Installation Art

What do viewers/consumers add to the meaning of the work of art

-Art is a mere object that instigates dialogue -Act of engagement/viewing makes the piece -Some are fully immersive environments that encapsulates viewers in an experience outside reality -The viewer has to interact with the work

Christo and Jeanne Claude

-Artist duo -Started with cans and bottles and later used umbrellas and cloth to make large outdoor installations -Focus on physical form and visual experience of sites -Political stance: dissent and resistance -Outside gallery system -Contrast between man-made elements and organic characteristics to highlight importance of nature

What are period rooms? How are contemporary artists modernizing these rooms?

-Authentic representations of how people lived in a certain time period with artifacts, furniture, wallpaper, etc. -Provides context, can see an intimate view of someone's life -Contemporary artists show effect of light on the room (Up All Night in the 1700s) -Curator's Office plays with the ideas of trust and truth; makes it more interactive and creates a dialogue -Sangree "Unclassified Site Museum": ancient-looking excavation with modern technology brings up nature of time -Valerie Hegarty's Alternative Histories focuses on previously ignored parts of history (Native American displacement and violence)

What does installation mean/suggest

-Built in a specific place -Integral part of environment

Kusama

-Conflicts between love and hatred -Polka dots, pumpkins, bright colors -Sharing inner thoughts/how she views the world -Longing for love and peace -Continuity and repitition -Infinity/mirror rooms focus on the universe beyond the world in which we live

Why is context so important with installation art

-Controls the message of the piece -Location is an important element

What is installation art? What are its different types?

-Created, constructed or installed on the site -Occupy entire room or space that the spectator has to walk through in order to engage fully with the art -Completely unified experience that focuses on the viewer and how to alter their perceptions -Types are site specific, words and ideas, massive scale, and interaction and immersion

Shonibare

-Focuses on issues of race and class -Questions the meaning of cultural and national definitions -Connects content with form -Presents tragic events in a funny way -Uses Batik fabric to show globalization -Celebrating immigrants -Focus on colonization

Turrell

-Interest in light (how you perceive/feel about light) -Light provides physical, spiritual and emotional benefits -Making art for everyone, not just the elite -Takes a while to absorb/understand -Light as sound and feelings -Wants to play with perceptions of light and the sky and create a contemplative space, can only be experienced firsthand

What criticism about installation art exists

-Massive scale works make bold statements and are crowd favorites -Some argue that large-scale pieces have become ubiquitous and gimmicky -Public appeal outstrips artistic merit -Like Yayoi Kusama's mirror rooms

Gonzalez-Torres

-Viewers are active, reflective observers who establish meaning in his work by touching/participating -Minimalist and conceptual art with a whimsical and humanistic side -Themes like love and loss, gender and sexuality, sickness and rejuvination -Sharing his personal experiences -Sets private memories into the public sphere