This class is a fundamental step stone to understanding art theory and the differing ideologies. I was presented with ideologies that made me question how I view art and why certain artworks appeal to me or not. Understanding how different art movements were created helps me understand modern art's evolution. While it wasn't included on the blog, I found my research paper on Dada to be an interesting and insightful dive into a movement that shaped the beginning of modern art. I discovered how it influenced future art movements such as Surrealist and Pop art. The coursework has inspired me to continue researching some of the theories and movements we focused on. I aim to apply what I learned from this class to the art programs I want to teach and topics I want to write about. It also shapes how I view the world and how visual media is connected to it.
Art has evolved in a digital world.
Information is fast and easier to obtain, allowing for more accessibility to visual
media. In the past, you would have to go to a museum or a gallery to view artwork.
Through the reproduction of art, from the invention of printmaking to
photography and film, it has become more easily distributed to people who
wouldn’t have time and means to see artwork often displayed far from where they
live. The focus has shifted from the bourgeoisie to the common people, allowing
mass visual communication. Then, the shift to the digital age expanded this
dramatically further—the worldwide connection to instant information allowed instant
visual media access. Art can be made digitally and viewed digitally, which
reinvents how art is viewed and understood. Now, with the creation of AI, art
further confronts conventional art norms in terms of how we view and comprehend
these digital art forms.
The rise of AI-generated
art is alarming for artists. The question is whether it is still art if a
computer program creates the art form under the direction of the prompter,
though. While a computer program creates the art form, the human element still
directs the creation. Marshall McLuhan’s theory of “the medium is the message”
reinforces AI art. AI art is a controversial topic, with arguments over the
authenticity and validity of the created content. McLuhan argues that content isn’t
the focus but the medium from which it is derived. AI is a tool that the artist
uses to share a visual message. A static reality becomes alive when information
is input to create a directed image within parameters. AI was created by humans
who also created computers and harnessed power or electricity. A history of
human action, creativity, and experience is put into creating the medium. Using
McLuhan’s argument that the medium is the message, the creation of AI-generated
art relates to the creation of computers and the digital age. AI breaks
traditions of how conventional art is viewed and created. McLuhan states, “the
message” of any medium or technology is the change of scale or pace or pattern
that it introduces into human affairs,” which correlates with AI art at the
speed it has affected human society (1964, p.1). Regardless of the viewer's
feelings about AI art, it is still a medium that reflects a message.
Walter
Benjamin’s theory of the” aura” argues that reproduction causes an art form to
lose some of its “essence,” the element of time and space. Benjamin argues that
art can only be truly appreciated in an intimate setting with one or a few
people. Even the act of showing the artwork in a museum or gallery begins to diminish
the mysticism of the art form. Mechanical reproduction, from printmaking to
film and photography, further diminishes the artwork's aura, making it a common
object. This is incredibly limiting for most of the world, with many people
living in rural areas far from big cities where museums and galleries are
mostly situated. Without reproduction, only a select few, probably rich, would
have access to artwork. Reproduction may diminish the 4th-dimensional aspect of
art, but it allows it to enter the viewer’s personal situation wherever and
whenever the viewer chooses.
Marshall
McLuhan’s theory, “The medium is the message,” argues that the medium, not the
content, is the focus of the art form. The transition from the Industrial
Revolution to the digital age fundamentally changed how art is made and viewed.
Regardless of what is created, the medium used in the creation is the most
important aspect. It is a universal way of viewing art that allows viewers to
view it regardless of gender and socio-political status. It is an extension of
the creator.
Jean Baudrillard's
“Simulacra and Simulation” examines how signs and symbols can transform reality.
He argues that our current society has replaced genuine experiences with
simulations. Simulacra refers to copies or representations that become more
real than the reality they imitate while losing connection to the original
reality (Baudrillard, 1983, p.7). Focusing on the symbols or signs in the
artwork shows how it affects our perception of reality through a blending of
the medium and content. Baudrillard viewed pop art as the start of simulation
in art, focusing on symbols and the end of the representational form.
Baudrillard stated, “ Art can become a reproducing machine ( Andy Warhol) without
ceasing to be art, since the machine is only a sign” ( 1983, p.116).
Reference
Baudrillard, J. (1983). Simulations. Semiotexte. https://urup.or.id/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Foreign-Agents-Series-Jean-Baudrillard-Simulations-Semiotexte-1983.pdf
McLuhan, M. (1964). The Medium is the Message. From Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man.
It
can be argued that a significant difference exists between an original piece of
art and mechanical reproductions. Water Benjamin argues in his theory of the
aura that creating original pieces of art is a spiritual and ritualistic
experience that embodies the fourth dimension of time and space. Creating and
seeing a piece of art in person is a multi-sensory experience. This reflects an
aura of its being. It is strongest in person when being able to see the
original artwork. The earliest artworks were used for ritualistic purposes,
which created a cult value for the piece. The mystification of art adds to the
aura of the artwork. It is like energy pulsating from combining materials, creative
thought, time, and space. It is a testament to its authenticity and historical
and artistic tradition. The authenticity of a thing is the “quintessence of all
that is transmissible in it from its origin on, ranging from its physical
duration to the historical testimony relating to it,” and reproduction
threatens the historical testimony that gives authority to the object (Benjamin,
2008, p.21).
Art reproduction isn’t new.
Since the creation of printmaking, such as woodblock prints and lithography,
artists have been creating prints of the original. Then, through photography
and film, the distance increases from ritual into a new existence. Benjamin
argues that the reproduction of work changes the context of the artwork. It diminishes
ritualism and replaces it with a subject meant for reproduction. Benjamin
believes that this cheapens artwork and turns it into a distraction and a form
of entertainment. There is little magic and destruction of tradition. With
photography and film, they destroy traditions but reinvent a way to examine the
world. The camera can capture details that our eyes miss down to milliseconds.
This creates a “zero-aura artwork: artwork for, by, and of the masses” (Zair, 2010,
p.3). Photography and film are a strange mix that still has traces of aura.
In the article “Aura, Auteurism, And the Key to
Reserva” by Kartik Nair, he uses the Martin Scorsese film “The Key to Reserva”
as an example of aura in film. “The Key to Reserva” is Alfred Hitchcock's
three-and-a-half-page unfilmed and unfinished script that Scorsese wanted to
film to channel Hitchcock into the work.Nair states that the “script
resonates with the ‘complex temporality’ of aura: a belatedly discovered
message from a lost time, a kind of revelation before the plunge into oblivion”
(2010, p.14). The reinvention of a dead and iconic film director ties into the
mystification of the aura. To add to the effect, Scorsese directs it but tries
to eliminate any of his persona from the film. Still, in the end, it is his
film, but the combination creates an aura of mystique and allure.
[Everything is Cinema]. (2021, January 1). The Key To Reserva | Martin Scorsese's Tribute to Alfred Hitchcock | Rare Moments Of Martin Scorsese [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjQrDn1IR0Q
Nair, K. (2010). Aura, Auteurism and the Key to
Reserva. Wide Screen, 1(2), 1–19.
There is a
certain weight to a name that bestows authenticity and accountability to art.
As Foucault argues in “ What is an Author?”, a name is more than a mere gesture;
it is a form of description. This concept is particularly relevant in the realm
of visual arts, where artists communicate through images, creating a visual
narrative. Art movements are often associated with names, as these artists
craft a distinct visual discourse in their imagery. A name, in this context,
serves as a form of classification, allowing art to be compared, contrasted,
and ultimately, given credibility.
Salvador Dali’s “Persistence of Memory” (1931) is one
of the most famous artworks in the world. It can be argued that it is one of
the first artworks that comes to mind when one thinks of surrealism. The
painting is a dreamlike beach landscape with water and mountains in the
distance. Fashioned after Dali’s Catalonia beaches in Spain. There are limp
watches draped about the composition, filled with organic shapes reminiscent of
figurative forms. Ants, a common theme in Dali’s work, represent decay
clustered around the composition as if attacking the watches. Time has no
meaning, and we are victim to it. The artwork has Dali’s reoccurring themes of
ants as a symbol of decay and even imagery of his homeland, giving credibility
to the artist. The melting clocks are iconic imagery associated with Dali and
the Surrealist movement. If another artist created melting clocks, it would be
compared and contrasted to Salvador Dali’s artwork in its value and credibility
as an art form. Dali’s imagery is deeply associated with his name and credibility
as an artist. Knowing his background and fascination with psychopathy and the unconscious
affects how the viewer views the artwork in association with the artist.
Hearing the name Salvador Dali brings an expectation of surrealist elements in
the artwork. Dali’s name and the surrealist movement and visual elements are
intimately entwined.
The Persistence of Memory (1931) Salvador Dali
References
Foucault, M. (1969).
What is an Author?
Lutz, R. C. (2023). Surrealism Is Born. Salem Press Encyclopedia.
For centuries, countless art critics
and historians have theorized and analyzed the question of what makes art art. Leo
Tolstoy, a revolutionary of his time, argued in his” What is Art” that true art
could only be created as a shared emotional and moralistic experience between
the artist and the viewer ( Tolstoy, 2021). Art is universal
and transcends from canvas and sculpture to anything that conveys a deep
emotional connection between people. Art is to be a sincere and authentic shared
human experience. Tolstoy argued that art didn’t exist for its own sake but is
measured by its service to humanity.Tolstoy dismissed elite
art as visual fodder and argued that it was not universal art and that only a
select few understood and appreciated it. True art dismisses It is exclusive
and elusive and enforces a gap between the rich and poor. The poor must focus
on survival and must work, and little time left over is spent with family. The rich
have the time and space for leisure matters and to focus on art and theories.
Emotion connects humans beyond class and gender. Through infectious emotion, Tolstoy
argued that art is an intentional visual representation that infects the view
with the artist's emotions. Tolstoy states:
And universal art, by uniting the most
different people in one common feeling, by destroying separation, will educate
people to union, will show them, not by reason but by life itself, the joy of
universal union reaching beyond the bounds set by life (Tolstoy,2021).
Tolstoy’s
theory has merit in examining how art can titter in obscurity and symbolism
that only a select few, usually the rich and elite, can understand and appreciate.
Art should be accessible to everyone regardless of socioeconomic status, gender,
and color. Emotion adds richness to the artwork and elevates the work. The goal
of art is to create a connection between the viewer and the artist’s artistic
vision, and inciting emotions can bridge that gap. Tolstoy, with his view that
art had a moralistic obligation of service to humanity, has a connection with
his Christian religious background. He tied art to church worship to incite the
same feeling. The issue with this is that many different people have different beliefs
and ideas about morals. Morality is fluid, and the human race isn’t perfect. Emotions
are an integral part of art, as are thoughts and ideas. In “ Art Theory: A Very
Short Introduction,” Cynthia Freeland writes that critics argue that “The
expressiveness is in work, not the artist.” a work of art may take many weeks
or months to complete, which the artist feels many emotions during this time (2003,
p.43).
Looking
at Judy Chicago’s “ Dinner Party” with Tolstoy’s view of art, one would see
that this artwork lacks a universal emotional connection. The large triangular table
is dedicated to 1,038 women and has thirty-nine place settings, each commemorating an
important woman from history.The elaborate
setting hosts golden chalices, utensils, and porcelain plates with raised
vulvar and butterfly forms created in the style of the honored individual women.
Chicago's artwork often focuses on feminist topics and gender equality. Important
topics that affect women’s lives. Chicago must have been through a flux of
emotions while undertaking this time-consuming project. The creative thought process
and insight into women’s issues and confrontation of the art world is reflected
in the “ Dinner Party.” People may not understand or care about it, but it is
still created with the creative intention to bring awareness to these great women
and their impact on the world.
Dinner party (1974-79) Judy Chicago
References
Freeland, C. (2003). Art Theory: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press Academic UK. https://tiffin-bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9780191579325
Tolstoy, L. (2021). What is Art. Project Gutenberg. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/64908/64908-h/64908-h.htm
The modern art
world is crowded with male artists, predominantly white hetero-normative male
artists, leaving little room for women. By deconstructing the art world’s power
structure, feminist artists are reinventing the way the public views gender and
how women are represented in the art world. Cindy Sherman and Barabara Kruger
are two powerful contemporary American feminist artists who confronted and
subverted traditional notions of representation, gender, and power within the
art world. Sherman and Kruger analyze and deconstruct modern art theory and
practices while creating powerful visual narratives by exploring new media art
forms such as photography, film, and installation work. Both artists, growing
up in a media, advertising, and consumerism landscape, confront and explore
through appropriating images for their art show how these affect socially
constructed ideas on identity and gender (Gaylord, 2016). Both are associated
with the Pictures Generation, a group of Conceptual artists concerned with the
critical analysis and dissemination of mass-media culture
Cindy Sherman was
born in 1954 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. When she was a child, she moved to Long
Island, New York, with her family to be closer to her father's work. Later, she
attended SUNY Buffalo and received her BFA in photography in 1976. It was also
during this time that she was introduced to conceptual art, which she found
both liberating and inspiring” (Minichiello, 2023). She moved to New York City
and began her most famous art series called the “Untitled Film Stills”
(1977-1988). These 70 film stills were based on old Hollywood b films where it
showed Sherman in a variety of roles in different situations, often based on female
stereotypes. The photographs were taken from the perspective of a lustful gaze
in uncomfortable situations to create conversations on female representation,
feminism, and postmodernism (Gaylord, 2016). She often used theatrical elements
in her photography to amplify her visual narrative. Transforming herself using makeup
and prosthetics, which were often disheveled, peeling shows “the artificiality of
these fabrications, a metaphor for the artificiality of all identity construction”
(Gaylord, 2016).
How mass media representations shape us | Cindy
Sherman (2021) MoMA
Minichiello, M.
(2023). Cindy Sherman. Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia.
[MoMA]. (2021,
January 1). How mass media representations shape us | Cindy Sherman | UNIQLO
ARTSPEAKS [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=239_BLVToB8
Myers, A. (2022).
Barbara Kruger. Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia.
[Tate]. (2017,
January 1). Barbara Kruger – Consumerism, Power and the Everyday
[Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVxtKcDOHYc
Art has long been
associated with white cis-hetero normative male artists and art theory and
practices that enforce their status, often leaving out women artists. The rise
of feminism confronts the art establishment and is used as a tool to tear down
socio-political structures. Feminism began in the early 1900s and, over the
span of 120-plus years, would challenge and protest for political rights for
all and further extend the focus on all areas of socio-political life, the inclusion
of women of color and minorities, and trans-genderism. While much has changed,
there is still a large contrast in representation, exhibition, and sales
between men and women artists. “The highest price paid for a painting was $91
million by a male artist; in contrast, the highest price achieved by a
contemporary female artist is $12.4 million " (Chambers, 2023, p.5). Modern
art history textbooks are often lacking in women artists, and H. W. Janson’s
History of Art, a textbook still used today, didn’t mention women until the 5th
edition in 1995 (Freeland, 2003, p.38). There are successful women artists like Georgia
O'Keeffe, who has a museum dedicated to her, and the National Museum of Women
Artists in Washington D.C, but still the gulf remains.
Modern feminist artists have
argued that building on preexisting art structures is still rooted in colonialist
and white hetero norms. Modern education is more accessible and accommodating
to female artists, with 70% of female art students, but exhibitions and sales
are male-dominated. In 1984, The Museum of Modern Art had an exhibition of over
200 artists, of whom only 17 were women and even fewer artists of color (Tate,
2018, 01:05). With most art school students being female, why is there a huge
disparity between representation and opportunity between the sexes? When the
art establishments are confronted, it is often met with the reply that the
women were just not good enough and that women’s art doesn’t sell, and the art
collector responds that they would buy women’s art if it were available, which
creates a catch-22. Trying to reinvent and create a place for women artists in the
preexisting white hetero-male art model has issues, and modern feminists are
reevaluating and challenging the structures through forms of artivism, social media,
and education.
Feminist artists often
use new media to deconstruct art structures and confront the male gaze with
mediums such as photography. The artist Cindy Sherman used this medium in a series of photographs called the " Untitled Filmstills," in which she posed in different situations reminiscent of old Hollywood movies. The photographs were heavy with tension and dread, with
Sherman objectifying the spectator, turning the male gaze upside down. She has
no “essence” but is a construct of the camera that alludes to mystery and
suspense, which controls the image and confronts the viewer with the social
expectations of gender. Groups like the Guerrilla Girls have adopted various
strategies to confront the lack of equality and representation for women in the
arts. They use humor, numbers, and facts to bring attention to these issues and
challenge the male-dominated Western canon. Their efforts are not just about
raising awareness but also about deconstructing the contemporary art model that
is centered on white male heterosexual normative. Modern feminist artists focus
on this deconstruction, which examines gender identity and its social role in art.
By dismantling the “historical “image of women and its associated gender roles,
they demonstrate that gender is a performative cultural act that is learned and
performed (Butler, 1988, p.522). This shift in perspective on the performative
roles of gender reveals the fluidity of gender and the liberation from
constructed cultural gender norms. To build a new system, it is necessary to
change how artists are viewed, recognizing that they range across a spectrum of
gender identities. This allows for creating an environment
where the artist is truly based on their artwork and not their constructed
gender performances.
