A New Can of Worms!
I have just submitted my first assignment for the current Open University course I am studying, Art of the Twentieth Century. This certainly has been a new can of worms, considering artworks, history and ideas which I had never encountered before. In a bid to reflect on some of the things that I have learnt I thought I would record a few blog notes, in an attempt to hang on simply to some of the complex ideas I have been introduced to without trying to make this another TMA!
The century is dominated by the ideas of modernism and postmodernism. Modernism was an idea brought to prominence by Clement Greenberg in his essay Modernist Painting and focuses on the idea of 'art for art's sake' and a concentration on art being pure and separate from politics and the culture of the world around it, a retinal experience only giving aesthetic pleasure. It gives great credence to art in a specific medium such as painting or sculpture. Postmodernism by contrast gives prominence and credibility to art in mixed media and in an 'expanded field' such as performance, photographs, video, installations, pop art etc. It also gives recognition to movements and works of art that were pushed to the side by modernism and brings them back into mainstream such as Duchamp's 'readymades' e.g.Bottlerack and Fountain, and Dada. The modernist ideas of Greenberg and Barr (the curator of MOMA) dominated the artistic world, but started to lose their hold with the emergence of the postmodernists during the 1960's.
The four case studies in the first block leading to this assignment were Marcel Duchamp's Bottlerack, Barnett Newman's Eve, Ana Mendieta's Silueta Series, and Yuendumu community’s Yarla. Each introduced a very different notion of art both physically and culturally, and presented challenges to my preconceived ideas of art. Duchamp's 'readymades' presenting the notion that the artist by choosing an item makes it a work of art creating a new thought for it. Newman through abstract painting and considering the eye of the spectator, attempting to create an experience of 'absolute emotion'. Mendieta through use of her own body and body shape conveying ideas of femininism, feminist repression and the transience of all things, using objects that are part of the natural world. Yarla, a temporary installation by the Yuendumu community, based on the traditional shapes, patterns and 'art' of indigenous Australians raising questions of ethnicity and the relationship between western and non-western views of art and how the western view is incompatible to the culture that creates this form of art.
So I've opened my new can of worms, hopefully I've managed to catch some before they all wriggle away!! Cos there's a new can to open this week!!!
Related links.
Marcel Duchamp 1887 - 1968 World Community
Making Sense of Duchamp Interactive Website
The New York Times - Taking Jokes by Duchamp to Another Level of Art
BBC News - Duchamp's urinal tops art survey
Wikipedia - Abstract Art
Barnett Newman - Tate Modern and OU Study Days Online
The century is dominated by the ideas of modernism and postmodernism. Modernism was an idea brought to prominence by Clement Greenberg in his essay Modernist Painting and focuses on the idea of 'art for art's sake' and a concentration on art being pure and separate from politics and the culture of the world around it, a retinal experience only giving aesthetic pleasure. It gives great credence to art in a specific medium such as painting or sculpture. Postmodernism by contrast gives prominence and credibility to art in mixed media and in an 'expanded field' such as performance, photographs, video, installations, pop art etc. It also gives recognition to movements and works of art that were pushed to the side by modernism and brings them back into mainstream such as Duchamp's 'readymades' e.g.Bottlerack and Fountain, and Dada. The modernist ideas of Greenberg and Barr (the curator of MOMA) dominated the artistic world, but started to lose their hold with the emergence of the postmodernists during the 1960's.
The four case studies in the first block leading to this assignment were Marcel Duchamp's Bottlerack, Barnett Newman's Eve, Ana Mendieta's Silueta Series, and Yuendumu community’s Yarla. Each introduced a very different notion of art both physically and culturally, and presented challenges to my preconceived ideas of art. Duchamp's 'readymades' presenting the notion that the artist by choosing an item makes it a work of art creating a new thought for it. Newman through abstract painting and considering the eye of the spectator, attempting to create an experience of 'absolute emotion'. Mendieta through use of her own body and body shape conveying ideas of femininism, feminist repression and the transience of all things, using objects that are part of the natural world. Yarla, a temporary installation by the Yuendumu community, based on the traditional shapes, patterns and 'art' of indigenous Australians raising questions of ethnicity and the relationship between western and non-western views of art and how the western view is incompatible to the culture that creates this form of art.
So I've opened my new can of worms, hopefully I've managed to catch some before they all wriggle away!! Cos there's a new can to open this week!!!
Related links.
Marcel Duchamp 1887 - 1968 World Community
Making Sense of Duchamp Interactive Website
The New York Times - Taking Jokes by Duchamp to Another Level of Art
BBC News - Duchamp's urinal tops art survey
Wikipedia - Abstract Art
Barnett Newman - Tate Modern and OU Study Days Online
Tate Modern Sculpture and Performance in Ana Mendieta's Silueta Series
Online image results for Ana Mendieta
1 Comments:
love your worm analogy!!
Post a Comment
<< Home