Presenting the New – Exhibition and Publication

The manner in which art is displayed plays a role on how the public perceive and judge art, take Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain, 1921 for example it challenged the conventional methods of art and had a huge impact on Dadaism. This anti-art movement redefined art and Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain certainly increased the publicity of Dadaism as it is said that ‘Fountain’ is equivalent to the Mona Lisa.

Can the comparison really be justified?

The idea of using a urinal and calling it ‘Fountain’ and signing it R.Mutt suggested the questions, what is art, are set ideas as important as representational art? So Duchamp managed to disrupt art and create a new representational method of art, therefore consolidating the fame of the ‘Fountain’. Another factor in the fame of the Fountain was how it was presented, hung from the ceiling without any restrictions, in the Louvre museum, therefore allowing the public to experience it fully, proving that the positioning of art is as important as the art itself because I believe if this piece of art wasn’t displayed in the Louvre it wouldn’t be as famous as it is.

                The idea that positioning art was as important as the art itself brought about new revelations for artists, take Robert Smithson he took this idea quite literally and altered the landscape to make art, in turn he became best known for his ‘land art’, creating magnificent pieces like the ‘Spiral Jetty’ positioned in the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Although to be honest I don’t believe that natural sites have to be altered to be considered art, they are already art within their own right. Another example of positioning art is site specific art where art is created to exist in a certain place and connect to its surroundings and to the communities in which it occupies.  Even though we are the digital generation site specific art can also apply to us, as we judge a website within four and a half minutes to determine whether or not to stay on that page. On a more traditional note Susan Philips used site specific art to gain herself a Turner Prize; she created sound art and played it from underneath a number of bridges, it was said that this piece of sound art altered the way people viewed the bridges by hearing things differently.

                The real question concerning site specific art and sound art is how do get the message across and how do you exhibit sound art? The artist Jem Finer combined elements of both site specific art and sound art to create a ‘New Musical Underground’ as described by The Independent.  He composed a piece of music by digging a hole in the ground and using a brass structure in the middle of a forest which is operated by rain. So ultimately he used nature to compose a beautifully serene piece of sound art that is site specific in a remote forest. Although this remote location could have tainted the success of this art, the controversy over its price brought great publicity and contributed to its fame. Personally I think spending £70,000 on a piece of art is ridiculous, surely it is a creative idea that opens people’s minds but there are better ways to spend money especially in the current economic conditions, given that millions of people live in poverty. Having seen this poverty first hand when I visited Africa I was seriously disheartened to hear that that much money was invested in a piece of ‘art’.

Is there not better ways to spend that amount of money?

Modernism/Postmodernism – Who Cares?

Modernism and postmodernism is algorithm poetry of the 21^st century. Pop art was considered to be an art movement of modernism on the other hand some is considered to be early examples of postmodernism art. Pop art challenged tradition by exploiting popular culture.  The breakthrough of pop art was made by the English artist Richard Hamilton 1956, with his collage of ‘Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing? This collage rivaled tradition as it depicts objects of everyday life, employed techniques of commercial art and popular culture; it also contains connotations of sexuality, which was highly frowned upon in the 1950’s, therefore showing sign of modernism through progression. However it was seen as the pivot where modernism switches to postmodernism, as it portrays signs of superficial tendencies. So the real question was ‘what is pop culture?’ Roy Lichtenstein’s art poses this question vividly; especially his pop art piece named ‘Whaam’ which was an adaption of a comic strip that cleverly portrayed the onomatopoeic word ‘whaam’. It was also considered to be one of the earliest pieces of pop art. So through the revelation of pop art, pop culture is considered to be just as important as classic culture.

                Regardless of faith collectively Modernist believe in a higher truth, that there is a grand narrative in life, that we are progressing, we should strive to succeed, build better and bigger lives’ for ourselves.  Take Marxists for example, the belief that there will eventually be a revolution, the abolishment of capitalism and the new creation of a society where no class system exists, no private property and everyone will be equal. In simpler terms a communist society. In the terms of visual culture modernism involves using up to date material to achieve the best possible outcome, to fulfill the assigned brief to the best of quality, therefore helping mankind to achieve this ‘grand narrative’.    

On the other hand Visual culture questions modernism, take the Vietnam war for example the photo of a naked and terrified young Vietnam girl running down a road near Trang Bang, 1972, photographed by Nick Ut or the photograph of Thích Quảng Đức self-immolation, 1963. Do these photographs support a modernist movement or was it a sign that postmodernism was prevailing and therefore it served as an icon for the peace movement that was prevalent in the 1970’s.

We live in a mainly postmodernism society that is consumed by a dominate shallow lifestyle, where media and reality have collided and are consequently difficult to distinguish one from the other, key examples of this is shows like big brother. The postmodernism society that we live in is said to have become so commercialized that we only live for present and have no interest in history. Although I hope this is not the case, as I have always had a great interest in history. The traditions that a family follows, the surroundings in which we live and the everyday activities we carry out are determined by historical events, therefore I believe that it is difficult to escape history. Even though this postmodernism society may have ‘no interest’ in history they still have connections to it and maybe one day when we are finished with our self obsessed lifestyles, then we might realise our roots and take an interest.

To be honest I am torn on this matter of postmodernism and modernism, I hate the fact that we live in a society that is driven by commercialization and peer pressure, and the belief that if it is good looking then it’s acceptable, therefore I hope that some factor of modernism remains.

Fusing the Visual and the Aural – The Art of the Record/CD Sleeve

Sound is a piece of visual culture. Both music and art are universal, yet still an expression of the social time. Many famous songs were heavily inspired by current events, for example the song ‘A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall’, written by Bob Dylan in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 was described as one of the most idiosyncratic protest songs ever written. On the other hand there were particular bands that devoted the majority of their music to protesting against particular events such as Country Joe and the Fish, who were widely known for their musical protest against the Vietnam War, although they familiarized with means of psychedelic rock. One song that stands out within my era is the song ‘Dear Mr President’ by Pink, it was most definitely influenced by current events, as it challenges the President about current economic and social turmoil, and it is without a doubt one of the most influential and inspiring songs of my generation.

Each period of time was defined by its own aesthetic appeal. The 60’s saw an explosion of pop culture with albums such as Tommy James & The Shondells - Mony Mony (1968), which portrayed a new outlook on album art. The 60’s also experienced the greatest increase in psychedelic art, containing many connotations that disrupted and challenged the conventional methods of album art. Nevertheless a sign of postmodernism art is appearing in the music of contemporary artists today, one of which is the music of Christina Aguilera who drew inspiration from the style of the 20's, 30's, and 40's jazz, blues and soul music but still keeping a modern element, which is clearly seen through her music , album art, her music videos and her unique fashion and styling, especially within the album ‘Back to Basics’. So it obvious that music and art go hand in hand to create the overall image of the artist or band.

Album cover of the single ‘hurt’ from Christina Aguilera’s album ‘Back to Basics’

Even with the growth of the music industry authenticity and the realism of album art has been eliminated by the availability of downloads. It is said that if you can digitize it, it’s worthless, therefore digital downloads have destroyed the music industry. Whether or not this is correct I believe that downloads are corrupting the music industry, as you could easily download any album but on the other hand you wouldn’t go to the shop to buy the same album. Downloads are too convenient, it removes the excitement and authenticity of being able to hold the album in your hand; it also removes album art from the limelight. Although in contrast the iPod is an excellent example of the success of digital, as it creates a fourth dimension that allows you to be in two places at once, the physical space and the mental space created by the music on the iPod, so it is debatable whether or not digital is an improvement or a disadvantage to the music industry.