UAlbany Art Exhibition

Before arriving at the art museum at UAlbany Jessica and I remembered that Dr. Blum had told the class that the art pieces that were on exhibit was artwork that was done by the seniors for their final art project. I expected to see a variety of art that related to college, triggered emotions, and represented the artists personality/background. After arriving at the museum my thoughts changed quite a bit.

The first piece of art we saw just caught our attention immediately; a mattress with a nightstand, clock and window with a painted view of the ocean stood in the room. However the mattress was rocking and there was noises that represented squesking and groaning coming from exhibit. Jessica and I were both very surprised to find that this was the first art piece we would see, because neither of us had been to an art exhibit before. Now, I really did not know what I would expect to find throughout the rest of the exhibit.

The art exhibit was a two-story room that was just full of paintings, installation art, and sculptures. We walked around downstairs first and saw beautiful tiles that were painted in various colors and patterns, pictures of naked tattooed men and women, and canvases that were painted on. We were starting to wonder if there was some sort of theme for the exhibit, but instead of trying to figure it out we decided to go upstairs and check out the rest of it.

The first piece of art that caught my eye was a statue of wooden legs that were coming off of a white otomen (like the ones you see in girls' dressing rooms). I looked at it confused, wondering what it was suppose to represent or actually be. The next thing that caught my eye was a sulpture half on the wall that looked as if it was two kangaroos heads that were coming off of the same body but at different ends. It was an interesting piece that made me stop and look for a bit. The last exhibit that caught my eye was a very pink room, or that's what Jess and I thought it was at first. After approaching the room we realized that yes, the room was pink, but there was a portrait of a girl on the wall with the word "hate" underneath her and there was garbage on the ground (painted dunkin donut's cups etc). This room was a little disturbing and I wanted to stop looking at it, but it kept my attention in an odd way. The worst part of it was the videos of the girl, who I assume was the artisit, eating food and putting a bra made out of water bottles on her body. This room definitely left me with a strange, uneasy feeling about what I had just seen.

Reflecting back on the visit, I think the exhibit was very unique and eventhough many of the pieces were disturbing I did enjoy experiencing an art exhibit for the first time. It did leave an impression on me because I keep hearing the noises that were playing in the mattress exhibit.

--Rachel

UAlbany Art Museum.

As I was on my way to the UAlbany Art Museum, I could not help but think about what I was going to see. I had never been to an exhibition before and was very excited to view the different pieces the students had been working on. I was definitiely not prepared for what was to come. The artists featured in this exhibition have just completed the University at Albany Art Department’s three-year, 60 credit-hour program of intensive training and study in fine art practices. At the end of their Master of Fine Arts studies, candidates are required to exhibit a cohesive body of their work. This work forms the core of the MFA candidates’ visual thesis and demonstrates the vigor and expertise with which these emerging artists explore their respective choice of mediums. The University Art Museum provides MFA candidates with the opportunity to exhibit their work in a professional museum setting. I think it is such a great idea for the museum to offer viewers an opportunity to see how today's emerging artists addressing contemporary issues in the visual arts.

Not knowing what to expect, I walked in and one of the first pieces we saw was a set up of a bedroom with a four-post bed, a picture of a window behind it, and a night stand with a lamp and clock. The bed was on some sort of mechanical machine that made the bed rock a little. The shocking part was that there also was a recording that was playing as the bed moved which sounded like someone was groaning. Rachel and I literally stood there and just was so suprised that this was actually the first piece was saw. I honestly did not know what to think. The recording played on repeat and we established that it was a person who was making the noise in the recording. It was like one of those piece of artworks that a person could not possiby pass by and skip it but had to stay and watch it for a bit, no matter how annoying the sound got. We probably stood around that piece for about five minutes trying to comprehend what we were actually seeing, and what was waiting for us inside the rest of the museum.

After finally leaving the first piece, we walked into this wide open space with two floors. The museum had all types of artworks from tile, paintings, installations, etc. As we started to make our way around the space, the first wall of pieces we appraoched were pictures of completely naked people posing for the camera. The people in the photographs looked like normal people doing ordinary activities, except naked! It was very strange so we kind of passed by quickly. There were other interesting pieces as we made our way around on the first floor. I especially liked the section with squares of colorful paintings. The piece was simple but had so many bright colors in it that it would definitely be something I would buy. We next made our way upstairs, and found ourselves staring at little demon-like creatures displayed on the floor. They were seen spread out all over the place, even as an installation piece as one of these creatues hanging from a makeshift branch from a column. The next thing we saw was a huge display of another creature-like thing. Except this piece was big and took up most of the wall and had pieces of it going to the floor. I could not help but stand and stare at the ginormous piece. It almost made me feel like since it was so big that the creature was going to come to life.

The final pieces we saw on the second floor were both displayed as separate rooms off from the main room. The first room caught my eye because it was a bright pink room. From afar, everything in it seemed pink. But as we appraoched the room and walked in, there was a big picture of a girl with the word 'hate' written underneath it in pink. Then around that portrait were pieces of garbage that were painted in various colors; soda bottles, water bottles, bagels, cans, plates, etc. There were two TV's displayed on the walls that was showing a repeating video of a girl who was playing with food. It was kind of disturbing. Besides the first piece we saw in the beginning, this was definitely the next. The next room was sort of dark and had a video playing on a screen of an animated robot. The room had nothing else in it besides the TV and a black leather couch that viewers could come in and sit and watch the video. We stayed for about five minute because the repeating video got very annoying.

Visiting this exhibition was quite an adventure for me. I thought it was very interesting that I was able to go into this museum and actually visualize some of the piece of artworks we have been studying all semester. I would have liked to have actually met some of the student artists that created the pieces displayed and ask them questions about their work and what had inspired them to do them.

-Jessica

Graffiti as Art

After watching the video on the two artists who drew graffiti, it made me realize that it much more of a form of art than most people take it to seem. Graffiti is any type of public markings of images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted, or marked in any manner of property. I never believed it before, but graffiti artists have to be one of the most creative people. They not only are imaginative, they relay their feelings in their pieces as well as having purpose and significance. It may appear in the forms of simple written words to elaborate wall paintings. What is interesting is that graffiti has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. Now in modern times, spray paint, normal paint and markers have become the most commonly used materials. Now that I feel like graffiti is more of an art and that the people are trying to get their point across, still in most countries, defacing property with graffiti without the property owner's consent is considered vandalism. Sometimes graffiti is used to communicate social and political messages which can catch the eye of any by stander. The controversies that surround graffiti continue to create disagreement amongst city officials and law enforcement. Now that I have a better understanding of graffiti I feel as though these officials and enforcements should relax and give graffiti a chance. It is a rapidly developing artform whose value is highly contested. People should view graffiti with a more open mind and take it as it is.

-Jessica

Graffiti Art

After watching the video in class about the artists who draw graffiti on trains and buildings I was interested to learn the history and background of graffiti. Basically, graffiti is the name for letters or images that are painted onto property. The earliest types of graffiti appeared in ancient times, in the form of cave paintings and writings but modern day graffiti arose during Ancient Rome and Greece where images were carved into monuments and walls representing love declarations, political rhetoric and thoughts. Today graffiti displays messages of social and political ideas and it is normally intertwined with hip hop culture. A famous graffiti picture dates back to the 1920s during Word War II and is called "Kilroy was Here." Graffiti is also used as a memorial for certain occasions. After learning the history and background of graffiti, I consider it a form of art more strongly than I did before because I believe it is an expressions of feelings and thoughts.
--Rachel

Vik Muniz

Vik Muniz is a New York based artist who experiments with media. His works are very interesting and consist of objects arranged to make an image which he then photographs the arrangement resulting in the final piece. He began his career as a sculptor in the late 1980’s after relocating from Brazil to Chicago and later to New York. Muniz’s work begins to take on its mature form with The Best of Life (1990) where he drew pictures of photographs included in the coffee table book “The Best of Life” from memory after losing the book in a move. The drawings were subsequently photographed and shown as photographs, a practice that Muniz continues.
Muniz followed “The Best of Life” with Equivalents (1993), Pictures of Wire (1994), and Pictures of Thread (1995) in which he developed the other aspect of his characteristic style by making the drawings out of readily recognizable non-art materials such as cotton, wire, or thread. This process of making a drawing out of a nontraditional material and then photographing it has been central to Muniz’s work ever since. Since then Muniz has gone on to work in many materials such as chocolate syrup, caviar, diamonds, junk, earthworks, etc. His way of art just fascinates me in such a way that it is almost unbelievable that he is able to produce a piece out of an everyday object. That is what I call imagination and creativeness to the extreme. I think that out of the many artists we have learned about in class, to me Muniz seems to be the most talented. After looking through his website and seeing all of the pieces he had created, not one of them was dull to me. I could recognize what all of the pieces were supposed to be and they were just all very put together. I would have never in a million years guessed that Sigmund Freud was painted in chocolate or that a landscape was draw out in thread. The talent and mind this man must have must be exquisite.





















-Jessica

Frat Party Art

Last weekend I took a trip to Syracuse to visit my friend and we went to a fraternity party. When I walked into the party I was surprised to find art all around me. The theme of the party was "I'm Famous" so the frat boys put up white sheets around the frat house and they spray painted pictures of basketball players, actors/actresses, Hollywood stars of fame, bubble letters of names...etc. I immediately thought of this class because I thought that this art I was seeing is a form of modern art. It was a really neat thing to be able to look at the art that was suppose to be up just for a party but I actually appreciated it and realized that hard work must have been put into the artwork. Unfortunately I do not have a picture of it.

--Rachel

I never really thought that food could be made into art, but after seeing the artwork by Vik Muniz I realized that it could. I think that his artwork is very original and interesting, that he can take sugar and make a detailed portrait out of it. Everythime I eat pasta now i think of how Muniz was able to make noodles into art. I also really liked the fake cloud that he made over NYC; I would have never thought that a fake cloud could be considered art, but the picture definitely caught my attention and I think it is a great idea that was difficult to make. Vik Muniz is definitely one fo my favorite artists that we have looked at in class.

--Rachel

Celebrity Art Collection in the Media

From the many films and a podcast that we listened to over our course of the year, I am able to see daily how art is effected by who buys it and or who sees or wears it! Recently, pop and r&b singer, Rhianna, has purchased over 34 grand in artwork by pop cartoonist, Todd Goldman. The star is seen in the gallery of the now very famous Todd Goldman because of the purchases made by Rhianna. Todd's art collection values are skyrocketed to the high hundred of thousands because of the publicity that he has received from twitter, face book, and all other media sources/ blogs as well. Anyone who has already invested in this artist is looking to see millions if this trend keeps happening of celebrities such as Rhianna, that keep purchasing the artwork and making the value increase so that very little "normal" people would have the luxury of owning Todd's artwork. And although, many people have seen various pieces by Todd either on shirts or on different odds and ends, the price of his artwork and value has been measured by society's value in what the celebrities by and not that they actually like the artwork.

Purchases of Rihanna are below:

Below are some of the artwork done by Todd Goldman.

-Jazmine

Reaching Perfection....

Recently, in class, we have been discussing various types of art movements. Relational art is based on relational aesthetics with the artist not really having a whole art work in their mind but bits and pieces of how to utilize many different concepts. In this last art movement that we have examined, artists choose many diverse intersubjects and collectively puts it together as relational art. Artist, Andrea Zittel, has fully embraced the concept of relational art by even going to extremes to live her life in her own pieces. In the much like attitude of Marina Abramovic, Andrea has restricted herself to her artwork. During an interview, Andrea explains her obsession with always trying to reach perfection in each of the projects she has taken on. Professing her epiphany, Andrea tells all about the moment she realizes that everyone things they want perfection when in reality no one ever does., we just want to keep working towards it, so we won't get bored in life. The artist also mentions very particular living guidelines that she follows such as wearing only one outfit that she made for a whole season. Andrea states that it is a social stigma on wearing the same thing all the time; however, she feels that it should be that the stigma on wearing different things all the time or that people should not even care anything about others and what they do.

-Jazmine

The art piece that I would have bought is the picture "Prospect Park #2" done by Joseph O Holmes. I thought that there was something very peaceful about the picture, it made me feel calm. I enjoy snow, and there is always something about seeing the outdoors after a fresh snow has just fallen. It will always remind me of playing in it when I was a child. So this picture caught my attention because it not only brought on a calming emotion for me but it also brought back childhood memories.

--Rachel

20X200 Assignment.

As I was browsing through this website, I came across this picture called Gosling Lake by Kurt Tong. It really got my attention because I have always been interested in the beach theme and lakes with the sunset. For some reason it draws me to the photo. Even when I doodle in my notebook I always find myself drawing sunsets and waterfronts. It kind of relaxes me and makes me focus on the warm sand and cool water and how much I would love to be there than probably where I am in the first place.

--Jessica

Dave Hickey

I enjoyed Dave Hickey's lecture because he made it comical. He made it easy to listen to and understand the things he wanted to get across to the audience. Although he is an art critic, he went about talking about art in a different way than what we are used to hearing in class. I liked how he mentioned the first point in being that people like art better than money. From what we have been talking about in class recently, it can be seen that people are going to all lengths to dish out great sums of money to purchase a particular piece of art. Once they have collected one piece of that art, it only goes on from there so they feel the need to buy more. He also mentions that there are artists that like money better than art. They make their pieces to the satisfy the people who are interested in buying. I liked how he started asking question after question about how the dealer stakes a reputation of compromising to be right and never be wrong and to gain the piece that they want. They all have different opinions and out takes on various pieces. He mentions that this world never exists, part of that being in the late 70s from when art started becoming a public funding so that the museum disappeared. You could no longer see paintings of the original piece. This transformation of the art world is now an art market place. He states that if the art does not change nobody is going to buy any pieces. I enjoy how he mentions that he is bored with the pieces and he wants a normal artwork. He says he loves when people buy art and asks if that piece is worth that person's standard. But he questions whether that person is purchasing it just to purchase it or if they really have the focus and interest of the artwork. At the end he just wants people to go out and buy it but to aknowledge what they are buying and make sure they are buying it for the right reasons.

--Jessica

Art Collector Assignment on 2x200.com

As a art collector browsing on 2x200.com, I spotted a unique painting by Jessica Snow called Paradigm Shift (above). Initially, I was attracted to other works by the artist; however, I decided to choose differently and go with the painting below. I really like the colors and the shapes that is incorporated in this painting. I also like the fact that since I have a biology background that this artwork mirrors the shape and structure of a jelly fish. This simple but complex painting plays with the eye as it seems to dazzle or move when stared at for long periods of time. Other works of art by the artist is going to become the next Picasso because of the shapes and colors that are involved in each of Jessica's art works.


- Jazmine Still

Dave Hickey's Pod Cast

Dave Hickey's comical personality during his speech allowed many dirty secrets about the art world to come out into the limelight. Interestingly, his final thought, "Go out and Buy Shit," is just what the present art buyers are interested in and are literally doing at all costs. Since art is prevalent everywhere many people will buy art at any cost s that it is appraised. The term the art bubble is referred to the arts and artists that suck money into the art world for no real reason at all. Investors are simply giving away tons and loads of money to these artists at art autions when the prices for the same artwork is only a fraction of what its being valued off for. Powerful museums was starting to lose money until they found a way to earn money from the community. The exhibits that are displayed are always going to make money for the museum. On the other hand, objects that are just sold are going to make money but not for the museum for the artist thats being sold. Greedy artists are making millions off of art that really is not as highly vavlued as the economy is making them out to be. Therefore, all of the middle men who used to make money from selling or showing art to the masses are cancelled out. As Dave starting question probed: What happened to the art rules? I think there maybe was not any to begin with but just the fact that art business simply what it was made out to be...a money maker or as Dave termed hyper liquedity.

-Jazmine Still

Collections

These past few classes, we have been talking about how the idea of collecting art has changed over time. I find this extremely interesting yet crazy in how people will go to certain extremes to buy a particular piece. I guess I am in the wrong business because it seems like many of these pieces that people want to buy will pay millions to purchase it. To be able to pay that amount of money to have a specific artwork hanging up in a person's house seems to be crazy to me. But I guess like any other collector's item, people who start collecting art make it as a hobby and wants more and more to add.


In class, you had asked us if we had collected anything when we were younger, or still are collecting. I heard various responses and was astonished at how many people made it a hobby to collect a certain item. My brother is twelve years older than me. He was the one who I looked up to as I was growing up,but it was a challenge to find similar things we both were interested in. When he went away to college, he used to travel a lot. And since he was always interested in foreign money he started collecting it as he traveled to different countries. It was not until after college when he was in the navy and stationed in Japan for four years, where he started traveling even more. That was when he began to send us post cards and letters from the various countries he had visited, along with money from that country. He wanted my sister and I to start a collection for him and put the money in a show book. Although it was not until after that I realized that I started to become interested in the coins and bills he was sending over. It was like a way of connecting with him while he was away for so long. My sister and I would get so excited when we received a letter addressed to us in the mail from him. We would always try to guess where it was coming from and what we would find in the closed letter. My brother's money collection brought us closer while he was away. Since I am home for break, I recently looked at the show book my sister and I put together. It not only holds a traditional collection of money from different countries, it also holds a sentimental value that my brother, sister, and I will always share.
My younger sister is only five years younger than me so it was easier to find things to share. Before she was born and even years after, I used to collect marbles. I loved the color and the glass feeling of them. But as my sister got older, I got over marbles and put that collection away. Since my younger sister always followed whatever I would do, she had started her own collection of collecting bouncy-balls, the little colorful balls that you would get out of a 25 cent machine at the supermarket. I do not know if her collection stemmed from my original collection of marbles but I thought it was pretty unique. Every time we would go to the store with my mom, we would pool our quarters together and race to the machine and use the money to get as many balls as possible. My sister kept these balls in a colorful little shoe box that we had decorated specifically for the balls. It is kind of a weird collection but it was something that was fun for her and eventually for me as well. Most of the times, the bouncy-balls were untouched. At other times, my sister and I would create games in the hallway and set up boxes and time each other on how many we would get in. Stupid little childish games, but I don't think I will ever forget those moments. Especially when my parents had enough of hearing all of the bouncy-balls bouncing around on the hard wood floors. I guess it would get kind of irritating after a long day at work. But again it was a way my sister and I got along and shared a collection.

--Jessica

MOMA

On Saturday, March 20th, to be exact, I went to The Museum of Modern Art! There I was initially acquainted by massive crowds of people that were anxiously waiting to purchase tickets to the museum. Before this very moment, I had never been to this museum before and never knew the popularity it had over the weekends. Interestingly, I am a native of NYC and never going to the sites that tourists often run to allowed me to think that the place consisted of tourists. But, as I look around, I see families, students, friends, people in relationships, and of course tourists all in line with excited looks on their faces. As soon as you turn the corner of the lobby to enter into the exhibit, you are startled with a gigantic ballon structure made byTim Burton. Tim Burton had a special exhibit that you had to pay extra to enter, but, surprisingly, it was sold out for the entire weekend!
Although, I could not see Tim Burton's special exhibit there was something else that MOMA offered its visitors. Artist, Marina Abramovic, was present at the museum! Coming up the stairs, I noticed a live perfermance art work being watched by a large crowd of people who many had puzzling faces about what exactly was being done. Shown in a video clip below is Marina Abramovic in her own performance art work. It seems to me, that it is something like the "sit and stare at each other without saying a word" game!!!??? However, I only was able to get a quick image since no cameras were allowed in this particular exhibit...so this is an Exclusive!!!

Please Excuse the mispronunciation of Marina's last name but do enjoy!!! Remember Exclusive!

Ironically, as I came in this young man who is sitting with Marina lasted 2 hours, the highest record all week!

Other interesting exhibits of Marina's were on the 6th floor of the museum. As a performance artist, Marina Abramovic, had created arts of works that was not like the pieces I had in mind before coming to the museum. However, this artwork amazed all of my senses. Video recordings of young women jumping around screaming, couples, yelling back and forth to each other, just the things people would consider weird was displayed as something magnificent. As I entered into the exhibit, security warned every guest that there should not be any cameras or videotaping done while in the exhibit. However, since I never heard the security guard as I was coming in I did not know this rule until after the fact and thus had an opportunity to film. So, once again, I BRING YOU AN EXCLUSIVE VIDEO OF MARINA'S EXHIBIT.






Three Videos of women, jumping, screaming, and staring are all displayed. However, at the very end there is another interesting exhibit that I got to play a part in. This part of the exhibit had live performers that posed on two sides of a threshold. The performers were naked and guests were encouraged to pass between the naked woman and man in such a close proximity. I did it of course!!!

On my visit to the Musuem of Modern Art, I felt a rush of excitement as if I was in an amusement park. There was so many emotions that I felt when viewing different art work that I never really thought could happen on a visit to one place! Other well known artists were also displayed but none of them brought emotion out of me like Marina's exhibit...So thank you, Marina! and Professor Blum for allowing such a cool assignment!

Traveling art 3y3

I just wanted to post some more pictures of art seen on the cruise I went on!

Yaacov Agam

Peter Max

Charles Lee

And, my favorite, towel art (picture of the elephant shown at the top) artist unknown!


Jazmine<3

Art Bubble

Dave Hickey's talk was interesting to listen to since he is very comical. I liked how he started his lecture comparing the basketball player, who played by the rules, to the rules of the art world which he explains are not followed anymore. He also explained how there are a few artists who prefer art over money but the majority prefer money over art-so they create art only to make money.

My favorite part of Hickey's lecture was about the "art bubble;" he described how over the years art is being sold not necessarily for its value but just to be sold. He said that the art bubble creates "greedy artists and stupid collectors." I was really interested in this term "art bubble" so I looked it up online and learned more about it. I learned that prices turn into a bubble only when they reflect a relationship to other prices. Basically, an art bubble arises when a piece of art is sold for the price that someone is willing to pay for it-not on its value. This is what Hickey was talking about, the art world has no rules anymore, artists sell their art just to make money and collectors will buy the art as an investment.

The other part of the lecture that I enjoyed was when Hickey talked about installation art. He talked about how installation art has not changed and he talked about Bruce Nauman and the plywood box. I was excited to hear this because we learned about Bruce Nauman in class so it was interesting to hear a name I knew.

Finally, Hickey sums up his lecture saying that some day the art market will hopefully go back to the way it use to be, and artists will only display art that they value and collectors will buy art that they like or that they think has value, rather than both the artist and the collector just buying and selling art for the purpose of gaining money and investments.

--Rachel

My Traveling Art Eye

My "Traveling ArT 3Y3 " is a concept that I wanted to incorporate into the class blogs because it is this idea of documenting and applying what I learned in the classroom to the random moments while at home or places visited in the city, trips, or the likes. I wanted to learn about artists that I walk by everyday and to actively ask or research different types of weird, strange, beautiful, moving, still, tall, small, all types of art forms while on my journey to completing not only this class but my college years at Siena. So, therefore, I will be investigating the artwork on the campus, mainly, in efforts of understanding and learning about the art collection Siena has around us, their students. Other students in the class are free to roam the campus in search of finding art works and just shouting it out to our blogs so that we may learn about the silent arts that hang on our walls. But before I embark on that journey, I wanted to included new contemporary artists that I learned about while on my cruise during spring break.

One Isrealian artist, Itzchak Turkay, is known for his mastery as a water colorist/painter. He is frequently featured on the ships because of his works that always included rich women at a social gathering who, ironically, were not engaged with each other but more distant mentally while close physically.

Other artists will soon be posted...Keep on the look out!

Jazmine

Performance art

There are many different types of art forms, sculptures, and performances. Performance art, for example, is a new type of art that we were learning about in class. Before learning about performance art, I considered it to be every piece of musical or ballet show on Broadway. However, I have learned that it is not that, but it can simply incorporate live people into their art work through movies or performed repeated in a space. There are four important aspects to consider when learning about performance art. It should be noted that the artist will concentrate on time and space, body performance, the relationship between the audience, and what the piece will overall contribute to society. By contrasting artworks that we learned about previously, I found that performance art does not concentrate on the final product but how it is going to reach it own sense of purity. Matthew Barney truly engulfs this concept as he creates movie pieces that are dream-like and of a different type of "worldly view." This type of strange art reflects on what is going to be portrayed to the audience. His works of arts incorporates weird or controversial topics. Barney also pays attention to precise movements and facial structure. Works are also often sexual and concentrating on a image that we as children thought of as evil and would use those strong faced people as symbolic images for his creations. Art work such as these provides innovative movements to begin because of its originality and ingenuity.

Bringing art to the public eye allows people to become intrigued by simple to complex types of performance art. Marina Abramovic is another artist who is completes compelling works of art through performance art. Marina thinks of endurance being a challenge for the performer as well as the audience who set through these pieces in order to gather understanding. Body art is one type of art that can involve glue, paint, or even self mutilation in front of an audience. The story telling of an artist that is known for their body art involves agreed terms to have no rules, no limits, it has to be live, and it can not be for sale. this type of art shocks audience and often relates to culture. This is often seen to challenge audience members to think in new ways and to think of what art is while including music or sometimes no music at all. Interruption and action types of performance art work has been seen to actively engage the by-passers that participate in an artwork as it is creating a situational art work. Usually, the interruptions will lure people into behaving as asked simply because everyone is contributing to the art work. Interestingly, this can appeal to the work of scientists who study the human behavior.

Jazzie

Barney and Tunick

During the last few classes, we learned about installation art and most recently performance art. I enjoyed learning about these pieces because I thought they were interesting and definitely different from the other forms of art we learned about. I particularly took an interest in how unique performance art is. I like how the actions of the individuals or groups constitute the work in which can take place anywhere, at any particular time, for any length. It really involves the situation of time, space, the perfomer’s body, and the relationship between the performer and audience.

Matthew Barney, an American artist, works in sculpture, photography, drawing, and film. His early works involved installations combined with performance and video. The Cremaster Cycle is a series of five imaginative films that explore the processes of creation. He uses the camera creatively and positions it at different points, along with various lighting, sizes, and shapes, to make it work. As I watched clips of these various videos, I did not know what to think because I thought it was the strangest work of art. Although I did not watch the entire piece, I was very confused as what it was trying to convey. I found myself opening my mind and not immediately judging the work and coming to a conclusion. I sat back and let the piece take me away and let me use my imaginative mind to think about what the artist was trying to put across to the audience. Matthew Barney looked beyond biology as a way to explore the creation of form. As a biology major, I thought this was extremely creative in how he described certain aspects of creation. Although I still think the entire piece is weird, I also enjoyed the time and effort he put into his set and costumes. It definitely made the work more enjoyable to watch.

Spencer Tunick, another American artist, is best known for his installation art that feature large groups of nude people posed in formations in front of urban locations. I thought this was also a strange piece because I never knew a group of people posing naked would be visualized as art. While we were looking at some of Tunick’s pieces in class, at first I was shocked at how many people participated in these pieces, along with the fact of who would actually do them. But after listening to an interview by one of the models who posed naked, he stated that after a while it felt comfortable to be nude because everyone else was and it felt like he was wearing clothes. I don’t know if I would say I would volunteer and do it, but I think it’s an interesting form. I also noticed that as we were looking at various pieces that were shot in different locations, I started noticing the actual background and what was going on behind the groups of nude people. At first glance it does look like a bunch of naked people formed in a certain way, but then after a while I realized the beauty of the location and background and didn’t pay much mind to the people.

Jessica

"Waste Not" Mother Dong

Learning about "Waste Not" by Song Dong, allowed me to really think about everyday materials within your home being art. Stemming back to the revolutionary artist, Andy Warhol, who used mundane materials as the centered piece for his artwork. For many artists who illustrate the need to creates spaces that will draw emotion out of a viewer often times convey strong messages by using the simplest items. Not much is needed to draw emotion out of a person. As we see in "Waste Not," Dong's mother was left in disbelief after the passing of her husband. Therefore, the mother continued to keep all of the Husband's items as if he were still alive within the confinements of her small house. Looking at the pictures, an array of emotions run through myself such as sadness, love, care, and wonder. This piece also shows me that love between two people really are strong. When two sole mates are separated, one is really lost without the other. It is evident that Dong's mother is lost without her other half. This is also a true piece of installation art work because viewers are physically entering the art work for an interactive experience. It is also important to mention or ask who is the real artist here, Song Dong or Mother Dong? I , personally, think Mother Dong is the true artist here because viewers feel everything that the mother feels through her story. Although, Song DOng also lived the life after his father's death, I do not get that through this piece of art of how a little boy handled this disturbing time of his own life but only that of a mother and wife.



Jazmine

Judy Pfaff

This artist has left me flabbergasted after hearing her story of growing up. Pfaff, now a wonderful artist, grew up as a rebel as well as your less than average student who did not care about learning in school. And yet, Pfaff has illustrated her level of intelligence through her art work. Her exhibits thatillustrate installation art comes in all types of form and sizes. These shapes and sizes usually plays with the eyes in that the whole room is full of her art work so that you could come up with your own feelings on the art you are walking through. Many tools are used to create these works; however, Pfaff, still feels connected to her pieces, even though, she has not had any actual "hands-on" opportunity when crafting her forms.

Jazmine

Art around Siena College's Library

During the course of this class, I have found pleasure in learning about the art that I walk by very frequently. I went to go view the Yates Gallery's exhibit on Martin Benjamin who is not like many other artists we have discussed in class but that I found to take interesting photographs of life. Like many artists today, Benjamin also uses tools as a way of crafting or capturing art work through the use of photography. Benjamin's photographs have appeared in new papers and exhibits all throughout the US and Europe. The photo on the left is of a selection from the Atomic Age collection that was also showcased in an exhibit in Atlanta, GA. Other works of his that displayed moments in life or life's simplicity are through his works Beijing, China, The Great Hall, Ellis Island, and Atlantic Ocean.

Jazmine

In the essay Against Interpretation, Susan Sontag argues that in the new critical approach art is challenged to justify itself. She stated that the spiritual importance of art is being replaced by the emphasis on the intellect. It made me think about how I truly look at art myself. Art makes people wonder what is the true meaning behind the piece and to figure out what exactly it is they are looking at. By reading this article, Susan Sontag made her readers more knowledgeable about understanding what to do when they approach a piece of work. She described how art critics were taking their powers for granted and focusing on their own constructed views of form and content of the piece of art. I like how she said that ‘interpretation became the intellect’s revenge upon art.’ I feel like before reading this article that is how I felt I was interpreting certain artworks. I would put my insight into one thing without taking a step back and actually looking at it with my senses. Rather than recognizing great works I would often come to a conclusion immediately and move on. I found this essay really interesting and from now on I am going to try to interpret art in a totally different mind frame.

--Jessica

Response on "Against Interpretation"

Susan Sontag's Against Interpretation article has moved me to a place where I feel that I should not interpret works of art but to use my sensory experience to illustrate how I feel. With that being said, I completely agree with Sontag's argument for interpretation regarding when and where it needs to be used and how far it is taken now a days. Art is a useful tool to many people and is often looked at as therapy. However, when art work is viewed, many people need to interpret it to understand the artists position for creating this piece of artwork. Searching for content throughout a piece of artwork allows the viewer to understand their own feelings or the point of it. Unfortunately, this is the time that we are living in, where interpretation is needed so that people can see that they are not "wasting time." Art that is transparent allows the viewers to see things for what they are. Currently, if one was to view something for what it just is or with radical skepticism, people would not know how to relate to pieces of art or the artist. Since culture plays a big role in how a person interprets or if they interpret at all, I believe that it is this overarching theme of things that allows for people to retrieve perceptions or thoughts on a particular work of art. Sontag's suggestion in that 'the best criticism... is of this sort that dissolves consideration of content into those of form," which illustrates the value of using less words and more doing and feeling to understand and relate to the works of art.

Reading this article really opened up my mind to art and artists. Throughout the article, I found that I did a lot of interpretation. I also found that I wanted to know the point of every work of art that was in front of me. Certain art works that I have found trouble understanding was by artist such as Jackson Pollock, Bruce Newman, and etc. So therefore, by reading this allowed me to become more knowledgeable on what to do when approaching art work, not to interpret to gain understanding but to just use your senses when trying to relate or comprehend.
Jazzie

"Against Interpretation"

The article by Susan Sontag was very interesting. I like how she started the article talking about early experiences of art. I personally think that all art can be interpreted based on the perspective on the onlooker. Two people can look at the same piece of artwork but have two very different interpretations of it. In agreement with Plato I think that art can be a form of therapy, and therefore it can be interpreted specifically by the person who is looking at the artwork. I also agree with Susan Sontag that art does make people nervous and by interpreting art it makes the piece of artwork more comfortable to look at, more manageable or understandable for someone who may o may not be familiar with that particular artwork. I found the end of the article neat because she ended it talking about contemporary and modern art and how interpretation on art and movies has almost taken over and it takes away the "sensory experience" of the work of art.

--Rachel

After watching the video on Bruce Nauman I was interested to find out more about his life and his art. my first impression of him was that there was definitely something weird about him. He appeared like he was in his own world, out in New Mexico just trying to create art. I was surprised when I found out that he studied math and physics in college, but now I can see why he enjoys creating neon pieces; since physics and science plays a role in the way that the visible light is seen. I enjoy looking at his neon pieces, I think that they are a unique piece of artwork. On the otherhand, the movies where he has someone repeating just a word or a sentence while shaking there head annoys me very much and I do not see how that can be considered art. Overall, I think that Bruce Nauman is a very unique contemporary artist and although I do not agree that everything he does can be considered "artwork" I still think that he has a fascinating imagination.

--Rachel

Jeff Koons is an American artist known for his reproduction of giant objects such as balloon animals produced in stainless steel finished with a mirror surface. I enjoy how he makes replications of everyday things, but yet puts his own style to the artwork. He uses different mediums, shapes, sizes to create his masterpieces. I enjoy his work of the terrier puppy executed in a variety of flowers on a steel substructure. It is so large yet still is able to portray what the object/thing actually is. In class while we were watching a video on his studio in New York City, Jeff Koons mentioned that “art is acceptance; first you have to accept yourself then the artwork.” He explains how every artist has their own vocabulary when creating ideas for pieces. Although I agree with what he was saying, he also is only the director of his studio and has other people actually doing his work ideas. This almost frustrates me because to me I feel as though the artist with the original idea should be able to put in some kind of work into the final piece. He just seems like he is there for no reason but to put out specific ideas for other people he has hired to work on. Those people should be the ones who are getting the credit for the final work.

Martin Puryear is another artist/sculptor who uses mediums such as wood, stone, tar, wire, etc. His work is a union of minimalist and traditional crafts. He uses dreamlike explorations in abstract forms in which retain the view of the everyday objects. One of the ones shown in class, “Ladder for Booker T. Washington,” Puryear built a meandering ladder out of jointed ash wood. This structure is over thirty-five feet tall with the ladder narrowing at the top creating a distorted sense of perspective. I really enjoyed this piece because it gave the viewer a sense of an unattainable goal that can’t be reached. Another piece that was shown in class called “Untitled,” Puryear hired a stonemason to construct the building like structure that was massive. On one side of the work, there is an eighteen foot high wall in which is depicted with a door to make it seem like the viewer can look through and see the other side. But on the other side, there is a stone bulge that is hollow and gives a sense emptiness and loss. Although Puryear also hired other people to assemble the stones and finalize his masterpiece, I think it is totally different than Koons’ artwork. I feel like Puryear has somewhat of a handle on his work and does some of it himself.

--Jessica Roman