Performance Art Piece

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9osxRWu8Abg

MoMA Show

I think that the Marina Albramovic performance art piece should be viewed as actual art work, therefore the man and woman in the piece should not be bothered or touched, even if they are naked. They are people, however, in the museum standing, representing a piece of art, they are only to be seen as the art. People that visit the museum are encouraged not to touch the pieces of art, therefore performance artist should not be talked to, bothered in anyway, and most importantly touched. Also, is it really ever appropriate to touch someone you don't know in odd places?

Stelarc

Stelarc is a very interesting performance artist. His work amazed me. Not only was it very interesting to see a third arm working, but the fact that he has an actual third ear growing on his arm is just unbelievable. I like how he incorporates technology with the body. In a world where technology is growing, testing it's limits through the human body makes perfect sense.

Fluxus

A result of the Dada, Fluxus came into play not long after. Fluxus began musically with John Cage who began experimenting with his music in the 1950s. Fluxus gave artists a "do it yourself" approach, which created many unique pieces of art and music. Different styles and combinations were used to create new and interesting artwork. Scientific, philosophical and sociological ideas were used to express opinions and statements through art. George Maciunas was also another important artist to Fluxus. He is well known for his Fluxus boxes that contained his collections. I personally like the Fluxus style. It seemed to bring ordinary things to life in a way that they have purpose. I like how anything goes in Fluxus and how many interesting pieces derived from it.

Joseph Beuys

Joseph Beuys was a German artist that was in WW II. After the war he focused on his sculpting abilities and got a degree in sculpting. He decided to dedicate his life to art and began performance art pieces during the Fluxus movement.

One of his performances was titled "How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare". In this performance Beuys was positioned through the gallery window covered in honey and gold leaf holding a dead hare. Although I think this is a disturbing performance piece, it seemed to have a great affect on the people of his time.

Another performance piece that we discussed in class was "I Like America and America Likes Me". Beuys shared a room with a coyote. He used a lot of symbolism in this piece. Apparently he did not stop foot in America during this trip claiming he, "Wanted to isolate myself, insulate myself, see nothing of America other than the coyote". I thought this piece was interesting because of the symbolism the coyote has with America.

Gilbert & George

Gilbert and George were a very interesting couple. I really liked their performance in the art galleries. It was very interesting how they painted themselves and created their own singing "sculpture". The idea of using themselves as actual art in the gallery seemed to bring life to art. Not only would they just stand still on a block in the gallery, but they would also entertain gallery guests by singing. I think if I experienced this I would really like the entertainment.

The grid work that they made later on was also very eye-catching. I like that they still chose to use themselves in the art. Although very interesting, I did not like some of the extreme images that contained body fluids etc. I'm sure at the time they were making a huge impact in the art world with using such bizarre images, however, I would not personally want that hanging in my bedroom. I thought the bold color use worked extremely well with their designs.

Orlan

At first, I thought Orlan was a very interesting artist. I really liked the art she did in the beginning. The idea of making herself the main figure in other paintings is genius. She fit right in the paintings, making very interesting pieces of art, even more interesting. However, I think she should have stopped there. Although I understand the message she is trying to portray with her varies plastic surgeries, I think that actually deconstructing who she is for art is too extreme. Surgery is a risk each time you participate and I personally don't think her message was really worth risking her life. I do respect that she cares that much about self image to actually put her own life at risk by transforming her own entire image. I think that her new found interest in photoshop is working really well. She has some very interesting ideas and designs. I find it even more interesting that now at her older age, she is no longer going through plastic surgeries, but has found a way to still alter body images through modernized photoshop art medium. It is a lot safer and she is able to alter the results of any image she wishes to create. She is still getting her messages across, without physically harming herself.

Xerox Project

Scanned flowers and myself and created this bizarre composition.