Assignment # 12

Ernesto Caivano was born in Madrid, Spain .One of his famous artworks is called In the woods that is permanently installed in one of the building’s stairwells at MoMA PS1 and it is also based on an ongoing story that tells about the reunion of a young woman and man after a separation of 1,000 years. The artist shows the figures’ psychological changes during their time apart through depicting the familiar natural landscape. In his narrative, Caivano once wrote that the woods symbolize an alternative reality informed by fairytales and folklore. Unlike his another work After the woods that consists of drawings and paper sculptures, In the woods is composed of black latex paint and gouache to create a visual web of images and gives the viewer more mystery and space to imagine what would happen in such a secret woods. In the picture, we can see the long tree branches wind around the walls and sprout up and out onto the ceiling and these would give you the feeling that you might be ruthlessly caught by its branches.  The bird keeps quiet weirdly on the dark branches just likes a very calm onlooker and at the same time it reminds me of those who are indifferent to sufferings of others.  
Caivano uses simple white and black and exaggerated scale to successfully create an attractive scene in such a grungy and small space and guides people into his imaginary world step by step.  Chain-link fencing, hanging light fixtures, rough walls and the content on the drawing look surprisingly harmonious.  The new world the artist creates is apparently peaceful but it seems to have lots of hidden emotions and secrets that I cannot speak. For me, the work reflects the fact that the world we live in actually also has a lot of potential dangers and people live under great pressure. However, I believe Caivano depicts a fantastic fantasy world that are opposite to the real world simply wants to offer people a chance of escaping from the reality for a while, and let them enjoy their quiet moments in this imaginary space and forget the unhappy things in the life. 

Museum paper

               Pop Art was born in London, where some young artists made collages with pictures cut from popular magazines.  The artists used real objects or media sources (include comic strip, the advertising layout, newspaper, etc) to create their art in the mid 1950s.  They tried to challenge the traditional definition of art and most of their work was full of irony. Pop Art does not critique materialism and consumerism of modern popular culture; rather, it reflects their pervasive presence.  Roy Lichtenstein who was born in New York in 1923 was one of the most important leading artists of the pop art movement of 1960s. His work was mainly inspired by the comic-book and he used parody to define the pop art in the movement.    Girl with Ball is one of his earliest famous artworks, 153cm × 91.9 c and was created in 1961 and it reflects the culture of the sixties in the US.  Lichtenstein’s inspiration for this piece of art was from a well-known newspaper advertisement for the Mount Airy Lodge in the Pocono Mountains and because of this, some people considered the work as the commercial art.  It gave people an interesting feeling which was different with what the sexy figure gave us on the ad. The artist shows the consumerist society and people’s leisure activity through his painting. In this painting, we can see a girl wearing a black bathing suit playing with a red stripes beach ball. The red of her lips and tongue is as vivid as the ball’s and they appear to be able to catch the viewer’s eyes immediately.   Her mouth is opened, and she seems to be speaking to others.  Waving hair and obvious facial expression, gesture and body posture, all of these are telling us the girl is having an interesting and exciting match on the beach.  The artist does not design any detailed background for the figure; he just uses simple yellow to show the good weather.  The swimsuit’s style is also typical of 1960s. Lichtenstein uses Ben-Day dots of primary colors to create this work. The bold color and simplified design successfully present a vacation atmosphere.  Also, the piece gives the viewer a feeling of freedom and reveals the artist’s values for nature. 

            Dada movement began to join a new movement—Surrealism.  Surrealism was officially launched in Paris in 1924 and led by Breton who was a French writer and poet.  The artworks in the two movements both focus on logic and reason and protest the direction of European culture. The artists sought to explore the dream-world after going through the cruelty of the war. Not similar to Dadaists, Surrealists uses unconventional techniques, such as frottage and automatism to create the artwork.  Max Ernst was born in 1891, was a German painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and poet.  He was an important figure of the Dada movement and surrealism movement.  Ernst’s famous artwork titled Two Children are threatened by a Nightingale was created in 1924, and was considered as the last consequence of his early collages and the farewell of a technique. This unique work combines painted surface and real objects, measuring 27 1/2 x 22 1/2 x 4 1/2".  The wooden frame is the important part of the work; it connects to the red wooden gate very well and shortens the distance between the viewer and the figures, the scene in the painting.  The blue knob on the right hand side also becomes a little focal point of the whole view. It makes people curious about its relationship with the figure. The little title hand written in French on the front somehow gives me a kind of odd feeling. It seems more like a warning for somebody.  In the painting, the artist depicts a girl who has a beautiful curled long hair is scared by a bird, running after it with holding a knife. Near the house, there is something (perhaps another bird) lying on the ground. Moving to the roof of the wooden house, we can see a man carrying a baby with a dangerous standing posture. He is trying to grab the knob and take advantage of the item to escape from the world that he lives in.  The figures Ernst creates both have the same personality traits—brave, indomitable.  The tile and the story of the work were actually inspired by a fever dream that young Ernst experienced. And the nightingale usually represents the hope in art and literature. The artist uses nightingale to express his intense feeling about the world events.

Outline for my presentation

           Cai Guo Qiang is a Chinese contemporary artist and curator. He is famous for his gunpowder paintings.  As we know, gunpowder is an explosive substance; it burns faster under pressure and it can rupture containers.  Cai once used “Poppy flower” that is a poisonous but very beautiful flower to describe his gunpowder artwork. He thinks gunpowder also has its romantic and attractive sides even though it is dangerous. Because gunpowder is uncontrollable, Cai and his group need to be cautious during the process of creating the painting. 
           (A video shows how the artist uses gunpowder)         
          The explosion of gunpowder somehow reminds me of the September 11 event and I think that might be a metaphor for it.  Cai is trying to make those violent explosions beautiful and different. 
          Cai draws on many different materials, elements of feng shui, symbols, images of dragons and tigers, Chinese medicine, gunpowder, and philosophy.(examples)

           Cai Guo Qiang’s work has since crossed multiple mediums within art, including drawing, installation, video and performance art. His artwork is inspired by his interest in traditional Chinese culture and at the same time, his father who was an artist also influenced him a lot. He explores pain, tragedy, disaster and the meaning of terrorism in the world. At the same time, he expresses his ideas and emotions through abstract images and powerful objects and let the viewer feel deep pain by using strong visual impact. Also, his artworks reflect social issues and make people rethink about this world. That is why Cai Guo Qiang is considered as an example of Globalism. 

Bibliography

 https://www.google.com/search?q=google&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS482US482&espv=2&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=eXl7U_CBAYacyATBoIL4Dw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAg&biw=1366&bih=630#q=Cai%20Guo%20Qiang&tbm=isch 

¨  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26yS2ppwB7k 

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

Assignment # 9 ---- Hennessy Youngman

                    Jayson Musson, the person who creates the character of Hennessy Youngman and Art Thoughtz videos for YouTube is actually an artist and he treats Youngman as a body of work. In his videos, Musson comprehensively critiques the art world and his topics are about art history, contemporary culture, race and institutional art. His commentary and even some titles of the video such as “How to be a successful black artist” are apparently full of satire; however, he lets most people rethink the art world and helps them solve the questions they have been thinking. We have to admit that it is also a pleasure to watch Youngman’s Art Thoughtz since few people can righteously express their ideas like him. In one of his videos that titled “How to make an art”, Youngman shows us how he creates another new look for a work of art. He chooses two little statues of naked David and decides to make them black and yellow by using spray paint. The act of Youngman is bold because he totally changes the color of the body of David and breaks the whole feeling what it wants to show the viewer. The naked white David becomes completely dark as if it’s wearing the black clothing and you cannot even clearly see his face and body. The odd yellow and black seem to give the viewer a kind of ridiculous feeling and also Youngman calls the two pieces “Buddy Cop” to show a satire on traditional art.

Dada Collage

Cai Guo Qiang

                       Cai Guo-Qiang who was born in 1957 in Guanzhou city, China is a contemporary artist and curator and he works in New York.   After watching his interview in Art 21 website, I have to say Cai’s artwork is “dangerous” but very surprising and impressive. He uses the poppy flower to describe his work since it is a poison but it also has its attractive and romantic sides. Cai always likes to use an explosive substance — gunpowder to create his drawings. Gunpowder, as we know is full of danger and uncontrollable; therefore, Cai and his group have to know it very well and also use it carefully during their work.   The whole process of creating a drawing with the gunpowder is long and needs to be cautious. First of all, Cai would draw the shape of the object on a paper and cut it out and lay it down on the lager paper or a long scroll.  He would sprinkle some gunpowder and yellow pigment powder on the image.  Then, the group would use some paper, cardboard to cover the artwork and use some stones to fix it. The final step is the most important step --make the gunpowder explode.  The result of the explosion sometimes is a great satisfaction but sometimes it is a disappointment for the entire group. However, in his projects, Cai successfully harnesses the explosive power of gunpowder to create his own special artwork style. The explosion of gunpowder just likes a metaphor for the September 11 event. The artist is trying to make those violent explosions beautiful. I really like what Cai said in the interview, “the artist, like an alchemist, has the ability to transform certain energies…and the art is not about what you say, it’s about these other things that you don’t say.” 

 In fact, Cai’s work is inspired by his interest in traditional Chinese culture and everyday life, and at the time, his father who was an artist also influenced him a lot.  Cai draws on lots of different materials, elements of fengshui, symbols, images of tigers and dragons, Chinese medicine and philosophy and gunpowder and so on.  In his work, Cai tries to explore pain, tragedy, and the meaning of terrorism in the world and express his ideas and emotions through abstract images and powerful objects.  Also, he likes to use strong visual impact to let people feel pain, and meanwhile, his projects reflect social issues today.