Xerox project

Here is my Xerox... I was going for the theme of See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil. I had never done a collage or Decoupage before but it was fun experimenting! I liked working with the wood frames but should probably have used more images to cover the empty space. I don't know if anyone else felt the same about creating their project, but it was a little creepy cutting my eyes out of the pictures.

Fluxus and performance art

I liked the way Santiago described the FLUXUS movement in class as "everything in permanent motion". I thought the best example was when Yoko Ono sat in the gallery letting people cut off her clothes. Even though it was not in her hands, the movement flowed and it was an on going piece of work. After researching another important fluxus artist Joseph Beuys, I found it interesting to learn that he had a science background in medicine. Understanding the reason he used the materials he did, such as felt, was also very eye opening. To be able to use felt as a major part of his art because of the significance it had to him gave his pieces more of a connection. I thought the work he did with lard was also interesting becaue he knew they would eventually loose their shape over time. The most amazing thing to me about the performance art we have seen so far, is the endurance! I can't get over how long some of the artists will commit their time and effort into the performance. The one that impressed me the most was Tom Geoghegan's "Strange Fruit" being suspended from a tree for over 8 hours! Unbelievable!! Now the challenge will be coming up with something half as creative for my performance art:)

An example of Andy Warhol's work!

Inside the Factory..

I wonder what it would have been like to have lived a day inside Andy Warhol's factory? From what it sounds like, there was a lot of wasted time on sex and drugs but also a priceless environment of creativity. I'm not sure how many of the people who were there realized it at the time, but the fact that Andy Warhol would allow people to be around him while he was creating art was incredible! I think a lot of his persona was an act but in some of the interviews I've seen with the actresses he worked with, they did say he came across as hot and cold. If he liked you, you were his best friend for that time but the second you were not a superstar in his eyes he would drop you. Even though he was constantly surrounded by a lot of people it seemed like he lived a very lonely life because he never let people in completely. As far as his art work, I thought it was genius! To take items that people would use in abundance everyday, deconstructualize them and turn it into art was amazing! I found it so interesting to see the comparison between Andy Warhol and Marcel Duchamp. Someone brought up in class the fact that people may have been unaware that Andy Warhol was mocking everyday life...well, maybe now 30 years later his art work might make some of us remember to be thankful for the everyday things we take for granted!!

example of Bauhaus design
Bauhaus had the idea in mind for their designs that whatever you created you could use in the real world. The "Barcelona chair" which we all now and love today was created using the Bauhaus's style. I would like to go back and watch the entire documentary on this interesting architecture. I thought it was so sad, that as with many things during that time period in the 1930s, the Nazi's took over the Bauhaus building and destroyed the modern beauty that had been created. I thought their designs were so clean and fresh...they definitely looked as though they were the inspiration for IKEA.
I also enjoyed learning about the "beat" group today. I had heard of Jack Kerouac before but didn't really know his full story. It was definitely a depressing lifestyle but they made the best of it and did create their own form of art. I thought the "Thanksgiving Day" poem was the best by William Burrows! Ok...maybe it was just me but I thought the movie "The Naked Lunch" was REALLY weird! Between that and "Un Chein Andalou" I hope I don't have nightmares. I think it's great though that Santiago exposes us to all different forms of art, this way we can form solid opinions:)

L.H.O.O.Q

Marcel Duchamp had a unique way of deconstructualizing art. He was one of the pioneers in claiming art to be what he declared it to be, as well as producing objet trouve which was claiming a found object as art. One of his most famous pieces of objet trouve was L.H.O.O.Q. which was a postcard of the Mona Lisa with a sketched moustache on it and the abbreviation L.H.O.O.Q at the bottom. The abbreviation translated from french to English was "her ass is on fire". This showed that not only did Duchamp have a sense of humor but that he was trying to get the viewer to see a bigger picture. If most people were to view the "classic"Mona Lisa in a gallery, they would have a similar opinion about the fact that's it's beautiful art. When Duchamp put such a controversial title on it, it forced the viewer to see the famous painting from another prospective. Instead of taking art so seriously, Duchamp looked to find another meaning from most of his work and take the risk of going against the grain.

Grid Art

Here is my Mrs. Packman grid art. I found it difficult to glue the paper on behind the yellow pom poms and I didn't realize the glue would dry so visably but in the end I was happy with how it turned out. I was trying to bring the packman grid from video games into a different form. It was definitely a time consuming process but I fun learning experience.

I thought it was very interesting seeing some of the famous piontillism paintings and how they were connected to the grid art we created. I love looking at the paintings up close and then standing back to admire their beauty.

Triumph of the Nerds

I thought the documentary was pretty interesting. I loved hearing about the start up of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs's careers and how Steve Jobs and Steve Wazniac started off in a garage. I liked Apple's approach to their work environment...layed back and california style. It was interesting to hear about the all of the details that go on behind the scenes and the competitiveness with companies. IBM seemed almost like a cult...very strange that they had a song book! I thought Steve Jobs seemed like he was very ego sentric and very bitter when he split with Apple. It blows my mind, at the creativness and intelligence the inventors of new technology posses! I thought the funniest part of the movie was toward the end when Steve Jobs made a comment that Microsoft stole ideas. Previously Steve Jobs made it clear he was interested in success and it didn't matter how he achieved it, he also quoted Picasso by saying "good artists copy, great artists steal". haha that's the pot calling the kettle black