Each of us in our MA cohort wrote a 200 word review of a famous artwork.I was given "Puppy" Jeff Koons and here is my review.
"PUPPY" BY JEFF KOONS
(newspaper review)
"Puppy" is a colossal, living,topiary sculpture of a West Highland Terrier puppy.It was constructed using a chrome stainless steel armature, covered with a garden of upto 70,000 flowering plants .The flowers are kept alive with a sophisticated internal irrigation system and 23 tons of soil. This work was produced by Koons, in collaboration with a large team of specialist gardeners .
Koons 's works have no hidden meanings,embrace pop culture , celebrate kitsch and are based on unabashed self-merchandising. "Puppy"was clearly made to play to the gallery, to overwhelm and overpower. A bright, flawless, uncontroversial ,work of fantasy, it achieves what it set out to do -to erase the "bad boy" image Koons had created in his previous series "Made in Heaven ". It makes people happy ; who does not enjoy the sight of a affable puppy in the guise of a colorful flowery giant? You might want to take it out for a walk on the beach.
You can either love Koons's work for being extraordinary or disregard it for lacking depth but you have to agree on one thing-Koons is a technical genius , who knows how to entice, seduce and impress his audience and this is reflected in his clever sculpture "Puppy". Love him or hate him you , you cannot ignore Jeff Koons.
Monday, 17 February 2014
VISUAL METHODOLOGIES
Question-:Why do artworks need labels?
In my opinion a basic label next to the artwork is required.
The audience would like to know
1.the name of the artist
Everyone is interested to know who the creator of the artwork is.I personally am interested to learn this piece of information so that I can research the artist later or stalk the artist even.... if the work interests me infinitely...(yes I am obsessive) ...or to know who created a piece that repulsed me (you cannot get away with murder can you?)
2. the title of the work
to get a clue about what the artist might be thinking pre or post creation.If the title is "untitled" is it a deliberate move on the part of the artist?
3.the materials used
contemporary art is built from a variety of unusual materials and I do not like "mixed media" but "bronze,clay,salt " or "print of oreo cookies on acid free paper", "human hair on canvas"for example.Contemporary art challenges traditional boundaries, is diverse and eclectic and this piece of information educates the audience,feeds their curiosities about the process that might have gone into making the work.
Why detailed labels are not necessary?
Contemporary audiences play an active role in the process of constructing meaning about works of art.Some artists often say that the viewer contributes to or even completes the artwork by forming his or her personal reflections,experiences, opinions and interpretations.I wholeheartedly agree to this.The audience must be encouraged to step out of their comfort zones, to access their own abilities to consider , react and respond to works of art and therefore I rarely rent the headphones with information overload in art galleries and museums.
January 13th 2013
VIDEO LECTURE III THE NEO AVANTE GARDE
What is Neo Avante Garde Art?
Neo Avante Garde was the Art generated post World War II in the 1950s 1960s and 1970s that challenged conventional thought as to what art is and can be.This flouting of preconceived notions was in terms of any of all of these
1.subject matter
Carried a strong socialist or political message.Earlier art was a means to escape into a fantasy world.Was meant to soothe,calm,placate the viewer.NAG's work could be disturbing shocking and not necessarily "High Art" about high society.was a satire about the system or a social commentary.Could make a statement about gender discrimination or against war.
1.subject matter
Carried a strong socialist or political message.Earlier art was a means to escape into a fantasy world.Was meant to soothe,calm,placate the viewer.NAG's work could be disturbing shocking and not necessarily "High Art" about high society.was a satire about the system or a social commentary.Could make a statement about gender discrimination or against war.
2.usage of radical technique and medium
Was not necessarily aesthetically appealing.Could be,raw, crudely crafted and ugly.Could incorporate sculpture within painting or painting within sculpture.could be an installation or a performance then known as "happening"
3.challenged conventional forms
4.used destruction as a strategy
5.art walked out of the art gallery
broke the prevailing notion that art could be exhibited in a art gallery/museum
This lecture was very enlightening for me because it it exposed me to the various innovative ways in which contemporary art was being approached by the Neo Avante Garde artists.Such knowledge would help me discriminate between strong ,moving art and gimmicky art which only has shock value being created in this day and age.
5.art walked out of the art gallery
broke the prevailing notion that art could be exhibited in a art gallery/museum
This lecture was very enlightening for me because it it exposed me to the various innovative ways in which contemporary art was being approached by the Neo Avante Garde artists.Such knowledge would help me discriminate between strong ,moving art and gimmicky art which only has shock value being created in this day and age.
Neo Avante Garde artists believed that art is not a commodity but has the purpose of feeding the human psyche and anyone can be an artist.
"Stories of Art" by James Elkins
This book talks about the various different approaches to art history and the old stories of art written and published versus the new.The author was of the view that the perfect art history book which is objective,realistic,not pro Western art, has a balanced view towards women and minorities, is yet to be written.They are either heavily tilted towards Western art or those that include and are fair to Non Western art are too bland,impartial to the point of being dispassionate making the very purpose of rendering the history of art futile.Many tend to be gossips about the artists instead of using formal analytical techniques like semiotics, psychoanalysis and iconography .The Non European Art History books written about Islamic/Hindu art tend to be fanatical religious rantings and therefore not accurate presentations.
What was redeeming about James Elkins "Stories on Art" was that he encouraged the readers of the book to make their own interpretations of what art history is for us .Their own individual art history maps would be born out of who they are, where they live and their specific influences and interests.
Each member of our MA class made and shared their own art history maps based on their influences.My art history map was a very spontaneous one , designed like a room with the various furniture symbolizing the themes or mediums of art I am intrigued by.I am seated in the middle of the room surrounded by these approaches to art.I can navigate my way around the room and reach out to the various influences which can be added to or removed from the room at any point in time based on my evolving experiences and interests.I am currently influenced by storytelling,surrealism,illustration,Islamic architecture,natural history,crafts, folk art,representational art, art that transforms found materials,feminist art.
This book talks about the various different approaches to art history and the old stories of art written and published versus the new.The author was of the view that the perfect art history book which is objective,realistic,not pro Western art, has a balanced view towards women and minorities, is yet to be written.They are either heavily tilted towards Western art or those that include and are fair to Non Western art are too bland,impartial to the point of being dispassionate making the very purpose of rendering the history of art futile.Many tend to be gossips about the artists instead of using formal analytical techniques like semiotics, psychoanalysis and iconography .The Non European Art History books written about Islamic/Hindu art tend to be fanatical religious rantings and therefore not accurate presentations.
What was redeeming about James Elkins "Stories on Art" was that he encouraged the readers of the book to make their own interpretations of what art history is for us .Their own individual art history maps would be born out of who they are, where they live and their specific influences and interests.
Each member of our MA class made and shared their own art history maps based on their influences.My art history map was a very spontaneous one , designed like a room with the various furniture symbolizing the themes or mediums of art I am intrigued by.I am seated in the middle of the room surrounded by these approaches to art.I can navigate my way around the room and reach out to the various influences which can be added to or removed from the room at any point in time based on my evolving experiences and interests.I am currently influenced by storytelling,surrealism,illustration,Islamic architecture,natural history,crafts, folk art,representational art, art that transforms found materials,feminist art.
November 18th 2013
Tutorial 3 with Caroline Wright
My preliminary sketches for Form- Fracture- Frame were studied and discussed.My idea is to make 2 clay figures,cut them up and reconstruct them using found objects.
The first sketch has a figure with a clay head and torso fused to a bird cage.The bird cage will be covered by a thin layer of lightweight paper glued with PVA glue and a light source placed inside it.The cage would have a few papercut shapes .I expect the shadows of the cage bars and the papercut shapes to get projected on the papier mache form of the cage.I also want to experiment with a flickering light source like a tealight candles in the cage.I might add some other found objects like keys,drawers, ostrich plumes to this piece.(drawing on the idea that a woman is like a bird, building nests, nurturing)
The second sketch has a figure with a clay head fused to a transparent glass bottle containing a very delicate 3 D papercut object .This figure will have clay legs. Caroline found this idea interesting since the bottle might be used represent the human body as a vessel .This sketch showed the figure without hands which might make it surreal and perhaps a little disturbing.
I shared the link of a New York based contemporary artist of Indian origin Rina Bannerjee with Caroline.
This artist uses a collection of totally unrelated objects,some organic, some man made, to create bizarre,opulent installations and sculptures.Banerjee has a love of materials, heritage textiles, ethnicity and fashion, colonial objects and furnishings, historical architecture, and their ability to disguise, animate, locate their inherent meanings in her art work.
I also looked at the work of Christina Lida Bothwell, particularly her work My Heart is Like a Butterfly which I found very fascinating because she has used a clay head, a hand molded glass body and wooden posts for legs.
Recommendations-:
To look up the work by the following artists
Lawrence Edwards-:He makes very large scale out door figurative(male figures) bronze sculptures sometimes with the incorporation of natural materials to depict the juxtaposition of man against nature..The figures are masculine,crude, sturdy,intimidating.They reflect raw power and are free flowing sculptures.
David Kefford uses found objects in an interesting way.He subverts common objects, materials from the everyday environment and transforms these into new sculptural forms that suggest emotional and psychological narratives.
I found David Keffords work very inspiring.Kefford's sensibility
Both Caroline and I thought it would be a good idea for a 3D artist to visit a hardware store in my vicinity to collect random objects and alter them in an interesting manner for assemblages.
November 4th 2013
October 7 2013
solokojima.com
September 30th 2013
Video Lecture 2 From Archive to Interview
This lecture involved looking at some work by contemporary artists and considering online reviews and the problems it poses.We get totally divergent and conflicting views from different cirques and use our own judgement on what we would like to believe especially where research is involved.
October 7 2013
Tutorial 2 with Angela Rogers
photographs of works by Hayv Kahraman,Mel Kadel,Elsa Mora.These artists works are very inspiring for me because they are illustrative in genre,figurative, stylized,have a dark content.
Angela emphasized that my sculpture is successful and we spoke about how I could make 3 D work on a smaller scale than the life size figures.
More about paper cutting. Other paper cut artists working 3 dimensionally – Nahoko Kojina and Bovey Lee, born in Hongkong, who represents world disasters in paper cutting. Angela suggested that there is a tradition of paper cutting in the Far East, it would be worth looking at contemporary and traditional Chinese and Japanese artists to see what they’re doing.
solokojima.com
boveylee.com
September 30th 2013
Tutorial 1 with Caroline Wright
We discussed what might be the definition of contemporary art.Contemporary art makes a statement about social political economic issues.Might use new non traditional media like scenography, fiberglass, mobile phone photography,lasercut,performance,animation,videoinstallation.The artist thinks out of the box,attempts to do thinks that have never been attempted.http://www.art21.org/teach/on-contemporary-art/contemporary-art-in-context
Difference between Art and Craft-:Art is made to express an emotion or to draw a response from the audience, to say something,make a statement.Anyone can be an artist.The work need not necessarily be aesthetically appealing.Craft is created as an end in itself.It is functional decorative mass produced,requires a great deal of skill to be produced.Craft becomes art if used as a medium to create a piece of art.Art becomes crafty if it becomes decorative ,mindless and mechanical.photographs
27th SEPTEMBER 2013
QUESTIONNAIRE ABOUT MY ART PRACTICE
Generating and selecting ideas
•How do you go about selecting and developing your initial images/ideas?
My art is about self expression and I have a need to manifest my thoughts into reality.I need to create for my own sanity.So I do not give much thought to “whether it will work”?My works are honest ,intimate,personal.Like a diary.
I constantly record ideas in a diary and select the ones I feel strongly about.More recently my works are inspired by a phrase from an advertisement,literature,something someone said which then becomes the title of my work.
Drawings/papercuts-:I make little sketches and visualize my works in advance because with a pen/knife there is no room for error.I have a clear picture in my mind about what it will look like.I can”see” them.The protagonists in my work are characters inhabiting my world at a certain point of time .To develop the idea I use references like images from botanical drawings ,or Indian miniature paintings which I introduce into the work.The composition of work is the most important and difficult phase for me as compared to actual creating.
When I make sculpture,or prints ,it is a more spontaneous and unpredictable process and this I love.I allow my hands to do the thinking.I do not even know what will come up.I surprise myself.I have an idea of what I want to make but I do not think too much or make measurements etc.
•What criteria do you use to select or reject them?
At any point of time I have a number of projects I am contemplating.My head is buzzing with millions of ideas.I choose the work depending on how strong the urge to make a piece .
•Are your ideas usually substantial enough to sustain a piece of work? If not how do you modify them?
My work is layered storytelling so there is so much going on in the piece.The central idea has to be supplemented with additional imagery .I introduce new objects /characters to make the work more complex and interesting .
•What do you do when you get stuck?
I do not remember getting stuck for ideas.I have a vivid imagination.I face challenges at times on technical aspects like installation of work for exhibitions /firing clay, operating a new techique I learnt etc and in such times I seek the help of other artists or watch videos on You Tube which would demonstrate a technique.
•Are there ideas you would like to explore but don’t know how to start?
No.It is usually loads of ideas which I can “see” but too less time so I have to scrap the weaker ideas.
Contextual research
•What are your influences?
Childrens literature-fairy tales,Aesops Fables ,stories from Hindu mythology ,Greek mythology,games I played as a child,nursery rhymes etc..My works are an escape into the worlds of allegory,fantasy,myths and imaginations.
•How does your work draw on these?
My work places these in the current world and draws parallels to them.For example I made a lino print “Emperors’ New Clothes” because it made me think about the artworld …... an artist can be very successful based on the way he/she is positioned or a marketing gimmick.I spend time pondering about think what is that story really trying to tell us,how did it originate....My work can be thought provoking/satirical/have a dark edge.
•How do you choose the resources to research and to support your work, where do you find them?
using online resources
•How do you position your practice in a contemporary context?
My works deal with human psychology in the current times when faced with alienation,immigration & displacement, being in a constant state of flux,projecting something not present,potential danger etc.
•What difficulties do you having in accessing resources?
I do not have access to a art library
Evaluation
•What is your framework for making judgments about the work of others?
Does it convey the idea that the artist set out to convey?it is well executed?It is “out of the box ”,original?does it convey a sense of personal or shared history?Does it have power to hold my interest?
- How can you tell if images or objects, yours and others are successful or not?
If it conveys an emotion ,draws a reaction,touches and moves you or makes you recoil and hate it,is appropriate.The more extreme the reaction the more successful the work
•How do you compare your work in relation to the work of others?
I have some favourite artists and I look at their work constantly and aspire to reach where they are eventually.At present I am inspired by Havy Kahraman an Iranian artist whose work is exquisite yet has dark undertones.I like that and am trying to make my work more “beautiful”.I would like my work to be very beautiful in appearance and yet convey a threat/potential danger.
•What is successful and not successful about your current work?
my 2-D works are successful in terms of my having developed a certain style and a certain visual language,have discovered what interests me so thematically my works are connected so you can tell it is all coming from one person.
not successful- I love making sculptural pieces but my 3-D works are not very strong at this point and need to be developed further.I love sculpture but clay is a time consuming thing and takes a lifetime of work.I have to find alternative 3D mediums.
Materials and techniques
•How do you decide whether a material or technique is appropriate or not?
By visualizing it and then trying it out.It is very important that I take to a medium and love working with it.
•What limits your choice of materials and or techniques?
I love working with tactile,process intensive techniques with materials
that are fragile and organic.I like a certain transience or fragility attached to my work and I love working with my hands .My works are direct without the intervention of a digital medium.
•Are there any materials or techniques you would like to explore?
materials-:3D collage or assemblage of found objects,miniature books,puppets,shadow puppets,dolls
techniques-:combining a set of techniques to attain a hybrid effect
Communication and Intention
•What messages do you intend your work to convey? How do you do that?
My work is open to interpretation
•What is the intention of your work? How is that manifest in the work?
I make art primarily for myself ,for self discovery,analysis of what I was thinking and then the works sell.I do not consciously create art with a market in mind.
•Who is the audience for your work?
I exhibit my works regularly in Muscat/Dubai attended by a international audience .A Dubai gallery also sells my work to its clients.I would like my work to be for a international market.
•Who will critique your work?
I know 2 curators who will critique my work if I request them but I joined the course so that I get unbiased critiques from various sources.
•What might their criticism be?
I would not know as of now.
Critical thinking
•What have been the most and least valuable resources so far?
I do not consider anything to be a waste.Everything around me feeds my work.The most valuable resource would be stories,poems,newspaper reports,articles etc which make me think.
•What changes has your research made to your work?
I need to research more.I currently draw on my own instincts and do not research too much as of now.
•Have there been any been any negative effects of your contextual research?
N/A
•What specific influences and ideas have made the most positive impact on your work?
Visiting art fairs and going for exhibition openings has opened up my mind a little more.Helped me look at contemporary art and the infinite possibilities in which it can be explored.It has made me unafraid to experiment.
14TH SEPTEMBER 2013
The much awaited course MA Fine Arts 1 began on 14th September 2013.
VISUAL ENQUIRY
The objectives of Visual Enquiry are -:
To review, question , reflect upon and engage in critical analysis of our previous practice in order to extend it further.Also to encourage speculative and experimental approaches to work though reflection, evaluation and synthesis.
To review, question , reflect upon and engage in critical analysis of our previous practice in order to extend it further.Also to encourage speculative and experimental approaches to work though reflection, evaluation and synthesis.
