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.

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.

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.

 

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?

Emerging market: Christine Mehring on the Birth of the Contemporary Art Fair

This article focuses on the history and origin of the art fair. She writes about the Kunstmarkt and why germany needed this fair to boost the art economy. Its success has led to many other fairs and counter-exhibitions.

The work that I have made this semester would not function very well at an art fair. I am not opposed to them though. They create an interesting scenario where the viewer gets to see the innards of the art scene,

1. How does the context of the art fair affect the viewing of the work?
2. Has the art fair changed the amount of work sold in general?
3. How do counter-exhibitions affect the fair?

Critiques

INDIVIDUAL
Vanessa Mayoraz
Naomi Kremer
Andrew Atkinson
Kim Russo
Nathan Skiles


GROUP
Treavor Rennick, Andrew Scott Ross, Vanessa Mayoraz, John Mack

Final class crit

"Anti-Mainstream Museum's Mainstream Show" by Roberta Smith; 2010

Roberta Smith reviews the show "Skin Fruit" that was presented at the New Museum in the spring of 2010. She mostly speaks negatively about the show as a whole, explaining that it seemed antithetical to the ideological basis of the museum. She explains that it is poorly curated and is ultimately complacent.

Should the New Museum focus more on showing the work of artists that are less known?

Should so much attention be given to the curatorial work of a show?

Should the New Museum change their name?