Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Blog 4: Contemporary Art Concepts
Meshes of the Afternoon
The following are a few concepts I saw in Maya Deren's experimental film, Meshes of the Afternoon. Keep in mind that these are my connections, and they might not represent the artist's original intent.
Code-switching from body to object (0:39) The fragility of the flower, shaken and roughly carried, is similar to our main character. She is beautiful, but her life seems to be ruled by abusive powers out of her control.
Double-coding such as the key/knife (10:00) Destruction (as signified by a knife) can potentially offer the same outcome (freedom) as a key. *This can also be seen as a juxtaposition, a Postmodern Principle recognized by Gude.*
Reversals in the relation of subject to object (6:29) Deren's character watches herself try, and fail, to catch a cloaked figure with a mirrored face multiple times. She becomes an object in her own narrative. This repetition of Deren's character watching herself perfect representation of a visual palimpsest. *The Postmodern Principle of "Gazing" can be applied here.*
Subversion of normalcy (9:06) Three physical manifestations of the same character are not as surprising as the reappearance of a key.
Hypersignification of domestic objects, e.g., with extreme close-ups, slow zooms, camera angles, & space constriction (2:00) A purposeful pause before the protagonist ascends the stairs acts as an acknowledgement of a nearby unhooked telephone. The telephone reappears many times throughout the piece, culminating in the male figure's replacement of the handset back on the receiver.
Harlem Rose
This piece (now on display at the Palmer Museum) was created by Willie Cole, a contemporary artist currently working out of Newark, NJ. I'd like to discuss its relationship with many of the issues stated in our readings.
In Museum Culture and the Inequities of Display and Representation (2007), author Alice Wexler provides a damning description of museums and their exhibition selections. After working as a graduate assistant at the Palmer for 6 months, I must say that some of these claims are not universal truisms. In fact, I was disappointed to see that the role of museum educators (and their work) was not discussed. Museum education seems to be the perfect place to start changing the attitudes Wexler describes.
For example, many docents have told me that Harlem Rose is a favorite of children visitors, a prominently placed sculpture by a black artist. Dana, the Curator of Education at the Palmer, uses it to bring up many contemporary concepts. In one tour, she described titular "Rose" as referring to both the shape of the piece (a flower) and the verb "to rise." This takes on many different meanings when juxtaposed against the female working-class shoes that make up the sculpture. Could the artist be honoring the females in his community that worked to raise their families? What implications does this have for the type of beauty "grown" in Harlem?
Attentive Learning (a Principle of Possibility) can be achieved through questions that museum educators (or other art educators facilitating a museum trip) ask in order to foster connections between visitors and contemporary themes. Here are a few prompts that I would ask in response to viewing Harlem Rose.
Investigating Community Themes (Principles of Possibility): Why do you think the artist mentions Harlem in the title? What type of community values are being portrayed through the use of female shoes?
Appropriation (Postmodern Principles): Why do you think shoes were chosen to create this piece? What do shoes symbolize?
Representin' (Postmodern Principles): What connections can you make between the artist's background (growing up in New York City) and the themes discussed?
I hope that by respecting each museum visitor's agency and abilities to make connections, museum educators can help right some of the historical wrongs mentioned by Wexler. To my classmates: what experiences have you had in museums? Where there any times you felt particularly welcome (or unwelcome) and do you have any suggestions for inclusive future tour planning?
The following are a few concepts I saw in Maya Deren's experimental film, Meshes of the Afternoon. Keep in mind that these are my connections, and they might not represent the artist's original intent.
Code-switching from body to object (0:39) The fragility of the flower, shaken and roughly carried, is similar to our main character. She is beautiful, but her life seems to be ruled by abusive powers out of her control.
Double-coding such as the key/knife (10:00) Destruction (as signified by a knife) can potentially offer the same outcome (freedom) as a key. *This can also be seen as a juxtaposition, a Postmodern Principle recognized by Gude.*
Reversals in the relation of subject to object (6:29) Deren's character watches herself try, and fail, to catch a cloaked figure with a mirrored face multiple times. She becomes an object in her own narrative. This repetition of Deren's character watching herself perfect representation of a visual palimpsest. *The Postmodern Principle of "Gazing" can be applied here.*
Subversion of normalcy (9:06) Three physical manifestations of the same character are not as surprising as the reappearance of a key.
Hypersignification of domestic objects, e.g., with extreme close-ups, slow zooms, camera angles, & space constriction (2:00) A purposeful pause before the protagonist ascends the stairs acts as an acknowledgement of a nearby unhooked telephone. The telephone reappears many times throughout the piece, culminating in the male figure's replacement of the handset back on the receiver.
Harlem Rose
 |
| Willie Cole, Harlem Rose, 2005 |
In Museum Culture and the Inequities of Display and Representation (2007), author Alice Wexler provides a damning description of museums and their exhibition selections. After working as a graduate assistant at the Palmer for 6 months, I must say that some of these claims are not universal truisms. In fact, I was disappointed to see that the role of museum educators (and their work) was not discussed. Museum education seems to be the perfect place to start changing the attitudes Wexler describes.
For example, many docents have told me that Harlem Rose is a favorite of children visitors, a prominently placed sculpture by a black artist. Dana, the Curator of Education at the Palmer, uses it to bring up many contemporary concepts. In one tour, she described titular "Rose" as referring to both the shape of the piece (a flower) and the verb "to rise." This takes on many different meanings when juxtaposed against the female working-class shoes that make up the sculpture. Could the artist be honoring the females in his community that worked to raise their families? What implications does this have for the type of beauty "grown" in Harlem?
Attentive Learning (a Principle of Possibility) can be achieved through questions that museum educators (or other art educators facilitating a museum trip) ask in order to foster connections between visitors and contemporary themes. Here are a few prompts that I would ask in response to viewing Harlem Rose.
 |
| Detail: Willie Cole, Harlem Rose, 2005 |
Appropriation (Postmodern Principles): Why do you think shoes were chosen to create this piece? What do shoes symbolize?
Representin' (Postmodern Principles): What connections can you make between the artist's background (growing up in New York City) and the themes discussed?
I hope that by respecting each museum visitor's agency and abilities to make connections, museum educators can help right some of the historical wrongs mentioned by Wexler. To my classmates: what experiences have you had in museums? Where there any times you felt particularly welcome (or unwelcome) and do you have any suggestions for inclusive future tour planning?
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
3: Installation Art Encounters: Extending the Invitation
To: מִרְיָם (Miriam)
Because: I would like to invite Miriam, the Jewish “prophetess,” to Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party table because I feel like there is so much more to her story than what has survived in the bible and Qur’an.
Miriam was first mentioned in the Old Testament as the sister of Moses. It was her cleverness that kept him alive and suggested that the Pharaoh’s wife should use her mother as his nursemaid. More importantly, I believe, it was Miriam along with her brothers that led an enslaved people out of oppression. Her part of this narrative is often overlooked. For example, only a couplet of her (probably much longer) victory song is recorded.
“Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
Horse and rider he has thrown into the sea” (Exodus 15:20-21).
Jewish women sang victory songs to men returning from triumph, but reading her story made me recognize their importance in creating and maintaining oral histories. The meanings and words of these lyrical poems were lost, removed or mutated by generations of biblical transcribers.
The challenge Miriam and her brother Aaron posed to Moses, “They said, 'Was it only to Moses that God spoke? Did he not speak to us as well?” (Numbers 12:2) shows her attempt to ascertain female equality. However, tradition states that she (but not Aaron) was punished for insubordination, becoming ill and exiled from her tribe’s camp. Perhaps the most telling part of this account is the response of her followers. Miriam’s popularity and importance are illustrated by their refusal to continue walking toward the Promise Land without her leadership, which forced her brothers to plead for her recovery.
While some or all of this narrative may be fictionalized, Miriam’s influence on history is well established. She is one of a select few heroines mentioned in the bible, and her importance to the people she led continues to be recognized. It makes me question that if these impressive acts survived the interpretations of scribes for millennia, how many other things did she accomplish that are now forgotten? After all, it would be in the transcriber’s best interest to manipulate historical narratives into cautionary parables that maintained priestly authority.
I would like to visually represent Miriam’s acts through a sculptural fountain place setting, as water plays an integral part in her mythology. A small waterfall-style tap could be installed above a receiving area, constantly issuing clean and sweet water ready to be used to wash or drink. Like strong women, water is a valuable resource. Unused water will be collected and filtered before returning to the fountainhead to flow once more like the retelling of an epic story.
Nominated by: March
Images used:
http://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/13716-lady-of-the-water-illustration-vector
http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-illustration-1630327-formal-place-setting-on-white.php
http://www.amazon.com/Kraus-Golden-Rectangular-Waterfall-Faucet/dp/B00467HGBY
More research on Miriam:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miriam
http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/miriam-bible
http://www.womeninthebible.net/1.7.Miriam.htm
Assignment:
Explore all 14 encounters in The Dinner Party Curriculum and read through the entire Encounter 2: Extending the Invitation that explains how this activity might be used in the classroom, and do "Extending the Invitation worksheet" and "Extending the Invitation Guest Placard." Share these on your blog by 2/2. This involves selecting a women who you would like to "invite" to be among the women honored in The Dinner Party. Judy Chicago and the many people who assisted her used a set criteria to determine what women would be included in The Dinner Party. Research prior to artmaking is a content-based approach to artmaking.
Because: I would like to invite Miriam, the Jewish “prophetess,” to Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party table because I feel like there is so much more to her story than what has survived in the bible and Qur’an.
Miriam was first mentioned in the Old Testament as the sister of Moses. It was her cleverness that kept him alive and suggested that the Pharaoh’s wife should use her mother as his nursemaid. More importantly, I believe, it was Miriam along with her brothers that led an enslaved people out of oppression. Her part of this narrative is often overlooked. For example, only a couplet of her (probably much longer) victory song is recorded.
“Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
Horse and rider he has thrown into the sea” (Exodus 15:20-21).
Jewish women sang victory songs to men returning from triumph, but reading her story made me recognize their importance in creating and maintaining oral histories. The meanings and words of these lyrical poems were lost, removed or mutated by generations of biblical transcribers.
The challenge Miriam and her brother Aaron posed to Moses, “They said, 'Was it only to Moses that God spoke? Did he not speak to us as well?” (Numbers 12:2) shows her attempt to ascertain female equality. However, tradition states that she (but not Aaron) was punished for insubordination, becoming ill and exiled from her tribe’s camp. Perhaps the most telling part of this account is the response of her followers. Miriam’s popularity and importance are illustrated by their refusal to continue walking toward the Promise Land without her leadership, which forced her brothers to plead for her recovery.
While some or all of this narrative may be fictionalized, Miriam’s influence on history is well established. She is one of a select few heroines mentioned in the bible, and her importance to the people she led continues to be recognized. It makes me question that if these impressive acts survived the interpretations of scribes for millennia, how many other things did she accomplish that are now forgotten? After all, it would be in the transcriber’s best interest to manipulate historical narratives into cautionary parables that maintained priestly authority.
I would like to visually represent Miriam’s acts through a sculptural fountain place setting, as water plays an integral part in her mythology. A small waterfall-style tap could be installed above a receiving area, constantly issuing clean and sweet water ready to be used to wash or drink. Like strong women, water is a valuable resource. Unused water will be collected and filtered before returning to the fountainhead to flow once more like the retelling of an epic story.
 |
| Invitation and Place Setting |
 |
| Closeup of Invitation |
Nominated by: March
Images used:
http://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/13716-lady-of-the-water-illustration-vector
http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-illustration-1630327-formal-place-setting-on-white.php
http://www.amazon.com/Kraus-Golden-Rectangular-Waterfall-Faucet/dp/B00467HGBY
More research on Miriam:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miriam
http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/miriam-bible
http://www.womeninthebible.net/1.7.Miriam.htm
Assignment:
Explore all 14 encounters in The Dinner Party Curriculum and read through the entire Encounter 2: Extending the Invitation that explains how this activity might be used in the classroom, and do "Extending the Invitation worksheet" and "Extending the Invitation Guest Placard." Share these on your blog by 2/2. This involves selecting a women who you would like to "invite" to be among the women honored in The Dinner Party. Judy Chicago and the many people who assisted her used a set criteria to determine what women would be included in The Dinner Party. Research prior to artmaking is a content-based approach to artmaking.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Continuation of Blog Post 2: Public Pedagogy of Everyday Objects & Spaces Encounter
Because of technical troubles, our class is unable to access CyberHouse and respond to it. Instead, I'd like to write about my reaction to Andrea Zittel's textile art.
If one's body is a temple, than I certainly redecorate every morning when I dress. Through clothing, I house my body in different environments. After viewing Zittel's Art 21 profile, I am struck by how unnecessary this act is. Zittel chooses to wear one outfit per season. While the artist does claim that her clothes look worn towards the end of each season, I appreciate her creative response to fashion consumerism. I am especially interested in her use of crochet to weave an entire garment out of a single thread. Zittel's dress crocheting reminds me of a bird building its nest.
Did anyone else enjoy/not enjoy Zittel's work?
If one's body is a temple, than I certainly redecorate every morning when I dress. Through clothing, I house my body in different environments. After viewing Zittel's Art 21 profile, I am struck by how unnecessary this act is. Zittel chooses to wear one outfit per season. While the artist does claim that her clothes look worn towards the end of each season, I appreciate her creative response to fashion consumerism. I am especially interested in her use of crochet to weave an entire garment out of a single thread. Zittel's dress crocheting reminds me of a bird building its nest.
Did anyone else enjoy/not enjoy Zittel's work?
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Blog entry 2: Public Pedagogy of Everyday Objects & Spaces Encounter: Table Talk
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| Karen's Table 2 |
I am drawn to Karen's Table 2. I would name it my Florida Sunshine Breakfast Table--my grandmother used to call orange juice we drank every morning at her house "Florida Sunshine." Its round structure and funky graphics make it a fun table suitable for casual breakfasts.
My family eats most of its meals together around our round kitchen table. Unlike many of my peers, I grew up with the expectation that we would all eat together around 6pm and could not leave unless we were excused. We still even abide by the same seating arrangements claimed decades ago. One major (and traumatic shift) notwithstanding, my mother sits closest to the cooking area, my father next to her looking out the window, my brother next to dad, and me with my back against the window. My father used to sit in front of the window, but he moved to my original seat after having chemotherapy in the mid 1990s. It's much easier to get in-and-out of, and farthest away from the cold window.
The first time I brought a boyfriend home for dinner, he sat in my brother's traditional seat. A stern "That is MY seat" from my older (and much taller) brother scared the pants off of him and has been fodder for jokes for years.
Every family moment, big and small, was discussed around our dinner table. For me, it was a sounding area for advice regarding school dances, report cards, college applications and more. I believe the circular format of my kitchen table made it easier to discuss topics and listen to everyone's opinion.
To me, having a place at the table means one's position within a group is valued. I prefer the dynamics of a round table, as it doesn't have the hierarchy inherent in a table with a "head" seat. Tables are created in many different shapes and styles and provide diverse functions. As seen in our readings, a Japanese tea ceremony table may be seen as a bench by Westerners. A banquet table in a fancy dining room provides a much different dinner setting than a kitchen island with stools.
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| My old Cetaphil face wash |
Thinking about a different kind of table--a dressing table-- I looked up 2 face wash products: Cetaphil and Mychelle. A few months ago I flipped out over my skin, thinking that I was allergic to something in Cetaphil that made my skin extra dry (sulfates). I went to a local natural grocery store and was told that the Mychelle Honeydew Cleanser would be much better for me.
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| The face wash I'm currently using |
I looked up these two products through Good Guide and Skin Deep and saw that while Mychelle has a lower hazard score (1 vs. 3), Cetaphil's Health/Society/Environment rating is much better (7.4 vs. 6.3). It's interesting that Mychelle is marketed as a natural, organic product but does not have highly rated working conditions. I hope that companies do not forget ethical treatment of human beings while striving for ecological beneficence.
Assignment: Make a personal connection to one of the tables, name the table (and designate its page number). At your blog entry 2 introduce yourself to the others in your group with a story that relates to your chosen table by responding to one or more prompts. Use Good Guide & Skin Deep to learn about the social, environmental, and health performance of household objects in your home. Share one discovery.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
1: Public Pedagogy Meet & Greet
Hello, classmates! Since we have two Laura Ms (hello, Laura McGowan!) in this class, I would be happy to be known as March to keep confusion levels to a minimum. If you can think of a different system (or a better name for me) just let me know!
I had a tough time coming up with a public sphere of influence that would compare to the examples already posted (a mall, sports stadiums, DVDs, suburbia). One idea that kept returning to my thoughts was Times Square. I believe the myriad meanings associated with the area can provide a rich discourse on the subject of human-built environments.
Like many young adults from suburbia, I dreamed of “getting out of Dodge” and making it big in New York City after school. Two months after graduation in 2007, I moved to the Upper-Upper East Side of Manhattan and got a job working as a web designer near the Flatiron building. Before I lived in New York, I saw Times Square as a glamorous beacon of the metropolis, pulsing with the electric heartbeat of the city.
My opinion changed for the worse after living in Manhattan for a few months.
I began to see the dazzling ads displayed on billboards as gaudy representations of a city fueled by consumerism to the detriment of compassionate human relationships. It is well known that no self-respecting native New Yorker would choose to spend time in Times Square. The irony of this can be seen in the massive Target advertisements perched on multiple building in the area for more than 7 years before a branch opened in Manhattan.
The media has had a defining hand in shaping the area and its experience. It’s named after the New York Times building (the founder of which asked the city to rename the vicinity after moving in). Theater and other (seedier) entertainments flourish(ed) in Times Square; it’s home to Broadway, after all. Even the neon lights and advertisements that sprout like weeks from surrounding buildings are popular tourist photo backdrops. The crushing crowds stream in from all sides, eager to take pictures and experience the area.
But what does the area have to actually experience? Avant-garde theater no longer exists, after being pushed out by revivals of popular performances guaranteed to make money instead of sparking controversy. Nor do any commercial establishments exist that cannot be found in a suburban mall—FAO Schwartz is now a Toys R Us, and the only Red Lobster and Applebees in the city are located on 42nd Street.
bell hooks stressed the importance of space as defining the activities and people that inhabit it in Black Vernacular: Architecture as Cultural Practice. Perhaps Times Square is meant to be a shrine to consumerism with oversized ads serving as icons of capitalism.
To me, Times Square represents a simulacrum of city life. It is an area that defines New York, yet it is meant to shape visitor perceptions to enjoy a cleaned-up, Disney-fied city where everything is for sale. It is a marketer’s dream, where tourists pay to take pictures next to advertisements. But who am I to look down upon this? After all, I too have the requisite Times Square photo—this was taken with a friend my first week in the city. I’m on the left, wearing glasses.
For more information its history and on what others think of Times Square, check out the following links:
http://www.timessquarenyc.org/then_now/then_now.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Square
http://gothamist.com/2010/12/04/times_says_times_squares_disneyfica.php
http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2010/08/12/tasteful-in-times-square-theres-a-law-against-that/
I had a tough time coming up with a public sphere of influence that would compare to the examples already posted (a mall, sports stadiums, DVDs, suburbia). One idea that kept returning to my thoughts was Times Square. I believe the myriad meanings associated with the area can provide a rich discourse on the subject of human-built environments.
 |
| Times Square image from Wikipedia |
My opinion changed for the worse after living in Manhattan for a few months.
I began to see the dazzling ads displayed on billboards as gaudy representations of a city fueled by consumerism to the detriment of compassionate human relationships. It is well known that no self-respecting native New Yorker would choose to spend time in Times Square. The irony of this can be seen in the massive Target advertisements perched on multiple building in the area for more than 7 years before a branch opened in Manhattan.
The media has had a defining hand in shaping the area and its experience. It’s named after the New York Times building (the founder of which asked the city to rename the vicinity after moving in). Theater and other (seedier) entertainments flourish(ed) in Times Square; it’s home to Broadway, after all. Even the neon lights and advertisements that sprout like weeks from surrounding buildings are popular tourist photo backdrops. The crushing crowds stream in from all sides, eager to take pictures and experience the area.
But what does the area have to actually experience? Avant-garde theater no longer exists, after being pushed out by revivals of popular performances guaranteed to make money instead of sparking controversy. Nor do any commercial establishments exist that cannot be found in a suburban mall—FAO Schwartz is now a Toys R Us, and the only Red Lobster and Applebees in the city are located on 42nd Street.
bell hooks stressed the importance of space as defining the activities and people that inhabit it in Black Vernacular: Architecture as Cultural Practice. Perhaps Times Square is meant to be a shrine to consumerism with oversized ads serving as icons of capitalism.
 |
| Me (left) in Time Square with a friend in 2007 |
For more information its history and on what others think of Times Square, check out the following links:
http://www.timessquarenyc.org/then_now/then_now.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Square
http://gothamist.com/2010/12/04/times_says_times_squares_disneyfica.php
http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2010/08/12/tasteful-in-times-square-theres-a-law-against-that/
Works cited
hooks, b. (1995). Black Vernacular: Architecture as cultural practice. In Art on my mind: Visual politics (145-151). New York: The New Press.
Assignment
Introduce self by locating and describing a public sphere of influence in the human-built environment (e.g., mall, Internet site, television show, listserv, news broadcast, advertisement, artwork, built-environment).
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