bill viola

Bill viola is among the newest wave of artistic expression. This new wave of which I speak utilizes modern electronics to add an extra layer of depth to their work. With modern recording technologies this group of artist has intertwined traditional performance art and still art, such as paintings. In still art after a work is complete its artistic expression is complete and will not be changed, given that it is properly maintained. Performance art on the other hand does not have this immutable quality, for though the overall script may be the same individual performances can vary widely. This can be intentional or unintentional, but in any case how close can a modern production of hamlet be to one actually overseen by the great bard himself? However with video art you can have the same depth of motion as with traditional performance art without giving up the consistency of the artistic vision.

Bill viola piece “An Ocean without a Shore” is a black and white video of several people walking through a thin water sheet or “skin” in slow-motion. The skin is brightly lit and the people are shown on at a time. The end effect is an ephemeral silhouette that almost resembles smoke that floats down. It’s interesting that much of his work is said to deal with issues of the duality of life and death. It would seem that walking towards the camera is being born or perhaps waking up. If this is the case then it must also mean that walking through the skin the other way is death or the loss of copiousness. Therefore it is interesting the second person walks with his back to the camera, the water splashing off his back resembles angels wings.

light and color

The Anatomy Lesson Oil On Canvas

by Xiaoze Xie

This piece is a reinterpretation of a classic painting by Rembrandt. Rembrandt painted it in 1632 while livingin amsterdam. he was twenty six at the time. Although the original painting is in full color, Xie Xiaoze chose to make his recreation stark black and white. This artistic decision places additional importance on his usage of light and darkness. In the original painting the focal point is the cadaver. It is the brightest object in the piece, not to mention it’s in the center of action. Xie Xiaoze version also has the cadaver as the focal point but it is even brighter than the original. Not only is the cadaver itself a ghostly white but the surrounding figures are darker and less emphasized than in Rembrandts original version.

i talk the line

Because your mine I talk the line. and by that I mean as you are my professor i will blog about the uses and significances of lines in art. Where to start to talk of lines and art. Lines are art. All of art. The end. No wait. Lines are the basic building blocks with which all art is made. Lines define shape. They can connect distant items while simultaneously separating the similar. They can be used to obfuscate as well as clarify. there is also profundity in the absence of lines, such as in this piece.

One can also learn about the emotional state of an artist by the characteristics of the lines they have used.  This can give insight to the significance of the painting to the artist themselves.  If the lines are drawn in a tight and controlled fashion one may infer that the artist may have been similarly reserved. On the other hand, if the strokes used are more loose and wild, we might think that the person was more out of control. For example look at the lines used by the extremely emotionally unstable Vincent van Gogh uses in the somewhat melancholy painting “The Starry Night”.

space is the part of shape that is not line. space is defined by matter. space is empty. space is pregnant. space is what im trying to fill with all these sentences that start with space. what else is their to say about space; i don't know. luckily this Martin Puryear guy has thought about it. this is him.

his work largely explores the themes of space, confinement and freedom.

in this piece Puryear has defined a hard high walled space, to invoke a feeling of captivity. but then he places a bending latter suspended of the ground, a chance at freedom. its an inspiring artwork. I'm filled with hope of escape, or hope of hope.

“Let them eat gates”

                                                                    Cristo and Jeanne Claude

                                                      And the Battle for the Gates of NewYork

Cristo and Jeanne Claude are controversial artists and have been so for nearly half a century. This is an impressive feat in itself. To stir controversy an artist must have his finger on the pulse of the culture, they must stay in tune with the zeitgeist. This constantly changing spirit might be hard for some to follow, however Cristo and Jeanne Claude are experts in changing perspectives. This is the running theme throughout almost all of their work. A reimagining of the world around us, a world that can seem immutable. Few places can seem as immutably permanent as the solid stone city of New York.  This might help to explain the reticence to the idea of giving central park a twenty million dollar temporary face lift. It might also point to the need for such a shift.

walking through the gates one sees central park framed in a thousand different ways. with the wind blows the gates form a covered walkway redefine indoor, outdoor space. It took nearly thirty years in total to bring the project to fruition. it also took a new mayor, and arguably the worst single terrorist attack on record.

Andy Goldsworthy

                                                     Andy Goldsworthy rides the flow of nature.

  Andy Goldsworthy is a naturalist and environmentalist in addition to being an artist.  He takes both the inspiration for an artwork, and the materials to make it straight from nature. His works are as beautiful as they are ephemeral, laboriously built out of the earth only to crumble back into the very forces of nature which collaborated toward their creation.

 

.  One of the things he does best is taking  brilliant natural colors and organizing them in ways which make you see them in a new light. Its almost as if he paints with nature.

In this piece Andy Goldsworthy plays with color and form, using bright colors to contrast to the black center. He has painstakingly arranged hundreds of multicolor leaves to create this captivating artwork. To me it looks like a solar eclipse reflected back at the sky, at this guy.

In this sculpture Goldsworthy has built up bamboo to look lack cracks in dry ground. He places this sculpture in front of a lake, which causes and interesting interplay between the pattern of arid soil and the damp background of a misty lake. He is probably my favorite of the artist we have studied thus far. Stark and lush at the same time, hauntingly beautiful.

Do-Ho Suh; space is the medium

Do-Ho Suh is an artist with a unique perspective on culture. He was born and raised in Soule, South Korea and moved to America as a young man. This juxtaposition of vastly differing cultural norms provided Suh much chance for inspiration. In particular ideas of individuality verses collectivism, as well as concepts of personal space permeate his work. 

Suh’s experience in the South Korean army impacted his art as much as the work of his father. One recurring theme is the military uniform. Suh lines up empty uniforms perhaps to demonstrate the facelessness and lack of individuality in the military. However Do-Ho does not entirely rail against conformity, in fact his work does not seek and argument between cultures but a conversation.

In this piece Do-Ho Suh has posed thousands of figures holding up the floor.  The tiny figures all work together to bear the wait. They are however not bent by the burden

In this piece he uses similar characters to hold up the base of a statue. It effectively reverses the traditional focus and reflects a deep respect for the faceless masses of the proletariat, laboring away in darkness.