"Spencer Tunick"-Erin Hepper

During todays class I was very taken back by the work of Spencer Tunick. At first I was somewhat grossed out by his unconventional method of creating art, but upon visiting his own website I found some more pieces that were really interesting to look at. I could definitely see how people could find Tunick's work offensive, but I would really encourage them to take a second look at his pieces. At first all I could see was nudity, but once I looked past that I really began to grow an appreciation for his unique work. The piece below really caught my attention because of the surroudnings. Most of his other works seem to take place in more urban environments and I really loved how this piece was in a natural setting. I also really liked how after I looked at the image for a while the people almost disappeared and seemed like they just fit in the with the mountain range. Furthermore, on Tunick's website he had a much smaller section that had images of individuals as opposed to large groups. I found these to have less of an impact, but I still have a great appreciation for the creativity and unique concepts Tunick uses.

Michael Craig-Martin- Erin

Last class we saw some work by contemporary artist Michael Craig-Martin. I found his work to be extremely eye catching because of the bright colors and unique concepts he uses. Upon visiting his own web site I viewed some of his current works, installations, paintings, and prints. Although all of these pieces were different they still followed a similar theme of bright colors and very cartoon-ish drawings of various different everyday items. While some may question Craig-Martin’s credibility as his artist due to the simplicity of his work, I disagree strongly. It takes a great deal of creative genius to even come up with the idea to make art inspired by unadorned items such as sunglasses, fire extinguishers, and headphones.

The installation that I found to be most fascinating was created in 2000 in Valencia, Spain. I really loved how his contemporary work was showcased in what seems to be a very traditionally designed space. The marble arches, ornate moldings, and beautiful columns scream tradition and are almost brought to life by the bright colors used by the artist. The juxtaposition of his contemporary work to the classical architecture is quite the duo. Also, I found it to be very creative of Craig-Martin to paint his own windows into the windowless space. Lastly, the bright green, purples, yellows, and numerous other colors used are probably my favorite part. He clearly has no fear when it comes to using color and it really brightens up the space, which is very exciting for any viewer’s eye. Overall, I have a great deal of respect for Michael Craig-Martin’s style. He keeps things interesting while showcasing simple items, which is not an easy task in my opinion.

Jeff Koons - Basketball - Ashley

I found this work to be very interesting, done by Jeff Koons. It is three basketballs enclosed in this class, watery like atmosphere that almost seems unattainable. This may seen to some people as a representation of nostalgia or even ambition, yet both are out of reach. I also found it interesting that after 6 months the balls have to be reset because after that period of time they will sink to the bottom of the tank. This might represent uncertainty or the change in one's meaning.

Koons response if he would be interested in doing ads for lets say spalding or nike:

Koons: I would be extremely interested. I’m not interested in corporations having my work. Some corpora-tions collect my work, that’s fine. But let’s say I use a specific product, like a Spalding basketball. I don’t want Spalding to have my basketball. I don’t do it for that reason. But if Spalding came to me and asked if I would like to work on an ad cam-paign, I’d love to do that.

After doing a little more research I also found it extremely interesting that Koons is simply the 'idea person', which he openly admits. He has no hands on experience in the creation of any of his works. He simply has the idea in his head and he goes to the 'top people' that have the capabilities of carrying out what he wants. I found this interesting considering he gets all the credit, yet puts in no physical labor. I feel as if there should be some credit given to the people who are actually creating this, whether it be their idea or not.

Damien Hirst - $100 Million for a Skull?! Nicole

Damien Hirst is an artist that is well-known all over the world for his work. He is supposedly the richest artist ever. Death is an important theme in his work, and his art ususally ties back to this. The above is entitled "For the Love of God", and has over 8,00 diamonds throughout the skull. It is said to be worth $100 million. That is a LOT of money; is it possible that a skull could be worth so much?? It is true that it is marvelous to look at; your eyes are automatically drawn to it. But how can a piece of art be worth so much? It is interesting to see something like this sell for so much money when there are so many lesser known and up and coming artists who receive no attention or appreciation whatso ever.

What is Dadaism? - Ashley

What is Dadaism? After discussing Dadaism in class I was curious to learn more about it. Dadaism or Dada was said to be more of a cultural movement in visual arts, that came about after World War I. It also had influence on some theatre, graphic design and literature, but mostly poetry. The movement was described to be a protest against the inhumane acts of the war. The artists, called Dadaists believed that it was an 'oppressive intellectual rigidity in both art and everyday society; its works were characterized by a deliberate irrationality and the rejection of the prevailing standards of art.' It later had influence in the movement of surrealism. Although it didn't originate in New York, there were many active dadaists found there. These included Marcel Duchamp and Beatrice Wood. Around this time there were movements of dadaism all around the world such as, Berlin, Cologne and Paris. Dada's influence reached out in to sound and music: Kurt Schwitters developed what he called "sound poems" and composers such as Erwin Schulhoff, Hans Heusser and Albert Savinio began writing "dada music", while members of Les Six collaborated with dada movement members and had pieces played at dada gatherings. Dada then began to die with the onset of World War II, and moved on to influence other art movements. The picture of the fountain above was one of Duchamp's most popular works. People, myself included, might look at that and wonder why that is art to some people because to us it could simply be explained as a urinal, however the artist takes it and makes it a work of its own in this time of dadaism where everything is "readymade".

Marcel Duchamp - A urinal is supposed to be art? Nicole (2)

The above is by Marcel Duchamp, and is entitled "Fountain". But it is not a fountain, it is a urinal!!! How do those two things get mixed up? I have a difficult time with this. Can it really be considered artwork? Could I take a picture of the sink in my apartment and call it "spring" and have it be a world renowned piece of work?!
"Fountain" was created during the Dataist movement in the early 20th century. The members of this group were trying to create "anti-art" to challenge what art really is. After learning this, I could understand Fountain a bit better, because it doesn't really seem like art to me! Like the balloon dogs I commented on before this, they do not fit into the idea of a beautiful piece of art. When I think of art, I see a beautiful scene that was drawn or a painting of a beautiful person. Not a blow-up dog or a urinal!!!

Jeff Koonz - Interesting "Balloons"

After discussing the work of Jeff Koonz in class recently, I decided to look a little closer at some of his art. When searching for his work, there were many of his balloon-like artwork of dogs in different colors like the one seen above. A lot of his art is similar to this; it is sometimes called "Neopop" or "Post-Pop", because of its classification as pop art. Koonz's work is sold for very high amounts of money; he has even set a record for most expensive piece of art sold. Usually it seems that artists have all sorts of hidden meanings or reasonings as to why they draw, paint or mold certain things. What is so interesting about Koonz is that he dismisses the possibility of hidden meaning completely. "A viewer might at first see irony in my work... but I see none at all. Irony causes too much critical contemplation." Koon's crucial point is to reject any hidden meaning in his artwork. "The meaning is only what one perceives at first glance; there is no gap between what the work is in itself and what is perceived." So does that mean when he is designing a big pink dog, he in fact is thinking of just that, and nothing else?