Due Oct. 2, 2008: "When Form Has Become Attitude - And Beyond" by Thierry de Duve
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To respond to Jonathon's criticism: nearly every critic Williams mentions seems to find nothing good about consumer culture, and while there may very well be nothing good about consumer culture, I was trying to find some positive aspects to it -- to play devil's advocate, which I enjoy doing in discussions. It wasn't really my intention either to "gloss over" or to not "gloss over" the realities of economic inequality, since that's really not what I was choosing to talk about at the time. I actually found it a bit insulting to be accused of not being aware of economic inequality, since it enters my mind every day. But poverty in America (and elsewhere, where it is much worse) is an entirely different and lengthy discussion. Of course, it is more fortunate to have been born rich (which I was not, personally), but it is still also a fortunate thing to have been born American (is it not?), and should we not be grateful, and show gratefulness, for that good fortune? I tend to think that gratefulness for whatever good fortune is thrown in our laps, randomly as it were, has a way of putting things into perspective. (By the way, thank you, Bart, for understanding what I saying about being grateful).
In response to Mel's post, I wish to expound on certain aspects of modernist thinking that continue to feed creativity and research in our world today. Though this post is inspired by Mel's and addresses some of her questions directly, I will post is as a new thread for to the number of reference it includes.
The claim is that modernism is not dead, for it is:
-a movement that is rooted in the desire for change
-a movement away from academic and historical traditions
-revolt against outdated values no longer congruent with present sociological and economic conditions
-away from the notion of innate talent (i.e. democracy in art)
-towards integration of art and technology
-towards recontextualization of all creative work as a form scientific research
-towards standardization of language and values (e.g. The Bauhaus formalist critique, or Schoenbergs dodecaphonic system of music theory)
-towards bringing together of media (e.g. multi-sensory, immersive and synthesthetic experiencesrt)
-towards collaborative models of working.
As one reads these phrases, many present day phenomena come to mind. Here are a few of my favorite hand picked examples:
-Socially conscientious collectives like Wochenklauser or Kulture Klub whose work involves real people, in real places with real problems
-Formal support organizations like Creative Time or Public Art Fund
-Action organizers like Newmindspace, or FlashMob
-Pranksters like The Yes Men
-Invasive art posses like The Wooster Collective, Graffiti Research Labs, or Minneapolis Art on Wheels (!)
-Online community driven works like Post Secret, Learning to Love you More,
-Online collections of documentation of new works like Rhizome, We-Make-Money-Not-Art, or Beautiful Vandalism
-Salient genres where art and technology meet like creative data visualization (for a impressive survey see Visual Complexity, or check out some work by one of the field's young super stars, Jonathan Harris like We Feel Fine or The Universe)
So much of the above works content is rooted in a desire for change, an interdisciplinary perspective, an art practice that is as much research as it is development, interested in reclaiming public spaces, and overtly political.
Gives me enough hope to not talk trash about modernism and what it did for the arts....
The conversation we began in class has continued for me in a number of hallways and studios, so I thought I would post something in order to be able to track it and attract new voices, especially those who disagree with my own.
When we were talking in class about young artists feeling a sort of nostalgia for modernism, or at least turning back towards it in some way, an interesting conversation began and was cut short and I hope to continue it here. If I remember correctly, Ali is attracted to the “revolutionary spirit� of modernist thinkers, and believes that young artists ARE returning to these roots in some way. Community based art, art of the people, street art are some examples I’m thinking of. Ali, please feel free to expound on this opinion, because I would LOVE to know more specifically how you think about this. I would particularly appreciate examples of art created in this manner that you feel have been successful and effective.
I’m a an overall positive thinker, and believe our generation is instigating change. I know there is some trend of returning to community based arts and living, and that many people are now interested in community gardens and supporting local businesses. In the late 70’s and 80’s those ideas were less trendy, as the accumulation of personal wealth was more of an ideal, and was also pretty easy to do. The economy was exploding. Now, people are returning back to those old roots. The oppressors are still oppressing, and the effects of capitalism-gone-wild are even more clear. People are upset about globalization, and want to return power to local communities. I have seen some excellent examples of people and artists working to bring back this way of thinking.
What I am most interested in discussing, though, is how artists can do this effectively. How can we make art that brings power back to the people who truly need the “truth�? It is one thing to make art that talks to other artists and educated minds, and quite another to actually involve the uneducated masses. I really enjoyed seeing Ali and Jenny’s collaborative digital drawing on the side of the building, and can see how something this engaging might begin to bring the general public into the conversation. It’s unavoidable, beautiful, and curious. It belongs to everyone who sees it.
Also, how do artists effectively engage the “oppressors,� or “the other side?� I can respect Kandinsky’s effort to in my mind “legitimize� art by making it systematic and scientific and therefore relatable and somewhat valuable to other types of minds. Many people disagreed with me here, or thought it was a cynical approach. I may be entirely misunderstanding his intent, but regardless, is completely rejecting the existing paradigm the only way to protest? Does that really foster communication? What about forcing what you are doing into that framework simply for the purpose of communication and understanding, not to mention the empathy that must result from gaining the perspective of the “other side?� I’m not sure how we can have conversations without at least attempting to understand why the other perspectives, no matter how violently we disagree with them. And more importantly, how can we use our true understanding of those perspectives to strengthen the effectiveness of our arguments? Should we be thinking about this at all, or should we just be reacting to what we see?
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Please read and respond to the preface, forwards, the introduction and what is included of the section titled "Point" (in all, pages 5-17 on the Google books link above).
ARTS 8400
First Year Graduate Seminar
Thursdays, 6:00-9:00 Room W175, Regis Center for Art
Schmid/Momeni
This course focuses on theories of contemporary art and how they have created a foundation for current art practices. In addition to reflecting on theory, this class seeks to collectively explore new paradigms in the ways that artists are working today- through the creation of collectives, the globalized community and artist-as-curator model. Can post-modernism shift to not just operate as a resistance against an historical Western paradigm, but rather formulate new approaches that are based in a globalized, less provincial and more dynamic way of thinking?
Instructors will post a blog entry for each reading assignment. Students are expected to respond insightfully to each reading with three paragraphs posted as a comment to the reading assignment's post. This should be completed at the latest by Wednesday morning (the day before our class meeting). Students should also use the blog as a platform for responding to other classmate's comments and conducting meaningful discussions.
Students will discuss assigned readings in class and give a presentation about contemporary artists. Additionally, students will write one final paper for this course about their own work in relation to the readings and material covered in class.
This course is designed to help students think critically in the context of contemporary art and to develop writing skills to help them articulate their own work during their time as an M.F.A. student and beyond, as professional and engaged artists.
Students are expected to participate actively. Blog entries should be written clearly, with proper grammar and refer specifically to the readings.
Students are permitted to miss two classes maximum and are expected to be on time.
Presentation:
Please give a 20 minute presentation on 3 contemporary (living or prematurely dead) artists:
1: An artist who you like and who influences your work
2: An artist you like, but whose work is not related to yours
3: An artist whose work you really don't like (and why)
Please refer to the link above for the schedule and assigned readings. Some of the readings are available via links and others will be available on the library's electronic reserve system.
Grade Breakdown:
Blog 25% (blog entry responding each reading assigned and one response to a classmate's blog entry)
Final Paper 25%
Class Participation 25%
Presentation 25%