El Fin

I can safely say that this is the most bizarre class I have ever taken not just in college, but in my life. But I really, really enjoyed it. I am not one for the traditional, "by the book," kind of classes where you know exactly what to expect. This class was something different everyday, I would feel 15 different emotions on one class sitting. I will say that some of the more extreme footage we watched was a little hard for me to watch (I don't like needles going into skin, the sewing the lips shut literally made me feel sick). But I think its really important for people to be exposed to these different forms of art, there is so much emphasis on the traditional schools of art that I feel it must be frustrating sometimes for the more abstract artists to gain equal appreciation. I will admit that before this class I had the attitude that the strange works of art were not really art, I used to think they were silly. But through this class, I have learned to look at them in their context.

I also feel more comfortable with being myself and expressing myself when it comes to art. The performance art was a great experience for me because when it was assigned I remember thinking to myself like no way I can't do this. Then when I actually did it, I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders, I didn't care anymore. I actually wished, looking back, that I had done something a little more crazy. I really liked the way the class was taught in that there were never strict guidlines set. We were free to be creative in just about any way we wanted. It was a fun and exciting class, I loved coming back from class and telling my roomate all the crazy things I saw. I even brought my brother to the syllabus page and told him to check out some of the links. I really enjoyed this class and everything I learned, I'll never forget it, even if I wanted too. :-)

Video Art Final

This scares me a bit...

Ryan Trecartin, A Family Finds Entertainment

Ryan Trecartin

Its nice to look into the work of a artist that is relatively close to my generation. Ryan Trecartin was born in 1981 and I was born in 1988...close enough. It was interesting to find out that a common theme resides in his work..."commodity anxiety, spiritual nihilism, and community value." I found this information on a website titled Saatchi Gallery.

Ryan seems to work with similar methods to those of Andy Warhol as he "...works with a posse of his close mates." Ryan encourages the insight and opinions of his friends and their involvement is important to him. It was interesting to find out that Ryan is a hurricane Katrin refugee and while he currently resides in Los Angeles he has produced World Wall, which is a commemorative piece attributed to the disasterous effects of hurricane Katrina. He worked alongside another artist by the name of Lizze Finch. I always love to see works of art that have a deeper meaning and to know that the artist really put their heart into it. Thats part of the reason I have always been such a fan of art because art can be the expression of the not so literal aspects of one's life, it doesn't necessarily depend on logic to make sense of it all.

Now for a more obscure piece, Ryan created Mother . This piece is not as impressive to me as The Wall but I can appreciate it none-the-less, as explained on the website, Ryan's works are often compilations of efforts from numerous artists. He is big on collective effort and group cooperation. It is refreshing to see because he is not all about his ego and producing arts that are solely his own.

Pipilotti Rist

Homo sapiens sapiens, 2007

Homo sapiens sapiens, 2005

Pipilotti Rist

First of all, I visited her website and I automatically was attracted to its layout and aesthetics. I began by browsing through her gallery. I read a little background on her and my favorite thing I learned about her was that her favorite number is 54 and she is "against taboos and stereotypes with emotion and humour..." My favorite number is 2 and its nice to know other people still have favorite numbers. She both works and lives in Zurich as well as the mountains of Switzerland since 2004, the clean air and desolate location I would assume has an influence on her creativity.

I absolutely love her work. It is beautiful, the colors are bright, the context of her work is fresh. This particular piece I can not take my eyes off of. It takes up an entire room, wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling. Pour Your Body Out is its titles and it incorporates both audio and video. The images are larger than life and they change, I can only imagine what its like standing in front if it. As of 2008, this piece was in The MoMa in New York City, hopefully its still there because I would love to visit it this summer.

Another beautiful installation of hers in my opinion is Tyngdkraft, var min van (Gravity be my friend), interesting title and amazing work. I love the fact that her installations are interactive, it is a nice change from the usual restrictions museums have of not being able to touch or photograph the art you are seeing. People can lay down and stare up at the work in this particular piece, and people can still engage by leaning against a column or standing anywhere in the room really. I have loved what work I have seen thus far and she is definitely an artist I would like to keep tabs on...

Television Delivers People

This piece was simple but meaningful. I think its interesting that the presentation of this information was somewhat dark and dreary, it resembled one of those emergency announcements that come across the t.v. This could have been a representation of the fact that it is an emergency that we have become so consumed by the media, specifically the television, and we must acknowledge its occurance. I find it interesting that we are in some way funding the bombardment of media that we so often complain about. We complain about t.v, but then we want more, so they give us more and then its not enough, so we ask for more. It'll probably never stop.

We rely on the televsion to keep us connected with the world, the newspaper is slowly being phased out. We watch the news on the televison, the latest gossip, the latest issues or controversy we can observe on Oprah. I think that people, including myself, would be frightened if we acually counted the hours we watch t.v in one week.

The Residents

This avant-garde music group is recognized by their eyeball-tuxedo-top hat costumes that conceal their true indentity...I consider their music to be a bit abstract but a great example of combining visuals and music to create art nonetheless. Dmitry Mozheitov who writes for The Russia Journal says that The Residents claim that their concealed identity makes them a "virtual band," which they say is their invention. Mozheitov talks of the origins of The Residents, in 1970 a group of four musicians formed a group in Louisiana, shortly after moving to San Francisco to record a demo. Apparently, the demo was returned addressed "for the attention of the residents,"and this is how the band got its name, I thought that was cool! The Residents went on to create their own record label, Ralph Records.

The Russia Journal

For The Residents, it was not as simple as writing lyrics and composing music to match, they were quite interested in the visual art aspect of their music. A cool website I found titled WeirdoMusic, had a review of The Residents. According to this website, The Residents dabbled in photography, tape machines, and "anything remotely to do with art that they could get their hands on." I like this aspect of the group, I appreciate the fact that they really wanted to express themselves through as many forms of art as they could, they tested the boundaries of the music industry as well as fusing the worlds of art and music. I'm happy that I was introduced to this different musical expression.

Nam June Paik

The first to really do video art...his inspiration from John Cage I think had the most influence on his career. According to his website, he bought the first portable video recorder in 1965 and did his first solo exhibition, "Electronic Art." The 60's must have been a great environment for the experimentation in video art. I love his pieces with the small television screens stacked upon one another...that seems to be kind of "his thing," a signature style.

The robots made up of tvs and radios are especially interesting. The "Electronic Superhighway: Continental US," is absolutely beautiful. I wish I could put it in my house, it had 313 monitors! His installation titled "Jacob's Ladder" is amazing as well. I am drawn to installations that play on light and dark, I think the unique use of lighting is beautiful, and it seems Nam June Paik thought so too!

Goodnight Plant Park

So, here is my performance art piece. We have set up a sort of bedroom scene in Plant Park. My friend Heather and I are wearing nightgowns and we are sleeping on an air mattress with a pretty lamp bedside. I thought about doing this at a homestore such as Bed Bath & Beyond or Rooms to Go, however, I figured Plant Park would be more populated (especially today because of the date.) There were a lot of people walking back and forth. We got more stares when we were actually setting up the scene as opposed to the actual performance of sleeping. Looking back, people probably thought it was a good idea to bring an air mattress to the park, so they probably didn't see it as very strange. A security gaurd actually pulled up right after we started the performance and stared at us, I could hear his golf cart right next to my head. My friend ended up being in the park with other friends while we were doing it and I guess she thought it would be funny to steal one of our robes. I think the uncontrollable occurences make performance art experiences richer, it is interesting to see how people react to events such as these when there are no controlled boundaries, walls (such as in an art gallery), security, etc. I really enjoyed doing this project, I thought of a lot of ideas but I couldn't execute some of them the way I wanted to with my limited resources. But I'm happy with this final performance!

Theremin Instrument

The theremin is an instrument used particularly in electronic music, it was invented in Russia by Leon Theremin. In addition to electronic music, it has been used in soundtracks for movies, especially spooky movies. Robert Moog, an electronic musician, played around with the building of theremins in the 50's and he ultimately came up with a synthesizer, "The Moog." I think its so amazing to watch someone use it. It almost looks like magic, all they do is wave their hands over two different ends and it creates sound, an eerie sound. I think its neat because if you play it a certain way, with rapid movements it can actually sound like a voice singing.

The theremin can be heard in songs such as :

The Pixies: Velouria

The White Stripes: Little People

Pink Floyd: Echoes

Source for the songs:

bloglist.org:music playlists, songs with the Theremin

Jimmy Page and the Theremin on YouTube; Check it out!

The MoMa Article...

I never thought of this problem when it came to performance art. I guess I figured people were a bit startled by the art to begin with that actually approaching one of the performers would never even exist as a thought. You would think that the majority of people that visit art galleries would be of enough maturity, but then you have to factor in the tours and the field trips and the people who get unwillingly dragged along. Its a shame that this "touching" of the performers is even an issue, and it should be taken just as seriously as touching paintings or sculptures.

Xerox Project

I originally wanted to paste my images onto a lampshade but the ones I found weren't what I was looking for. I love these older phones for some reason, so this was a perfect pick for me. I did do a couple color xerox images but I chose to just use a small amount of the color images and keep it mostly black and white with a hint of blue.

I also used some black tacky paint to give it some texture.

Stelarc

Stelarc

This performance art is impressive. Stelarc's creations are the products of long invested time and effort. His third arm is amazing, he controls its movement with electric signals from his brain, wow. It was a functional limb, it was apparent through the example when he wrote EVOLUTION with his third arm. He loves robots. He pretty much turned himself into one at one point. He is an artist, a desginer, an engineer and a performer. He uses technology to improve his functions. The suspension performances he did were a little painful to watch but I have to admit they were impressive . I especially liked the suspension that he did when he was balancing his weight with a series of medium sized stones as he hangs from hooks attached to the ceiling, it was interesting to look at and figure out. I appreciate his suspension art because he adapted it from ancient Hindu Indian piercing. The piercings are very strategically placed in order to distribute the weight evenly. Moving onto the ear in his arm! That was so bizarre but really cool, I have never heard of anything quite like it. The things that Stelarc's mind comes up with is amazing...

Gilbert and George

Gilbert and George...their appearances do not scream abstract artists. I love that about them. I also absolutely love the "bend it" video, I can't help but smile and laugh when I watch it, it's great. I do think their blow-up images are a bit much for my liking, but hey it's crazy and different. Their signature grid-like setup is cool too.

Orlan

I am not quite sure what to say about Orlan. Her performance art is some of the most bizarre I have seen yet. I am still trying to get a grip on the concept of some performance art... I do appreciate all forms of art, but I don't really understand all of them. I like the idea of Orlan reforming her body to famous art icons, I just personally think it is a bit extreme to harm your own body. I just have this view because I hold strong to the belief that we should take care of our bodies and respect them because of all they do for us and the life they give us. I understand that this is her life, performance art is her life, I'm just not crazy about the gorey aspect of it. I thought that her performance with the coin slot where people exchanged coins for kisses was really cool. I'm still trying to open my mind to the more extreme performances...

Thoughts on Fluxus...

A lot of the concepts of fluxus seem to have come from John Cage and his experiments with music. There are remnants of the Dada period found within the fluxus ideas. They turn away from traditional art and focus on the practice of simplicity. I like how a lot of the work from the Fluxus are collaborations. I did a little research and it seems that some of the head-runners were John Cage, Dick Higgins, Nam June Paik, Joseph Beuys, La Monte Young, and Yoko Ono. I appreciate how much of their work exists in real spaces, out in the world, it is not necessarily art hanging in a gallery. I think it is refreshing work, a bit out of the ordinary, but interesting none-the-less.

Marcel Duchamp's Mona Lisa

Marcel Duchamp's remake of the Mona Lisa features a mustache and a goatee. Also, the letters below her name, when pronounced in French state "She has a hot ass." It's a pretty bold piece because the Mona Lisa is such a famous work of art. Some people would see Duchamp's work as degrading but I don't think art should ever be taken too seriously. Part of the beauty of art is its ability to be interpreted differently by each viewer. This work is one of many Duchamp's pieces that challenges people to look at art in new contexts.

The images didn't post before...

I have an obsession with Audrey Hepburn. While I was on the topic of old movies, I had to say something about Audrey. My favorite movie of hers is My Fair Lady. Her performance with Rex Harrison is amazing. The movie is funny, sad, romantic, interesting all at the same time. The transition Audrey's character makes (Eliza Doolittle) throughout the movie is fascinating. The songs are my favorite part of the movie. Here are some of my favorite wardrobe items in the movie:

Singin in the rain

Singin' in the rain is one of my all-time favorite movies..I've been watching it since I was a little girl with my Nana. Seeing it used in the context of A Clockwork Orange took me a bit off-gaurd, but I feel like that might of been part of the reason it was used at that particular point in the movie. This can be seen in other movies, where an up-beat song is played during a not so up-beat moment. For example, one of my favorite directors Quentin Tarantino did something like this in his movie Reservoir Dogs. There is a scene in the movie where one of the characters,"Mr.Blonde," has a hostage and turns on the radio and is dancing around the hostage, "Marvin." The song that is playing is "Stuck in the middle with you," by Stealers Wheel. While the song is still playing, Mr.Blonde cuts off Marvin's ear with a straight razor and dumps gasoline all over him. So, this is not a pleasant scene by any means but the song thats playing does not compliment the mood.

I think this is an interesting effect. While I'm not sure if that is what their intent was in A Clockwork Orange, it would make sense to take a cheery song such as Singin' in the rain and pair it with a scene such as the chosen scene in A Clockwork Orange. An interesting thing happens when these two different moods are morphed into one, I didn't know how to react when I saw the scene in A Clockwork Orange. It was a dark scene, as the woman was about to be raped, but as I watched and heard Singing in the rain, I wasn't scared as I would be normally if a woman was being attacked. I guess it was sort of an eerie feeling.

The Tablet

Even though Apple is constantly coming up with new ideas and gadgets, I really didn't think much could exceed the Iphone. Guess I was wrong, this thing looks pretty cool, but what more could it do than the Iphone? I think its cool than Jobs has a knack for identifying what the consumer market wants. This tablet will be the new electronic craze.

First Class

I was pleasantly surprised the first day of class. After listening to what exactly we will be doing in class, it seems a lot more exciting than I had expected. I expect this class to push my levels of comfort a bit, but I'm excited to see how I react. I am looking forward to learning about the more bizarre concepts of art as I'll admit I don't really "get" a lot of it. Hopefully, I'll form a new appreciation for other areas of art and expression.