A giant Lego man showed up on Siesta Key Beach in Florida this morning.The Lego group is apparently not behind this in any way; but, because of the message on his chest "NO REAL THAN YOU ARE" and on his back "EGO LEONARD 8" it seems that somebody might be trying to make an artistic statement of some sort. It will be interesting to see if anybody claims the object and explains their intentions of plopping him on a beach and causing us to ask existential questions about the nature of reality and humanity...now that would be fun.
James McNeil Whistler, Arrangement in Grey and Black: The Artist's Mother, 1871. Oil on canvas, 56.8" x 63.9" (144.3 x 162.4 cm). Musee d'Orsay, Paris.
Commonly referred to as "Whistler's Mother," this painting is perhaps one of the least warm and loving images of motherhood but, a staple in the world of art nonetheless. Whistler was an American born artist who was trained in France, and then spent most of his adult life in England. This painting was not originally meant to be a portrait of his mother at all but another model. When she fell ill his mother was a quick replacement; however, she did not stand as originally intended because of her advanced years and her frailty.
So why do we find this simple seated profile of an aged woman so fascinating? Perhaps it is the dignity with which he painted her, reflecting her strong Protestant values. Or possibly it is the varying techniques he used to render multiple textures (lace, handkerchief, curtains, dress, flesh, and so forth). Whatever the reason may be, intellectual or otherwise, the painting still remains in our collective subconscious, even making its way into popular culture in many different formats. One of the most recent inclusions of "Whistler's Mother" in that vein is the film Bean (1997) starring Rowan Atkinson as the bumbling title character who rarely speaks yet, still manages to ruin this famed painting. If you are a conservator of paintings beware, this video may give you some serious heart palpitations indeed.
Zhang Huan, Family Tree, 2000. Still Photograph of a performance in New York.
Of all the contemporary Chinese artists working today, Zhang Huan has always stood out to me as a dominant force. He has recently turned away from performance art and back towards more traditional media; but, his current work still emulates his spirit and conveys complex ideas. In his performance work he has often addressed the complicated issues surrounding identity, particularly what it means to be Chinese and yet live in the convoluted global society of today. He intensely examines the difficult issues of how one can hold onto Chinese traditions while still moving forward into contemporary life and thought.
He has said of this piece: "I invited 3 calligraphers to write texts on my face from early morning until night. I told them what they should write and to always keep a serious attitude when writing the texts even when my face turns to dark. My face followed the daylight till it slowly darkened. I cannot tell who I am. My identity has disappeared. This work speaks about a family story, a spirit of family. In the middle of my forehead, the text means "Move the Mountain by Fool (Yu Kong Yi Shan)". This traditional Chinese story is known by all common people, it is about determination and challenge. If you really want to do something, then it could really happen. Other texts are about human fate, like a kind of divination. Your eyes, nose, mouth, ears, cheekbone, and moles indicate your future, wealth, sex, disease, etc. I always feel that some mysterious fate surrounds human life which you can do nothing about, you can do nothing to control it, it just happened."
You can see more of the artist's works and read more about him on his website at: http://www.zhanghuan.com/
A video clip where he talks about some of his most recent work.
Artist: Cosimo CavallaroTitle: Sweet Jesus Date: 2005 Medium: Chocolate
As we all know artists have created controversial works for a long time but, especially in recent decades. Sometimes it seems that it is almost a requirement to stir up some trouble in order for an artist to be seen and get their name and their works out there. One of the most controversial works of the last few decades is Piss Christ by Andres Serrano (1987) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piss_Christ ; but, I personally do not find this work to have as much interest for students or provide a teachable moment as strong as discussing Sweet Jesus by Cosimo Cavallaro (pictured above).
One of the main reasons for this is because of a great interview that was on Anderson Cooper 360 where the artist and Bill Donohue, current president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights in the U.S., go head to head arguing over the appropriateness of the image. It was originally displayed during Holy Week prior to Easter in March 2007 at the Roger Smith Hotel in Manhattan, but it was taken down after receiving threats from Bill Donohue. During the interview, both men make valid points and also act completely juvenile slinging insults back and forth as if they were in the schoolyard, including Donohue saying that the sculpture should go to New Jersey because that's where New Yorkers send their trash...way to anger an entire state there...and Cavallaro claiming that he intended no controversy...sure you didn't, you just happened to make a life-size nude Christ sculpture and just happened to have it displayed prominently during Holy Week, it must have been a total coincidence right?
It is a great clip to open up discussion about opposing sides to every work of art, controversial artworks, critical thinking and not always taking everything you hear/see/read at face value, and examining a cleverness about the work that the artist never stated in the interview: chocolate is directly related to Easter even though it isn't part of the religious tradition at all, yet the work relates to the Eucharist of the Mass (THE focal point) where one consumes the body and blood of Christ, because one can literally consume this chocolate image of Christ. Personally, I think it was a really clever choice of materials and timing of the exhibition that relates to ideas of consumerism, religion, and challenging politically correct conventions. It is great for students because they are always ready to comment after viewing the work and the video clip. Usually as I am showing the clip I hear students say "oh my God" and "whoa" when Donohue verbally slams New Jersey and calls artists and people in SoHo losers.
One of my fellow instructors sent me a link to this and I thought it was great and had to share it. I am going to show it to my students to break things up a bit and have them see how many of these works they can identify. It is called "70 Million" by "Hold Your Horses!" I hope you enjoy it too!
I just had a former student e-mail me this link to check out, I thought it was just too fantastic not to share. One of the portions of art appreciation that I teach is about art criticism and this includes discussion of fine art versus kitsch, so I think it is perfect for that, check it out, I hope you enjoy! http://www.alleewillis.com/museumofkitsch/
This week I thought I would treat us to a little foundations in the birth of the western eye, The Spear Bearer (Doryphoros) by Polykleitos from ancient Greece, created about 450 BCE.
Polykleitos created this work (originally bronze, this puppy is a marble Roman copy) to illustrate his theories about art and the human figure from his treatise "The Canon." If you connected this to the fact the list of acceptable and famed art works the world over are referred to as the canon then extra brownie points for you!!
He is meant to be young, idealized, perfected, yet realistic and properly proportioned as he is in the contrappasto pose, with one leg bent and in motion with his hips tilted slightly as his head gazes off into the distance before him.
