Globalization, Art and Junk

[hyperallergic]

The government of Senegal has ordered the closure or cancelation of all exhibitions dealing with queer issues in the 2014 edition of Dak’Art, the 11th Biennale of Contemporary African Art.

[goodghoulz]

I would like to share a recent event regarding 2014 Dak’art, the 11th Biennial of Contemporary African Art, in which the Senegalese government called for the cancelation of any exhibitions that address queer issues. This decision was made in regards to the exhibition Precarious Imaging: Visibility and Media Surrounding African Queerness specifically, which opened on May 11. The next day, the exterior of the gallery was vandalized, the façade and lighting destroyed. Simultaneously, two Senegalese organizations, MbañGacce and Jamra, denounced the exhibition, which only seemed to justify the vandalism that took place, and by May 31, the government had shut the exhibition down. A statement from the organizations claims “this event, supposed to promote our culture, proves to be a propaganda vehicle for unions against nature. It is undeniable that this edition of Dak’art is detrimental to our morality and our laws (hyperallergic.com).” While Dak’art states that this recent series of events was unexpected, the fact that homosexuality is illegal in Senegal is undeniably relevant to the action taken. This decision seems to be quite a contrast to the biennale’s mission, as a description (roughly translated) from their exhibition states that it “will provide, we hope, a place and a time to reflect together on art, politics, and assert that being together is the only horizon for humanity (biennaledakar.org).” It appears that the biennale aims to discuss political issues, however, the government prevents them from addressing this specific, relevant matter. This occurrence reminded me of a previous Tumblr post I replied to regarding the potential boycotting/cancelation of the Manifesta Biennial in Russia due to the persecution of those in the LGBTQ community. In accordance with Manifesta, Dak’art serves as another example of conflict between governmental policies and the art world, spurring a  conversation about artistic freedom, government intervention, and the like.

http://hyperallergic.com/131036/senegalese-government-shuts-down-exhibitions-addressing-homosexuality/

http://www.biennaledakar.org/2014/spip.php?article6

[globalizedartnjunk]

Art News updated their article yesterday, June 12,  to say that the government did not officially shut down the show, but rather was the decision of Raw Material Company due to fear about personal safety.

  In a previous article by Art News, Malinda told reporters than an academic whom she works with warned her of the possibilities of violence and opposition because in Senegal, documented cases of homosexuality can still result in up to 5 years in prison, but she did not wish to censor the work and continued with the show.  After doing more research into homosexuality in Africa I found that out of the 53 associated countries or territories of Africa only 37 countries still were legally opposed to homosexuality. Which raises the questions, why Senegal? Their punishments are not as drastic as Nigeria where homosexuality is still punishable by death. I’m curious why they could not find a location that did not foster a possibly dangerous environment. Malinda was also quoted saying, “The time is ripe to talk about homosexuality in Africa. In some countries like Uganda the change is happening for the worse, but in some, like Kenya, it is changing for the better.” Is it because Senegal is on the cusp of either fate? This is not the only question that I had while reading this article, I always questioned what happened for that nearly entire first month before they elected to close the show. What was the climate like? What were the conversations and feedback? My final question  is, did this how have an impact on the perception of homosexuality in Africa? 

[globalizedartnjunk]

After the class discussion about Theatre of the Oppressed I was reminded of an  NGO who also used performance as a platform for change. Afro Reggae is a NGO out of Rio de Janiero who as their mission statement says, “promote justice and inclusion through art, African-Brazilian culture and education, building bridges that unite the differences and are foundations for sustainability and citizenship. Started in 1992 with the aid from the Ford Foundations, Universal Music and others, this group, consisting primarily of a few members, sought to educate their community about afro-Brazilian culture through newsletter. As it progressed and moved into Vigário Geral in 1994, began to address the violent tensions between law enforcement, drug traffickers and a general lack of interest from the government.  As a result they began to introduce programs and workshops around music (percussion) and dance to encourage the youth to find alternatives to going to drug trafficking. Since that moment the organization as grown to include 75 projects and over 6000 active members and a self-sustaining financial base to fund their own projects, create job opportunities, teach work skills to community members and organize conferences. Some have made the argument that this is more of a business (empire) rather than a tool for reclaiming impoverished communities, but the amount of members, spheres of influence and continual community outreach programs seem to counter that argument. It is interesting that the act of producing dance, music and art is all this organization wants, they want to distract and encourage behaviors that don’t perpetuate violence, but they still have to produce things that are consumable to keep their programs running. I enjoy this group, their goals and how they understand that education and staying active can allow youths to have an alternative to drugs, prostitution and other forms of illegal activities for a lifestyle.

The following quote is part of the groups manifest and seems to summarize their intentions very appropriately.

  We AfroReggae.

Save the art that saves us.

In the midst of war,

trafficking of freedom and

cultural activism.

Changing people's lives

to change our well.

Save the art that saves us.

We AfroReggae.

Because no reason explains war.

[globalizedartnjunk]

I began this blog curious about how globalization has/does shape(d) arts education, but as the class progressed I realized that the more appropriate question to ask is how is globalized art and art history taught outside of the United States and Europe.  It seems as though we are taught that we are the colonizers, we are the influences that have marginalized the international community, but now we do not have that influence and now must address how we facilitate the new globalized community. Our education begins with, “what even is globalization? How did technology and economy provide a framework for a real globally connected community?”  From there we address a variety of techniques of addressing many issues that now occupy a globalized environment from identity, to cultural origin to activism, and most things between. We begin to align ourselves with the currents of globalization rather than being the force of globalization.

How does this education change in the context of a classroom in Beijing, Rio de Janiero, or Cairo? This their education the retelling of a struggle and strife for international visibility, accreditation and acceptance or how they continue to fight for rights and luxuries found in the west? How do they address institutionalized art if they have been excluded from it? Maybe I’m wrong and the difference does not exist, but there is something deep in my critical mind that says, “art education from the west and art education from the east has to differ on this subject”, but I’m not entirely sure how, why, or if it is an issue. 

[globalizedartnjunk]

Celebrities have a longstanding relationship with philanthropic endeavors, charity work and activism, so it comes as no surprise to read about Madonna and Vice collaborating on a hashtag activism campaign. #ArtForFreedom started last September aims to develop “a global initiative encouraging creative expression that brings awareness to human rights violations”. Artists, musicians, writers and other forms of creators can submit through the Art For Freedom website and image of their work as it responses to global rights of expression and other forms of human violations. Each month Madonna with a “guest curator” go through these submissions and pick a featured artist, who with the donation of $10,000, gives to a non-profit organization of their choice.

In theory the idea of fostering an international online community of creators who are all interesting in trying to fight, alleviate, dismantle, reconstruct etc.a plethora of human rights violations  through the production of a variety of art is ambitious but seems as though it could on some scale instigate critical thought, collaboration and even, possibly, change.  Theory is different than implementation. The website is full of promotions of Madonna’s video and secondary project, #secretprojectrevolution , art from featured artists and short bio on the celebrity guest curators, the website lacks any transparency in the structure of this project. Who all is submitting work, what are they critical about, where do these donations go, what is the background on the selected artists, why did they even pick those artists? The first red flag on this website was that Miley Cyrus was a guest curator with the following text,

           “Madonna has announced that Miley Cyrus will be the guest curator for Art for Freedom for the month of April. Miley will collaborate with Madonna to select daily submissions which will be showcased on artforfreedom.com.

  “Art can speak volumes - I’m glad to join Madonna in encouraging people to have their voices heard at artforfreedom.com. It’s an ideal home to see how each of us can participate in changing the world for the better,” stated Cyrus.

  Cyrus and Madonna will select the winning artist’s submission at the end of April and will award a $10,000 grant to a nonprofit organization of the artist’s choice. All projects must focus on the values of Art For Freedom.”

  Even though I do not like Miley Cryus, I am not critical of the website because she is featured, I’m critical because she is vague. How is the visibility of an artist showing how we can participate in creating change? Where is the dialogue among submitters? Where is the community?  I interpret this as celebrities using the possibility for social change as a tool for their career. As the internet would appropriately say, “STAHP!” There are mixed reviews for this project and for Madonna’s primary project #secretprojectrevolution, some saying that these projects are producing critical dialogue and others voicing opinions much like my own, is this really activism?

#secretprojectrevolution is a short film featuring Madonna as she uses sound bites from speeches at her concerts about various international socio-economic strife, but also her assuming the role of a marginalized, improvised international demographic who cannot voice their opinions, their expressions etc. Although this film is available online, it has only been shown in primarily urban global north countries, with the exception of Rio de Janiero. This makes me question the kind of conversations that result from this, and whether it instigates people taking into their hands global recognition of human rights. Are they critical? Are they REALLY critical?

I digress. The idea of fostering an online community of creators who aim to address socio-economic international problems as they relate to the violation of human rights is happening, is important, does allow for change, but is not present in this project. 

post-post thought: This will not be a totally complete thought, but something I thought of after posting this, this project also seems to reinforce the west as the center, as the only ones who can help out the disenfranchised, rather than actually allow for collaboration and input from the peripheral. 

[globalizedartnjunk]

About three months ago I started following Ai WeiWei on Instagram. His photos were often selfies of himself, sometimes of his friends, of this home and the environment right about him, however, since Wednesday my feed, as well as his 63,779 other followers’ feeds were inundated with hundreds of photos of people holding up one leg, thigh to their chest, calf pointed outwards. The first photo of Ai himself was captioned, “Beijing Anti-Terrorism Series”, and since then he has been posting submissions from his followers of them doing the same pose. What is particularly interesting about this project is that although it only lives within social networking there is no hashtag, movement title or even agreement of what the photos are. From what I found throughout the internet is four possible intentions and interpretations of the project.

  The 25th anniversary of the protests on Tiananmen Square happens (ed) this year. Ai who actively speaks out against the tyranny of the Chinese government could be attempting to critique the physical the subversion of propaganda that China has enacted since the 1960’s. And is also him showing solidarity with those who were active in the Democracy Movement.

With the recent school shoots across the United States many have begun to tag their photos with #againstgunviolence. Which I am critical of because although Ai posted the first photo on Wednesday, two days after a shooting in Portland, I highly doubt that an artist and activist who is currently detained in his own country due to speaking out against their policies is trying to instigate an international collaboration over gun violence.

It’s a joke or a dance move. The only small amount of validity in this theory is the pose is based off a 1960’s Chinese ballet, “The Red Detachment of Women”, in which the dancers held their leg to their chest. But again, is creating a joke or dance move all that important?

The final theory that I came across was this is the new meme. It is the new planking. I think to mistake the context from which this project is from and it integrate it into a short lived meme life is to undermine the importance of remembering that governing powers of China are relentless in their suppression of individual expressions, freedoms and communications.

  I think this project is unique compared to other hashtag activism campaigns that re popular right now because it’s not a hashtag, it does not have a specified end goal, it is growing international recognition even the entire language around the project is purely visual. At the same time it raises questions about how to you ensure audiences will understand and reproduce images that are authentic to what the artist intended? What are the consequences of misunderstandings and the perpetuating of these misunderstandings?  Is this in context with his own installation that is in currently working on in the United States? And most importantly, “What?”.

Being a part of internet culture, it is easy to overlook images that are similar, and I do, I will scroll by them on my home screen, and I assume that others do the same. How do you sustain this visibility on the internet in a culture where the lifespan of “memes”, if you consider this a meme, is short and once over, ignored?

Until Ai WeiWei discloses more information, I assume that none of these answers can be answered. 

If you would like to follow his Instagram please follow this link

[globalizedartnjunk]

While trying to find information on Kara Walker’s most recent work, A Subtley, for the context of gentrification, I ended up on the developers who are going to tear down the Domino factory website. Apparently Two Trees has an art gallery, which is closely linked to A.I.R, a gallery that specifically caters to female artists. The homepage for the A.I.R Gallery’s website had the following image

  An entire biennial dedicated to self-identifying female artists. It is not simply the first, but the 11th.  The downfall to A.I.R, is that the artists that they work with fall into four categories; New York Artists, Adjunct artists, National artists, Fellowship artist. There is not much representation or alluding to the representation of women from outside of the country. In context with our discussions today regarding Global Feminism and the actual pursuit of equalizing female representation in all portions of the art world demands not only inclusivity but also detachment from previous notions of feminism. Although a little disappointed in this fact, I think the transparency of their biennial application process is interesting.

A forty dollar application fee, some photos or video and patience. Through our varied discussions on and about biennales we did not discuss the variety of application process and invitation processes between curators and artists to fill the venues. Are they all this simple? What are the protocols and systems in place for larger, more established biennales? Even though I think there are some portions to this site and their ideology that I find lacking, the general transparency in their processes of being a gallery are interesting and make me what to continue checking in during this biennale application process. 

[globalizedartnjunk]

Ai Weiwei is not a new artist to our class, but as become relevant to our recent discussions regarding Chinese art and their growing art market. Often at ends and by often I mean, constantly at ends with his government, Ai Weiwei seeks out critical ways to demonstrate the needs for basic human rights including predominantly, freedom of speech. He is currently not allowed to leave China, following a brief arrest in 2011, but that does not stop him from being openingly critical of this nations actions. Ai instead is working on a four room installation on Alcatraz. This is not only a reference to him being a political prisoner, trapped in a country that will simply take away powers from citizens than to be proved wrong. @Large, a nod to both his criminal record and active online life, Ai wants his audience to really think about what it means to be incarceration, and if to be a prisoner you need to be in a prison.  

The four sites are typically off limits to tourists; however they are being opened up for this show. This raises the question of access, well in all honestly, this entire show raises that question. Alcatraz is an island prison, one needs a boat (and also money) to get to. Ai is from a country and currently dealing with the frustrations of authoritative decisions to deny access to him traveling outside of the borders, but also cannot really access the site that he is installing in. I’m curious to read about the show after it opens, until then, I will indulge on the artist prisoner’s online presence. 

[jemigale]

Milica Tomić, I am Milica Tomić 1998-99

[globalizedartnjunk]

Milica Tomić is a Serbian artist whose work questions the standards of feminine beauty, national beauty and most importantly, is in response to the traumatic nationalist violence she, and others experienced in the 1990’s. I am Milica Tomić was originally produced in 1998, however did not receive acclaim until it was exhibited at the 8th Istanbul Biennale. The video begins with the artist looking into the camera, the audience sees her attractive face, blonde hair and white dress. Tomić wears white as a signal of purity, which later reflects her own imposed identity of intimacy and pure “white girl”. As the video progresses Tomić begins to introduce herself. Through 30 languages the artist creates new identities, however, every time she introduces herself as a new person open wounds appear on her body. She grew up in a decade where the international community stereotyped Serbians as villainous and dangerous. Through this discrimination she felt a violence against the very person she was. To be played on a loop the only passage of time is marked by the amount of injuries across her body. The turning and the sound effects are a tool to really emphasis the ridiculousness that is being found guilty by association with a country. In context to our conversations in regard to Global Feminism(s), Tomić represents a formally ignored demographic of feminist. The video becomes a test of will, much like other feminist artists who use video as medium (ie Marina Abramovic), forcing the audience to stare at you as actions that are out of both of our controls, act upon them. 

[artandsciencejournal]

As artist Leo Selvaggio attests to in his video above, privacy is becoming a precious commodity. With the ever-increasing prevalence of technology and mobile devices, it’s difficult to maintain a low profile. Many of our actions, both online and out and about, are being recorded and surveilled, either on a camera or by virtually tracking our positions via mobile devices. This has driven Selvaggio to create a work of art and a hacking device that allows for its wearer to walk about undetected by the cameras that surveil them - URME Surveillance. Pronounced “you-are-me”, this device is a 3-D printed rubber mask manufactured by ThatsMyFace.com. The level of rendering is realistic enough to fool the facial recognition software, so that every person wearing the mask is recognized as Leo Selvaggio, not themselves.

Selvaggio has been living and working in Chicago, stating in his video that it is the most surveilled city in America - with over 25,000 cameras rigged with military-grade facial recognition software, it’s easy to see why Selvaggio would want to create some sort of bypass for those who would rather not be monitored. Instead of hiding the public’s face, Selvaggio is giving them a new one, “protecting the public from surveillance and creating a safe space to explore our digital identities.”

Aside from the rubber mask, URME Surveillance has two other products available to users: a paper mask, best worn in large groups, and a video encryption software that places Selvaggio’s face over those that appear in the video. Selvaggio is aware of the less savory activities that these masks could be used for, but insists that URME Surveillance is an “organized artistic intervention”, driven by a desire to allow an individual the ability to “assert themselves in a public space”. As such, it is expected that these devices are used responsibly by those who choose to wear them. 

To learn more about URME Surveillance or support its Indiegogo campaign, click here.

- Lea Hamilton 

(source)

[globalizedartnjunk]

In reading both your post as well as the accompanying source I was interested in seeing if the artist who is working only in the United States, had to say about this project being presented in a country where surveillance is more prominent and well engrained into society. This investigation was prompted by a quote from the artist, “When we are watched we are fundamentally changed. We preform rather than be.” However, after watching his Indiegogo video, it is clear that Selvaggio is not concerned with how comfortable people are being surveilled, and rather the simple fact that are actions are inauthentic when we are being watched. He wants to change why we are surveilled and abandon the preformative face of “I’m not doing anything wrong”. 

The next question I had was, why Sevaggio’s face? He made reference to the Guy Fawkes mask in the beginning of his video which is associated with anonymity and more recently an association with the digital terrorist (or activist depending on perspective). Is this your artist’s hand, are you being selfless or is it something else entirely.  If this project is properly funded and expands outside of Chicago will people recognize the face as Selvaggio, or he willingly giving up his identity? He addresses some concerns with the possibility of people using the masks to commit crimes, but is it optimistic to think that as this expands that his face will be appropriated for reasons other than temporary anonymity.  This question could be answered in further research, but this piece is actually interesting because of the artists actions in distributing his own face. 

[globalizedartnjunk]

What is the Biennale of Urban Demolition? It is located in Christchurch, which I had presented to the class in context with our biennale conversations. I discussed SCAPE 7, which just concluded a few months ago. Since SCAPE 6 was cancelled due to a devastating earthquake, SCAPE 7 was the cities attempt of bring back the liveliness. My class discussion was focused on whether the resources used for this biennale would have been more appropriate used in disaster clean up and rebuilding infrastructure. In all of my reading about SCAPE I never read about the Biennale of Urban Demolition. Unlike traditional biennales that occur every two years, this event lasts for two years. Apparently this event even attracted work by Janine Antoni. However other artists I have looked into, specifically McKay Leighs, it is actually a construction company.  What I find alarming is when I Googled “Biennale of Urban Demolition” the only results were several posts by the blog bud2012.tumblr.com, and one blogspot blog that literally only contained one sentence.

This “post-disaster-disaster” documentation of “post-apocalyptic lifestyle consisting of high-viz fashion, nostril dust and mentally altered social situations”, event seems actually crazy. There are no list of curators, no “about us” page, nothing. This leaves me to believe two things could be true:

 1)This is a joke.

2) This is real and is totally absurd. 

 If anyone knows anything about this event, I desperately need resolution. 

[globalizedartnjunk]

Lenore presented recently on the Rauschenberg Foundation and as a class we tried to discuss the foundation but it seems as though the conversation did not address specific awards and projects but rather who was on the board, who the trustees were and if their own interests were involved. A recent article on ARTNews discussed current projects, the spirit behind the foundation and current ethical differences between trustees. Originally formed in 1990 by Robert Rauschenberg, the foundation was a purely philanthropic agenda. Concerned with global warming, disenfranchised minorities and disparities between wealth and goods, Rauschenberg set aside money with the intention of donating to charities. After his death in 2008 however, the funds were open for grants through application, rather than just for charitable donation. Lenore explained to the class that this foundation supports everything, which I was skeptical to believe initially, as I think most of the class felt. Chirsty MacLear describes the foundations intentions as such, “The foundation has established itself as a dynamic presence in the world of cultural philanthropy, maintaining Rauschenberg’s own impassioned commitment to charitable causes while extending his signature artist ethos of bridging the gap between art and life”. She goes on to clarify what they look for in grant applications, which are not specifically designed to be purely art related, “We look at our grant making though the lens of the values defined by Bob. Is it collaborative? Is it boundary-breaking? Is it risk-taking? Is there a concept of creative problem solving?” This mentality has allowed the foundation to fund a visual literacy campaign in Tanzania and also an art workshop in inner-city Laundromats. The article continued to talk about the amount of money awarded in grants and how in 2013, collectively the foundation funded over two million dollars in grants. All of this sounds wonderful, someone with money felt it was necessary for him to fund what isn’t being funded; however there is a darker component to this foundation. Currently there is a standoff between Christopher Rauschenberg (son of Robert) and his board of trustees.  Specifically between him and two members, who feel entitled to $60 million as a work fee for their time spent on the board. As a class we had concerns about the intentions of those working on the board, and it seems as though we were justified. I am about to make a judgment without knowing the extent of work completed by the two board members, the protocols to paying board members and the general attitude in the art world towards these demands, but I think it’s inappropriate. They are part of a philanthropic organization, is $60 million even reasonable for you to ask for when you have only been on the board five years? It’s as though I am right back where I was when I first started reading about this foundation, unsure. Does doing good, promoting and facilitating art making, collaboration, critical thinking, etc. validating enough to demand such payments?  

[globalizedartnjunk]

Now a few weeks since Muuqi’s presentation on identity and I’m still thinking over the activity we participated in. Honestly, I’m still trying to digest being called a “white girl”. I am white and I am a girl, so what is the problem? During the activity I thought very much about my identity, not only to participate, but also in terms of how I use my identity and how others use my identity. As an artist I am always aware and critical of portions of my identity (being a white girl in college) and how it affects my practice. I am a female but I do not produce feminist work. I am always nervous that my work will be assumed to be feminist because of my gender. Coincidentally, this exact topic was discussed during our Global Feminism(s) lecture. Melissa prompted us to discuss the implication of a feminist exhibition and an all-female exhibition. Two responses came from the class, the first of which addressing why women might not be drawn to entering a feminist show because of the social connotations of feminism, which I somewhat agree can be a hindrance to engagement, however the second answer, that not all female work is feminist is more appropriate, particularly to me personally. As a class after Muuqi’s presentation I thought about my identity, all the aspects both developed and adopted of my collective identity and the variety of imposed or assumed identities that others place on me and how that hinders or helps my practice. Am I novel because I am a female artist who is producing work and trying to navigate a still male dominated market, or am I just an artist? 

[globalizedartnjunk]

Transparency, communication and satire are all things that I enjoy in my daily life, and seeing them in context with anti-globalized activism is intriguing. In class we watched the first half the The Yes Men Fix The World, a documentary about two men, Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno and their attempts at “correcting the identity” of multiple corporations. This movie prompted three questions for me:

1)      What is the effectiveness of “truth telling”/”correcting identity”?2)      Have the duo experience punitive actions for their actions? 3)      Are they expanding? Do they work as a community rather than a team? 4)      How has no one begun to recognize them? (Which they answer on their AMA on Reddit with, "I don't know") 

 The first question is difficult to answer even after some research. There are two forms of effectiveness; developing awareness and instigating change. Between the two’s internet prescene through Reddit, The Yes Lab and other places of online community, and through their liberal use of televised media, I think that Bichlbaum and Bonanno raise awareness for a plethora of moral and ethical problems related to neoliberalism. It does not seem as though they instigate much change though. I briefly found a small article, and later a video preface about the Yes Men and the Chamber of Commerce, and how, after a press conference put on by the Yes Men, that the Chamber of Commerce would no longer support their previous position on carbon emissions. Two weeks after the press conference, the actual Chamber of Commerce did in fact change (or say they changed) their position. The event is also appropriate when talking about the possibility of punitive actions. The Chamber of Commerce sued the Yes Men. The lawsuit was so extreme that the EFF, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, stepped in to help the duo in this situation. I have yet to find other cases of punitive actions taken by the opposing party, however, it seems as though media groups (news agencies) make villains of  the two as fostering false hopes through hoaxes. My final thoughts about this project and this group was their community, if there is one.

Yes Lab is not only an online meeting places for other activists groups, to brainstorm, communicate and organize but they (Yes Lab) offers workshops, educational opportunities and a generally inviting atmosphere into the world o group activism. The Yes Men’s activist projects are full of humor, critical, satirical, to the point humor that disarms viewers and audiences, while not wavering from the very serious “truths” they wish everyone to know. 

Below is a link to The Yes Men Fix The World, which is currently being distributed for free in response to the duo's recent lawsuit. (In case you wanted to watch the rest of the film). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OazUh0Ym8rc

[globalizedartnjunk]

Socialist realism, is as we have discussed in class is work produced originally in what is today Russia, focusing on heroic peasants, a variety of leaders and the militarily as subjects with the agenda of upholding the ideas (and power) of the state.  I bring up this subject because of a recent article I read on ArtNews addressing the growing niche in the contemporary art market regarding soviet art. Although the article addresses whether the art movement was overlooked internationally and it’s possible ability to be a viable alternative to western modernism, I was more interested in the recent popularity in the private collecting of soviet art in the context of political unrest from Russia. Sotheby’s, an internationally acclaimed auction house reported that a Socialist realistic piece can sell from $83,000 to $1,000,000, and that they, Sotheby’s, sells 12 to 24 pieces a year to private collectors­­. Although the article said there were growing markets in the US and Europe, that there are also growing demands in China and Japan. This is interesting when put into context with pre-new way movements of China that we discussed. I am curious to know why there is a growing demand in China. Is it because of the historical relevance of this work on their own during the early 20th century? Is it because China has the money to invest in this niche as a means of navigating the art market? What? As I mentioned earlier, what intrigued me most about this story is that Russia is under fire for a series of radical, authoritative and general un-cool decisions. Is there a relationship between the growing socialist realism market and the last year of unfavorable decisions? If so, what is it? 

[globalizedartnjunk]

Since the beginning of term, we have discussed the general concerns of artists in a globalized world, and the following artist addresses those concerns. Jonathas de Andrade is a Brazilian artist whose work reflects on universal problems. Although it is problematic to use terms like “universal”, de Andrade critically approaches the ideas of alienation and the relationship between masters and the proletariat. For part of the 2013 Lyons Biennale, de Andrade produced 40 Nego Bom é 1 real, an installation consisting of 16 silk prints, seven acrylic engraved boards, forty rise prints and 40 laser prints on paper. Nego Bom is a popular treat in the north-east of Brazil, where de Andrade is from. The phrase however, is more than just a treat. “Nego Bom” is particularly important to the language used by those in the north-east. It is not only a phrase one uses to address someone (close) affectionately, but also a historical phrase summarizing both being colonized and Brazil’s inherent racism. De Andrade is quoted saying, “With this project my idea is to get closer to today’s temperature of post-colonialism, post-slavery, and cheap labor. There’s a myth of Brazilian culture being built with interracial smoothness and comradery”.

The installation consists of both images and accompanying text, forming two fictional narratives; the instructions for producing Nego Bom, from picking the bananas to wrapping the finished product, and the second consisting of a the working relationships of the employees through an account table calculating payments through favors, friendships and other forms of personal relations. The first of the two parts is laid out very liner, as one would read instructions, the second part however is less linear, and instead numbered images and words are almost seemingly placed on a wall at random (but is, in fact, a visual map of the relationships of the factory). The second narrative is difficult to understand, visual mapping, account tables and payments, but de Andrade gives the audience a small amount of text, accompanied with both a price(amount of payments for that person) with an attribute to the relationship. 

05

The old guy took a fancy for a girl from the village and ended up putting a bun in her oven. The family afraid of scandal and for fear of having to take the child dreamed up calling one of the rednecks to marry her. They called up this poor creature and spoke sternly To him. The poor lad, who was born here As a child already owing a favor, had no option, just had to accept it. Argh! If it had been me, I’d prefer to run away than to agree to such a business. And then, all of a sudden, when the two began to get to know each other and get on well, the daft old man had a crazy outbreak of jealousy and went there and killed the lad.  _____________________________________  R$ 378.00 from last salary payment of the funeral, and to stay well in with the family, payment of the school of the siblings."

[studiomuseum-deactivated2016110]

This the final week of The Shadows Took Shape, catch this exhibition before it closes March 9th!

Image: (Top) Laylah Ali, Untitled, 2005. Courtesy the artist (Bottom) Laylah Ali, Untitled, 2005. Courtesy Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, NH; Museum Purchase: the Henry Melville Fuller Acquisition Fund

[agoodsize]

The Shadow Took Shape was an exhibition at the Studio Museum in Harlem that recently concluded. Organized by Naima J. Keith and Zoe Whitely, the show intended to examine contemporary art through the ideas of Afrofuturist aesthetics. Afrofutrism, for those who like me, did I know what it was, is actually a term coined by Mark Dery in response to conversations about creative and intellectual intersections in context to a variety of subjects; science fiction, fantasy, magical realism and Pan-Africanism. This term as well as the show was to address the future, redefine the present and reconceptualize the past, specifically in context to contemporary art. A particularly interesting aspect to this show is, as the website said, “explore ways in which this form of creative expression [Afrofuturism] has been adopted internationally”. This is interesting to me because I’m not sure if I know what this aesthetic looks like or what the appropriate language to talk about it is. This theme is prevalent in all the work presented. The range of the 29 artists represented in this show come from a local, national and international perspectives, which is not atypical of the Studio Museum, which has been trying to facilitate this collaboration and conversation since the late 1960’s. The show is not medium specific, ranges, literally from all spectrum of contemporary art making processes. I’m curious to see the following conversations and responses there are to this show. 

[globalizedartnjunk]

Artsy is an easy new way to discover, learn about, and buy art you'll love, featuring fine art, design, and photography from the leading international galleries, museums, and private collections.

My initial apologies if someone in our 20-something tumblr-sphere has addressed this resource, but what is wrong with possible redundancy?

  As wonderful as a google search can be when trying to find specific work by artists or finding new work, there are easier ways. Artsy is a somewhat privately run, somewhat open-source community collaborative project of collecting and presenting art, with a particular emphasis on contemporary art. Their online collection consists of over 125,000 individual pieces from 25,000 different artists. This is because of the relationships with many galleries, museums and private collectors, about 2,000 in total. Not only does this serve as a good online resource to see work by artists, engineers are currently working on the Art Genome Project. Much like the name implies, Artsy employees are currently working with 500 “genes” or characteristics of art historical movements, subject matter and formal qualities to build a visual map. Their concerns lie in education, stimulation and preservation, all of which are qualities we have discussed in class. From what I gather from the site there is extreme transparency between institutions, engineers/other employees and the Artsy community, which is wonderful.

Did I forget to mention that artsy also lists its available job positions? Transparent indeed. This is an ever growing resource who is trying desperately to become completely international and inclusive of all artists, works and events. So I recommend checking it out.