bfa opening show & talks

Another year, another fabulous BFA show! This year I decided to wear a semi-formal dress as opposed to last years wardrobe (which was a pair of jeans with some band t-shirt) to the BFA/MFA opening a few weeks ago. The BFA students never fail to impress me, and this year was quite the refreshing treat.

western disturbances, the art of bruce nauman

Western Disturbances is a homage to Bruce Nauman, a contemporary artist ranked amongst the most influential creative minds of today. His first show was in 1966 at the Nicholas Wilder Gallery located in LA, where his innovations had disturbed many of the onlookers. As an artist, his interests led him to utilize diverse materials to create photography, performance art, videos, installations and neon tubing. Nauman is most notably known to use neon in his pieces, especially with the play of words. His words are made of spiraling neon, exposing the wistful irony assembled in his work.  One of the most endearing things about Nauman is his ability to try something new, regardless of negative opinions from the audience.  

originality & avant-garde

Finally, an article about the avant-garde phenomenon! Avant-garde is a term derived from the early twentieth century, with a definition that literally means “original or radically new” in pop culture (particularly in the arts). Rosalind Krauss describes avant-garde as an expression unlike any other, one that could not be described in the simplest of terms. Original creativity is hard to come by, and usually the creative process is inspired by another’s simplified idea. However avant-garde allows a break from the norm, encouraging artists to execute the creative process in a whole new dimension.

imitation of art

  It’s sad to say that I’m particularly unfamiliar with contemporary artists like John Currin. My entire life I was brought up to study classic painters from various eras – from mannerism to romanticism, and impressionism to cubism – and to develop my own style by understanding the rudiments of art of the past. After reading Lance Esplund’s article, I was obligated to look up the works of John Currin to make sense of the writer’s critique about his art, and after scrolling through a number of google images of Currin’s work I can’t help but agree.

the appropriation of the molotav man

 The image above, a photo by Susan Meiselas, is the focus image in the article “On the Rights of Molotov Man: Appropriation and the Art of Context.” Meiselas photographed the image and discovered that it has been replicated by a variety of groups, but ultimately she was offended when artist Joy Garnett appropriated the photograph in a painting. As a response to the offense, Garnett disputes that she owes the photographer nothing more than a simple citation, while Meiselas argues that Garnett has “converted the work into the emblem of an abstract riot”.

the ecstasy of influence (a plagarism)

After reading Jonathan Lethem’s article about plagiarism, I agreed on the idea that copyright should be remodeled considerably in order to pace advancement of society and technology throughout the years. In addition to this notion, technological shift frequently reassesses legal property ownership, as what Lethem says in the following, “in the contemporary world, though, the act of “copying” is in no meaningful sense equivalent to an infringement—we make a copy every time we accept an emailed text, or send or forward one—and is impossible anymore to regulate or even describe.”

animated shorts at the ICA

 It was a blessing to have visited the Institute of Contemporary Art, considering that this past week was the first time I’ve stepped foot into the asymmetrical-looking building.

"it's not beautiful" by ean osnos

 Written by Evan Osnos, “It’s Not Beautiful” is a profile on the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, and his role as both an artist and an activist.

off the rim: jim carroll's 'the petting zoo'

As told by Thomas Mallon in his review of The Petting Zoo, the first and only novel by Basketball Diaries memoirist Jim Carroll, describes the work as ‘densely hallucinogenic’ stemmed from a creative ego and put together "posthumously".

criticizing art, chapter four

Chapter four deals with interpreting art, exploring a number of artists that are renown for artistic interpretation. William Wegman’s art is most famed for its interpretation of pop culture, often portrayed with his canine models Man Ray (passed away in 1981), and Fay Ray, with their Weimaraner lean structure, quizzical expressions and often dressed in hilarious clothing.