Art 1531 Blog

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Performance Art Project: A Family that Cooks Together, Stays Together

I decided to focus my performance art project around something that I find extremely important. After having my daughter, I realized that my husband and I never ate at the table as a family like I had when I was growing up. I started wondering when and why I stopping the tradition of preparing and eating a meal as a family. Growing up, I always helped my parents cook and it provided a unique time of the day where we could connect as a family. I believe that this time together is so important and it gives kids the opportunity to learn and be creative, while at the same time it reinforces the family bond. By the time my daughter was a year old, we decided to make a habit out of cooking together and always eating as a family. I filmed my family preparing a pot roast that was to be cooked throughout the day, this is why my daughter is in her jammies and looks pretty disheveled. She loves to play with ingredients by tasting and smelling them, she also loves adding things to the pot (which she graciously shows in the last few seconds of the video). I contemplated several times making a different video because I wasn’t totally in love with the way that this one turned out. Ultimately, I decided to stick with this one because it was a perfect capture of what cooking is like with my family. There are a lot of things going on at once and it may seem chaotic but it means the world to me that I can share something I love with my family.

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Grapefruit volumes 1 & 2 Response

City Piece: walk all over the city with an empty baby carriage.

I didn’t have an actual carriage but I did have my daughters stroller handy. This was an odd project because of all the funny looks we got from people as my husband took the photos of me. People didn’t seem to think that an empty stroller was stranger than a man photographing a woman pushing one.

Pea Piece: carry a bag of peas. Leave a pea wherever you go.

This project was actually kind of fun. I enjoyed finding just the right spot to set the peas. I tried to choose places that would make people double take while walking by. The placing was also fun because I was trying to find places where I could get an interesting angle and some depth that might make the pea stand out more.

Mirror Piece: instead of obtaining a mirror, obtain a person. Look into him. Use different people. Old, young, fat, small etc.

This project was much harder than I expected it to be. I recruited my husband, mom and sister to help with this and I found it incredibly hard to remain serious. My goal for this exercise was to look into the other person’s eyes and hold a steady gaze. Unfortunately, my family knows how easy it is to make me laugh and all three messed with me the entire time. I didn’t get the quality photographs I wanted but I got a quality family memory instead, and to me that is Art.

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The Artist is Present Response

Marina Abromovic’s The Artist is Present was an incredibly innovative piece for the world of Art. She demonstrated a great deal of control and trust to perform this installation. Early in the film, Abromovic explains that she was raised with a communist-type control from her parents, her mother in particular, as well as spiritually by her grandmother. Both of these concepts show through her work in the way she connects with the audience on a spiritual level by way of her strict self-control and adherence to the piece. It’s her astounding level of willpower that captivates her viewers. In the film, we are also introduced to her ex-partner Ulay. Ulay and Abromovic lived and performed together for several years; they were not only work partners but were also romantically involved until infidelity tore them apart. I think that this is why she said in her manifest that an artist should avoid falling in love with another artist. Abromovic also emphasized to the artists that were re-performing her famous works that she had to give them her complete trust in order to make the exhibit a success. She had to trust her pieces and their meanings to others in order to put every ounce of her strength into The Artist is Present.

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The Case for Performance Art Response

1) I think that Burden was trying to capture the human response to pain. The photographs taken immediately after the subject was shot, captured the pure shock on the man’s face. This is a face that not many of us see regularly and so it’s understandable that someone would want to attempt to capture it. I do consider this video art because it captured a human reaction that is not experienced in an ordinary day. I can see where this video may not have aged well to some viewers in the light of recent events. Personally, when I watch or read about something that was created in the past, I try to understand the mindset of the time. I don’t judge this piece based off of ideals of today’s society but if it were created today, I would say that it was an irresponsible and insensitive video. 

2) The example of performance art that I chose was done by artist Mariko Mori in 1994. She stood outside of a toy store in Tokyo dressed as toy cyborg. I found this piece to be diverse in the way that the viewer would perceive Mori. Perceptions could range from whimsical to sexual and anywhere in-between. This piece was inclusive to those that use costume as an art form along with the willingness to use that medium to evoke an emotional response from the viewer based on their individual perceptions. For example, one person may have seen Mori in her cyborg costume and thought that they wished they had the courage to do something similar. Another person may sexualize her and feel shame for doing so. Either perception is a human response and is what makes Mori’s piece diverse yet inclusive.

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Inspirational Artist Links: Performance Art Responses

Electric Stimulus to Face, by Daito Manabe

Manabe’s electric stimulus to the face experiment was really interesting to me. I think that this video demonstrates that although we are all unique, we are all biologically the same. Yes, we vary genetically with different conditions and so on, but our bodies function the same way. Four different people had the electrodes placed in the same spots and each one of their nerves reacted the same way to the stimuli. This point was made even more clear by the way that he synced all four videos perfectly with each other. You can watch all four people have the exact same response to the same stimuli at the same time.

Alter Bahnhof, by Janet Cardiff

When I read this description of this video it got me really excited. It was more anticlimactic than I was expecting and I think that it would be more impactful to experience firsthand. For me, the slow movement through the station failed to grab my interest and I continuously found myself getting distracted. I do believe that the concept is fascinating and I wish that I had the opportunity to experience this piece the way that it was intended to be experienced.

Bike Lanes, by Casey Neistat

I must admit that the first time Neistat ran into the construction equipment I laughed harder than I should have. It wasn’t funny to me because he was possibly injured but because I knew what he was trying to say. If he was going to get a ticket for biking outside of the designated lane when it was unsafe to do so, then he was going to plow through obstacles that were placed in those lanes. His witty, sarcastic response to an unfair ticket was pure gold in my opinion.

Legend & Queen, by Candace Breitz

What really stood out to me about these videos was the different ways that people reacted to the music. You could tell when someone was truly moved by the lyrics and when others couldn’t think of the words but still moved with the rhythm. These videos showed that music affects us all differently while bringing us together at the same time. I especially liked the way that Breitz laid out the videos. By filming thirty people’s individual reactions to the same song and then displaying them all together, the viewer is more inclined to move their focus from the entire group to then each individual over the course of an hour.

Meat Joy, by Carolee Schneemann

This video did not resonate with me at all. I understand that Schneemann’s purpose behind this piece was to fight the social norm at the time but I had a hard time identifying what those norms were. This video is more than twice as old as I am and I think that the older it gets; the more meaning is lost on younger generations. I do think that it would be interesting to watch the video with someone that lived in Paris during that time to see what their reaction would be and maybe gain some insight.

Vanessa Beecroft Interview & VB40, by Vanessa Beecroft

Beecroft’s use of the female figure as an art form is inspiring. She uses a controlled environment to display these women in a way that forces to viewer to appreciate their form. The models aren’t allowed to speak or act in any way and they can only move once tired. Each position of the body is considered art, which I think is beautiful. Beecroft uses mostly nude models to evoke a sense of discomfort in the audience; she wants them to feel unsure of how to approach her work. VB40 resonated with me because it shows these women that are all nude except for red tights and heels. To me, the nude part represented vulnerability but the bold color of the tights and the heels said power. I think that Beecroft was trying to demonstrate a woman’s ability to be both vulnerable and powerful at the same time.

The Astonished, by Bill Viola

This video resonated with me in the sense that it shows that not everyone experiences sadness and grief in the same way. Working as a CVT and helping with euthanasia almost daily, I constantly have to remind myself that everyone goes through these emotions differently. This concept has made me a more understanding person and has helped me to not jump to judgement so easily. I think that this may be the message that Viola is trying to get through to the viewers. Grief and sadness are experienced differently by everyone and there is beauty in that.

Staging, by Maria Hassabi

What resonated with me the most about this video is Hassabi’s use of space and movement. The slow movement of the performers allows the viewer to take in every detail of the body’s movements and how the environment effects the overall piece. In the video, she said that viewers reported feeling either a sense of meditation or tension. I think that for Hassabi, she gets a profound feeling of connection to her surroundings and the people performing with her. While I do appreciate her message behind the performances, I feel that I would be a viewer that experienced tension. Something about watching someone slowly move along on the floor as if no one were around would be unsettling to me.

Talking Tongues, by Lisa Steele

This video was very interesting to watch. I found the subject matter compelling and loved how Steele herself played the role. Domestic abuse is an extremely important issue and Steele’s video brings awareness to the fact that most people don’t want to deal with it. She portrays a woman that has tried multiple times to escape her abusive husband and no matter how many times she reaches out for help, she is always sent back to him. I find this video as a plea to listen to those that come forward and ask for help in these situations because not all of them will be able to share their stories as a survivor as Steele did.

Perimeter of Square, by Bruce Nauman

This video failed to resonate with me. As I watched it, I was having a hard time deciphering what Nauman was trying to get across to the viewer. I actually ended up looking the video up in order to get some insight. Nauman was demonstrating many themes but the ones that I noticed the most were repetition, body awareness and minimalism. He synced his body movements to the tempo of a metronome, which requires awareness of one’s body. I definitely think that Nauman accomplished what he wanted to in this video but it simply failed to pique my interest.

Punk Prayer, by Pussy Riot

The message behind this video resonated with me more than the delivery. I can’t imagine what it would be like to live in the conditions that these women described in their song. In this sense, I do believe that it is important to shed light on these issues and to try and make a difference. What did not resonate with me is the fact that they did this within a church. I’m not a very religious person and no longer practice but I was brought up in the Catholic church and still hold a great deal of respect for religion. I found their performance disrespectful but I suspect that the group intended to upset people by choosing a church as their setting.  

Cut Piece, by Yoko Ono

What resonated the most with me about this video was when the woman speaking throughout the video said that either way, whether or not anyone had cut the dress, it would have said something. The message would have been different if no one actually came up and cut Ono’s dress. As time went on, people started to get more comfortable with the idea of cutting pieces of her dress away and therefore people started taking larger pieces off. To me, this is an example of mankind’s herd like tendencies; one person may do something that is considered taboo but when more people follow suit, it becomes an accepted behavior.

Interior Scroll, Carolee Schneemann

This piece was intriguing to me because of Schneemann’s use of the female body. It evokes a sense of great respect for the female body as a place of creation. The photographs that show Schneemann painting herself with mud depict a oneness with nature and recognition that life comes from women. In the photographs where Schneemann is seen slowly pulling a scroll from her vagina, I believe that she is trying to say that women hold a great amount within themselves. There are so many traits that make up a woman: wisdom, strength, empathy, etc. Life on Earth would not exist without us and that is why this series of photos resonated with me.

Bound Mouth & Foot, by Kate Wingard

I really liked Wingard’s message behind this piece. I think that the use of terms that would be hurtful to a person brings awareness to the mental and emotional damage we can do to one another. I especially appreciated the way that she completely removed the word “shame” by literally stomping on it until it was unrecognizable. For me this was a message to squash the negativity that others throw at you and never let it take hold.

Wholesome, by Megan Carnrite

I found this video really interesting. What resonated with me was the idea that life will continuously throw things at us and we handle them the best we can. Whether we successfully handle a situation (swallowing) or if it becomes too much and we let things slide (food falling from Carnrite’s mouth), we are all expected to keep up the appearance that nothing ever phased us. I think that this was a beautiful metaphor for the everyday struggles of life.

Roll of a Woman, by Javid Rezvani

I found this video extremely funny. The viewer’s first reaction is that the woman is talking about sex and they continue this narrative throughout the video; even after the true topic, the fact that women do indeed poop, is revealed. I found that this witty approach could be used for so many aspects of our lives. There are so many different facets of our lives that we may know occur as humans but we never think about it happening in someone else’s life. It’s as if the artist is saying, “hey, we are all more alike than we think. Stop thinking we aren’t”.

How to Earn a Glass of Water, by Dallas Scott

I think that this video showed a great deal of human restraint. Scott demonstrated an amazing amount of willpower to be able to sit under lamps that were probably hot for just under three and a half hours, waiting for a glass of water to melt. Other species would not have demonstrated such restraint and would have left in search of an easier source of water. While I found the video a great example of a human’s will, it did fail to resonate with me on an inspirational level.

Can Knot, by Alexandra Gutierrez

I think that the message that Gutierrez is trying to portray is how we deal with life’s struggles. In most cases, they are not clearly defined as a single issue but rather are intertwined. As we struggle to pull them apart, we may attempt to put the others to the side in order to focus on one issue. This may work for awhile but eventually we’ll pull on something that pulls everything else to the surface and we are met with another knotted mess of problems. This video resonated with me because it resembled how I have dealt with issues in my past and I think that many people have experienced this as well.

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I have worked in the veterinary field as a certified veterinary technician for going on five and a half years. My intervention project brings light to some issues that veterinary professionals face nearly every day. In my experience, the majority of clients display a hesitancy or outright refusal to trust veterinary professionals. Many clients show this by speaking to us as if we are unintelligent and have never seen an animal before. This constant degradation truly starts to wear on you; mentally and emotionally. I decided to ask my veterinary friends to send me some issues that they wish that clients would take to heart. My installation is a mixture of my own thoughts and theirs, I wanted this project to be a voice for veterinary professionals. I posted each message on a lamppost that encircle a very popular dog park in my neighborhood so that I made sure to reach the right audience. The way that the lampposts are positioned, it allows people to reflect on what they have read before reaching the next message; much like a gallery. There were twelve messages in total and I did not photograph them all but I did include the ones that I did not photograph below.  

“Please stop asking veterinary technicians if they plan to go to school to become a veterinarian. Not everyone wants to become a doctor. Technicians and receptionists do find a great deal of satisfaction in their work.”

“Please stop taking advice from your breeder over the advice of your veterinary staff. Veterinary professionals have completed years of medical training and must attend several hours of continuing education every year in order to maintain certification/licensure with the state. This is a requirement to practice medicine. Your breeder does not have to adhere to these regulations and the vast majority have zero medical background.”

“We understand the frustration when it comes to expensive services. We do everything in our power to keep services affordable. The majority of veterinary hospitals do not recommend testing or treatments if they truly do not think that it will benefit your pet. If we do not give you a discount or free service, it does not mean that we are only out for money or that we do not care about the patient. Ultimately, we are a business and do need to charge appropriately in order to keep the doors open.”

“Vaccines are literally the lowest form of profit. We basically charge enough to cover the dose and the equipment required to administer it. Please stop accusing veterinary staff of attempting to gain a large profit from you when we recommend a vaccine. We only recommend something if we think it would be beneficial to your pet. If you are unsure about a certain vaccine, please ask us to elaborate; we would be happy to weigh the options with you.”

“ Food is not love! The quantity of pets that are obese have caused many owners to not realize what a healthy weight looks like. Dogs and cats should have a noticeable waist and dogs should have an abdominal tuck that varies dependent on their breed. You should be able to readily feel their ribs under their skin and coat but not see them. We understand that there are metabolic diseases that can cause weight gain or loss but in the majority of cases, obesity in pets is due to overfeeding. Obesity causes several issues which include arthritis, heart disease, liver disease, kidney disease, and diabetes.”

“ If you call your general practice veterinarian in an emergency situation and are instructed to head to the ER; this is for the benefit of your pet. Some emergency situations require more care and expertise than we may feel that we can provide. We would rather you spend the valuable time that your pet requires in a practice that can cater to those needs.”  

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Mini Installation

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Land Art Video Response

1) Nancy Holt was inspired to create “Sun Tunnels” by the desire to break free from the traditional art gallery. She purposefully placed her piece in a vast, barren landscape to emphasize that our world is so much larger than the buildings we use to contain our lives. While the viewer sits inside one of the tubes, they feel a sense of security as well as a sense of connection with nature. This is because Holt placed the tubes in such a way that they line up perfectly with the sunrise/set during both solstices and each one has a different constellation carved into it. This allows the viewer to be aware of aspects of nature that they wouldn’t normally wouldn’t notice. 

2) “Time Landscape” by Alan Sonifist is located in lower Manhattan in New York. This piece of land art is a 25x40 foot plot of land that contains plants that were indigenous to New York state before settlers began building. Sonifist’s hope for the piece was to connect the people of New York to a time before the city. Although New York is a beautiful city filled with art (from the buildings to public installations), he wanted people to see their city in a different light and emphasized the beauty of New York before the buildings.   

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“Context” by Terry Barrett Reading Response

1) Viewing context is when the message behind the piece is altered due to how it is displayed. If a painting is displayed with other paintings, the context may be different if it were to be displayed with sculpture that depict similar subject matter. The overall layout of a piece is considered the internal context. The way that the artist decides to position the elements of a piece and their proximity to other elements or colors all effect the way the piece is interpreted. Social context refers to when the piece was created. For example, if a piece depicts a social or political issue, the context changes over time as opinions and overall social structure changes. Art Historical context is when an artist references a well-known piece from history and creates something new. The context of the new piece may contrast or bring new life to the original piece.

2)According to Barrett, the formula for meaning in art is the addition of medium, form, subject matter and context. Medium can influence the meaning of a piece by the way the artist uses it. For example, if the artist is using clay, the piece would reflect a different meaning if the artist left the surface smooth rather than carving an image or design into it. The form of a piece refers to the way the artist places items and decides on their relative size. If an artist paints an item larger than it would be in reality, then it changes the meaning of that item to the artist. Subject matter is the most obvious part of the piece. It is the main focus that catches the viewers eye and in some cases the meaning of the piece is determined by how the other elements of the equation effect the subject matter. As answered in the above question, context is another major component of the meaning in a piece. The manner in which a piece is created or displayed dramatically effects the meaning to the viewer. 

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Examples of Public/Intervention Art

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Squid to Self: Let's Call a Truce

Depression and anxiety are illnesses that so many people suffer from and they affect everyone in different ways. This issue is especially important to me because several people I love suffer from depression/anxiety and there have been points in my own life where I have too. The message that I wish viewers to take away from this video is that not everyone going through depression is sad. Sometimes depression looks like anger and frustration; people may distance themselves from others and not make close connections. Sometimes people seem completely fine. One night this week, I was watching Spongebob with my daughter and it occurred to me that Squidward’s mannerisms were similar to the way that I tend to experience depression. He is consistently in a bad mood, easily irritated, says/does things to hurt others therefore hindering true connections, etc. It was important for me to create this video because when I make art, I focus on things that either affect me or make me. I dig deep and expose a part of who I am; even if it’s the darker parts that are usually not up for discussion.

All materials sampled in this work are purely for creative non-profit purposes and will be removed at the owner’s request.

References:

https://youtu.be/BGya-w7O1Z4, https://youtu.be/riZuHpMFlyM, https://youtu.be/xpGk2ROHyOg, https://youtu.be/omzdnYPf5xU, https://youtu.be/E5BzhG_sKUw.

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Making Art by Terry Barret, Chpt 6: Discussion Questions

1 - What surprised you about ways time and motion can be incorporated as elements of art?

2 - What piece (or pieces) of art were most inspiring to you in the chapter?  What new ideas did it give you for your own art?

[evie26blog]

What I found most surprising about the use of time and motion was that it really forces the viewer to pay attention to every detail. In a painting, you can look at if for some time and notice the small details. In a video, you may have to watch it several times before you notice those hidden details.

[eleni-learns-art]

Time and Motion Discussion Questions

1. How can the use of time impact the viewer emotionally?

2. Does art ever exist without the use of time motion, or both? Or is it always an element of art in some way? 

[evie26blog]

To answer your first question, I think that time can be used in art to emotionally impact the viewer due to the pace of the video and the way it makes us experience time. If a video is set to be fast paced, we may feel rushed or stressed whereas if another video is slower, we may feel as though we’ve been watching forever - even if the videos are the same length.

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I tried to get some content of my dog doing something cute to create my GIF but she is camera shy and would only look away! I took 8 still shot photos and uploaded them into the timeline bar where I adjusted the time and loop.

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Video Artist Response:

Although all of the artists listed have produced interesting and thought provoking works, Sam Taylor Wood’s Still Life resonated with me the most. I found her take on a traditional still life portrait fascinating in that she not only captured the present but the future as well. To me, her video demonstrated that in any given moment in time, there is always a future. Time will always go on, no matter how much we may try to capture a single moment. I especially liked the concept that everything comes and goes. Even at the peak of ripeness when it may seem that something may never change, given time, everything dies and rots. This is true for everything in life, whether it’s a bowl of fruit, a job, relationships, even entire nations.

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Chapter 6 Discussion Questions:

1. Does implied motion require the viewer to experience the piece in more depth as they are forced to imagine the movement, rather than visualize it?

2. If you were to take a video and only change the tempo, how do you think the overall feeling of that video would change?