ART 111 Week 14
Artworks made using alternative media are best accessed by ________ but often exist only in the form of ________.
a direct, personal experience . . . visual documentation or personal accounts
conceptual art
a general tendency, as well as an art movement originating in the 1960s, that emphasizes the ideas behind an artwork over any material production to represent those ideas
silhouette
a portrait or figure represented in outline and solidly colored in
tableau
a stationary scene arranged for artistic impact
performance art
a work involving the human body, usually including the artist, in front of an audience
how did Jackson Pollock's work lay the groundwork for the alternative media and processes that began to occur not long after his death
brought the canvas off the easel and onto the floor to become a surface around which the artist moved as he splashed, dripped, and flung his paint. His unusual and exciting painting techniques galvanized public interest in "difficult" modern art. not long after Pollock's death there was a sense that artists had exhausted all they could say with paint on canvas. Artists began to turn to performance, conceptualism, and installations to explore radical new ideas about art.
An artwork that consists exclusively of drawings, designs, and plans would best be described as ________.
conceptual art
Barbara Kruger's Belief + Doubt (=Sanity):
employs her background as a graphic designer in its use of text and image
An artwork can fit into only one of the following categories: performance art, conceptual art, installation art.
false
Both Yuki Kihara's Tauluga: The Last Dance and Kara Walker's Insurrection! (Our Tools were Rudimentary, Yet we Pressed On) combine ______.
historical occurrences and contemporary viewpoints
happening
impromptu art actions, initiated and planned by an artist, the outcome of which is not known in advance
happenings
impromptu art actions, initiated and planned by an artist, the outcome of which is not known in advance
how does conceptual art relate to or draw inspiration from Dada art?
in some ways conceptual art is similar to Dada absurdist events in Zurich in 1916, where artists performed nonsense poetry as a release from and savage commentary on the events of World War I. made artworks that challenged traditional notions of art. an artist can communicate worthwhile ideas using any sort of material because the message is what matters.
Yoko Ono often utilizes ________ to complete her artworks, such as Wish Tree.
instructions for viewers to perform or imagine
An important difference between Coyote, I Like America and America Likes Me and Following Piece is that Following Piece took place ______.
on the streets of New York
installations
originally referring to the hanging of pictures and arrangement of objects in an exhibition, installation may also refer to an intentional environment created as completed artwork.
The traditional, and narrow, definition of "fine art" includes ______.
paintings on canvas and sculptures on pedestals
Abramavic's The Artist is Present would best be described as ________.
performance art
The kinds of artworks made using alternative media are ______.
performance art, conceptual art, installations, and environments
Kara Walker's installation Insurrection! (Our Tools were Rudimentary, Yet We Pressed On) combines:
silhouette drawings and projections
Jackson Pollock is known for:
splashing, pouring, and dripping paint onto a canvas as he walked around it on the floor
Performance art differs from theater because ______.
the actions take place in an art context
The most important aspect of a piece of conceptual art is ______.
the idea behind the artwork
What is Kara Walking dealing with in her installations?
the installations of American artist Kara Walker (b. 1969) combine silhouettes and projections in the gallery space to address overlooked history from the pre-Civil War south. As viewers shadows appear on the wall, the viewers are included and even implicated in the events unfolding there.
Medium (plural media)
the material on or from which an artist chooses to make a work of art, for example canvas and oil paint, marble, engraving, video, or architecture
subject
the person, object, or space depicted in a work of art
kinetic art/sculpture
three-dimensional art that moves, impelled by air currents, motors, or people
how is the kind of performance art different from the type you would see on a stage or in a more conventional context of performance.
unlike traditional theater, however, there is rarely a conventional story and the performance takes place in consciously artistic venues.
In Joseph Beuys's Coyote, I Like America and America Likes Me, the artist:
wrapped himself in felt and lived for five days alone in an art gallery with a coyote
context of alternative media
§20th century: Artists explore new ideas about art (actions, texts, environments) §Influence of Jackson Pollock and his action paintings of the 1950s §Works themselves tend to last for a short period of time §Documentation becomes important
Jean Tinguely, Homage to New York
§A mechanized assemblage of discarded junk, set in motion at MoMA, NYC §Self-destructed unpredictably §In addition to crashing, whirring, and smoking, flames shot out and a carriage hurtled towards the audience
Installations and Environments
§An artist designs or re-creates an entire exhibition space as an artwork §Often "site-specific": designed to fit the dimensions or environment of a particular location §Immerses viewers in the artwork
Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Your Gaze Hits the Side of My Face)
§Combines found images and words to give them new meanings §Work has a feminist overtone §The text addresses the viewer directly
introduction to alternative media
§Conceptual Art, Performance and Installations §Break down traditional boundaries between art and life §Actions and ideas rather than a physical product §Can be interactive §Often incorporates more than one type of medium; categorization of artworks becomes complicated
Beuys, Coyote, I Like America and America Likes Me
§German artist; incorporated his life experiences through symbolic elements §Was confined in an American gallery with a coyote for five days §Intended to activate a process of spiritual healing and reconciliation
Kara Walker, Insurrection! [...]
§Her installations combine silhouettes, light projections, and shadows §The viewers' shadows appear on the wall, implicating them in the events §Scene depicts a slave revolt in the antebellum South
performance Art
§In the 1960s-1970s, artists explored theatrical actions or performances §Unlike traditional theater, there is rarely an identifiable story §Actions of the artist become the focus §Occurs in a gallery, on a stage, or in public and is rarely repeated
Marina Abramovic, The Artist Is Present
§Known for performances of extreme bodily endurance §Every day for three months she sat quietly at a table in the MoMA, NYC §Visitors sat—one at a time, for as long as they wished —in the opposite chair §Created a silent "energy dialogue"
Yoko Ono, Wish Tree for Liverpool
§Ono has been making conceptual works since the 1960s §The piece relies on the interaction and participation of the viewer §Instructs the viewer to make a wish and tie it to the tree §Installed Wish Trees all over the world
Chin, Operation Paydirt/ Fundred Dollar Bill Project
§Operation Paydirt seeks to neutralize lead contamination in the soil of New Orleans § "Fundreds" will be delivered to Congress, where an even exchange of this "creative capital" will be requested to fund the project
Photograph of John Cage in Concert
§Relied on chance and improvisation §Influenced by Zen Buddhism §Emphasis on unrecorded performance §Expanded the scope of art to include the lived moment
Detail of Edward Kienholz, The Beanery
§Sought to break down barriers between art and life §Replicated the interior of his local bar §Transformed the space into an assemblage through the items and even odors it contains
conceptual art
§The idea is more important than any material product §Influenced by the Dada movement and Marcel Duchamp's readymades §Opened up possibilities of making art from everyday things, imagery from popular culture, or simply ideas
what was written on the pieces of paper and hung on a tree for one of Yoko Ono's pieces?
"Make a wish, Write it down on a piece of paper, Fold it and tie it around the branch of a Wish Tree, Ask you friends to do the same, Keep wishing until the branches are covered with wishes."
Artworks made using alternative media and processes ________.
- break down categories of traditional artworks - break down the traditional boundaries between art and life - focus our attention on objects, actions, and events we might otherwise overlook
Installations are designed to ______.
-consider more than an individual work of art -transform the traditional space of an exhibition -immerse viewers in the artwork -design an entire exhibition space as an artwork
Which of the following artists were influential for artists who employed alternative use of media and processes?
Marcel Duchamp Jackson Pollock John Cage Claes Oldenburg
performance art
an art action or event that incorporates elements of music, dance, poetry, video, and multimedia technology
readymade
an everyday object presented as a work of art
found image or object
an image or object found by an artist and presented, with little or no alteration, as part of a work or as a finished work of art in itself
An artwork that consists of a re-created bedroom with videos projected onto the walls would best be described as ________.
an installation
Dada
anarchic anti-art and anti-war movement, dating back to World War I, that reveled in absurdity and irrationality
action painting
application of paint to canvas by dripping, splashing, or smearing that emphasizes the artist's gestures
conceptual art
artwork in which the ideas are most important to the work
assemblage
artwork made of three-dimensional materials including found objects
action paintings
artworks that track the movements and gestures the artist makes during their production
installation
artworks that transform the surrounding space in order to become environmental artworks