sad art

Although the art world has been hit by the economy, it is certainly not as serious as some other markets. There are constantly people arguing that everything in the art world is fine. Maybe true, but the tone of the art has definitely gotten lower.

I would like to call your attention first to Carsten Holler's 2006 installment in the Unilever series. He turned the Turbine Hall into a playful, visually challenging space. Everyone can relate to a slide - it brings up associations with joy and childhood, nostalgia. And these slides are large enough that even as an adult, who could resist the temptation?


Now in comparison I would like to consider the most recent addition to the Unilever series - Miroslaw Balka's 'box of darkness.' It is a massive, interactive steel box that could be considered sculpture or architecture. Visitors can either enter the box and experience total darkness, or they can walk under it and listen the experiences of those above.


It must be a struggle as an artist commissioned to deal with this enormous space, to fill it up or change it. I think it is so interesting that in the past couple of years the art has gotten so much heavier. This piece is related to Polish history and immigration, but it is also a mode of self-reflection. To explore total darkness, visual silence, is to experience heightened input from the other senses in a way that you cannot do out in a city. The emptiness and cold of the steel reflect a different period for art and sculpture where excess and frivolity are replaced by inward contemplation.

better than treasure

I came across a Shepard Fairey in Harvard Square, and was immediately compelled to point, shout, examine, and photograph. A photo by Amelia:


Some interesting observations:

• a scribble exclaiming 'f u fairy' -was the misspelling purposely meant as an insult?
• the work was made of two general areas which looked as though they had been ripped and overlapped - combined with the actual rips and tears it created a wonderful effect
• someone had written 'sell out' on the forehead of the woman in this print
• someone else had crossed it out

I was shocked that so many people walked by without even a passing glance - perhaps because I was beside myself with excitement. How often is it that I can actually touch the works that I study? I love public art.

In my opinion, all art should be this close to people - for them to interact with and observe. Does anyone out there think that Fairey is a sellout? How does being a household name change his message?

cell tango

An exhibit called Cell Tango is currently on view at the Davis Museum and Cultural Center at Wellesley. From artists George Legrady and Angus Forbes, it is a computer program running in real time that takes photos submitted by email (to submit send the photo as an attachment with related tags in the title of the email to pix@celltango.org) from anywhere in the world and pairs them with other photos from the internet with similar tags. They appear in webs and clusters based on the key words.


George Legrady spoke about the project at the opening earlier in the semester. He talked about how he believed it was art because he had created the program that was executing his idea. He also brought up the point that the project is open to the whole world, but generally only people who are involved in the community in some way are interested in submitting their photos. Along those lines, there is no editing or censorship involved - pictures go up within about 2 minutes - and so far 'they've been lucky.'

As I sat there I saw many different clusters of photos rotate through the screen, but I found myself thinking how much more interesting the work would be if there were more photos. Then again it is such a small community that I was directly engaged with many of the images that appeared.

Although technically they are supposed to be photos taken from a cell phone, I decided to submit a couple of my own from last year:

tags: friends, party, high school throwback

tags: holidays, trees, friendship

The implications of this work are very important as our society leans more toward technology. At what point to we draw the line between technology and art? Is designing a computer program enough?

It is also a social experiment - after the opening talk I spoke with one of my professors about how we both had the urge to whip out cameras right there and take a picture of the artist talking about the work to submit to the project. It supports the idea of common associations and the shared human experience. And I love that it is always in flux.

tangential fountain

And in case you weren't convinced about Duchamp's Fountain being fundamentally important in modern art, take a look at this still of a video by Nauman from his early work in minimalist video Self-Portrait as a Fountain:

In the video loop, Nauman recorded himself spewing water out of his mouth over and over as a statement of physical endurance, thereby making himself the art object. The video still exemplifies the effect that Duchamp had on art even decades later by demonstrating an artist's struggle with the meaning of the original work - it shows how much Duchamp was very much a part of the collective unconscious of artists almost 50 years later.

leave the land alone

Bruce Nauman is an internationally recognized artist, who represented the U.S. at the Venice Biennale this year and was furthermore presented with the prestigious Golden Lion award. He has been a presence in the art world since the 1960s, and has been very influential in sculpture and minimalist video.

Nauman works in a variety of mediums, but his signature pieces are generally executed in neon lighting. He often uses text in his work.


On this past Saturday, September 12, Nauman finally executed a sculpture that he conceived in the late 1960s. Leave the Land Alone 1969/2009 is a commentary on the use of natural resources, but even more than that, a call to action - or inaction, as the case may be. The execution consisted of several planes which flew above the Pasadena, CA area and spelled out the words 'LEAVE THE LAND ALONE' in puffs of smoke. The planes retraced the original path a number of times throughout the execution.


The associations that I immediately make are those of pollution and smoke in the air, and the idea that pollution 'disappears' into the atmosphere and thus out of the minds of many. The dots of smoke are digital looking in a way, and remind me of those ticker signs. Even more so I think of the idea of fleeting support for a cause, and the possibility that if you do not understand the message then the entire event make seem confusing and unsettling. Apparently, some spectators even mistook the event for a protest set by a religious organization against intervening in the CA forest fires.

The sky that day made for a beautiful backdrop, and I like the combination of the playful puffs and the assertive message.

art in the park at woo

I am officially back on campus, and just finished a pretty intense week of leadership training. I have to be honest and say that as much as I would like to keep posting every Wednesday, I'm just not sure I can keep up - but I will do my best.

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I took a quick jaunt to Worcester last night, and on the way to Price Chopper (like the dollar store, but with food: cheap, a little bit sketchy, and quite overwhelming) I was shown Art in the Park by my very adept driver who correctly guessed that it was right up my alley.

Nexus, Brook Mullins

Organized by the Worcester Cultural Commission, the exhibition runs through Sept. 30 in Elm Park and contains work from 14 New England artists.

Pianista Observatorium, Michael Frassinelli

Red Totems, by Susan Champeny, is visible from the street and looks like a series of over-sized heavy plastic toys. They almost reminded me of chess pieces or painted pottery. In reality they are made from disposable plastic plates, cups, and bowls. This part of the exhibition was installed interactively and is based on concepts of reuse and disposal.


The only other piece visible from the street is Toaster by Steven Rolf Kroeger. I consider it an excellent work for attracting visitors, as it is definitely intriguing. The photo that I have is not the best, but it is a vw van-turned-toaster complete with styrofoam toast and lights in the windows made to resemble the heating coils on the inside of a toaster. Kroeger certainly has a sense of humor, and I can't help but love the absurdity. Can you imagine this zooming down the highway?

the elephant in the room

There is a very important work of art that I have not yet mentioned. It changed the course of modern art, and its creator continued to be a quiet presence in the art world. Marcel Duchamp's Fountain (1917) was literally the urinal heard 'round the world. It is a classic work of art, and one that you need to understand in order to analyze much of what came afterward. In a way, it helps to justify conceptual art.

Fountain was entered into the Society of Independent Artists exhibit, which announced that it would show any artist's work. Duchamp signed the urinal "R. Mutt" so that the art world would not recognize the well-known artist. It was hidden from view during the exhibit and caused quite a bit of controversy. At the time, ready-made art was a new concept, and it brings up issues of plagiarism. In addition to the fact that urinals were considered vulgar objects.

In defense of the work an anonymous editorial was published, which stated "Whether Mr. Mutt made the fountain with his own hands or not has no importance. He CHOSE it. He took an article of life, placed it so that its useful significance disappeared under the new title and point of view – created a new thought for that object."

Duchamp shifted the focus of art from technique to intellectual meaning. Now, the artist could elevate any object to art merely by selecting it. These were not random selections, however. The choice of a urinal poses some interesting questions (was it used? answer - no.) and brings to light the idea that something banal and common can be art. In actuality, the plumbing and engineering required for this device makes it quite advanced and in a sense, artistic. Arguments can be made either way, but it is the origination of the idea that "it is art if I say it is."