Lenotional: Day 2

An old song says of God

"give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes,

messages of joy instead of news of doom,

a praising heart instead of a languid* spirit."

[Isaiah 61:3]

At what times has this been your experience?

Place some ash and a small bowl of oil on your purple place. (Or, if this isn't going to work for you, draw it and put it somewhere visible in your room. You could even make it abstract if you're feeling arty)

languid = tired/worn out

Lenotional: Day One; Ash Wednesday

Your journey through Lent and toward Easter begins today.

Ash is a biblical sign of repentance (choosing to turn an aspect of your life around).

Traditionally this ash is made from the burning last year's Palm Sunday palm branches, symbolising how our plans to follow Jesus often end in ashes.

Most Anglican and Catholic churches will have an ashing service today You might like to join one. As part of the service you may have a + made on your forehead.

Palm-tree ash connects the excitement, celebration, and high expectation of Jesus' coming in to Jerusalem (the crowd waved palm branches), with the apparent failure and sadness of his death a week later (the ash).

Think about situations in your life where excitement and anticipation have eventually left you with ashes. Where was God in this?

If you can;t get ashes to a service, make some ash and mark your forehead with an ash cross as a sign of your willingness to commit to this uncertain journey of following Jesus.

Barbara Kruger

American conceptual/pop artist Barbara Kruger is internationally renowned for her signature black, white and red poster-style works of art that convey in-your-face messages on women's rights and issues of power. Coming out of the magazine publishing industry, Kruger knows precisely how to capture the viewer's attention with her bold and witty photomurals displayed on billboards, bus stops and public transportation as well as in major museums and galleries wordwide. She has edited books on cultural theory, including Remaking History for the Dia Foundation, and has published articles in the New York Times, Artforum, and other periodicals. Monographs on her work include Love for Sale, We Won't Play Nature to Your Culture and others. She is represented in New York by Mary Boone Gallery. A major exhibition of her work will be presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles in fall 1999, and at the Whitney Museum in New York in 2000.

The piece above, Untitled (1981) is a good example of her earlier work, showing the classic features of blending art and commerce, using a 'found image', bold Futura text, limited pallete and message exploring social and feminist issues.

Although key elements such as the message and text in her work have stayed the same, in some of her more recent pieces she has begun to incorporate different colours, such as the Face It series (2007). Also, her older work was printed on to everyday items such as mugs or umbrellas, making them quite commercial, while more recently she extended her work into large-scale installations.

‘Between Being Born & Dying’ (2009) is an installation that moves away from the ‘poster’ style seen in Kruger’s earlier work. Her bold text covers the Lever House, some of it being 5.18 meters tall. Kruger wanted the viewers to completely engulf the viewer.

'I think what I'm trying to do is create moments of recognition. To try to detonate some kind of feeling or understanding of lived experience. I try to deal with the complexities of power and social life, but as far as the visual presentation goes I purposely avoid a high degree of difficulty'.

-Barbara Kruger

Three more examples of her work (from left to right) are Untitled (Belief + Doubt = Sanity) (2008), ‘Your Body is a Battleground’ (1989) and ‘No Radio’ (1988).

I think the audience feels more involved in a spatial, installation artwork compared with a poster. This is because an installation becomes a part of your space, rather than a separate item.

The key elements that Kruger uses in her work that creates a strong impact is the limited palette, size, and the use of pronouns. I think the fact that her works have direct conversation with its audience also adds impact.

Over the last 30 years, Kruger has made subtle changes within her work that have kept it modern, but has continuously made work revolving around ongoing political, social, and feminist issues. The biggest change has been the shift from a more commercial 2D style to spatial installation work.
The strong graphic design aesthetic remains impressive, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of it in the future.

REFERENCES:

(n.a) 2010 ‘Barbara Kruger’ retrieved 1 Sep from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Kruger

(n.a., n.d) ‘Biography’ retrieved 1 Sep from: http://www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/artist_bio_81.html

Robinson, M. (2009) ‘Between Being Born & Dying By Barbara Kruger’ retrieved 1 Sep from: http://the189.com/art/between-being-born-dying-by-barbara-kruger/

(n.a., n.d) ‘Feminist Artist’ retrieved 1 Sep from: http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/feminist/Barbara-Kruger.html

Kehinde Wiley

Kehinde Wiley is an avant-garde American painter. He uses juxtaposition and appropriation within his work, and conveys themes of identity, history, and culture.

The Post Modern theme of Intertextuality can be seen in Kehinde Wiley’s work through the very direct references to Western art history (esp the Baroque period), as well as contemporary urban surroundings. Intertextuality is all about how our ideas are influenced and inspired by what we have seen and learned, to the point where the idea of originality is disregarded.

This idea is particularly interesting to Wiley's work because of his non-essentialist take on identity; challenging the idea that it is inherited and instead constructed.

By broadening the idea of identity Wiley also extends the idea of intertextuality, because a lot of what we learn is related to the culture we are born in.

Pluralism is the recognition of a wider representation of art, rather than the original emphasis of a single cultural group (the middle class European male). According to Caldwell (1999) ' Pluralism honors differences within and between equitable groups while seeing their commonalities'

Wiley simply states 'I do it because I want to see people who look like me' acknowledging the domination of male white culture in the art world.

Wiley both supports and challenges the idea of Pluralism with his cross-cultural works, blending the contrary images of modern urban black culture and the old-world elitist white culture. This mixing of cultures makes the viewer think about their own views on complex issues of hierarchy, prejudice, and stereotypes.

REFERENCES:

Begie, R (2010) Kehinde Wiley and the Representation of Identity. Retrieved 27 Oct from: http://igobyandy.blogspot.com/2010/05/kehinde-wiley-and-representation-of.html

Caldwell, B (1999) Cultural context retrieved 16 Oct 2003 from http://www.public.iastate.edu/!design/ART/NAB.PluArt.html

Chandler, D (2003) Intertextuality. Retrieved October 9, 2003 from http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/sem09.html

Cody, G. (1991) Behaviour as Culture: an interview with L. Dasgupta, in Interculturalism and Performance, New York, PAJ Publications (p. 208)

Mey, K (1997) Contemporary sculpture and the Body. Retrieved 9 Oct, 2003 from http://www.dundee.ac.uk/transcript/volume2/issue2_2/sculpt.htm

Newsletter of the New Zealand Mathmatical Association 84 (2002) Retrieved 9 Oct from: ifs.masey.ac.nz/mathnews/Nzms84/news84as.html

The disaster of war (n.d) Retrieved 9 Oct, 2003 from www.eins.org/einscafe/goya.html

(n.a, n.d, n.t) retrieved 28 October from: http://www.kehindewiley.com/main.html

Anish Kapoor

Celebrated for his gigantic, stainless steel 'Cloud Gate' sculpture in Chicago’s Millennium Park, Anish Kapoor is changing the cultural environment with his public works.

Svayambh (2007)

Svayambh, meaning ‘self generated’, is a blood-red sculpture that slips between galleries Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nantes and Munich’s Haus der Kunst. It is styled to look like a train, though it is shaped by the doors it passes, leaving a waxy substance behind.

Tall Tree and the Eye (2009)

Tall Tree and the Eye is found outside Burlington House (London). It is Made of 76, 15 metre reflective steel spheres. Tall tree and the eye has no "message", as Kapoor wanted it to be left to the interpretation of the viewer.

Untitled, 1983

Untitled resides in the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York City. The sculpture consists of four forms in a diagonal row, unified by the same colour. It has a strange aesthetic of being organic and synthetic at the same time. ‘Untitled’ actually has a simular idea to Dan Arps work for the Walters Prize, in that there is a hint of symbolism and profoundness that is actually never explained. (Though Kapoor’s work is at least a million times better than Arps’.)

Kapoor has also made a work in New Zealand. “The Farm” (2009), is named after its location, sits in the hills of a 1000acre outdoor art gallery in Kaipara Bay. It stays true to his love of red, but is the first piece Kapoor has made out of fabric, so it could survive the Tasman winds.

“The Farm” is over 8 stories high consists of an ellipse, one side horizontal and one vertical, connected by a skinny waist.

The work has been made in tune with the land around it, in scale and shape. Due to the high winds, the work even ‘breathes’.

My favourite work by Kapoor is probably Tall Tree and the Eye. From the interviews that saw with Kapoor I noticed how incredibly smart he is, so the fact that this piece doesn’t have particular ideas to it makes it more interesting to me. I think it was the quote “What was palpable yesterday was the involvement and enjoyment of the visitors, who were intensely engaged with the sculptures, animated, curious, chatting to strangers.” (there will always be England blog) that won me over.

I also find the dynamic of the reflective metal particularly beautiful.

REFERENCES

(N.A) November 19, 2007 “SVAYAMBH” retrieved 18^th August 2010 from http://mocoloco.com/art/archives/004804.php

PRISCILLA, 19 NOVEMBER 2009 ‘Anish Kapoor’ retrieved 18^th August 2010 from

http://therewillalwaysbeanengland-priscilla.blogspot.com/2009/11/anish-kapoor.html

Marcello Dantas (n.d) ‘Porfolio: 
Anish Kapoor
"1000 Names"’ retrieved 18^th August 2010 from

http://www.c4gallery.com/artist/database/anish-kapoor/anish-kapoor-interview-1000-names.html

Sanger, A. December 2008 ‘Untitled 1983’ retrieved 18^th August 2010 from http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?workid=27100&tabview=text

(N.A.) January 2010 ‘Anish Kapoor sculpture blends fabric and steel in New Zealand’ retrieved 18^th August 2010 from

http://fabricarchitecturemag.com/articles/0110_sk_sculpture.html

Byrnes, S. 20 November 2005 ‘Anish Kapoor: The prince and the artist’ retrieved 18^th August 2010 from

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/anish-kapoor-the-prince-and-the-artist-515903.html

The Walters Prize

The Walters Prize is an award given to prominent contemporary NZ artists. It was set up in 2002 by Erika and Robin Congreve and Dame Jenny Gibbs. Named after the artist Gordon Walters, it was created to promote contemporary art and make it a bigger part of NZ culture.

The past winners have been Yvonne Todd (2002) Et Al (2004), Francis Upritchard (2006) and Peter Robinson (2008).

The Four selected artists are:

Dan Arps: Explaining Things shown at Gambia Castle, Auckland (7-24 December 2008)
His work is basically things he found on street. It is based around the sense that you can explain things through a diagram (his words), and how one object might explain another object. He wanted to alienate audience, and make them feel uncomfortable.

Fiona Connor: Something Transparent (please go round the back) shown at Michael Lett, Auckland (15 April - 16 May 2009)

Fiona Connor describes herself as an installation artist, and that even in 2D works the context is situational. The idea behind ‘Something Transparent (please go round the back)’ was for people to renegotiate something they already knew, especially by using content that’s already there.
Saskia Leek: Yellow is the Putty of the World shown at Ivan Anthony Gallery, Auckland (25 November - 23 December 2009)

Saskia Leek says way she makes work is idiosyncratic; and doesn’t know how it’s going to turn out. She looks at odd images as starting point, ‘follows [her] nose’, and works intuitively with the spatial and colour relationships of her paintings. They are complete and expansive at the same time.
Alex Monteith: Passing Manoeuvre with Two Motorcycles and 584 Vehicles for Two-Channel Video shown at ST PAUL St, Auckland (19 June - 7 July 2008)

Alex Monteith describes herself as a project dependant artists, and works mostly with performance and video art. She was interested in Adrenaline Culture, and her work revolved around the issue of lane splitting. Her piece was actually illegal to make because of filming requirements- inspirational haha.

(Clockwise from top-left: Dan Arps, Fiona Connor, Alex Monteith, Saskia Leek)

The jury members for 2010 are Jon Bywater, Rhana Devenport, 
Leonhard Emmerling, and
Kate Montgomery

The Judge for 2010 is Vicente Todoli. He was the director of London’s Tate Modern, the most visited modern art museum, as well as over 10 years being an art director and curator.

I would nominate Saskia Leek for this years Walter’s Prize, mostly because I am old fashioned and like art that I can recognize as art. I find it very clever but completely unpretentious. I like the colours in her work, particularly the idea behind them that the "bleached palette" represents the ambiguous nature of memories. I think she’s succeeded in making her work dynamic even though it’s small. I like that her works manage to be modern and vintage at the same time. I wouldn’t go near oil paints so I admire artists who do. I think maybe Alex Monteith’s work is better (more polished at least), but I still prefer Leeks.

REERENCES:

(n.a, n.d.) ‘The Walters Prize 2010’ from
http://www.aucklandartgallery.com/whats-on/events/2010/july/the-walters-prize-2010

Tamaki, T. ‘Walters Prize 2010 ‘ (n.d) retrieved 16th August 2010 from

http://www.eventfinder.co.nz/2010/jul/auckland-cbd/walters-prize-2010

Hussein Chalayan

To be honest, when I saw the piece ‘Burka’ (1996) my personal response was just shock that those models didn’t mind being so naked. And I know he’s making a point about how everyone dresses, but… so naked. Exhibitionism aside, I find Chalayan’s work very interesting. I really liked ‘Afterwards’ (2000) especially after I read the context:

"The project had nothing to do with furniture," he says. "It was all about the moment of trying to leave your home at a time of war. The living room was supposed to be like somebody's wardrobe. How you could hide your possessions and carry them with you? Partly it's from my background - I'm from Cyprus, which is a divided place - and partly because of Kosovo." -(Quote from We make money not art)

I think these pieces are fashion, because Chalayan describes himself as a fashion designer, rather than an artist. I think what makes something art or fashion is how the designer sees it, because a lot of the time the two overlap.

To me, the key difference between fashion and clothing is style [daarrling] Fashion is always expressive and contextual.

Commercial businesses commissioning artists to work reminds me of the Renaissance. Sure it’s made by the artist, but the original creative vision is compromised. The reasons behind making a work are pretty key to how the work turns out, which in turn changes the meaning of art. Unless money was always the motivator, I think this a watered down version of art.

The film ‘Absent Presence’ would have been influenced by many art movements, but the one that came to mind for me was Massusrrealism. I think this movement may have inspired Chalayan’s approach in the way that it shares his style of mixing technology and surrealism in a modern (pop art) way. It carries a style that is quirky and sophisticated at the same time.

The question of when and why is it important that the artist personally make the piece is an interesting one to me, particularly in the context of a post-modern society (… yeah not gonna back up that statement). Being someone who has pretty much no technical skill in art, I can see how the idea behind a work is, subjectively, the most important thing behind an artwork.

In saying that though, I think a lot of conceptual artists can drop the extra syllables and just call themselves con artists. They are cheating really. If someone thought up a super amazing snowboard trick, but couldn’t do it themselves, would that make them a super amazing snowboarder?

But with people like Damien Hirst it would be silly to expect them to gain the skills it would take to make pieces like ‘The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living’ eg kill a shark. But I also think it’s silly that he gets the credit and profit when he didn’t put in the hard work.

Although there’s merit in a good idea, limiting art to the idea itself is an insult to those artists who bother to become skilled.

REFERENCES:

Marzec, K ‘Take It Off: Designers Exalt the Controversial Burka’ retrieved September 29, 2008 from: http://fashionindie.com/take-it-off-designers-exalt-the-controversial-burka/

(n.d, n.a.) ‘hussein chalayan’ http://www.designboom.com/eng/interview/chalayan.html

Regine, ‘Hussein Chalayan’ retrieved October 12, 2005 from: http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/2005/10/his-autumnwinte.php

francojean23 ‘Hussein Chalayan "Afterwords" 2000’ retrieved April 08, 2009 from:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE07_aFF4no

(n.a, n.d) ‘Art Movements’ http://www.artmovements.co.uk/home.htm

IMAGES:

(n.a,) ‘Hussein Chalayan’ retrieved 02/08/10 from: http://www.husseinchalayan.com/blog/

http://www.husseinchalayan.com/#/past_collections.2000.2000_a_w_after_words.0/