Thesis Art Review

Matt Carmody

April 24, 2009

UH 440 – Domain of the Arts

 

Passing Grade for Five Graduate Students

 

            It was crunch time.  Five students in the WSU graduate fine arts program were required to create their thesis project and attain their Master’s Degree.  The work could be described as meaningful with hints of aesthetic appeal.  This exhibit was perfectly described by Dustin Price, one of the students.  He said that the work is, “an investigation of the direct correlations between the act of contemplation, discourse, emotional stillness, and the making or experiencing of my work.”  These works of art, whether they came in the form of a paper installation, or ceramic animals, or even the video, were highly concentrated in a meaning that stemmed from the movement, light, and space of each work.  At times the images were recognizable and would lead the viewer down a particular path while at other times the viewer was left to depict the purpose intended by the artist and the significance behind the work. 

            There are a few works at the exhibit that are worth mentioning.  First, there is the installation Elephant Splat by Dustin Price.  It depicts an elephant by using shadows and shapes on the wall behind.  Dustin says, “My process repeatedly gives way to questions that cannot be answered, but I believe attempting to understand these questions is often just as significant as answering them.”  This was perfectly represented in his installation. 

The use of light in this work provides an interesting effect.  The fact that it is a three dimensional piece of work allows the viewer to see the work from various angles and perspectives.  However, the light is stationary and therefore, when the shadows fall upon the wall, a two dimensional work of art appears which remains constant no matter from what angle one looks at it.  This can be interpreted in many different ways which coincides with Price’s statement and claims that the process of interpretation is vitally important.

            Another work that was particularly interesting was the series of six paintings done by Brad Dinsmore.  These paintings were the best job of combining meaning and aesthetic appeal.  Each one had an image of an individual almost hidden in the background.  The individual was always shown from mid thigh to the neck.  Some images were clearer than others but they all had an underlying hint of this person.  A quote that Dinsmore had accompanying one of his paintings was from Thomas Merton.  He said, “Yet the face remains that we are invited to forget ourselves on purpose, cast our awful solemnity to the winds and join in the general dance.”  The fact that there is no face allows the viewer to put themselves in the painting.  By having each viewer put himself or herself in the painting creates this general dance that in viewing the six paintings, one is able to join.

            Finally, the last piece of work that was particularly interesting was the movie Sailor by Tobias Walther.  It was a combination of two movies that appeared to be separate from each other but particular scenes would come together to show a single picture or movie.  On the first glance this movie appeared to lack any sort of meaning or aesthetic appeal.  This piece is entitled Sailor leaving one to believe they are at sea.  The movie depicts a person who is amongst a sea of wheat in the Palouse.  Stemming from this interpretation another meaning was noticed.  The two videos which appeared to be completely different aside from the times they came together showed a surprising connection.  They were actually on loops that were directly opposed from each other.  One could watch the entire movie on the right and half way through it, another person could come and view the movie on the left and see the exact same movie.  It was as if the two people in each video were searching for each other but kept running in circles.  This feeling that is evoked is similar to a sailor lost at sea as one would feel like they are sailing in circles without chance of ever finding land.

            As I finished viewing the exhibit I left with a sense of where the future of art is heading.  These artists became less concerned of visual appeal and more concerned with an underlying message and emotion.  They wanted viewers to leave and contemplate the emotion rather than have it spoon fed on a silver platter.  The market for art will have to adapt to these types of art for these artists to succeed but as it has happened before, the artists will eventually lead the market.  It is just a hope that the market shifts while the artists are still around.

Freud Foucault and Marilyn Monroe

I believe that Marilyn Monroe lends herself to both a Foucault and Freudian analysis.  The Foucault analysis comes from Marilyn’s beginnings and rise to stardom.  She grew up in foster homes for most of her young life.  She grew up without a father and her mother was mentally unstable.  The reason that this part of her life would lend her to a Foucault analysis is because Foucault was known for his analysis and criticism of the social hierarchy.  He used the painting Las Meninas to show how various social norms where challenged and changed over the years.  His most emphasizing quote was “the disappearance of that which is its foundation.” This leads itself to Marilyn because she lost her own foundation.  Most would say that shelter and a family are their foundation and she lost both of them at an early age.  Now, Foucault claimed that it was the disappearance of the foundation that would eventually lead to the change in the times.  As was such with Marilyn as she was the first to be on the cover of Playboy Magazine.  One could argue that she was at the forefront of human sexuality and the movement from being proper in the 1950’s to being promiscuous in the 1990’s.  This is where the Freudian analysis comes into play.  Along with all of Freud’s psychoanalysis, Freud was renowned for his redefinition of sexual desire.  He claimed that it was the primary motivation in human life.  When the foundation of Marilyn fell out from under her she was left to “survive.”  At this time, according to Freud, her natural instincts took over and she began modeling as a way to earn money.  Then, when she couldn’t make it she began to pose nude for photographers.  Marilyn turned to her primary motivation as her primary way to remain alive and earn money. 

Pollock

Jackson Pollock is an artist; there is no question about it.  He expresses his emotion onto canvas better than most have before him.  However, according to some of the past philosophers, he is not an artist at all.  I think more along the lines of the businessman, Andy Warhol.  If you can sell it for millions then more power to you.  Andy Warhol believed that if you could sell it then it was art.  One aspect that Andy Warhol would have disagreed with the emotional side of Jackson but the ability to sell his work as art would classify him as an artist.

The emotional side of Jackson Pollock’s work began as similar to Tolstoy but in the end failed as Tolstoy.  Tolstoy believed that emotion was the center of every piece of art.  It was not considered art if emotion was not put in the painting and then conveyed to the viewer.  The viewer must be able to see the emotion that the artist was attempting to convey.  Jackson Pollock had emotion in his art; the only problem that Tolstoy would have is that Pollock was unable to convey his emotion to the viewer.  People look at Pollocks and find their own meaning in his work but it is not necessarily the intent of Pollock.  Therefore I see Andy Warhol agreeing with Pollock’s ability to sell his art and Tolstoy would agree that Pollock had the right intent with his art, however, in the aesthetic appeal of the art, it seems that only Kant can be used to consider Pollock’s final product art.  Kant believed that no one criterion can be used to judge art.  Rather, it would be adapted throughout time.   Pollock’s work was so unlike all others in that time that art theories would have to adapt to include his art.

Nietzsche and Tolstoy

As I was looking up some more information on the topic to write my blog I came across this quote by Tolstoy, “Nietzsche was stupid and abnormal.”  This quote threw me off a little bit because when I first approached the question I thought they were talking about the same thing.  Nietzsche, in his work, talks about the duality of an artist.  He uses the characters of Greek mythology, Apollo and Dionysus, to represent the duality.  Now this duality is not the typical one we are used to, good vs. evil, but rather it is a duality between, what he calls, dreams and drunkenness.  This is the key to understanding why Tolstoy would have been quoted saying it as well as it explains why I thought they were similar at first.  The Apollo/Dream aspect of Nietzsche is was chiefly based off of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave.  It is the idea that when one dreams, they are aware that reality exists under the dream and the dream is not real.  Apollo represents restraint as one is able to separate their emotions from getting in the way of reality.  The Dionysus/Drunkenness aspect is the mere loss of restraint.  The Apollo idea remains at the forefront of our life, yet, when it fails, Dionysus appears.

To bring this back to Tolstoy, he claims that genuine infection of the meaning and emotion of art from the artist to the view is the only true art.  Though we have heard about many philosophers who claim one needs to be disconnected emotionally from art, Tolstoy claims that it the viewer cannot readily see the meaning and emotion conveyed by the artist, it is not a good piece of art.  To me, it seems like this idea of art, this immense passion is very similar to the emotion that occurs when, according to Nietzsche, Apollo is lost and Dionysus comes forth.  This explains a little of the meaning behind the quote above.  Nietzsche thought that emotion was only shown when someone let down their guards and fell into a drunken state of mind.  Tolstoy claimed that it was in the passionate emotional state of mind when true feelings made their way onto a canvas and to the viewer.

Faking It

I had two completely different opinions on the outcome of the show “Faking It.”  For the first forty-five minutes of the show I would have really disagreed that Will would have a chance to fool the artists.  He was going through the motions and was working really hard but just was not producing the type of art that would be able to be sold for anything more than twenty dollars.  He was getting advice from his trainers but it didn’t seem like he would find his own niche in the art world in only thirty days time.  I was unable to articulate exactly the reason why he was failing but it just appeared that he was not producing art at the same caliber as others in his field.  However, just before we stopped watching the film Will had his art analyzed by a room full of art critics.  At this table where they discussed his paintings, especially the one where he was crippled, they were able to articulate the problem that I saw as the key problem in his art.  One man said that for it to be true art, we wouldn’t need to know the back story to be able to understand the meaning of the painting.  Bingo!  After hearing this man say this I began to look back throughout the sow and see that I had been having the same issue with him.  When he first had his art judged by his trainers, they had to ask him the meaning because what they interpreted was not at all the message that he was trying to get across.  Then, when they had the brutally honest art critic examine his work, Will explained to him the meaning while the critic became brutally honest saying that he didn’t see the intended meaning in the painting at all.  The problem was he was using his knowledge to aid the painting which no art critic or viewer would have.  They should not have to read his biography to get something from his work.  That being said, now that Will knows about this inherent problem with his work I think that he will be able to change up his style slightly, and possibly be able to fool the critics.  

Kinkade

First off, I was astonished to see the production that was going on with Thomas Kinkade.  Technically, he was creating originals but at the same time he was mass producing originals.  In my way of thinking, it was almost the same as painting a “color by number” and then calling it an original.  He would merely copy ninety percent of his art and then just add some finishing touches to it by hand.  These finishing touches are what gives the art the “original art” factor.  Now, I see this as a problem for a company like Art Capitol Group.  The reason goes back to simple supply and demand.  When dealing with economics, there is a demand for everything.  If there is a huge supply, then the demand goes down and thus the price goes down as well.  This has never been a problem for art before because there were only two types of art works: originals and print copies.  The originals would be worth a significant amount more not because it looked better or took more time.  The only reason that it costs more is because the supply is forever at one.  Therefore, demand remains high for that particular painting.  This is why Art Capitol Group has such faith when they allow people to pawn their art.  However, I am curious to how much money they would give to an “original” Kinkade.  In the 60 Minute presentation of his work, it was said that every original the rolls off the assembly line is now selling for fifty thousand dollars.  According to economics, as he continues to produce more of these originals, they will slowly begin to diminish in value.  Typically, art never diminishes in value, and yet, in this case, eventually his will.  His art is turning more into a consumer product.  What I mean by this is take a TV for example.  Five years ago one would have to pay thousands of dollars for a decent size high definition.  However, with advances in technology, the price would eventually come down.  This meant that if consumers could wait a few years before buying anything, they would save thousands of dollars.  This happens over a few years because of the amount of TVs that are produced so when comparing to Kinkade’s art, this should be taken into consideration.  But nevertheless, Kinkade is mass producing his originals which will eventually lower the price and make investing in his art no longer, neither for the common person of Art Capitol Group, a smart investment.

Running the Numbers Art Review

In the art exhibit, Running the Numbers, Chris Jordan explores numbers in our society that people look over every day.  They rage from numbers depicting our consumerism to numbers that explore our culture.  Each has a particular message that Johnson wants the viewer to leave with.  This is not like the contemporary art of Warhol where he claims that his art has no meaning and therefore it is up to the people to decide his meaning.  Rather, Johnson makes it more than clear when he wants a view to walk away from the situation with a greater perspective on the issue at hand.

             It appears that Johnson has become passionate about many things that he has come to realize others are not.  He feels that some issues are worth trying to change but has seen that all too many times people have quickly skimmed over the numbers when they appear in the newspaper or magazine.  He decided that it must come down to him taking action and informing the American people about these issues at hand.  He may not have been a great speaker or an incredible sculptor but he was great with the computer and camera.  It was through this medium that he created art that accompanied his passion, art that accompanied his numbers.  By Running the Numbers, he is causing millions of people to do two things that do not happen on a regular basis.  One is that people actually read and think about the numbers associated with the various issues.  Secondly, people see these numbers displayed in dramatic fashion.  It is difficult for the human mind to comprehend numbers like 2.3 million.  However, when one sees the four large prints on the wall that represent 2.3 million people incarcerated, that number becomes a little more real.  Much like it is easy to skin over the news when it is talking about chopping down trees in the rain forest.  However, when depicted by one hundred million toothpicks which account for one hundred million trees cut down to make junk mail alone, these numbers jump off of the wall.

            Two exhibits that really exemplify both Johnson’s passion and numbers that we hear everyday and yet still do nothing are Paper Bags and Skull with Cigarette.  With paper bags, art shows piles upon piles of brown paper bags.  In fact, they represent the 1.14 million brown paper supermarket bags that are used in the US every hour.  This number is astounding.  As Americans we hear everyday that we need to consume less and recycle more.  There are commercials on television that ask people to “do the right thing” and bring their own, reusable bags to carry their groceries home.  Millions of Americans don’t do this but one must wonder how many don’t care and how many are just not aware of how much we use as a country.  Johnson is trying to reach the people who are just unaware.  He hopes that he may cause at least one person to see his art and change how they bring home their groceries.  The reason that this piece of art is one of his best is because it combines something that we do every week, grocery shop, with something we waste every week, brown bags, with a number that is so immense that we need a visual to even come close to comprehending it.

            Skull with Cigarettes is another one of his best pieces of art.  He uses cigarette packs to depict the number of people who die every six months from cigarette smoking.  That number is 200,000.  Again, a number that is hard to really understand in paper is shown on a huge print.  What makes this painting stand out from most is that one does not necessarily need to read the caption which tells you what the message is behind the art.  The message is right before the viewer.  There is a skeleton smoking a cigarette showing the dangers of smoking.  Again, this is a message heard daily yet people continue to buy more and more packs.  Chris Johnson is attempting to show just how bad of a problem our nation has with smoking.

            This art exhibit is a fabulously done exhibit where each work of art has a clear and concise message that people can take home with them.  Chris Johnson was not making this art to change all American’s hearts and create a perfect world.  Rather, his goal was to show the American people the depth of our consumption causing us to stop and think for more than the quick moment that tends to happen.  He says, “My hope is that these photographs can serve as portals to a kind of cultural self-inquiry. It may not be the most comfortable terrain, but I have heard it said that in risking self-awareness, at least we know that we are awake.”