Until now, I haven't really ever considered the manipulation of space and how it effects art. I'm familiar with installation pieces, but the idea that "context becomes content" is novel to me. I'm hyper-aware of space and how it is utilized within the frame of a work, but I rarely consider how pieces themselves are placed in space. The one exception I can think about is the Barnes Museum in Philadelphia. Albert Barnes collected art, mostly impressionist pieces, and became obsessed with how laying out the pieces could affect how they are perceived. The museum maintains his layout, which I personally feel is cluttered. While it slightly undermines the value of each individual piece, subordinating it to Barnes' overall vision, the house itself is a unique piece of art.
I dislike how Rush tries to distinguish video and cinema, perpetuating the art vs. entertainment "dichotomy," which is, in fact, a continuum, if any distinction can be made. The past few years have made this especially apparent, as both large-scale and independent productions have begun to shift to digital production. I also resent that he tries to make a distinction, but then talks about Steve McQueen, who embodies the continuum between video art and cinema. I saw his Deadpan at the MoMA and it was presented as an homage to Keaton, a filmmaker. Another work in the chapter incorporates part of Scorsese's Taxi Driver, yet Rush still finds a difference between video art and cinema.
The clip I've included is from David Cronenberg's Videodrome, a surreal criticism of modern television culture that deals with many of the same issues about the nature of television that some video artists discussed early in the chapter were commenting on.
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Video installation art
In this chapter, the part the interested me the most was the video installation that involved viewer participation; viewers are not only audiences but also a part which created the whole art piece. After reading this part, what I understanded was viewers and the installation art here was making a cycle alternatively. With the help of surveillance technique, it's like a "mirror" that you can recognize yourself and it can recognize you also in the surveillance installation art, "you" and the art piece can not be separated from each other.
Many of Bruce Nauman's works represent these kind of art. I found one of his work, an exhibition shown in a gallery pretty interesting and has the same idea as the ones introduced by Rush. But Bruce Nauman used hundred of fish instead to produce this piece.
"The spectacle resembles something dreamed up by Magritte, a vision of fish swimming in the air during a heavy rain produced by the fish themselves"--The New York Times. The fish were hanged and filled the whole room, "swimming" in the water that pumped out from themselves, and that was also a "cycle" that similar to the idea I found out earlier in Rush's article.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXSRotmymKQ
Many of Bruce Nauman's works represent these kind of art. I found one of his work, an exhibition shown in a gallery pretty interesting and has the same idea as the ones introduced by Rush. But Bruce Nauman used hundred of fish instead to produce this piece.
"The spectacle resembles something dreamed up by Magritte, a vision of fish swimming in the air during a heavy rain produced by the fish themselves"--The New York Times. The fish were hanged and filled the whole room, "swimming" in the water that pumped out from themselves, and that was also a "cycle" that similar to the idea I found out earlier in Rush's article.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXSRotmymKQ
Installation Art (Zoe Pruitt)
What I noticed about this chapter is that the art tended to follow distinct themes. I suppose this is mostly due to the authors organization of artistic events, rather than describing installation art linearly he prefers to write categorically. However, the decision to write in this manner also suggests that video artists have subconsciously adopted a set of political topics to discuss amongst there work.
Bill Viola- Silent Mountain 2001
The newsroom, for example, seemed to be a principle topic of discussion for many of the artists, especially artists who incorporated a physical television or the viewing process into there work. This is interesting when compared to last weeks section, which focused a significant amount on the influence and potential hazards of the television; having a strong opinion about an object appears to make it an ideal art tool.
The prevalence of art about television could also be due to the Vietnam War. Many of the art pieces described were made in the 70s, and no doubt the presence of television was particularly salient at the time. The newsroom was the provider of war news about death, enemies, failure, and victory. People watched the news to become more globally aware and keep up to date on the status of their country men and loved ones. More importantly, it’s where people witnessed the horrors of war. And in the same way that art about the television newsroom reflected the period, pieces about feminism also began to become more prevalent during the feminist movement. Art about surveillance came into being after Olean, New York implemented surveillance cameras on the city streets.
The most interesting thing about video art is that it is a perfect reflection of reality and real world problems; the medium and its reflection on reality lends itself to concrete, political, and everyday problems.
Bill Viola- Silent Mountain 2001
Participation encouraged.
One of the most interesting portions of this chapter was the beginning In summary, one of the main differences between video pieces and all other types of still media, is that a video piece can incorporate the audience. Several of the of the pieces described in the chapter rely on a portrayal of the audience as the actual subject matter of the piece. Interactivity with an art piece transforms the piece from a still and finished work, into a breathing and changing exhibit. For me, this quality allows art to reach a greater audience and domain. This piece, "Big Crank" demonstrates how a viewer can literally influence a whole piece's look, yet can do so with little effort on their part. Again ease of use allows this style of installation to have a greater impact.
Big Crank from Adi Marom on Vimeo.
Big Crank from Adi Marom on Vimeo.
Instillation - Kevin
Installation art is defined as an artistic genre of 3D works that are site specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. This chapter in New Media is about instillation art and its creators. One artist that caught my eye was Gary hill. An American video and sound based instillation artist who has created many pieces from the 70's and on. Hill likes to use large projections for his pieces like in Tall Ships. In Tall Ships Hill projected images of people, some blurred onto a dark wall and when visitors to the piece walked into the corridor the people projected would then move (interactive). I could not find this video online but I did find one of his pieces, Viewer. In this video Hill's project is shown as he explains why he created it.
Personally I am very used to instillation art. Museums like the MOMA or the Guggenheim, are mostly filled with instillation pieces. Some I find ridiculous, ones that seemed too easy and random. But many I have enjoyed and found extremely interesting. At the Guggenheim there was an instillation piece where old cars were hung from the ceiling all the way down to the first floor. Bars made of lights came out form the cars radially and the lights flashed on and off in order from within the cars to outside the cars simulating explosions. This piece had my attention immediatly and I still remember it vividly even though I saw it years ago.
http://www.whitehotmagazine.com/UserFiles/image/Marika_Josephson/36_Inopp_Stage_One_Poster_3-5-08.jpg
Personally I am very used to instillation art. Museums like the MOMA or the Guggenheim, are mostly filled with instillation pieces. Some I find ridiculous, ones that seemed too easy and random. But many I have enjoyed and found extremely interesting. At the Guggenheim there was an instillation piece where old cars were hung from the ceiling all the way down to the first floor. Bars made of lights came out form the cars radially and the lights flashed on and off in order from within the cars to outside the cars simulating explosions. This piece had my attention immediatly and I still remember it vividly even though I saw it years ago.
http://www.whitehotmagazine.com/UserFiles/image/Marika_Josephson/36_Inopp_Stage_One_Poster_3-5-08.jpg
Installation Chapter
Throughout this chapter, there were a couple of ideas that really caught my attention. Firstly, the conversion context into content through an installation is crucial to know in order to understand how important setting up something is and how it can impact the viewers. I never really fully understood how substantial planning is for installations especially when these become the work of art. For instance Rush explains how some artists placed mirrors for a specific purpose, and the order in which monitors are placed can affect the mood of people. When these factors begin to affect the piece of art, being a video that is showing or anything else, they become the piece of art themselves. Now it is not only about what is being displayed, but also about how it is being displayed for it directly impact the way an audience perceives the work of art. Another point that I really liked about this chapter and that I kind of mentioned last blog was the exploration of identities. Bill Viola expresses: “My work is centered on a process of personal discovery and realization. Video is part of my body; it’s intuitive and unconscious.” The idea that many of these artists find themselves through the making of a piece fascinates me. As an artist myself, I completely relate to this statement for every piece ends up defining who I am. I recently wrote an artist statement for a self-portrait that I did about a month ago. In it I included this piece was a self-reflection that allowed me to learn more about myself not only in a physical aspect, but also in a spiritual and personal one. Every time I look at myself I find something new and continue to learn who I am. It’s like my pieces are my personal diary. And because I can relate to this aspect, I seem to appreciate and understand it even more. Bill Viola was indeed one of the artists that I felt more connected with. He was known for his spiritually centered pieces and sought to understand the relation between nature and men through his pieces.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)