Graffiti is an interesting form of art. It is an act of writing and drawing with different and beautiful styles on walls. Its main purpose is to communicate with the public.
Many artists have used this art form to convey social, political or environmental messages. In this paper we shall discuss the approach through which graffiti artists used their work as a tool to speak out on political issues. For this paper we have considered two artists and their art works. First Banksy and his”One Nation under CCTV” and “Napalm” pieces, second Frank Shepard Fairey`s “Barack Obama Hope poster”.
Through graffiti art form messages are designed for heterogeneous audience. Graffiti artists who draw pictures for using it as political tool, they are creative than other artists because they want to bring change through their work at national level. Their art work should be eye catching and affecting that could compel political leaders as well as mass audience to think about its message deeply.
Banksy is a British graffiti artist who started his work with the use of stencils. During his career he has performed in an outstanding manner but this most astonishing and influential work that has observed up till now in central London is the painting of slogan on the wall of post office on Oxford Street in London.
He has completed the painting overnight standing on the ladder with a guard and a dog. He painted the slogan in white broad capital letters which says “ONE NATION UNDER CCTV”. He did his most ironic piece of work just few meters far from CCTV camera in order to carry out surveillance protest against British government (Bull, 2011). London is undoubtedly capital of England as well as of CCTV cameras.
People here are leading their life in hell because of too many cameras they feel as if their personal and private activities are exposing more than the need. Whereas on other hand it has millions of immigrants who have arrived in London and doubted as they are involved in criminal activities and CCTV cameras are not helping in catching such culprits than what is the use of these cameras.
Teenage violence, criminal activities, prostitution and corruption rate in increasing in London, these CCTV cameras should help to trace such criminals rather than peeping in to people`s personal activities (Bull, 2011). Banksy`s graffiti art work is still considered as one of the best way of protesting against the government in order to remove the CCTV cameras from the cities or to use those cameras in proper manner.
Banksy is the first man who used his artistic talent to explore the concept of social and political responsibility. His one greater piece of art is named as Napalm. In which he has shown unforgettable pictures from the Vietnam War, the picture shows a young burned girl holding the hands of two famous American Disney characters, Ronald McDonald and Mickey Mouse. Through this picture he tried to draw attention of people towards pop culture image (Warrington, 2004).
Similarly another great artist Frank Shepard Fairey, he was born on 5th February in 1970. He is an interesting and outstanding artist, graphic designer and illustrator. He received great fame at national level for his work which he created in 2008. He painted a simple poster of Barack Obama using blue and red color which had a simple label” Hope”.
He is best known for his icon work of Obama Hope poster. He completed the design for the poster in a day’s time which went into printing. After printing more than 350 posters were sold (Labudovic and Vukusic 2009). Also, when Obama campaign approved it, it was more distributed during 2008 election season. Consequently it became one of the most important pictures of Obama Campaign. Gradually this image has become so popular that it can be seen everywhere even in T-shirts, bedroom walls of students, tea cups etc.
It did not stop here but after the first session of sale Fairey printed 4,000 more copies along with this he made this poster available digitally on internet for the people. This image has become illustrious and famous very soon throughout the United State with the help of social media and other sources. The fundamental idea of doing this was to endorse the theme of Hope among mass audience.
After Obama winning the election in the year 2009, it was revealed that the poster designed by Fairey was actually motivated from a photograph taken by a young photographer Mannie Garcia in January 2007 (Labudovic and Vukusic 2009). In today`s world hope has become one important tool to deal with the issues of life and images have always played a key role to play with the psychology of people. Therefore the hope poster by Fairey helps people to do so.
In a nut shell, we can say that graffiti has played an important part in speaking out on political issues. Also, artists have contributed a lot to do this for people through their skillful and adventurous art pieces.
References
Bull. (2011). Banksy Locations & Tours Volume 2: A Collection of Graffiti Locations and Photographs from Around the UK. Oakland: PM Press.
Labudovic, A., & Vukusic, N. (2009). Field guide: How to be a Graphic Designer. New York: Rockport Publishers.
Warrington. (2004). Jesus Shopping Banksy. Warrington museum and art gallery , 1-34.
Human beings rely so much on the past to solve future and the current life challenges. Thus this mere fact calls for efforts to make the past more meaningful and relevant in the current day to day activities undertaken by mankind.
This has led to acute need of establishing of modern art museums in our society because their collections are usually presented in a very artistic manner which initiates curiosity amongst the audience who come to visit such museums. Consequently the audience becomes aroused and inspired by the works of the museums.
Thus this enhances meaning attachment in the objects of the museums, thus making them relevant to the current generation unlike the other kinds of museums which are too conservative in their collections. The historical management of modern art museums involves the curators who are so rigid in their roles. In the modern art museums the curator shifts his or her duties to an artist and the audience acts in position of the curator.
This makes the curator understand the expectations of their own audience and thus making them to be in a position to make relevant modification in their collection in order to ensure that they are focusing on the needs of their clients. This will at long run ensure quality of visits rather than the quantity of visits in the museums and thus this encourage tourists to visit a particular museum several times.
This is not a common practice with majority of tourists because most of them usually plan to visit specific sites once in their life time. Unless that particular site is extra ordinary impressive to the tourists they cannot come again for a revisit (Hamma 1). In this case we are going to address the various roles played by the modern art museum amongst them being the educative, aesthetic and social roles amongst many others. Finally we will also look at the possible evolution of the modern art museum.
The first and most important role of the modern art museum it the aesthetic function which is commonly associated with beauty. Here the most important point of emphasis is the efforts made by the modern art museum to impress their audience. This is mainly done by ensuring that the collections of object and also their presentations in the modern art museum is quite attractive and relevant to the people who usually come to visit such museums.
The artistic work is usually made in a way that the visitors who may be either domestic or foreign tourists are in a position to have self enjoyment in the modern art museum. This vital objective of ensuring that the tourists get maximum enjoyment in such museums is also facilitated by huge investment in various recreational facilities such as development of restaurants which well equipped with various social amenities to suit the interests of both domestic and foreign tourists.
If all this facilities are in place the tourists will be encouraged to visit a given modern art museum several times which is not a common practice with most of tourists because tourists usually plan to visit a particular site of a museum not more than one time in their life span (Cobb 1).
In this case the modern art museum usually makes a lot of efforts in diversifying it resources meet the expectations of the visitors and this may also include the in need for having most attractive and unique paintings and also if possible getting the real artists who have performed such works so that they can demonstrate by real example to the tourist if so requested and this will do good to the tourists since they will have a real experience and they may want to come back along with their friends or family members.
Secondly, the other function played by modern art museum and which is of great impact on the academic world is the educative role which is effectively undertaken by modern art museum.
This has made most of modern art museums to carry the name of education centers since most of the local educational authorities have implemented policies in which the modern art museum have established links with various institutions of learning comprising with different groups of learners ranging from pre primary pupils to even college and university students (Richmond 1).
In these forums the teachers in different groups of learning levels can have official booking to take their pupils or students there for interactive learning and such modern art museum will ensure all object and facilities are organized in a way which triggers learning curiosity amongst the specified group of learners.
Here the visitors who are generally termed as tourists will have all the time to ask various questions to the responsible curator and in return receive the most relevant and accurate response accordingly and this will highly be of crucial importance to the learners since it will satisfy their curiosity aroused and enable them come to concrete formation of opinion about various issues either which they may have come across in class work or through general knowledge of life.
This will consequently lead to most relevant conclusions made by learners of various learning groups since these conclusions are derived from personal observations made by the learners and also real experiences of the situation by the learners.
Also in the modern art museums the learners can have the young tasks can also have the privilege of coming on one on one interaction with hero artists or their works and this can be of great inspiration to the young people who may wish to grow and be like or even become better than such artists.
Modern art museums also provides the most appropriate and convenient places for learners and most especially learner in higher levels of studies a chance to undertake their research work on various issues which their reference can only be found in such modern art museum.
Thus by the acts of teachers taking their learners to modern art museums they will be acting in accordance with the stipulations of constructivist theory which says that learning is a process which is very active and it demands that one should make meaning out of objects as they are brought to our thinking abilities by our senses.
And this means that the learners can comprehend to great magnitudes what they have experienced other than what only exists in theoretical world and this reduces the abstractness of various concepts and principles learned in class work.
This is very evident in most works of history and also art since their perfect conceptualization is highly correlated to visits made in the modern art museum since the resources in such museum provides firsthand experience to the learner which is very critical towards effective learning (Pfaelzar 1).
Also the experiences obtained from the works of modern art museums can also be incorporated by schools through the relevant authorities in the school curriculum in order to prepare learners to grasp the various opportunities and also prepare the pupils for adult life.
Thirdly, the other most important role played by the modern art museum is the social role. In this case the modern art museum acts as social institution whereby a lot of community undertakings are carried out which are quite relevant to the given society.
The modern art museum preserves the cultural heritages of particular community and thus all positive cultural values can be passed from one generation to the other by virtue of the existence of modern art museum otherwise such beautiful cultural values and practices will be eroded with time if not conserved in the modern art museum which does so in ways which are quite meaningful and relevant to the contemporary generation.
Also the modern art museum can be used as a platform for creation of awareness to a given society about the different cultures in other societies thus making them informed and thus sensitive when presenting some objects which may be culturally sacred in other societies.
In the modern art museum the members of a given society can learn about the endangered species of flora and fauna and thus take the necessary measurements in order to preserve the endangered species for sustainable co-existence. The modern art museum can be used to initiate dialogue aimed at facilitating realization of a particular change.
For example modern art museum played a very critical role in addressing the issue of racism because they created platforms whereby people could talk freely about racism in United States of America and this went ahead and captured the attention of the media (Hamma 1). From the above we can say that the modern art museum acts as memory banks for all events and objects in the society which is of great utility to the members of a given social group.
The evolution of the modern art museum could have been as a result of the realization of acute need to preserve some endangered species of fauna or flora and most specifically the need to change the way other museums used to present their objects to their audience in order to be relevant and meaningful to the modern generation and also add the taste of beauty and entertainment in the museum and thus development of modern art museum.
The preservation of various artistic objects in a modern art museum will at least give an opportunity to the existing and also the generation to come to have an experience of seeing such species of fauna or flora.
The museums can also result from some historical sites or events or objects which needs to be preserved and also from some very rare objects which might be quite valuable such gold which is a very precious stone (Cobb 1). All these objects are installed in the most artistic way in modern art museums which also contains the paintings of most famous artists and thus the need to preserve them being quite enormous.
It is very clear from the above discussion that the modern art museum plays a very vital role in the lives of mankind. This is because people can always refer to their past in order to face the present and the future in the most meaningful and relevant manner. Also the modern art museums are a great source of recreation to humanity at large. Here we have talked about the roles of modern art museums which have included educative, social and aesthetic roles. We have also looked at the possible evolution of modern art museums.
Art exhibitions are the places, which will be interesting to people of any age and any gender any time. “A natural effect of the Museum exhibition will be to lead the public to enquire why it is that objects of ‘museum quality’ are to be found only in Museums and are not in daily use and readily obtainable.” (Coomaraswamy, 13) Without any doubts, each exhibition presents something new and extraordinary to the lives of millions of people.
One of such exhibitions, which impressed me a lot, is Projects 89 by Klara Liden. This exhibition was opened February 25, 2009, and will be closed June 8, 2009. In spite of the fact that it is not much time to share her creation with lots of people, this exhibition has already impressed someone. The ideas of rebellion, desire to act and demonstrate personal vision and comprehension of the events – this is what motivated Klara to present this modern art exhibition.
Discussion
Art and Enthusiasm of Klara Liden
One French Thomistic philosopher, Etienne Gilson, admitted that it was better to turn back to pictorial philosophical approach in order to demonstrate how paintings and, at the same time, other art masterpieces could easily demonstrate the concrete act of existence. (Gilson, 7)
This young Swedish artist with her exhibition under consideration is full of enthusiasm. Can it be that a big blank box, placed at the center of the room, turns out to be rather attractive for many people? At the Museum of Modern Art, this event gathers more and more people every day. This box cannot stay monumental for a long period of time – it would be not that interesting to observe, this is why Klara Liden makes this creature work, shelving.
And, finally, it is necessary to admit that modern art cannot forget about innovations with various video and audio additions, so, in the corner on the floor, there is a video monitor, where short video is shown during three and a half minutes. The peculiar feature of this video is Liden’s presence on it. She stands on the Manhattan bank of the East River and skips little stones across the water. To my mind, such choice of the video is not casual.
These stones in the water may symbolize a life that lasts not for a long period of time, but its movements are really brilliant and attract the attention of many people, and the consequences of these movements, the traces on the water, excite again and again. Liden’s exhibition lasts during a certain period of time, and, as the traces in the water, left by the stone, her work should be kept in mind for a long period of time.
What Newspapers Write about the Exhibition
Not many magazines and newspapers are ready to describe the events, which happen now in the Museum of Modern Art, however, New York Times presents a captivating article about this artist and her abilities to create unbelievable things to the viewer. Holland Cotter writes about the exhibitions the following:
The idea, as I read it, was to keep a piece of the show outside the art space and in the world, which meant incorporating the world – whoever happened to sit on the bench – into the show. Over the years she has negotiated similar transactions between art and life in other places, in other ways. (Cotter, 2009)
So, people, who do comprehend the essence of art and the ideas, which artists want to represent in their works, will certainly understand that this box of papers is not a simple gathering of different sheet of papers. It is a history that is closely connected to people, their lives, and their future.
Other articles in newspapers and magazines like to describe this exhibition and share the ideas of what they see there: “architectural interventions and installations by cannibalizing existing structures and materials, such as cardboard, corrugated metal, drywall, wood, and carpet remnants.” (NY Art Beat)
Any piece of art may be compared to each other. Is it possible to relate poems and museum exhibitions? To my mind, it is quite possible. For example, Jacques Maritain told that “to one degree or another, even in the most obscure poems, even when the poet turns his back completely on intelligence, the intelligible sense is always there.” (Maritain, 261)
Almost the same happens during the exhibition by Klara Liden: she makes an attempt to forget about the reasons and consequences, and create something untraditional, but taking into consideration some modern features and innovations. This is why her work is something really intelligent and true.
Conclusion
People should have a chance to forget about their current problems and affairs, and entertain for some period of time. Current exhibitions are the places, where people can do it with ease. Imagination of artists and their ideas are usually quite different and amazing. Klara Liden is a Swedish artist, who presents her exhibition Projects 89 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Her work and video file turn out to be really interesting and unusual for our times, this is why lots of people are eager to visit this exhibit again and again.
Works Cited
Coomaraswamy, Ananda, K. Cristian and Oriental Philosophy of Art. Courier Dover Publication, 1956.
The theme of identity explains how individuals view themselves as part of the wider society and culture. This is because people’s culture is all about connecting amongst themselves and with other members of the society.
The works My Bed by Emin Tracey and Nan and Brian in Bed by Nan Goldin present the theme of identity in detail. This paper will compare and contrast Tracey Emin’s work of art by the name My Bed with Nan Goldin’s work Nan and Brian in Bed.
Comparing and Contrasting Tracey’s ‘My Bed’ and Goldin’s ‘Nan and Brian in Bed’
As a famous storyteller, Emin Tracey has used her work My Bed to explore the emotions that define the human soul. Through this work, different themes in art like body, emotion, place, identity, and science are evident. Emin has used this confessional work to explore herself as a human being with a certain identity (Robertson 32).
She achieves this by integrating her own art and private life thereby establishing a unique bond and intimacy between herself and the viewer. She identifies herself as a normal person who can be disoriented and heartbroken when things go wrong.
Through her own work of art, Tracey has decided to portray her own bed to explain her detachment with her soul. She has used the work to identify herself as a normal person who stands the chance of getting torn and insecure.
As it is the case with every person, she uses the theme of identity to show her inner feelings and connection with the world. She is in pain just as it is the case with the bed. What we observe in this work of art is that Tracey’s bed is in a mess.
She presents it in its embarrassing moment and glory. There are fag butts, worn clothes and panties, empty bottles and dirty sheets. This portrays a bloody situation characterizing her point of breakdown (Robertson 45).
This is an artistic way of identifying herself with the wider society. This is because life is usually hard and torments people by it at times. This brings a lot about the soul as something vulnerable to breakdown, anxiety and endless pain.
The work of art by Tracey portrays the aspects of the soul thereby identifying her feelings with the wider natural context. By presenting the bed in such a situation, Tracy has managed to share her own space. She reveals how insecure she appears to be. She identifies herself as a normal human being who is not perfect all the time (Robertson 43). This means that he is normal and imperfect just like the entire world.
With her bed in a mess, the viewer learns a lot about the weaknesses of the human soul especially when faced with heartaches and pain. She has used her own bed to explore her personal life as ordinary and full of mishaps and misfortunes.
This brings out the theme of identity since every individual has emotions and attachment to certain behaviors motivated by certain events. Just like any other person, the artist has used her work of art to identify herself as someone who fits in the society. Our culture and the people we interact with determine our actions and inner feelings.
My Bed by Tracey Emin
The work makes it possible for Emin to identify herself as a woman who affected by a breakdown. Everything around her bed is messy. The idea here is that her life is messy and therefore she must be seeking some form of re-invention in order to get back in track.
She has presented the bed to show her identity and connection with the human race. She examines a deeper meaning and emotion of the human soul. The bed is what identifies the artist and the kind of pain she must be facing (Robertson 67). The bed is a work of art used to identify the life situation of the artist in the wider context of the society.
As part of the theme of identity, the work of art presents a new sub-theme of essentialism. In the work of art, the artist has conveyed a conventional idea that human beings are natural beings with specific emotions. Apart from the common held stereotype, Emin has brought out the idea that identity of individuals is not something peculiarly relevant or attached to some cultures and not others.
The artist has presented the bed as a depiction of human emotion as something that is independent of people’s race or culture. It is something born deep in us, and affects the way we reason, behave and act during some our darkest hours (Robertson 34). Emin finds herself in a mess simply because she had a break-up and this affected herself psychologically. It is because of this fact that she finds herself disoriented and unattached to her inner feelings.
It is therefore acceptable that the art explores the unique identity of human beings. It explores how human beings identify themselves with their inner feelings and emotions. Because of what is going on in a person, he/she acts in a similar manner thereby affecting the wider relation with other people around.
The other idea presented by the work of art is how surroundings and settings define people. This is the case with Emin, who is deep trouble and faced a breakdown. The bed is her only companion and the reason she finds herself not pairing well with it and everything else that she uses including her own clothes.
From this work of art, we are compelled to observe that identity is something important as a theme in art (Robertson 84). This is because people are performing various identities depending on their situations and conditions. This affects their emotions as well as how they relate with other during certain critical moments.
In the second work of art Nan and Brian in Bed, the viewer observes that Nan Goldin has painted herself with one of her lovers by the name Brian. The self-portrait has a number of themes including sexuality, identity, domesticity and gender.
This is the outstanding different with Tracey work which presents the themes of identity, emotion and place (Robertson 49). Goldin is famous for documenting works with women in barrooms, sexual acts, and the culture of dependency. This exact thing stands out in the work Nan and Brian in Bed.
Nan and Brian in Bed by Nan Goldin
However, it is notable that the theme of identity is identifiable in the self-portrait by Nan Goldin. In this painting, Nan has presented herself as a natural human being who has emotional and sexual desires. She views herself as part of the wider societal setting and the reason she presents herself as a sexual being through the work of art (Robertson 78). By portraying herself in this self-portrait, it is notable that Nan has identified her unique stand as a human being and the way she relates with her audience.
After carefully examining the portrait, the viewer observes that the work of art depicts drug use, aggressiveness, and violence. This shows the kind of life she might have led as well as how it affected herself as a woman.
Through the work, Nan has managed to identify herself as someone different from what might be the expectation of the society (Robertson 87). She explores her work beyond male centric behaviors. Nan stands out as an achiever in a field dominated by males because of her work. However, while she is a great artist, this does not make her different. She is therefore a normal human being who has desires just like any other person.
In this self-portrait, Nan brings out the theme of identity. She identifies herself as a human being who loves life. While Tracey presents herself indirectly through her bed, Nan identifies herself in an outwardly manner by painting herself in bed with her lover. By so doing, she presents herself as someone who has attitude and feelings.
The similarity in the two works of art is that they explore and present a deeper meaning and idea within the human soul. Pain and affection are two unique feelings that define the human soul and identify a person within the wider societal context (Robertson 104).
The self-portrait by Nan has also underscored the sub-theme of essentialism. For years, people have stereotyped women as individuals used by males for sexual purposes and desires. This is something that widely examined and studied for years. However, the artist has explored the issue from a different perspective.
She uses her work of art to bring out a new meaning and concept about life and love. The theme of identity comes out from the painting with Nan being in control of the situation. This is because she is a person who can interact with others and gain satisfaction in her life.
By presenting herself in the self-portrait, the artist has explored the idea that she is a free person who knows what she needs in her life. By so doing, she identifies herself as a successful person who is performing her identity without any foreign control (Robertson 106).
It is therefore agreeable that the artist has used a self-portrait to portray her own identity and pass her message to the audience. By relying on the theme of identity, Nana has managed to break the traditional notion or mold whereby issues of sexuality and works of art tend to be male-dominated.
She has presented her independence through the work of art thereby identifying herself as a successful artist to the audience. While Nan has identified herself as a contented person in life, Tracey relies on the same theme to identify herself as a normal person with weaknesses just like any other person.
Conclusion
It is agreeable that the two paintings present the theme of identity to the viewers. The artists have managed to present this theme by analyzing the gap between life and the soul. As human beings, the artists have feelings that define their behaviors and attitudes towards life
The attachment of people and the bedroom is also a part of human identity. It is notable that we can rely on art to express our stands, feelings, emotional attachments and lifestyles. The two artists have therefore managed to use their works of art to bring out the theme of identity. This has helped the viewer understand how people interact with their environment as well as their inner self.
Works Cited
Robertson, Jean. Themes of Contemporary Arts Visual Art after 1980. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print.
The world around us is constantly changing. It is really unique in its beauty. Every aspect of our reality can arouse certain emotions and feelings. The variety of our emotions and variants of their expression is great. Artists have a wonderful opportunity to express all their passions and feelings with the help of depicting and demonstrating them in different works of art.
Today the possibilities of artists and designers in illustrating of the peculiarities of their inner world and feelings are almost limitless. There are a lot of artists who choose extraordinary approaches to realize their original intentions and to draw the public’s attention to their works. Modern tendencies in the development of art result in wide using of media, visual, computer and interactive technologies for creating of the art masterpieces.
Jonathan Harris, Sep Kamvar, Miwa Matreyek, Toni Dove, Kit Galloway and Sherrie Rabinowitz work in various styles, and they use different technologies and varied approaches to creating of their unique installations. However, all of them are masters of expressing of their certain feelings and of appealing to the audience’s emotional reaction.
What aspect of our inner world can help us be unique personalities? It is our dreams. Toni Dove with the help of her Artificial Changelings created the world of illusions in which dreamers can experience themselves in the company of two interesting women and can learn their thoughts and dreams. Artificial Changelings project is “a romance thriller about shopping” which is presented in the form of the installation “in which one person at a time uses body movement to interact with sound and images” (“Artificial Changelings”).
The technological peculiarities of the installation are characterized by the fact that the author uses a projection screen and a room with four specific zones for producing of the effect of interacting with the characters of the film (“Artificial Changelings”). “As an audience member you step into a pool of light in front of the screen and enter the interactive zones” (“Artificial Changelings”). All these possibilities became available for the viewers after the author’s introducing of these two women.
Arathusa and Zilith live in different centuries, but they can be considered as similar in their characters and aspirations and even as one person embodied in different periods of time. Arathusa lives in Paris of the 19th century, and she is portrayed as “a kleptomaniac and an ecstatic dreamer who suffers the constraints of Victorian society” (“Artificial Changelings”). She also dreams about Zilith, a woman of the future.
Their worlds are full of romantic feelings and emotions, and they are passionate in their relations with men and relations with the things which can be stolen. Viewers of the ‘thriller’ became the participants of this highly affecting story when they move. “Within the zones movement causes changes in the behavior of video and sound” (“Artificial Changelings”).
Thus, viewers have the opportunity to interact with the images in their futuristic world and to identify their emotions and passions. “The characters become like marionettes with unpredictable reactions based on the movement of the viewer in front of the screen” (“Artificial Changelings”).
It is interesting that the main idea of Artificial Changelings is depicting of the phenomenon of “how consumer economy from the Industrial Revolution to the present” can influence the public’s minds (“Artificial Changelings”).
Artificial Changelings project gives a chance to act in the virtual interactive reality and to move “back and forth between two centuries as if they were parallel realities suspended in the universe where time has no linear direction” (“Artificial Changelings”). Artificial Changelings project is the part of the author’s imaginative trilogy in which the viewers can be easily involved.
The public’s reactions to the artists’ work and their responsiveness are necessary for the authors who develop their objects in order to get a certain response. They need to see and feel the audience’s reactions and emotions. Moreover, artists have the opportunity to unite viewers and to present them the chance to look inside the artwork and also to feel each other as co-authors who can successfully participate in its creating.
If Toni Dove offered the prospect to interact with the characters of her installation, Kit Galloway and Sherrie Rabinowitz allowed the viewers to create the installation with the help of their real communication, interaction and emotional interchange between those people who lived in Los Angeles and New York in 1980.
“Hole in Space is described by its creators as a Public Communication Sculpture” (“Kit Galloway and Sherrie Rabinowitz”). Kit Galloway and Sherrie Rabinowitz had the idea to organize spontaneous communication between people in Los Angeles and New York who could happen to take part in the project. They could see each other and to interact during three evenings for 2 hours. It was possible because of using of specific TV transmission technology.
The further results of the project were given in the form of a documentary film and presented on two large screens in which the participants of the process of communication in the project were shown. This installation was first exposed at The Long Beach Museum of Art in 1980 (“Kit Galloway and Sherrie Rabinowitz”).
Thus, the possibilities of creating of this art object with using of media and TV transmission technologies can be considered as wider than those of any interactive technology. However, the results of this project do not give the opportunity to participate in it immediately, while examining it by the viewers.
Nevertheless, the concept of the installation can be described as the intention to depict the necessity of real communication between those people who can live in different nooks of the country. “It was important to the artists that the work was not announced through the art press; they wanted an unexpected audience of passers-by” (Kit Galloway and Sherrie Rabinowitz).
The work by Kit Galloway and Sherrie Rabinowitz involved the audience in the process of creating it and then presented the results of the project in order to get the responses and reactions. Thus, it is possible to say that the audience’s emotions and feelings were drawn in the project twice. In contrast, Miwa Matreyek prefers to produce solo performances and installations with the help of which she can see the public’s reaction to her personal involvement into the presentation of the work.
Miwa Matreyek uses the interactive possibilities of multimedia technologies. Dream of Lucid Living is a unique installation which presents the definite features of a solo performance. “This piece is executed with computer generated images projected on a screen with the addition of Matreyek acting out scenes behind a screen that produces her shadow to be incorporated with the digital animations” (Jethoo).
Thus, Matreyek uses multimedia and computer technologies in order to reflect a special fantastical world in which images are connected with animations, and in which she incorporates herself physically (Jethoo).
Miwa Matreyek demonstrates her own vision of the reality combining it with peculiar shadow images and animation. However, the effect of poetic illusion is removed by Matreyek’s personal participating in the performance.
Thus, the installation also has the theatrical features. “It is remarkable how precise her body movements are with the images on screen; how each action made corresponds with the animations” (Jethoo). This show combines music, videos, animations and acting in the whole one which can exist and act as a inimitable world with the help of multimedia technologies and effects.
However, real feelings and emotions are presented with the help of the author’s acting. Moreover, the main peculiarity of this kind of installation is in the fact that Miwa Matreyek has the opportunity to observe the viewers’ reaction immediately. Thus, the contact of the author and the audience is direct, and this fact distinguishes this type of installations among the others which are based on the interactive communication or immediate communication between the author and his audience.
In We Feel Fine Jonathan Harris and Sep Kamvar offered their own vision of the possibility of the relations between the artist and his viewer. We Feel Fine is an extremely unique art project which involved a lot of people in its working out even without their awareness of the fact. Moreover, the results of the artwork concentrate on the people’s emotions, as we can see it from the name of the project, and it also appeals to the audience’s certain reaction.
We Feel Fine is an astonishing work which combines the possibilities of using of the Internet databases and their analyzing and the possibilities of the online project. Moreover, the results can be presented in the form of special illustrations, graphs and tables given in the printed book. Thus, We Feel Fine can be considered as a dynamic interactive project and as a great static artwork by Jonathan Harris and Sep Kamvar (Sample).
In 2006 Jonathan Harris, a media artist, and Sep Kamvar, a computer scientist, worked out the program which could make the research in thousands of blogs and determine definite blog posts and then collect the sentences with such phrases as ‘I feel’ and ‘I am feeling’.
The results of the research of different kinds of expressions of people’s emotions were realized in the form of “the multifaceted interface that has six so-called “movements” – six ways of visualizing the data collected by We Feel Fine’s crawler” (Sample).
All the sentences were organized in colorful circles and squares depending on the character of the information which they contained. The site which was created by Jonathan Harris and Sep Kamvar became the real sensation in the world of the modern art because of its creativity and artistic significance.
This great work was also presented in the book version in 2009. Jonathan Harris and Sep Kamvar examined real emotions of people which they expressed in a number of blogs every day, and which reflected the real situation in the society. These peculiarities of the inner world of the people were depicted in their own words.
That is why the audience had the opportunity to participate in creating of the project and to react to its everyday results. Thus, the method of visualization is presented in the project with the help of modern computer technologies. That is why the message of the work can be considered as depicting of people’s emotions which they feel every day and their further visual presenting.
Modern artists use quite unique techniques and different interactive and multimedia technologies to involve their audience in the imaginative world of their artworks. Their approaches are various, but their main intentions are to attract the public’s attention to their works to receive the emotional feedback.
General information on Zhang Huan’s series Poppy Fields
Zhang Huan is one of the most controversial and bodacious contemporary artists. His Poppy Fields series, presented in the Pace Gallery, is inspired by his visit to Tibet and, in particular, by Buddhist masks. The gallery describes the concept of these paintings in the following way, “these all-over paintings reference the history of China from ancient Buddhist dance masks to the hallucinatory imagery of opium smokers and the cultural revolution”1. If one looks at them from a distance, the paintings seem to be just a mesh of colors, but in reality, the canvases’ surfaces are “covered with hundreds of skulls … that look like grinning faces with bulging eyes and Cheshire cat smiles”2.
Observations and analysis of Poppy Field No 12
Poppy Fields vary in palette significantly, and each of them presents a unique piece of art with not only its own set of colors but with its own unique implied ideas. Poppy Field No. 12 is the painting that attracted my attention by vivid colors that were used to create them burgundy, red, blue, light green, and dark green; all of them are intermingled in this Poppy Fields, and all together resemble a bright carpet. This canvas presents a great contrast to other works painted by him that are black and white with hues of grey. This one is a “riotous festival of clashing colors.”3 From a large distance, it looked as if a canvas that was simply covered with big dots of different colors. At first, it seems that the author just squeezed some paintings and then did not lift a finger to use an artist’s pencil. Nevertheless, even from distance, it looks quite dramatic, and I had the impression that it pulsated with energy. Upon closer inspection, one may discover that the canvas depicts a multitude of faces and each one is unique. Some faces are bigger, some are smaller, some of them are right side up, and some are upside down. As to their facial expression, they are all grinning.
Zhang used a thick impasto technique in this painting. It is oil on linen, painted with the help of simple repetitive gestures. The size of the canvas is quite big – 150 cm x 200 cm.
If one tries to search for the sources of his inspiration aside from abovementioned Tibetan dance masks, one can come to the following conclusion, “skulls are a recurring image in Zhang Huan’s work and stem from the artist’s early explorations in performance, inspired by the body and human form”4.
Zhang Huan disclosed the meaning of his art, and particularly, of this series in several interviews declaring that these “paintings represent the hallucination of happiness and the hallucination of fear and loneliness in this life as well as the hallucination of happiness in the next life.”5 This very canvas was, most likely, created to show the hallucination of happiness, not the hallucination of fear or other negative feelings he thrived to depict, as all the faces are smiling, unlike the skulls from Poppy Field No. 14. It is interesting to learn what particular event made him feel this hallucination of happiness projected in this painting:
He … witnessed the Tibetan sky burial, in which a monk eviscerates the human corpse, leaving the flesh as food for vultures and smashing the bones into grainy dust. The process is supposed to liberate the spirit from the body for peaceful transport into the next life. ‘Most people, when they see this ceremony, think it is gross and they cannot bear to watch,’ Mr. Zhang said. ‘But, when I watch the ceremony, I feel this hallucination of happiness, and I feel free.’6
By freedom, he means the release from the sufferings, caused by samsara, the perpetual circle of rebirths and deaths. If one understands his belief in the postulate than it becomes clear why Huan thinks that trough this picture he projects a hallucination of happiness, this is a reflection of his idea that death is not the end of life. Chiu-Ti Jansen also makes a research on the meaning of the skulls and the purpose pursuit by the artist when painting them. He declares that “in Tibetan Buddhist rituals and religious art, the skull is a ubiquitous iconographic symbol”7. It is widely used and may be placed at the top of a drum, maybe a part of the libation vessel, or a necklace, because skulls are considered to be “talismans against human beings’ helpless attachment to the self and attending sufferings”8. As people are often attached to their life, probably, Zhang Huan depicted skulls that are “laughing at the human attempt to avoid mortality,”9 and by this, he wanted to show that such an understanding was ridiculous.
The conception of art and its criticism
Thus, this canvas has a strongly religious subtext and meaning as it represents an attempt to embody the happiness of the next life. Nevertheless, no religion promises happiness to every person without any consequences and presupposes observing some rituals, moral obligations, or other ethical and moral norms. The artist did not only want to impress people with his painting style, paly of colors or even to depict the merits of the next life, teasing the observers with the help of glimpses of it; what he wanted was in his own words, to “invite a new examination of our collective awareness and experience.”10 These paintings “are a plea to reexamine and reverse lost values”, as he notes11. Thus, we can conclude that the main purpose of the whole series of paintings is to make the viewer thing over their life and explore new in old experiences looking at them at different angles.
Though Zhang Huan is an artist that has been living and working in the United States, in the New York City for several years, and some Western painters might affect his art, he certainly can be considered to be a Chinese artist (and particularly to those who present the Chinese modernity). Many Chinese artists who immigrated to Western countries are still “representatives of their culture,” their work is strongly inflected by their use of media and imagery that is preeminently Chinese”.12 This is also true about Zhang Huan, whose works often contain cultural references, such as references to the above mentioned Tibetan sky burial and Buddhist masks. Thus, he transports the Eastern culture to the Western countries and represents Chinese art in them.
Several critics consider Zhang Huan’s works like the ones that have a particular technique, uniqueness, and some other parameters, such as the ability to provoke different feelings.
Ellen Pearlman notices, that it is quite “uncommon for Chinese contemporary artists to incorporate aspects of tantric Tibetan Buddhism in their work”13, though they are not unknown at all. She proceeds, declaring that Huan “is not the first one to slather on thick and buttery pigment, but his Poppy Field canvases evoke an abstract impressionistic feel; the effect is akin to Pointillism gone wild”14.
Chiu-Ti Jansen comments on the power of impression of Huan’s art in the way that follows, it managed “to transport me on a psychedelic journey to Tibet”15. Thus the author confirms that Huan’s ark has a unique influence on the ones who observe it. This influence is felt on the subconscious level and may change one’s outlook considerably.
I was also impressed by this series, though I have mixed feelings towards these paintings. First, they did not seem to be art at all, but as I gave them a closer look and investigated the reasons behind their creation and the artist’s concepts, I changed my mind. I believe that works of art should convey some ideas; and some (even more beautiful) paintings do not convey any ideas at all, but photographs just depict reality without any premise. As well as Ellen Pearlman, I have also noticed that this technique of thick and buttery pigment can be found in the canvases of painters who lived long ago; but the paintings I have seen were mostly classic artifacts of impressionist art. This series, on the contrary, is somewhat original owing to the inclusion of the exotic elements of Tantric culture and the underlying meaning.
Bibliography
Ink Art: Past as Present in Contemporary China. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2013.
Fig.1. Zhuang Huan’s Poppy Field_No. 12, 2012, New York, NY. Oil on linen, 59-1/16″ x 78-3/4″ (150 cm x 200 cm).Fig.2. Zhuang Huan’s Poppy Field_No. 12, 2012, detail.
Footnotes
“Zhang Huan Poppy Fields,” Pace. Web.
“A Hallucinatory Blaze, via Tibetan Ritual,” The New York Times. Web.
Ellen Pearlman, “Zhang Huan’s Painterly Buddhism,” Hyperallergic, Web.
“Zhang Huan’s first solo exhibition in New York since 2010 opens at Pace Gallery,” Fine and Decorative Art. Web.
The New York Times.
“Death and Hallucination Color New Work by Chinese Artist Zhang Huan After Life-Altering Tibet Trip,” Shambhala Sunspace. Web.
Chiu-Ti Jansen, “Skull Obsession: Religion and Opium in Zhang Huan’s Poppy Fields,” Sotheby’s. Web.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Fine and Decorative Art.
Ibid.
Ink Art: Past as Present in Contemporary China (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2013), 15.
The development of contemporary art in China is a result of intellectual, cultural, economic political and social factors. The growth and acceptance of contemporary art in China has not taken place overnight. Rather, it has taken decades of struggle for freedom, execution of artists, and manipulation of art associations by the communist government. However, the fruits of the struggles are worth the effort, if the current fame and reputation of China as a beacon of contemporary art is anything to go by.
Politics and policy evolution and their effects on contemporary art in China
Many governments around the world practice preponderant influence on culture and religion. In China, the case was not different for many years. This hampered the growth and development of contemporary arts and even led to migration of many artists to countries considered liberal at the time like France, Britain, and United States of America. The opening up of China to works of contemporary art has taken many years with many political regimes contributing in various ways towards the attainment of this status.
In 1942, the Peoples’ Republic government showed its will to assert control over arts. Mao Zedong, the leader of the People’s Party of the time, made an expected announcement that, “…the arts should serve the people, especially the workers, peasants and soldiers” (Andrews 37). Andrews further argues that, “from 1949 to 1979, the communist party succeeded in eradicating most of the artistic styles and techniques it found politically repugnant” (1).
In 1949, Mao made another announcement, which seemed to correct the effects of his first announcement, albeit superficially. He called on all cultural producers to come up and share their work with the people as a means of educating the masses. This empowered many contemporary artists whom saw it as an avenue and opportunity for participating in the great revolution of the time.
The result was the formation of Artists Association led by experienced and established artist within their ranks. Later, it emerged that the association of artists served only the interest of the Communist Party leadership. Clear-cut evidence emerged when the first chair of the association, Jiang Feng, presented a report to the government on development and progress in contemporary art in China.
The report “praised the accomplishment of communist artists and presented concrete goals for remolding the non-Communist art world” (Andrews 37). It was clear that Jiang was not speaking his mind considering that some of the information he was disseminating contradicted what he had said three years ago.
The government manipulated the organization’s leadership, thereby interfering with its policies and ideologies, and ensuring that every decision made in the organization served its interest. The Communist government’s decision to call on cultural producers to share their work with the public was not for the good of the country’s art industry, but was to serve as a government’s tool for propaganda.
The period 1950s to 1960s was still marked by government’s manipulative tactics on contemporary art in China. Even though it attempted to promote peasant art works, its classification of the work hindered artists from venturing in other types of art works. During this period, the government employed many teachers of art and sent them to the remote villages and rural areas to teach art. However, they were restricted to teach only “good” works and to avoid the “harmful” works.
According to the government, good works constituted landscapes, still lives, and revolutionary art forms. Expressionist works, abstractions, and nudes were not only discouraged but also called for punishment (Lei & Qi 74). This period saw production of great works of art.
However, works of creative expressions diminished under the Communist government’s iron rule. Any government that promotes the work of art must do so by creating a favorable environment for expressionist work, since it is the primary mode of expressing a society’s grievances.
Major strides in Chinese art occurred in the period 1979 through to 1980s. It was during this period that the government approved the Star exhibitions of 1979-80. The approval was a public relations exercise because the government had predicted that the failure of the exhibition was inevitable. In the contrary, the exhibitions continued gaining popularity both locally and internationally.
Encouraged by the gaining popularity of their works and the disappointment of the government in view of the program’s success, independent artists’ grouped emerged and grew rapidly. Most works produced during this period were critical of the Communist governments’ Cultural Revolution. Jane McCartney on the features section of the times magazine, gives a scintillating account of what happen in China in the 1980s when the exhibitions were making inroads.
A sprinkling of foreigners added splashes of color to the rare gathering in a temporary art gallery. The atmosphere crackled with excitement. Public showings of contemporary art were rare. An air of derring-do infused the show. In hushed tones, art aficionados, painters and the odd diplomat discussed the question of the day. How would the Communist authorities respond to an exhibition that conformed neither to socialist realist norms nor to party propaganda guidelines? (Macartney 12-14).
From that period onwards, contemporary art gained ground in China. However, this free flow of art was interrupted in 1989 after the Tiananmen Square occupation. Artist who supported or took part in the occupation were weeded out and prosecuted. Many artists flew China for other nations in fear for their dear lives. This prosecution greatly affected the progress of art in China.
The mush needed boost to contemporary art was yet to come in 1990s. Deng Xiaoping’s government on realizing the importance of trade encouraged its citizens to participate in foreign trade with other nations. Art works took a center stage as they became recognized in foreign nations thereby fetching large sums of money.
To sustain the economic growth of the country, the government realized it was time to promote instead of trifle the works of art for they had become important foreign earners. McCartney explains this by saying, “It was becoming clear to the communist authorities that Chinese art had gained international fame and also represented big money” (Macartney 16).
After the declaration of the open door policy by the Communist Party, artists in China had freedom to interact and share ideas with other artists from other western countries. Such an opportunity had never existed before and was a great step in upgrading the level of contemporary art in China.
The interaction created curiosity among local Chinese artists, who wanted to compare and relate works done by other artists in different regions. Even though there was consideration of all art works from different parts of the world, European products presented the much-needed challenge.
In fact, by creating the little window for interaction, the communist government succeeded in rallying artists against its control measures, as they demanded more space. During this period, artists criticized the government through their works in artistic language that was complicated for its leadership to comprehend.
The freedom currently enjoyed by Chinese artist is hard earned. The current governments have promoted art works in many ways including, arranging for trainings for artists, protection of artists’ interests, non-interference in Artists Association activities, making of legislation that promote art, and carrying out promotion activities in foreign markets.
The return is marvelous. Many art works from China have graced the international platform and exhibition halls, artwork earnings’ contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has increased, and many people, artists, sculptures, and performers earn their daily living in the industry.
General Information on Art Zone 798
The now famous district 798 is in the North East of Central Beijing China. It is located in the Dashanzi area, and is famed for Factory 798 and other state-owned factories. Factory 798 originally produced electronics.
The current image of District 798 is a result of a 2002 initiative by artists and cultural organizations. These cultural organizations and artists divided the land that once housed the factories into small pieces among themselves, rented them out, and furbished them to meet their new needs of art galleries, art studios, restaurants, and design companies.
The district “…went through a change in form and appearance that exalts…” bringing together great contemporary works of art and unique architecture (Huang 34). In fact, the district’s uplift has set it out as a leading global tourist attraction for both domestic and foreign markets in the same stride.
Historical background of Art Zone 798
The history of Art Zone 798 can be traced back to industrialization of new China. The current location of Beijing 798 Art Zone initially housed China Wireless factory. Two other companies were established in this area around the same period too, factories no. 774 and 738.
The three companies contributed significantly to the economic growth of China at the time, especially by producing leading electronics products. The efficiency of the company was further enhanced by employing new technology from Germany. Beijing 798 Art Zone company buildings were of high standards of quality.
In December 2000, the Chinese government incorporated six companies that were working around Beijing 798 Art Zone (Huang & Cui 134). The Sevenstar’s group having moved out there operations elsewhere chose to rent out their old stores to earn little money instead of living the extra space lagging.
The first beneficiary of this contingency plan was Robert, a Chinese Art web station director at the time. Robert rented a 120 square meters Muslim canteen in the site. The cheap rent and vast space available in the yard attracted more and more people who later joined Robert in the site.
Interestingly, most of this people were also in the art industry! Those who joined the area who were not in one way or another involved in art, came to provide subsidiary services such as hotels, restaurants, bars and grocery shops to the workers. It is also argued that the architectural style of some of the buildings in the factory could have attracted the artists to art Zone 798 (Huang 7).
The rise of district 798
From just one shop, Beijing’s Art Zone 798 has grown to be a one of the most dominant civilization and exhibition centers for contemporary art in the world. In fact, any artist who has not exhibited his or her work at Art Zone 798 in China has nothing to be proud of at all (Huang & Cui 43).
Art Zone 798 is now among the most written about art exhibition centers in the modern world. Nearly all fashion magazines and travel guides on China mention if not detail Art Zone 798. The popularity and reputation of Art Zone 798 is no longer a Chinese affair, but an international one. Slowly and steadily, Art Zone 798 is developing a cultural phenomenon to reckon with in the world of contemporary art.
The People’s Communist party leadership, in creating room for contemporary works of art, consequently encouraged the growth and establishment of Art Zone 798. The artist who fled the country at the high of execution found their way back to China bringing with them diverse knowledge acquired from different parts of the world. Additionally, Chinese’ belief in unity of direction and working together aided the growth and development of Art Zone 798.
Art Zone 798 has placed Beijing in the map of the world as one the most iconic centers for contemporary art. The center’s occupants include artists most of whom having their workshops in the region, while a few work from other locations and transfer their work to the center, architects who bring new designs to the market almost in a daily basis, art professional, curators and critics.
With the ever-increasing demand for Art Zone 798 works, many international businesses have established exhibition and purchasing centers in the region.
The most recent threat to Art Zone 798 came in 2004. The area was to be demolished to create space for ultra modern business buildings. However, this plan failed as the artists operating in the area launched massive campaigns against the move led by a delegate to the People’s Congress who was also an artist.
They argued that historic places like heritages and Art Zone 798 should be kept. On the other hand, experts argued that Beijing did not need so many art zones and that some had to be demolished to create room for urban expansion.
What officials did not take in to consideration, was the growth of income generated by Art Zone 798 and the continued increase in number of tourists visiting the area. Art Zone 798 is also facing the challenge of space. The area, which was once spacious, has now become small due to increased number of businesses and people operating in the area.
Currently, artists who exhibit at Art Zone 798 attain a status of legitimacy in the world platform. Their work gain international recognition due to universally acclaimed reputation of Art Zone 798.
Notable exhibitions at Art Zone 798
From 2003, there have been many notable exhibitions at Art Zone 798. In March of 2004, Art Zone 798 held the “Trans-border Language” International Art Conference. The “Blue Sky Exposure” was also held at the Art Zone 798 in the same year. Others include, Reconstruction 798, Temporary Space, and Operation Ink Freedom, which attracted over 5,000 attendants. The years that followed show even organization of more exhibitions attracting more and more individuals.
In September 2004, the first work directly attacking the history of china was exhibited. The “Left Hand-Right Hand” exhibition displayed Sui’s sculpture of Mao’s right Hand engraved in an enormous concrete slab.
The greatest and most infamous display was yet to come in 2005 when He Yunchang, a performing artist, had himself fix and shut in a wooden box. Despite the little ventilation in the box, he stayed put for 24 hours! This was the advent of the shock performances, which are now characteristic of many exhibitions.
Challenges facing Art Zone 798
According to Huang & Cui, contemporary art in China is losing its attachment to the past traditions as well as the present life (53). Attempts by artists to link the current works of art to the present or past only magnifies the discourse.
This has led to criticism from a section of artists from other parts of the world who question the authenticity of the works. According these critics, no work of art should float in a vacuum like the Chinese current works. If such criticism continues, then it is feared that the current liking for Chinese contemporary art works may drop.
It is also surprising that China is still determined at establishing structural systems to control and regulate art activities. This is because its competitors in the contemporary art works have long abandoned such systems. The best environment for art works is one that is completely unregulated.
The communist government in its effort to improve art environment, has instead succeeded in limiting it. The government’s directives such as setting of art zones in specific places far from the society has led to limited interaction between art and the society. If the people are to appreciate and like the work of art, then a closer interaction is essential.
This interaction is not possible with the creation of the “creative zones” far from human settlements. In a country with great cultural diversity like China, penetration of art is hard no chance should be taken in bringing the people closer to works of art.
The big name that Art Zone 798 has earned has also come with its disadvantages. From its development as an abandoned factory site, cheap and spacious, Art Zone 798 has evolved to an excellent art center characterized with high rent rates and overpopulation. The increase in rent rates has seen many artists moving to other regions with relatively low rents. In fact, some creative gardens, which were once a beehive of activities, are now almost empty (Huang & Cui 107).
Finally yet importantly, the problem of lack of creativity also affects artists in Art Zone 798. The desire to make quick sales has led many artists to copy the works of others thereby limiting creativity. It is easy to find a single design stocked by almost all stores, which reduce clients’ choice and variety.
In conclusion, Chinese contemporary art work grace the highest levels of international market. The influx of art fairs to china, numerous high profile exhibitions, and government’s unfailing support through funding, sound policy formulation, and organization of training programs ascertain the importance of contemporary art to china today.
However, for the country to remain competitive in the world platform, the challenges highlighted must be addressed urgently. Demand for art works may be on the upward trend, but individuals mainly prefer unique works. With the current fall in creativity among Chinese artists, the once despised market likes Africa could overtake it in the world market.
Works Cited
Andrews, Julia Frances. Painters and politics in the People’s Republic of China, 1949- 1979. California: University of California Press, 1994. Print.
Cheng Lei and Qi Zhu. Beijing 798 Now: Changing Art, Architecture and Society in China. Hong Kong: Timezone 8, 2008. Print.
Huang, Rui. Beijing 798: reflections on art, architecture and society in China. Hong Kong: Timezone 8, 2004. Print.
Macartney, Jane. “Let a thousand artists bloom.” The Times 3 Nov. 2007: 12-17. Print.
Wenya Huang and Cui Kaixuan. 798: Inside China’s Art Zone. South San Francisco, CA: Long River Press, 2010. Print.
Australian Aboriginal art is attributed to the indigenous Australian people and represents one of the world’s unique cultures. The major categories of Australian indigenous art include rock carvings, leaf paintings, sand paintings, rock engravings, aerial landscape art, stone arrangements, ceremonial clothing, and sculpture. These traditional pieces of art represent the unique Australian culture from the way the pieces of art were created by the artists.
Some of the commonly used styles in indigenous rock painting include dot-painting and stencil art. The rock art highlighted themes like religion, the environment, economy, and social activities. The fine painting category was adequately represented by bark paintings. Indigenous Australian art is characterized by a lot of imagery that depicted the origin of the artist and the themes in the paintings.
Colonial art
Colonial art is highly regarded in Australia because of the artistic flair it represents. Colonial art is chronological in nature because it depicts the changes that took place in Australia over time. The colonial paintings are widely known for their aesthetic appeal that was achieved by the use of soft and light colors. The paintings brought out the beautiful nature of the environment as depicted in the landscapes. Colonial art portrayed a peaceful co-existence of people in society.
Colonial paintings passed across positive and encouraging messages that would give future settlers a sense of optimism. The artists used art to record significant events and this makes colonial art a good source of information for historians and other social researchers. Most of the symbols in colonial art represent wealth and class because the paintings were mostly done by prominent people.
Landscape
Landscape art represents the physical aspects of the earth. This category of art is very broad because of the many varieties of landscapes present on earth. Australian landscape paintings depict the natural sceneries and artists with paintings that demonstrate the best representation of the natural scenes are regarded as the best. The sky and the weather form the basic elements of landscape elements. Australian landscape art was largely influenced by Chinese and Japanese cultures. Early landscape paintings had less imagery and represented the real images in the paintings. Most Australian landscape paintings were made using distinctive landscapes. The traditional Australian landscape paintings were made using oil paints and watercolor sketches.
Atelier
Atelier is a unique form of Australian art that emphasizes the concept of realism. Atelier paintings pay much attention to the details of the subject. This type of art borrows most of its characteristics from the traditional European culture. The atelier method involves professional artists and apprentices who make paintings and other pieces of art in a workshop or studio. This method began in Australia after the establishment of a museum in Melbourne.
The students are trained by their instructors in creating representational drawings. According to the atelier method, the paintings have to look very real as an actual representation of the real object. Ateliers ensure that the dimensions of the subject and the painting are similar. The main objective of the atelier method is to facilitate the representation of actual images without the help of any mechanical means. The system progression approach is used by instructors to ensure that the students comprehensively understand one concept before progressing to the next.
Modernism
Modernist art in Australia faced a great challenge in combining the popular traditional art with modern artistic concepts. Modern artists view things in a different manner and their concepts lean more towards abstraction rather than traditional idealism. Modernism art in Australia emphasizes realism as a way of representing subjects. Modern art gives the paintings an emotional touch compared to conservative traditional artistic paintings. Modernism art advocates for realism as a way of comprehensively representing various human experiences
Contemporary art
Contemporary Australian art is a collection of different artistic ideas from all over the world. Contemporary art uses a variety of media ranging from digital media to the traditional categories of drawings and paintings. One of the recent categories is conceptual art that provides more information about art and object status.
Indigenous Australian art (Australian Aboriginal art)
Australian Aboriginal art makes the Australian culture to be very unique. The imagery in Aboriginal paintings and other pieces of art represent the sacred culture of Australia. The mythical undertones carried by the traditional Aboriginal art gives the paintings a spiritual meaning. This is one of the most distinctive features of Aboriginal art. Totem representation and storytelling are all part of Aboriginal art.
The Aboriginal Pieces of art represented many details and information about the origin and culture of the artist. The other unique feature of Aboriginal art is the use of blue circles as a symbol of water. The Aboriginal artists used locally available materials and few colors to make their paintings. The symbols used in Aboriginal vary from one region to another. Each tribe or region has its unique symbols of representing features in a painting.
Arthur Streeton was an Australia Landscape painter, what are some of his achievements, and why are these achievements significant in contributing to Australia’s Visual Arts.
Streeton is a famous Australian artist whose contributions have had a profound effect on the Australian art industry. Streeton worked very hard to solve the problem of light and heat in art. He organized an exhibition together with other young artists in 1889 as a way of rebelling against the influence of traditional paintings. Throughout his career, Streeton was an art instructor who played a major role in promoting modern art in Australia.
His passion to impart artistic knowledge inspired him to open a teaching studio together with his friend Roberts. During the First World War, Streeton used his skills in landscape art to make war paintings. His painting depicted the desperate nature of a war environment and is remembered as one of the pioneers of war art. His later paintings represented a pastoral Australia due to their romantic touch.
“Sunbaker” is a 1973 photograph by Australian modernist photographer Max Dupain. What are some of the significant aspects? What was the photographer try to express? How was the culture of Australia depicted in this photograph?
Sunbaker is a modernist photograph taken by one of the most celebrated Australian photographers known as Max Dupain. The photograph was taken from a low angle and shows a man lying on his stomach on the beach. The head and shoulders are the only visible features of the man. The photograph was taken at a low angle to prevent other features of the subject from being seen. The back of the subject is completely exposed to the sun. The skin is sparkling because of the sweat and ocean water. The photograph is influenced by the vitalism concept that depicts the man in a relaxed posture. The upper part of the photograph is occupied by the subject.
The overhead sun casts a shadow on the subject and makes the lower part of the photograph to look bright. This is a clear representation of the ideal Australian way of life. The photograph symbolizes vitality and health in an outdoor environment. The photograph is widely influenced by modern artistic concepts. The photograph looks very simple but portrays a lot of information. The fact that it is black and white portrays the multicultural nature of Australia. The photograph represents the general culture of relaxation and vitality in Australia.
Australia is a multicultural country, how does multiculturalism have an impact on Australia’s Visual Arts? Focus on pop-culture such as Japanese Manga and Anime.
Australia is a multicultural country and this affects all aspects of life including art. Most of the influence is from Europe and Eastern Asia. Japanese Pop culture is one of the major influences of Eastern Asia. Anime and Manga have greatly influenced the Australian visual arts industry. Manga is a book with drawings depicting various aspects of life and is always published in black and white. Most of the features in Manga drawings are exaggerated.
This culture has spread all over the world and Australia is one of the countries affected by this new method of drawing. The Australian Visual Arts industry is booming because of Japanese influence. Anime is the other type of Japanese art that is popular in Australia. Anime refers to a type of animation art that is quite different from the other types of animations. The character and backgrounds are generated by computers or by hand. The Anime style of art is very flexible and depends on the artist’s preferred genre and audience.
Anime and Manga styles have found a lot of use in the development of computer games and cartoons. Manga is basically printed cartoons that are often full of humor. The incorporation of Manga and Anime styles in Australian visual art has given it a more modern look. Cartoons and animations can be created for all generations. Australia was influenced a great deal by the Asian artistic styles than the western concepts. The above examples demonstrate how multiculturalism can bring out some positive impacts especially in the field of art. The external influence helped a great deal in promoting contemporary visual art in Australia.
When one thinks of art, various concepts may come to mind ranging from the Black Square by Malevich to Ginevra by Leonardo De Vinci, and few would dare to portray and present banal objects as pieces of art. Stuart Davis, a bold representative of modern art, has proved that objects ordinary as a saltshaker, Odol, or a mellow pad may be viewed as items pertaining to modern art and furthermore be exhibited in museums.
Although Davis was associated with abstract concepts, he insisted on being considered a realist (Stokes 13). When Davis talked of his paintings he said that he was an American to the bone, he studied in America, and he painted what he saw in America’s daily life (Doss 116). His words truly relate to the quality of his paintings which are widely different from those found in Europe. An art lover might wonder what moved Stuart Davis to portray daily life as it is. Travis said that he was moved by skyscrapers, storefronts, trains, cars, planes and taxi cabs, and even electric signs (Jopp par.3). When Davis felt there was more to learn, he traveled to Paris where he familiarized himself with European Art and incorporated some of its elements into his painting (“Stuart Davis” par 4).
The Salt Shaker displayed in the Museum of Modern Arts in New York presents interest for art lovers. It is an oil-on-canvas painting, credited as the Gift of Mrs. Edith Gregor Halpert. Painting dimensions are impressive for a Salts Shaker, 49 by 32 inches allowing even for tiny details to be seen. The Salt Shaker is seen differently by people and if one is not told that he is actually looking at a Salt Shaker, he might regard it differently. For some, the frothy, white background and black dots on it, the colored vessel may give the viewer an impression of a cup of coffee from your local coffee shop.
Upon closer examination, an observant viewer may notice that the dots, in fact, represent tiny holes for sifting salt. Another thing that complicates the viewer’s perception lies in the colors of the Salt Shaker. Most Salt Shakers are made from glass, metal, or wood, although Davis himself noted that the one he had painted bears an exact resemblance to the Salt Shaker from a café in Paris (Strokes 213). The bifurcated yellow-and-white sphere above the Salt Shaker is most probably ahead of a lid. It also has two holes, black on yellow and white on black semisphere, which serve for the passage of salt.
The Salt Shaker itself is contained in a second, bigger vessel. This form might be a container for pepper. Standing closer to the picture, the viewer will definitely notice the strokes of paint, which might be lost in reproduction. The big letter ‘S’ across the Salt Shaker perhaps represents the world ‘salt’. The painting has three horizontal red strokes of paint of various lengths and a red dot above them. It is hard to decipher and guess what was on the artist’s mind when he added them to the painting. There are two black arrows at the bottom of the shaker, one pointing up and the other pointing to the white corner. They may imply the directions the meaning of which only the painter himself might have explained. In the painting’s left bottom corner, the artist left his signature, Stuart Davis.
The Salt Shaker is a prominent example of how most ordinary and banal items may be turned into major art pieces. Not only is the artist popular in the US, his homeland, but also in Paris where his exhibitions are regularly organized, with the latest one featuring Davis’ works in 2014 (“Two Americans in Paris: Stuart Davis and Grant Wood” par. 2). Davis is also popular among contemporary Americans and many of them run blogs featuring the artist’s works and contributions (Saith par.1).
Doss, Erika. Benton, Pollock, and the Politics of Modernism: From Regionalism to Abstract Expressionism, Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 1995. Print.
Encyclopedia of World Biography 2004, “Stuart Davis “. Web.
Saith, Seth 2015, Stuart Davis: Modern Before His Time — an Art Exhibition in a Blog Post (On a Groundbreaking American painter). Web.
Stokes Sims, Lowery. Stuart Davis: American Painter, Washington: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1991. Print.
Two Americans in Paris: Stuart Davis and Grant Wood. n.d. Web.
The Jungle, Wifredo Lam, 1943, Primitivism (The Jungle, n.d.).
The painting created by Wilfredo Lam, one of the famous representatives of Modern Primitivism, represents the image of primitive way of life and depiction of early beliefs of Afro-Cubans. The author himself was born in Cuba but spent certain period of his life in Europe mastering new European art tendencies, Surrealism, in particular. The impact of surrealistic European art is clearly observed in the painting including such of its characteristic features as the depiction of fantastic elements. The Jungle can be described as the living picture of a spiritual life of Afro-Cubans. The images shown in the work are drawn using the ancient tradition of art and the primitive depiction of nature.
The primitive is represented as the antithesis of modernity (Sweeney, 2004). The belonging of Wilfredo Lam’s The Jungle to Primitivism is proved by the artistic techniques used by the author. Broadly speaking, Primitivism is the depiction of the surrounding world in accordance with the elements of visual arts of the primitive societies. The composition of the painting can be described as the image of primitive Afro-Cuban people life, people’s belief in the woman-horse, one of the central figures in the Afro-Cuban mythology.
The artistic techniques used by Lam include the reductive depiction of human bodies and natural subjects. The faces are pictured as crescent-shaped as they were traditionally imaged by ancient artists, and the bodies are hypertrophied in size. Besides, the simplification of the real world is clearly observed in the images of plants. It should be emphasized that people and plants are presented as the interconnected elements, the technique commonly applied in the primitive world.
Exploration of Freud’s psychoanalytic theories
Suburbs of a Paranoiac-Critical Town: Afternoon on the Outskirts of European History, Salvador Dali, 1936, Surrealism (Suburbs of a Paranoiac-Critical Town: Afternoon on the Outskirts of European History, n.d.)
Suburbs of a Paranoiac-Critical Town: Afternoon on the Outskirts of European History is the painting created by Salvador Dali, which represents one of the bright examples of the surrealistic art movement in the beginning of 20th century. The composition encompasses the image of city. Gala, Salvador Dali’s wife and his source of inspiration, is the central figure depicted on the painting. There are a lot of objects imaged on the painting but all of them are represented in the surrealistic vision of the world. As in the majority of surrealistic works the artist aims to draw our attention to certain objects. In this way he gives us a way to see the symbolic meaning of the work itself as well as to abstract our minds from the real world.
The art of Salvador Dali was influenced by the works on psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud to the large extent. As one of the major inspirers of the surrealistic movement Dali contributed certain specific features to Surrealism. In particular, his passion for psychology, dreams interpretation, and the understanding of the psychological background of people actions led him to the exploration of Freud’s psychoanalytic theories.
Inspired by the Freud’s ideas on consciousness and sub-consciousness, Dali firmly believed in that life as a whole is determined by the unconscious actions of people. The painting shows us the unreal vision of the town. It is represented like the image of town in a dream. The unusual presentation of the painting objects proves the surrealistic view of the artist, his unconscious vision of the reality.
The changing role of art and the influence of mass culture
Marilyn Monroe Prints, Andy Warhol, 50s-60s of XX century, Pop Art (Marilyn Monroe Prints, n.d.)
The prints of Marilyn Monroe were created by Andy Warhol in the middle of the XX century, when the popularity of mass culture raised significantly. The commercialization of art became one of the main tendencies in the world art in that period. The prints shown above are the bright examples of the influence of popular culture on visual arts, which reoriented the aim of art from its primary purpose of self-expression to the pursuit of commercial benefits. Marilyn Monroe is a symbolic figure of the American pop culture of the XX century. It is not surprisingly that her images were widely used with the commercial purposes.
Andy Warhol was the designer of some of the famous mass culture products in the 50s and 60s of XX century. The popularization of art at that time gave the opportunity for people to gain from popular culture. The rapid development of innovations and significant rise of business activity affected the attitude of people to art as well. It became the object of making money. Unlike most avant-garde and fine artists, workers in the mass arts rarely enjoy total freedom to create personally expressive art (Chapman, 2003).
However, despite the lack of meaningfulness, which popular culture introduced to art, its artifacts are worthy to study. Andy Warhol essentially combined some simple artist techniques with the needs of the market. He made the prints more colorful and eye-catching and that brought the attention of the public to them. People liked Marilyn Monroe, because they imagined her as a symbol of American girl. Her images were in demand and Warhol created the art product for mass production.
A new form of realism in response to political and social events occurring in the early 20th century
New York, 1911. George Bellows, 1911, American Realism (New York, 1911, n.d.).
The paintings of George Bellows, the prominent figure in the American visual arts of the early XX century, were focused on the depiction of the American reality at that time. The artists contributed a lot in the formation of a new form of realism, later called American realism. New York, 1911 is the image of the big industrial city and the rapidness of its everyday life. American realism was appealed to depict the accelerating pace of time, bustle of the city streets and to express the feeling of the city life.
As we can see the composition is concentrated on the chaos and bustle of the New York City of 1911. The painting gives us the feeling of the pressure of the downtown on the masses. Ostensibly, they were engrossed by such requirements of the big city life as being always occupied and not wasting time as well as living per organizer. George Bellows presented us the image of American life of that time but it can be said that new forms of realism in the world and the depiction of the reality in other capitalistic countries derived from the United States. Nowadays we can observe the lifestyle of the American cities in other parts of the world.
However, American realism contributed a lot to the development of the American visual arts. The painting of George Bellows reflects the characteristic features of this art movement, including using of dark and subdued colors and tones. The light plays a crucial role in the painting with a more clear accentuation of the objects with shadows and penumbras.
An evaluation of the impact of these themes on the art of the latter half the 20th century and into the 21st
Exhibit of “21st Century Visual Art Document Exhibition” (Exhibit of “21st Century Visual Art Document Exhibition”, n.d.).
The formation and development of the Contemporary art was based on the rethinking of the Modernism postulates. Starting from the After War period, the rapid changes in the social, economic and political spheres resulted in the transformations in the world art. Postmodernism began to develop at that time and it became the source of formation of the Contemporary art movements of the late XX and XIX centuries. The painting shown above represents a bright example of new tendencies.
In the making of the Contemporary art the philosophical ideas gradually transferred from the modernists views on the exclusiveness of New Time to the acceptance of the vast diversity existing in the modern world. This is a crucial idea, because the ambiguity and diversity of thoughts are the pillars of the XIX century art.
However, it should be acknowledged that these ideas arose from the thoughts of the Modern epoch including the ideas of Sigmund Freud, surrealists’ movement, consumerism and others.
Butler (2002) cites the statements of Susan Sontag and Ihab Hassan, art critics,
They argued that the work of postmodernists was deliberately less unified, less obviously ‘masterful’, more playful or anarchic, more concerned with the processes of our understanding than with the pleasures of artistic finish or unity, less inclined to hold a narrative together, and certainly more resistant to a certain interpretation, than much of the art that had preceded it.
In conclusion, the formation of the Contemporary art is definitely based upon the ideas of earlier art movements. It can be said that postmodern derived from the modern ideas introducing more ambiguity, avant-garde, and the vast pluralism, which is undoubtedly is one of its predominant features.
References
Butler, C. (2002). Postmodernism: a very short introduction. Oxford, the United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
Chapman, L.H. (2003). Studies of mass arts. Studies in Arts Education, 44(3), n.pag. Web.
Exhibit of “21st Century Visual Art Document Exhibition”. (n.d.). Web.
Marilyn Monroe Prints. (n.d.). Web.
Sweeney, T. (2004). From fetish to subject: race, modernism, and primitivism, 1919-1935. Westport, CT, USA: Praeger.
Suburbs of a Paranoiac-Critical Town: Afternoon on the Outskirts of European History. (n.d.). Web.
