing inspiration from?
5) Think of the idea of the gestalt, what artists, or works of art seem to embody the idea that the whole is more than the sum of it's parts, give names and examples.
6) Describe the influence of Marcel Duchamp on two artists we have discussed, compare the similarities and differences these artists used in developing work after Duchamp, that was inspired by his aesthetic philosophy.
7) Scatology has been a major point of interest, in all of our readings, discuss the role of scatology in our readings about European painting and Abstract Expressionism, name two artists who incorporate the idea of scatology into their painting technique, discuss their aesthetic reasons for doing so.
8) What role has semiotics, or the study of signs played in our readings related to sculpture and painting? Give at least one example.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Midterm Study Guide 1
Alright, you are all going to talk about several of the issues we have been covering. If you haven't noticed, I am not totally convinced that being able to define a term or an idea is the same as being able to talk about it, since definitions are treacherous. So be familiar with things, definitions appear when topics are discussed, so start discussing these things with each other as study sxcercises.
Study topics:
1) semiotics (the study of signs), in relation to Abstract Expressionism, Pop art, minimalism...but think of it mostly in relation to the gargantuan notion of "art":
think of the basics in semiotics: the signifier and the signifier, language(texts, spoken words), image (pictures, paintings, advertising), cultural signs (stop signs, the American flag, etc.)
2) constructivism , in art, familiarize yourself with 'the October Revolution, Suprematism, Malevich, Rodchenko, Tatlin, think of artists as 'workers'.
Constructivism as a development coming out of Russian Futurism. Futurism and Cubism were art movements that were developing more or less simultaneously during 1908-1919. 1919 is the year that constructivism was more or less in full effect. Constructivism was not known in the US, until the cold war was well under way: 1950s. Constructivism represented an alternative to the historical avant-garde than cubism or futurism (which was equated with fascism). Think of Flavin's "Monuments to Tatlin'
3) gestalt "the whole is more than the sum of its parts"
4) ontology (the study of being)
5) phenomenology (just for your thoughts, phenomenolgy has 3 definitions before it becomes very important to art with the publication of The Phenomenology of Perception by Maurice Merleau-Ponty:
a) Hegel says phenomenology is the a philosophical approach to consciousness which begins with the expoloration of phenomena, also called 'dialectical'.
b) Husserl defines phenomenology essentially, that is he studies the essence of phenomenological ontology from the first-person point of view, based on intuitive experience, also called 'transcendental'.
c) Heidegger applies a more structured approach, with object/subject of experience, focusing phenomenology on the 'experience of being' called 'ontological'.
6)The Phenomenology of Perception: of note in this text is that he sees two modes of expression: 1) the spoken language, that is language we speak, what he calls 'secondary expression'. 2) speaking language, that is language that actively engages our perception (senses, emotion, etc.), or 'primary expression'. These are weird I know, but will begin to make sense after spending time with them. Just know that he doesn't define 'art', but talks about it as a 'primary expression', or a speaking language, and discusses how art doesn't have to be in service to beauty, etc., and the Minimalists took to these ideas very intensely.
7) Capitalist-Realism in reference to Socialist-Realism, or even Fascist-Realism, also called the Art of the Third Reich (also called 'Romantic-Realism or Heroic-Realism, depending on who was writing the art history books), think Sigmar Polke and Gerhard Richter, then think of how this idea relates to the Independent Group and to Pop Art when it emerges in the U.S.
8) Avant-Garde and Kitsch: know the differences between the avant-garde, the historical avant-garde, kitsch, camp, popular taste, populism. Know who Clement Greenberg is, and what his relationship to the Abstract Expressionist was, and then his relationship to Abstract Painting after Ab Ex.
9) Marcel Duchamp, know readymades and his influence on many generations of artists.
10) structuralism, think of semiotics again, structuralism draws the world into binaries, they think of metanarratives, Claude Levi-Strauss and bricolage.
11) scatology poo and aesthetics
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Minimalism
HELLO!
In the 1957b reading we learned that artist such as Reinhardt imposed the idea that his work was "...the last painting which anyone can make" that every painting was the "ultimate" work of its kind. What is it that triggered that idea. Why is every one of his painting that last one of a progressive series?
In the 1958 reading "A constant negation of impulses" artist Jasper Johns opposes the idea that abstract art needs to be only of forms and colors and not recognizable objects. Johns starts his own type of Abstract Impressionism by recourse to everyday cultural signs. Do you really think that his piece Flag was a abstract painting or just a painting of a flag.
And finally...just another extra question :D
Is architecture and three-dimensional art completely opposites? As LeWitt insited....?
See you all later!
Angela R.
In the 1957b reading we learned that artist such as Reinhardt imposed the idea that his work was "...the last painting which anyone can make" that every painting was the "ultimate" work of its kind. What is it that triggered that idea. Why is every one of his painting that last one of a progressive series?
In the 1958 reading "A constant negation of impulses" artist Jasper Johns opposes the idea that abstract art needs to be only of forms and colors and not recognizable objects. Johns starts his own type of Abstract Impressionism by recourse to everyday cultural signs. Do you really think that his piece Flag was a abstract painting or just a painting of a flag.
And finally...just another extra question :D
Is architecture and three-dimensional art completely opposites? As LeWitt insited....?
See you all later!
Angela R.
class discussion questions
1) Were "new disfiguration" modifications modeled after common graffiti? If it does, is it a mochary or a compliment of graffiti?
2) Robert Morris reinforced his realism using several strategies. I want to know how he was able to do so, did someone ask him to incorprate more realism into his work or did he feel inspired to do so.
2) Robert Morris reinforced his realism using several strategies. I want to know how he was able to do so, did someone ask him to incorprate more realism into his work or did he feel inspired to do so.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Outside Readings, for Everyone
Hello young witches and wizards,
Here are some outside readings for extra help in digging through many of the issues we have been discussing so far.
They will help to inform the essays you are going to be writing for the midterm. And all links into "Project Gutenberg", read the text as html, it will work a bit better...
So, two kind of dark and negative categories:
1) Scat and the Anti-Tradition
2) Dark Vision (because it themes well in our class)
Scatology and the Anti-Tradition: Or what I call, a few lines from the Noble and Sophisticated History of Fart Jokes:
We talked about the antitradition and scatology, here is a link to Project Gutenberg:
Francois Rabelais, "Gargantua and Pantagruel, Book I, Chapter 1.XIII.—"How Gargantua's wonderful understanding became known to his father Grangousier, by the invention of a torchecul or wipebreech".(they didn't translate torchecul, which translates as 'Asswipe')
Jean Baudrillard, 'Pataphysics
Dark Vision: Society, Spectacle, Prison, Panopticon and Cutting up Men
Guy Debord, "The Society of the Spectacle"(This book is long, but worth while to know, since the Situationist International keeps coming up in the readings, thumb through it and get to know the language and how he uses it to discuss art and politics)
Michel Foucault, "Panopticism", from "Discipline and Punish"(this article is exceptionally important for us today, isn't it?)
Valerie Solanas, "The SCUM Manifesto"(She is the one who shot Andy Warhol and SCUM is her art collective, the Society for Cutting Up Men)
Fight the dark side my paduan 'pataphysicians!
Black Marriage
Ad Reinhardt was known for his "black paintings" which he felt was art. However, art should move the viewer in a negative or even positive way but how can one be moved by the absence of a message in a paintings or work which conveys what seems to be of nothingness?
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Seminar Topics for 10/9/07 Blog by Mayissa Susanna
Dear Fellow Artists in Seminar:
I have been fighting to preserve the artist's hand for ever so long through my own work and have been most fortunate to enjoy both the tutelage and support of the incomparable and unforgettable Professor Paul Bruner with respect to same. Nonetheless, I actually enjoy delving into the works of minimalists, the likes of which would most definitely include Robert Morris as I feel they fall on the complete opposite end of my spectrum. There is a presence surrounding works like his Three L-Beams which neither begins with or ends with the exaggerated scale involved. So, I don't wholly agree with the notion of exorcising the demons, seen as the last remnants of aura from an object. I believe we end up right back where we started from and find ourselves replacing one type of unique aura with another for our efforts. It is not difficult to appreciate the concept of obliterating the original, but that's about where it realistically ends for me. This should make for an interesting continuing class discussion. The industrial sheen and precision in measurement with absolute replication of miniscule detailing -- sums up quite a bit of our own world to date. There is a dastardly side to capitalism which far too many people are either unable or refuse to recognize, especially when it invades the art arena. So, I guess I'll keep painting WITH THE ARTIST'S HAND in order to preserve it -- this legal career switch was never about making money in the first place. It was about the love of art. Happy Night to All! Mayissa Susanna
I have been fighting to preserve the artist's hand for ever so long through my own work and have been most fortunate to enjoy both the tutelage and support of the incomparable and unforgettable Professor Paul Bruner with respect to same. Nonetheless, I actually enjoy delving into the works of minimalists, the likes of which would most definitely include Robert Morris as I feel they fall on the complete opposite end of my spectrum. There is a presence surrounding works like his Three L-Beams which neither begins with or ends with the exaggerated scale involved. So, I don't wholly agree with the notion of exorcising the demons, seen as the last remnants of aura from an object. I believe we end up right back where we started from and find ourselves replacing one type of unique aura with another for our efforts. It is not difficult to appreciate the concept of obliterating the original, but that's about where it realistically ends for me. This should make for an interesting continuing class discussion. The industrial sheen and precision in measurement with absolute replication of miniscule detailing -- sums up quite a bit of our own world to date. There is a dastardly side to capitalism which far too many people are either unable or refuse to recognize, especially when it invades the art arena. So, I guess I'll keep painting WITH THE ARTIST'S HAND in order to preserve it -- this legal career switch was never about making money in the first place. It was about the love of art. Happy Night to All! Mayissa Susanna
Monday, October 8, 2007
Less is More (Minimalism)
1. Minimalism is defined as "work that is stripped down to its most fundamental features". In the first section of reading (1957c) we read about three minimalists. How do Ad Reinhardt, Agnes Martin, and Robert Ryman each tackle the concept of minimalism? Which artist is the most successful? The least? And how do the materials used change the piece?
2. In the 1965 chapter, we read about Donald Judd and Robert Morris. These artists share similar views when it comes to sculptural minimalism. Explain why Judd sought to reduce his works to a "unitary shape". Also, how does this relate to Morris's idea that minimalism "takes relationships out of the work"? What is the new meaning behind this kind of art, according to these artists?
See you all on Thursday. =)
-Jess
2. In the 1965 chapter, we read about Donald Judd and Robert Morris. These artists share similar views when it comes to sculptural minimalism. Explain why Judd sought to reduce his works to a "unitary shape". Also, how does this relate to Morris's idea that minimalism "takes relationships out of the work"? What is the new meaning behind this kind of art, according to these artists?
See you all on Thursday. =)
-Jess
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Minimalism and it's Malcontents
My dear witches and wizards, sorcerers and sorceresses, necromancers and limiinal beings,
This week we read through the rivers of 'Minimalism' (or reductivism or literalism, depending on what slur one wants to throw about). Minimalism is one of those bizarre art movements that sets its own standard, but the text that is almost always and consistently thrown around during a discussion of minimalism is 'Art and Objecthood" written by Michael Fried. Fried does not like minimalism, and it is interesting to note that basically the seminal text on minimalism is a complete bash of it.
Minimalism is grounded in some topics we have been going over:
1) phenomenology
2) constructivism
3) gestalt
4) industrial materials
5) the gesamtkunstwerk (a total work of art), think of this idea in relation to the notion of a gestalt of the gestalt...
In the packet readings, Stella and Judd discuss these topics in length and place themselves within those contexts. Notice the malcontent they have for Ab Ex painting and lyrical abstraction (tachisme) in general. There is a malaise in relaion to almost all other forms of art...except Pop art. They hold Oldenberg in next to the highest regard possible.
We talked last week about where postmodernism starts. This is a good a place as any and one worth pausing on to address as the start of 'postmodernism'. Remember 'postmodernism' and 'poststructuralism', are not really terms a postmodernist/ poststructuralist artist would use, because they tend to not define things in such structural or modernist ways.
Topics to think about:
1) the minimalists are the first true generation of artists to earn MFA degrees.
2) distinguishing between different genres after minimalism will becme hard, because many of these artists exist in several different camps: robert morris (minimalism, concept art), robert smithson (minimalism, concept art, earth art, site-specific work), etc...
3) the death of the author, which I have posted in the blog post "Outside Readings", note the end of the text, on how the death of the author means the birth of the reader...think back to our discussion of "who/what/how is the/an audience?"
4) what constitutes a 'good' work of art?
5) "the anxiety of influence"
6) look at the essays from the Artforums around the time 'Art and Objecthood' was published (about 1966-67): Robert Smithson, "Towards the Development of an Air Terminal Site"; Sol LeWitt, "Paragraphs on Conceptual Art"; Robert Morris, "Notes on Sculpture"
As a side note here, and to end, Michael Fried went to the ropes saying that minimalism and conceptualism sucked. The other writers at Artforum left and founded a periodical named October (members of which wrote this text), and after a few years of having theoretical debates with Smithson and Judd, Michael Fried hung up his boxing gloves and left the contemporary art arena to apply his phenomenological hermeneutics to 19th century art.
Perhaps it was the 'dark mark'.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Whacky for Warhol
First I must say that Andy Warhol is a most wonderfully weird character and I am absolutely fascinated by him. So sorry if I focus on him quite a bit. Secondly, I'm rushing to class within the next few minutes so, I'll try to cram in as much as I can. Here it goes:
1) Consider Warhol's "factory" appraoch to art. He reproduced images over and over again. For example his work about Marilyn Monroe, her face is repeated over and over again, reinforcing the fact that she was seen as a "product", something produced by the factory known as Hollywood. How do you think this depicts his views on Hollywood? Is he trying to send a message that the industry is ludacrous in how it manufactures and profits from these individuals? Or is it really just simply art? Do we sometimes read too much into things, and maybe that's what Warhol is pointing out? Ok now I'm really digging....
2) Also, he had said something along the lines of looking at a piece of work over and over again forces you to see it differently, and furthermore to think less of it and feel less about it. Do you think that's true? Do you think feeling nothing about a piece of work thus belies the fact that it is art?
3) Assuming at least some people read about McLuhan's work, how do you feel that McLuhan and Warhol are related on their views about art, pop culture, and society? Do you see a connection?
That's about it. See you soon.
1) Consider Warhol's "factory" appraoch to art. He reproduced images over and over again. For example his work about Marilyn Monroe, her face is repeated over and over again, reinforcing the fact that she was seen as a "product", something produced by the factory known as Hollywood. How do you think this depicts his views on Hollywood? Is he trying to send a message that the industry is ludacrous in how it manufactures and profits from these individuals? Or is it really just simply art? Do we sometimes read too much into things, and maybe that's what Warhol is pointing out? Ok now I'm really digging....
2) Also, he had said something along the lines of looking at a piece of work over and over again forces you to see it differently, and furthermore to think less of it and feel less about it. Do you think that's true? Do you think feeling nothing about a piece of work thus belies the fact that it is art?
3) Assuming at least some people read about McLuhan's work, how do you feel that McLuhan and Warhol are related on their views about art, pop culture, and society? Do you see a connection?
That's about it. See you soon.
ummm
im still kinda confused about this question thing. can we ask anything we want or does it have to be about the reading, and if so , when were we assigned reading?
anyway i think this is my week so here are my question for everyone to think about
1. what makes popart pop
anyway i think this is my week so here are my question for everyone to think about
1. what makes popart pop
pop art.
Sorry this is a little late.... :/
When I was reading (1956) I found it interesting how some artists such as Richard Hamilton poked fun at the postwar consumer culture. I found it extremely interesting how in his collage, "Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?" he integrated so many ad-slogans and even a Ford emblem. Well....I guess my question would be what effect does the consumer culture have on pop art? Is this effect positive or negative?
OK, next question....
What is your view of POP art vs. modernist paintings? According to Lichtenstein, Pop is not so different from a modern painting because "they project a similar sort of viewer, one that is all eye, that takes in the image in a flash, in a 'Pop' of immediacy." So...are they similar? Why or why not?
P.S. Bri Bri, you are a character. Just putting that out there :]
When I was reading (1956) I found it interesting how some artists such as Richard Hamilton poked fun at the postwar consumer culture. I found it extremely interesting how in his collage, "Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?" he integrated so many ad-slogans and even a Ford emblem. Well....I guess my question would be what effect does the consumer culture have on pop art? Is this effect positive or negative?
OK, next question....
What is your view of POP art vs. modernist paintings? According to Lichtenstein, Pop is not so different from a modern painting because "they project a similar sort of viewer, one that is all eye, that takes in the image in a flash, in a 'Pop' of immediacy." So...are they similar? Why or why not?
P.S. Bri Bri, you are a character. Just putting that out there :]
POPart!
to my fellow witches and wizards,
we have arrived at the long awaited pop art chapter. i can honestly say that this was the most enjoyable chapter for me so far, oh yes. anywhoo, lets get down to business. before i post my questions, i want to provide some random sidenotes that will help you with the reading.
-be able to compare and contrast modernism and post-modernism. where do they overlap and where do they emerge as diverge?
-be familiar with terms like consumer capitalism, situationalist international, and the takeover of minimalism and pop art and the slow falling out of abstract expressionism.
ok, so here are questions that i found most interesting to discuss:
1.) After reading the chapter on the political stance of art with situationalists (1957A), do you agree with the concept of capital realism? Do we really need eachother and our environment to progress our art, or is art a separate working entity, and should be untouched or undisturbed by outside factors?
2.) A common theme that POPPED up a lot (muahah) was painting. I noticed a trend after Frank Stella said, "There are two problems in painting, one is to find out what painting is and the other is to find out how to make a painting." Then in the John Cage reading, it was said that "Painting relates to both art and life. Neither can be made." Towards the end of the reading, it was said that "If you do not change your mind about something when you confront a picture you have not seen before, you are either a stubborn fool or the painting is not very good." With all these references to painting, use any of these quotes or your personal experience with painting to provide your own definition of painting.
3.) BONUSSS!! I had to. OK, After reading up on Andy Warhol, has your opinion changed about his execution, style, and overall persona, or do you see him in a different light after the disillusionment of the hype and notority wore off? Do you see his art more as entertaining and playful or how he wanted it to be perceived, where he said "The more you look at the same exact thing, the more the meaning goes away, and the better and emptier you feel."
OK, i'm off to potions class, i mean artmaking. then quidditch practice till 6.
SHOUTOUT to mich-mich and tiffer biffer. <33
and dont forget, professor shafier is the greatest wizard alive!!
we have arrived at the long awaited pop art chapter. i can honestly say that this was the most enjoyable chapter for me so far, oh yes. anywhoo, lets get down to business. before i post my questions, i want to provide some random sidenotes that will help you with the reading.
-be able to compare and contrast modernism and post-modernism. where do they overlap and where do they emerge as diverge?
-be familiar with terms like consumer capitalism, situationalist international, and the takeover of minimalism and pop art and the slow falling out of abstract expressionism.
ok, so here are questions that i found most interesting to discuss:
1.) After reading the chapter on the political stance of art with situationalists (1957A), do you agree with the concept of capital realism? Do we really need eachother and our environment to progress our art, or is art a separate working entity, and should be untouched or undisturbed by outside factors?
2.) A common theme that POPPED up a lot (muahah) was painting. I noticed a trend after Frank Stella said, "There are two problems in painting, one is to find out what painting is and the other is to find out how to make a painting." Then in the John Cage reading, it was said that "Painting relates to both art and life. Neither can be made." Towards the end of the reading, it was said that "If you do not change your mind about something when you confront a picture you have not seen before, you are either a stubborn fool or the painting is not very good." With all these references to painting, use any of these quotes or your personal experience with painting to provide your own definition of painting.
3.) BONUSSS!! I had to. OK, After reading up on Andy Warhol, has your opinion changed about his execution, style, and overall persona, or do you see him in a different light after the disillusionment of the hype and notority wore off? Do you see his art more as entertaining and playful or how he wanted it to be perceived, where he said "The more you look at the same exact thing, the more the meaning goes away, and the better and emptier you feel."
OK, i'm off to potions class, i mean artmaking. then quidditch practice till 6.
SHOUTOUT to mich-mich and tiffer biffer. <33
and dont forget, professor shafier is the greatest wizard alive!!
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
1.) One thing that was interesting to me as I read John Cage (1912-1992) 'On Robert Rauschenberg, Artist, and his Work' was how after discussing how he makes art, he slightly changes subjects and says: "art is the imitation of nature in her manner of operation." I got to thinking about what that really meant and if that stood true. Everything that is on this earth is game for inspiration of art and everything that makes up the world comes from a natural source which is in operation. Do you think that this statement stands true? Is art the imitation of nature in her manner of operation?
2.) A second thing that was worth mentioning came as I was reading Jasper Johns interview with David Sylvester. The part of the conversation where they are talking about the purpose of making art. John Jasper says: " I don't think it's a purposeful thing to make something to be looked at, but i think the perception of the object [artwork] is through looking and through thinking. And I think any meaning we give to it comes through our looking at it." To me, this is an interesting concept that art shouldn't be made to look at, but we need to look at it in order to think about it give it meaning. What would be your take on this comment by John Jasper?
Chris Rypkema
2.) A second thing that was worth mentioning came as I was reading Jasper Johns interview with David Sylvester. The part of the conversation where they are talking about the purpose of making art. John Jasper says: " I don't think it's a purposeful thing to make something to be looked at, but i think the perception of the object [artwork] is through looking and through thinking. And I think any meaning we give to it comes through our looking at it." To me, this is an interesting concept that art shouldn't be made to look at, but we need to look at it in order to think about it give it meaning. What would be your take on this comment by John Jasper?
Chris Rypkema
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Pop Art
Our readings this week went through the development of what would become universally dubbed 'pop art'. We also had a re-reading of the Situationist chapter.
The main concept to be aware of for pop art in these contexts is simulacra:
the copy without an original.
Things to look up:
1) constructivism
2) retro-futurism
3) take another look at 'capital realism' in relation to the german artists Polke, Richter and Baselitz.
4) populism
5) the role of an 'audience', we talked last week about 'what is art?', 'what is sculpture?', blah blah blah, whatever...
think about this, 'who is the audience?', 'who was this made for?', or 'is this for everyone, forever in all places?' thiink about the idea that art is universal, that it's role and appeal actually can, should or be forever...is good work good work forever? Duchamp claimed that the function of museums was to house all of our mediocre things. Think about that in relation to his Etant Donnes, the famous secret 'final piece' he made.
A duality to consider, in a 'structuralist' mode, remember that structuralism uses binaries to describe things and theories:
1) handmade/readymade
This will go back to our question of what is a sculpture. Look at Rauschenberg and Johns, and the way they integrate the handmade and the readymade.
If you did some of the outside readings, ask yourself these questions in relation to Pop art.
what is camp?
what is kitsch?
what is pop?
what is populist?
Everything becomes an issue of taste, and we are constantly referring back to Duchamp and his fart jokes.
My dear little witches and wizards, will this elongated fart joke ever get old?
Yours,
Nathan Shafier (Shafier is my magician name, like David Blaine)
As extra credit, if anyone is interested. A great writer, who is not being discussed with these texts is Marshall McLuhan:
be ready to talk about 'The Mechanical Bride', 'The Gutenberg Galaxy' and 'The Medium is the Message'.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Sculpture and Avant-Garde
1) David Smith: Sculptor- Questions the idea that art was for the elite and was a perfection age old process that could only be found in Paris or New York. Upon going to New York and Paris he found that the art was made according to the artist. The finished project is not always clear at the beginning.
2) Louis Nevelson
3) Abstraction in motion: The Beginning of the age of ism’s-
What is the point to geometric abstraction and how does it relate to going back to “primitive” art and breaking away from the preconceived thought of “perfect” art that David Smith talks about.
The “Yellow Manifesto”- What was the problem with the Yellow Manifesto? And what was the big deal about the show?
4) What are your thoughts on Kienholz’s The Psycho-Vendetta Case of 1960. What about Kienholz’s methods compared to Berman and Conner?
5) Back to the basics; How would you define sculpture? Not a wiki definition either. Keeping in mind the key points of Avant-Garde and Kitsch, how do artists like David Smith or groups like Nouveau Realisme?
6) Minimalism and Geometric Abstraction
Cool sites;
Wooster Collective
Phil in the Circle
Sculpture in the 50s & 60s
Readings for this week were:
October text: 1945, 1955b, 1959b, 1960a, 1965, 1966a, 1966b, and from the reading packet: Louise Nevelson and David Smith.
Looking over the texts this week, I think it may be favorable for all of you to read the introductory chapters to the text, which discuss the methodologies and inclinations of various modes of critical theory and art history. Also, crack open the first text of Art Since 1900 and begin to read on Duchamp, Dada, Surrealism, Cubism, Futurism. Flip thru that first part of the text book, pick something of interest and read it. Don't read it cover to cover or by chapter, making the act of reading a creative one, where you follow your interests, this helps in actually acquiring the information because it was selected out of your own interests, and I find that we take in information or knowledge when we are ready and willing to.
As far as the readings on sculpture, wew have much to discuss. We need to understand the legacy of Marcel Duchamp. Why was he so important, and why are artists today still so inspired by his works and his manners for working?
To look up:
1) bricolage and the bricoleur. The concept of bricolage was discussed in the most useful way by a structural anthropologist named Claude Levi-Strauss, in his book The Savage Mind. The definition for bricolage in the text is rather informal and doesn't really get to the idea of bricolage.
2) Marcel Duchamp. Look at several projects of his: The Large Glass (or the Bride Stripped Bare By her Bachelors, Even), Fountain (and I will give anyone extra credit if they can decipher what 'R Mutt' means), then look up his rotoreliefs and compare them to the kineticist art.
3) gestalt
4) the notion of the spectacle and Guy Debord's book, 'The Society of the Spectacle'. Then...
5) the notions of detournement, recuperation, unitary urbanism, the derive and psychogeography again. These are terms used by Situationists, who are really proving to be some of the most influential artists of the 20th century. All of those terms will be used again and again to discuss all kinds of art, for all kinds of reasons. Why is the 'Spectacle' a bad thing to Debord, and a glorious thing to Yves Klein?
6) structuralist anthropology. the world in binaries, we have talked about this already, but it is going to begin to become very important to see how we define and use 'opposites' and 'similarities'.
7) collage and decollage, and when they become objects: Berman, Conner and Kienholz
8) Eccentirc abstraction, Freud and the notion of the 'Uncanny', think of all the cliche things people say in reference to Sigmund Freud and then apply those cliche statements to the work of Duchamp, Bourgeois, Kusama, and Hesse.
Be good and fight the darkness!
Friday, September 21, 2007
Outside Readings
Okay guys,
We talked about essays or books that everyone will have expected you to read, but will probably never assign you to read. I am compiling them based on the textbook, whatever texts are assumed you would have encountered or read to understand the text.
I am going to upload them as PDFs, or HTML links, so you can print them at your own pace. Readings that we tend to keep using are based on how we interpret them or reuse them apart from how they are originally intended. The lack of control an author has over how their work is read, understood and taught is talked about in a 'semiotic discourse' called reader/response theory and an essay called "The Death of an Author" by Roland Barthes from a book he wrote called Image -- Music -- Text.
I have grouped this first set of readings together by subject to expand on their use today in relation to art.
Lens, Aura and the Copy (a sort of 'what-we-see' thing):
Walter Benjamin, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
Jean Baudrillard, "Simulacra and Simulations"
Art, Kitsch, Camp and Shit (what or how for processing what-we-see):
Clement Greenberg, "Avant-Garde and Kitsch"
Susan Sontag, "Notes on Camp"
Georges Bataille, "The Story of the Eye"
Author, Reader and You (what-we-see is 'us and them'):
Roland Barthes, "The Death of the Author"
Michel Foucault, "The Author Function"
Thursday, September 20, 2007
European Painting
Hey people.
This weeks readings focused on the development of painting outside of the United States during the evil regin of the dark wizards known as the Irascibles (Abstract Expressionism). There were some good covens of witches and wizards practicing the bright arts: Tropicalia (or neoconcretism) in Brazil, Gutai in Japan, art brut (or informel) in France, and the Imagist Bauhaus fronted by Asger Jorn which merged with Letrrist International to formed the SI (Situationist International).
We need to discuss the trends that are similar to Ab Ex in the States, and what are different.
Topics for discussion in class:
1) phenomenology
2) scatology
3) the notion of the concrete (especially related to poetry and topology)
4) Hegelian dialectics
5) the existential dread (Sartre's 'man in a situation')
6) avant-garde and kitsch ala Clement Greenberg
7) Georges Bataille and the notion of base materialism
Further readings to understand the text:
Clement Greenberg, 'Avant Garde and Kitsch'
Walter Benjamin, 'Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction'
Georges Bataille, 'The Story of the Eye'
As far as some of the other conceptions, google search them or look on Wikipedia, and follow as many links as popssible, it will give you enough examples and thoughts on the subject to be able to talk about it.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Questions for the American Painting Readings
Okay, so this is how we are going to run this blog in the context of this class. People who are scheduled to post questions about the readings will post by 3:00 pm on the day of class. These questions will be a gateway into the seminar discussion. I don't know if it was obvious...but some of the readings assigned from Jan's syllabus were not for the lecture and class tonight, but for later. The readings we will be discussing are only on American Painting after World War II.
My questions, (and you need to post at least two!)
1. How does the Bauhaus continue to play a role in the 'mythemes' of abstract art? That is to say, how does the constant mythologizing of abstract art, from each repetition to the next, draw on the fundamental principles of Bauhaus?
2. What is the function of 'structuralism' in the context of 'modernism' and 'formalism'?
These are the questions we will ponder over our seminar tonight. I know much of the vocabulary is new and probably a little awkward, so be sure to ask anything of me and I will do my best to make it reasonably understandable. Some things to think of though for this seminar tonight: Who is the October group? What is semiotics?
I find a very reasonable way of thinking about the semiotics of artwork is to discuss what we mean when we say "what is the meaning?"
A suggested excercise for this is to define 'terrorism'.
What does it mean, how do we use this term, what do you think of when you hear the word? Come to class tonight ready to tell me the definition of terrorism.
See you guys tonight!
Nathan
Friday, September 7, 2007
Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Visual Arts
Hello you fabulous art students. We met last night, and I look forward to getting into the thick of things with you all. Sorry if the blogspot title is a little silly, but then again we all decided to go to art school, so we got to let it hang out. I am inviting all of you into this blogspot so we can talk to each other over the six days we don't have class together. Art doesn't have to be something confined to a classroom or a gallery, I think it is more like a kung fu code we live by or something. I prefer to think of my personal practice in art as that of a wizard. Sometimes I pretend that Mason Gross is Hogwarts and it makes my days much more rich. Plus I really want to be the defense against the dark visual arts professor. Please allow me this bit of fantasy. Also, if you were confused by my impromptu impersonation of Slavoj Zizek, I am including a link to YouTube of him talking. Remember: every name we come across in the readings, type into YouTube, Wikipedia, Google, whatever. This isn't going to be about memorizing, but questioning, understanding and trying to figure things out.
Check this dude out though!
It is a big world...Abraca-frickin'-dabra ya'll!
Check this dude out though!
It is a big world...Abraca-frickin'-dabra ya'll!
Readings for September 13: AMERICAN PAINTING
The Readings:
You guys need to read the Art Since 1900, volume II, sections 1947a, 1947b, 1949, 1951, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1960b;
and from the packet: Ad Reinhardt, "Twelve Rules for a New Academy", Helen Frankethaler interview with H. Geldzahler, and the Joan Mitchell interview with Yves Michaud.
None of these readings are hard, or require much previous experience with the work, but you have to have the readings done to get what you need to out of the lecture and texts. I am going to show you how I want the seminar discussions to go, by going first. I will post comments on the blogspot, and you can post responses, then we will generate a discussion to start the class off with after the lecture.
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