WEEK 1- Nathalie Djurberg's 'Claymations'.

 NATHALIE DJURBERG: Still image with crayon from “Johnny” (2008), a claymation film for the Prada Foundation

http://forums.thefashionspot.com/f81/patroness-miuccia-pradas-art-foundation-nyt-66680.html

 

 'Experiment' (2009)

1. What do you understand by the word 'claymation'?

Clay animation is one of many forms of stop motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_animation

2. What is meant by the term 'surrealistic Garden of Eden'? and 'all that is natural goes awry'?

Everything that she created in the surrealistic garden is telling about how the earth were created in the past,but in this works ,the artists is trying to make the ambience looks eerie and creepy.All the leaves and flowers goes awry;they looked like an evil garden that only exist in hell.The artist controls each minute detail in the production process.She commands everything from idea, material, scenography, costume and not least the tense dramaturgy that is reinforced by the handicraft of her film technique. Her collaboration with the composer Hans Berg plays an important part in the final result. His rhythmical film music, like the music for silent movies, pushes the narration forward and creates an extra field of tension.It’s mean that which all that is natural goes awry. she exposes the innate fear of what is not understood and confronts viewers with the complexity of emotions. She used her imagination from dreams and fantasies,as well as from the real world, come to life through her use of stop-motion animation.With burlesque aesthetics and humor, she approaches hierarchical power structures, and tabu subjects such as violence, guilt and violation.

http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/6886/nathalie-djurberg-experiment-at-venice-art-biennale-09.html

3. What are the 'complexity of emotions' that Djurberg confronts us with?

Djurberg confronts us with ambiguous feeling ,which is scary but also revolting at the same time.The art work gives  the bizarre atmosphere,which reveal structures of power and human decadence.

http://www.regionmuseet.m.se/english_natalie-djurberg.htm

4. How does Djurberg play with the ideas of children's stories, and innocence in some of her work?

Events unfold with a curious simplicity, driving them closer to the realm of fairy tales; but in Djurberg's stories mythical threats and nightmares are not overcome. As in fairy tales, animals commonly appear, but they don't seem in symbolic service to any human psychic economy, even as they perform sexual favors--like the moose that a belligerent queen humps as they ride together through a forest (The Secret Handshake, 2006), the queen clinging to the moose's underside. Children in her films are not caught in some wondrous moment of "innocence." They are as monstrous and crudely complex as everyone else. Even her characters' capacity to cry copious, foamy blue tears doesn't make them seem tender.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0268/is_7_45/ai_n24354920/

5. There is a current fascination by some designers with turning the innocent and sweet into something disturbing. Why do you think this has come about?

I think this has come about because nowadays there are so many designers always loves to create something innocent and sweet,which I think is very boring and unattractive.I always look forward to seeing new type of art,something turn the innocent into something disturbing.Thus creating new art work into something disturbing and more interesting would make the work more outstanding and can be easily well-known.There are many designers ,who likes to make the make the same thing over and over again, is like keep repeating itself.I think is somehow like Harry Potter,how J-K Rowling make the fantasy novels turned into character that have power,unusual,scary but also interesting at the same time.This is the reason why the movie is so famous and is world-wide,because it is something different.

6. In your opinion, why do you think Djurberg's work is so interesting that it was chosen for the Venice Biennale?

I think Djurberg’s work is a special art.It is uncommon to see in art gallery.

 She exposes the innate fear of what is not understood and confronts viewers with the complexity of emotions. She makes her works twisted from dream into cruel-reality.It is creepy but those flowers make the artwork look more enchanting but also seems scary at the same time.The colours are painted in darker tone.It is so different from normal art work,normally when it comes to children novels or claymation making,designer tended to make the work more cute, sweet, colourful and more lively.However Djurberg’s work was successful,it turned out so fantastic that it was chosen for the Venice Biennale.

http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/6886/nathalie-djurberg-experiment-at-venice-art-biennale-09.html

 
7. Add some of your own personal comments on her work.

I was really amazed by her art works as it is very interesting and uncommon.I like how she displayed her art,where can’t be found in the usual gallery.It would probably take a long time for her to come out with something different,out of frame.Everything she made,probably takes a lot of time before it succeed.I also like how she shows the nature has turned into eerie and creepy feel. 

'Experiment' (2009) Venice Biennale

Week 8 Industrialisation, Modernism and architecture.

                                                                          Eiffel Tower (1889) Gustave Eiffel

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao (1997) Frank Gehry

 The importance of the design and construction

The Eiffel Tower was built for the International Exhibition of Paris of 1889 commemorating the centenary of the French Revolution. It was the tallest tower in the world when it was constructed, however now it is only the tallest tower in Paris. It is one of the most recognizable structures in the world and has become the icon of France throughout the world.
Construction of the Eiffel Tower cost 7,800,800 gold francs.It dominates the skyline of Paris and is very important landmark construction history. Today, Parisians could not imagine Paris without the Eiffel Tower, in fact it has become the symbol of the City of Light.


On the other hand ,Guggenheim MuseumThe composition continues a curvaceous, free-form sculptural style that has become a Gehry signature. The abstract, free-form components of this style were so interesting that Guggenheim, Bilbao attracted 2 million people in its first year of existence.
Gehry created an environment that affects the way art is displayed, and changing the way artists create art. The appeal and impact of the building is speechless.It is a human imagination of the sculptural style that confronts the visitor.


Significance of the materials

Nothing like it had ever been built like the Eiffel Tower. The structure took more than two years to complete it,with 12,000 iron pieces were designed separately to give them exactly the shape needed. All pieces were prefabricated and fit together using approx. 7 million nails..It is a 984-foot (300 meter)tower of wrought iron and open-lattice. This tower is significant for Paris because it has been used for radio transmission since the 20th century. It has two restaurants, one on the first floor and one on the second floor with a private lift.
The Guggenheim Museum is the building can be truly recognized with its twisted, curved lines and a series of interconnecting volumes, they are of limestone- coated orthogonal shapes while some others are of more organic volumetry clad in a metallic titanium skin. These are linked with glass curtain walls for a truly remarkable transparency.To make it look perfect, limestone was chosen with different colours. Due to better technological advances ,the glass walls are mounted on a complex metal structure.

http://jssgallery.org/essay/worlds_fairs/paris_exposition_1889/eiffel_tower.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/wonder/structure/eiffel_tower.html
http://www.paris-eiffel-tower-news.com/eiffel-tower-stories/eiffel-tower-construction.htm

Significance of the designer
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel was a French Structural Engineer from the École Centrale Paris, an architect, an entrepreneur and a specialist of metallic structures. Also Maurice Koechlin, Emile Nouguier and Stephen Sauvestre were the engineers and architect, respectively, who helped him in the design and construction of the tower. While Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao was built in the late 1990’s by American architect Frank O. Gehry. It is one of his most recognized masterpiece. The architect has sought a tactile and beautiful aspect with the rough finish of the building. Furthermore, the Museum currently designs exhibits to be viewed by walking up the curved walkway rather than walking down from the top level.His thinking is beyong imagination that he could come out a design with the unique shape of structure,so the musuem does not look monotonous like a normal musuem.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Lloyd_Wright
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_Eiffel#Buildings_and_structures

Function for which each was built     

                        

The Eiffel Tower was built for the World Exhibition in 1889, held in celebration of the French Revolution in 1789. There are some shops and two expensive restaurants, Altitude 95 and Jules Verne, on the Eiffel Tower.Also the tower is painted every seven years, using 50 tonnes of paint in order to prevent it from rust. The base of Eiffel Tower is 412 sq. ft wide. It has 1665 steps and three platforms or floors.There are lifts to carry people to the highest point. The design of the unique shape of the Eiffel Tower was based on mathematical calculations involving wind resistance.

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao was built with modern and contemporary art. The unusual building with its superb use of space and light make it a prime attraction in Bilbao. This great piece of architecture acts as an audacious layout and innovative design for the art which is exhibited within its walls. It has a dedicated exhibition space of 11,000 square meters out of 24,000 square meters. The three floors of the gallery are all interconnected through the atrium are suspended walkways from the ceiling, glass lifts, and stairs.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/eiffel-tower-history-and-facts-when-and-why-was-eiffel-tower-built.html

http://www.europevoyage.net/guggenheim-museum-bilbao-spain.html

Function now-has it changed?

The Eiffel tower went through a reconstruction and renovation in 1981 to 1983 in preparation of its 100th anniversary in 1989 that costs 40 milliion dollars.Even the paint was stripped off down to the girders, removed the extra unnecessary weight of structures on the upper levels, and built new and lighter in weight facilities for visitors.
For the museum , the diameter of the spiral as it curves upwards allows for the entrance of light at each level installing in the visitor a sense of luminosity and tranquility. The function did not change as it galleries are of different shapes and sizes. It is truly a remarkable example of architecture in the 20th century.

Compare the two architectural structures, by noting their similarities and differences.

Both Structures have been considered best design for architectures in the past or even till now.It is so well-known arthat it caught attention to all the tourisms from all over the world.Also it is truly amazing pieces of architectural structures,when seen from outside ,you could feel how complex the design were being built with such a complete divisible shape.

The Guggenheim Museum is more like a designed with the aid of computers and modernity The design focus with the sorts of twisted, curved lines and a series of interconnecting volumes unlike the Eiffel Tower,which exposed with freedom and it is just an art piece of work by the designer to seek breathtaking attractions from people across the world.

Week 6-Landscape and the Sublime

'Wanderer in the mists' (1818) Caspar David Friedrich

'Untitled #2" (2002) Richard Misrach

 'Untitled # 394-03' (2003) Richard Misrach

1. What and when was the Enlightenment?

It's a movement in 18th-century thought that aimed to combat superstition and prejudice and place human betterment above the supernatural.There is little consensus on when to date the start of the age of Enlightenment and some scholars simply use the beginning of the 18th century or the middle of the 18th century as a default date.

2. Define the concept of the Sublime.

The sublime has been a predominate concept of aesthetic theory in Western art and philosophy, receiving its more explicit formulation in early eighteenth century philosophy. Its presence as a concept in Native American aesthetics is not as explicitly stated as it is in Western thought, but there are strong indications that the sublime as an aesthetic property of Native American culture has been in evidence for centuries.

3. How did the concept of the Sublime come out of the Enlightenment thought?

The previous view of nature was that of unimportance. It was shown, but only as a background to something considered more important. The Enlightenment gave landscape importance in its own right by making it a form of religious expression. Wordsworth felt nature to be a lesson for humanity in harmony and endurance. The Enlightenment broadened the concept of a spiritual experience, raising nature and the sublime as a result.

 4. Discuss the subject matter, and aesthetic (look) of Misrach's work to identify the Sublime in his work. Add some more images of his work.

 Misrach’s uses a unique perspective, sometimes from a great height, giving them a somewhat unnatural feel to them. They really fill you with a feeling of awe and humble you, in the same way that sublime philosophy describes.The vast ocean ,crystal clear water,strong sunlight,tiny people ,and small objects ,representing vulnerable.When I look at the picture I can feel the strong sense of nature and the intense feeling of ambiguilty to this photos,making people about the story behind them.It's give me a really calm and sense of tranquility when I looked at the picture.

5. Identify some other artists or designers that work with ideas around the Sublime, from the Enlightenment era as well as contemporary artists.

Virginia Mak looks at the individual's relationship to nature, as seen in Untitled #7, Hidden Nature, 2003

Although the image is blurry but the photography fills me with a sense of tranquility.The lady was engrossed by the nature.This makes me think how big the nature is.Virginia Mak has used the concept of sublime.The way he takes the photographs of people and the background also represent the
direct link between landscape and divinity.

6. How does Misrach's photography make you feel? Does it appeal to your imagination?

This appeals to my imagination because it just shows how limitless nature is and in turn how limitless creativity and beauty is.

7. Add a Sublime image of your choice to your blog, which can be Art or just a Sublime photograph.

8. Reference your sources (books and websites). 
http://www.selectedworks.co.uk/sublime.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment
http://www.pdnphotooftheday.com/2010/01/3367

The social status of artists...

May 21, 1471, Died in Nürnberg in 1528.

1. Identify aspects of Durer's self portrait that show a changing view of the artist's view of himself as an individual.

The earliest self-portrait we have of Dürer is a remarkable silverpoint drawing he did in 1484 when he was thirteen years old.While Dürer was not the first artist to produce a self-portrait, he can be arguably claimed to be the first artist that returned to this subject matter throughout his career.

2.Explain how the artist's social status increased during the Renaissance period. Briefly explain why this happened.

The importance of this one-man Renaissance in the history of art in general and of printmaking in particular cannot be overemphasized. He embraced the media of woodcut and engraving early on and, over a 40-year career, took them to heights unsurpassed in the subsequent half a millennium.

Three quarters of a century after Dürer's death, at the beginning of the 17th century, the influences flowed in the opposite direction, and art historians talk about "a Dürer renaissance" in Italy, as well as in the Low Countries.


3. Comment on Gavin Turk's work in relation to individualism, status of the artist and egotism.

British artist Gavin Turk (1967) was born in Guildford and attended the Royal College of art.Turk often uses his own image and signature in his sculptures and installations to address issues surrounding authorship, authenticity and identity; questioning the amount of value the artist’s name gives to the work.Turk's installations and sculptures deal with issues of authorship, authenticity and identity. Concerned with the 'myth' of the artist and the 'authorship' of a work, Turk's engagement with this modernist, avant-garde debate stretches back to the ready-mades of Marcel Duchamp. In more recent works such as Pile (2004), a painted bronze sculpture of a pile of garbage bags, Turk explores the way in which a work of art is conferred with iconic status and value.

 4.Comment on Damien Hirst's use of his work and the media for self promotion.

Mr. Hirst never does anything quietly. Other conceptual artists might attempt the occasional painting, or experiment with a new medium or two. Hirst, however, brings us his Return to Painting, in a veritable flood of publicity and in such a renowned gallery - the Wallace Collection - that one can only marvel at his hubris.

                                     COCO CHANEL WITH HER LITTLE BLACK DRESS 1926s

                                                 
                                                   Audrey in little black dress  1920s

Prior to the 1920s, black was reserved for mourning, and considered indecent if worn in any other circumstances.However Coco Chanel introduced it in a time between the wars, when the bright colors, prints and heavy embroideries dominated the fashion. It is a well-known "rule of fashion" that every woman should own a "little black dress" that is simple and elegant, and that can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. For example, a simple black cocktail dress could be made into an evening .

Before the Little Black Dress came the black dress. Although I use the phrase "the color black," it is technically not a color at all but rather the absence of any color (red, green, blue). Nevertheless, to the human eye, black is not merely achromatic. In the palette of major painters and clothing designers, black became a "color" in its own right.

                                  

                  
          The Mona Lisa Painted in the early 1500s by Leonardo da Vinci

The painting is a half-length portrait and depicts a woman whose expression is often described as enigmatic.She may not be beautiful according to modern standard , but her facial expressions particularly her innocent smile , as she is famous for , is quite contagious . Her eyes are shining bright making the painting more natural and real . More often I could not see her smile because it seems to disappear especially when I look directly at her lips .This painting also conveys that beauty is universal not bound by race ,color , religion , and culture , a great motivator why people from all
walks of life are attracted to her .

6. How do you think artists and designers are viewed in Western society today?

Artists and designers are getting more concern about what is going on around the world.Every artists and designers wants to be well-known and hence it is very competetive nowadays.No matter in what part of the world ,people buy products concerning their self-esteem and to be accepted in a particular groups of society.In another words,the products from the famous artists/designers are purchased more for the face reason or buying to impress others.However without artists and designers,there will be less sign of creativity in the society today.

References
http://www.oneonta.edu/faculty/farberas/arth/arth200/artist/durer_intro.html
http://www.moodbook.com/history/renaissance/durer-portraits.html
http://www.famous-women-and-beauty.com/coco-chanel-dress.html
http://www.whitecube.com/artists/hirst/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mona_Lisa

5. Find 2 images of work by artists or designers that reflects some of the ideas of individualism,

self promotion or egotism that have been discussed on this blog. Upload images to your blog, title and date the work, identify the artist/designer and comment on the work in relation to the question.

Barbara Kruger & Mercantillism

   

1. Describe the 'style' that Kruger has used in the two presented works.

Attractive,graphic work with retro looked.Thus producing a series of black-and-white details of architectural exteriors paired with her own textual ruminations on the lives of those living inside.The phrases usually make a bold statement and commonly use pronouns such as you, I, your, we and they.Usually her style involves the cropping of a magazine or newspaper image enlarged in black and white.

2. What are some of the concepts and messages that Kruger is communicating in them?

Kruger's work tries not to deceive us into believing we have a need to fulfill, but to allow us to discover the deception of signs.As far as a classification of her medium, Kruger is considered a montage artist.She layers found photographs from existing sources with pithy and aggressive text that involves the viewer in the struggle for power and control that her captions speak to.

3. Do these images communicate these ideas effectively? Explain your answer.

Yes ,Barbara Kruger takes that sentence to a materialistic level - in other words, a person is defined not by what they think, but what they own (through shopping).The enlargement of the image is done as crudely as possible to monumental proportions. A message is stenciled on the image, usually in white letters against a background of red. The text and image are unrelated in an effort to create anxiety by the audience that plays on the fears of society.

4. Define the concept of Mercantillism and explain how these two examples can connect with the concept.

I think that pictures and words have the power to make us rich or poor. I try to engage that power using methods that are both seductive and critical.Mercantilism, economic policy prevailing in Europe during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, under which governmental control was exercised over industry and trade in accordance with the theory that national strength is increased by a preponderance of exports over imports. Mercantilism was characterized not so much by a consistent or formal doctrine as by a set of generally held beliefs. This stunning ensemble says you re not who you think you are;" and "This fantastic outfit is really ridiculously overpriced." Kruger criticizes images of women that are constructed by the predominantly male media and that help to shape the way women see themselves.

5. Upload a more recent example of Kruger's work where she has used a new medium, that is not graphic design. Title your image of the chosen work and comment on your response to the work. How do you think the audience would experience this work?

                                                          Barbara Kruger
                                                              Untitled
                                                (We don't need another hero)
                                                             90" by 117"
                                                 photographic silkscreen/vinyl
                                                                 1987

  This work superimposes a bold strip of red background and white text stating “We Don’t Need Another Hero” on top of an image of a young girl and boy. The girl is leaning over the boy’s shoulder, pointing to his budding musculature. While her pose may have initially be read as predatory and powerful, in fact the girl is wholly submitting to the masculinity of the boy. One could argue that masculinity in this picture is not only on display but that it is at the same time being performed, in that it conforms to the socially esteemed patterns of masculine behavior. This performance of gender provides the male agency, and inscribes submission into the female. Her awe of his male abilities carries a deeper and more raw eroticization of the phallus as the locus of social power.

I shop therefore I am (1987) Barbara Kruger

Face It (Green) 2007 Barbara Kruger

Western Perspective

Visual Practitioners are different in terms of communication in a way that they don't have to communicate through words like other careers because in this filed ,object and practical stuff are very important .Therefore what they are showing through drawing is like reflections of thier eyes,they have to convey the object into words in order to be able to send message through viewers.
For example,a photographer would need to have a good communication with his models and tell them to act the certain ways to get the photograph professionally taken.If say there is a communication break down between the two practioner,the work that is produce will not be as successful as they are hoping it to be.Even taking a photo of a house,there need to be a certian way that the lighting is set,object directed in order to make the property looks good.I believe as designer alone won't be successful without communication.


2.Ideological Principles or sets of governing ideas are things that surrounding me,living with the present like how I manage my money that I have been using each day,perhaps just spend with only what I have and not try to be all materialised and follow the society by what they are having as well.


3.Context is the relevant constraints of the communication situation that influence language use and variation.




Does western visual communication have a strong influence over the visual communication of other cultures?

Yes ,I think western visual communication have strong influence than other culture because in western country ,visual communication have a very strong influence in the the way they thought and they always influence other cultures as western artists are willing to face the outcomes and they arent afraid of the consequences .Especially to young people nowadays ,they are being influenced by the western culture from food to technology.People tend to neglect their own traditional culture.Before we return to the western world and take up the story of art in Europe,we must at least cast a glance at what happened in other parts of the world.It is interesting to see how other culture reacted to the ideas of art.

Are Western ideas the only ideas worth studying?
No think it is worth studying but it is also important to study other culture as well because when you get to know other cultures.Like learning languages would be good ideas for anyone who travels to other country ,but learning the other cultures is another good opportunity.When the two are put together ,it can be very helpful in keeping the peace and truly understanding an exchange of ideas.


Can the study of  Western ideas help us understand other cultures?In what way?

It can help us understand other cultures in a way how drawings are interpreted through the context of the culture.All the culture are different so I dont think that western ideas would be a big part of learning process.As we are living in globalisation world .it is important to learn about other cultures and implement.Learning about culture or art never ends;to me there are always new things to discover.