#art4dfall14

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Studio Art 4D Final Project: Video Art, Music Video, Humor

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Artist Statement: Performance Art

My goal with my performance was to keep it simple, and possibly satirize a subject.  I decided to perform pushups with a tiny toy of a man on my back.  As a control, I did a few pushups without the toy on my back, and then I stated that I wanted to up the ante and perform the pushups with a man on my back.  I figured that the audience would assume that I meant an actual man, when instead I would swerve them and use a toy man.  I would then do a few more pushups with the toy on my back, but I would exaggerate it to make it seem like a lot of wait was indeed on my back.  I definitely wanted to try to make people laugh with my performance, and from a more “artsy” perspective perhaps it could be argued that I’m satirizing muscle men and their desire to show off their strength.  The main point, however, was to swerve the audience.

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Reading/Video Response #5

The reading by RoseLee Goldberg alludes to performance art as being "live art."  Forms of performance art include video, dance, slides, and narrative among other forms.  Performance art is open-ended and can be either simple or complex.  Also important to the niche of performance art is the interaction with the audience which can enhance the experience of the piece.  Performance art has a long history including Leonardo da Vinci creating river pageants.

The video "The Artist is Present" is a documentary focusing on the renowned performance artist Marina Abramovic.  The focus of the documentary is on Abramovic's piece in which she sits in a chair and audience members can sit directly across from her while she is silent and only making eye contact.  She is famous for her abstract works of performance art that challenge the mind into understanding different perceptions about art.

My take-away from the reading and video is that performance art is both abstract and open-ended.  Complexity is not essential as the goal is to simply challenge the audience to maybe think differently about a subject based on the performance.  Modern performances like stand-up comedy and professional wrestling can be considered forms of performance art.  Both have certain levels of complexity, though both are fairly simple at their core.  However, both challenge audiences and present ideas in different ways than traditional media. 

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Exercise 5

Verb List for Exercise 5, Studio Art 4D

*Indicates those that are drawn

To Be

To Stay

To Go

To Love

*To Hurt

To Fondle

To Caress

*To Conquer

To Capture

To Contemplate

To Harass

To Transcend

*To Calculate

To Perpetuate

To Solve

To Shave

To Nag

To Dictate

To Empower

To Postulate

[markamark]

Project 4 for my Studio Art 4D class

Artist Statement:

My idea was to juxtapose the “real” issues in the world against the lighter issues of the world.  There seems to be a higher level of panic about certain global issues, but no amount of panic will stop the entertainment industry from producing content in America.  I used the “TV static” as a transition for the real issues so as to make them more dramatic.  I also feel like the music I used under the two different sections of my video added to the moods that I wanted to create.

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Exercise 4: Music Video

For Studio Art 4D

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Exercise 4: Music Video

For Studio Art 4D

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GIF reading response

GIFs are obviously a form of art just like any still image is art.  GIFs can be created from original images or already produced images, which can be the same for any other form of art.  I enjoy GIFs because the movement in the image becomes important to the message of the work.  A GIF is essentially a meme, but text may not be necessary because the motion of the GIF serves the purpose of text.  This is similar to our first module in which we mixed text with images.  In this case, the action in the GIF tells the story.

While GIFs can be useful in conveying numerous messages, I believe they work best to entertain.  The relatively short nature of GIFs means that the action in the GIF must be impactful.  The best GIFs seem to contain exaggerated movements that almost shock the viewer, and often make them laugh.