Week One - Nathalie Djurberg's 'Claymations'

ONE: What do you understand of the word 'claymation'?

          My initial interpretation of the word 'claymation' suggests that it is a form of animation using the material clay. When i researched claymation it seemed that what the word gave away its meaning. Wikipedia explains  claymation as  a animation using stop motion photography, by doing this you have control and are able to make the clay object do what ever you wish it to do.

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

          The Garden of Eden generally is associated with perfection and a feel of peace, something that you could only dream of but Djurberg's
work seems to do the opposite for the viewer. Instead of a bright, colorful, delicate, and happy image that comes to mind when in thought of the
garden of eden we are presented with a dark room with dramatically oversized flowers lightened. By having a dramatic scale it no longer becomes the pictured garden of eden which is a delicate pretty land, this is more a scary nightmare with the unknown of whats in the dark. By saying 'all
that is natural goes awry' it goes against all that is told in the Bible, this garden which we are presented with is not what is expected.

THREE: What are the 'complexity' of emotions' that Djurberg confronts us with?

          When i look at the work that Djurberg has presented i have a mix of emotions. With my expectations of the Garden of Eden being a place
of perfection and divinity and looking at this work it take away my personal image and replaces it with shock and horror. We have been raised with
such an image in our heads and when this Claymation is presented to us to take away all of the expectations and replace them with images out
of a horror scene it can be an uncomfortable feeling to get your head around. It has a 'up in the air' feeling to it, with the music (Hans Berg)
keeping you on edge waiting for something to jump out at you. The contrasting feeling of beauty being within a huge garden which is viewed as
beautiful and calming adds to the uncomfortable feeling as you are confused by all your surroundings so you are unable to feel at ease being
within this artwork. 

FOUR: How does Djurberg play with the ideas of children's stories, and innocence in some work?

         Most children stories are fairy tale, made-up and are a happy place. The initial view of 'Garden of Eden' is exactly that. It is a pretty place,
reminding me almost of Alice in Wonderland, with oversized flowers and colours. The fist glimpse of the work reminds me of books that were
read to me when i was younger, but then when you continue to look at the work you then realize it turns into almost a nightmare, the opposite of
what you want to happen. Djurberg is able to pull familiar images and use them in a way that we are able to relate to them and connect them back to our childhood memories-such as books that were read to us. 

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

          I think there are a dew different reasons that designers and artist have changed the innocent and sweet into something disturbing.
One could be that it challenges the viewers feelings. An artist makes art for an audience, so when the audience is not involved in the work it
may not be a successful artwork. By turning the innocent into something disturbing the audience is then presented with a shock factor which
creates some sort of emotion towards a piece of art. This is what the artist would be trying to do, create emotion for the viewer. Therefore
when the artist is able to do so there work then become successful. With this people are able to discuss what they felt and how others felt
when they viewed the work, it can give a personal experience for each individual as to how they relate to the artworks. Another reason why
artists may do this is for a change. The world is not a 'perfect' place, it has faults and people are beginning to realize we do not live in a fairy
tale, so the artists are reenforcing the idea and showing through art. This art work is the perfect example of showing a perfect garden which
in reality assent, it has bugs and roses have thorns etc. It is also an exciting change, it definitely cannot be called boring. 

SIX: In your opinion, why do you think Djurbeg's work is so interesting that it was chosen for the Venice Biennale?

          I believe this work was chosen for the Venice Biennale as there are so many factors to it. Each individual is able to relate in someway to the
artwork, by being able to do this each viewer has an experience with the artwork making it so successful. With the shock factor it has a huge
visual impact and you are taken into another world when within the garden. It is an experience for the viewer. To me this is what makes the work
so interesting and worth being in the Venice Biennale, as it has not been seen before, it is visually interesting and different.

SEVEN: Add some of your own personal comments to her work.

       On youtube i found a short clip Djurberg's 'Garden of Eden'. From watching this clip i found her work creepy and almost weird. It is
overwhelming to watch as you do not know what to expect next and always on the edge of your seat waiting for something. It is an interesting
piece of work, i found in unusual how Djurberg twisted the idea of a fantasy and i have never come across something like this before. I was a
new experience for me and my emotions, like most i presume, were mixed. 

REFERENCES: 

          http://www.theartnewspaper.com/whatson/event/Nathalie-Djurberg:-Snakes-Know-It’s-Yoga/1113897

http://www.artltdmag.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1244485422&archive=&start_from=&ucat=39&page=reports

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O3kg8caumE

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

1. What and when was the Industrial Revolution?

'The industrial revolution may be defined as the application of power-driven machinery to manufacturing. it had its beginning in remote times, and is still continuing in some places. in the eighteenth century all of western Europe began to industrialize rapidly, but in England the process was most highly accelerated.'

2. Research both Modernist paintings in order to comment on the subject matter, form and style used to celebrate the machine and motion in each painting. Answer the question in 2 parts for each painting.

                                       

                                            

In this painting 'Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash' the subject matter of the moving dog is used to celebrate machine and motion as you are able to visually see a motion on a still image. This was very advanced at the time this was painted as it was very unsual to be able to see motion on a still canvas. This painting was created by multiple strokes to show each motion that would have taken place with the movement of the dogs lega and tail, along with the lead and the walkers feet.  

                                                                       

'The City Rises (or La città che sale in Italien) is a vibrant, colourful Futurist work by Umberto Boccioni from 1910 to 1911 and is painted in oils. It depicts the labours of men on a construction site utilising the power of horses in their labours. It is this power that appears to be the central focus of the painting as the strong horse in a dominating position filling the centre of the composition.  While the construction of a new modern building is the theme of this work, shown by the partially completed building visible in the top right hand corner, it is the strength and energy of the work that comes through. The colours are bold and dramatic, typical of Futurist artworks, shifting from the light yellows of the men in the bottom left to the dark shadows of the central horse. These shadows draw the viewer’s eye into the painting and their mind into the action. Like many other of Boccioni’s paintings The City Rises is energised by the quick successive brushstrokes.'

This painting similar with the form and style as 'Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash' as it also it created to show movement and motion but with a different subject matter. This painting is to show a construction by horses and men. The short brush strokes show the motion as there are so many it comes together as a blur creating the rush that would have been captured within this painting. 

3. Research Cao Fei's RMB City (2007-9)  in order to comment on this work in more depth.
i.e describe the images that has she used in her digital collage that refer to China's present and history, and explain why has she used these images.

                                                                           

                                  Cao Fei's RMB City (2007-9) refers to China's recent rapid industialisation and urbanization.
                                                                (www.artspace.org.nz/exhibitions/2009/cafeintopia.asp)

'Named after Chinese money,RMB City shows a perverse view of Beijing—a blend of communism, socialism, and capitalism. Like Beijing itself, it is constantly under construction, candy-striped smoke stacks suggest continuous industrial production and ships move goods swiftly in and out of port. A giant shopping cart, filled with skyscrapers and religious monuments, floats nearby...Her work is timely and responds to Chinaʼs rapid urbanization and the giddying pace of social and economic development experienced there and ask us to think about the reorganization of social interactions through online and social networking sites' taken from www.scoop.co.nz

This artwork has the subject matter of a view of Beijing. Obviously not a realistic view but more of a symbolic view, it is the artists interpretation of the city. The form and style of the work in my opinion helps to show a celebration to new technology/machinery as it almost looks like a carnival. The bright colours, and the cluttered look help to make it look like things are happening and changing. It shows movement and motion with the smoke in the air giving us a sign that things are being manufactured and with other parts looking like they should be in motion, all of this gives a sense of the industrial revolution.    

4. RMB City is described as a utopia/dystopia. Comment on what these terms mean, and how they can be applied to the work.
According to the online dictionary 'utopia' is a perfect place, especially in social, political and moral aspects, and dystopia is the opposite with everything being as bad as it could possibly be. These can be applied to the work as two different view point. The first being utopia, this work could be viewed in this way as it is a movement towards greater things, it holds a bright happy future with lots a manufacturing and things going on. It shows a successful place as the is happening going on. The opposite view point being dystopia could be applied to the work as it may be looked at as to commercial. Too many machines and manufacturing could be viewed as a negative as the world has become to materialistic and needs to get back to the basics. But both views can be argued for and against the work depending where you come from. 

5. Although the Modernist paintings and the contemporary digital work have emerged from
different contexts, there are also many similarities. Comment on the similarities that you can see in the work. Look at the moving digital image at vimeo.com/4272260, if you have not
already researched it.
I am able to draw comparisons between the works as they both contain a modernistic view in their works, they are just to different extremes. They are both study's showing different changes/movement/motion that are happening. All the artists have captured the movement and have shown them in different forms but all for the same reason of changes. 
6. Comment on other student's blogs.

Rempel, G. (n.d). The Industrial Revolution. Retrieved 29 May, 2006 from http://www.ecology.com/archivedlinks/industrialrevolution/index.html

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0906/S00212.ht
http://jade-wildy.suite101.com/futurism-and-umberto-boccionis-the-city-rises-a280519

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/utopia

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dystopia

1. Define the 17th century 'Scientific Revolution', and say how it changed European thought and world view. 

According to Chegg.com the scientific revolution refers to the rapid advances to the European scientific, mathematical and political thought that was based on a new philosophy and faith progress that defined Europe in the 16th and 17th century. It came out of the Renaissance period when the universe was questioned by scientists and the belief process was changed.

2. Give examples of how we can we still see evidence of the 'Scientific Revolution' in the world today.

Today the scientific revolution is still evident as we are continuously seeing 'new' or 'modern' thing, such as technology. Sientific revolution has become very common with new technology such as iphones and new cars etc. i believe that the scientific revolution will never come to an end as new ideas are always evolving and improvements are forever taking place. If they never started the scientific revolution then we would not be where we are today and we would not hold such a promising future. 

Research Pipilotti Rist's video installations to answer the following;

3. From your research, do you think that the contemporary art world values art work

that uses new media/technology over traditional media?

While researching Pipilotti Rist's video installations i found that most people are adapting to the change in the media with a positive outlook. On one blog, the art blog, the have said 'new media is a young artform, but its fresh and engaging, and being experimental it lacka the pomposity that often is attached to traditional art forms.'  here the art blog is for traditional media giving the explanation that it is new and exciting being different from the traditional art forms we are now used to. Looking at comments on the you tube video of her work 'ever is all over' most comments are arguing that her work is 'Beautiful. Fantastic' and ' I love love love love her work' all positive comments giving her work hype. But there are still the odd people that are against the change in the art world saying that she is 'sick minded' and has 'disturbed and traumatized' her viewers. 

4. How has Pipilotti Rist used new media/technology to enhance the audience's experience of her work.

On the web site sport your food.com they have said, 'in these works provocation is a constant and it is created by a playful mix of fantasy and real life where the ongoing movement of the images gives life to a transformation of the subjects, of familiar spaces translated in mesmerizing kaleidoscopes.For the Swiss artist the video images are the projections of emotions and desires, a new form of organic life that will be perceived by every single sense the audience has.' here it explains that Rist's embraces the audience by using spaces that are familiar and not out of the ordinary so you are able to relate to the situation and out yourself in the space easily. She also uses calming music, especially in the video clip Ever is all Over, it is a slow calming relaxing song which tends to mesmerize the audience so they are almost no longer in control of their oen fellings and they are forced to be apart of the video. I felt this when watching Ever is all Over i was unable to stop it, i watched it to the end, even though i wasn't hugely enjoying it, i was just following it until the end. 

5. Comment on how the installation, sound and scale of 'Ever is Over All' (1997) could impact on the audience's experience of the work.

In the clip Ever i all Over the music is very romantic and happy which contrasts to some of what is happening in the clip, the violence of smashing car windows. The music creates a fantasy world which the lady smashing the windows appears to be caught up in, she is oblivious to the fact that she is smashing windows and it to caught up in the music and fantasy of it all. Her complete outfit, the pretty dress and her happiness also gives this feeling to me. The music impacts the audience as i think that it puts the viewers in the same state of mind as the lady walking down the street, the also get engaged into the fantasy land and no longer have a say but they just follow the video.

 

6. Comment on the notion of 'reason' within the content of the video. Is the woman's behaviour reasonable or unreasonable?

The behavior of the woman is strange to me, it was unexpected that with the romantic music a pretty women in a dress walking down a street carrying a flower would out of the blue strike at a car with the flower and smash the window. It was a shock for me to see this and confused me, i thought it was unreasonable. While watching the video there did not seem to be a good enough reason to just randomly break parked cars windows. When the female police officer then walks behind the lady you expect an arrest or at least a form of constraint to stop the ladies behavior but nothing but a wave from the officer makes the behavior of the women almost seem as if it is reasonable or else the officer would have done otherwise. It is a split view, the audience may seem her behavior to be unreasonable but if an authority doesn't seem to mind this behavior it makes you re think, maybe it wasn't unreasonable?

7. Comment on your 'reading' (understanding) of the work by discussion the aesthetic (look), experience and the ideologies (ideas, theories) of the work.

My understanding of the work is that is shows a feminist view using romantic music and a pretty lady in a dress , which contrasts with the violence used when smashing the windows. The look of the video is interesting with the two different videos happening in one, the main video of the lady and the side video of the close-up of the flowers, this makes the video interesting and exciting you can flick between the two videos. The idea's behind the work as i said before is the feminist views. Also another theory could be to make the viewer feel as if they are apart of the video to make the experienced shared between the viewers and the actress in the video. I found the video very interesting and excitingly different. I had not experienced an art video like this before and it was very enjoyable for me. 

 

http://www.theartblog.org/2012/02/new-media-art-white-hot-gold-at-murray-state/

http://www.chegg.com/

http://www.sportyourfood.com/en/Parasimpatico.-The-Nicola-Trussardi-Foudation-presents-Pipilotti-Rist/ 

1.Define the Enlightenment, including its context (time and place).

'The Enlightenment is generally described as taking place during the 18Th. century and is centered in france. Like the Renaissance, the values and ideas developed during the period of the Enlightenment are described as having a major influence on current ways of thinking in the west and therefore the production of contemporary western visual culture.' -taken from the ALVC book, page 91. 

Other points taken from the ALCV handbook describing the Enlightenment are

-A characteristic bundle of ideas

-An intellectual movement 

-A communicating group of intellectuals

-A set of institutional centres where intellectuals clustered

-A publishing industry, and an audience for its output

-An intellectual fashion

-A belief system

-A history and a geography

 

2. Define the concept of the Sublime.

The sublime was is the ultimate experience of divinity, a mixture of awe, fear and enlightenment produced by the contemplation of a powerful, terrifying nature. 

3. Explain how the concept of the Sublime came out of Enlightenment thought.

4. Discuss the subject matter, and aesthetic (look) of Misrach's work to identify the Sublime in his work. Include some quotes from art critics and other writers who have written about his work. 

5. Add 2 new images of his work to your blog.

6. Describe how does Misrach's photography makes you feel. How does it appeal to your imagination?
7. Identify some other artists or designers that work with ideas around the Sublime, from the Enlightenment era as well as contemporary artists.
8. Add a Sublime image of your choice to your blog, which can be Art or just a Sublime photograph.
9. Reference your sources (books and websites).

http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/referenceencyclopedia/g/glenlightenment.htm

The Social Status of the Artist - The Renaissance and Now 

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

Durer began painting self portraits when he was as young as 13. The below self portrait of Durer is oil on wood (1500). By centering himself in the middle of the painting and having clear symmetry present it creates a feeling of power. Most self portraits of this time were to show wealth and power, but this one seems to show or resemble some one else. In the painting the image of Jesus is able to be identified, by the long hair, and the pose of his hand. Durer believed that 'God created man in his own image' this being the reasoning of the commonality between the two. I have included a painting of Jesus Christ so you are abel to clearly establish the similarities between the two and see how Durer based his own oil painting on. In this self portrait, as Durer has placed himself in the image of God (as God created man) it changes the view of the artist as he has not incorporated aspects of himself in his self portrait. In this painting he hasn't aimed to become the centre of attention but he has viewed himself as an image of God.  

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

Durer's social status increased over the Renaissance period as he had an arranged marriage. Durer married the daughter of a wealthy machine and instrument maker. Later his social status increased again when he continuously painted self portraits, this showed the changed in his status as time went by, it was almost a documentation of his social status through paintings. This was such a change as it was not common to have self portraits the main theme of your work during the Renaissance. 

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

according to the online dictionary  the meaning of both egotism and individualism are below:

egotism- excessive and objectionable reference to oneself in conversation or writing; conceit; boastfulness. 

individualism-a social theory advocating the liberty, rights, or independent action of the individual. 

Gavin Turk's work is very self reflective. Looking through his art work he promotes himself through his work. Examples of this are his works that he has used purely his signature, nothing else. Also creating wax models and himself dressed like Elvis Presley. By doing this it clearly shows egotism as he is continuously referencing himself in his art work as his was of promotion. Individualism is shown as he is not relying on anything but himself to create his art work, it is solely based on himself. 

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

Damien Hirst uses extreme media in his work, by doing this he creates huge attention towards his work, some good, some bad. But Hirst attempts to gain huge attention throughout his artworks. An example of this was the artwork he did called 'For The Love Of God' produced in 2007. This work was a diamond encrused skull with the value of just the materials counting up to $20million and the amount it sold for was $100million. The amount of attention that this work gained from the media was huge and returned back to Hirst as he was the artist giving him self promotion. He is now recognized as an artist that produces shocking work, and enjoys to surround his work aroung the idea of death. 

5. Find 2 images of work by any artist or designer that reflect 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.

 

Banksy is an exclusive British graffiti artist who has perfected promoting himself without even showing up. Bansky has graffitied all over the world and has become famous for his work but is still unidentifiable. a movie has even been made about his work featuring him but with a blurred out face, it even got into the oscars. His self promotion is through his work, by the simple tagged signature shown above which is under most of his artworks or the stencil style that his works consist of which makes his work identifiable and links it to him.  Banksy  turned a warehouse into a living room for an exhibition and placed a painted elephant to match the wallpaper in the warehouse calling it 'the elephant in the room.' But Banksy himself as never seen. 

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

There has been a huge change in the art world in western society throughout time. During the renaissance there were many restrictions to art and the art was all within a common theme, today the limitations and restrictions of art no longer exist. Art work now is recognized as more of an expression. 

7. Comment on the blogs of other students.

8. Reference the websites and/or books you have used, at the end of your blog.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/individualism?s=t

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/egotism?s=t

http://www.worldprintmakers.com/masters/durero/durer.htm