Unit 10 - Global Contemporary Flashcards
1
Q
The Gates: Identifiers
A
Style: Site Art
Artist: Christo & Jeanne-Claude
Location: New York City
Date: 2005
2
Q
The Gates: Form
A
- saffron colored, 3 piece vinyl frame (each side on a steel base)
- saffron colored fabric loosely hanging from the top
- a golden ceiling creating warm shadows
- 7,503 gates, 23 miles of walkways, 16 ft. high
- width of gate varied
- 6 weeks to install, came down day after end of exhibit
- Why? Inspired by the way the pedestrians navigate the paths
- did not want to drill thousands of holes in the soil and potentially harm the root systems of trees, etc.
3
Q
The Gates: Function
A
- testament to 2 controversial topics on contemporary art: 1. how to create meaningful public art 2. how art responds to and impacts our relationships with the built environment
- meant for pedestrian motion
- temporary
4
Q
The Gates: Content
A
- responding to Central Park as a designed space: created to preserve the natural environment in a dense urban grid
- although Central Park is an oasis is is one of the finest examples of urban planning- gates reinforce & highlight pre-existing routes in manmade environment
- inclusion/intrusion of fabric left some people uneasy: critiques of The Gates are rooted in the issue of their relationship with nature
- Central Park not an untouched natural space
5
Q
The Gates: Context
A
- perseverance: 26 years in the making, meetings, proposals, presentations, faced rejecting, turning point: Election of Mayor Bloomberg in 2001- collector of their art
- Feb 12-27 2005
- since 1960s adding fabric to the environment
- 21 million dollars- financed by the artists: sold preparatory drawings to raise money, do not accept sponsors
- free exhibition
- city of NY and Central Park Conservancy did not use public money, but their support and approval were seen as invaluable currency by critics
6
Q
Vietnam Veterans Memorial: Identifiers
A
Style: Site Art
Artist: Maya Lin
Location: Washington D.C
Date: 1982 CE
7
Q
Vietnam Veterans Memorial: Form
A
- long series of slabs of stone
- reflective black granite
- thin
- sunk into the ground- walk down the path, sink into the earth and the earth opens up to reveal their names
8
Q
Vietnam Veterans Memorial: Function
A
- memorial
- help loved ones cope with loss
- focus on the servicemen rather than a monument that focus on political aspects/public reception of the war
9
Q
Vietnam Veterans Memorial: Content
A
- inscribed with names of men who died in Vietnam War
- more than 58,000 names, more being added
- names are the only ting not reflective: substance of the monument, reflectivity of granite opened up into a world we could not enter, that we can only see
10
Q
Vietnam Veterans Memorial: Context
A
- National Mall
- Between Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial: bring together past and present
- 1,400 entries- all anonymous: Maya Lin was a 21 year old undergraduate at Yale
- Asian American Artist: experienced racism and backlash over memorial, apolitical approach
11
Q
Horn Players: Identifiers
A
Style: Graffiti Art
Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
Date: 1983
12
Q
Horn Players: Form + Function
A
Form: triptych, artist known for his use of text
Function: celebration of African American culture, rewrite the cannon & include himself
13
Q
Horn Players: Content
A
- 2 famous Jazz musicians: Saxophonist Charlie Parker (pink notes) & Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie (known for scat singing)
- many words relate specifically to Charlie Parker: ORNITHOLOGY!!! Reference to his nickname “Bird”
- PREE = Parker’s daughter
- CHAN = his common-law wife
14
Q
Horn Players: Context
A
- before his success as a painter, he was famous for writing on the walls of lower Manhattan w/ a friend SAMO
- Close proximity to galleries “SAMO AS AN END TO PLAYING ART” “SAMO FOR THE SO-CALLED AVANT-GARDE”
- an outsider in the mainstream art world despite rapid rise to success
- often compared to Picasso- “Black Picasso”: never embraced the nickname, very influenced by his work
15
Q
Summer Trees: Identifiers
A
Style: Modern Painting
Artist: Song Su-Nam
Location: South Korea
Date: 1983 CE
16
Q
Summer Trees: Form
A
- 2 ft. Ink
- artist was a leader of the Sumukwha = Oriental Ink Movement of 1980s/means ink wash painting: Sumukwha is the Korean pronunciation of the Chinese word
- Also known as literati painting: Literatus was known as a scholar poet/artist which was the ideal main in China in 11th century or before
- you would make a painting and a poem using the same tools
- Chinse pottery was considered the best and ink wash painting was its equal
17
Q
Summer Trees: Function
A
- express identity
- Sumukwha provided an ideal: helped with the psychological displacement, model for individual character and moral compass for whatever challenges life presents
- statement of optimism in the rediscovery of traditional values recast for modern times
18
Q
Summer Trees: Content
A
- landscape
- group of pine trees that symbolize a gathering of friends of upright character
- allusion to the world of the literati
19
Q
Summer Trees: Context
A
- in Chinese poetry- mountainous landscapes & plants = ideal qualities for the literatus ~ live in nature away from power & money
- artist was a professor: modern literati of Korea
- 1980s tension about art mediums western (oil paint) vs. East Asian (ink and painting), he felt that materials of West did not properly communicate his identity as a Korean
- trauma- Korea took great pride in political cultural distinctiveness: end of Korea’s ancient monarchy, colonization by the japanese who tried to end korean language, Karean War (1950-53), living in fear of N. Korea, American Military presence
20
Q
Androgyne III: Identifiers
A
Style: Modern Sculpture
Artist: Magdalena Abakanowicz
Date: 1985 CE
21
Q
Androgyne III: Form/Content
A
- figure sits on a low stretcher of wooden legs, substituting or human legs
- figure is hollowed out, just a shell
- placed to be seen in the round: complete back and hollow front visible
- androgynous figure, sexual characteristics minimized to increase universality of figure
22
Q
Androgyne III: Materials
A
- made of hardened fiber casts from plaster molds
- hardened fiber has appearance of crinkled human skin set in earth tones
23
Q
Androgyne III: Context
A
- Magdalena Abakanowicz was a Polish artist who endured WWII, the Nazi occupation of Poland, and Stalinist rule
- since 1974 the artist had been making similar figures, often without heads or arms in large groups of singly
24
Q
A Book from the Sky: Identifiers
A
Style: Mixed Media Installation
Artist: Xu Bing
Location: Originally Beijing, now moves around the world
Date: 1987-1991
25
Q
A Book from the Sky: Form/Content
A
- work references Chinese art forms: scrolls, screens, books, and paper
- 400 handmade books placed in rows on the ground
- one walks beneath printed scrolls hanging from the ceiling
- all of the Chinese characters are inventions of the artist and have no meaning
- artist used traditional Asian wood-block techniques
26
Q
A Book from the Sky: History
A
- original title: “An Analyzed Reflection of the End of This Century”
- originally in the National Museum of Fine Arts in Beijing; filled a large exhibition space
- artist los favor with the Communist government over this work
- Mounted at many venues in the West afterwords
27
Q
A Book from the Sky: Context
A
- Xu Bing is a Chinese-born artist and U.S resident
- artist was trained in the propagandist socialist realist style; that background led to his critique of power in works such as this one
- criticized as “bourgeois liberation” claimed that its meaninglessness hid secret subversions. others interpret the meaningless characters are reflecting the meaningless words found in political doublespeak
28
Q
Pink Panther: Identifiers
A
Style: Neo-Conceptual Art
Artist: Jeff Koons
Location: NYC
Date: 1988
29
Q
Pink Panther: Form
A
- artificially idealized female form: verly yellow air, bright red lips, large breasts, pronounced red fingernails; overtly fake looks
- life size
30
Q
Pink Panther: Content
A
- the woman is Jayne Mansfield (1933-1967), a popular screen star and a Playboy playmate
- Pink Panther, a cartoon character, generally seen as an animalted figure
- the panther has a tender and delicate gesture around Jayne Mansfield
31
Q
Pink Panther: Context
A
- Jeff Koons is a Pennsylvania-born artist, working in New York
- this work is a commentary on celebrity romance, sexuality, commercialism, stereotypes, pop culture, and sentimentality
- the work is a kitsch but is made of “high art” porcelain
- creates a permanent reality out of something that is ephemeral and never meant to be exhibited
- part o a series called The Banality at a show in Sonnenbend Gallery in New York in 1988
32
Q
Untitled #228 (from the History Portrait Series): Identifiers
A
Style: Feminist Art/Photography
Artist: Cindy Sherman
Location: U.S.A
Date: 1990
33
Q
Untitled #228 (from the History Portrait Series): Content
A
- image explores theme of Old Testament figure Judith decapitating Holofernes (from the Book of Judith)
- richness of costuming and setting acts as a commentary on late 19th century versions of his subject
- richly decorative drapes hang behind the figure
- judith lacks any emotional attachment to the murder that has taken place
- uses her sexuality to attract and slay Holofernes
- Holofernes appears masklike, alert, and nearly bloodless
- red garments denote lust and blood
34
Q
Untitled #228 (from the History Portrait Series): Context
A
- NJ born American Artist
- artist appears as photographer, subject, costumer, hairdresser, and makeup artist in each work
- expresses the artifice of art by revealing the props used in the process
- work comments on gender, identity, society, and class distinction
- artist uses old master paintings as a starting point, but the works are not derivative
- series sheds a modern light on the great masters- in this case Italian Baroque
35
Q
Dancing At The Louvre: Identifiers
A
Style: Feminist/Racial Issues
Artist: Faith Ringgold
Location: U.S.A
Date: 1991
36
Q
Dancing At The Louvre: Form/Materials
A
- artist uses American slave art form of the quilt to create her works
- Quilts were originally meant to be both beautiful and useful- works of applied art
- these quilts not mean to be useful
- quilting is a traditionally female art form
- artist combines traditional use of oil paint with the quilting technique
37
Q
Dancing At The Louvre: Content
A
- figures in Ringgold’s works often act out a history that might never have taken place, but that the artist would have liked to have taken place
- artist created a character named Willia Marie Simone, a young black artist who move to Paris. She takes her friend and 3 daughters to the Louvre museum and dances in front of 3 paintings by Leonardo da Vinci
- story is spelled out in text written on the borders of the quilt
- this is the first of 12 quilts in a series
