Contemporary Hammer

A blog for my class about contemporary art and globalization

[contemporaryhammer]

Louisa, Matt,Bellomy, Hucklebee, El Gallo, Mute, Mortimer

[earthdaily]

[hifructosemag]

With his sculptures of multitudes of identical, disaffected, middle-aged men, Isaac Cordal critiques modern society’s emphasis on work and productivity. In our contemporary capitalist system, everything is thought of as a potential way to make profit — like public universities, which are becoming increasingly privatized and unaffordable here in the United States and in countries all over the world. This is the subject of Cordal’s latest piece, “The School,” where he imagines a university as a nightmarish factory with a skeletal overlord shouting instructions from a watchtower.

See more on Hi-Fructose.

[hifructosemag]

Russian-born artist Sergei Isupov investigates binaries in human relationships — male and female, good and evil, beautiful and grotesque. Using clay as both a material for three-dimensional expression and as a canvas for his illustrations, Isupov capitalizes on all properties of what he finds to be the most open medium. He sculpts human and animal figures, and then adds illustrations in glaze. The paintings diffuse into the clay’s surface, like tattoos on his sculptures’ skin. Taken together, the two- and three-dimensional elements of his work establish a compacted but powerful scene of emotions and narratives. Read more on Hi-Fructose.

[hifructosemag]

Undocumented immigrants often describe feeling invisible in their new countries, as the significant parts of their day-to-day existence must be kept below the radar of those who can threaten their livelihoods. Colombian artist Rafael Gomezbarros touches upon this theme in his installation series “Casa Tomada,” in which giant sculptures of ants take over large, public spaces, confronting viewers with what they often overlook. See more on Hi-Fructose.

[contemporaryhammer]

The message is being sprayed across the buildings in Brazil. With the world cup games taking up much of the attention the tourists walking the streets get another story. The people of Brazil are upset over the $11 billion spent on building a new stadium, which they believe would have been better served towards social programs and changes to public transport. The slogan “Need food, Not football” illustrates the social needs of the people are being greatly overshadowed by the hype and marketing of this year’s world cup. As had been seen before by the Faces of Brazil that decorated a neighborhood doomed to be demolished to make way for the expensive stadium.

            With many of the details about the poverty in Russia being exposed by the Olympics, it is interesting to see again the peoples need being outweighed by some international organization to make the biggest spectacle for people to watch. In a sense this disregard for human suffering in order to get more viewers reminds one of a dystopian world, a dystopian world that is visualized by the street art taking over the face of many buildings.

            Being taken up by many artists across the city the art attempts to create a message for the global tourists coming into the area for the games. Using the tourist trade to not only create wealth for the area this time, but to hopefully get people to think about the effects of the international market of sporting events, where the local populations needs can be set aside for the global populations wants.

[contemporaryhammer]

The Nomas Foundation

First founded in 2008 as a private collection by Stefano and Raffaella Sciarretta in Rome, Italy the foundation has changed and developed over the years into a collaborative art space and learning center. It has grown with the idea that art must be free and flowing and not stuck to one place. Taking the name Nomas after a nomadic tribe that even after severe oppression still held onto its culture, belief, and surprisingly enough language, the foundation in the same spirit focuses on a very linguistic, international approach to art. As such it is a Collaborative art space, an education center and a research and teaching center. Their exhibits feature collaborations between national and international artists helping to create this idea of an international community. Being located in a hub of international culture and export makes it very easy for them to acquire new artists to work with and their space has been experimented with in many ways. It is not limited to simply sculptures or video projects the foundation also does written works and performance pieces.

They have several rooms, including a residency room where a guest artists stays and critiques the Italian scene. It brings in an outside perspective to look at how the Italian lifestyle is viewed. That on top of their reading room, which is ever growing and is host to many talks and lectures.

More and more spaces around the world that are home to ,contemporary art are taking on not only a museum perspective of holding and viewing art, but also of being a center for learning for the community and The Nomas Foundation is no different

If you have some free time as well their website is also fantastic and adapts as well with their idea of using multiple languages.

Visit their website here

[contemporaryhammer]

Three Ideas on the Characteristics of Biennials

Claire Doherty in her essay points to social engagement as a key feature of biennials, in that they must interact with the society in some way as far as location and audience. This can be seen in the way they incorporate the culture into what they create or seek to affect the culture with how they interact with it. Two examples of this are Thomas Hirschorn’s monuments and  JR's "Faces of the Favelas"

Tim Griffin points states that biennials have two purposes, to invigorate art and set regions and places aside from each other, but also to unite art around the globe and present it as one in a paradoxical exchange. Contemporary art has flourished with new ideas since the biennials started happening, with the increase of globalization it is hard to say. though whether or not this is because of biennials or because of the internet which quickly spread ideas and made art available at one’s fingertips we’ll never know. Biennials do offer funds for projects that might not have been possible otherwise.

Caroline Jones coins the phrase experiential aesthetic which is to say an experience that is beautiful, which is why people are going to biennials. She says this is a negative though because it still engages art in the same way as an economy of aesthetic. You can see the same thing at music festivals often times these are not actually about the music but rather the experience of the event, hanging out with friends and the general party atmosphere. With biennials too, it has become apparent that there is an effort to make a spectacle so that people will come and see it versus any of the other biennials out there.

[contemporaryhammer]

"It is important not to be seduced by what might appear to be signs of equality in the art world, for it must be stated, and restated, that women have never been, nor are they yet, treated on a par with white men."

-Introduction to Global Feminism by Maura Riley, pg.18

This quote from Maura Riley covers a lot of what we have recently discussed in class about race as well. White male art is never labelled white male art, it has always been simply referred to as art, while almost every other group has to add a little affidavit in the art world showing they are now. There will always be white male art in museums, most of the surviving history of art in popular museums is just white male art.

This is also an important idea today with the recent talks about the murders at UCSB and the recent rise in internet groups such as men’s rights. Since the UCSB shooting there has been a rise of two hashtags on social networking sites. The first, #NotAllMen a response from a largely male group that not all men feel they are entitled to sex from women. This was quickly followed by the rise of the second #YesAllWomen. This second one worked that even though all men are not rapists, all women end up having to still be afraid of them, having to still lookout behind them when they walk the streets alone at night and are still being targeted simply based on their sex.

The reason I bring this up is because there is not equality among men and women. As long as their continues to be this inequality, men will continue to feel entitled, and women will still be afraid. Something needs to change and maybe art is the option, maybe there are other ways to, but something needs to change and the sooner, the better.

[slowartday-blog]

Ai Wei Wei, Sunflower Seeds, 2010-11 exhibition at the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall.

Sunflower Seeds is made up of millions of small works, each apparently identical, but actually unique. However realistic they may seem, these life-sized sunflower seed husks are in fact intricately hand-crafted in porcelain. Each seed has been individually sculpted and painted by specialists working in small-scale workshops in the Chinese city of Jingdezhen. Far from being industrially produced, they are the effort of hundreds of skilled hands. Poured into the interior of the Turbine Hall’s vast industrial space, the 100 million seeds form a seemingly infinite landscape. Porcelain is almost synonymous with China and, to make this work, Ai Weiwei has manipulated traditional methods of crafting what has historically been one of China’s most prized exports. Sunflower Seeds invites us to look more closely at the ‘Made in China’ phenomenon and the geo-politics of cultural and economic exchange today. (via)

[contemporaryhammer]

Ai Weiwei is going to be popular in our class as far as contemporary art and globalization go. Using the manufacturing history of China to make 100,000,000 porcelain sunflower seeds and then “exporting” them to the Tate museum. All 100 million seeds were made in Jingdezhen where the royal porcelain all used to be made. I mentioned earlier in my blog about how every intention to detail must be paid attention to and gosh darn if Ai Weiwei doesn’t have an eye for details.

Ai Weiwei calls the piece “part prophecy, part threat” it is also known as the “seeds of hope”. It alludes to consumerism as well as the global market place. Yet what exactly is it warning everybody about? Fake food? Consumerism slowly filling up the world? The loss of work and repetitive tasks? Or is it a look at the loss porcelain artists and many other who will not have jobs with the automation brought on by globalization and the advancement of technology. Each seed was hand crafted by 1,600 artists, which could have been made easily and quickly through an automated process. Yet Ai Weiwei chose this method slowing the production of this piece.

Whichever it is, the 100 tons of porcelain sunflower seeds is impressive and no doubt tough to transport. I can’t even imagine feeling comfortable walking across this piece not to mention playing in it, even if I knew it were all structurally sound, and it makes me wonder if kids are allowed in the exhibit for the risk of the choking hazard.

For more information on Ai Weiwei

For more information on the Sun Flower project

[globalizationnerd]

Large scale instillation artist Dutch collectiveSuperflex created this piece titled “Flooded McDonald’s” in 2009. While the above clip is only 40 seconds the whole, full length film is 21 minutes and shows various angles of a believable replica of a McDonald’s that could be any one of their thousands of chain stores around the world. While the chain restaurant is vacant of workers or customers while the room slowly fills with water, it’s haunting and reminiscent of apocalypse themes. While the fascination with the “end of the world” is lead by Americans and American culture, film and literature, it’s something that could be translated to a worldwide commentary on the subject. All Mcdonalds look the same. That isn’t exactly a new concept, especially in relation to and when talking about Globalization. So why would the destruction of one appeal or worry only one culture. If all McDonald’s around the world look the same in an effort to breed continuity in not only food, but also culture and what you’re expecting to take away from the restaurant. Sadly Americans will eat at a McDonald in a country of a different culture instead of experiencing the food from another culture, which is oftentimes a bigger distribution and sharing of culture then language; many customs for cultures are steeped in a history of meal sharing. So for all anyone knows this replica of a McDonald’s could be one from Germany or Italy, and not from a major city in America. While We may be obsessed with the apocalypse or destruction of our way of like in some freak natural disaster, It might not be a real possibility in life, or that if it does happen not all cultures would be involved. Japan’s massive earthquake in 2010 was like an apocalypse to the people who was affected by it. Major events don’t effect all or none of us, as people, we;re all effected by things that cause us to rebuild. Not even with Apocalypse level situations, and that’s something to think about as humans, and as cultural citizens.

[contemporaryhammer]

I was looking for this piece I am glad I stumbled upon it on your blog. One of the things the artists say about the piece is that they wanted something to replicate the flood of consumerism into people's lives, so of course that naturally meant that they would flood a replica of a McDonalds restaurant. Considered to be one of the ultimate symbols of consumerism, the home of the dollar menu and many other mc-named foods provides the bright contrast to the flood. The set was replicated all by the Danish group and sealed as the artists moved around filming the slowly unfolding destruction. It was originally aired at the Singapore Art Bienalle in 2011.

McDonalds is one of the biggest examples of consumerism next to coca cola and its use here was no accident. The flow of consumerism into people isn’t something that happens fast and immediately, it slowly hits them and gets uglier and uglier as it goes. Most countries didn’t get a bunch of McDonalds and Starbucks all at once it was slow growth until a large part of stores anywhere are international corporations.

It kind of gives the sense that International corporations are the new colonizers and their stores and products are the flags they plant in other countries claiming them for their own. Not to mention the violence against McDonalds stores around the world have been similar to that of colonies trying to oust the foreign powers out of their countries. Perhaps America itself has been colonized by corporate greed.

[kilpatrih]

“Art Hack Day is an internet-based nonprofit dedicated to hackers whose medium is art and artists whose medium is tech.  We believe in non-utilitarian beauty through technology and its ability to affect social change for public good.” (arthackday.net)

Art Hack Day is a grass-roots initiative of co-organizers from art-tech spaces around the world that hosts a 48 hour annual event where 60 artist-hackers and hacker-artists are invited to create works in a shared space. The event begins with “a meet & greet where we provide good food, fast Internet, and equipment for collaborating on and creating new work.” Depending on the location, 500-1000 visitors come through the space to see the work being built and experience interactive works and demonstrations. Some examples of the work created at Art Hack Day include:

Sabrina Basten, Audrey Samson {Roger10-4}

Field Sweeper, Inc.

Field Sweeper Inc. detects and makes audible electro-magnetic fields. Through mountains of electronic waste the field sweeper suit enables the scavenger to find the last bit of surviving electronics, listening for the last peeps of these devices.

  Bengt Sjölén, Nicklas Marelius

Data Retention - Resurrection

A hard-disk from a disposed computer, once sold and used in Europe, then shipped to Nigeria and dumped in an e-waste landfill, is brought back from the dead and its content displayed in a stream of documents, images and internet caches revealing the trails of its former life.

  Dennis de Bel

S.M.S: Smoke Messaging Service

Smoke is one of the earliest technologies for long distance visual communication. This iPhone addon offers you the advantages of ancient technology TODAY! Features: free, no subscription, autonomous, not dependant on existing infrastructure, location based long distance visual communication, nsa proof protocol  social: one has to agree on a protocol in person in order to start communication, chaining to cover longdistances (chinese 750km, great wall)

  Exonemo

exonemo.com/fireplace

Once upon a time, the hearth was the heart of the home. Now there’s a TV in its place, where you can watch a perfect fireplace 24/7. With “smart” devices that too will soon disappear, to be consumed from our palms. Consider this our contribution to such progress. A bonfire for all of the keyboards, mouses, of a now lost legacy. A new iteration of the fireplace to warm our restless souls.

  This kind of technological interchange is a direct result of globalization and its invention of a shared culture and language. The collaborations at this event are cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural but speak to a shared reality (or virtual reality). This event embodies the kind of DIY invention/making/dialogue that is shared globally in countries with access to technology. 

[contemporaryhammer]

This is so cool, using the themes of technology and the past to create hybrids of both. The piece that stuck out to me the most was Data Retention – Revival, which speaks volumes about globalization along the lines of the commercial trade between nations and where this techno trash is tossed. Hard drives are made of components gathered from all over the world to be assembled. Once assembled it is shipped off to where ever it need go, again all around the world, these are then bought by manufactures or computer owners and then once they are done thrown away ad shipped to another dozen countries where the techno trash can’t harm the people who used it. By resuscitating the hard drive they not only show the trail of its users life but also again continues the process of the hard drives travels.

            The hard drive itself is an example of good and services being exchanged all across the world. The trail of its “life” to trash gives a visual display of what this interchange is like. It’s often an idea we forget about with our computers smart phones and laptops all hooked up to the internet and communicating globally that way, but also that the technology itself was a product of globalization.

            Does this piece show the dark side of this globalization trade, what with the thousands hurt by improper disposal of these technologies? Or is it simply an interesting idea of who the owner used to be? I’d be curious to see what the information brought back to life was, and to see whether some of the data displayed are the shipping records for the piece, or any information about it creation.

[kilpatrih]

The Yams Collective, the largest of the eight collectives participating in the 2014 Whitney Biennial, has withdrawn over objections to the curatorial program. The group, known in the Biennial as HOWDOYOUSAYYAMINAFRICAN? (tongue in cheek, because “African” is not a language) Is 38 black and mostly queer artists. They withdrew on objections to the Biennial’s inclusion of Joe Scanlan’s “Donelle Woolford” piece, in which the white male Princeton professor hires black female actors to play the part of a fictional black artist named Donelle Woolford.

The group issued a statement: “We felt that the representation of an established academic white man posing as a privileged African-American woman is problematic, even if he tries to hide it in an avatar’s mystique. It kind of negates our presence there, our collaborative identity as representing the African diaspora.” (hyperallergic.com)

The Whitney Biennial’s response has been tantamount to: “Yeah, we want controversy. Why else would we include both these things in the same room?” One only has to look to the work of Adrian Piper or Kara Walker to note the precedent racially charged works on display at the Whitney. Racial controversy is certainly not a historically avoided topic. The Whitney has tried to rise above criticism under the guise of “creating dialogue” around racial issues. But, is that a fair argument?

Perhaps racially-charged conversations are overshadowing a wider conversation about when a curator chooses to opposing works representing vastly different frames of reference and shows them side-by-side. Is it to create controversy or a tactic of “covering all our bases”? Is it fair for a curator to essentially overwrite the content of both pieces to make vehicles for the goal of an institutional statement? Is the power of any statement about identity politics in the hands of a curator subject to change by its placement alongside other artworks? 

[contemporaryhammer]

You raise some great questions. It seems that this question gets brought up a lot in our class as well about the intention of the piece. It reminds me of the use of the aboriginal community by the graffiti artist Adnate. When everything about the gallery he did of realistic portraits of aboriginal people, he stated that he saw a rich history and the beautiful land that they came from. Yet in his gallery he had members of an aboriginal tribe performing.

It was reminiscent of the viewing of oddities of the past. He then would come looking very racist to use this culture for the amusement of his guests for a spectacle of oddities. However, if he had used the spectacle to instead further the message of his art, perhaps make some commentary on the interaction between the rest of the world and the aboriginal tribe then it might be considered okay.

Now looking at the Yams collective as well had both been to create controversy for simply controversy’s sake then to me that is just as bad as if they were using the artists simply for spectacle. If it fits with their message and furthers it, then it is using that reaction for a purpose to further an understanding. However, this is in essence black face. By disguising another artist with another “avatar” of a different race in my opinion is just as offensive as if he had painted himself and shown up.

Again, intention plays such a key importance in the contemporary art world. Everything says something in art and to just do something for spectacle or to negate a bunch of artists for the sake of creating controversy demonstrates a lack of thought on the part of the Whitney Biennial.

[contemporaryhammer]

Mediums in Contemporary Art: Textiles

A common material used in many Contemporary Arts projects are textiles. Textiles are cloth and other fabric that is woven together in a network of ways. Often these are used for clothing fabric and other woven goods. They often have distinct patterns based on how they are crafted and are often sold around the world to set themselves apart. Often these resources were used in colonial times to transport goods but also as goods themselves which were then taken back to the colonizing country. Textiles have been monitored since the mid 70’s to limit the amount that developing countries can export to developed countries. Textiles changed tremendously with the invention of the cotton gin, spinning jenny and power loom which mechanized production.

            Often seen in pieces of contemporary art critiquing the colonization or often alluding to colonization, the fabrics themselves are often aesthetically pleasing. Textiles take on many different types and colors that often are distinct to different parts of the world. Textiles themselves have been known to be pieces of art themselves and were often used to tell a story in their finished product which was one of the earlier ways of recording history.

            Textiles themselves have started to become a symbol of capitalism in the global market place. Since many developed countries buy these products from developing countries it’s often a show of power of the developed world over the developing. And often requires artists to fill out a whole host of paperwork just to transfer any artwork that has textiles involved in it.

[contemporaryhammer]

Discover an Art Movement: Lowbrow/ Pop Surrealism

Started in Los Angeles, the Low Brow Art movement, also known as "Pop Surrealism", is an art form that consists of a very cartoonish or comic like feeling to it. The art form has a surrealistic feel with a pop culture influence, which is said to have a west coast feel to it yet has travelled all over the world and has more recently picked up traction with museums and galleries. While still dividing art critics the movement has been very popular with young adults, often getting a lot of traction on the internet. Perhaps it’s the sense of humor the artists bring to it, or perhaps it’s the underground quality that the art form still has that draws a young group that has developed a hunger for that sort of thing. The genre works to blend the high form arts of painting and sculpture into some of what are considered the lower forms, tattoos and comics, in a way that causes many critics to have a hard time categorizing the many variations of  Lowbrow into just one form. With it’s wide spread many people have seen that it has taken on many different strands often changing to create a kind of regional feel with its flavor of form.

Some noteworthy artists of “Lowbrow” are Gregory Crewdson, Mariko Mori, Ashley Bickerton, Art Spiegelman, Tony Oursler, and Cindy Sherman. It is argued that two different people started Lowbrow one is Robert Williams with the publication of his magazine Juxtapose and the other is Mark Ryden for Pop Surrealism, both with very different styles.

[contemporaryhammer]

Anonymous

Okay, so a lot of people are going to wonder why I am posting anonymous the proclaimed "hacktivist" group as a contemporary art piece. But hear me out.

Anonymous is heavily dependent on its symbolic imagery.

Their catchphrase "We are legion" not only associates it with the biblical verse of the man who is possessed who when asked who he is responds "We are legion, for we are many". An association to demonic possession as well as the fact that is is unclear how many people are formally and informally members of Anoymous.

The constant use of the Guy Fawkes mask. Famous for the gunpowder plot of 1605 where they tried to destroy the king and parliament by blowing them up from underneath. Also associated with V for Vendetta, a big pop culture film that many people believe to be symbolic for fighting the oppression of government.

Started off in Troll culture, which is to say that they started out based on groups looking to make people angry. Often famous for the motives of "doing it for the lulz".

They’ve become an aesthetic experiment in activism. It’s a completely anarchistic structure that is showing to still be successful at organizing. It’s an internet group that started off just trying to get reactions but has also worked in achieving group efforts in a very sporadic manner. And to some it’s a bunch of computer nerds seeing how much they can get away with.

Yet they have an aesthetic style for themselves that reminds me of the Yes Men in the sense that they have made a performance out of this activism. Even their videos have the symbols that have made up their image. No matter what they are they have a very global and contemporary style. That's why I am now looking at them as contemporary art.

[contemporaryhammer]

Adrift- Liz Brizzi

Adrift is a new gallery by French Los Angeles resident Liz Brizzi, is an aquarium of the world’s cities. An exploration of urban structures and beauty in the city as inspired by Liz Brizzi’s travels around the world, the title suggest a sense of being alone amidst the dereliction of the man-made beauties. Inspired by the structures in LA as well as japan and south East Asia, the multi medium portraits capture the essence of these spots in the city.

Brizzi in a sense captures the identity of the various dwellings within a city from apartment building to alley ways all across the globe these spots have their individual cities about the past and the history that these cities have. The different ways that cities express their identities through the structure of their buildings. Seen as portraits of the many members of the family of buildings in the worlds cities. Her art work uses photographs mixed with acrylic paint to communicate the identity of these buildings to anybody in the world. It is an interesting take on what is a cultures identity based on their architecture. Uniting the pieces under the name Adrift as well lends a sense that there is a common sense of un-attachment when viewing these many varied buildings.

Liz Brizzi is French born, with Italian parent’s, who is now living in Los Angeles who continues to travel the world. Focused mostly on the architecture and identity of buildings, her current gallery will be on display at ThinkSpace (Los Angeles) is on display from April 26th til May 17th and will be her first solo gallery.

Liz Brizzi's website

The site for Adrfit at ThinkSpace