Post #2

This week we are continuing to look at the many different mediums in the art world...Last week I began talking about painting and this week we will finish that and pick up with sculpture. Which is a nice segway to begin talking about our next exhibition opening in Kipp Gallery. The exhibition is entitled "The Far Side of Function: Contemporary Works in Wood" and showcases some of the biggest names in furniture design and wood sculpture from around the country and also in Canada. Having such a show right under our noses gives us a chance to view the work in person for extended periods of time as well as to see them in the context of the gallery and our campus.

This is an interesting show in the fact that it is specific to a certain material...wood, but the exhibition is actually comprised of a large range of types of work. On display are objects intended for very specific functions, objects that are strictly sculptural and also works that exist in a strange place between those two worlds. This is what people in the art world would call a fine craft exhibition or an exhibition from a craft based perspective.

Here are two other artists that also work from a craft based medium Grayson Perry and Dale Chihuly. Please take the time to look at both links and also the artists' works. Both these gentlemen and the nature of their work have done a lot to bridge the gap between the age old argument of "art versus craft". Read this quote from Grayson Perry directed at our artist from the last post Damian Hirst..."The trouble with pottery is that it is almost too close to art to be co-opted into it. A shark, that's OK. But a pot - that's too close for comfort. If you call your pot art, your being pretentious. If you call your shark art, your being bold and philosophical."

Please respond to what it is that Grayson Perry is saying and whether or not you agree with his statement... or respond to one of the questions below.

After viewing the exhibition in Kipp Gallery and also the pieces in the Performing Art Center, please comment on what you think of the exhibition by addressing one of these topics: do furniture based works belong in a gallery?... does this all qualify as sculpture?...what is the argument all about between art and craft?

Media...

Media, materials, and the marketplace...three areas of interest from our most recent sessions as well as from chapter 3 in your text. We will be discussing different types of media in the art world as well as the great change in the use of types of materials. Like I have been saying since the beginning of this class, the marketplace and those people that are players within it, are integral to how "value" is placed on art works. We will look at people like Jeff Koons ,that seem to be all about creating a luxury product and playing up the concept of consumerism and we will also look at artists like Trenton Doyle Hancock, who make artwork that is about creating a personal mythology derived from his experiences as a child.

These days traditional disciplines in art overlap with theater, industry, advertising and more, resulting in new art forms and media. Today artists have the freedom to use any media they choose or create. Their choice can vary according to the idea or subject matter they wish to express in their work. It seems we have gone to extremes to illustrate certain ideas.

So, what I want to explore in this posting is the question...Which type of art is more valid in your mind...the art that is personal and created with fairly traditional materials or is it the art that is about much broader concepts and is created with materials that are not always considered to be part of the art world? Is there a happy medium between the two for you?

Before you begin thinking about this question, consider this big event that took place just this week in the art world... Artist Damian Hirst just sold almost 60 pieces of his work through Sotheby's, which is one of the biggest and most high end auction houses in the world, instead of using a gallery. His first two days of the auction netted 160 million dollars and there is still more than a hundred smaller pieces to be auctioned. Hirst is best known for his use of actual animals that are preserved and floating in giant tanks of formaldehyde. Click on the links built in to this post to find out more of this almost historic happening.After taking all this in, respond to the above question or one of the below.

How does the medium influence the way we perceive art, and the value we may give to a particular piece?

Why do artist today often use non-traditional materials to create their artworks?

If you were a very wealthy person who collected art, what type of art work would you invest in?...would you invest your money in tanks of dead animals?

WELCOME!

Welcome...I am glad you have found your way here. You will be required to respond to this blog throughout the semester. The first thing you need to do is create a google account...you do that by simply typing in your email address, give yourself a password, then put your first and last name in as what the comments will be signed. YOU MUST USE YOUR OWN NAME. Please do not use nicknames or aliases. Part of your participation grade is based on your comments on this blog...I need to be able to see your name.

First post will happen next week...

The above image is a detail of a large wood sculpture that will be placed in the Oak Grove for our up coming exhibition in Kipp Gallery...artist: Hisham Youssef