Anish Kapoor Sculpture

"Conceptual art is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns"
- Wikipedia.Com. (n.d). Retrieved August 230, 2011 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conceptual_art

Anish Kapoor is one of Britains leading artists in conceptual art. The shape and materials he uses are amazing and the process of his work is pleasent and very light to the eyes. His work is alot more about the process of his work and how it becomes so beautiful, and how unique his work is and the hard yard he conquered to it to look that good.

Tall Tree & The Eye (2009)

 Tall Tree and the Eye conveys the transient nature of how things appear. Through its complex use of light and shade, volume and space, it makes us aware of the instability of the visible world. Time and place are suspended and altered. Though it is a very large piece of sculpture it comes across as somehow weightless and ephemeral. There are 76 spheres and 15 metres high and stands out from its surrounding buldings. The reflections off the spheres are unique and very amazing.

Shooting into the Corner (2008-09)

This is perhaps the most dramatic work of his.In this constantly repetitive piece an attendant fires a cannon at regular 20-minute intervals. Red wax shells shoot off into a corner of the room, creating a bloody splattered mess. Each shell weighs nearly ten kilograms and travels at about 80 kilometers an hour. As Anish Kapoor states, this work had its roots in his student days. There are some obvious sexual overtones in this work. While we watch the cannon fire its shells of wax, we enjoy its destructive qualities and this violent, alluring performance. We also take pleasure in the simultaneous appearance of a new mark, as the soft waxy substance slides down to the ground. Gradually tons of wax pile up and ooze outwards towards us. As they amass in the foreground the red wax shells appear almost like a pigment work.

My Red Homeland (2003)

A metal blade driven by a motor moves slowly round an open circular container filled with 25 tons of red Vaseline. Over the course of an hour the blade makes a full orbit of the wax. The blade slowly revolves,it appears to churn, form and reform the red wax mass. The impression we have of the metal arm pushing the material from the interior to the exterior of the installation is in fact formed by our imaginations - it is an illusion. The whole process is made vivid by the colour of the material - by its very redness. You will discover that the quality of darkness conveyed by the red wax is important to Kapoor.

The Farm is named after its site.Kapoor has installed fabric and steel onto this site. He uses red PVC coated polyester fabric with steel to structure the frame. Anish manipulates "the viewer into a specific relationship with both space and time" by stretching fabric and steel. The farm cuts into a New Zealand hillside. The structure works as an installation commissioned by Alan Gibbs. The work engages with scenery. Located in Kaipara Bay on a private estate outdoor art gallery.

My favourite work would have to be the 'Tall Tree & The Eye' as it is a landmark and stands. Its shape and spheres are completely different to other works I have seen of his. His work is amazing and out of this world but this one stands out, its colours and also the reflections is posesses makes it a piece of art and the materials he uses and the concepets he follows is one of a kind.

http://www.spreadartculture.com/2010/07/07/anish-kapoor-part-of-permanent-collection-at-maxxi/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conceptual_art
http://www.google.co.nz/search?q=conceptual+art&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=559&prmd=ivnsb&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=kKRcTsffFMjmiALW36yzBQ&ved=0CDwQsAQ
http://www.anishkapoor.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anish_Kapoor
http://www.sculpture.org.uk/image/910000000542/1/
http://www.lissongallery.com/#/artists/anish-kapoor/

Pluralism & The Treat Of Waitangi

a theory that reality consists of two or more independent elements

- Dictionary.Com. (n.d). Retrieved August 24, 2011 from  

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pluralism

At the moment New Zealand culture is mainly aimed at grass, rugny, jandals etc. New Zealand is well known for what we do best. Play rugby and for our well groomed green grass. We also have many things such as the kiwi symbol the kiwi which is an endangered species and rarely known but New Zealand shows that to the world and exhibits the kiwi. We are split into two scenes, rural and the city life. The New Zealand culture is multi-cultural as we have mixed races staying here and we are all equal, asians, pakehs, indians, pacific islanders etc. We are all one. Also as we have the rugby world coming up, the world will get to exhibit our culture and how we are different to the rest of the world.

New Zealand culture before the 1840's was maori dominated. Te Reo was mainly used before the enlgish language was introduced. Maori would class people and how they would treat others and how they would respect one another. Men were mainly chiefs and highly respected by the youth and woman. Woman had no say in what would happen and were lower then many males. When the pakeha started to get more involved with New Zealand the maori then started borrowing from them.

As a New Zealand artist in the making we have to repect the treaty and what our country's heritage beholds. We have to do alot more research into what we are creating. We may create art but we have to create art that is from you and only you. We dont want to be having aspects from the maori in our work and using it against what it really means. For example lego creators overseas used maori names without knwoing what they really mean, disrespecting the maori and also using it in a way that it was not created for. Research is they key into this as many artists are not pursuing this. The treaty is a main role in New Zealand culture and it will remain that way untill the end of time. We have to reference these things correctly. Artists in New Zealand need to understand that work is well presented and produced from within themselves.

Globalization can be seen as a negative in New Zealand. New Zealand is great at promoting our country to the world but sometimes in the wrong ways and may lead to disrespecting certain people in New Zealand. We are a racist free country but we have the odd person who plays against that. New Zealand seems to be getting well known around the world and we have alot to offer aswell. Maori desgins and patterns are being used worldwide e.g. ford, fashion are using maori patterns without knowing the meaning behind the koru and many other maori symbols. They believe what they see is 'cool' and 'attractive' but what 'us' as a whole see is our culture being turned into something just seen as 'cool' which gives it no meaning and shows no repect at all to the ancestors of New Zealand and what they created. We as New Zealanders are leaning and focsuing on the transition from national and regional economies to global economies.

The work 'forked tongue' by cotton portrays the treaty and how it was decieved by the biritish towards the maori. The maori believed the treaty stated that the land belongs to the maori but then in the english version it shows that the land belongs to the british. This sends mixed messages to the viewer but I believe that is what cotton is trying to portray in his art by combing the two views from the treaty and contrasting them in his art.

Shane Cotton explores the idea of the Maori culture with cultural identity, such as symbols, native birds and shrunken birds. 'Welcome' shows the maori iconic birds ombined with his culture and well-being. His work presents New Zealand and our culture we posess as a whole. Strong symbolisim in both works.

 

In this installation "Sorry" represents an appology to the indigenous Australians from Kevin Rudd. Tony Albert created the installation 'Sorry' to communicate emotions and to share ideas. 'Kitsch' is “art, objects, or design considered to be in poor taste because of excessive garishness or sentimentality, but sometimes appreciated in an ironic or knowing way.” Showing the use of Kitsch objects Albert puts forward a forest of faces which represent everything that was stolen from his people and his land. I find this piece very interesting as it shows that an appology is nothing compared to the pain and torture the aboriginies went through and the appology was appaling, Albert made a creation that makes actions seem louderthen words.

 

I find that Albert and Cotton express the idea of pluralism in their works as they present themselves and their well-being and where they are from. They make us all feel equal. They play on their opinions and how we may all look diffeent we are truely all the same. The world has many different racs, religions etc. but we are all classed as human beings on this earth.

 

http://www.google.co.nz/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=define+kitsch&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&redir_esc=&ei=5X5PTqPtJOX7mAWqxvW-Bg

http://www.google.co.nz/search?q=tony+albert&hl=en&biw=1600&bih=666&prmd=ivnso&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=9g1aTracH-jwmAXX-O3CDA&sqi=2&ved=0CCgQsAQ

http://www.janmantonart.com/ARTISTS/TONYALBERT/tabid/1778/Default.aspx

http://citygallery.org.nz/pay-attention-tony-albert/

http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=29225

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

http://thearts.co.nz/artist_page.php&aid=24

http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/category/tid/133

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

http://www.google.co.nz/#sclient=psy&hl=en&source=hp&q=pluralism&pbx=1&oq=plural&aq=1&aqi=g5&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=0l0l1l78l0l0l0l0l0l0l0l0ll0l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=e38e133e1426acae&biw=1600&bih=666

http://www.newzealand.com/int/article/new-zealand-culture-maori/

http://www.tourism.net.nz/new-zealand/about-new-zealand/culture.html

http://www.newzealand.com/int/article/colonisation/

http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/maori-meeting-at-european-house-1840s

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

Kehinde Wiley and Intertextuality

"thewhole network of relations, conventions, and expectations by which the text is defined; the relationship between texts"
-Dictionary, (n.d.), retreieved August 13 2011, from
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/intertextuality

Intertexuality is when someoine views a piece of artwork and they then relate it to something more closer to home and then understand it alot more due to you already having the knowledge about the artwork. Many artists are familiar with this way of understanding and many people relaise that new artists have the same understanding of past art as we do in todays society.

Wiley is know highly for his hghly naturalistic paintings of contemporary urban african, african-american and afro-brazilian men in heroic poses. His work is of many men he sees on the street and decides to display them in a heroic manner. He wants to paint black men and to give them power, by doing this he boldly is reclaiming history and displaying equal rights. His work displays historical ideas and brings it into todays society. Theirposes connote power and spiritual awakening. Wiley’s portrayal of masculinity is filtered through these poses of power and spirituality. His work seems to contrast well as you have an american gansgster posing like a hero, combining the two different scenarios making them contrast and stand out as a piece of art.

Wiley’s work relates to pluralism because during moternity european people were top class and in Wiley's work it consists of black males, which were low class during that era. The fact they the are diverse and in todays society we are all equal. His work shows the worlds culture and how it has changed over the years, we are all one and all the same. Wiley is an artist that displays pluralism and the concepts it holds.

Wiley's work aims at social and cultural contextshaving people going and judging people by the colour os our skin and how the 'white' man is the most powerful being on earth and by having the 'black' man being the lowest standard in the human chain. He wants his message to come across and to show that the colour of your skin does not matter, you do not to be 'white' to have the top paying job in the worl, you dont need to be 'white' to be able to travel first class. He faces all stereotypical people and makes them realise that the world we now live on dosent go by the colour of your skin but by who you are in the world. The world is multi-cultural and there are not just black and whites in the world we have asians, indians, arabic people aswell and alot more, even combined cultures in one. Wiley's work should be well noticed around the world and to end all remaining thoughts on sterotyping. We are all one and all at the same level "EQUAL"!

I completely love Wiley's work as it creates and enhances the cultures of the world, his work may only be of black males but the message behind his work shows alot more of an artist he is and how it makes him who he is and how many of us viewers appreciate the support for the black community. The colour scheme is very post modern as the colours are very bright and the backgrounds also. His work gets his audeiences thinking twice and having them take a second and sometimes second look on his message. His ideas and concepts are very bold and he knows how to make statements.

http://www.kehindewiley.com/main.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kehinde_Wiley
http://www.interviewmagazine.com/art/kehinde-wiley/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intertextuality
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_rights
ALVC Workbook (n.d.) pages 42-43

Hussein Chalayan

Personally I believe that the works Afterwords (2000) and Burka (1996) is most likely to be art rather then fashion because fashion is a design created by a designer to display to the world and also to create clothing for everyday use. In this art you have topless models and also revealing their crotch areas. You wouldnt usually see this on a runway or in a magazine collection as it is really revealing and is more of a form of art, art usually has a meaning and story behind it and tells the viewer what they are trying to portray. The fashion industry would not create something like this to be completely honest. Instead of covering the body, its reveals whats underneath.

I do not think that his work changes the meaning of art due to advertising. Art and advertising are two completely different things but they send out the same message but to a different audience. 'The Level Tunnel' enhances the viewers view by making them feel as if they are in the art and see how it was formed and how it became what it is, and can experience the message of the ad. This work combines two different genres of art and advertisement, and giving the viewer a full on view experience. Viewers and consumers can see how it is alot different to normal advertisements.
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Post modern art is a clear example for something Chalayan might of been influenced by. The film he created shows and generates post modernity and shows new ways of collecting DNA and collecting research which is compeltely different. His work is bringing technology into todays society and showing how technology and machinery are making life alot easier.

Chalayan's film 'Absent Presence'screened at the 2005 Venice Biennale

I personally think when art began the importance of an artist perosnally designing and creating their own artwork has been there from start to finish. When an artists creates art it represents them and shows what sort of power they possess and what work they are able to create. Some/barely anyone can notice if the art work was copied or replicated as many people have idols and people they look uptoo and take certain aspects and make it into their own. I believe that it is not a big issue but some people may have issues with it but it really depends on the situation and how far certain artists take it to, if someone did notice the replica or repeated something someone else did, the original will be noticed alot more.

- Hussein Chalayan

http://www.husseinchalayan.com/blog/?p=37
http://movieandfashion.blogspot.com/2010/08/absent-presence.html
http://www.husseinchalayan.com/#/home/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussein_Chalayan
http://www.designboom.com/eng/interview/chalayan.html
http://www.e-flux.com/shows/view/2032
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/read.php?CATEGORY_PK=&TOPIC_PK=2858
http://www.behance.net/gallery/The-LEVEL-Tunnel-(Absolut-Vodka-Hussein-Chalayan)/701114

Post-Modernism - Ai Weiwei and Banksy

Postmodernism is a philosophical movement away from the viewpoint of modernism.

Postmodernism has influenced many cultural fields, including literacy criticism, sociology, linguistics, architecture, anthropolgy, visual arts and music.

Post-modernism is open, unbounded, and concerned with process and becoming.

Literary critic Fredric Jameson describes postmodernism as the "dominant cultural logic of late capitalism."

It further developed from the “modernistic thought.”

It involves the belief that many, if not all, apparent realities are only social constructs, as they are subject to change inherent to time and place.

Postmodernism" is used in critical theory to refer to a point of departure for works of literature, drama, architecture, cinema, journalism, and design.

“the post-modern artist is ‘reflective ‘ in that he/she is self-aware and consciously involved in a process of thinking about him/herself and society in a deconstructive manner, ‘damasking’ pretensions, becoming aware of his/her cultural self in history, and accelerating the process of self-consciousness.”

-Witcombe (2000)

From my understandings of the grid, post modernity has many possibilities. Artists pay attention to the surface of works and images they are of. They took advantage of new technologies and mediums society has accepted and gotten used to and used in their art. Post modern works include advertising which was powerful to audiences in the newly technological world and hyper-reality making things more than life. Art is freer and more open, with limitless boundaries and many things that can be considered art.

Decorating One With The Coca Cola Logo show the ideas of post modernism through the ideas such as the importance and value of the urn he is destroying from their natural forms. Urns are normally cherished for their importance. This crushed China's normal traditions due to him smashing a 2000 year old dynasty urn and writing the coca cola logo onto it making matters worse towards all chinese traditions.  The fact that it is a sculpture makes it post modern. He would attract alot of attention from his own people and others who find this situation very interesting. He goes against his own culture. He also includes advertising in his work and commonly known and recognised icons such as the coca cola logo incorporating the new media driven world we live in with things seen every day from this decade on things seen rarely from many decades ago. He plays with cultures mixing and questioning ethics and values.This truly shows post modern ideals and aspects towards his work.

Banksy is a household name in the UK, perhaps best known for his compelling stencil graffiti. He embodies post modern ideas in his works and explains that in art “there aren’t supposed to be any rules” This means his graffiti art can count as art rather than vandalism and which his two works show.  His stencils make statements about war, politics, government oppression and environmental concerns. His work flower riot is interesting in that it portrays a person who seems violent and as if they are going to cause harm when in fact they are holding flowers rather than a Molotov cocktail as would usually be seen in a rioting image of someone such as this.

 Some people may see his works as vandalism but I see it as post-modern art which is to be admired. They see him to be a “a troublemaker, but he never gets caught” just like Ai. His work “Los Angeles”, Banksy mixes historical time periods saying that it is possible for a caveman to exist in the 21^st century not being limited to the modernist views. He is also using advertising of fast food restaurants that are typically seen every day in our contemporary society. You would also never see a monkey walking around holding food on a tray, we see alot of these concepts in post modern art. He also tends to make things humourous instead of being so serious and makes it quite fadcinating to be viewed.


References:
ALVC Workbook
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_modernism
http://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/postmodernism.htm
http://www.boredpanda.com/80-beautiful-street-crimes-done-by-banksy/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2007860/Banksy-uses-tag-jailed-graffiti-artist-Tox--Daniel-Halpin--latest-artwork-appears-London-street.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8432272/China-breaks-silence-on-Ai-Weiweis-detention.html

Nathalie Djurberg's Claymations

The word claymation is used for the animation process in which clay figurines are manipulated and filmed to produce an image or a motion of images to make a complete a moving image or film.

When I think of the term 'surrealistic', Garden of Eden means Djurbergs installation is not real and dreamy. This is her own creation of a hell like version of the garden of eden. She creates things that will get her audience thinking of what and how she is trying to portray etc. She mainly does the oppostie of what people expect.

Djuerberg shows us different complexity or emotions. Her art shows us many topics like sexuality, violence, war and pretty much the deeper and darker side of humantiy. She takes what people expect to see and twists what they expect to torment the emotion of the viewer. In the given image you have the models doing horrific things etc. This is the opposite of what a civilised human being would portray. Djurberg loves to create intense thoughts and portrays what society is most likely not to see.

Djurbergs filsm have many ideas relating to childrens stories. Your everyday child story would have the good angel and the bad angel etc. That is how society views the whole good vs. bad concept. Djurbergs films are the horror versions of these children stories. The first view of her characters are innocent and child-like due to their facial expressions and body postures. Then the narrative twists and becomes a horror filled scene. So it all starts off as a child like environment then twirls into terror and horror.

I think many artists are trying to start using the innocent and sweet turning into something disturbing' concept to attract attention. Viewers find this very attention grabbing. Normally you have the whole 'happily ever after' idea but Djurberg twists that and makes it into something worthwhile and alot of people can relate to it. Djurbergs images of her clay characters leave the viewers mind blown as it is hard to get the image of someone eating their own body parts out of their system. She knows how to keep a audience wound up and making things very intense. She also combines pornography with christianity and by contrasting the two genres.

Her moving image 'The Experiment' is very interesting because it differs from the rest of her work due to it being chosen for the Venice Bienanale. It makes you think twice because of the horror and the disgusting presence it contradicts. It builds up your suspense and is thrilling to watch. It is absolutely perfect for the Venice Biennale.

I admire Djurbergs work as it is very different from many other artists. Her work builds up your suspense and gets the viewer thinking and questioning her work. I love that her work is horrific and thrilling and in a way it is truely disgusting but attractive to the art world.

References:
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/6886/nathalie-djurberg-experiment-at-venice-art-biennale-09.html
http://www.regionmuseet.m.se/english_natalie-djurberg.htm
http://www.zachfeuer.com/artists/nathalie-djurberg/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathalie_Djurberg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWrPZGgudMM
http://artnews.org/artist.php?i=1211

Modernism & Post-Modernism

One of Claude Monet's inspirations was his family home, as they had beautiful gardens and amazing land. His painting. He loves fine detail, for example the texture of his paintbrushes are smooth and soft and the paintings show freeform motion and we cant see thick brush lines in his worl due to thin brushes. He loved to work with different shades and lights and shows different blends of colour also. Showing how light changes the affect of an item and he turns it to make it compatiable.

Chuck Close uses different techniques and inspirations such as other artists. He loves to use the human figure. His processes seem to take alot longer then the usual artist as some of his work took a year long to process and complete. He gets new inspiration from other artists aswell and make him more motivated to create new work. Oil on canvas was his main materials aswell. Chuck's intentions were to show the idea of self portraits, friends and family.

Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, when it is simply necessary to love.
- Cluade Monet

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/c/claude_monet.html

I always thought that one of the reasons why a painter likes especially to have other painters look at his or her work is the shared experience of having pushed paint around.
- Chuck Close

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/c/chuck_close.html

Both artists use both dark and light colours

Both artists love to use oil and pastels

Both artists are influenced by family and their heritage and things that surround them

Chuck Close , Maggie, 1996, Oil on canvas

Monet completes his work single handed and Close works with other artists. They also have different painting techniques. Subject matter is also different for example chuck does self portraits and monet does landscapes. Their colour schemes are also different as Chuck uses alot of black while Monet dosent.

Their works are amazing. They are very similar on most ways but then again they have their differences. I would much pefer Chuck Close's work as it relates to the human self and shows a different side to the human face/image. It is pleasing to see the way he uses his paintbrush and makes it look effective. This would not have to be my genre of art but it sure does catch my eye, the elements and concepts of the studied works are immaculate and I wouldnt mind having this work in my house or even bedroom

Chuck Close, Leslie, 1973, watercolor on paper on canvas

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

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

http://painting.about.com/od/famouspainters/ig/famous-paintings/Monet-Water-Lilies.htm

http://www.chuckclose.coe.uh.edu/

http://questgarden.com/102/01/4/100422103501/process.htm

http://www.artquid.com/artwork/178191/the-process-of-normandy-a-copy-of-claude-monet.html

http://darinwilson.info/2008/10/24/chuck-close-on-inspiration/