WEEK 6-Anish Kapoor Sculpture Anish Kapoor

Celebrated for his gigantic, stainless steel Cloud Gate sculpture in Chicago’s Millennium Park, Anish Kapoor is changing the cultural environment with his public works.

Research Kapoor's work in order to discuss whether it is conceptual art or not. Explain your answer, using a definition of conceptual art.
Conceptual art is art in which the concepts or ideas involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. Many of the works, sometimes called installations, of the artist Sol LeWitt may be constructed by anyone simply by following a set of written instructions.”In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work. When an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all of the planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair. The idea becomes a machine that makes the art.”(Sol LeWitt.).Kapoor's sculptures are frequently simple, curved forms, usually monochromatic and brightly coloured.

Research 3 quite different works by Kapoor from countries outside New Zealand to discuss the ideas behind the work. Include images of each work on your blog.
The sculpture is called “Sky Mirror,” and it’s essentially a large, convex piece of highly polished stainless steel, roughly in the shape of a contact lens. In my opinion, Kapoor use reflection of the light to made a different visual effect, it’s like the water, and I have a feeling this piece is going to be a bit of a tourist sensation.What I like about the “Sky Mirror” piece and a related piece now installed at Millenium Park in Chicago called “Cloud Gate” is the way they present a kind of prism through which to view the world.
 
Where is the Kapoor's work in New Zealand? What are its form and materials? What are the ideas behind the work?
This art work by Kapoor is on Alan Gibbs’ sculpture park at The Farm.  Anish Kapoor’s amazing, 84m-long, twisted, red cone. It cuts through a ridge like some celestial megaphone. It was created and designed to withstand the high winds that blow off the cliffs of the North-West cost of the North Island and the Tasman Sea. Its design is similar to the Turbine Hall exhibited in the Tate Modern Gallery in London.
Comment on which work by Kapoor is your favourite, and explain why. Are you personally attracted more by the ideas or the aesthetics of the work?
Tall Tree & the Eye, 2009
Stainless steel and carbon steel
14 x 6 m
Courtesy the artist
Installation: Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, 2010
Photo: Erika Ede © FMGB Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa, 2010
A new sculpture by Anish Kapoor 'Tall Tree and the Eye' is displayed in the courtyard of The Royal Academy on September 22, 2009 in London. Each sphere simultaneously reflects itself, its neighbours and all the components that make up the tower. We see our own repeated reflection and that of the architecture that surrounds us. The angle of the images changes as our gaze moves up the sculpture.Tall Tree and the Eye conveys the transient nature of how things appear. Through its complex use of light and shade, volume and space, it makes us aware of the instability of the visible world. Time and place are suspended and altered. Though it is a very large piece of sculpture it comes across as somehow weightless and ephemeral.
 
http://www.whosjack.org/anish-kapoor-public-sculptor/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conceptual_art
http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/archives/003711.html
http://www.guggenheim-bilbao.es/microsites/anish_kapoor/secciones/galeria_imagenes/galeria_imagenes_detalle.php?idioma=en&id_imagen=29

WEEK 5-Pluralism and the Treat of Waitangi

Define the term 'pluralism' using APA referencing.
Pluralism is used, often in different ways, across a wide range of topics to denote a diversity of views, and stands in opposition to one single approach or method of interpretation.Pluralism in art refers to the nature of artforms and artists as diverse. The cultural context of art is all encompassing in its respect for the art of the world's cultures.
How would you describe New Zealand's current dominant culture?
The current New Zealand is  dominated mostly by kiwi culture. In other words, European or white culture. This mainly because the majority of population living is kiwi people. New Zealand is a multicultural country and i think there is a mixture of all kinds of culture which makes this country so colourful. Both European and Maori culture blend together with Asian and other cultures to make a beautiful taste of living.
Before 1840, what was New Zealand's dominant culture?
Before 1840, the New Zealand’s dominant culture is Maori culture.Māori culture is the culture of the Māori of New Zealand, an Eastern Polynesian people, and forms a distinctive part of New Zealand culture. Within the Māori community, and to a lesser extent throughout New Zealand as a whole, the word Māoritanga is often used as an approximate synonym for Māori culture, theMāori suffix -tanga being roughly equivalent to the qualitative noun ending "-ness" in English.

How does the Treaty of Waitangi relate to us all as artists and designers working in New Zealand?
As we all know The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māorichiefs from the North Island of New Zealand. I believe Treaty of Waitangi led to the the mixture of European culture which in turn led to the mixture of European and Maori arts. European got inspiration from Maori people and Maori people got inspiration from European, and in my opinion, art is all about sharing ideas and thoughts.
How can globalization be seen as having a negative effect on regional diversity in New Zealand in particular?
In my opinion, globalization having a negative effect on regional diversity because it can make people loose a lot of culture like Maori culture. Artists need have different ideas to share, everyone's art is unique. If everything is same and we loose the regional diversity, we won’t have anything to share.
  Shane Cotton's paintings are said to examine the cultural landscape. Research Cotton's work 'Welcome'(2004) and 'Forked Tongue' (2011) to analyze what he is saying about colonialization and the Treaty of Waitangi. 
Cotton's work evocatively includes both Maori iconography and culture, such as shrunken heads, mokomokai, and native birds such as tui, and European symbols and items. His paintings have explored questions of colonialism, cultural identity, Maori spirituality, and life and death. Many of his paintings go into depth of primitive ideas especially through Maori whakapapa.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluralism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Waitangi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_Cotton

WEEK 4-Kehinde Wiley and inter-textuality

Kahinde Wiley is a Gay American based painter born in Los Angeles, who has an international reputation. Wiley lives and practices between Beijing and Brooklyn.
Find a clear definition of Intertextuality and quote it accurately on your blog using the APA referencing system. Use your own words to explain the definition more thoroughly.
Intertextuality is the shaping of texts' meanings by other texts. It can include an author’s borrowing and transformation of a prior text or to a reader’s referencing of one text in reading another. I think an artist will have got his/her ideas from a piece of work that already exists or an idea that another artist has already presented.
Kehinde Wiley Support Army and Look after People, 2007 oil on canvas, 258.4 x 227.3cm
Kehinde Wiley Count Potocki, 2008 oil on canvas, 274.3 x 274.3cm
Research Wiley's work and write a paragraph that analyzes how we might make sense of his work. Identify intertextuality in Wiley's work.
His work seems to be on a remix tip, cutting and scratching the Masters in perfect rhythm to insert the Hip Hop generation into the pocket.. Per his bio, "Wiley's figurative paintings and sculptures quote historical sources and position young black men within the field of power." The detail was as real as one could achieve and Wiley makes historical intertextual references and transforms it into a more contemporary version for the now post-modern world.

Wiley's work relates to next weeks Postmodern theme "PLURALISM" . Read page 46 and discuss how the work relates to this theme.
The cultural context of art is all encompassing in its respect of the art of the world's cultures. Inclusion of individuals of differing ethnicities , genders, ideologies, abilities, ages, religions, economic status and educational levels is valued. Pluralism honours differences within and between equitable groups while seeing their commonalities.(para1) --That relates to Wiley's work through his stock theme of a "black man" being an equal to all others,Apart from alluding to historic paintings, Wiley makes referrals to issue of the ‘white man vs the black man’, and he does this so easily because one of the first things that occurs in the mind of the viewer is the idea of him glorifying coloured men in his paintings.
Comment on how Wiley's work raises questions around social/cultural hierarchies , colonisation, globalisation, stereotypes and the politics which govern a western worldview.
Wiley's work raises questions around social/cultural hierarchies, colonization, globalization, stereotypes and the politics which govern a western worldview. His paintings refer to these issues by showing the idea that the coloured man also has a lot of power and demands his respect back. In my opinion, Wiley may also be speaking for the rest of the races and using his characters as a symbolism for the men who were not part of the Western hierarchy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intertextuality

AUT (2011), Achademic Literacies in Visual Communication 2. Auckland. Printsprint.

http://native-star.blogspot.com/2009_09_01_archive.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intertextuality

http://www.artnet.com/awc/kehinde-wiley.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluralism

WEEK 3-Hussein Chalayan

Chalayan’s works in clothing, like Afterwords (2000) and Burka (1996) , are often challenging to both the viewer and the wearer. What are your personal responses to these works? Are Afterwords and Burka fashion, or are they art? What is the difference?
In my point of view,  Chalayan is a really interesting person, his works full of creatively, and these works broadened my horizon. His every work shows his exhibition, and also can catch people’s eyes at first time.
The relationship between fashion and art is always so subtle differences between the nature of the use of Rei Kawakubo's words: "Fashion is actively involved in the arts is a passive acceptance." However, once out of their clothes, deep into the fashion system, we can easily find, communicate with the media which designers fashion show had not previously "commodity promotion." Actor 、 audience 、 scenery, are a lot of designers and models together with the final "curtain call", both suggesting that the fashion show and stage art does not exist between the nature of the difference. When the audience passively accept the T stage of the "drama", it does not hinder their future aggressively to fashion wore.

 

 

Chalayan has strong links to industry. Pieces like The Level Tunnel (2006) and Repose(2006) are made in collaboration with, and paid for by, commercial business; in these cases, a vodka company and a crystal manufacturer.  Does the meaning of art change when it is used to sell products? Is it still art?
Merchandise and atmosphere of artistic ideas, by no means the essence of art and soul, the arts may be high-end commodities, only in the arts of influence and potential in the artistic ideas, but can not always carry the essence of art..
I don't think the meaning of art changes when it is used to sell products. It is still art.. If art is used to sell something it is still art..
Chalayan’s film Absent Presence screened at the 2005 Venice Biennale. It features the process of caring for worn clothes, and retrieving and analysing the traces of the wearer, in the form of DNA. This work has been influenced by many different art movements; can you think of some, and in what ways they might have inspired Chalayan’s approach?

Absent Presene, a video installation telling a story based on identity, geography, genetics, biology and anthropology. It opens the argument on how certain identities can or cannot adapt to new environments and generates a research based narration for Hussein's cross-disciplined installation with filmic images and sculptures. In my opinion, The film questions whether the extent to which identities can adapt to new environments.

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Many of Chalayan’s pieces are physically designed and constructed by someone else; for example, sculptor Lone Sigurdsson made some works from Chalayan’s Echoform (1999) and Before Minus Now (2000) fashion ranges. In fashion design this is standard practice, but in art it remains unexpected. Work by artists such as Jackson Pollock hold their value in the fact that he personally made the painting. Contrastingly, Andy Warhol’s pop art was largely produced in a New York collective called The Factory, and many of his silk-screened works were produced by assistants. Contemporarily, Damien Hirst doesn’t personally build his vitrines or preserve the sharks himself. So when and why is it important that the artist personally made the piece?
I think it is really important for artist to make their work personally. if a artist make his or her work personally, he or she must be know the work which going to be made better.





http://www.egodesign.ca/en/article_print.php?article_id=385
http://luxury.qq.com/a/20110316/000038.htm
http://art100.wikispaces.com/Hussein+Chalayan

WEEK 2-Post-Modernism, Ai Weiwei and Banksy

1. Define Post-Modernism using bullet points that include short quotes.
- Antimodernist
- Revision of modernist premises
- A philosophical movement away from the viewpoint of modernism
- A tendency in contemporary culture characterized by the problem of objective truth and inherent suspicion towards global cultural narrative or meta-narrative
- A phrase commonly used to describe the human era of the 20th century.
- An intentional departure from modernist approaches that had previously been dominant
-  One of the most important aspects of the Post-Modern mindset is that the perceiving subject cannot be taken out of the equation.

Francis Berry, Whimsical Entropy: Postmodern Elegy, Watercolour, 14" x 20", 2006
2. Use a quote by Witcombe (2000) to define the Post-Modern artist.
“The post-modern artist is reflective in that he/she is self-aware and consciously involved in a process of thinking about him/herself and society in a deconstructive manner, ‘damasking’ pretentions, becoming aware of his/her cultural self in history, and accelerating the process of self-consciousness.”
Postmodern Western art by contemporary artist Francis Berry, postmodern painter
3. Use the grid on pages 42 and 43 to summarize the list of the features of Post-Modernity.
"Postmodernism is of interest to a wide range of artistic practices and social science and humanities disciplines because it directs our attention to changes taking place in contemporary culture. These can be understood in terms of (1) the artistic, intellectual and academic fields (changes in modes of theorization, presentation and dissemination of work which cannot be detached from changes in specific competitive struggles occurring in particular fields); (2) changes in the broader cultural sphere involving modes of production, consumtion and circulation of symbolic goods which can be related to broader shifts in the balance of power and interdependencies between groups and class fractions on both inter- and intra-societal levels; (3) changes in the everyday practices and experiences of different groups, who as a result of some of the processes referred to above, may be using regimes of signification in different ways and developing new means of orientation and identity structures."

5.Research Chinese artist Ai Weiwei's 'Han Dynasty Urn with Coca-Cola logo'(1994) in order to say what features of the work are Post-Modern.
'
Han Dynasty Urn with Coca-Cola logo'(1994), Ai Weiwei
Ai Weiwei has masterminded some of the most powerful icons of today: the National Stadium, the “Han Dynasty Urn with Coca Cola Logo,” and his unpretentious, minimalist building style of grey-brick has revolutionized contemporary Chinese architecture. He has challenged his country's political authority and literally destroyed its cultural traditions. He paints “the Coca-Cola logo’’ on a 2000 year old Dynasty urn. As one of China's leading contemporary artists, Ai Weiwei has challenged his country's political authority and literally destroyed its cultural traditions. As an architect, he has had a key role in designing one of the most strikingly visible symbols of contemporary China -- the stadium now rising for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

2008 “Birdnest” Olympic Stadium Construction Site

6. Research British artist Banksy's street art, and analyze the following two works by the artist
to discuss how each work can be defined at Post-Modern.

Los Angeles (2008), Banksy
Banksy is a pseudonymous England based graffiti artist, political activist, film director and painter. His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine irreverent dark humour with graffiti done in a distinctive stencilling technique. Such artistic works of political and social commentary have been featured on streets, walls, and bridges of cities throughout the world. Banksy is very political with his pieces and isn’t scared to express his ideas, which again are very post-modern like. As we can see in this artwork, he’s put up a caveman carrying a bone in one hand a tray with a burger, fries, and a milkshake in the other.


http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Nov06/Chinese.artist.dea.html
http://www.arthurimiller.com/journalism/the-worlds-of-ai-weiwei/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ai_Weiwei

WEEK 1-Nathalie Djurberg's 'Claymations'.

What do you understand by the word 'claymation'?
From my point of view, claymation is a kind of cartoon that made of plasticine, both character and the background.People make characters and the background with clay and take a lot of pictures of them, after that, they put them together and then played back in rapid succession, then that’s a claymation.
What is meant by the term 'surrealistic Garden of Eden'? and 'all that is natural goes awry'?
In my opinion, ‘Surrealistic Garden of Eden’ and ‘all that is natural goes awry’ is mean that Nathalie Djurberg's intricately constructed claymation films are both terrifyingly disturbing and artlessly sweet. Her works always bring fresh air and make all exhibition full of natural. She creates universes which are dark and mysterious.
 What are the 'complexity of emotions' that Djurberg confronts us with?
Djurberg’s works is full of creativity and exaggeration. Her animations show human beings at their most crass, psychopath, sadistic and often disarming behaviour. The macabre atmosphere of her animations almost never come with words, just a languid and fidgety music composed by Hans Berg.
How does Djurberg play with the ideas of children's stories, and innocence in some of her work?
Djurberg’s works show us graphically violent and erotic. If this reminds you of some cute TV programme you followed as a kid then let me crush any nostalgia you might have. Djurberg clearly didn't see the same children animations as you and i. She used claymations to tell stories which full of exaggerate violent and erotic.
In your opinion, why do you think Djurberg's work is so interesting that it was chosen for the Venice Biennale?
I’m interested in Djurberg since i saw her works. Her work takes me to a fantastic dreams, vivid characters and dramatic scene.

In addition to the film, the miniature tea set is on display at the gallery, as "an autonomous sculptural installation." Inspired by 18th century Neo-Baroque china, there are gold-gilded pieces, embellished with elaborate floral ornamentation, andan array of desserts including cakes, pastries, cookies and candies.

http://we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/2008/04/there-are-very-very-few.php

http://www.eatmedaily.com/2009/01/i-found-myself-alone-by-nathalie-djurberg-at-the-zach-feuer-gallery-food-art/

Industrialisation, Modernism and architecture.

 

-the importance of the design and construction

Design and construction，the importance of incorporating sustainability into buildings is now an accepted fact. What is still required is to ensure that participants in the building process understand their role in managing sustainability. This requires that:

• Industry produces the highest quality products,
• Architects create innovative and sustainable buildings,
• Contractors work to established codes of practice.

A weak link anywhere in this partnership can undermine the effectiveness of any sustainable strategy. That is why our industry is communicating with architects, builders, tilers and bricklayers to ensure that the development of innovative techniques and clay products is suited to the needs of the construction industry.

By examining the context of European building and by understanding and accepting its various regional differences, the European clay brick and tile industry is creating products of technical excellence that can lead to sustainable architecture.

More than ever, sustainability remains our driving principle.

-significance of the materials

Materials science is an interdisciplinary field applying the properties of matter to various areas of science and engineering. This scientific field investigates the relationship between the structure of materials at atomic or molecular scales and their macroscopic properties. It incorporates elements of applied physics and chemistry. With significant media attention focused on nanoscience and nanotechnology in recent years, materials science has been propelled to the forefront at many universities. It is also an important part of forensic engineering and failure analysis. Materials science also deals with fundamental properties and characteristics of materials.The materials are significant, the materials can change the feelings that the building give us., also can change the function of the building.

-significance of the designer

A designer may be defined as knowledgeable who’s trained to enhance the performance and usage of interior spaces of any property.He is educated, experienced and has the requisite skills to switch and produce about structural modifications to enhance the beauty and usage of the interiors of any place.He has a lot of obligations that should be implemented to be able to give an entire look to the interiors.

-function for which each was built

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, built by Ferrovial, and located in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. It is built alongside the Nervion River, which runs through the city of Bilbao to the Atlantic Coast. The Guggenheim is one of several museums belonging to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. The museum features permanent and visiting exhibits of works by Spanish and international artists.One of the most admired works of contemporary architecture, the building has been hailed as a "single moment in the architectural culture" because it represents "one of those rare moments when critics, academics, and the general public were all completely united about something." The museum was the building most frequently named as one of the most important works completed since 1980 in the 2010 World Architecture Survey among architecture experts.

The building was constructed on time and budget, which is rare for architecture of this type. In an interview in Harvard Design Magazine Gehry explained how he did it. First, he ensured that what he calls the "organization of the artist" prevailed during construction, in order to prevent political and business interests from interfering with the design. Second, he made sure he had a detailed and realistic cost estimate before proceeding. Third, he used CATIA and close collaboration with the individual building trades to control costs during construction.

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao (1997) Frank Gehry

 

The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The tower is the tallest building in Paris^[10] and the most-visited paid monument in the world; millions of people ascend it every year. Named for its designer, engineer Gustavo Eiffel, the tower was built as the entrance arch to the 1889 World's Fair.The tower has become the most prominent symbol of both Paris and France, often in the establishing shot of films set in the city.

The pig iron structure of the Eiffel Tower weighs 7,300 tonnes while the entire structure, including non-metal components, is approximately 10,000 tonnes. As a demonstration of the economy of design, if the 7,300 tonnes of the metal structure were melted down it would fill the 125 metre square base to a depth of only 6 cm (2.36 in), assuming the density of the metal to be 7.8 tonnes per cubic metre. Depending on the ambient temperature, the top of the tower may shift away from the sun by up to 18 cm (7.1 in) because of thermal expansion of the metal on the side facing the sun.

http://www.tbe-euro.com/en/clc-erection/default.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Materials_science

http://www.narticle.com/significance-of-an-interior-designer/