Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Danielle's Q's

1. Do you agree or disagree with Elkin's stance on art education? Explain?
For the most part yes.  Some things can't be taught, but it doesn't mean education is pointless.

2. Explain your understanding of Elkin's definition of "taught"
I think he uses it to describe a way in which someone learns a specific skill.

3. How does structure within academia foster or inhibit the creation of art?
Obviously this is subjective, but for me, I think it has helped me be more confident showing my work, and experimenting with different things.

4. Do you think that art can be taught? Do you agree with the weak view of nothing can be taught, pgs 101-­‐102?
I think things cant be learned, but the teacher will never teach the student exactly what he/she intended to. 

1. Do you feel Ringling has prepared you for when you're working outside of a structured academic setting? Why?
I think Ringling has not done that for me, but I have tried to work on that for myself.

2. In relation to “Why Art Cannot Be Taught”, do you think that my work could have been made during a more traditional style of
teaching? Does innovative teaching lead to non-­‐traditional work?
I really cannot answer this question.

3. Do you think that compared to your peers in this academic setting that you are successful? What about the academic setting do you
think has caused a major shift in my work in the last year, i.e. more freedoms leading to faster advances?

I think I am successful compared to my peers.

4. Do you think that art practice being taught through an academic setting which is structured by materials (painting class, sculpture class,
printmaking, etc) helped or hindered my using non traditional mediums to make art objects, ex: candy? Why or why not? What about in
your own work? What would you like to alter about your academic experience?

I think classes have been pretty open from the start, despite the structure the administration places on them.  I think if you felt hindered, it was probably your on presuppositions that lead you to make decisions. 

Brittney's Questions

Questions:

1.      What, if any, are the similarities/differences of a slow,
meditative medium such as drawing/painting compared to an instant
appropriation tool such as photography? Would you consider a
photograph an object, as you would a painting/sculpture?

Although drawing and painting focus on composition, I think that the edges of the frame are the most dominant things to consider within the practice of drawing.  I think, because it is quick, you can produce more images, and allow chance to effect the work.

2.      What is the “message” of a photographic record?

I think that would depend on the image.

3.      Would you consider “amateurism” when using a medium, an advantage
or a disadvantage, while producing work? For example, is
photo-realistic drawing the top of the heap? Does that
knowledge/technique get in the way of some-sort of innocence/potential
for inspiration?

For me, I think it is a disadvantage.

4.      In the film, The Blood of a Poet by Jean Cocteau, what
images/sequences of voyeurism appear in the film? Does this have a
relationship to photography as appropriation?

The images of peeking through keyholes suggest voyeurism.

5.      What does it mean psychologically when the theatre party applauds
the death of the card shark? What does it mean, when viewing it as an
artist?

I guess it seems ironic to laugh at the death of anything, but I don't take it too seriously because I don't think there is anything wrong with it.

6.      At what time does a highly personal, private, disgusting or elegant
moment or event, becomes a spectacle? (Please refer to # 4 & #5)

The moment you make it public.

7.      (Made in 1930) Jean Cocteau uses several surrealistic motifs
throughout the film, which is simultaneously intermixed with personal
iconography. What about my work is self referential, and at the same
time referencing the time in which we are living?

You are photographing personal events and people you know, and simply because of that, they refer to contemporary life.

8.      Over the past two years, I have produced an extensive archive of
images, with 35mm film only. What do you consider to be the
differences between shooting in a digital format, and any sort of film
format?

There are many differences, such as how it looks, the process, and the way we think about it.

9.      What are your observed advantages for me using photographic processes?
You are able to capture images that happen in the moment, and can obtain so many of them.

10.     How hot is Lee Miller?
Pretty hot.

Paul's Q's

1. Is the author of this book being overly simplistic?
I think this subject would be impossible to accurately talk about through generalizations, which is what I think he is doing, so yes.

2. Is the author being overly cynical?
I think he is disgruntled, and I don't think all people experience art school the way he is describing it.


3. Can you be cynical and paranoid and still be correct in your assertions concerning matters that are highly subjective?

I think you can be cynical and paranoid and have an opinion.  Whether that opinion is correct is the opinion of everyone else. 

4. Since "group think" is not only entrenched in the art world but the real world, should it not be encouraged in art school?
I think people should be encouraged to find their own interests, not to mimic what will bring financial success.

5. Does the fine arts department at Ringling College of Art and Design represent a microcosm of the Art World?
I think it attempts to do that.

6. As stated in the reading "does privileging words over visual expression encourage a narrowly didactic approach to art making?"
I think language is just another way to approach art, but it is not the art.

7. Is Automatism or any other intuitive approach discouraged in contemporary art academia?
I don't think it is discouraged, but I do think it is expected that we talk about it even if it is approached intuitively. 

8. Do you believe my work would have been better served had I not attended art college?
I don't know what your work was like before you came here, but it seems that you are making more work that you are more interested in, so I would think that is a good thing.


9. Do you believe my work to be self indulgent?
I think art is self indulgent, so yes.

10. If all art is self indulgent to a certain extent, should I not embrace this approach?
Most activities are self indulgent, but I think art serves more of a purpose once it is made because it effects other people.

11. Does the "it's all about me" approach to my work alienate you the viewer?
I think that some may feel alienated, but all communication is alienating.  We all must make our own meaning from things.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Discussion Q&A Shellie and Alex

Shellie
Woody on Aesthetic Appreciation
Questions:

1. After reading this article analyzing Woody’s work do you feel like his movies mock how contemporary art classes approach talking about art? Why?

I don't think he was mocking contemporary art classes.

2. Do you ever feel surrounded by people that you need to impress/fake being overly excited or emotional about your work? If you do ever fake these emotions, why?

I think that is really weird to fake being excited about your own work.  I think that would be hard to do, and would benefit no one.


3. Would you say you art leans more towards needing emotional or intellectual appreciation? Does this relate to the aesthetics?

I think that the things I make require an intellectual and emotional appreciating.

4. Do you care about how your work looks while your creating it? Do you ever step back and move something around just because it looks bad? Does the work become less intellectual if this happens? Explain.

Usually when I am making something, I feel like I have a goal.  Sometimes that goal changes and the method changes too, but I think when I change something, it is because I made the intellectual decision to do so.

5. When you view my art do you have any intellectual response? If not does this mean my work has no aesthetic value based on what the chapter requires for a meaningful aesthetic response.

I think that it is impossible to separate emotion from intellect completely.

6. Where is your fulcrum between intellect and emotion when creating your work on a scale of 1-10. 1 leaning more towards intellect and 10 being more towards emotion. Where is mine?

5 and 5

7. Why do you think I tend to reject intellectualizing art?
I really don't know.

8. I would consider my work to be relaxing to the viewer. Do you agree/why?
Yes, they are calming images.


Alex

An Artful Environmental Impact Statement

1.  How important is the process of destroying something ( personal object/ mental image/photograph)  to create a piece of work that is abstract?
I don't think it is necessary, but it can be cool.

2.  In your own work, how do you feel that the medium that you choose best expresses your meaning, message & own truth?
I think that using sound, I can make a spacious, and subtle experience.


3.  In your opinion, why do you think that the Gerald Peters Gallery mainly selected Fair's photos for their abstract impact? (not showing the photographs of the smokestacks & factories).  Do you believe that these particular abstract photos were selected because of an "over-all" sense of platonic beauty? Do you believe that the GP Gallery wanted to appeal to the "masses" in order to  make a better sale?

From what we discussed in class, I guess what you are saying is accurate.

4.  What are the similarities between art & documentation?

Generally, art is the original and documentation is a recreation of the original.

5.  In my own work, do you feel that i convey a sense of environment & mood?

Yes.

6.  Do you feel that the process & materials that i use, best expresses my message in my paintings?  If not, then please explain what materials would work  best for the execution & final outcome of my work.

Yes.

7.  How important is the use of scale in your own work? And do you believe that i use an appropriate size & scale for my paintings?

I use a scale that relates to the human form, specifically furniture and clothing sizes. 

8.  What do you think of my color palette for my paintings?  What colors do you think I should use in my next painting.

This is a really strange question that I do not know how to answer.  How about red-orange, and blue.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Discussion Q&A Chris, Jen

Chris

1. What is meant by a poor image?
According to the article, it is an image that usually has a low resolution and is not the original.

2. What is meant by the contemporary hierarchy of images?
Low quality vs. high quality is one hierarchy that exists.

3. What qualifies a work as experimental?
Something is experimental when it has no predetermined outcome.

4. Do you agree that poor images are poor because they are not assigned any vale from the class society of images?
I think that author is trying to describe a hierarchy of images that exists.  I do not think that because an image has a low resolution it is a less valuable image. 

5. What relevance does this have to painting?
Painting is a way to create an original image.  Painting seems to value the original.

6. How do we measure the quality of image?
I would measure the quality of the content, and whether or not i find it interesting.

7. Do you consider these qualities when constructing work?
No.

8. What role does the human condition or the "everyday" have in your work?
I think the materials I choose are relatively "everyday."


Jen

1. What are your political concerns? Is there anything happening in the world beyond your self, that still effects you directly? Does this come into your work?

I don't really participate in political activism.  I try to be knowledgeable and bypass things I don't agree with.  I think that this comes into my work because i am trying to learn how to build things that are usually manufactured.

2. What insights should artists provide? Do you agree that poets(artists) are "uniquely suited" to "speak publicly and morally about human aspirations"?
I think that there are all different kinds of artists, and they are not all morally apt.

3. Are any artists that you know or are currently looking at, critiquing our cultural or political systems through their work? Please elaborate on why you think these people are able or aren't able to make these works…
I recently heard about the Yes Men, and they are obviously straightforwardly political.  I think because it is a collaborative effort, they can get away with more.

4. What does it mean to be politically active?
I think political activity is broad.  I think it can be anything that relates to taking a position or an opinion about something.


5. Are you able to relate to the work that I've made this year? What work? Do you relate it to any other artists or movements?
I related to your performance when you looped information on top of itself. 

6. What do you think would make my work better?
I think you have experimented a lot and have tried new things, but I think you might benefit from sticking with one thing for an extended period.

7. Do you think some of my work can be political, even if I don't say it is, or take a specific position? Is this an effective way of discussing work?
I think art is political no matter what. 

8. Does my work provide any insight?
It offers insight into the details of your everyday life.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Discussion Q&A Therese, Jeremy, Shane

Therese
What stereotype do you identify with?
white girl
During what activity do you feel most masculine?
taking out the trash
During what activity do you feel most feminine?
bubble bath
May I take a video of you performing these actions?
No thanks.
How do you feel about Adrian piper being on a suspicious travelers list?
I am not really surprised.
Would you makes the same decision that Adrian piper did if you were put on the list?
Sure, if you mean to stay in Berlin.
 What do you think about adrians work that was mentioned in the article?
She sounds like she has a powerful role and a strong opinion.


Jeremy
Questions about the reading and movie:
 

Does the premise of condensing hundreds of religions and philosophies into one 2 hour-long documentary seem ill-serving to the history and magnitude of the subject matter?
 
I can understand the purpose, but yes, it does seem ill-serving.
Do you consider your religious or non-religious beliefs before creating art?
 
I don't.
Sartre's understanding of life is that it reflects the experience of one's existence.  How does your artwork reflect the experience of your existence?
 
My art relates my body to an environment, making a direct experience.
"The fact that we all suffer from the day we’re born to the day that we expire…is funny."  What part should humor play in the discussion of religion and mortality?
 
I enjoy the conversation much more when it is humorous.  It can be one of those topics that is interesting to think about, but not talk about.

Questions about my work in relationship to the reading and movie:
Is it ultimately futile for me to investigate an experience I may never consciously take part of?

Everything is ultimately futile, so do it if it feels right.

Is my pursuit of personal meaning through the creation of art absurd in relation to my perception of the meaninglessness of the universe?
Yeah, sure.  I think it is absurd.

If I was to die and "become my past" as explained by Sartre, how would my artwork play a role in that process?  Would my work become the past as well?  Is it possible for my artwork to stay part of the present after I die?
 
The art will exist in the present, but the context will changes.
Am I qualified to explore death in my work?  Does one have to be personally touched by death to be able to explore it in their work?
 
You are qualified to do whatever you want with your art.



Shane
The questions I have are thus;

1) Do you agree that this is all conceptual art is?

I think conceptual art is a term used to describe a period within art history when some artists emphasized concept and process in the creation of art, and it is not a painting of the word joy on a canvas.
2) How does the fact that there is a eHow on making conceptual art affect your ideas of art?
It doesn't.
3) Is there a difference between this and the old Bob Ross painting shows?
Yes.  It is on the internet and is talking about ideas and the history of art.  Bob Ross is a show on television that focuses on landscape painting techniques.
4) Can High Art survive in the modern world?
 
I am not sure what you mean, but it seems to be doing okay right now.
And for my own work.

1) My work is firmly entrenched in conceptual art norms, what forms of postmodern art has the internet made irrelevant, or are there any?

It is hard to say that there is any form of art that is irrelevant.  I think the internet has mainly added new forms.
2) I feel my work attempts to make the intangible not just tangible but accessible, is there a point where accessibility tips to eHow?

Maybe if you dumb things down for everyone to understand, it won't be interesting for you anymore, but I am not sure it will be like eHow.
3) My concept of self dissection and betterment strives to be deep, dangerous, and relevant.  Is there more to "good" conceptual art than the strength of the concept?
I guess the most important part would have to be the concept.
4) Do you feel there is a difference between my work and something someone would make after reading this eHow?
Yes.


 

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Jack Burgess explains contemporary art

This is a short video of a guy explaining what contemporary art is to an audience that apparently has no clue what it is. The editing tried to be weird and humorous. I thought this video was obvious and somewhat annoying.

1 Does contemporary art have to be conceptual?
2 Does contemporary art have to be about relevant issues?