Use an artwork or two from the Fineburg text as examples in your response to this quote from artist Daniel Buren: "Art is the safety valve of our repressive systems. As long as it exists, and, better yet, the more prevalent it becomes, art will be the system's distracting mask. And a system has nothing to fear as long as its reality is masked, as long as its contradictions are hidden."
Due Monday, November 7th
This statement of Buren's seems to be a little contradictory to me. When he says "art is the safety valve of our repressive systems," I take his metaphor to heart. A safety valve is something worked into a system in case of an emergency, in case of a situation where too much pressure is built up and an outlet is needed. Art, in that sense, allows for rebellion. Tension or pressure cause by our repressive systems is released through the creation of art. When reflecting on the quote from this point of view, I think of conceptual artists from the 60's onward, pushing boundaries and letting off steam, such things as Vito Acconci's work entitled "Following Piece" where he followed strangers until they slipped into private placed along with Marina Abramović, in the performance "Rhythm 10" which included the self harming of her body. Art in this sense is all about self reflection and questioning, of attempting to break away from the overbearing weight of the systems in which we live.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Buren goes on to say that art works as the system's mask and as long as a system has something to mask its reality than that system is safe from being challenged. These are two wildly different statements. So I don't completely understand what Buren is trying to get across.
I'm in an interesting position when it comes to this quote. In one way, the quote seems to be about using art as a way to channel potentially harmful or stressful situations into a less harmful way. Freud called this sublimation, but often used it in reference to sexual desires. Which I feel is a bit true- I certainly use some pent up emotions and channel them through my art. It makes me feel better and makes some cool art.
ReplyDeleteBut I digress, I kind of see a counter argument to this quote. I seem to get hung-up on his use of the word "mask". In my eyes it seems that art is a way to hide your self from others in face-to-face situations, but when it comes to your art it reveals your true self. Its simply me viewing the word "mask" as negative.
Anyway, some great examples of this quote is Romare Bearden's "The Dove", and nearly every post-colonial art piece. Essentially Bearden uses art as a medium to translate his emotions about culture. I am pretty sure this gets a lot of things off his chest, and provokes a dialogue. Contemporary art is all about pointing out some flaw or emotion of the artist which then can very well cause a commotion or a change in the world. Essentially through my babbling, I'm agreeing with Buren.
I agree with the statement made by Buren, in that I see how art can act as a “safety valve” by helping repressed ideas come to life and allowing the subjugated to make their voices heard. However, I also find it to be contradictory, as I believe art doesn’t “mask” the imperfections of society, rather it directs our attentions to the flawed nature of social constructs. Art has helped break down many cultural barriers, rather than hiding them. The more prevalent it becomes, the more the viewing public is made to question the established system. In this way, I find Buren’s quote to be somewhat confusing. In terms of art that challenges social constructions of what art should be, I think Richard Prince’s work fits the description. He appropriates photographs from advertisements and rearranges them to create new meaning, completely changing the intended message of the original photos. He opens the viewer’s eyes to the inner workings of cultural systems, and allows the viewer to create their own meaning from his work. In this way, he undermines one of the most repressive systems in our modern world, the capitalist world of advertising and merchandizing.
ReplyDeleteUse an artwork or two from the Fineburg text as examples in your response to this quote from artist Daniel Buren: "Art is the safety valve of our repressive systems. As long as it exists, and, better yet, the more prevalent it becomes, art will be the system's distracting mask. And a system has nothing to fear as long as its reality is masked, as long as its contradictions are hidden.
ReplyDeleteThis statement is very intriguing because Buren believes that art is a mask for reality, as long as the real world is hidden by art there is nothing to fear. I would have to disagree because I think by masking something, you inevitably draw attention to it. Therefore hiding reality only draws people towards discovering what it is, creates a desire to search for the truth. Instantly I think of Christo and Jeanne-Claude who create literal masks over large objects, covering bridges and buildings and establishing huge divides. These pieces, however, instead of reading to be hidden, they are actually inviting, enticing. The viewer desires to unwrap them or expose whats underneath, to break the segments established. So while art may in fact be a mask over reality, it is not for the safety of the viewer. By hiding something, an artist purposely draws attention to it.
Dear Daniel Buren,
ReplyDeleteYou are wrong. Sure there is art that is just meant to be aesthetically pleasing, BUT for those of us involved in the art field I would quickly like to point out that the "only pretty art" is not what we spend our time analyzing and talking about. Please look at contemporary art. FOR YOUR OWN HEALTH GO LOOK AT IT. If you look at the works of the Guerilla Girls, Keith Haring, Doris Salcedo, Eva Hesse, Jeff Koons, and so many others that there is not some comment REVEALING the mask society and corporations are insisting we wear? Art is a valve and is indeed a safe, non violent valve for those wishing to make a comment and protest on society. There was a time dear Mr. Buren that your statement would have been true (i.e. Caravaggio's work for the Catholic church), but friend you are no longer right. Please follow this link: http://img.artknowledgenews.com/files2011mar/Jeff-Koons-Pink-Panther.jpg
for an example of what I am talking.
Sincerely,
Opinionated Art History
I agree with part of Buren’s statement “Art is a valve of our repressive systems. As long as it exists, and, better yet, the more prevalent it becomes, art will be the system's distracting mask. And a system has nothing to fear as long as its reality is masked, as long as its contradictions are hidden." I agree that art is a valve of our repressive systems. A valve is a device that halts or controls the flow of a material, and I personally believe that art allows a person to communicate ideas, even if there is no intended content. However I’m honestly confused with how he says “arts will be the system’s distracting mask” simply because I don’t always think of art as a mask which hides a system. Art opens up people and allows them to express themselves, showing an insight into who the artist is or what they were feeling. I feel like art is the opposite of mask because it can give so much information about the artist/ their inner thoughts through their work. I’m going to use Jackson Pollock as an example, although he was considered a “Formalist” and his canvases had “no content,” I feel his artwork was deeply connected to the experiences he has within his own life. He like many other artists had struggles that are shown within his work or lack of work that would occur for periods of time. Also, the methods he used while he created his drip paintings “unmask” him. He was deeply connected with the process of making the canvas- which in turn showed the thoughts that were buzzing in his head. I’m sure that some people will agree with Buren’s statement and how art can be a valve and masks systems, but I guess I’m not sold with that idea and believe that art is a valve that unmasks systems allowing creativity and freedom of expression.
ReplyDeleteI don't completely agree or disagree with what Daniel Burden is saying. I agree that art expresses thing that the artists may have repressed but I do not believe it is a mask we hide behind. I think Cindy Sherman really represents this because she is using makeup and costume to mask herself but she is doing it to express herself. She masks her real face almost literally however she is not hiding behind this mask but instead using it to represent what she wants to relay to the viewer.
ReplyDeleteI think the quote presumes that art only can act as a mask of life. Rather art can act in opposition to his statement. Buren seems to presume that art is hiding repressed feelings. However, the goal of so many artists is to draw attention to an idea that has somehow been suppressed. I think the most important problem with his quote is that the diversity of post modernism does not allow his statement to be accurate for all art. Perhaps certain artists work to distract but each artist varies. However, many people would argue that it is the artist’s job to deconstruct and expose our reality.
ReplyDeleteMartha Rosler’s Bringing the War Home: House beautiful (Balloons) is an example of a work that contradicts his statement. The work re-contextualizes a picture taken of a Vietnamese woman carrying a dead baby. By contrasting a beautiful American suburban home with a heart breaking photograph from Vietnam, the artist is sending a strong and controversial message about the war. The artist is not allowing feelings about the war be repressed. By bringing her feelings to the surface she is emphasizing a harsh reality rather than pretending it’s not there. Stark contrasts such as the balloons in the corner urge for change and force the viewer to feel guilt.
What really struck me about this quote from Buren is the concept of art as a valve. I agree with this statement because I see most art as a way to channel emotions. Art provides an outlet for what is pent up inside the artist so the metaphor of art as a valve makes sense to me. Susanna...Surpised by Bea Nettles is an example of art as a valve. Nettles, a feminist artist, uses the woman figure to take command of the setting. She expresses her opinions by containing the controversial nude female body in her composition and by using a variety of media.
ReplyDeleteThe part of Buren's quote that also struck me is how systems are not threatened as long as contradictions are hidden. Buren seems to say that art is a safety valve of our repressive system and the systems are safe as long as contradictions are not visible. This doesn't make sense to me because I think that contradictions are beneficial to have in art to provoke thought and provide interest. Therefore I believe art is a safety valve but it also a threatening force since contradictions are sometimes prevalent. In Susanna... Surprised the contradiction of the confrontational woman against a formal and serene garden provokes thought.
As most of my classmates have already stated, I find this quote by Buren being ironic, as I believe that art does not 'mask' the imperfections of society, rather it deals with them and through imagery tries to make these imperfections aware to the general public. A first example of an artist criticizing events and not masking them is Nancy Spero, and her series of war images. More specifically, her series are related to the war that the US went to in Vietnam and depicts harsh imagery of the human body and war. Another example of an artist and his art work pointing out the imperfections of society is Romare Bearden that wants to show the Negro experience through his collages, through the use of broken figures and objects that act as metaphors and symbols. Finally, I believe that artists through their work, want to depict to their ideas and be honest with what they know and are passionate about. I do not believe they are trying to cover the mistakes and cruelty of society and the world.
ReplyDeleteI personally think that Buren statement is only partially true as it can only be apply to a certain group of artist. Artists in postmodernist era were working in different medium and different subject matter making it impossible to pinpoint a particular style that defines postmodern art. According to my understanding, Buren seems to suggest that people produce art to distract their own attention from everything that was happening at the time, almost like pretending that it did not happen. But this is only true for a certain group of artist because most of the art work seems to try and expose the political and social issue that was prevalent at the time.
ReplyDeleteFormalist art seems to support Buren’s quote very well. Formalist art can be interpreted as a way to view art as a form of entertainment. Viewers were expected to appreciate the work for what it is, and the work is disconnected completely from what is going on outside of the museum. Therefore, the work function as a social “mask” that hides the suppressed reality of the society.
However, Hermann Nitsch series of ritual performance seems to contradict greatly with Buren’s quote. In one of his performance, Nitsch was tied upside down to a cross, while his assistance brought in a slaughtered lamb, disemboweled it, and poured a bucket of blood over the artist. His work is trying to “liberate the socially repressed but natural aggressive instincts of both artist and spectator”. In this case art is no longer the “mask” but instead, exposed the true nature of the repressed society.
After considering Daniel Buren’s quote for sometime now, I would have to say that I disagree with this statement. I mean sure art can be viewed as “the safety valve of our repressive systems” because it can help both the artist and the viewer to come to terms with the way they may be handling an issue. I do not agree that art is a mask and that a system has nothing to fear as long as it is masked! I feel that masking something (even with art) can be deceptive and could make things worse in the long run. I feel that David Hammons’ art work could be related to this quote because he is making a statement on the urban community through aesthetically interesting artworks that he makes to be viewed in the setting that they are about.
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