After considering realistically about whether I was going to have enough time to create a book, and inscribe each page with a complicated theory I had to alter my idea again.
The Final & Most Successful Concept
Instead of focusing on all the conspiracies I decided to
concentrate on one more precisely. The Illuminate has been an up and running
secret society for the last century that always seems be growing in today's
society. From the music industry to politics there always seems to be an
uncanny amount of coincidences that point straight to this so called
'non-existent' group. The increasing amount of occult symbols with in music
video clips have been staggering within the 21st century and can only be
pointed to the one group.
I want my installation to focus this point directly, and
inform people about the consequences of the lifestyle this group is portraying
as desirable. From doing what they want, 'Do what thy Wilt' to aspiring to fame
riches, they clam these are the only ingredients to true happiness.
Books were used, as they were a running concept from the
start of the project. Symbolically they portray knowledge and wisdom and I
still wanted to capture and represent this. I purposely chose to burn them to
show the destruction and chaos this secret society can bring if you are not
aware of them, especially through the use of media. The pyramid was a conscious
decision too as it is the symbol of the 'All-Seeing-Eye' which is becoming a
more common icon in day to day life, and seen on the American one dollar note.
By placing a candle on top of the pyramid this portrays to the audience the
illumination that these secret societies claim they possess. They believe they
are the bearers of light and prosperity in this world, they also claim to have
godlike qualities, possessing power over people and abundance of money and
fame.
The placement of the installation is very critical as it
carries added meaning and purpose to the piece. I chose the classroom table
because it is known to be place where people learn and gain knowledge. This is
what I want the audience to grasp, that my installation is a learning lesson
where they should understand the truth about this group. By scattering unlit
matches around the pyramid this gives the notion of opportunity among the
people to be lit up with the truth. I made sure chairs were still around the
table to portray that the installation is still a functional setting where
people can sit, interact, think, and form an opinion on the concept.
Ekaterina Panikanova played an important part in formulating
my art work. As an artist that uses books in a unique way, this encouraged me to
do the same, experiment, edit and execute a concept that would best suit the
chosen materials. Overall I believe my concept was very strong, and structural
design was adequate in conveying what was intended too. I am very happy with
the journey I went on to produce what I created.
An essay I wrote last year that mentions all the occult symblisms that is relevant to this assignment:
Essay: Visual Codes in Music Video Clips
‘How have occultist themes been introduced in mainstream music videos
and what are the effects on the wider community.’
The music industry’s use of occultist themes in
mainstream music videos has intensified causing viewers to become conditioned
to these visual codes. Conditioning tactics are being used to manipulate viewers
into perceiving these occultist themes as the norm. The role of music is very
influential as it is used readily in today’s visual society. From restaurants
to gyms, to shops and households it is hard to escape the all-pervading oral
and visual presence of music. Throughout mainstream music clips, powerful occultist
iconography is being thrust upon viewers who are ignorant to the repercussions.
A way the music industry is executing this is with the use of symbolic
representation. Some artists known to promote such occultist imagery in their
music videos include; Ke$ha and Kanye West. This essay will attempt to
deconstruct these visual codes to gain a better understanding of the occultist
meanings and underlying messages.
Occultist imagery has been witnessed in majority of Ke$ha’s’
music videos exploiting her young female fan base to a more sinister agenda. In
Kesha’s latest number one single titled ‘Die
Young’, the song is about “living
your life as a celebration, as if it was the last night of your life – every
night” (SonyMusicFR , 2012), promoting young audiences to embrace a culture
of death. This underlying message of irresponsibility paves the way for a
visual feast of more occultist symbolism.
The video is
set in Mexico, where Ke$ha and a band of her followers arrive outside of an abandoned
church. Symbolism is evident from the very beginning as seen in the appendix (Figure
1) (KeshaVEVO, 2012), skull and bones flash on the screen representing the cult
of death or Yale’s elite secret society
seen in the appendix (Figure 2) (Branch &Lassila, 2006) emanating from the
hearse. The function of a hearse, seen in the appendix (Figure 3) (KeshaVEVO,
2012) is a vehicle that carries a coffin to a funeral portraying an image of
looming death , which foreshadows the fate of the occupants before they even
get out of the car. Written on the door of the hearse is ‘EVIL’ seen in the appendix, (Figure 4) (KeshaVEVO, 2012) blatantly
translating to the viewers that the artist’s agenda is pure evil. Once the
hearse doors are opened, Ke$ha is presented in a black veil, posing as a
‘sexual religious statue’ seen in the appendix, (Figure 5) (KeshaVEVO, 2012) while
being carried on the shoulders of men. This resembles religious cultures where
statues of the Virgin Mary are carried by people on streets, as seen in the appendix
(Figure 6) (SuperStock, 2013), expressing the notions that she views herself
superior then everybody else, a modern day saint.
During this scene occultist symbols are being flashed
across the screen, such as the ‘Eye of Providence’ seen in the appendix (Figure
7) (KeshaVEVO, 2012) which represents an
evil malevolent being, portraying the artist herself expressed by her sinister facial expression.
Inverted crucifixes are also displayed multiple times, as seen in the appendix
(Figure 8) (KeshaVEVO, 2012) representing an anti-Christian symbol, blatantly disrespecting
the traditional conventions of Christian symbolism. In another scene Ke$ha is
presented playing with tarot cards, pulling the “Devil” card, seen in the
appendix (Figure 9) (KeshaVEVO, 2012) making everybody burst into laughter. Encouraging
viewer’s to perceive this occultist act of “predicting the future” as ideal. Symbolically
the Devil is the card of self-bondage to an idea or belief which is preventing
a person from growing or being healthy, as seem in the appendix (Figure 10) (Stenudd,
2013). This depicts the artist as a prisoner of her own occultist beliefs, and
cannot do anything but laugh at her captivity. The video clip visually encourages
viewers to conform to what is visually presented in front of them, even if that
means they are enslaved to what the music industry and media proclaims as the
‘truth’.
Ke$ha is later
seen seated on a thrown, directly under a pentacle, seen in the appendix
(Figure 11) (KeshaVEVO, 2012). A pentagram or pentacle is the most identified occult
symbol used in occultist practices and is considered to be the most potent
means of conjuring spirits, seen in the appendix (Figure 12)(Stewart, 2011). In
this circumstance Ke$ha appears as if she is conjuring a spirit of sexual
pleasure and formication. During this sequence, Ke$ha displays the one-eye
sign, seen in the appendix (Figure 13) (KeshaVEVO, 2012) interpreting this sex
and death worshiping occult as a socially acceptable practice. A practice supported
by the music industry elite; the supposed Illuminati occult group, seen in the
appendix (Figure 14 & 15) (Coleman, 2013) whose main symbol of identification
is the ‘Eye of Horus’.
Throughout the
video triangular symbols are flashed on the screen as either upright or
reversed, as seen in the appendix (Figure 16) (KeshaVEVO, 2012). In occult
symbolism, upright triangles represent the masculine role while reverse
triangles represent the feminine role. The combination of both represents the union
of opposites, in other words sexual intercourse. Sexual behaviour is also
evident by the images of two wolves in the act of reproducing, seen in the
appendix (Figure 17) (KeshaVEVO, 2012). By indorsing this type of behaviour, indulging
in one’s animalistic instincts is contrary to reaching spiritual enlightenment.
Kanye West’s use of symbolism in his music videos visually
exposes viewers to overt masonic and occult agenda. In Kanye West’s almost motionless
video “Power”, a profound story is being foretold in rich archetypal symbolism.
The video differs as it is filmed in a short sequence of 1.43 minutes in length,
compared to the typical 3 to 4 minute duration. The director Marco Brambilla
went for a neo-classical aesthetic creating a piece full of deep occultist symbolism. As for neo-classical paintings of that era,
each object, symbol and detail conveys an important message.
The video
begins with a close-up of Kanye West with illuminated eyes as seen in the
appendix (Figure 18) (KanyeWestVEVO, 2010), portraying him as being “ignited”
from within. His stance is positioned in-between two infinite rows of columns depicting
the ‘Two Pillars’, as seen in the appendix (Figure 19) (Kendall, 2009) portraying
that those pillars lead to the “Sphere of Enlightenment” which is the key
source of power. Kanye positions himself in the centre of this sphere revealing
that “In this white man’s world, we are
the ones chosen” (KanyeWestVEVO, 2010) portraying himself as being initiated
amongst the most powerful of this world, the supposed Illuminati elite.
The occultist
object immediately noticed straight after is the gigantic pendant on Kanye’s
chest, which is of the head of Horus, as seen in the appendix (Figure 20) (KanyeWestVEVO,
2010). Horus is an ancient Egyptian deity that has great significance in occult
practises; see (Figure 21) (Riley, 2013). Associated as the Sky God, he is most
recognized by the image of a single eye, (Figure 22) (Riley, 2013). The
symbolism of Horus has great connotations in the freemasonry occult. The journey
of a to-be initiated member through the Masonic degrees is pronounced as the practice
by which the Eye of Horus is opened, this video can be interpreted as the
artist’s possible public initiation into the freemasonry occult (Mackey, 1878).
The gateway of the
pillars is guarded by two horned girls holding a staff, seen in the appendix
(Figure 23) (KanyeWestVEVO, 2010). Their appearances resemble portrayals of Isis
and Hathor who were goddesses of ancient Egypt, see (Figure 24) (Gilligan, 2010).
Isis the mother of Horus was the goddess of motherhood, nature and magic (Witt,
1997). Hathor was also considered as a maternal deity as well as the goddess of
music, dance and fertility (Hart, 2005). Both Isis and Hathor were known to
welcome and protect the dead during their journey to the afterlife. Kanye can
be depicted as a Pharaoh due to his royal attire, on his journey of sacrifice, supervised
by Hathor “the royal goddess”. This visual scene gives the audience a notion
that these goddesses are actually welcoming Kanye “behind the veil”, - see
(Figure 25) (KanyeWestVEVO, 2010) protecting him on his journey to supposed
immortality. This resembles occult group practices where applicants must endure
a symbolic death and be reborn to sanctify their initiation process.
The image of a
sword descending above Kanye West’s head, see (Figure 26) (KanyeWestVEVO, 2010)
portrays a classic legend, The Sword of Damocles. The tale of the Sword embodies
the constant danger faced by those in positions of power (Benet, 1948), as seen
in the appendix (Figure 27) (Donner, 2012). Kanye stands, in a state of
impending doom, knowing he can be executed at any time.
Directly after, two figures emerge from both
ends holding a dagger and attempting to assassinate Kanye “Killing of the King”,
seen in (Figure 28) (KanyeWestVEVO, 2010). The assassination did occur, but it
was not the result of the two assassins, but by the sword of Damocles, this is
portrayed by in the single’s cover, see appendix (Figure 29) (Condo, 2010). The
stone which Kanye’s head is placed on is a symbol used in Masonic ritual, the
‘perfect ashlar’, seen in the appendix (Figure 30) (Kendall, 2009) which represents
the state of the perfect initiate. Kanye says “goodbye cruel world / I see you in the morning“(KanyeWestVEVO,
2010), as he has been “chosen” to
take part in an initiation process followed by a glorious awakening as a new
being. In order to accomplish this, Kanye needed to kill his old self and be
ritualistically reborn. Once this was done, true power is within his grasp.
After pictorially decoding
occultist themes from two mains stream videos, the issue at hand is not the occultist
symbols that are being flashed on the screen, but the underlying messages that
are communicated to the viewers. Such agendas are about making specific values
and attitudes cool and desirable to young people and currently they are
becoming more evident in pop culture. Occultist themes are successfully
promoting a culture of death, sexualisation, increasing materialism, attaining
power and corrupting and debasing spirituality.
I have always feltfortunate to have come of age as an artist during the early ’70s (turning 20 in1973), at the time of the first flowering of conceptual and performance art. The work of such artists as John Baldessari, Chris Burden, Gilbert & George and William Wegman conveyed a powerful message that contemporary art was a field full of experimental activity and radical thinking.
One of the artists who interested me most at that time was Franz Erhard Walther. The work of Walther’s that I first saw then, reproduced in black and white in avant-garde magazines of the day such as Avalanche, came from his epic series “Werksatz,” or, in English, “Work Sentence,” executed between 1963 and 1969. The pieces consisted of single or multiple individuals performing prescribed actions with sculptural elements made of cloth. Sehkanal (1968), in which two people are joined together by a long loop of cloth encircling their heads, was a widely reproduced example.
Franz Erhard Walther, Kreuz Verbindungsform. Element n°36 of 1.Werksatz, 1967. Fabric, large red cross in red fabric with 4 holes, 664 x 664 cm; small red cross in red fabric with 4 holes, 137 x 137 cm; diameter of the oval holes, 22 x 25 cm; envelope (white cotton): 48 x57 cm. Courtesy Franz Erhard Walther Foundation and Jocelyn Wolff, Paris. Photo: François Doury.
Walther’s work struck me as very different from that of the other performance artists of the time. It was devoid of the emphasis on the psychologically driven autobiographical performance that one sees in the work of Vito Acconci, Burden, or even Joseph Beuys. Walther’s pieces were intended to be performed, according to the artist’s directions, by people other than the artist himself. In some sense removed from the prevailing counterculture spirit of the late ’60s, they rejected spontaneity and improvisation and were based instead on measured, disciplined actions precisely prescribed by the artist. Walther’s art was divorced from subject matter derived from everyday culture.
Unlike Acconci who used the streets of New York, or Burden who enlisted such props as a rifle and a Volkswagen Bug, Walther eschewed materials and scenarios connected to the day-to-day environment. His abstract, geometric cloth sculpture, photographed under the artist’s direction out-of-doors in the natural but featureless setting of a grass-covered field, conjured a timeless, abstract world in which one could imagine a connection to ancient ritual or even the non-referential strategies of neo-plasticism and minimalism. And all his work seemed surprisingly connected to strategies appearing during the same years in the work of the choreographers of New York’sJudsonMemorialChurch group, especially Yvonne Rainer, whose work in dance also brought to the foreground everyday movement.
As with Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty or Burden’s various performances of the era, it was really only possible to know Walther’s work through the highly stylized photographic documentation that the artist himself produced. My perceptions of Walther’s work were thus structured around the photos and the powerful interpretation that the photos added to the performances. The stark, featureless flat fields of grass or hay that Walther chose as his setting convey a mythic otherworldliness reminiscent of the metaphysical landscapes in the contemporaneous movies of Ingmar Bergman and Michelangelo Antonioni. In many of the pictures, the performers are photographed from above with the help of a tall ladder or scaffold, assigning to the viewer, as well as the photographer, a magisterial aerial point of view on the action below. Walther’s use of high contrast black-and-white gives these photos an anti-sensual austerity and existential grit as well.
My second encounter with the work of Franz Erhard Walther took place in the ’90s, when I was asked to write a catalogue essay for a museum exhibition of the artist’s work [“Franz Erhard Walther – Work Needs the Body: A Strong Misreading” in Franz Erhard Walther – Ich bin die Skulptur, Kunstverein Hannover, Germany, 1998]. Re-examining the work, or rather the photos of the work, it seemed to me reflective of the ideas of Michel Foucault about the regulation and control — what Foucault called the discipline — of bodies. It was Walther’s sculptural expression of this regulation of bodies that impressed me. The power of the work, I wrote, “comes from the fact that he does not simply picture or describe bodies in this regulated geometric space. Rather he asks himself and others to themselves experience this space, like pilgrims retracing the Stations of the Cross.” I viewed Walther’s human actors as subjected to the author’s rigid control of space, as denied any vestiges of their individuality, as mere cogs in the construction of an abstract geometric order fashioned “of only two materials, the warm living body and the soft limp cloth.” I saw the very non-referential quality of Walther’s pieces as intensifying this Foucaldian narrative. Here, the discipline of bodies served no practical worldly goal — the performers were solely enacting a purified aesthetic of controlled bodies in space.
I was well aware that, with this interpretation, I was articulating a “strong misreading” — to use Harold Bloom’s term — of Walther’s work, substituting a focus on power relationships for the artist’s own stated emphasis on phenomenological experiment, the primacy of materials, and the making of community as the guiding themes in his work. And yet the performances, as seen in the photographs, seemed to demand this recoding of the work. After Foucault, it was impossible to accept the neutrality or objectivity of the formal and phenomenological investigations of minimalism or conceptualism. After Roland Barthes, it was impossible to say that a work of art had a single signified, determined by its author. Rather the work became open to myriad, successive signifieds, actively created by its readers or viewers.
And then there is my third encounter, in which, after so many years, I finally came across the pieces from Walther’s “Werksatz” series in all their three-dimensional majesty and complexity when they were exhibited at Dia:Beacon this past October. In a large room within Dia’s sprawling building, the fifty-eight cloth “Werksatz” pieces, all elegantly folded, ready for travel or use, were arrayed on low benches around the walls. On the floor was an industrial gray carpet, covering almost the entire room, leaving only a narrow walkway on all four sides. Guided by an unobtrusive docent, visitors were invited to try out the pieces one at a time. Each individual, pair or group of people out on the carpet interacting with one of the pieces instantly became a performer, observed by the remaining visitors scattered around the edges of the room.
That day, almost forty years after first seeing the photographs, the work itself spread out in all the richness of its materiality and temporality, transcending and defying ideological reading, providing instead waves of complex experience.
With a partner, we performed two of the most well known pieces, Sehkanal (1968) and Körpergewicht (1969). The photos had indicated nothing about the intricacy of the experience, of the slowness of unfolding the tightly bundled pieces on the floor, or, at the end, refolding them again along their prescribed crease lines to reassume their origami-like shapes. The photos said nothing about the beauty of the pieces themselves, exquisitely stitched and constructed with couturier skill out of delicately colored cloth. Nor had the photos conveyed the physical creativity required to attain the balance and tension necessary to make the pieces come to life, the awkward shifting needed to permit two opposing bodies to attain equilibrium. Watching other people perform, one saw untrained individuals instantly transformed into expressive dancers. It was all beyond the limits of photography, beyond the capacities of any kind of documentation.
This tale of interpretation stops here for now. What a long strange trip it’s been. It is a tale of Walther’s work, its photography, and its exhibition, and a tale of my own churning subjectivity. Was it futile to read Walther’s photographs of the “Werksatz” series as capable of conveying so definite a meaning? Despite their stylistic consistency and power, were they only documentation? Would it be equally inadvisable to analyze a painting based on a photographic reproduction? But that is done all the time. Did the artist really intend two shadings of meaning in his sculptural pieces and in his photographs of those pieces? Or did the medium dictate Walther’s message? Here, the writer stops, lost in the hall of mirrors, finding himself turned round in a kaleidoscopic world of reading, misreading and rereading.
Peter Halley is an artist based in New York. In 1999 he was appointed to the Yale faculty and he is currently William Leffingwell Professor of Painting and the Director of Graduate Studies in Painting/Printmaking.
Franz Erhard Walther was born in 1939 inFulda, Germany, where he currently lives and works. “Franz Erhard Walther: Work as Action,” is on view at Dia:Beacon, Riggio Galleries, Beacon, New York, through February 13, 2012.
From top left clockwise: Franz Erhard Walther, 8 Nesselplatten, 1963; Zwei Pappröhren (Verlegenheitsstück), 1962; Zwei Gläser mit Reis, 1963; Handbrett I, 1962/1963. Installation view of Franz Erhard Walther: Work as Action, Dia:Beacon, Riggio Galleries. Photo: David Allison. Franz Erhard Walther, “1.Werksatz”, 1963-1969. 58 objects, Sockel, 1969. View of the performance at Tate Modern, London, 2007. Courtesy Franz Erhard Walther Foundation and Jocelyn Wolff, Paris. Photo: Sheila Burnett. FranzErhardWalther, Für Zwei (Nr. 31, 1.Werksatz) [For Two], 1967. Sewn dyed canvas, 123.2 x 46 cm. Courtesy Peter Freeman, Inc. New York. Photo: Tim Rautert. Franz Erhard Walther, Retour vendu, 1958. Pencil and gouache on fine cardboard, 47 x 70 cm. Courtesy Skopia art contemporain,Geneva.
Concept Change
After further discussing the idea with the teacher I concluded that it was not original enough. I had to go back to my roots, creating something that actually interested me and was in-depth. It then occurred to me, why not do something involving conspiracy theory's. As an adamant researcher and who loves investigating issues such as; whether the illuminate existed? Are famous pop-stars conditioning their fans into believing an evil agenda? Did the time towers actually collapse from middle eastern terrorists, or was it an inside job with the pure purpose to create turmoil in the middle east? Are we on the way of becoming a one world ruled nation Is the New World Order going to happen? Who is the Bilderberg Group? and other on going conspiracies. I decided to think of ways to physically portray broad topic.
After much investigation I came up with the idea to create a large book. 'The Conspiracy Book' would be made out of thin sheets of MDF board that would be steamed making it easy to reshape. Hinges would be screwed on to each page of MDF making it easy for the viewer to move each page. On each page would be a conspiracy theory informing the viewer using a collage style layout similar to the 'Beautiful Mind' with connections drawn wildly everywhere on the page.
Exerts from the film 'Beautiful Mind'
The book would be measured in consideration to the classroom table that it will be laying on.
For the final project I originally planned to do a collage of books on a wall with an illustrated image on it. But as time went on my concept consistently changed due to the originality and strength of the idea.
This was my original plan:
Proposal
The final project
instructs us to develop a site specific work within the confines of the Dorrit
Black building. After a brief tour of the Dorrit Black building several spaces
stood out, but one in particular on level 4; the empty wall across from the lockers.
Its large size and visible vacancy are major qualities that were needed for my ideas.
Specifically I intend to use 2 x1.5 meters of the wall height with the
possibility of also incorporating a few lockers (1 or 2) and abit of floor
space (maximum 0.5 metre wide).
On the vacant wall a
collage of open books will be assembled in a symmetrical design. An image will
be illustrated on the collage conveying a narrative to the viewer. One of the
books on the lower section of the collage will have a ribbon bookmark, this
will be extended long enough to travel pass the floor and up into one of the
lockers. In that locker a book will be placed and the ribbon will be attached to
it, making it seem as a physical extension of the actual piece.
Through this work I
aim to convey how important imagination is to our culture, and what a powerful
tool it is in carving our own personal identity. Imagination is something found
in every single living person. It is the ability to form a mental image of
something that is not perceived through the five senses. The ability to build
mental scenes, objects or events that does not exist; making it possible to
experience a whole world inside the mind. This is what my installation represents.
The collage of books evoke to the audience that narratives are produced purely
by the imagination of an individual. Without imagination no story/picture books
would exist. I plan to illustration the figure of an author as the main subject
on the collage in respect to their creative capabilities to express their
imagination.
A major public concern
that could arise would be during the construction process of my work. I need to
make sure that the installation on the wall is carried out safely especially
managing to securely tighten my collage on the wall without damaging the
exterior and making sure that it would not fall harming any viewer.
Examples of my idea idea
ArtistEkaterina Panikanova
Panikanova describes these works as Errata, "a set of aesthetic and conceptual works made of signs and not controlled."
13 Beautiful Collages, Made From Old Books
The Russia and Italy based artist Ekaterina Panikanova uses books to create stunning abstract collages.
The starting point for this project was
consecutively the material, and the location. The cling wrap came as a result
of group discussion and brainstorming possible ideas; this was the only
material we all found pleasing, and agreed upon. The location was singled out
by assessing the locations and choosing one based on our ideas of an appealing
location; the high point, open space, and seclusion was what initially
attracted us. It was through the process of experimentation and the construction
of the artwork that ideas were formed. Prompting from the outcomes and the
fragility and flexibility of the material produced concepts that would apply to
the nature of the artwork and the impression it evokes.
From multiple experiments with stretching the
cling wrap across a space, and the way it reacted with the surroundings, we
settled on using it in a simplistic way to draw attention to the way it
responds to the natural elements, particularly the wind. During construction we
found that it was too simplistic and didn’t do much to adjust the space. We
tried including a bench that was originally part of the space, but it was
aesthetically displeasing as it made it look too busy. We sought to come up with something to
include that would remedy this problem. Being inspired by the works of several
artists who interacted directly with people, in particular Marina Abramovic, we
settled on the idea of performance, or interactive art.
The cling wrap of the finished piece forms an
enclosed barrier, within which a person could be situated. The person inside
the enclosed space represents the collective ‘individual’, and the cling wrap
is the barrier of their perceptions of themselves, within which we are all
trapped. The idea is that our thoughts and perspectives, even those of our
subconscious, form and shape our physical reality, and our behaviour. Inside
our brain, our thoughts are not physical, but they are still physicalised
through both conscious and subconscious carrying out of thought.
An example is the effect current technology has
on us. Social media is all about self promotion; the mass input of posts that
are all about the individual, and what they are doing leads to a very self
absorbed way of thinking that our generation has adapted. This mental state in turn influences us
externally; it impacts and controls our lives to the point where we our turned
inwards mentally, forming a barrier; a limited perception. The physical version
of this barrier present in the artwork is transparent like its real counterpart,
yet still has the ability to have a profound effect on the individual.
The outcome was as we envisioned, however we encountered some
weather related issues; the cling wrap was broken apart by the weight of
overnight rain. There were some interesting aesthetic qualities that resulted,
though. While a lot of the barrier had fallen down, some still remained
suspended in the space, capturing the rain. The collection of raindrops on the
plastic was also quite lovely. In this state, rather than capturing the wind,
as it did when it was dry, it captured water instead. This unexpected outcome
ruled out the possibility of an interactive performance, but provided
opportunities for problem solving, and produced an outcome that was more
aesthetic than conceptual.
MARINA ABRAMOVIC, BORN IN 1946 IN BELGRADE, YUGOSLAVIA, IS WITHOUT QUESTION ONE OF THE SEMINAL ARTISTS OF OUR TIME. SINCE THE BEGINNING OF HER CAREER IN YUGOSLAVIA DURING THE EARLY 1970S WHERE SHE ATTENDED THE ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS IN BELGRADE, ABRAMOVIC HAS PIONEERED THE USE OF PERFORMANCE AS A VISUAL ART FORM. THE BODY HAS ALWAYS BEEN BOTH HER SUBJECT AND MEDIUM. EXPLORING THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL LIMITS OF HER BEING, SHE HAS WITHSTOOD PAIN, EXHAUSTION, AND DANGER IN THE QUEST FOR EMOTIONAL AND SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION. ABRAMOVIC'S CONCERN IS WITH CREATING WORKS THAT RITUALIZE THE SIMPLE ACTIONS OF EVERYDAY LIFE LIKE LYING, SITTING, DREAMING, AND THINKING; IN EFFECT THE MANIFESTATION OF A UNIQUE MENTAL STATE. AS A VITAL MEMBER OF THE GENERATION OF PIONEERING PERFORMANCE ARTISTS THAT INCLUDES BRUCE NAUMAN, VITO ACCONCI, AND CHRIS BURDEN, ABRAMOVIC CREATED SOME OF THE MOST HISTORIC EARLY PERFORMANCE PIECES AND IS THE ONLY ONE STILL MAKING IMPORTANT DURATIONAL WORKS.
FROM 1975 UNTIL 1988, ABRAMOVIC AND THE GERMAN ARTIST ULAY PERFORMED TOGETHER, DEALING WITH RELATIONS OF DUALITY. AFTER SEPARATING IN 1988, ABRAMOVIC RETURNED TO SOLO PERFORMANCES IN 1989. ABRAMOVIC HAS PRESENTED HER WORK WITH PERFORMANCES, SOUND, PHOTOGRAPHY, VIDEO, SCULPTURE, AND ‘TRANSITORY OBJECTS FOR HUMAN AND NON HUMAN USE’ IN SOLO EXHIBITIONS AT MAJOR INSTITUTIONS IN THE U.S. AND EUROPE, INCLUDING THE STEDELIJK VAN ABBEMUSEUM, EINDHOVEN, THE NETHERLANDS (1985), MUSÉE NATIONAL D’ART MODERNE, CENTRE GEORGE POMPIDOU, PARIS (1990), NEUE NATIONAL GALERIE, BERLIN (1993), AND THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, OXFORD (1995). HER WORK HAS ALSO BEEN INCLUDED IN MANY LARGE-SCALE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS INCLUDING THE VENICE BIENNALE (1976 AND 1997) AND DOCUMENTA VI, VII AND IX, KASSEL, GERMANY (1977, 1982 AND 1992). IN 1995, ABRAMOVIC’S EXHIBITION OBJECTS PERFORMANCE VIDEO SOUND TRAVELED TO THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, OXFORD, THE IRISH MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, DUBLIN, AND THE FRUITMARKET GALLERY, EDINBURGH. IN 1998, THE EXHIBITION ARTIST BODY - PUBLIC BODY TOURED EXTENSIVELY INCLUDING STOPS AT KUNSTMUSEUM AND GROSSE HALLE, BERN AND LA GALLERA, VALENCIA. IN 2000, A LARGE SOLO SHOW WAS HELD AT THE KUNSTVEREIN IN HANNOVER. IN 2002, SHE PARTICIPATED IN THE BERLIN-MOSCOW EXHIBITION, WHICH OPENED AT THE MARTIN GROPIUS-BAUHAUS IN BERLIN AND FINISHED ITS TOUR IN 2004 AT THE STATE HISTORICAL MUSEUM, MOSCOW. IN 2004, ABRAMOVIC ALSO EXHIBITED AT THE WHITNEY BIENNIAL IN NEW YORK AND HAD HAD A SIGNIFICANT SOLO SHOW, THE STAR, AT THE MARUGAME MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART AND THE KUMAMOTO MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, JAPAN.
MARINA ABRAMOVIC HAS TAUGHT AND LECTURED EXTENSIVELY IN EUROPE AND AMERICA INCLUDING THE HOCHSCHULE FUR BILDENDE KUNST IN HAMBURG, AND THE ECOLE DES BEAUX ARTS IN PARIS. IN 1994 SHE BECAME PROFESSOR FOR PERFORMANCE ART AT THE HOCHSCHULE FUR BILDENDE KUNST IN BRAUNSCHWEIG WHERE SHE TAUGHT FOR SEVEN YEARS. IN 2004 SHE WAS AWARDED AN HONORARY DOCTORATE FROM THE ART INSTITUTE IN CHICAGO.
SHE WAS AWARDED THE GOLDEN LION FOR BEST ARTIST AT THE 1997 VENICE BIENNALE FOR HER EXTRAORDINARY VIDEO INSTALLATION/PERFORMANCE PIECE BALKAN BAROQUE‚ AND IN 2003 RECEIVED THE BESSIE FOR THE HOUSE WITH THE OCEAN VIEW‚ A 12-DAY PERFORMANCE AT SEAN KELLY GALLERY, NEW YORK.
IN 2005, ABRAMOVIC PRESENTED BALKAN EROTIC EPIC AT THE PIRELLI FOUNDATION IN MILAN, ITALY AND AT SEAN KELLY GALLERY, NEW YORK. THAT SAME YEAR, SHE HELD A SERIES OF PERFORMANCES CALLED SEVEN EASY PIECES AT THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM IN NEW YORK, WHICH WERE AWARDED THE PRIZE FOR 2005-2006 BEST EXHIBITION OF TIME- BASED ART BY THE UNITED STATES ART CRITICS ASSOCIATION.
IN 2008 SHE WAS DECORATED WITH THE AUSTRIAN COMMANDER CROSS FOR HER CONTRIBUTIONS TO ART HISTORY. IN SEPTEMBER 2009 SHE WAS DECORATED WITH THE HONORARY DOCTORATE OF ARTS BY THE UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH, UK. IN THE SPRING OF 2010, SHE HAD HER FIRST MAJOR RETROSPECTIVE IN THE UNITED STATES AT THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART- NEW YORK, AND SIMULTANEOUSLY PERFORMED FOR MORE THAN 700 HOURS IN HER DURATIONAL PIECE THE ARTIST IS PRESENT.
IN SUMMER OF 2011, ABRAMOVIC WAS BESTOWED WITH THE HONORARY DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF FINE ARTS BY THE WILLIAMS COLLEGE IN WILLIAMSTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS. IN 2011 A THEATRE PIECE BY ROBERT WILSON ENTITLED THE LIFE AND DEATH OF MARINA ABRAMOVIC PREMIERED AND ABRAMOVIC'S RETROSPECTIVE THE ARTIST IS PRESENT TOURED WITH GREAT SUCCESS TO THE GARAGE, MOSCOW.
AT SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL IN UTAH AND THE CANADIAN FILM PREMIERE, REEL ARTISTS FILM FESTIVAL, TORONTO. ABRAMOVIC HAS MAJOR SHOWS SCHEDULED IN MARCH AT PAC AND LIA RUMMA GALERIA, MILAN. THE ARTIST WILL ALSO PERFORM IN ROBERT WILSON'S THEATRE PIECE AS IT MOVES LOCATION DURING APRIL AND JUNE IN MADRID, BASEL, AMSTERDAM AND ANTWERP. OTHER MAJOR EXHIBITIONS DURING 2012 INCLUDE FEAST: RADICAL HOSPITALITY IN CONTEMPORARY ART, AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, IMMATERIAL ART, AT THE MUSEUM OF MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART, RIJEKA, BALKAN STORIES AT KUNSTHALLE VIENNA, AND SOLO SHOWS AT LA FABRICA GALLERY, MADRI AND GALLERI BRANDSTRUP, OSLO.
After much research and editing, I was finally done.
Ah Xian’s ‘Evolutionaura’
Upon entering the Art Gallery of
South Australia one is immediately drawn to Ah Xian’s Evolutionaura. The use of organic material and the human form
instantly appeals to those who have an interest in the human figure.
I found this exhibition to be
easily open to interpretation due to its simplistic design. There was no descriptive
text to give the sculpture a voice, allowing the viewer’s imagination to make
their own interpretation. After researching the artist’s background I
discovered that Xian is a Chinese-Australian citizen who sought asylum in
Australia in the early 1990s, he currently travels back and forth between both
countries. His work reflects the inter-relationship between these two cultures.
This is seen in his work as all the figures inhabit an “in- between space – between countries and cultures” (2.Jose, 2014). For the past thirty years, Xian has been
progressively studying the human figure. Relating majority of his works to
themes such as ‘migration, cultural
displacement, emotional and physical trauma, and humanity’s relationship to its
environment, be it natural, social, or spiritual’(Storer, 2014). At first glance I thought it represented the pain caused
by some type of physical disease due to the protruding objects on the figures’
face and body. Then I noticed the figures’ distinct eastern facial features
which I immediately associated with eastern culture. This prompted me to think
about the tragedies that occurred in Asia, such as the Japanese tsunami, the Fukushima
nuclear disaster, the genocide in Cambodia, increasing poverty, and the pain suffered
by all the communities that were and still are involved in these tragedies.
Evolutionaura was built for one reason and that was conveying the
artist’s personal story to the world. It
is an art work on a large scale, with a collection of eight human sized figures
in total. This collection is not only large in size, but also full of extravagance
as only the most precious metals and stones were used such as limestone, agate,
turquoise and others valued for their unusual shapes, colours and surfaces. Bronze
was used to ‘reference the traditional
Chinese culture’ (2.Jose, 2014), it also represented the
successful ‘mining boom that brought his
two countries of residence into close association’ (2.Jose, 2014).
Spatially the figures are laid
out in a very structured position around a dark room with the only light source
coming from dim lights that were positioned above each figure. With each work
approximately three feet apart, this gave viewers the opportunity to walk
around each figure and obtain a thorough look. The human figures were placed at
eye level which allowed viewers to connect with them more intimately giving the
viewer the ability to see the details of each art work. As mentioned the
sculptural arrangements relate directly to the artists intention to portray the
two vastly different inter-mixed cultures of China and Australia that he
currently lives in.
Evolutionaura is known as a sculpture, as Xian
places major importance on the main subject and placing no value on the space
around the subject. Unlike an installation which places equal importance on the
main subject and the surrounding space and environment that it inhabits.
Xian’s work evokes many emotions as I too have similarly
been raised in two different cultures and can relate to what he is trying to
portray. My parents would constantly take my siblings and I back to their homeland
of Macedonia. Both cultures were vastly
different, yet I was able to discover the benefits of each lifestyle and
discover my identity. I agree with Nicholas Jose the curator of this exhibition
as he too admires the cultural uniqueness of the exhibition, ‘Ah Xian’s brings a new strength and
directness into contemporary art in Australia’. (1.Jose, 2014)
My first impression of his work made me feel very disturbed
and perplexed especially upon seeing figure 1 (Ah Xian, Evolutionaura5).
I initially could not stop looking at it because it made me feel curious. It
intrigued me and after researching it further my understanding grew into
appreciation.
If I was the artist the only thing I would change would be
the amount of figures that I had created. I would decrease the amount to around
four or five because as a viewer it was difficult to process all eight figures
as a whole. Not only would that still
aesthetically look appealing, the message would still be conveyed and the
intricacies of each sculpture would have been more appreciated without being
overwhelming.
This reflective writing assignment made us have to pick one sculpture or installation from an exhibition that was on at the current time. I chose a work from the 'Dark Heart' exhibition that was currently happening at the South Australian Art Gallery.
Ah Xian
In Evolutionaura Chinese-Australian artist Ah Xian continues his exploration of the human figure. Like the artist himself, the figures occupy an in-between space – between countries and cultures. Xian sought political asylum in Australia in the post-Tiananmen period of the early 1990s, which provides, in Evolutionaura as elsewhere, an enduring conceptual basis informing his practice.
Comprised of eight life-size bronze busts, Ah Xian’s series references the traditional Chinese appreciation of the alchemic qualities of minerals, affixed to the casts in mimicry of a magnetic effect. The use of Lingbi stone hailing from Lingbi County in Anhui Province places the works within the traditions of Chinese philosophy and art, and is commonly referred to as ‘scholar’s stone’. Through the presentation of these minerals, Ah Xian artfully balances reverence with a critique of environmental exploitation.
Lecture 3: Space and Site
It was during this lecture that I first heard of Gregor Schneider. He is a very interesting character and his art concepts are equally as intriguing.
Gregor Schneider
Short Bio
Gregor Schneider (1969, Rheydt-Germany)
Lives and works in Mönchengladbach, Rheydt, Germany.
Gregor Schneider is one of the most famous artists of his generation. He studied at the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf and Münster, the University of Fine Arts in Hamburg and he has worked as guest professor in several universities around the world.
His works reflect his deep fears and traumas, however, in dealing with these issues he hopes to help us to reflect upon and overcome our nightmares. He became world famous when we won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2001 with an installation of his childhood home, Totes Haus U R. The place was transformed into a maze with fake partitions, lead-lined rooms and a kitchen encrusted with mould.
Last year Schneider became embroiled in controversy after saying he wanted to create a space in a museum in which people could die. His argument was that society’s horror of death was so acute that we prefer to ignore it, leaving people to die in the clinical impersonality of a hospital rather than somewhere beautiful.
Gregor Schneider – 400 Meter Black Dead End, 2006 – 8 Photographs – 43x53cm
From 1985 Gregor Schneider (D, 1969) is continuously working on Haus ur in Rheydt. Since this time, the house is constantly rebuilt, hallways are made, double walls are constructed and windows are added, creating a labyrinth of sinister spaces. Haus ur is Schneider’s most famous work and was completely reconstructed in 2001 at the Venice Biennale, exhibited at the German Pavilion. Entitled ‘Der Deutsche Beitrag’ Schneider delivered with this mental labyrinth a sharp ironic commentary. The series of 8 photo’s 400 Meter Black Dead End has been made in Naples. The color photographs show eight positions at night from the street entering in a dark basement eventually resulting in a full black surface. The first images starts at just a few meters distance from the house. The title indicates that hundreds of meters darkness will follow, after being surrounded by the complete darkness of the cellar. Again this work can be read as a sharp commentary on the famous black square made by Malevich: the work was an important prelude to a century Modernism. This black square placed against the sun first appeared in 1913 in a design for the opera Victory over the Sun.
Dark eerie spaces, dimly lit rooms and narrow passages leading to dead ends make up this immersive installation, which contrasts starkly with the bright gallery around it.
The artwork is a partial reconstruction of 'Totes Haus U R (Dead house)', a residential apartment block in Rheydt, Germany, which Schneider has transformed in an ongoing artistic project. Since 1985, he has been compulsively reconfiguring this building into labyrinth-like, uncanny architectural environments. In 1996, he began to recreate rooms from the house in exhibition spaces around the world, including this work which is based on the cellar. No longer a home, it has become a place of confinement, mystery and dislocation.
Dead house, 2001, gelatin silver photograph, 27.0 x 39.0 cm sight; 42.4 x 52.3 x 3.5 cm frame
Building the base:
