Post-modern artists challenge the traditional concept of creativity on several fronts because they believe that no meaning is fixed that things can have different meanings at different times or to different people. This belief is not only noticeably accepted among my generation but also in a large portion of my student population, especially when we analyze and critique works of working, deceased, and even peer artists. Byrd writes in Post-Modernism: Rules and Systems that Post-Modern Artists proposed that there are multiple truths that all might be true. This type of thinking is very inline with my schools slowly progressing teaching styles. Such as how one of our Math Teachers is allowing students to use any means possible to find the end result of an equation. He is allowing them to use their past knowledge in a different way instead of forcing them to learn one truth about how to get the answer. This happens regularly in the Art room as students know what the requirements of the assignment are but how to process and get to that end product is up to them. We as teachers are allowing them conceptually to form their own truths about concepts, supplies, and materials instead of telling them how to, step by step, all make the same work. In doing this more students can widen their mindset and find value in how they create and be personally happy with the end result. This line of thinking was also accepted by the loosely organized group of Fluxus artists who George Maciunas is historically considered the primary founder and organizer of the movement. These “artists did not agree with the authority of museums to determine the value of art, nor did they believe that one must be educated to view and understand a piece of art. Fluxus not only wanted art to be available to the masses, they also wanted everyone to produce art all the time.” (http://www.theartstory.org/movement-fluxus.htm) I also find that students who have a broader mindset also critique their work and others work with more consideration which falls in line with Roland Barthes who “proposed that perhaps the way we analyze something in a work has just as much to do with ourselves as it does the author, perhaps even more.” (Post Modernism: Rules and Systems by Byrd) In regards to originality on this topic, I find that my students are more adept to manipulate the requirements of an assignment and even when a student finds inspiration from a work of another they easily accept that I want them to put their own spin on the work to create it to be more pertinent to them. This manipulation falls in line with appropriation that both Andy Warhol and John Cage used in their work. Appropriation “is a common strategy in Post-Modern art where the artist uses something that already exists as part of their work. Warhol would use photographs taken from magazines or easily recognizable package designs like Campbell soup cans. For Cage, it might be a recording of something or a song made by someone else. In one work, Cage instructs the performer to select cabaret songs by Erik Satire to perform in the middle of his work. The idea here is that we are surrounded by human-made things.“ (Post Modernism: Rules and Systems by Byrd) As the artist, Yoko Ono said “Artists must not create more objects. The world is full of everything it needs.” and with this thought, one can assume that teaching students to manipulate and apply what is already available to them has great importance to continue the growth of society into a more understanding global community. ResourcesPost Modernism: Rules and Systems by Byrd
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Wall of Tea TinsInspiration for image: Campbell's Soup Cans by Andy Warhol Finding YellowArtist Inspiration for image: Louise Nevelson Teacher with the Golden EarringInspiration for image: Girl with a pearl earring by Johannes Vermeer Neigh Neighs at the SinkInspiration for image: Mustangs at Las Colinas by Robert Glen Self-Portrait with Toy MonkeyInspiration for image: Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird by Frida Kahlo Tiger in Artificial GreeneryInspiration for image: Tiger in a Tropical Storm by Henri Rousseau Fruity ImaginationInspiration for image: Pulp Fiction by Banksy
Sunday, March 24th was a snow-laden day of family fun! The Walking Score Project was one my whole family enjoyed and got out of the house to participate in. As we started our adventure I began to realize we were going to have to get a little creative with the directions as I felt my neighbors would frown upon us walking through their lawns (especially since there has been a rash of local break-ins, we did not feel that they would appreciate finding strange footprints near their homes). My children were more than willing to help step count as we did this out loud together and made use of the nearby biking path. My other half, children, and fur baby also were extremely useful to bounce ideas off of and made the whole experience more memorable. When asked for a Dog's interest we waited for Athena (our fur baby) to find something she found intriguing and used her eye level for the photo, our three year old checked a whole parking lot just looking for a single leaf as the place was blanketed in snow, and when I needed a bystander to photograph images I had my five-year-old and my other half snap pictures to assist. I was surprised at how close we actually stuck around our house as I thought this project would lead us farther away. Even though I thought about the rule of thirds and focus of the shot having a shooting area relatively small and doing so in the time frame really enhanced the continuity of the photos, which can be hard for me personally because I am easily distracted. Overall, the time frame, vicinity, and opinion based questions created a creative strategy that not only influenced the photos to have continuity but allowed for freedom of decisions within parameters. When we made it home and I started compiling all the photos and evaluating what would work together I was pleased with the amount that “worked”. Later that became an issue in deciding what to save for the six and how to allow the eye flow over the images. A few photos I became too attached to and had to manipulate the layout to keep them in the final collage. I am personally pleased with my end result and so is my family as they see images that they helped influence.
Mechanical techniques have allowed artists to produce work in “bulk” instead of creating one-of-a-kinds but does this devalue their work or is it just good business sense? In Byrds “Mechanical Reproduction & Mass Culture” he writes that the German/Jewish philosopher Walter Benjamin thought that “While reproductions have allowed many people to experience art even if they were unable to access the original that the mechanical copies lack a very important element that he dubbed aura (the sense of experiencing a thing that is unique or one-of-a-kind). In other words: after photography was invented, more people could experience the Mona Lisa through reproductions. But the reproductions lack that sense of aura (uniqueness).” Mechanical techniques are always going to be influencing and changing the art that the world is producing though and I personally do not believe that a works aura is missing just because it is a “copy”. Let us consider the use of woodblock prints to create multiple texts and images. This process was used in China to distribute out to Buddhist temples and the knowledge of the process was then latterly used in Japan by Ukiyo-e artists. This allowed Ukiyo-e artists to create work for the commoners to enjoy and experience. This is something I believe Andy Warhol would enthusiastically stamp with his seal of approval. Below is a video by Betty, ARTiculations, that I show to my 2D Fundamentals I class which will elaborate on this thought excellently. (I will give you the same warning as my High School kids that there are a few “risky” images in this video but I think you are mature enough to handle it) We as a people are continually building upon the knowledge of others to enhance our own craft and skills. This thought is replicated in Stanley William Hayter’s belief and his practice of encouraging a communal atmosphere where emerging and established artists often worked side by side, which I felt was represented in the videos of Jeff Koons, https://art21.org/artist/jeff-koons/, as he worked alongside the many artists to finalize his works. Hayter used his knowledge of intaglio techniques and his devotion to original printmaking to attract other artists, such as Joan Miro and Jackson Pollock. Even though his experimental techniques made a significant contribution, what others remember best was his enthusiasm of the original print and how that enthusiasm encouraged a shift in thinking about the print. That shift being a medium valued for its reproductive capabilities to a medium capable of fostering innovative artistic expression. The Met Museum is in line with my thoughts as they also think that building upon the knowledge of others is beneficial as they write “Once bound by the limitations of traditional methods, artists today have a seemingly endless number of options to achieve a desired result. With Master printers continuing to experiment with technical processes, interested artist are provided with the latest advances in printmaking, such as the use of digital technology. These advances, exemplified in Nest/Trees by Kiki Smith (1999.64) further blur the boundaries between artistic mediums in much the same way that offset lithography and silkscreen did a generation ago.” Personal in my teaching I am seeing a burst of graphic and videography interest in students, which I find thrilling and fun to incorporate into my teaching. I believe this interest in graphic and videography is due to the influence of the technology available to my students as we are a one to one school and it is so saturated into their personal lives, as a generation that has seen a mass of technological advances. I am excited to see how these potentials will develop their skills as artists and help them build upon their skills! ResourcesMechanical Reproduction & Mass Culture by Jeffery Byrd
The general public comes from all walks of life, there are no set conditions no prerequisites for the general public, they are just ordinary run of the mill people you pass on the street. Do the people you casually walk by and beside on your daily commute accept the works of Ellsworth Kelly and Richard Serra? I believe that depends completely on the individual's personal experience, not only with Art but their innate ability to take things at more than face value. This belief of mine is similarly believed by the Artist Ellsworth Kelly who “recalls his first encounter with abstraction and reflects on how his decades-long fascination with line, form, and color has manifested in both his paintings and his creative process.” https://www.sfmoma.org/watch/ellsworth-kelly-explains-abstraction/. The public works of Kapoor and Eichelman are enticing to the general public because of their widespread popularity but also because they can be interactive to the viewer, plus they have aesthetically pleasing forms. I find that Richard Serra’s work of large-scale metal installations invokes an environmental change that resonates with viewers just as Kapoor and Eichelman achieve in their work. Watching http://art21.org/artist/richard-serra/ caused me to remember a time before I was an art major but I had any inclination that I was interested in art. This memory was from either late middle school or early high school and I was with my mom’s side of the family. We were on a trip and I recall walking in/threw these HUGE metal walls not really sure if I was allowed to touch it or not (my mom was always having to constantly remind me not to touch the work) and I can remember the feeling, the change it caused my senses to walk through it: the deafening of the surroundings, the elongation of the sky, the atmosphere of being “separate”. I have always enjoyed natural forms and aesthetically pleasing things ever since I was little which I find is in line with the thoughts of Clive Bell and Clement Greenberg. I still appreciate representational art works but there's just something that entices me about creating a work that makes other “feel” and view the world in a different way by abstraction. ResourcesWe live in a world that is constantly changing and right now, more than ever, the change is happening faster and faster. Contemporary Art is the art of Today, with everything changing constantly that creates a vast and varied spectrum of art for viewers/consumers to absorb and comprehend. It is no easy feat to stay up to date with what artists are exploring, plus the variety of mediums and concepts they are applying. In “Themes of Contemporary Art: visual art after 1980” by Robertson and McDaniel they list some of the topics that Contemporary Artists are investigating which includes: “political events, social issues and relations, science, technology, mass media, popular culture, literature, the built environment, the flow of capital, the flow of ideas, and other forces and developments are propelling artists and providing content for their artworks”. But is Contemporary Art more difficult than the art of the past when that art was new? The Walker website states that “every artwork was once contemporary”. This to me means that at one point in time each transition of an art movement was just as tricky and difficult to understand as the last, yet our memory of that difficulty maybe soften because of time. Our current culture expresses what it needs through the use of Art and this is verified in “Themes of Contemporary Art: visual art after 1980” Robertson and McDaniel state that “artists active after 1980’s are motivated by a range of purposes and ideas beyond a desire to express personal emotions and visions or to display a master of media and techniques”. Contemporary Art has more focus on global awareness than other art movements of the past and this is interconnected with the fact that we are more globally connected than ever before with the new advances our society has seen in technology. ResourcesRobertson, J., & McDaniel, C. (2017). Themes of contemporary art: visual art after 1980. New York: Oxford University Press.
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