What does it mean to be spiritual?
What are the stereotypes associated with being a spiritual artist?
Who has replaced the church as the patron of great artists?
Are community art projects exploitative?
How are community art projects maintained?
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Criteria for art criticism.
Criteria for art criticism.
Is the work visually compelling?
What are the reactions of the viewers present?
Did the curator consider the relationship between the works adjacent to one another?
Was there a connection or an emotional response to the work?
Did the work break new ground or present it's content in a manner which challenged the viewer and held their attention?
Questions for identity and the body
What is the current state of feminism?
Who are the great female artists of our time?
How are feminism and the body related to identity?
How does globalism relate to identity?
Why are we able to relate to body art more readily than abstract or conceptual art?
Who are the great female artists of our time?
How are feminism and the body related to identity?
How does globalism relate to identity?
Why are we able to relate to body art more readily than abstract or conceptual art?
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Transhumanism and Post Humanism questions
Can the mind cope without the body?
Augmentation is widely accepted examples being plastic surgery, prosthetics and steroids.
Would a being in a computer program become mentally ill without the ability to interact physically or sexually with another being or would simulation fix these issues?
Would it be murder to delete a program being, would hacking of a computer being be assault or rape?
Augmentation is widely accepted examples being plastic surgery, prosthetics and steroids.
Would a being in a computer program become mentally ill without the ability to interact physically or sexually with another being or would simulation fix these issues?
Would it be murder to delete a program being, would hacking of a computer being be assault or rape?
Monday, April 5, 2010
Review 2
Armory Show Review 2010
Keith Hoyt
While waiting in the non VIP line for the doors to open at the 2010 Armory show one couldn’t help but feel like a peasant peering over the walls of his masters estate. Viewing the works on display was like window-shopping on Fifth Avenue gazing on items too far out of your price range perhaps trying them on for a moment. The works were priced out of our league but try them on we did anyway.
I viewed the work with about as much care and interest as one would take interest in looking at the items arranged in a booth at a craft fair except when something did truly catch my eye. Jonathan Schipper’s “To Dust” two concrete cast statues grinding against each other, which if the piece were actually allowed to be activated would have ground itself to dust was one of those pieces.
Continuing on a mechanical theme was Conrad Shawcross's “Pre Retro-scope” a plywood constructed dingy with a three foot spoked wheel with a timing belt and motor which swung a projector through its circumference. The projected image was of the dingy motoring down a river. The image was not as compelling as the aesthetics of the mechanics and construction.
Daniel Joseph Martinez, “It's just a little headache, it's just a little bruise redemption of the flesh. The politics of the future as urgent as the blue sky.” 2008 and Richard Jackson's “Bad Dog” were two examples of mechanically aggressive works which spewed paint or dyed corn syrup on the galleries or collectors walls. I felt Daniel Joeseph Martinez use of prosthetic, taxidermy, metal, plastic, corn syrup, food coloring, and a pneumatic mechanical apparatus was more aggressive, elaborate and visually compelling than “Bad Dog”
Progressing on to work which was entirely digital was John Gerrard's “Lufkin Pump” a realtime 3d animation on an encased plasma screen which made it appear more like a photorealistic painting in motion. At first glance it is difficult to tell if the image is of an oil pump working in a real location but after closer inspection certain details betray the work and reveal it as a simulation. This image is again tied to mechanics. Tatsuo Myajima “LED number grid” is another piece using digital technology but in a organized but random pattern to create an evolving image with numbers reflecting digits within the digital.
Stepping away from the digital and back into the constructed is David Brooks, “Naturae Vulgaris” a concrete sidewalk brought indoors which penetrates through walls and openings directing the viewer along paths and over bridges between spaces interior and exterior. The rigging brings a tension and precariousness to the work.
If you are more comfortable being engaged by figurative work be on your guard when approaching Tony Matelli’s “Sleepwalker,” a life-size, sensuously realistic, painted bronze sculpture of a voluptuous, wild-haired woman somnambulating in her underpants. Reminiscent of Duane Hanson’s super-realist sculpture, it is the embodiment of erotic arousal untamed by ego-consciousness, a state dreamed of constantly in popular magazines and pornography.
One spectacular piece of realist painting is a full-length portrait of a nude woman by Deborah Poynton, at Stevenson. On a canvas nearly 10 feet tall and in a style reminiscent of Stanley Spencer and Lucian Freud, Ms. Poynton has painted her subject with loving attention to every stretch mark and sagging piece of flesh. The woman has a worried expression on her beautiful face, as if she were agonizing over modern culture’s loss of soul.
While at the show be sure not to miss ( you probably won't be able to) Adam McEwen’s project, I Am Curious Yellow, radiating from Nicole Klagsbrun’s booth due to the artist’s intense , but contemplative, use of the color yellow. McEwen chose to work with yellow because of the color’s ability to be vile and unpleasant, but also soothing and cheerful. His solo installation at Armory consisted of carefully selected objects placed alongside loaded imagery; jerry cans, a large yellow and white swastika, and several over-sized obituaries beneath glass, written for world champion runner Caster Semenya, were on display. Everything, even the carpet in the booth, was saturated in lemon yellow, with some white areas, and beaming in the bright lights of the fair.
This was one of the most overwhelming situations within the Armory show which brought together a abundance of both over and underwhelming work.
This years show tried something new it focused on one city Berlin a supposed hotbed of culture and compelling contemporary work. The work on display from Berlin blurred with the work from everywhere else illustrating that a western American and Eurocentric art market is alive and well and that the only influence globalism has on the art world is it's ability to generate capital for American and European shareholders to spend on art. The Armory lives up to its expectations a corral of galleries having a fire sale.
Keith Hoyt
While waiting in the non VIP line for the doors to open at the 2010 Armory show one couldn’t help but feel like a peasant peering over the walls of his masters estate. Viewing the works on display was like window-shopping on Fifth Avenue gazing on items too far out of your price range perhaps trying them on for a moment. The works were priced out of our league but try them on we did anyway.
I viewed the work with about as much care and interest as one would take interest in looking at the items arranged in a booth at a craft fair except when something did truly catch my eye. Jonathan Schipper’s “To Dust” two concrete cast statues grinding against each other, which if the piece were actually allowed to be activated would have ground itself to dust was one of those pieces.
Continuing on a mechanical theme was Conrad Shawcross's “Pre Retro-scope” a plywood constructed dingy with a three foot spoked wheel with a timing belt and motor which swung a projector through its circumference. The projected image was of the dingy motoring down a river. The image was not as compelling as the aesthetics of the mechanics and construction.
Daniel Joseph Martinez, “It's just a little headache, it's just a little bruise redemption of the flesh. The politics of the future as urgent as the blue sky.” 2008 and Richard Jackson's “Bad Dog” were two examples of mechanically aggressive works which spewed paint or dyed corn syrup on the galleries or collectors walls. I felt Daniel Joeseph Martinez use of prosthetic, taxidermy, metal, plastic, corn syrup, food coloring, and a pneumatic mechanical apparatus was more aggressive, elaborate and visually compelling than “Bad Dog”
Progressing on to work which was entirely digital was John Gerrard's “Lufkin Pump” a realtime 3d animation on an encased plasma screen which made it appear more like a photorealistic painting in motion. At first glance it is difficult to tell if the image is of an oil pump working in a real location but after closer inspection certain details betray the work and reveal it as a simulation. This image is again tied to mechanics. Tatsuo Myajima “LED number grid” is another piece using digital technology but in a organized but random pattern to create an evolving image with numbers reflecting digits within the digital.
Stepping away from the digital and back into the constructed is David Brooks, “Naturae Vulgaris” a concrete sidewalk brought indoors which penetrates through walls and openings directing the viewer along paths and over bridges between spaces interior and exterior. The rigging brings a tension and precariousness to the work.
If you are more comfortable being engaged by figurative work be on your guard when approaching Tony Matelli’s “Sleepwalker,” a life-size, sensuously realistic, painted bronze sculpture of a voluptuous, wild-haired woman somnambulating in her underpants. Reminiscent of Duane Hanson’s super-realist sculpture, it is the embodiment of erotic arousal untamed by ego-consciousness, a state dreamed of constantly in popular magazines and pornography.
One spectacular piece of realist painting is a full-length portrait of a nude woman by Deborah Poynton, at Stevenson. On a canvas nearly 10 feet tall and in a style reminiscent of Stanley Spencer and Lucian Freud, Ms. Poynton has painted her subject with loving attention to every stretch mark and sagging piece of flesh. The woman has a worried expression on her beautiful face, as if she were agonizing over modern culture’s loss of soul.
While at the show be sure not to miss ( you probably won't be able to) Adam McEwen’s project, I Am Curious Yellow, radiating from Nicole Klagsbrun’s booth due to the artist’s intense , but contemplative, use of the color yellow. McEwen chose to work with yellow because of the color’s ability to be vile and unpleasant, but also soothing and cheerful. His solo installation at Armory consisted of carefully selected objects placed alongside loaded imagery; jerry cans, a large yellow and white swastika, and several over-sized obituaries beneath glass, written for world champion runner Caster Semenya, were on display. Everything, even the carpet in the booth, was saturated in lemon yellow, with some white areas, and beaming in the bright lights of the fair.
This was one of the most overwhelming situations within the Armory show which brought together a abundance of both over and underwhelming work.
This years show tried something new it focused on one city Berlin a supposed hotbed of culture and compelling contemporary work. The work on display from Berlin blurred with the work from everywhere else illustrating that a western American and Eurocentric art market is alive and well and that the only influence globalism has on the art world is it's ability to generate capital for American and European shareholders to spend on art. The Armory lives up to its expectations a corral of galleries having a fire sale.
Review 1
Whitney Biennial 2010 review
Keith Hoyt
This years Whitney Biennial is a modest reflection of the current state of our economy. The show is contained in the Whitney's flagship space on Madison Avenue forgoing the use of auxiliary spaces at the Park Avenue Armory as it did during the 2008 Biennial. Frugality is the theme of the day. Galleries are sparsely hung and organized giving the space an feeling of loss and forgotten memory.
Not only is memory forgotten so is respect for the ability to fabricate, illustrate or render with precision, skill or passion. Much of the work is constructed if you could call it that without a shred of pride or dignity. Mediocrity is the content and apathy the latest skill set. When artists no longer have to answer to anyone and critics are waiting for an artist to cleverly dodge questions about process or content and applaud them for their creative litigations we the viewers have been cheated. Francesco Bonami and Gary Carrion-Murayar are prankster curators poking fun at a public who wishes to be educated and experience culture outside of reality television and blockbuster cinema only to be granted entry to an asylum of mediocrity. All hope is not lost there are as always exceptions to the rule.
Nina Berman's series “Marine Wedding” 2006 capture the realities of loss in a format which is both shocking and sullen. Ty Ziegel, a twenty four year old marine at the time fell victim to a road side bomb leaving him terribly disfigured. The young marine underwent fifty operations including a procedure to replace his ears, nose and skull with a plastic dome to reconstruct his face which was completely disfigure by fire. Nina Berman photographed Ty candidly with out any direction or setup. Picture of Ty were taken at home and at a photo studio in preparation for his marriage to his high school sweetheart, they separated a few months later. More photographs in the series were taken later in 2008. One of the images is of Ty holding a AR-15 rifle perhaps indicating his acceptance of his loss and a need to hold onto something recognizable and familiar. An image of Ty receiving an injection in his forehead from a nurse or relative in his kitchen is one that goes beyond photojournalism. Despite the rigors of his surgeries and the pain of physical and emotional loss Ty seems to smile in most of his photographs revealing an optimism which is difficult to understand.
One of the most carefully observed pieces was Kelly Tribe's “H.M.” . Viewers sat and watched the eighteen plus minute dual analog projection in its entirety a phenomenon at a time when most work is viewed for less than thirty seconds. The subject of this documentary styled film is H.M. A victim of an bicycle accident resulting in severe head trauma and epilepsy. The narrator follows H.M.'s life as his seizures get progressively worse leading to experimental brain surgery. The outcome of the procedure is mixed the seizures are under control but H.M. Is left with the inability to remember anything after the surgery for more than twenty to thirty seconds. This is the amount of time that spaces the two identical loops of film apart when they are projected side by side. This gap is challenging us to remember the events displayed on screen. Asking us if our empathy for the H.M. is temporary or genuine.
Kate Gilmore's exemplifies frugality with her video documented performance “Standing Here”.
The artist costumed in carefully feminine garments and shoes appears to be attempting to escape a carefully constructed column. When first looking at this work the viewer immediately understands the objective of the piece and doesn't need to stay for the duration of the video to witness the result.
I stuck around to watch the process of the escape from the carefully constructed prison. By careful construction I mean the column was designed and built with escape in mind. Gilmore cautiously places her blows to the drywall making sure not to connect her punches with the framing which would have resulted with a fractured hand or toe. The framing was laid out with horizontally placed studs which formed a ladder up the interiors of the walls. The performance was supposed to be a struggle and her clothing was supposed to be an imposition on her escape. This was too well scripted to be a struggle where the only accomplishment was to turn off the camera recording the performance.
Nina Berman and Kelly Tribe were the only artists worthy of being involved in the biennial.
It is my understanding that the Whitney Biennials are to be a survey of the best work the United States has to offer. The other works selected by Francesco Bonami and Gary Carrion-Murayar were a display of mediocrity and apathy. Perhaps the work was selected as a reflection of the economic, social, cultural and moral decay of America. Maybe Francesco Bonami and Gary Carrion-Murayar are foreshadowing an age of apathy and discontent where responsibility is dissolved and creativity is measured by strength of our excuses.
Keith Hoyt
This years Whitney Biennial is a modest reflection of the current state of our economy. The show is contained in the Whitney's flagship space on Madison Avenue forgoing the use of auxiliary spaces at the Park Avenue Armory as it did during the 2008 Biennial. Frugality is the theme of the day. Galleries are sparsely hung and organized giving the space an feeling of loss and forgotten memory.
Not only is memory forgotten so is respect for the ability to fabricate, illustrate or render with precision, skill or passion. Much of the work is constructed if you could call it that without a shred of pride or dignity. Mediocrity is the content and apathy the latest skill set. When artists no longer have to answer to anyone and critics are waiting for an artist to cleverly dodge questions about process or content and applaud them for their creative litigations we the viewers have been cheated. Francesco Bonami and Gary Carrion-Murayar are prankster curators poking fun at a public who wishes to be educated and experience culture outside of reality television and blockbuster cinema only to be granted entry to an asylum of mediocrity. All hope is not lost there are as always exceptions to the rule.
Nina Berman's series “Marine Wedding” 2006 capture the realities of loss in a format which is both shocking and sullen. Ty Ziegel, a twenty four year old marine at the time fell victim to a road side bomb leaving him terribly disfigured. The young marine underwent fifty operations including a procedure to replace his ears, nose and skull with a plastic dome to reconstruct his face which was completely disfigure by fire. Nina Berman photographed Ty candidly with out any direction or setup. Picture of Ty were taken at home and at a photo studio in preparation for his marriage to his high school sweetheart, they separated a few months later. More photographs in the series were taken later in 2008. One of the images is of Ty holding a AR-15 rifle perhaps indicating his acceptance of his loss and a need to hold onto something recognizable and familiar. An image of Ty receiving an injection in his forehead from a nurse or relative in his kitchen is one that goes beyond photojournalism. Despite the rigors of his surgeries and the pain of physical and emotional loss Ty seems to smile in most of his photographs revealing an optimism which is difficult to understand.
One of the most carefully observed pieces was Kelly Tribe's “H.M.” . Viewers sat and watched the eighteen plus minute dual analog projection in its entirety a phenomenon at a time when most work is viewed for less than thirty seconds. The subject of this documentary styled film is H.M. A victim of an bicycle accident resulting in severe head trauma and epilepsy. The narrator follows H.M.'s life as his seizures get progressively worse leading to experimental brain surgery. The outcome of the procedure is mixed the seizures are under control but H.M. Is left with the inability to remember anything after the surgery for more than twenty to thirty seconds. This is the amount of time that spaces the two identical loops of film apart when they are projected side by side. This gap is challenging us to remember the events displayed on screen. Asking us if our empathy for the H.M. is temporary or genuine.
Kate Gilmore's exemplifies frugality with her video documented performance “Standing Here”.
The artist costumed in carefully feminine garments and shoes appears to be attempting to escape a carefully constructed column. When first looking at this work the viewer immediately understands the objective of the piece and doesn't need to stay for the duration of the video to witness the result.
I stuck around to watch the process of the escape from the carefully constructed prison. By careful construction I mean the column was designed and built with escape in mind. Gilmore cautiously places her blows to the drywall making sure not to connect her punches with the framing which would have resulted with a fractured hand or toe. The framing was laid out with horizontally placed studs which formed a ladder up the interiors of the walls. The performance was supposed to be a struggle and her clothing was supposed to be an imposition on her escape. This was too well scripted to be a struggle where the only accomplishment was to turn off the camera recording the performance.
Nina Berman and Kelly Tribe were the only artists worthy of being involved in the biennial.
It is my understanding that the Whitney Biennials are to be a survey of the best work the United States has to offer. The other works selected by Francesco Bonami and Gary Carrion-Murayar were a display of mediocrity and apathy. Perhaps the work was selected as a reflection of the economic, social, cultural and moral decay of America. Maybe Francesco Bonami and Gary Carrion-Murayar are foreshadowing an age of apathy and discontent where responsibility is dissolved and creativity is measured by strength of our excuses.
Reboot Manifesto
Reboot Art Manifesto
Art cannot be made by merely combining and mashing previous creations together.
How can we be creative by standing on the shoulders of giants and resampling their work.
We must take up arms against our digital oppressors and make them work for us the way we intended them to. We should no longer sit down and “explore the world” vicariously through the ethernet haze that has clouded our vision of the real. How can we come up with new ideas when we recycle and reuse the ideas that have come before us. We must pry ourselves away from the incestuous inbred gene pool of ones and zeros and rejoin humanity.
It is time to start an actual dialog where our intentions can be read through the sound of our voices, through the cadence and rhythm of of our speech, through the intensity of our stare or feel the impotence of a dismissive glance.
It is time to work with our hands again to feel true exhaustion when we work, to know the pain of over exertion and revel in our labors. It is time to recycle the old by demolishing it. Lets raise monuments to dust to be combined with the resin of smelted polyester into a poly-neolithic age of reconstruction.
Let the rapid prototyping machines rebuild themselves till they are bored with themselves and with making amoeba like creations. Let the computers run wild and deceive the financial capital mongers and lay waste to financial globalism and bring us back to zero. When we have nothing we will be free to do anything.
When we are back to zero we can re-boot. We can wipe the slate clean. We can create a new mythology and a new era of enlightenment. We can take the technology of old and use it look and play in this new world with the excitement and wonder of children without the fear of failure or disapproval. When we create we can be free to fail for we have no history to live up to. We will now be able to create work in the fourth dimension because we will have turned back the clocks till their springs have broken so that time will not matter we will no longer have to yield to the deadlines of our former masters we will answer to them no more.
Art cannot be made by merely combining and mashing previous creations together.
How can we be creative by standing on the shoulders of giants and resampling their work.
We must take up arms against our digital oppressors and make them work for us the way we intended them to. We should no longer sit down and “explore the world” vicariously through the ethernet haze that has clouded our vision of the real. How can we come up with new ideas when we recycle and reuse the ideas that have come before us. We must pry ourselves away from the incestuous inbred gene pool of ones and zeros and rejoin humanity.
It is time to start an actual dialog where our intentions can be read through the sound of our voices, through the cadence and rhythm of of our speech, through the intensity of our stare or feel the impotence of a dismissive glance.
It is time to work with our hands again to feel true exhaustion when we work, to know the pain of over exertion and revel in our labors. It is time to recycle the old by demolishing it. Lets raise monuments to dust to be combined with the resin of smelted polyester into a poly-neolithic age of reconstruction.
Let the rapid prototyping machines rebuild themselves till they are bored with themselves and with making amoeba like creations. Let the computers run wild and deceive the financial capital mongers and lay waste to financial globalism and bring us back to zero. When we have nothing we will be free to do anything.
When we are back to zero we can re-boot. We can wipe the slate clean. We can create a new mythology and a new era of enlightenment. We can take the technology of old and use it look and play in this new world with the excitement and wonder of children without the fear of failure or disapproval. When we create we can be free to fail for we have no history to live up to. We will now be able to create work in the fourth dimension because we will have turned back the clocks till their springs have broken so that time will not matter we will no longer have to yield to the deadlines of our former masters we will answer to them no more.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Radicant questions
Radiacant Questions
“ The ideologues of state communism had read Marx through the lens of Hegel-that is, following a line of reasoning that preexisted Marx's work but was incompatible with its true nature, a line of reasoning, according to Althusser, that didn't work- Something like a diesel car that one insisted on filling with super.” pg 144
In order to understand and reason with this statement do we need to read Hegel and Marx?
“ The use of existing forms is not a particularly novel practice. Indeed, haven't all great artists copied, interpreted, and recycled masters of the past?” pg 145
Are artists merely illustrators?
“ On numerous occasions-notably on the subject of his performance The Silence of Marcel Duchamp is Overestimated (1964) the German artist makes fun of the bourgeois side of Duchamp, which according to Beuys was made manifest by the fact that Duchamp dared to put an individual signature on a urinal (Fountain, 1917), that is, on an object collectively produced by real workers in real kaolin mines. Beuys implies that the signature expropriates the labor of these workers, thus reproducing the mechanism of capitalism, the social division between wage earners and owners of the means of production. Duchamp as small time boss?”
What of the designer of the urinal?
Do we obediently appreciate a cultural imperative? Pg 149
pg 150 “The idea of citing without quotation marks, without stating the source, and with the aim of deliberately transforming it, in short, the idea that one would radically distort it, this was too much for him.”
Helene Hegemann
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/world/europe/12germany.html
“ The ideologues of state communism had read Marx through the lens of Hegel-that is, following a line of reasoning that preexisted Marx's work but was incompatible with its true nature, a line of reasoning, according to Althusser, that didn't work- Something like a diesel car that one insisted on filling with super.” pg 144
In order to understand and reason with this statement do we need to read Hegel and Marx?
“ The use of existing forms is not a particularly novel practice. Indeed, haven't all great artists copied, interpreted, and recycled masters of the past?” pg 145
Are artists merely illustrators?
“ On numerous occasions-notably on the subject of his performance The Silence of Marcel Duchamp is Overestimated (1964) the German artist makes fun of the bourgeois side of Duchamp, which according to Beuys was made manifest by the fact that Duchamp dared to put an individual signature on a urinal (Fountain, 1917), that is, on an object collectively produced by real workers in real kaolin mines. Beuys implies that the signature expropriates the labor of these workers, thus reproducing the mechanism of capitalism, the social division between wage earners and owners of the means of production. Duchamp as small time boss?”
What of the designer of the urinal?
Do we obediently appreciate a cultural imperative? Pg 149
pg 150 “The idea of citing without quotation marks, without stating the source, and with the aim of deliberately transforming it, in short, the idea that one would radically distort it, this was too much for him.”
Helene Hegemann
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/world/europe/12germany.html
Monday, March 1, 2010
Rikrit Tiravanija, Art Info Interveiw By David Spalding
Courtesy Tang Contemporary, Beijing
Rirkrit Tiravanija's new installation at Tang Contemporary in Beijing features live birds, a modest brick factory, and warm tofu soup to hearten weary visitors.
By David Spalding
Published: January 13, 2010
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Rirkrit Tiravanija
Related Links Rirkrit Tiravanija Talk Show In New York: Opening this Week Guggenheim Announces Hugo Boss Finalists Rirkrit Tiravanija Anton Vidokle Celebration or Send-Up? The Art of Eating
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BEIJING—“Ne Travaillez Jamais” ("Don't Ever Work) is the title of Rirkrit Tiravanija’s first solo exhibition in China, on view Jan. 9 to March 28 at Tang Contemporary in Beijing. The title is a graffiti slogan borrowed from the Situationist International, those modish French radicals who hoped, during the 1960s, to pull their comrades from Capital’s clutches and Spectacle’s spell. Like the title, the works in the show are meant as a provocation, a monkey wrench in the unstoppable machine driving China’s breakneck economic growth. But Tiravanija is not calling for a general strike. Instead, he’s asking us to reconsider the persistent state of hyper-productivity that has come to characterize China’s present — and to reflect on both the opportunities and casualties that have resulted. Though Tiravanija is flirting with the pause button, the exhibition at Tang Contemporary is comprised of five new works — interactive pieces and large-scale sculptural installations that are simultaneously sobering and comforting. A full-scale model of a Mercedes sedan (a replica of the car belonging to the gallery’s owner) is covered in powdered milk — a ghostly, if fragrant reference to China’s 2008 tainted milk scandal. Nearby, brave visitors with enduring appetites can warm themselves with a bowl of tofu soup. In the main exhibition hall, factory equipment has been installed for the production of enough bricks (14,068, to be exact) to create a single-family home. These can be purchased for a modest price — your own little piece of the China miracle. Across the way, two towering bamboo models of high rises in Beijing and Shanghai house hundreds of chattering birds. ARTINFO caught up with the hard-working Tiravanija at the gallery a few hours before the opening to discuss the show.
Let’s start with the title of the show, “Ne Travaillez Jamais” ("Don't Ever Work"), which comes from Guy Debord and the Situationist International. This phrase has been winding its way through your practice since 2001, starting with the bricked-up doorway Untitled 2001 (No Fire No Ashes). Can you talk about your attraction to the Situationists and this particular turn of phrase?
I guess I’ve always been quite interested in the Situationists’ ideas about urbanism and spectacle and how we move through life. “Ne Travaillez Jamais” is a piece of graffiti that they claimed. When I started to use it, I was rethinking the whole idea of my work and who I am. You know, one gets wrapped up in reacting to one’s own reputation, which can be a kind of trap.
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You mean the expectations that come with being known for a making a certain type of work?
Yes. You can get trapped into being that person. I am always rethinking how art is perceived and received, questioning our relationship to art. That’s always been a constant. At a certain point, you’ve been doing all this work and you have to ask: What is it? I’m ephemeral as much as I can be, so I started to think about the idea of not working. It’s really about a change of attitude. It’s not so much about stopping, but about re-thinking the meaning of one’s production.
What relevance do you think this phrase — “Ne Travaillez Jamais” — has in China today?
I think that this way of questioning starts to flow into a lot of things within art itself, but also within culture and society. I was thinking: If Mao were here, China would never be like this. But who knows? You sit down and talk to people and realize that it was just 10 or 15 years ago that everyone was still riding bikes. And now people are driving Mercedes and Audis. Then I began to think that it’s because China got to host the Olympics in 2008, and they sort of snapped into…
Full-throttle capitalism?
Yeah. I mean the Chinese I know from all my other experiences are capitalists. In the end, it’s not even about making money.
The other thing that I was thinking is that now pretty much everything is made here in China. There’s a kind of hyper-production happening. And that rolls into art and culture, too. I knew a lot of the older generation of Chinese artists who were in Europe, and they always made big things. Of course, it’s the scale of the culture, and they use their sense of history and all their myths. That was one thing. But presently, it’s a whole other kind of big. And then I realized that they are making things at this scale because they can. So one of the questions I wanted to raise with the show was to invite visitors to think about what China has become.
Print Email
Photo Gallery
Rirkrit Tiravanija
Related Links Rirkrit Tiravanija Talk Show In New York: Opening this Week Guggenheim Announces Hugo Boss Finalists Rirkrit Tiravanija Anton Vidokle Celebration or Send-Up? The Art of Eating
Your Views Send a letter to the Editor
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Had you been to China before this trip?
I’ve been to the south more, to Guangzhou and Shanghai. When I came to Beijing last August, I was a little surprised.
By the development?
Yes. Beijing is not what I thought it would be. Beijing was different, and all those things made an impression on how I thought about what could be done for the exhibition. The bricks are really the core of the exhibition. And I like the irony of continuously stamping out bricks when the show is called “Ne Travaillez Jamais.”
“Stop Working” — and yet the machine keeps running!
Yeah. Because it’s a kind of habit, but at the same moment you have to rethink it. You’re making a choice at some point. I hope people can relate to this scenario. Of course, having walked around here in August with masses of people going through 798 [Art District], from people who are really looking at art to people who are just standing next to it getting photographed, I think it’s such an interesting relationship between the viewer and the artwork. It’s a kind of consumption, right? It’s all about taking it in, in one way or another. And I've always dealt with that in my work, in many different ways. So I think the fact that people will come in and will look at this brick and take it home also plays on these ideas of consumption.
One of my early impressions of Beijing was driving around this neighborhood and seeing piles and piles of bricks along the side of the road, which were going to be used to restore or renovate places. And I remember thinking, “Wow, there are the bricks, and then there is the CCTV building.” As if the past and the future are occurring simultaneously.
Yes. I think that’s the cycle here. The newspaper today was saying we have to watch out for the gap between the rich and the poor in China. These gaps are in every society, but in Beijing it’s kind of amplified. I also think that art is dragged into this problem. You know, it’s great to have a lot of art, but on the other hand, what does that mean? What are we (the artists) doing in relation to these concerns? Are we just selling another factory painting, or are we actually asking some questions in the process?
I recall the first time I saw the big black Mercedes parked outside Tang Gallery — perhaps before the space had opened — it left an impression. It’s such a potent symbol of wealth and authority. What did Zheng Lin say when you told him you would reproduce his car for the show? Did he see any irony in it?
When I told [Tang Gallery curator] Josef [Ng] about the project, he knew immediately what I meant. And of course we asked the boss, and he was fine with it. Either he understands it, or maybe he will find out later.
The car is made of plaster covered in powdered milk. Again, I was thinking that with all the hyper-production, there are disasters occurring, inserted into the production process. A gas tank blows up somewhere. And then there were tainted milk products, and all those toys [with lead in them]. And so within all this hyper-production there are many safety issues — maybe as a result of cost-cutting. And that’s why we can build a brick factory in the middle of a public space [the gallery] and nobody blinks. So I was thinking about how people are getting extremely wealthy, but their success is built on the tragedies of others. I had this image of the car in my mind. Those people who are making important decisions are all driving this kind of car. That’s happening everywhere, including Thailand. For me, the work is more sculptural, because I felt that this is something that people can relate to. They will see the car, smell the powdered milk, and something will happen. Of course we will be serving the tofu in the same room [as the car]. The works are all playing off each other.
Why did you choose this particular dish [tofu nao, a warm tofu soup served for breakfast]?
You know, we have that every morning in Chang Mei, so it’s something that we’re used to. I thought of soup, because I knew it would be winter and it would be cold. I was thinking about what could warm you up. In a way, I just looked around and used things that were available here. I didn’t bring something in. Normally, I would have spiced up the tofu, but in this case, it’s enough to just be local. I feel that it’s very specific — I would not do this work somewhere else, not even in Thailand. For me it’s a very context-specific work.
Let’s talk about the two large bamboo towers filled with birds. Beyond the obvious “office worker as caged bird” association, what else is going on there?
This work operates in relation to these ideas about construction, deconstruction and building — but also this notion of hyper-production. One of these towers is going to be the tallest building in Shanghai or China [when it is completed]. When I visit new places, I like to see the markets. They took me to the antique market in Beijing, where I saw some cages, and it just sort of clicked. Then we went to the animal market. I was thinking about the relationship that people have to birds here. People have their little songbirds and they go and meet up with each other in the park. As you say, it’s a sort of compression of time.
The sound of the birds singing is beautiful, actually.
It starts to become like the noise you get when you’re in an office setting.
I could also read it as being very optimistic. As if the song still goes on, despite circumstances.
Yeah. I don’t think it’s all about oppression. I think it’s about choices. Certainly, you’re right about the optimism — and I think that’s what the energy of this place is. People are very resilient. And that’s very much what the towers represent. It’s about being able to exist in a very small space with a lot of people.
Though you’ve lived in many places, do you think that coming from Thailand has shaped how you perceive and respond to China?
I think so. I’m thinking about the relationship of China to Thailand — what we [in Thailand] are emulating, where we want to go [as a nation]. Or even what’s happening politically right now in Thailand, which is shifting; we could become a republic with a politburo. I am a socialist, so I am not worried about socialism. I am worried about dictators who are putting everyone into a socialist state for their own benefit. We [in Thailand] look to China, Japan, and Korea [as models]; we look less and less to the West. If we were selflessly thinking about the greatest good of everyone, we would look at the mistakes in China and try to avoid them. We would look at China and say, “It’s great to produce all these things, but at what cost?”
Rirkrit Tiravanija's new installation at Tang Contemporary in Beijing features live birds, a modest brick factory, and warm tofu soup to hearten weary visitors.
By David Spalding
Published: January 13, 2010
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Rirkrit Tiravanija
Related Links Rirkrit Tiravanija Talk Show In New York: Opening this Week Guggenheim Announces Hugo Boss Finalists Rirkrit Tiravanija Anton Vidokle Celebration or Send-Up? The Art of Eating
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BEIJING—“Ne Travaillez Jamais” ("Don't Ever Work) is the title of Rirkrit Tiravanija’s first solo exhibition in China, on view Jan. 9 to March 28 at Tang Contemporary in Beijing. The title is a graffiti slogan borrowed from the Situationist International, those modish French radicals who hoped, during the 1960s, to pull their comrades from Capital’s clutches and Spectacle’s spell. Like the title, the works in the show are meant as a provocation, a monkey wrench in the unstoppable machine driving China’s breakneck economic growth. But Tiravanija is not calling for a general strike. Instead, he’s asking us to reconsider the persistent state of hyper-productivity that has come to characterize China’s present — and to reflect on both the opportunities and casualties that have resulted. Though Tiravanija is flirting with the pause button, the exhibition at Tang Contemporary is comprised of five new works — interactive pieces and large-scale sculptural installations that are simultaneously sobering and comforting. A full-scale model of a Mercedes sedan (a replica of the car belonging to the gallery’s owner) is covered in powdered milk — a ghostly, if fragrant reference to China’s 2008 tainted milk scandal. Nearby, brave visitors with enduring appetites can warm themselves with a bowl of tofu soup. In the main exhibition hall, factory equipment has been installed for the production of enough bricks (14,068, to be exact) to create a single-family home. These can be purchased for a modest price — your own little piece of the China miracle. Across the way, two towering bamboo models of high rises in Beijing and Shanghai house hundreds of chattering birds. ARTINFO caught up with the hard-working Tiravanija at the gallery a few hours before the opening to discuss the show.
Let’s start with the title of the show, “Ne Travaillez Jamais” ("Don't Ever Work"), which comes from Guy Debord and the Situationist International. This phrase has been winding its way through your practice since 2001, starting with the bricked-up doorway Untitled 2001 (No Fire No Ashes). Can you talk about your attraction to the Situationists and this particular turn of phrase?
I guess I’ve always been quite interested in the Situationists’ ideas about urbanism and spectacle and how we move through life. “Ne Travaillez Jamais” is a piece of graffiti that they claimed. When I started to use it, I was rethinking the whole idea of my work and who I am. You know, one gets wrapped up in reacting to one’s own reputation, which can be a kind of trap.
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You mean the expectations that come with being known for a making a certain type of work?
Yes. You can get trapped into being that person. I am always rethinking how art is perceived and received, questioning our relationship to art. That’s always been a constant. At a certain point, you’ve been doing all this work and you have to ask: What is it? I’m ephemeral as much as I can be, so I started to think about the idea of not working. It’s really about a change of attitude. It’s not so much about stopping, but about re-thinking the meaning of one’s production.
What relevance do you think this phrase — “Ne Travaillez Jamais” — has in China today?
I think that this way of questioning starts to flow into a lot of things within art itself, but also within culture and society. I was thinking: If Mao were here, China would never be like this. But who knows? You sit down and talk to people and realize that it was just 10 or 15 years ago that everyone was still riding bikes. And now people are driving Mercedes and Audis. Then I began to think that it’s because China got to host the Olympics in 2008, and they sort of snapped into…
Full-throttle capitalism?
Yeah. I mean the Chinese I know from all my other experiences are capitalists. In the end, it’s not even about making money.
The other thing that I was thinking is that now pretty much everything is made here in China. There’s a kind of hyper-production happening. And that rolls into art and culture, too. I knew a lot of the older generation of Chinese artists who were in Europe, and they always made big things. Of course, it’s the scale of the culture, and they use their sense of history and all their myths. That was one thing. But presently, it’s a whole other kind of big. And then I realized that they are making things at this scale because they can. So one of the questions I wanted to raise with the show was to invite visitors to think about what China has become.
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Rirkrit Tiravanija
Related Links Rirkrit Tiravanija Talk Show In New York: Opening this Week Guggenheim Announces Hugo Boss Finalists Rirkrit Tiravanija Anton Vidokle Celebration or Send-Up? The Art of Eating
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Had you been to China before this trip?
I’ve been to the south more, to Guangzhou and Shanghai. When I came to Beijing last August, I was a little surprised.
By the development?
Yes. Beijing is not what I thought it would be. Beijing was different, and all those things made an impression on how I thought about what could be done for the exhibition. The bricks are really the core of the exhibition. And I like the irony of continuously stamping out bricks when the show is called “Ne Travaillez Jamais.”
“Stop Working” — and yet the machine keeps running!
Yeah. Because it’s a kind of habit, but at the same moment you have to rethink it. You’re making a choice at some point. I hope people can relate to this scenario. Of course, having walked around here in August with masses of people going through 798 [Art District], from people who are really looking at art to people who are just standing next to it getting photographed, I think it’s such an interesting relationship between the viewer and the artwork. It’s a kind of consumption, right? It’s all about taking it in, in one way or another. And I've always dealt with that in my work, in many different ways. So I think the fact that people will come in and will look at this brick and take it home also plays on these ideas of consumption.
One of my early impressions of Beijing was driving around this neighborhood and seeing piles and piles of bricks along the side of the road, which were going to be used to restore or renovate places. And I remember thinking, “Wow, there are the bricks, and then there is the CCTV building.” As if the past and the future are occurring simultaneously.
Yes. I think that’s the cycle here. The newspaper today was saying we have to watch out for the gap between the rich and the poor in China. These gaps are in every society, but in Beijing it’s kind of amplified. I also think that art is dragged into this problem. You know, it’s great to have a lot of art, but on the other hand, what does that mean? What are we (the artists) doing in relation to these concerns? Are we just selling another factory painting, or are we actually asking some questions in the process?
I recall the first time I saw the big black Mercedes parked outside Tang Gallery — perhaps before the space had opened — it left an impression. It’s such a potent symbol of wealth and authority. What did Zheng Lin say when you told him you would reproduce his car for the show? Did he see any irony in it?
When I told [Tang Gallery curator] Josef [Ng] about the project, he knew immediately what I meant. And of course we asked the boss, and he was fine with it. Either he understands it, or maybe he will find out later.
The car is made of plaster covered in powdered milk. Again, I was thinking that with all the hyper-production, there are disasters occurring, inserted into the production process. A gas tank blows up somewhere. And then there were tainted milk products, and all those toys [with lead in them]. And so within all this hyper-production there are many safety issues — maybe as a result of cost-cutting. And that’s why we can build a brick factory in the middle of a public space [the gallery] and nobody blinks. So I was thinking about how people are getting extremely wealthy, but their success is built on the tragedies of others. I had this image of the car in my mind. Those people who are making important decisions are all driving this kind of car. That’s happening everywhere, including Thailand. For me, the work is more sculptural, because I felt that this is something that people can relate to. They will see the car, smell the powdered milk, and something will happen. Of course we will be serving the tofu in the same room [as the car]. The works are all playing off each other.
Why did you choose this particular dish [tofu nao, a warm tofu soup served for breakfast]?
You know, we have that every morning in Chang Mei, so it’s something that we’re used to. I thought of soup, because I knew it would be winter and it would be cold. I was thinking about what could warm you up. In a way, I just looked around and used things that were available here. I didn’t bring something in. Normally, I would have spiced up the tofu, but in this case, it’s enough to just be local. I feel that it’s very specific — I would not do this work somewhere else, not even in Thailand. For me it’s a very context-specific work.
Let’s talk about the two large bamboo towers filled with birds. Beyond the obvious “office worker as caged bird” association, what else is going on there?
This work operates in relation to these ideas about construction, deconstruction and building — but also this notion of hyper-production. One of these towers is going to be the tallest building in Shanghai or China [when it is completed]. When I visit new places, I like to see the markets. They took me to the antique market in Beijing, where I saw some cages, and it just sort of clicked. Then we went to the animal market. I was thinking about the relationship that people have to birds here. People have their little songbirds and they go and meet up with each other in the park. As you say, it’s a sort of compression of time.
The sound of the birds singing is beautiful, actually.
It starts to become like the noise you get when you’re in an office setting.
I could also read it as being very optimistic. As if the song still goes on, despite circumstances.
Yeah. I don’t think it’s all about oppression. I think it’s about choices. Certainly, you’re right about the optimism — and I think that’s what the energy of this place is. People are very resilient. And that’s very much what the towers represent. It’s about being able to exist in a very small space with a lot of people.
Though you’ve lived in many places, do you think that coming from Thailand has shaped how you perceive and respond to China?
I think so. I’m thinking about the relationship of China to Thailand — what we [in Thailand] are emulating, where we want to go [as a nation]. Or even what’s happening politically right now in Thailand, which is shifting; we could become a republic with a politburo. I am a socialist, so I am not worried about socialism. I am worried about dictators who are putting everyone into a socialist state for their own benefit. We [in Thailand] look to China, Japan, and Korea [as models]; we look less and less to the West. If we were selflessly thinking about the greatest good of everyone, we would look at the mistakes in China and try to avoid them. We would look at China and say, “It’s great to produce all these things, but at what cost?”
Action Comics Number One
http://www.antiquestradegazette.com/news/7453.aspx
Antiquarian Books
Original superman issue becomes first $1m comic
01 March 2010
ACTION Comics ushered in the age of superheroes when its first issue hit the news stands in June 1938. On its cover was a curious character dressed in skintight blue and red lifting a green Chevrolet above his head, and the course of American pop culture was changed forever.
Action Comics number 1, featuring the first appearance of Superman, is the Holy Grail of all comic book collectors. Seventy-two years ago it cost ten cents: last month a collector parted with $1m in a private deal for the privilege of owning one of the best to survive.
Comics are all about condition, but even seasoned collectors of comics from the so-called Golden Age (1938-1955) are prepared to accept any number of flaws to own one of perhaps 100 surviving copies of this issue. However, the $1m comic looked as if it were printed yesterday.
Stephen Fishler, the co-owner of New York dealership Metropolis Collectibles, who brokered the private sale, was the creator of the ten-point grading scale that is now used universally to evaluate the condition of comic books. He gave it an 8.0, making it the second-highest graded copy known to exist, and set its price way above the previous record-holder, another Action Comics number 1 with a grading of 6.0, sold in 2009 for $317,200.
It gives some idea of the escalating value of the best Golden Age comics that Fishler disclosed he had first sold the $1m comic in 1995 for $150,000.
The buyer, described as a well-known New Yorker with a pedigree collection, already owned an Action Comics No. 1 but wanted a higher-grade copy. Vincent Zurzolo, co-owner of the dealership, described the sale as “the single most important event in comic book history”.
But Superman had a rival.
As news of the $1m private deal broke on February 23, an online auction of comic books conducted by Heritage Auctions of Dallas was approaching its endgame. And already, with 48 hours of bidding remaining, a copy of Detective Comics number 27 had reached $425,000.
If Action Comics number 1 is the most desirable of all Golden Age comics then a close second is Detective Comics number 27, featuring the first ever appearance of Batman. It was innovative as a single-theme comic in the days when a variety of features was the norm.
Alongside a May 1939 cover date is the striking cover by artist Bob Kane who, with writer Bill Finger, is generally credited as a co-creator of the character. ‘The Batman’ – who, like Superman has been in continuous publication ever since – appeared in a six-page story that also introduced the characters of Commissioner Gordon and Bruce Wayne.
The second-to-last panel reveals that the mysterious caped figure and playboy Wayne are one and the same.
Heritage called this copy ”perhaps the most desirable comic book we have auctioned to date,” finding only inconsequential faults and little signs of discolouration. It, too, was awarded 8 out of 10 and could claim to be the highest-graded unrestored copy to have appeared on the market.
By the time the sale closed on February 25, bidding had reached $900,000 – with the buyer’s premium, that took the price to $1.0755m, just above the private deal price for the Superman comic.
We await the next instalment…
Antiquarian Books
Original superman issue becomes first $1m comic
01 March 2010
ACTION Comics ushered in the age of superheroes when its first issue hit the news stands in June 1938. On its cover was a curious character dressed in skintight blue and red lifting a green Chevrolet above his head, and the course of American pop culture was changed forever.
Action Comics number 1, featuring the first appearance of Superman, is the Holy Grail of all comic book collectors. Seventy-two years ago it cost ten cents: last month a collector parted with $1m in a private deal for the privilege of owning one of the best to survive.
Comics are all about condition, but even seasoned collectors of comics from the so-called Golden Age (1938-1955) are prepared to accept any number of flaws to own one of perhaps 100 surviving copies of this issue. However, the $1m comic looked as if it were printed yesterday.
Stephen Fishler, the co-owner of New York dealership Metropolis Collectibles, who brokered the private sale, was the creator of the ten-point grading scale that is now used universally to evaluate the condition of comic books. He gave it an 8.0, making it the second-highest graded copy known to exist, and set its price way above the previous record-holder, another Action Comics number 1 with a grading of 6.0, sold in 2009 for $317,200.
It gives some idea of the escalating value of the best Golden Age comics that Fishler disclosed he had first sold the $1m comic in 1995 for $150,000.
The buyer, described as a well-known New Yorker with a pedigree collection, already owned an Action Comics No. 1 but wanted a higher-grade copy. Vincent Zurzolo, co-owner of the dealership, described the sale as “the single most important event in comic book history”.
But Superman had a rival.
As news of the $1m private deal broke on February 23, an online auction of comic books conducted by Heritage Auctions of Dallas was approaching its endgame. And already, with 48 hours of bidding remaining, a copy of Detective Comics number 27 had reached $425,000.
If Action Comics number 1 is the most desirable of all Golden Age comics then a close second is Detective Comics number 27, featuring the first ever appearance of Batman. It was innovative as a single-theme comic in the days when a variety of features was the norm.
Alongside a May 1939 cover date is the striking cover by artist Bob Kane who, with writer Bill Finger, is generally credited as a co-creator of the character. ‘The Batman’ – who, like Superman has been in continuous publication ever since – appeared in a six-page story that also introduced the characters of Commissioner Gordon and Bruce Wayne.
The second-to-last panel reveals that the mysterious caped figure and playboy Wayne are one and the same.
Heritage called this copy ”perhaps the most desirable comic book we have auctioned to date,” finding only inconsequential faults and little signs of discolouration. It, too, was awarded 8 out of 10 and could claim to be the highest-graded unrestored copy to have appeared on the market.
By the time the sale closed on February 25, bidding had reached $900,000 – with the buyer’s premium, that took the price to $1.0755m, just above the private deal price for the Superman comic.
We await the next instalment…
Monday, February 22, 2010
Radicant Rants
Nicholas Bourriaud “The Radicant”
The current state of globalism and globalization has been determined by the expansion of industrialization and modernism. The technologies and information systems created in the 20th century have given rise to the frequency and ease of migration and immigration. The ability to migrate physically and digitally is increasing at an exponential rate or was before the economic downturn.
The concept of globalism has created an environment where the radicants can emerge and take root, transplanting themselves from location to location.
On page 51 Bourriaud writes “The radicant develops in accord with its host soil. It conforms to the latter's twists and and turns and adapts to its surfaces and geological features. It translates itself into the the terms of the space in which it moves. With its at once dynamic and dialogical signification, the adjective “radicant” captures this contemporary subject, caught between the need for a connection with the environment and the forces of uprooting, between globalization and singularity, between identity and opening to the other. It defines the subject as an object of negotiation.”
This quote thus far has given me the clearest definition of a radicant.
Is globalization what Bourriaud believes it to be?
Is globalization a term coined by politicians and CEOs and CFOs to hide a resurgence of imperialism?
Where are the international non western art critics, the Bourriaud's of Asia, Africa, and South America?
By writing about the state of contemporary art and coining our era altermodern isn't Bourriaud setting or changing the course of affairs art is currently facing?
The current state of globalism and globalization has been determined by the expansion of industrialization and modernism. The technologies and information systems created in the 20th century have given rise to the frequency and ease of migration and immigration. The ability to migrate physically and digitally is increasing at an exponential rate or was before the economic downturn.
The concept of globalism has created an environment where the radicants can emerge and take root, transplanting themselves from location to location.
On page 51 Bourriaud writes “The radicant develops in accord with its host soil. It conforms to the latter's twists and and turns and adapts to its surfaces and geological features. It translates itself into the the terms of the space in which it moves. With its at once dynamic and dialogical signification, the adjective “radicant” captures this contemporary subject, caught between the need for a connection with the environment and the forces of uprooting, between globalization and singularity, between identity and opening to the other. It defines the subject as an object of negotiation.”
This quote thus far has given me the clearest definition of a radicant.
Is globalization what Bourriaud believes it to be?
Is globalization a term coined by politicians and CEOs and CFOs to hide a resurgence of imperialism?
Where are the international non western art critics, the Bourriaud's of Asia, Africa, and South America?
By writing about the state of contemporary art and coining our era altermodern isn't Bourriaud setting or changing the course of affairs art is currently facing?
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Globalism vs. Globalization
Globalist Perspective > Global Culture
Globalism Versus Globalization
By Joseph Nye | Monday, April 15, 2002
What is globalization? In contrast, what is globalism? And how do both of these concepts shape our world? Joe Nye, the former Dean of the Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, outlines the fundamental differences between these two concepts. Globalism describes the reality of being interconnected, while globalization captures the speed at which these connections increase — or decrease.
Globalism versus globalization? Many people would think the two terms refer to the same phenomenon. However, there are important differences between the two.
What is globalism?
Globalism, at its core, seeks to describe and explain nothing more than a world which is characterized by networks of connections that span multi-continental distances.
Globalism seeks to explain nothing more than a world which is characterized by networks of connections that span multi-continental distances.
It attempts to understand all the inter-connections of the modern world — and to highlight patterns that underlie (and explain) them.
In contrast, globalization refers to the increase or decline in the degree of globalism. It focuses on the forces, the dynamism or speed of these changes.
In short, consider globalism as the underlying basic network, while globalization refers to the dynamic shrinking of distance on a large scale.
Globalism is a phenomenon with ancient roots. Thus, the issue is not how old globalism is, but rather how "thin" or "thick" it is at any given time.
The Silk Road: "Thin" globalism
As an example of "thin globalism," the Silk Road provided an economic and cultural link between ancient Europe and Asia. Getting from thin to thick globalism is globalization — and how fast we get there is the rate of globalization.
Of course, the Silk Road was plied by only a small group of hardy traders. Its direct impact was felt primarily by a small group of consumers along the road.
In contrast, the operations of global financial markets today, for instance, affect people from Peoria to Penang. Thus, "globalization" is the process by which globalism becomes increasingly thick/intense.
"Thick" globalism: What's new?
The general point is that the increasing intensity, or thickness, of globalism — the density of networks of interdependence — is not just a difference in degree from the past. An increasing "thickness" changes relationships, because it means that different relationships of interdependence intersect more deeply at more different points.
There are four distinct dimensions of globalism: economic, military, environmental — and social.
At the same time, it is important to note that globalism does not imply universality. After all, the connections that make up the networks to define globalism may be more strongly felt in some parts of the world than in others.
For example, at the turn of the 21st century, a quarter of the U.S. population used the World Wide Web. At the same time, however, only one-hundredth of one percent of the population of South Asia had access to this information network.
Since globalism does not imply universality and given that globalization refers to dynamic changes, it is not surprising that globalization implies neither equity — nor homogenization. In fact, it is equally likely to amplify differences — or at least make people more aware of them.
Economic dimension of globalism — and beyond
Both globalism and globalization are all too often defined in strictly economic terms, as if the world economy as such defined globalism. But other
Based on the historic evidence, we should expect that globalism will be accompanied by continuing uncertainty.
forms are equally important. There are four distinct dimensions of globalism: economic, military, environmental — and social.
Economic globalism involves long-distance flows of goods, services and capital and the information and perceptions that accompany market exchange.
These flows, in turn, organize other processes linked to them. One example of economic globalization is low-wage production in Asia for the United States and European markets. Economic flows, markets and organization — as in multinational firms — all go together.
The environmental dimension
Environmental globalism refers to the long-distance transport of materials in the atmosphere or oceans or of biological substances such as pathogens or genetic materials that affect human health and well-being.
In contrast, examples of environmental globalization include the accelerating depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer as a result of ozone-depleting chemicals — or the spread of the AIDS virus from central Africa around the world beginning at the end of the 1970s.
The military dimension
Military globalism refers to long-distance networks in which force, and the threat or promise of force, are deployed. A well-known example of military globalism is the "balance of terror" between
We should not fear that globalism will lead to homogenization. Instead, it will expose us to the differences that surround us.
the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War — a strategic interdependence that was both acute and well-recognized.
What made this interdependence distinctive was not that it was totally new — but that the scale and speed of the potential conflict arising from interdependence were so enormous.
Military globalization manifested itself in recent times in the tragic events of September 11. Here, geographical distances were shrunk as the lawless mountains of Afghanistan provided the launching pad for attacks on New York and Washington — some 4,000 miles away.
Social and cultural globalism
The fourth dimension is social and cultural globalism. It involves movements of ideas, information, images and of people, who of course carry ideas and information with them.
Examples include the movement of religions — or the diffusion of scientific knowledge. In the past, social globalism has often followed military and economic globalism.
However, in the current era, social and cultural globalization is driven by the Internet, which reduces costs and globalizes communications, making the flow of ideas increasingly independent of other forms of globalization.
Why are these divisions useful?
The division of globalism into separate dimensions, as presented above, is inevitably somewhat arbitrary. Nonetheless, it is useful for analysis, because changes in the various dimensions of globalism do not necessarily go together. For example, economic globalism rose between 1850 and 1914 — and fell between 1914 and 1945.
Based on the historic evidence, we should expect that globalism will be accompanied by continuing uncertainty.
However, at the same time as economic globalism was declining during the two World Wars, military globalism rose to new heights — as did many aspects of social globalism.
Take, for example, the worldwide influenza epidemic of 1918-19, which took 21 million lives. It was propagated by the flows of soldiers around the world.
Does this suggest that globalism declined or rose between 1914 and 1945? It depends on the dimension, or sphere, of globalism one is referring to.
Without a specifying adjective, general statements about globalism are often meaningless — or misleading. The same applies when talking about globalization or globalism today.
Entering a world of uncertainty
Based on the historic evidence, we should expect that globalism will be accompanied by continuing uncertainty.
There will be a continual competition between increased complexity and uncertainty on the one hand — and efforts by governments, market participants and others to comprehend and manage these systems on the other.
In conclusion, we should not expect — or fear — that globalism will lead to homogenization. Instead, it will expose us more frequently and in more variations to the differences that surround us.
Globalism Versus Globalization
By Joseph Nye | Monday, April 15, 2002
What is globalization? In contrast, what is globalism? And how do both of these concepts shape our world? Joe Nye, the former Dean of the Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, outlines the fundamental differences between these two concepts. Globalism describes the reality of being interconnected, while globalization captures the speed at which these connections increase — or decrease.
Globalism versus globalization? Many people would think the two terms refer to the same phenomenon. However, there are important differences between the two.
What is globalism?
Globalism, at its core, seeks to describe and explain nothing more than a world which is characterized by networks of connections that span multi-continental distances.
Globalism seeks to explain nothing more than a world which is characterized by networks of connections that span multi-continental distances.
It attempts to understand all the inter-connections of the modern world — and to highlight patterns that underlie (and explain) them.
In contrast, globalization refers to the increase or decline in the degree of globalism. It focuses on the forces, the dynamism or speed of these changes.
In short, consider globalism as the underlying basic network, while globalization refers to the dynamic shrinking of distance on a large scale.
Globalism is a phenomenon with ancient roots. Thus, the issue is not how old globalism is, but rather how "thin" or "thick" it is at any given time.
The Silk Road: "Thin" globalism
As an example of "thin globalism," the Silk Road provided an economic and cultural link between ancient Europe and Asia. Getting from thin to thick globalism is globalization — and how fast we get there is the rate of globalization.
Of course, the Silk Road was plied by only a small group of hardy traders. Its direct impact was felt primarily by a small group of consumers along the road.
In contrast, the operations of global financial markets today, for instance, affect people from Peoria to Penang. Thus, "globalization" is the process by which globalism becomes increasingly thick/intense.
"Thick" globalism: What's new?
The general point is that the increasing intensity, or thickness, of globalism — the density of networks of interdependence — is not just a difference in degree from the past. An increasing "thickness" changes relationships, because it means that different relationships of interdependence intersect more deeply at more different points.
There are four distinct dimensions of globalism: economic, military, environmental — and social.
At the same time, it is important to note that globalism does not imply universality. After all, the connections that make up the networks to define globalism may be more strongly felt in some parts of the world than in others.
For example, at the turn of the 21st century, a quarter of the U.S. population used the World Wide Web. At the same time, however, only one-hundredth of one percent of the population of South Asia had access to this information network.
Since globalism does not imply universality and given that globalization refers to dynamic changes, it is not surprising that globalization implies neither equity — nor homogenization. In fact, it is equally likely to amplify differences — or at least make people more aware of them.
Economic dimension of globalism — and beyond
Both globalism and globalization are all too often defined in strictly economic terms, as if the world economy as such defined globalism. But other
Based on the historic evidence, we should expect that globalism will be accompanied by continuing uncertainty.
forms are equally important. There are four distinct dimensions of globalism: economic, military, environmental — and social.
Economic globalism involves long-distance flows of goods, services and capital and the information and perceptions that accompany market exchange.
These flows, in turn, organize other processes linked to them. One example of economic globalization is low-wage production in Asia for the United States and European markets. Economic flows, markets and organization — as in multinational firms — all go together.
The environmental dimension
Environmental globalism refers to the long-distance transport of materials in the atmosphere or oceans or of biological substances such as pathogens or genetic materials that affect human health and well-being.
In contrast, examples of environmental globalization include the accelerating depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer as a result of ozone-depleting chemicals — or the spread of the AIDS virus from central Africa around the world beginning at the end of the 1970s.
The military dimension
Military globalism refers to long-distance networks in which force, and the threat or promise of force, are deployed. A well-known example of military globalism is the "balance of terror" between
We should not fear that globalism will lead to homogenization. Instead, it will expose us to the differences that surround us.
the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War — a strategic interdependence that was both acute and well-recognized.
What made this interdependence distinctive was not that it was totally new — but that the scale and speed of the potential conflict arising from interdependence were so enormous.
Military globalization manifested itself in recent times in the tragic events of September 11. Here, geographical distances were shrunk as the lawless mountains of Afghanistan provided the launching pad for attacks on New York and Washington — some 4,000 miles away.
Social and cultural globalism
The fourth dimension is social and cultural globalism. It involves movements of ideas, information, images and of people, who of course carry ideas and information with them.
Examples include the movement of religions — or the diffusion of scientific knowledge. In the past, social globalism has often followed military and economic globalism.
However, in the current era, social and cultural globalization is driven by the Internet, which reduces costs and globalizes communications, making the flow of ideas increasingly independent of other forms of globalization.
Why are these divisions useful?
The division of globalism into separate dimensions, as presented above, is inevitably somewhat arbitrary. Nonetheless, it is useful for analysis, because changes in the various dimensions of globalism do not necessarily go together. For example, economic globalism rose between 1850 and 1914 — and fell between 1914 and 1945.
Based on the historic evidence, we should expect that globalism will be accompanied by continuing uncertainty.
However, at the same time as economic globalism was declining during the two World Wars, military globalism rose to new heights — as did many aspects of social globalism.
Take, for example, the worldwide influenza epidemic of 1918-19, which took 21 million lives. It was propagated by the flows of soldiers around the world.
Does this suggest that globalism declined or rose between 1914 and 1945? It depends on the dimension, or sphere, of globalism one is referring to.
Without a specifying adjective, general statements about globalism are often meaningless — or misleading. The same applies when talking about globalization or globalism today.
Entering a world of uncertainty
Based on the historic evidence, we should expect that globalism will be accompanied by continuing uncertainty.
There will be a continual competition between increased complexity and uncertainty on the one hand — and efforts by governments, market participants and others to comprehend and manage these systems on the other.
In conclusion, we should not expect — or fear — that globalism will lead to homogenization. Instead, it will expose us more frequently and in more variations to the differences that surround us.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Walter Benjamin responces
a) The history, the mythology, presence and personality could be considered the aura of a work of art.
b, c) Mechanical reproduction allowed artists to disembark from tradition and the confines of an apprenticeship. Mechanical reproduction changed the way in which all types of work were fabricated. Photography and the moving image captured reality without the need to have any particular skill. Of course there were technical aspects which needed some training but that did not compare to the decades of training needed to become an accomplished painter or sculptor who could render the world around them with simple tools and materials. This began the democratization of art. Benjamin believed that artists depended on ritual, the mystery behind the genius of art to give importance to the artist. The camera and mechanization stripped the ritual away to reveal the parasitical nature of the artist.
d) Magnetic tape, digital recording of light and sound, rapid prototyping, digital editing, rendering and programming are some of the processes which are changing the way we currently produce art.
b, c) Mechanical reproduction allowed artists to disembark from tradition and the confines of an apprenticeship. Mechanical reproduction changed the way in which all types of work were fabricated. Photography and the moving image captured reality without the need to have any particular skill. Of course there were technical aspects which needed some training but that did not compare to the decades of training needed to become an accomplished painter or sculptor who could render the world around them with simple tools and materials. This began the democratization of art. Benjamin believed that artists depended on ritual, the mystery behind the genius of art to give importance to the artist. The camera and mechanization stripped the ritual away to reveal the parasitical nature of the artist.
d) Magnetic tape, digital recording of light and sound, rapid prototyping, digital editing, rendering and programming are some of the processes which are changing the way we currently produce art.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Questions and comments on Post Production
Who retains authorship on remixed work?
What role does the gallery or museum play in a post postmodern world?
Is there enough distance between the original work and the remixed or post produced work?
If we are no longer producing original works won't we deplete our resources from which to remix and remake?
If the space in which we view or experience work and become the willing participants is only around for the duration of the show is there anyway in which to capture and record that experience? Will another viewer be able to experience that work in the future and still interpret it the same way? If that work was only there for the moment or the duration of the exhibition is it even viable to discuss a work which no longer exists and wasn't mean to?
What role does the gallery or museum play in a post postmodern world?
Is there enough distance between the original work and the remixed or post produced work?
If we are no longer producing original works won't we deplete our resources from which to remix and remake?
If the space in which we view or experience work and become the willing participants is only around for the duration of the show is there anyway in which to capture and record that experience? Will another viewer be able to experience that work in the future and still interpret it the same way? If that work was only there for the moment or the duration of the exhibition is it even viable to discuss a work which no longer exists and wasn't mean to?
Monday, February 1, 2010
Modern Post Assignment
#2 Post-Minimalism - late 1960s-1970s
Post-painterly Abstraction - 1964-Present
Post-Modernism - 1970s-mid 1980s
Post-Pop
Post- Punk
Post- Expressionism
#3
Modernism is a reaction to the developments in technology and science of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Artists began to react to new inventions which dramatically and rapidly changed their world. The advent of the airplane, telecommunication, radio, television, photography, motion pictures, radar, the assembly line and mass production the solid fuel rocket, internal combustion engines, jet engines, vaccines and modern surgery and anesthetics created a world that is much smaller than the world of the l9th century. Artists could no longer get by with a formal recording and representation of the world at hand. Artists needed to catch up and react to a pace that was accelerating past them. Consumerism for the the masses was changing the way we looked at art and the way in which it was created.
Modernism ended with the explosion of the first hydrogen bomb at the end of WWII.
Critics
Clement Greenberg
Thomas B Hess
Fry Bell
Roger Clive
Peggy Guggenheim
#4
The Post Modern movement began in the early 1960's
Post Modernism is and expression of the idea that nothing is real that everything is a simulation. God is destroyed and therefore nothing can be created or destroyed.
Post Modernism is alive and well.
Anything goes therefore there is no enveloping aesthetic but rather an anti aesthetic.
Prominent artist include Paul McCarthy, Eva Hesse, Damian Hirst, Damian Ortega, Rachel Whiteread, Tara Donnovan, Peta Coine.
#5 The art movement of 2010 could be considered a Neo Renaissance or a new modern era. The digital world and an ever shrinking global community and a global community which is increasingly combining it's cultural and biological DNA defines the paths which we are taking.
New forms of media and simulated human interaction are the aesthetic principle on which our art will be made. The use of digital design and rapid prototyping, desktop or web publishing will open the doors to many more creative practices.
#2 Post-Minimalism - late 1960s-1970s
Post-painterly Abstraction - 1964-Present
Post-Modernism - 1970s-mid 1980s
Post-Pop
Post- Punk
Post- Expressionism
#3
Modernism is a reaction to the developments in technology and science of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Artists began to react to new inventions which dramatically and rapidly changed their world. The advent of the airplane, telecommunication, radio, television, photography, motion pictures, radar, the assembly line and mass production the solid fuel rocket, internal combustion engines, jet engines, vaccines and modern surgery and anesthetics created a world that is much smaller than the world of the l9th century. Artists could no longer get by with a formal recording and representation of the world at hand. Artists needed to catch up and react to a pace that was accelerating past them. Consumerism for the the masses was changing the way we looked at art and the way in which it was created.
Modernism ended with the explosion of the first hydrogen bomb at the end of WWII.
Critics
Clement Greenberg
Thomas B Hess
Fry Bell
Roger Clive
Peggy Guggenheim
#4
The Post Modern movement began in the early 1960's
Post Modernism is and expression of the idea that nothing is real that everything is a simulation. God is destroyed and therefore nothing can be created or destroyed.
Post Modernism is alive and well.
Anything goes therefore there is no enveloping aesthetic but rather an anti aesthetic.
Prominent artist include Paul McCarthy, Eva Hesse, Damian Hirst, Damian Ortega, Rachel Whiteread, Tara Donnovan, Peta Coine.
#5 The art movement of 2010 could be considered a Neo Renaissance or a new modern era. The digital world and an ever shrinking global community and a global community which is increasingly combining it's cultural and biological DNA defines the paths which we are taking.
New forms of media and simulated human interaction are the aesthetic principle on which our art will be made. The use of digital design and rapid prototyping, desktop or web publishing will open the doors to many more creative practices.
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