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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