Week 8 - Industrialisation

Industrialisation and Cao Fei's RMB City

The artists of the late 1800's and early 1900's, in Europe, were influenced by the Industrial revolution.

1. What and when was the Industrial Revolution?

The Industrial Revolution was a period from 1750 to 1850. Europe began to industrialize rapidly, but in England was at the head of this process. Changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had huge effects on the social, economic and cultural conditions at the time, just about every aspect of everyday life was altered in some way. It started with the textile industries. With the transition from agricultural based economy to a machine based economy, people were moving from the country into the cities because there were less laboured jobs, as it had all turned to machine powered work.

Both paintings featured on this blog, that are from the early 1900s were painted by Modernist painters from the group called 'Futurists'. The Futurists celebrated the machine, and objects in motion. Their primary objective was to depict movement, which they saw as symbolic of their commitment to the dynamic forward thrust of the 20th century.

2. Research both Modernist paintings in order to comment on the subject matter, form and style used to celebrate the machine and motion in each painting. Answer the question in 2 parts for each painting.

 In ‘The City Rises’ at first we can see a horse taking steps forward, surrounding it are people pulling the people out of the way for the factories that appear to be in the background. The horses legs have been painted in such a way to show motion, which is why it comes off blurry. The men are painted in the same way,when you look upon the face of  the man in front of the horse, you can see by his expressions the problems the process of modernization had on the man, possibly symbolising men in general.The general gist of this painting gives a very hectic and overwhelming feeling, this potrays the feelings of the very confusing and unsettled time it was. 

  

Dynamism of a dog on a leash (1912) is painted in the same style as ‘ The city Rises’. The feet on both the person walking the dog and the dog have blurred legs giving the effect that they are moving briskly. The backgrounds lines suggest direction. The painting gives a feeling of franticness and as if the subject matter is in a rush. This relates to the industrialisation as it would have been a very hectic time for people and this feeling of confusion is portrayed through the harsh and bold brush strokes.

Cao Fei's RMB City (2007-9) refers to China's recent rapid industialisation and urbanization.
(www.artspace.org.nz/exhibitions/2009/cafeintopia.asp)

3. Research Cao Fei's RMB 2007-9City ()  in order to comment on this work in more depth.
i.e describe the images that has she used in her digital collage that refer to China's present and history, and explain why has she used these images.

Fei’s RMB City shows an overall view of Beijing and the mix of communisim, socalisim and capitalism. In her work she has used symbols such as the panda to represent peace and make the connection to china, also she has used nuclear bombs in reference to war,in relation to industrialism and urbanization, we can see a lot of rapid movement from the forms of transportation, the expansion of buildings, importation and exportation all this symbolising the beginning and growth to come

 

4. RMB City is described as a utopia/dystopia. Comment on what these terms mean, and how they can be applied to the work.

Utopia can be defined as a ‘perfect society’. A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian. Examples of dystopia in this image are the use of flames and the destroyed tower as they show the destruction of a destroyed society. . The utopian society is portrayed in this image through the use of the perfect wheel and the large towers underneath, these show a utopian society because they are perfect and whole, the definition of utopia is " An ideally perfect place, especially in its social, political, and moral aspects."

5. Although the Modernist paintings and the contemporary digital work have emerged from different contexts, there are also many similarities. Comment on the similarities that you can see in the work. Look at the moving digital image at vimeo.com/4272260, if you have not already researched it.

Both paintings and contemporary digital work depict movement and show how the change in modern society has affected the works of artists and have changed the process and result of how their art is constructed. In these pictures themes in society are addressed such as, industrialisation, urbanisation and the effects on society and economy.

http://www.artchive.com/artchive/B/balla/dogleash.jpg.html

http://dunedin.art.museum/exhibitions.asp?d=203

http://vimeo.com/4272260

Week 6-Landscape and the Sublime

'Wanderer in the mists' (1818) Caspar David Friedrich

'Untitled #2" (2002) Richard Misrach

Richard Misrach's photography reflects the concept of the Sublime, from the Enlightenment.

Research Misrach's work by reading about his intentions, and also by looking at the work. Then answer the following questions;

1. Define the Enlightenment, including its context (time and place).The Enlightenment was the creation and beginning of new ideas about man, society and nature which challenged traditional world views, dominated by Christianity. The main components of the enlightenment thought are,

·         The universe can be understood through reason alone

·         Seeing is believing

·         Experience is preferred over authority

·         If we can understand it, we can control it

·         Human history is a history of progress

·         Humans can be improved by education

·         Religion has no place in the understanding the physical human world

2. Define the concept of the Sublime.

‘The sublime’ is defined as that the life of feeling and spirit depended on us being in harmony with a greater order of the universe. The sublime is therefore seen as the ultimate of ‘greatness’ and ‘divinity’.  The sublime is an experience created by the beauty of untouched nature, it toys with your emotions, making you feel ‘on top of the world’ but also makes you feel so insignificant compared to the vast landscape.

3. Explain how the concept of the Sublime came out of Enlightenment thought.

The concept of the sublime came out of the enlightenment because it was not seen as a stable way of life. The sublime came out of this as people, even though landscape was at the bottom of the art importance at the time, pulled away from painting religious or mythological concepts. They began to paintings that reflected the world around them for example still life and landscape. This way of painting became more acceptable over time and later developed into the concept of the sublime.

4. Discuss the subject matter, and aesthetic (look) of Misrach's work to identify the Sublime in his work. Include some quotes from art critics and other writers who have written about his work. 

Misrach’s subject matter is the human form and landscapes. He strategically places people in vast areas to draw attention to how much bigger the space is and how small and almost how insignificant the people look. Misrach said himself, “My thinking about this work was influenced by the events of 9/11, particularly by the images of individuals and couples falling from the World Trade Towers, as well as by the 1950s Cold War novel and film, On the Beach. Paradise has become an uneasy dwelling place; the sublime sea frames our vulnerability, the precarious nature of life itself.”

5. Add 2 new images of his work to your blog.

Desert Fire (Man with Rifle)

6. Describe how does Misrach's photography makes you feel. How does it appeal to your imagination? Misrach’s photography makes me feel isolated and also gives me an airy feeling. It makes me think what was the person in the photograph feeling? It also makes me feel at peace as there is no busyness and chaos shown in the photograph. I get the sense that it would be quiet and quite therapeutic.

7. Identify some other artists or designers that work with ideas around the Sublime, from the Enlightenment era as well as contemporary artists.

                       Bridge near the Usk, Turner.

Anne Noble, images from Antarctica

8. Add a Sublime image of your choice to your blog, which can be Art or just a Sublime photograph.

  Casper Fridedrich, Monk by the sea  1809






http://www.artnet.com/awc/richard-misrach.html
http://www.answers.com/topic/idea-of-the-sublime
http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/hum_303/enlightenment.html
http://www.mocp.org/collections/permanent/misrach_richard.php

Week 4 - Humanism and contemporary sculpture.

 Ron Mueck's sculpture and Humanism

Mask II (2002) Ron Mueck

A girl (2006) Ron Mueck

Ron Mueck has become internationally recognised for his unique sculptures, which replicate the human figure with unrivalled technical skill. His work has a powerful psychological range, focusing not only on universal experiences like birth, life and death but on emotional states such as isolation, fear and tenderness. His startling manipulations of scale are key to our experience of each work.

Mueck's work showed at the Christchurch Art Gallery from the end of 2010 through to January 2011. Research Mueck's sculpture in order to answer the following questions;

1. Mueck's sculpture is described as 'hyper-real'. Define the meaning of this term and explain how it is evident in his work. The term hyper real simply defined  is when something is exaggerated in comparison to reality. This is evident in Muecks work as the sculptures are extremely realistic, with the textures and accurate shaping of the human body but when people view the sculptures it is visable that some aspects have been exaggerated to make it become hyper-real.

2. Mueck says he is not interested in making life size sculpture. Find out why he is more interested in working with the scale of the figure which is not life size, and mention 2 works which use scale that is either larger or smaller than life.

Mueck is well known for is larger than life sculptures, in an interview he stated, ‘I never made life-size figures because it never seemed to be interesting. We meet life-size people every day.’ Mueck enjoys the journey the viewer takes when experiencing one of this works, the scale adds to this journey. ‘The pregnant Woman, 2002’ stands at 252cm high, the ‘spooning couple’ plinth: 690 x 827 x 624 mm, 20 kg displayed: 1165 x 1040 x 790 mm, as shown in comparison to human hands.

 

3. Define Renaissance Humanism , and identify which aspects of Humanism can be seen in Mueck's work. Note that the contemporary definition of Humanism is much broader than the Renaissance definition.

During the fourteenth and beginning of the fifteenth century, Scholasticism had evolved, preparing men to become those in what is classed as ‘professional’ jobs for example doctors and lawyers. Renaissance Humanism, was a response to this, and doing so prepared woman and the lower class for work. Renaissance Humanism is shown through Mueck’s work, for example the giant head ‘ Mask II’ is of male gender, symbolising that men were big headed, through ‘ The pregnant woman’

4. Research and discuss one of Mueck's sculptures that you might find challenging or exciting to experience in an art gallery. Describe the work, upload an image of the work, and explain your personal response to the work.  A Girl, is made of silicone, polyurethane, wood with synthetic hair. It is 85-cm-high with oversize eyes and is part of a private collection. I think I would be drawn to this sculpture as it has most defiantly caught my eye out of this collection. I enjoy the ‘realness’ of sculpture, Mueck hasn’t made birth of a baby pleasant, he has made it so realistic with the umbilical cord still attached, signs of blood present on the babies skin and wrinkles, I love Mueck’s attention to detail.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d-Yub0lu7Q&feature=related

http://www.sculpture.org/documents/scmag03/jul_aug03/mueck/mueck.shtml