Walter Benjamin ""THE WORK OF ART IN THE AGE OF MECHANICAL REPRODUCTION"

. works of art have an inherent "Aura."
. Cave paintings are the first form of "Aura".
. Aura created a cult of beauty.
. the rise of technology/mechanism(reproduction) helped destroy the aura.
.  photography has/had/will destroy the aura.
. Walter Benjamin used the term "aura" when describing the effect Hashish had on him in 1930
. Without the aura art would become political. Reproduction would make art political. (both a good thing and a bad thing)

Jack Burgess explains Contemporary Art

Jack Burgess explains contemporary art in a four minuet video. This video illistrates the confusion views experience while looking at a contemporary art peice. He is trying to say that contemporary art is conceptually based, meaning it has everything to do with specific choices of materials and a reason bhind every mark. The subject matter must be interesting and relevant and most of the time, has something to do with the artists personally. 

"A New Boss, and a Jolt of Real-World Expertise" by Roberta Smith

Roberta Smiths article discusses Jeffrey Deitch's new position as the director of the Museum of Contemporary art in Los Angeles. She explains her ideas on how much of a big change this will bring to the Museum. This time around they are moving away from the traditional "academically trained directors in favor of the autodidacts."

What kind of change is this going to bring to the museum in terms of how it looks?

Will this make the museum more exciting?

Will this make the museum more corrupt?

"Anti-Mainstream Museum's Mainstream Show" Roberta Smith

Roberta Smith reviews and discusses the show "Skin Fruit" that was held at the New Museum in the spring of 2010. All in all, her opion of the show was poor, and she mainly had a negative outlook towards it. She explainins how the show was poorley curated making it complicated and uninviting. She was more concerned with the curation, then she was willing to talk about the work.

What is an example of a good curated show according to her?

Why is she talking about the curation more the the art itself?

Should the New Museum change their name?

Zizek on Crossdressing to the Sound of Music

Although Zizeks accent was strong and it was hard for me to clearly hear some of his points he was trying to make, he was trying to talk about the metaphors of the sound of music by referring to it as a "cheap shot." He says the the Nazis were impersonating the jews all along and that the Jews were taking over politics, banking, and ultimately the whole world. Basically, that the Nazis wanted to be like the Jews. He uses the term "cross-dressing" to explain how the Nazis wanted to look and have control over the Jews. I was very confused by the video clip, but i do belive there is some relevance to the art world today.

1. What role did this musical have in terms of WW2?
2. What kind of Nazi propaganda is still alive today?
3. Are many people offended by the Sound Of Music?

Sound Of Music Video

It was clear that the spectators were really feeling this performance.  It had everything to do with relational aesthetics because there performers and the views were both experiencing the piece together. While the dancers translated the music through there body, the audience clearly had a similar connection but felt the music through feeling. Everyone was experiencing the performance differently, it was almost interactive by the presence of energy in the room and that fact that everyone was experiencing feeling, either physically like the dancers, or mentally like the spectators.

Barthe's "Death of the Author"

Roland Barthe explains that sometimes the artist gets to much credit for their peice of art.  To him, writing is neutral, and it doesnt have its own personal "voice" once the work is written on paper. The writing itself becomes a symbol, overriding the author who puts there soul into the writing. It seems that people are more caught up with the author of a work, then the actual work itself. This runs along the lines of American culture and there observations with celebrity gossip. Today, tabloids are incredibly successful because people want to know actors, and singers life story and it is accessible through the media. In terms of an artist, i believe it is important to know there background because there art is a reflection of who they are. And when someone likes a piece or thinks its interesting, it is important to understand why it was made by researching the artists and knowing there own connection to the work they produce.

- Is it always important to know who the author is, in refrence to there work?

- What kind of hints can one look for that would give away who the author really is?

- Is every piece of writing a reflection of the author him/herself?

The Birth of the Big Beautiful Art Market (Hickey)

Dave Hickey compares automobile culture to the art world by exploring there similarities. He believes that  cars represented "the rhetoric of image and icon, the dynamics of embodied desire, the algorithms of change and the ideological force of disposable income." Many people treat their cars differently and customized them to fit there own individual needs. He then goes on to talk about the commerce of the art world, and that the over-saturation of art in museums and galleries. He is saying that sometimes there is too much to look at, he is quoted saying "the walls were full!" He also talks about how, much like cars, art is made in hierarchies, because ultimately people end up buying more then one car, and when a car breaks it is a necessity to fix it, or buy a new one. He speaks of brand loyalty, by explaining that someone may eventually not care to buy prints of your drawings or paintings, and want to move to the real deal.This is along the same lines of someone buying there first car, but eventually upgrading to a more trendy fast sports car.

applying for future internship

I have wrote a letter to a former boss, who works at Hawthorne Cedar Kwolls in Hawthorne New York, asking for a position as assistant art teacher. The letter reads:

 I wanted to get in touch with you, because I graduate college this Spring. I wonder if you could help me get an internship at Hawthorne Cedar Knolls or one of the other schools where you are now working. I'm interested in working during the summer and potentially into the next school year. Being a one-to-one  helped me to understand a few of the students a lot better and gave me the opportunity to handle their specific needs. This time around, I am interested in applying for a job as assistant or full time art teacher at one of the schools. I am still extremely interested in working with special needs children especially within the arts. I feel that I have a lot to offer the children and staff using my four year
s of art school experience. I have been exposed to all different types of mediums and materials within an art class setting and believe that my skills of basic art terminology and craft can really help these children succeed. I would also be interested in the possibility of working with the children through theatre, as this is also an area in which I have quite a lot of experience.  I will be in Croton from Dec. 24th-Jan 7th and would be very happy to meet with you or visit one of the schools and talk about the possibilities of employment. Please contact me when you have a chance.

criteques

late semptember- studio visit with Kim Russo and Robert Jumper
late semptember-  group critique with Robbie Ball, Max Moore
October- group critique with Jenna Delorenzo, Claire Altamari
Late October- studio visit with Micheal
Late October- criteuqe and studio visit with Micheal and painting class
Early October- studio visit Jill Lerner, group crit with  Jay Van Dam, Jeffrey heart
Late november- group criteque with Nathan, Racheal Robbins, and Trevor
December- individual criteque with Robert Jumper
December- individual critique Rachel Robbins
December- Individual with Milli Patranelli

"How Marina Abromavic's Red-Velvet Rope at the MoMA Works" Mark Byrne

 Marina Abromavic's performance at the Moma, is discused by Mark Byrne. He talks about "The Artist is Present" and how the line to see the artist is, "anything but democratic." He explains that VIP guests have priority in line over public guests. Celebrities the Bjork and other famous singers were able to beat the line and even bring there own entourage ahead of everyone else who waited for hours and hours. This kind of special tratment is not surprising, but i was surprised that Abromavic didnt have more of a say over it. Her work is very provactive and in your face, so i expected her to want more ordinary people to come instead of VIP guests.

Does the poilitics of line have any deeper meaning to the artist and her work?

Is Mark Byrne suggesting that it would be more fair if everyone, celebrities included, had to wait in the back of the line?

How much time did some of the VIP guest sit with the artists?

"Antagonism and Relational Aesthetics" Claire Bishop

In this article, Claire Bishop explains Bourriaud's interpretation of relational aesthetics by summarizing his point of view.  The works of Liam Gillick and Rirkrit Tiravanija have a lot to do with this topic because Bourriaud uses them as prime examples of artists that work with relational aesthetics. Bishop also brings up the work of Thomas Hirschorn and Santiago Sierra. She states that the work of Hirschorn and Sierra is more successful due to its political focus and the fact that it is more democratic.

Rumsfeld's Unkown Known, or Iraq's Initiation into Democratic Practice by Slavoj Zizek

Slavoj Zizek's article covers American  torture, and torture methods. He explaines that there is a "total lack of guilt by way of remaining ignorant of what is known." He continues to explain that as Americans, we are educated enough so to know that torture is exhisting but we chose to do nothing about it. Zizek compares American torture to Iraqi torture, He calls the Iraqi approach "anonymous" and uses the word "brutalism." In the end of the article he explains how America is the most dangerous kind of power because it takes the position of "merely defending itself." 

What are the ramifications of torture that occurs in America?
What are the specific laws that deal with torture?
Can verbal harassment in prison be considered a form of torture?

Among the Inept, Reaserchers Discover, Ignorance Is Bliss Erica Goode

Erica Goode illustrates the research of Dr. Dunning, a professor of psychology at Cornell University. He has been working hard, on trying to  prove that people that are not good at something usually believe that they are, while people that are good at something usually believe that they are not. I believe this theory to be true based on my own experience with other working artists at school, including myself. Sometimes its hard to recognize success within yourself even when other people see it. And when someone is bad or unsuccessful at something, it's easier to ignore that and pretend to be content with that bad piece of work. Therefore, ignorance is bliss.

Can bliss be achieved without ignorance?
What sort of ignorance is present in the art world today?
How can we avoid ignorance all together?

"Who Needs a White Cube These Days?" Roberta Smith

Roberta Smith discusses how various groups and gallery owners have found different ways of dealing with generic "white cube" gallery space. She explains that some spaces are successfull in selling work, while others do not sell work at all even when the work has potential. In the end, she explains that although many have approached the gallery differently, these examples do not usually survive for very long. Gallery spaces are important in there appearances. Sometime the "white cube" aids to the success of the work in it, other times it has no relevances and functions only as a space to hold the work.

What kinds of galleries in New York break the generic "white cube" look?

How does a gallery become alternative space?

Is it important for galleries to be transparent?