Art hist 343 @arth343 - Tumblr Blog

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Aamer Rahman is an Australian comedian who recently posted a very interesting tumblr post about not so subtle racism in the popular Game of Thrones TV series. His post created quite an uproar from avid fans of the show insisting that the show was not racist and attempting to defend why that's so. I am personally a fan of both the books and the TV series of GOT, but even I have to admit that Rahman brings up some very valid points. One of the characters, Dany is a young white girl who basically flees the white, vaguely European "Westeros," marries into a tribe of a barbarian, animalistic (dark skinned) people called Dothraki, And eventually goes on to have encounters with other dark skinned cultures that all seem either barbaric or like a classic example of Orientalism. I can't believe that I didn't see all of these themes before reading this post, but it's actually quite classically racist. These themes however have been done in so many past stories that I think people don't even see it as racist. These themes of the liberal white individual coming into a society of dark skinned savages and saving them from themselves and the poor people they oppress is the kinda stuff this country was built on! It's been ingrained in our society as "The right thing to do" for so long that people don't see it as racist at all. It is fascinating however, that we as a species claim to have come so far, and all of these very racist, colonial ideas are very un-P.C. Yet something so big and glaring as Game of Thrones obvious racist themes can completely dope the masses. I'm sure the writers and directors of the shows don't even think of it as racist, they're just doing what they've always done. "How are we going to portray these savage people from across the sea?" Making them brown people is a clear and recognizable way of showing the viewers the distinction between the white, civilized protagonist, and the barbarian savages.

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Micheal Hussar

Micheal Hussar is an american artist who has worked primarily in the U.S. and Europe. He currently lives in Rome. We attended the Art Center College of Design and then taught portraiture there for almost 10 years. he creates oil painting caricature portraits that displays both male and female subjects in a very grotesque, circus freak show style, that also has an often baroque or Renaissance feel to it. I found his art intriguing visually and also for the obvious shock and gross value that appears in almost all his work. It was difficult to find much of a statement from Hussar about his work, His website being quite spooky and devoid of any real helpful information. I was however eventually able to find some insight on his work. He desciribes his work as, "a voyeuristic snapshot of perceived humanity complete with freaks and fakery. A gothic wonderland illuminating the gray area between truth and lies." He goes on to say that his work is a journey of self discovery or a perfection of alienation. I find all of this intriguing because of the appeal this sort of work to fringe cultures. People that feel outside of the norm, and want to stay very much "alienated" from the mainstream. Hussar's work has been featured in both Juxtapose magazine and Hi Fructose magazine. I also discovered that some of his work is in the private collection of Leonardo Di Caprio and some of his clients include famous tattoo artist Kat Von D and Madonna. You can also buy some of his limited edition prints online for up to $400. It's interesting to me that a person can appeal so much to a fringe outsider culture yet at the same time be quite immersed in main stream, big money making culture. Personally it seems like a bit of a contradiction. These days however, there are so many subcultures that have become so large, especially with help from the internet that they become their own main culture with the same rules and hierarchy as any other mainstream culture. Do you folks think Hussar is a spokesman for the misunderstood macabre fringe culture? Or is he just cashing in on a niche culture? Does this sort of work help people feel more accepted and part of a community? Or just further separate and label them as "other"?

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Luke Syson was a curatorof Renaissance art and focused primarily on paintings Leonardo Devinci. He believed these pieces were very important for their iconic value and soulful emotions they invoked. He wasthen transferred to be in charge of the MET's ceramic collection. Pieces that he found to be frivolous and useless until he was finally able to allow himself to view them for what they really were, elaborate and skillfully crafted pieces created with pure imagination.

I feel like this talk is relevant because it becomes so natural for us to put different art forms on higher or lower levels of importance based on socially accepted norms. We often get so caught up in the deeper meaning of pieces and trying to puzzle out why the artist made it, why it, relevant to the world, and what's important about the artist( race, gender, etc.) that I feel like we often don't even see pieces for the skillful imaginative work that it is.The artists skill and imagination should be the first thing that people notice about a piece of art, not debating how useful or important it is.Breaking down elitist ideas of high and low art is a battle that artists from around the world have been battling for years. Art should be appreciated in any form that it takes and not judged and categorized. Perhaps some people disagree? Is there times when certain art forms really are lower quality than others? What are those? And how do we categorize them?

#arth343

hyperallergic

Performance Artist Does the Impossible, Shows Up Courbet’s “Origin of the World”

dubanja

This performance piece occurred some time last week in the d’Orsay museum when artist Deborah de Robertis entered the museum and echoed the imagery of Courbet’s “The Origin of the World” by displaying her genitalia in front of the painting. I followed hyperallergic’s link to the original article which contained a video of the intervention and looked in the comments to see what people’s responses to the piece were. Some were shocked, others inspired. I took the time to watch the full video of this piece and see how people in the museum reacted. The reaction in the museum was quite positive, with spectators respectfully applauding. Although museum guards made efforts to clear the room, they didn’t seem particularly hurried or upset by the situation. One of the comments on the piece that I found reflected on how this environment was a product of the way French institutions might deal with such an event as opposed to institutions in America or other regions of the world. In light of our recent reading on “Global Feminisms” by Maura Reilly, I thought a great deal about the way this piece critiques the presence of women in art from a western viewpoint, and in the context of Western art history. It draws attention to the history of the depictions of women in art, and reminds me of the Guerrilla Girls poster about women having to be naked to get into the Met. Museum. In light of this past reference, I feel as this piece raises some questions that are still quite relevant about the presence of women in museums (in the context of both art and artists). The question of how the original piece depicts female genitalia was raised in the forum, and artist Betty Tompkins commented on this in a response to hyperallergic’s post. Tompkins, who is notable for her detailed paintings and drawings of sexual intercourse, made the case that the original piece was inaccurate in its depiction of female genitalia, and that de Robertis’ piece draws attention to this. In the forum responses, one participant cited the piece The Great Wall of Vagina by Jamie McCartney as an incidence of the original being potentially accurate (see http://www.pinterest.com/pin/224687468879610096/) What issues to you think this piece is trying to raise? Does it do so effectively? Is the artist “overzealous” as Hyperallergic editor-in-chief Hrag Vartanian suggests?

arth343

This performance piece makes me think back to the Ai Weiwei's vase that was destroyed as a performance piece (Except much less destructive!) In the way that the artist appropriates the imagery and/or message of another artist's work to express a different point. de Robertis' piece differs from the breaking of weiwei's vase piece, or the continued attempt to "vandalize" Duchamp's Fountain in the way that it seemed to be generally positively received. Part of this is definitely because de Robertis' performance piece is not destructive to the original piece it is playing off of, another big part I believe is because it was performed in France and not America. America has a very strange phobia of nudity, even when concerned with art. In an earlier post I talked about Renee Cox's Yo Mama's Last Supper and how the Mayor of New York was so offended by the content that he called for censorship regulations to be made on art. I wonder if circumstances would have been different in Europe? I think Anja is correct in connecting this piece with global feminism and the role of women throughout art history. I feel like because of the environment and the immediate audience of her piece the message was much more successful than maybe it would have been if it had been performed in America where her nudity would have been the only thing focused on and not the bigger message itself. Overzealous? perhaps, but sometimes you have to be to get your message heard.

#arth343

"I Need/Don't Need Feminism Because..."

So I looked up several of the blogs for the ongoing internet movement of "I need feminism because," And the opposing "I don't need feminism because." I found both of them very interesting and with several well thought out ideas. The women for "I need feminism" seemed to cover many of the social issues we see and hear about on a global scale regarding women's rights. There were posts about excusing men's sexually inappropriate behavior, women not being allowed to participate in certain sports and even women being told not to report being sexually assaulted or not being believed when they spoke up about the assault. All of these issues are very real and very disheartening especially coming from a culture that claims to have come so far in the realm of equality. These blogs also give voices to victims of other countries where women do not have the same rights as men and being repressed is very real for them. The opposing side however, did surprisingly have a few good points. The women on these blogs spoke up about not needing a label to feel empowered, not needing the fact that they're a women to be the first thing people notice about their accomplishments, not needing to demonize men and not needing to complain about being repressed in a country with some of the most civil liberties and opportunities. I agree that sometimes feminists take it to far and seem to be punishing men simply for being male, and that we have overcorrected far too much on what is acceptable for women to say and do, but not men. This blog's weak point in their arguments however is their extreme ignorance. Yes it's true that we have come a long way and we should feel grateful for that, but that doesn't mean that all issues of gender inequality have gone away. These women seemed to zero in on extremist and militant feminist that everyone always seems to notice, but who do not represent the movement as a whole. It's the same thing with Christianity. Yes, there are definitely a large number or religious extremist that do some atrocious things in the name of god like the Westboro Baptists, and it's very easy for people to point at them and say, "Christianity is a social menace!" But one group of extremists does not represent an entire group. The same goes for feminists. These young (Mostly American)women blog about how they don't need feminism because they live in a country where they already have equal rights and don't need to complain about oppression, but seem to forget that if it wasn't for feminists they wouldn't have these rights!

http://why-we-dont-need-feminism.tumblr.com/

http://whoneedsfeminism.tumblr.com/

#3arth343

Pretty in Ink: Women Cartoonists in the Hostory of Comics

Unlike most professions, women have apparently been extremely prevalent in the world of comic books and graphic novels. Women have been publishing comics since 1896. However, whenever the history of comics has been chronicled these women cartoonists have been over looked (No surprise there!). Trina Robbins who was a comic creator herself in the Underground Comix of the 70's and 80's wrote a book called Pretty in Ink: North American women Artists 1896-2013. Where she chronicles the untold story of the female cartoonist. Surprisingly, most of the female artists were publicly known as women and didn't need pseudonyms to publish their work. I the 40's artist Tarpe Mills created "Miss Fury" who apparently predated "Wonder Woman" as the first female super hero. "Wonder Woman" wasn't even drawn by a women until four decades after she was created.

After WWII the comic industry changed and became focus primarily on super muscled masculine super heros and was aimed almost entirely at young boys.Through underground movements and independent publishing companies women artists slowly made their way back into the world of comics and graphic novels, and even though it remains a mostly male dominated profession, their are more famous women comic book artists than ever before.

This book made me think about the discussion in class today about feminism on a global scale and if we think it's still necessary. I think it is definitely still necessary because even today women artists are overlooked or forgotten even of they were/are great and equal to their male counterparts. gender roles and stereotypes have been so ingrained in us for so many years it's going to take a very long time to change what people inherently believe. I think it is nice however, to relish in small victories such as women's role in the comic and graphic novel world for centuries and how their role continues to grow today.

http://hyperallergic.com/114326/pretty-in-ink-women-cartoonists-in-the-history-of-comics/

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Renée Cox: Yo Mama's Last Supper

Renée Cox is a Jamaican-American artist who is best known for her politically motivated self portraits. Cox's artistic focus is to breakdown racial stereotypes and empower women. She is inspired by bell hooks book Sisters of the yam and the idea of promoting self love.

Cox's piece Yo Mamma's Last Supper was made in 1996 and was displayed in the Venice Biennale. The photo is a reenactment of Leonardo Devinci's The Last Supper. All of the disciples are represented as African-American men and Cox herself is shown as Jesus standing nude in the middle. The only white person in the picture is Judas' character. This detail to me seems to call attention to the suffering that African-Americans have endured due to white men and labels them as the betrayer and untrustworthy. Cox has even written an an artists statement, "slavery stripped black men and women of their dignity and identity and that history continues to have an adverse affect on the African American psyche.”Her piece caused a lot of controversy and was deemed "Anti-catholic" by the mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani who afterward called for the creation of a panel to impose "decency standards" for all art shown in public museums. This piece reminds me of the artist we talked about in class Kehinde Wiley and his juxtaposed painting of African-American men in stereotypical contemporary garb in old master Renaissance paintings. Do you folks think that Cox's piece is successful in it's attempt to create a positive image for both women and African-Americans? or is she just perpetuating stereotypes and creating more strife and difference between black people and white people?

#arth343

karli-weiss

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1877832/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK2zYHWDZKo

I know what your probably thinking, “X-Men? What has this got to to do with global contemporary art?” But just hear me out. First of all, the entire world of X-men (Comics, TV shows, movies) is art, and...

Maura Reilly, "Introduction to Global Feminisms"

Maura Reilly's essay on Global feminism discusses several goals of the Global Feminism Exhibition. This exhibition wanted to give recognition not just to women artists in the western world but also to women artists from all over the world. The GFE also wanted to increase women artists’ recognition and visibility even more to “level the playing field” as they say. The GFE wanted to give an alternative narrative of contemporary artists by representing young female artists from many different cultures whose work represents their identities as well as acknowledging the wide differences between women.

Contemporary globalization has attempted to unite and lump all women into one feminist category without recognizing individual voices and differences. Contemporary globalization has also set women artists up to be stuck in the restrictive periphery of us/them, male/female, black/white etc. This set up also restricts women geographically lumping them into such categories such as Women artists of Latin America instead of recognizing shared or individual experience

Women artists have experienced and continue to experience many challenges in the global art world. There is a widely accepted idea of the oppression of women and the idea of a global sisterhood which assumes that all women globally experience the same thing and that there is no need to explore individual or cultural differences. However, at the same time feminists have had to be careful to keep the definition of feminism open and broad so as not to focus to closely on differences racially or culturally. Feminism must find a happy balance between individuality and difference and shared experience and comradery.

#arth343

The ABC's of Death

"The ABC's of Death" is an American 2012 film. It was produced by Ant Timpson and Tim League. The film contains 26 horror film shorts. each film short had a different director from 15 different countries all around the world. The film was entered into the Toronto Independent Film Festival in 2013. Each director was given a letter of the alphabet and told that their short had to be about death, but were given complete free reign on what word they chose and how they decided to go about making their film. The result is 26 shorts each displaying an extremely wide and varied styles of horror. Some of the shorts were humorous were legitimately scary or twisted. Each film was very characteristic of the country that it came from.

The idea of the film is very interesting. It makes me think of something like a Biennial for horror flicks. It's also a very good opportunity to see the work of other directors other than the well known hollywood blockbusters. I imagine that this sort of project, like a Biennial would be good for directors to get their work noticed and maybe picked up by bigger companies.

Of course with these sort of projects that seem highly diverse and worldly one can usually find with a little bit of digging that they're not quite as diverse as they appear. The ABC's of death only had one solo female director, American Angela Bettis who is best known for her acting in the 2002TV adaptation of Stephen King's, Carrie, The film May and Girl Interrupted. When interviewed and questioned about her role as the only female director Bettis said that it was really not important to her. This made me wonder if our obsession with diversity has made us unnecessarily suspicious of anything that claims to be diverse and quick to jump on any proof that it's less accepting than it appears even if the artists involved don't find it an issue. By compulsively pointing out these flaws in diversity are we simply making the differences between people (race, gender, religion, etc.) more prevalent?

Interview with Angela Bettis:

http://www.craveonline.com/film/interviews/197089-exclusive-interview-angela-bettis-on-the-abcs-of-death

ABC's of Death IMDB:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1935896/

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supersonicart

Curiot for PangeaSeed’s “Seawalls Expeditions: Murals For Oceans.”

Artist Curiot is part of PangeaSeed’s possible expedition to Isla Mujeres, Mexico for “Seawalls Expeditions: Murals For Oceans" wherein he and 12 other artists will have the chance to swim with Whale Sharks and Manta Rays, then paint murals around the city to educate and raise awareness of saving aquatic life and the oceans.

PangeaSeed needs your help to fund this project, which you can do on their Indiegogo page. There are tons of options for donating to the project and all of them have great rewards for you. Any donation of $100 dollars or more that mentions “Supersonic” will receive a special, limited edition print from one of the artists. These will only be available to Supersonic supporters.

1xRUN has also devoted themselves to helping this project and any item you might purchase in the special Seawalls Section of their site goes directly to funding the project.

This is a great opportunity for you to help save the oceans and the wildlife therein while also supporting the arts and artists who are devoting their time to this project.

Donate Now.

myarthistory343-blog

This collective contemporary project known as Seawalls Expeditions: Murals For Oceans combines concepts from art and activism to bring attention to ocean conservation and the many environmental plights that are affecting world oceans. The primary goal of the Seawall Expeditions project is for the collaborating artists of PangeaSeed (the art group who founded the project) to raise enough money to swim and study endangered marine animals such as whale sharks and manta rays off the coast of Isla Mujeres, Mexico, in order to paint accurate murals of aquatic life and raise attention to the many issues that threaten the ocean’s ecosystem (and specifically the lifeforms they will be studying during their time in Mexico).

Because ocean conservation is a global issue PangeaSeed itself is made up of a variety of international artists who are dedicated to preserving aquatic life within our world’s oceans ecosystems. Since its foundation in 2009 (in Tokyo, Japan) PangeaSeed has exhibited over thirty international shows that are dedicated to bringing awareness to “our collective relationship to the ocean…. using art and design to educate and raise awareness to pressing issues [our] oceans are currently facing.” Outside its shows PangeaSeed relays primarily on street-art outlets to educate the masses within continental and coastal communities of aquatic life and how their depletion will affect everyone on a global scale. Many of these murals focus on contemporary (and global) aquatic issues that are engendered by human activities such as the slaughter of sharks (for their fins), the elimination of manta rays in Sri Lanka, and fish-farming.

What many people don’t know is how sensitive our planet’s marine ecosystems are to change, and PangeaSeed is inherently dedicated to educating the world’s populations of these issues through global art and activism. Until May 20th of this year PangeaSeed is still looking for donations for their conservation. If you click on the attached link below you can donate a minimum of five dollars. : )

Source: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/sea-walls-expeditions-murals-for-oceans

http://pangeaseed.org/artivism/sea-walls/

arth343

I found this group really fascinating. I'm always pleased to see a motivated group of people trying to do the right thing on a global scale. the preservation of our oceans and ocean wildlife is definitely a global issue. There's a lot of "activist" art out there that I feel does actually very little on a large scale to make a difference. It's great to see this group actually dedicated to educating people on a global scale about the harmful effects of inhumane and non sustainable fishing practices. It doesn't help that so many people have such a narrow minded negative view of sharks that has been ingrained in us through media for decades. fear and ignorance that has been allowed to run rampant causes so many problems for people on a very global scale. reaching out and re-educating people through such an accessible medium such as art is a great way to get your message out there and to hopefully make a difference.

I can see how some may view this group's actions as very colonial as we discussed in class as this is a group of white foreigners coming into another culture and telling them that their way is wrong. However, I don;t believe it is right to watch injustices happen to people or to the planet and be content to sit in your safe corner of the world and do nothing because it's not your culture. this sort of thinking of it's not your business what another country does, because you do not and cannot understand their culture only separates us more and creates more ignorant stereotypes. Groups like this one that see a global issue and decide to take peaceful and educational action against it are groups that I believe we need more of.

#arth343

Ai Weiwei Vase vandalism

The story about the Florida artist who dropped one of Ai Weiwei's vases on the ground as an act of protest and as a reenactment of Weiwei's previous piece "Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn" reminded me of a very similar issue with Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain" piece. Many dada artists have vandalized it in the past by urinating or defecating into it, and in 2008 on e of these artist vandals actually tried to smash it and ended up damaging it with a hammer. They all claim that these acts of what is seen as vandalism are actually performances of dada art that the artist would have been happy to see. Unfortunately. has been dead for a long time we don't have his opinion on the matter. Weiwei on the other hand, appeared none to thrilled about this Florida artists's performance/protest in his honor. In response to the incident Weiwei is quoted saying " “The argument does not support the act, It doesn’t sound right. His argument doesn’t make much sense. If he really had a point, he should choose another way, because this will bring him trouble to destroy property that does not belong to him.” It's interesting how ideas of ownership can completely change a situation. Weiwei's " Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn" piece was all about "valuation of art and the fragility of cultural objects" His vase that was broken was estimated to be worth one million dollars. Duchamp's "Fountain" is said to be worth 3.6 million dollars. I find the idea of ownership for both of these pieces very interesting as well, both pieces were re-purposed objects. Weiwei's piece is painted over han dynasty vases, while Duchamp's is simply a urinal that he purchased from a hardware store. what are your guy's thoughts on all of this money and ownership business? And when does a performance piece go to far? What makes these performances less acceptable than others? Is is the gallery space, money or ownership?

Link to Duchamp's Fountain vandalism story:

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2006-01-06-duchampfountain_x.htm

Link to Weiwei's Vase Vandalism story:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/18/arts/design/ai-weiwei-vase-destroyed-by-protester-at-miami-museum.html?_r=0

#arth343

Claudette Lauzon, "Reluctant Nomads"

Biennial Culture has inspired new forms of art making that support the nomadic tendencies of these festivals. Claudette Lauzon's essay "Reluctant Nomads" talks about the often over romanced ideas of nomadism and the realities of barriers and restrictions due to a global capitalism. Below are several terms used with the essay that can help us understand the nomadic culture of Biennial culture.

Romance of nomadism: The international art world tends to embrace the ideal of transnationalism, while failing to actually live by the reality of it. This romanticism however, has created a new model of institutional critique that focuses on the situational “non-sites” seen in Biennial culture.

New institutionalism: Sometimes confused with the specific critique of Biennial culture associated with the romance of nomadism, it is characterized by discourses of transience, flux and relationality. It promotes the transformation of institutional spaces into open studios, labs, hang-outs, other and other communal areas. They privilege flux over stasis.

Reluctant nomads: These are artists who are uncomfortable with the idea and identity of the wondering nomad and of the art institution’s role as a way station. They however, use their mobility as a platform to address issues of dislocation and displacement. These artists investigate what it means to live in a world where the idea of “home” is more and more, debased.

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Hans Belting "The Plurality of Art Worlds and The New Museum"

Hans Belting's essay "The Plurality of Art Worlds and The New Museum" discusses whether or not the museum will survive as it functions now in our increasingly global world. Belting believes that museums as they currently exist are not serving the public or the artists in the ways that are needed in this contemporary art world. He suggests several ways in which museums can change and adapt their roles to better suit this new world.Instead of being a temple to display and house beautiful "high art" museums should be expected to become more of a cultural fair so as to equally express every culture, religion, etc. Museums, Belting argues need to become more interactive and allow more people to be directly involved than they have in the past.The Museums will have to diversify to survive. The communities want to be distinctly represented in the museums. The people don’t want to just see the art of the “Old masters” with just a few nods to “world artists.” The community no matter where they are wants to be represented equally. This is challenging for many museums and galleries. belting references several challenges that museums have faced such as,

The Asian art museum boom has suffered controversy over the issue of what “contemporary” art is. Abroad contemporary Chinese artists are thought highly of, but on the home front, they have not quite been accepted yet and interest is very low. Art collecting was always thought of as a business and not a service for the community.

In the Middle East some local artists protested against the power given to local curators of art museums. They claimed that the museums were not serving the communities’ needs but may become a danger to art production since they would only promote national or institutionalized art.

Belting references several museums and galleries that have adapted new practices in order to be a part of the contemporary age such as, In the Middle east where there had previously been no museum traditions, Art Dubai along with The Financial Times organized a global art forum.The forum had panels that worked to educate audiences and curators of the changing art world.

The Queensland art gallery in Australia took a "Transnational" turn when it promoted a triennial. The ideas was to create a region of "Asia-Pacific" art which consisted of 12 countries plus Hong Kong. The curator insisted on the priority of internal relations.

#arth343

Curated Online Gallery

The Collective 57 is a curated online global art gallery that started in New York City. They have a team that frequently travels to discover and promote new and upcoming artists from around the world. This is a great resource for many artists or art enthusiasts who don't have the means to travel to art events like biennials.

The website has a tab where artists can submit their work online to be considered for the website and an archive of all the previous artists work that has been published on the website.

This website is a very clear example of terry Smith's third nameless current of global art. resources such as this allow any artists or appreciator of art who has access to the internet to mingle and share ideas on a global scale. Someone may never have the opportunity to travel to Germany, but because of websites and resources like this they can still be a part of the contemporary global art scene. It's ideas like this I believe that help to break down these old segregating ideas of the "other." There is very little to no current cultures that are not at least somewhat known about by the world, their are no "noble savages" left or mysteries of an unknown and different people, yet we still categorize other cultures into the "us" and "them." With continued projects such as this however, I believe that we will see such prejudiced ideas shrinking as the mysteries of the world have shrunk.

#arth343

wetheurban

ART: ‘Melting Men’ by Nele Azevedo

In 2009 Brazilian artist Nele Azevedo carved 1,000 ‘Melting Men’ out of ice and placed them in Berlin’s Gendarmenmarkt Square to bring awareness to Global Warming.

contempquand-blog

Nele Azevedo has been gaining notoriety for her installation works involving these small ice men and women which she installs in major urban areas with the help of passers by. She installs them in the thousands where they are allowed to melt over time. Azevedo titles this piece, which she has installed in cities across the world “Minimum Monument” the humorous yet tragic play on the idea of a monument adding to the engaging nature of the piece. She calls these pieces “urban interventions” rather than installations. I intend to research this term a little further to see where it leads me in the realm of public environmental art. The participatory nature and the scale of this piece make me question where Azevedo received her permission and funding, and which organizations she has gone through (if any). It is interesting to view her work as a critique of the public monument and where this comes from, especially in light of art’s movement out of the museum (in the traditional sense) and into the public. This is an installation work, but the public and participatory nature of it puts it into Terry Smith’s emerging current of contemporary art, especially in the sense that it delves into the fragility of human existence on the planet. This work seems to be the crossroads for multiple strands of art-making, particularly pubic art, environmental art, participatory art, ephemeral art, and installation art. It makes me wonder what the impacts of ephemeral public art are. As we’ve discussed, if art does not last, it is impossible to purchase for the long term, which is perhaps one of this work’s most interesting features. This piece exemplifies some of the challenges of museums today to display/fund/purchase such art works.

Please note that additional information was retrieved at Azevedo’s website (which has some cool links to other websites)

link:http://neleazevedo.com.br/?page_id=1224

arth343

I find this pieces' message to be quite powerful visually and in how temporary it is. It is also very relevant to global art as the idea of global warming affects everyone on the planet, thus her work can be understood almost universally. I think it's fascinating that she considers her work to be a critique of the public monument, it makes me think of Ai Weiwei's project that I reblogged earlier "Study in Perspective." It seems as if people never consider monuments to be art projects but more as tourist attractions and glimpses of history. It's interesting to think of how that idea might change as the traditional ideas of the art world change. Again the impermanence is also interesting to consider when she calls it a monument because when we think of monuments we think of something that will stand the tests of time to commemorate what/whoever it commemorates. As I said in the post about Weiwei however, monuments usually fail at properly representing the truth of the situation that they come from. Monuments display the glory of the past while having the viewer overlook the death and suffering from which it probably emerged from. Azevedo's piece however, is very clear about what it represents and the great suffering that global warming will cause.

#arth343

Arsenale Ukraine biennale

Arsenale was founded in 2011 and is the first international biennale for contemporary art in the Ukraine It's second edition has been postponed to 2015 . Arsenale was inspired by the Tate Triennial and the Whitney Biennial. Arsenale will be held in the "Mystetskyi Arsenal" National Cultural-Art and museum complex in the historic center of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. This complex has a fair chance of becoming one of the largest museums in the world. The museum hopes to soon have technological infrastructure for a more modern and dynamic exhibition experience. The Museum will also offer many opportunities for education, art laboratories, classrooms, libraries, conference rooms and bookstores.

The theme of the first exhibition considers how contemporary art and aesthetics uses the past to express the future, and the ideas of human rights developed during the enlightenment of the 18th century, and how despite that, human rights are still restricted and revolutions are still being fought today. The exhibition focused on the Utopian dreams of freedom, equal rights and security.

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