Discuss two works of art, one that fits any definition of Modernism and another that you can interpret through any of the theories from the chapter on postmodernism (Barrett). Describe how these works fit these theories and provide links to images. Due Monday, October 24th.
believe that Alexander Calder’s 1937 work Lobster trap and Fishtails, one of his most recognizable works, is a prime example of Modernism. As with most of his pieces, Calder is concerned with the form of the work. He attempts to create a balanced, kinetic sculpture that is pleasing to the viewer. The work, which refers to underwater sea life, does not hold any sort of deeper meaning. Overall, Calder is concerned with the aesthetic value of the work over the conceptual. http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=81621
ReplyDeleteWhen considering an artist that embodies the characteristics of Postmodern David Cerney came to mind. He is a Jewish, Czech sculptor that is often censored and sometimes arrested for his art. Cerney’s art will always carry some kind of message for the public to interpret, be it political or social, he is not concerned so much with form as long as it helps to convey his message. His works are so interesting that it was hard to pick one, I even found that some of the most interesting pieces did not have an image that could be found. Permanent installation at FUTURA Gallery Prague (yes that is the name of it) I find to fit into Postmodernism because to truly appreciate the work, one must not isolate the art from knowledge, as the Modernist insisted upon. I chose the link directly to his site because you can check out his other stuff too! http://www.davidcerny.cz/start.html
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/29/Newman-Onement_1.jpg
ReplyDeleteBarnett Newman's piece "Onement 1" is a work of art that I look at and immediately would catalogue as a modernist work of art. The painting is made up of a background brown color, messily applied (as in the brush marks used to coat the piece are still readily seen and not smoothed away) with a streak of yellow paint that runs down the center of the whole piece. I do not think this painting is trying to trick the eye into seeing some sort of illusion, it appears to be highlighting the spacial structures that exists on the canvas. I look at this painting and I reflect on the fact that it is a painting. It is balanced and does not reflect any outside objects. It can exist on its own, without any sort of reference point.
http://laurie7leonard7martin7.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/janine-antoni-loving-care-5-1993.jpg
Janine Antoni is a performance artist whose work falls into the postmodern spectrum of art. In her performance piece "Loving Care" she combines multiple different art practices: she is painting (with her hair), she is sculpting (making her body a sculpture), she is performing and her actions are caught on camera. There is this fusion of different elements and aspects of art, this blending of worlds. She is not necessarily jumping off of the movement that came directly before. Instead she is borrowing from all over the place. Her piece is also riddled with metaphor and conceptual elements. The participation of the viewer is also a section of the work (the more ground she painted, the more she crowded the audience out of the space). What I find interesting about her pieces is that the making of the work is vital to the piece and the viewer is either there for it or aware of the process. However, there are themes of repetition, discipline and physical and mental states that make all her works about more than just what they are made of.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Le_guitariste.jpg
ReplyDeletePablo Picasso’s Le Guitariste fits under the definition of modernism because of the artist style of painting. The work consists of lines and flat geometric forms, showing little interest in creating recognizable illusions of space. Picasso is more interested in the action of painting than artists who came before him. He emphasizes his mark making and the texture of the brushstrokes. He also broke up familiar objects and created abstract depictions of them. Picasso is using the purity of form to break cultural barriers in the hope of connecting with the viewer on a universal scale. Picasso was inspired by artists from around the world rather than staying within the confines of typical western art.
http://ninjalie.wordpress.com/2011/03/28/barbara-kruger/
Barbara Kruger’s You’re gaze hits the side of my face is a postmodernist and feminist piece. Kruger shows an interest in language and text. She uses text to make the work reminiscent of an advertizing campaign. She is using the style of mass marketing to comment on mass marketing. This piece particularly comments on gender roles. Typically women are subjects to be viewed by the male gaze. Women are supposed to be submissive whilst the males objectify the women. Kruger questions this notion by drawing attention to it in the familiar style of an advertisement.
http://s3-ak.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/terminal01/2011/8/3/12/enhanced-buzz-27945-1312388204-16.jpg
ReplyDeleteQuite personally I think that Burgoyne Diller's piece seems the most modernist to me, as it has clear stark shapes that boarder upon complete abstraction. The colors are so crisp that its hard to believe that it was painted. I can't for the life of me find the name of this piece, and therefore it just sort of exists for the viewer to place his or her own outlook upon it.
http://lsimpsonstudio.com/photographyWorks/You're-Fine2.jpg
Lorna Simpson's 'your fine' seems to designate itself as a postmodern piece. Specifically it touches on multicultural themes and some sort of activism, I believe. Though I'm not quite sure. What immediately comes to mind is some sort of modeling agency or some kind of twisted ad. Though it could be about slavery or just simply about how women are viewed within society.
Willem de Kooning, helped pioneer Abstract Expressionism which transformed midcentury painting. He was a part of a group of artists called the “ New York School,” who enforced a dramatic shift in perception and attitude that enabled them to assimilate the entire culture of modern art and assume the role of leaders of the avant-garde. De Kooning’s complex body of work varied, but a distinct interest in figural drawing and painting was carried throughout his career. De Kooning created Woman and Bicycle in 1952, this painting set forth a distinct gestural, unfinished quality that foreshadows the rest of his pieces. De Kooning remains known for never creating a “finished” a work of art. The piece consists of a large female figure, characterized by circular shapes that outline her breasts and eyes. Thus, these body parts can serve as the focal point of the piece, his energetic brushwork creates a path in which the viewer must embark. The is also a lot of movement in the color choices.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.google.com/imgres?q=woman+and+bicycle+kooning&um=1&hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1045&bih=474&tbm=isch&tbnid=RXixYGIbxRJSEM:&imgrefurl=http://www.theslideprojector.com/art1/ranchocampus/art1rlecturepresentations/art1rlecture2.html&docid=9iGtxUM6ZxB-zM&imgurl=http://www.theslideprojector.com/images/art1/chapter3-adialoguewitheurope/womanandbicycle.jpg&w=381&h=600&ei=h2alTtzPL9CSgQei5JXPAw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=444&vpy=78&dur=42&hovh=282&hovw=179&tx=79&ty=145&sig=100970473719640075248&page=1&tbnh=136&tbnw=87&start=0&ndsp=14&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0
Susan Rothenberg’s body of work shares many of the same qualities both in the process of creation and stylistic aesthetic choices. Her painting The Fence (Holding) was created in 2006. The composition consists of a dynamic red figure positioned in the center of the piece, serving as the main focal point. She surrounds the figure with black lines implying an enclosed fence, adjacent to the figure there is a goat, depicted as trying to escape from the enclosed fence. She is a post-modernist painter, whose approach tends to be Neo-Expressionism. She focuses on the figure from a downward view, and makes her pieces very personal often using herself as the inspiration.
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=susan+rothenberg+the+fence+2&um=1&hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1045&bih=474&tbm=isch&tbnid=ICGlons0da2KGM:&imgrefurl=http://www.artnet.com/artwork/425281269/the-fence-2-holding.html&docid=ZNK1q6xvZrQaoM&imgurl=http://www.artnet.com/artwork_images_1006_338989_susan-rothenberg.jpg&w=638&h=480&ei=xGalTvmOFovogQfS3pX8CQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=104&vpy=151&dur=775&hovh=195&hovw=259&tx=168&ty=119&sig=100970473719640075248&page=1&tbnh=138&tbnw=186&start=0&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0
For me, Richard Serra’s sculpture “Tilted Arc” is a good example of modernist art. Defying the previous historical conceptions of sculpture, he sought to create a work that was visually arresting rather than aesthetically pleasing to the viewer. His works are a reflection of inner beliefs, and echo his ideas that good art is controversial and engaging rather than simply “pretty”. He reflects his inner emotions in his work, which is an important aspect of modernist art, usually known as “self-criticism”
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/visualarts/images/tiltedarc_big1.jpg
In terms of a post-modernist work, I believe Jeff Koons’ “Michael Jackson and Bubbles” fits the ever-changing definition. His choice of celebrity subject matter and his kitschy execution create a work that is more similar to a Tchotchke than an actual work of “high art”. However, it can be argued that this is what makes his art postmodern, along with his shameless self-promotion and quest for celebrity. His work challenges the definition of art, while he himself challenges the definition of an artist.
http://0.tqn.com/d/arthistory/1/0/o/e/broad_inaugural_12.jpg
I believe Jeff Koons "Puppy", 1992, is an example of Modernism. It is seeking a universal truth through the use of a dog, a symbol of companionship. By making the dog far larger than humans he suggestions an opinion as to how large companionship is a part of the human element. The work being made with botanicals also suggests humans companionship with the earth. Koons is attempting to make his viewers all receive a message that will help them relate to one another.
ReplyDeletehttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NpINLHeo8rM/SIXR-SWf7vI/AAAAAAAAYms/Dgyvy2eUIWY/s400/1.jpg
Lorna Simpson's "You're Fine", 1988, relates too Jean-François Lyotard's theory on Postmodernism. The work is very disorienting. Upon first glance you aren't sure what is going on. Where this woman is is very unclear, but none the less this very thing allows a discussion. This discussion blurs the boundaries because you must discuss taboo subjects, i.e. racism and disability, in order to fully interpret the piece.
http://lsimpsonstudio.com/photographyWorks/You%27re-Fine2.jpg
The two artists that I chose for my comparison paper are two good examples of a modernist and postmodernist.
ReplyDeleteAlexander Calder’s Circus carries many modernist characteristic. The exploration of industrial material (metal wire) and the mechanical structure of his circus figures fit in well into modernist art. The forms of the figures were also simplified down to its simplest form, yet audience can still recognize what they suppose to represent; another modernist practice in seeking for universal form. The work also lacked in subject matter, which is conceive as being less important than the physical form of the work in modernist perspective. Calder’s Circus was created to fulfill the artist’s own satisfaction as he mentioned in one of the interview that he was just doing it “for fun”. http://whitney.org/image_columns/0006/0910/83.36.1-95_calder_imageprimacy_v1_640.jpg
Cao Fei’s RMB city, on the other hand, is quite different from Calder’s. Fei fit into most descriptions of the postmodernist theory, such as her incorporation of language into her work (almost like poem), her extensive exploration into new media i.e. video, photograph, and computer program, and her emphasis on the content of her work over the physical form of the art object. There is a deep philosophical background in her work, which when compared to Calder’s, take a more serious tone, despite the vibrant color of the virtual city that she created. She is making a social criticism on China’s urban planning and modernization, concerning the pace in which it is trying to catch up with the western world without considering the suitability with Chinese culture. http://www.aaa-a.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/white_nights_3c_dl.jpg
When I think of modern art, I think of Piet Mondrian's grid compositions. Flat lines and blocks of color on canvas, these paintings do not attempt at all to create the illusion of space, but are completely flat. The grid forms might suggest a kind of masculine architectural aesthetic, which also fits with the period. Modernism was mostly by men and for men, who celebrated fields that were dominated by men. There is, however, no really content to this work. It is meant solely to be viewed aesthetically. It is a composition, a painting, first. There is not much else. The image is incredibly simplified and there is no attempt to represent something else.
ReplyDeleteLorna Simpson's photograph with text, "Waterbearer", is very different. It is completely representational. A woman stands looking away, in each kind a jug of water she is pouring (one plastic, one silver). At the bottom is ambiguous text, perhaps referencing an unbelieved rape victim? She is very interested in content with her work, and she tries to bring overlooked groups of people to light. The woman shown is of African descent, and she is shown as a complex person, rather than the more derogatory way modernist painters have shown women (some works by Picasso come to mind). Simpson tries to use her art to facilitate discussion with its ambiguity and interest in the plight of minorities.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fe/Mondrian_Composition_II_in_Red%2C_Blue%2C_and_Yellow.jpg
ReplyDeletePiet Mondrian’s Composition II in Red, Blue and Yellow is always the very first thing that comes to mind when I initially think of Modernist theory. As the title implies, the focus of this painting is on the composition, color, and use of vertical/horizontal line. He plays with the balance of the canvas, the visual weight of the scale of his primary colors, rather than with narratives and conceptualized meanings. He is concerned strictly with that which is aesthetic and seeks to create no illusion or obvious representation to his shapes.
ttp://www.art21.org/files/imagecache/full_image/images/wilson-inst-002.jpg
Fred Wilson’s Modes of Transport 1770-1910, meanwhile, couldn’t be anymore different. In this installation piece, Wilson creates his artwork through other people’s objects. He makes commentary on the condition of black Americans in a “white America” and focuses entirely on the arrangement of these objects to create a powerful, conceptual narrative. While there is an aesthetic unity and formal elements (particularly contrast within the hood of the Klansman which lies upon the bed of a black baby carriage), that is not the most prevailing part of the art. He did not only put the white hood against the black carriage for formalist reasons, but rather to portray a particular kind of story and to give an overall experience.