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