Lross2's Weblog

Performance Art

lross2 — Mon, 19 May 2008 04:46:35 +0000

In class last week we looked at performance art. This art took place in the recent late 20th century. It usually begs the audience to think or respond to a situation in a new or different way. One of the most well known performing artists is Andy Kaufman. Any Kaufman appeared on the television show “Taxi” and also held roles on Saturday Night Live for a while. Kaufman’s display of performing art was very interesting. It was also interesting to think about the fact that people who knew Andy didn’t know who he really was. He always played different roles on screen, but sometimes his friends didn’t know if he was still acting in character or if it was the real Andy. Kaufman always pushed things to the limit. One such stunt that eventually proved to be a hoax was a wrestling match with a professional wrestler that left him hospitalized. The entire stunt was planned and gave both of the men involved extra publicity for weeks on late night talk shows.

Modernism

lross2 — Tue, 06 May 2008 01:40:14 +0000

Modernism, or contemporary art, ranges from the 1890’s to the 1950’s. Some of the more predominant characteristics of modern art are: machinery, heavy industry and steel, transportation, appliances, and structures such as bridges and sky scrapers. These characteristics are upheld in Charlie Chaplin’s “Modern Times” and “Nose-diving in the city” by Tullio Crali.

Chaplin’s “Modern Times” shows a man in a clock. Whether he is “stuck in time” or repairing the clock is unknown. But the themes of heavy industry and steel are still prevalent. “Nose diving in the city” shows another side of modernism. We see transportation through the airplane, and the visions of skyscrapers. What was interesting about this painting is that it was derived from futurist thinking. Futurists glorify war and violence and want to destroy the past and the culture that corresponds to it. Crali’s painting related directly to futurism as it portrays a direct act of violence and is blatantly trying to destroy society.

Last week we also watched a ballet titled “Le Sacre du Printemps”, produced by Sergei Diaghiley. This ballet went against what people were expecting and on the first night the audience rioted. Sergei wanted the ballet to be of “primitive Russia”, but this consisted of pagan worship and the rituals of spring.

John Ashcroft and Damien Hirst

lross2 — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:45:31 +0000

In 2002, the Department of Justice spent $8,000 on drapes to cover the partially nude state behind the podium where speakers address the nation. The female statue is a representation of the spirit of justice according to USA today news. ABC News reported that Ashcroft ordered the statues covered because he didn’t like being photographed in front of them. Yet others say that Ashcroft was not involved in the decision at all. Personally, I don’t understand why it is such a big deal, it is a partially naked statue. It’s a work of art, not a real person.

Damien Hirst, born June 7, 1965, was dubbed a “Young British Artist” or YBA. He is a world renowned artists, dominating the scene in Britain since the 90s. One of the central themes in all of Hirst’s paintings is death. In class we looked at Hirst’s “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living” which is a shark that is suspended in formaldehyde in a vitrine. This work of art is very interesting. Its sale in 2004 made him the second most expensive living artist in the world, only after Jasper Johns. Damien is also known for “spin paintings” and “spot paintings”. Spin paintings are done on a spinning circular surface, and spot paintings are composed of rows of differently colored cicrles.

Art and Institutions

lross2 — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:05:11 +0000

In class last week, we discussed the clip from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off where Cameron makes a strong connection with the girl from Georges- Pierre Seurat’s “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande”. I think it is interesting that Cameron was able to make such a strong connection with the painting because I think that museums hinder one’s individual artistic experience. For one, the paintings are arranged in a certain way. If I wanted to look at the art in a different order it would be very hard because museums generally don’t allow for people to back track, you’re supposed to look at something and move along, and once you get to the end, you leave. Furthermore, I think there is a double standard when it comes to viewing art. It always seems that art is something for the rich people to pursue. Especially in the past, the richer people of society have donated lots of money to museums and programs centered around the arts .Almost as if the more money you have, you are more entitled to look at art.

The last time I was in an art museum I was in the 8^th grade on a class trip to Montreal. Honestly, I got nothing out of the visit. We were only in there for about an hour, in which case we all fooled around being loud and obnoxious and finally the director of the museum asked the chaperones to take us to our next scheduled event because we were being disrespectful. If I were to go back now, I think I would have a better experience. Although museums may not be the ideal structure for gaining an experience involving art, it is still a building that houses great works of art. You definitely have a more fulfilling experience when you see a painting of sculpture up close and personal as opposed to viewing the same sculpture or painting online.

The Built Environment

lross2 — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:44:20 +0000

This past week we talked about the built environment. The built environment consists of landscaping and architecture. We discussed the appearance of Elon. Elon’s campus could be described by Federalist American Architecture because there are lots of bricks, arches, and the buildings have a clean and flat look to them. We also came to the conclusion that it is a typical southern school, with bricks, oak tress all around, and lots of columns on the buildings, presumably because it makes the campus seem more “smart”. We also took a look at Jefferson’s design of the Academic Village at UVA. Consequently, our own honors pavilion at Elon closely resembles his design. There are four functions of architecture and landscaping which are: to project an image, have a particular function, control movement and action, and have symbolic significance.

In class we also discussed Frank Lloyd Wright, who was known as “the greatest American Architect”. He lived from 1867-1959 and was known for two major styles. The first was the “praire style” and the second the “organic style”. In the organic style, he used nature and incorporated it into his landscaping. He also liked to design building with open floor plans because it then gave many different options on how to decorate it.

The Awakening

lross2 — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:33:12 +0000

The Awakening, a novel by Kate Chopin, tells the story of Edna Pontellier who is the protagonist of the novel. The novel portrays the Creole culture of Louisiana. The first half of the book is set in Grand Isle, an island off the coast of Louisiana. The upper class Creoles retreats to the island during the summer months to relax and get away from the city. This is where Edna meets one of the most influential characters in the book; Robert, a single man, with who she falls deeply in love. Through her journey in getting to know Robert, she feels as though she needs more independence in her life. She is no longer satisfied with being a housewife and a mother.

One of the main themes in this book is Edna’s quest for liberation. Throughout the book she strives to be her own person. She realizes she wants more. Consequently, she begins to break away from the mold she should be following. Victorian women were expected to care for their children and husband, and were prevented from seeking their own wants and desires. But, as Edna gradually awakens, she takes steps to change her lifestyle. She disobeys her loyalty to her husband through having an affair. She sends her children away, which insinuates she did not want to be a mother figure anymore. Edna also buys a new house, just for herself. She felt her own home was not hers, and that she wanted something that would feel like home and be her own.

Ultimately, Edna sets herself completely free by swimming in the water until she becomes too tired to swim any longer. Whether it was a suicide or merely just an accident, Edna liberates herself completely from all the feelings of loneliness, solitude, and unrequited love.

Art as Identity

lross2 — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 20:08:20 +0000

In class last week we watched the movie High Fidelity. This movie tied into our discussion of using art to forge an identity. The main character in the movie, Rob, and his two friends seemed to characterize everything by songs that would go into a “Top 5 List”. Everything in his life he categorized by what song evoked a certain emotion. For example, when his ex girlfriend’s father died, they made a playlist of the top 5 funeral songs. Getting into the aspect of art as identity, at one point in the movie he decides to characterize his records in a very unusual way. His record collection becomes a musical autobiography. For each record he has a feeling, emotion, exact time and place that takes him to the first time he heard the song. It is interesting the way he uses his art, music, to identify himself. I think it would be very interesting if I arranged my itunes library the way he arranged his record collection. It would take a great deal of thought. Sometimes there is definitely a certain song that makes you think of a specific time and a specific memory, but other times, I don’t necessarily identify my life with music. What would be even harder is to make a list for someone else, like Rob does for Laura. At the very end of the movie, he says he is making a “mix tape” for her. Trying to think of songs that remind you of yourself is one thing, but trying to do it for others is a whole different issue. But I think it would be a very fun to see what I would come up with, or how people would use music to identify me.

Art as Experience

lross2 — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 20:16:19 +0000

For Thursday’s class we were asked to read Josef Albers’ piece Art as Experience. In class we learned about the history of Albers’ life and from where he got his inspiration to teach. He was a teacher at Black Mountain College, and in his piece he describes his views of progressive art education. Albers makes a few points in his article. One of the views he talks about is, how can you say you “experience” art if you casually see art at an art museum a few times a year. He relates it to religion saying, how can you experience religion only going to church a few times a year. I think this is true. In order to fully experience art you need to submerse yourself in it to truly get an understanding of a piece. This belief also ties into the idea of artistic living and artistic seeing. Albers thinks that you should remove all aspects of decorative art in schools place it in the center of education. Personally, I think this would be a great idea. I think there are definitely some things that are better described by art than science, which gets back to the whole science vs. art debate. He also says that we over emphasize art. He says that we need to understand that they do not belong to our time. Is it safe to say after all this time that the Mona Lisa is still the best painting of all time? No. What about all of the modern painting that has taken place sense then. Those pieces may be far better than some of the famous paintings of the past.

Blog #2: Amadeus

lross2 — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 02:25:37 +0000

The 1984 movie Amadeus depicted the life of Mozart from the perspective of Salieri. Mozart is portrayed as obnoxious and perverted, but a musical genius at heart. Salieri on the other hand, works meticulously day in and day out, and has vowed to god that he will not touch a woman if god will give him the talent he believes he deserves. It is ironic that Mozart is so talented because he doesn’t really have to work at his music the way Salieri does. Mozart will sit down at the piano and play something miraculous, or will write an entire opera without making any mistakes on his original score. Salieri on the other hand, will sit at his piano for hours and hours trying to write an opera and continues to make changes. Mozart, in my opinion, took advantage of his talent, which really got Salieri mad. Mozart didn’t seem to care about his music until he needed money. Salieri, in contrast, I think really did appreciate the music and wanted to touch people with his music the way Mozart had the talent to do. I think if Salieri and Mozart had existed in different cities or in different time periods, things would have been different. Salieri would have been known as one of the great composers, but since Mozart was so incredibly talented, I think he overshadowed Salieri.

Blog #1

lross2 — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 02:47:33 +0000

When I first saw Picasso’s painting Guernica, I had absolutely no idea what to think. But, after learning the history of Picasso’s life and the history of the city of Guernica, it made much more sense. I think it is important to not only analyze the certain aspects of the painting as we did in class, but also to learn about the history behind the painting. As I know virtually nothing about Spanish culture, I had no idea that Guernica means war in Spanish. Even studying a little bit of background information helped me to understand Picasso’s intentions as he was creating this mural. Also, I never knew that the bull and horse were two very predominant symbols in the Spanish world. Learning the history of the country enhanced my understanding of the painting so much more. One aspect of the painting that I really found compelling was the eye or sun in the top, center of the mural. I find it compelling because there is no real answer to what it is. It could be any number of things. It could symbolize someone shedding light on the current war in Guernica, or it could symbolize someone looking in or spying on what is going on in the room. I find it so intriguing that art can be viewed in many different ways without having a right or wrong answer.