Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Relating Ways of Seeing to my latest piece


I like to say that my work resides somewhere between nostalgia and fantasy… My work references nostalgia of the past, childhood wonder, play, and interacting with one’s environment. My work stems from specific experiences and results in constructed narratives that may represent one experience, a combination of several experiences, or even a combination of experience and fantasy. I want my representations of these experiences to be available for all to relate to…a shared experience in a sense…it is fascinating how similar my shared memories are to the memories of other people that have shared their memories with me. 

I was excited to realize that much of what we are reading right now really relates to the latest figure that I have been working on in ceramics…it is called to each our own, and references perception, perception being something that is adopted even in our youngest years. What we see or believe is affected by what we want to see. I imagine this child holding his hands up to his eyes and face and in doing so, being able to see whatever he wants, whether that be real or not. This method of seeing what we want to see, or believing what we want to believe,  is done by everyone of all ages, no need for the playful gesture that the figure is making.



John Berger, Ways of Seeing

Citation:  Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London: Penguin, 1972. Print.

Summary: Ways of Seeing is a book by John Berger that explores how different influences affect the ways in which we perceive the world around us. These influences reside within us: our individual experiences and histories contribute to what we know and thus what  consider to be truth: "The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe" (8). These influences can also be words, captions that describe and thus determine for us what we are seeing. Making an example of Magritte's work, Berger explores how we are challenged when the words that are supposed to describe what we are seeing actually contradict what we are seeing or are deceptive to us as viewers.

Response:

1.)    Although Berger briefly expresses in the beginning of chapter 2 that he is talking of conventional beliefs of women that are finally being questioned (text written in 1972), he continues to state:

To be born a woman has been to be born, within an allotted and confined space, into the keeping of men...A woman must continually watch herself…And so she comes to consider the surveyor and the surveyed within her as two constituent yet always distinct elements of her identity as a woman…How a woman appears to a man can determine how she will be treated…The surveyor of woman in herself is male: the surveyed female. Thus she turns herself into an object—and most particularly an object of vision: a sight.” (46-47).

I am curious to ask what the men in the room think of this conclusion, and of course what do the women think? Yes, these conventions have been questioned and women in western societies do have more freedom and independence of thought and expectations, and it may be safe to say that overall women care more about outer appearance than men do…but is the surveyor in a woman really a male (if there is a surveyor at all)?? 

Do men have an inner surveyor and if so, is it male or female?
(When I asked this question in class no one responded except for our teacher Joe. I was a little disappointed about this because I feel like it is an intriguing question, for males and females alike.)

Is it true that how a woman appears to a man is determinate of how she will be treated? I believe that this assumption can apply to anyone of any sex… one’s appearance does affect how anther will first perceive and treat them, until further investigation into their personality—something that although can appear on the surface actually exists on the inside.

2.)    Berger states, “When the camera reproduced a painting, it destroys the uniqueness of its image. As a result its meaning changes. Or, more exactly, its meaning multiplies and fragments into many meanings” (19).

Are these multiple meanings beneficial to the audience? To the piece of art? In this way, are spectators allowed to revert to square one and approach the image without any preconception of its context and without being told what to think, like a child? Is this approach acceptable/desirable/beneficial/right/ or wrong, or does it depend on the context of the art piece? (as an example Ai Weiwei’s art is heavily rooted in context).

3.)    I teach art lessons/classes to kids, and I absolutely enjoy hearing what it is they have to say regarding famous works of art that I share with them for inspiration… not because it is “cute” or “innocent”, but because their opinions, observations, and judgments are so pure, uninhibited, and automatic—untainted with terms or ideas from conventional art education or from being told what to think beforehand, much like the children describing the Caravaggio painting in the first episode of Ways of Seeing. I guess my question is, is there any way for us to approach art in this manner once again, or is all hope of this purity of thought lost the older we get, the more we see, the more we are told what to think? Is it possible to “unlearn” what we know? The answer might seem obvious, but it is a question worth pitching.

How much is what we see affected by what we want to see?

Monday, September 10, 2012

Responses to class discussion of The Railway Journey and Ai Weiwei

From now on I am going to do these posts immediately after class because there is now way to recreate those thoughts as effectively if I write posts almost a week after our discussions. This is me battling with coming to terms with the new-to-me technology (sitting down and blogging!) that is undoubtedly a substantial part of the way our class is to run...I shall improve!!

As for my response to my question concerning Ai Weiwei (does all art have to be critical of something or can it be celebratory instead?), I appreciated what was discussed in class, particularly about the environment Ai Weiwei is functioning in (China). I had realized when I wrote this discussion question that his environment and the corrupt functions of the Chinese government are what drives Ai Weiwei to create the art he does, but it was great to get a more in depth look at how art functions from the pictures of Joe's travels to China as an artist.

As for our discussion of The Railway Journey, I appreciated most the question that Michelle had pitched: since industrialization, modernization, and technology have annihilated our sense of time and space, is there any way to get that sense of time and space back? and I agree with her, that there is a way to get this sense of space back...maybe not literally, but physically and spiritually. As quite a few people pointed out, they believed that the only way to regain this time and space would  be a large-scale disaster/Armageddon that would destroy all industrialization as we know it, and would revert us back to re-inventing the wheel....but I don't think that this is the point.

We can't take away all that has been developed and constructed, or our awareness of this modernization, but we can physically travel to places that are not completely man-made and industrialized...nature, or what remains of it. It is hard to imagine pure nature when we realize that most of our ventures into nature are alleviated or made possible by man-made amenities like trails or campgrounds, and especially the roads leading to these amenities...it almost seems impossible to fully escape and regain a sense of pure time and space. But, I think this desire to escape to nature is common and innate...if this desire didn't exist, people would not have the desire to go bike-touring, to go hiking, or to sleep under the stars instead of in their home. Although our habits, belongings, and knowledge of how to live in an industrialized society will come with us on these journeys, our perceptions of the world in the present moments of being away from industrialization will undoubtedly change and be affected...we will have a preference of what "world" we prefer...the natural (as natural as it can be) or the man-made.

So, can we regain a sense of time and space completely now that nearly everything seems to have been touched by some tinge of industrialization? Maybe not completely, for we as humans (in our westernized society) are industrialized as a result of our living in this time and space. But, it is our desire to revert to nature and to reconsider a world (a time and space) outside of our urban society that I think is essential. And I agree with Michelle, that everyone has to find a way to regain this sense for themselves.

Wolfgang Schivelbusch, The Railroad Journey

Citation: Schivelbusch, Wolfgang. The Railway Journey: The Industrialization of Time and Space in the 19th Century. Berkely: U of California P, 1977. Print.

Summary:
 The Railway Journey explores how the most groundbreaking technologies are also the  ones that most dismantle our perceptions of reality, especially those of time and space. in the case of this book it is the railroad, which was revolutionary in the sense that is took passengers further and faster than any mode of transportation ever had. The displacement that passengers experienced was well and poorly recieved; some were fascinated by the convenience while others longed for the longer time spent and more direct experience with the space traversed that they previously spent on while riding in horse-drawn buggies. This displacement is relevant to today's time, in which the internet can now transport--although not truly physically--anyone, anywhere, completely altering all sense of time and space.
 
The Railway Journey: Discussion Questions

1.       Quote from page 13 of The Railway Journey:

"As the new technology terminated the original relationship between the pre-industrial traveler and his vehicle and its journey, the old technology was seen, nostalgically, as having more ‘soul’."

Applicable for the introduction of the railway, for me this quote resonates clearly in today’s modernized world as well. This quote relates to our everyday tasks that have evolved from more “simpler” methods, such sending a casual email instead of handwriting a letter to someone, or finding information online versus searching for and looking through hard-copy books in a library.
In terms of art, does anyone feel like this idea can relate to the abundance of digital art that is now a huge part of our society? Does digital art have more or less ‘soul’ to anyone? Does anyone respond to a particular form of art they think has more ‘soul’ than another form of art, digital or not? What constitutes ‘soul’ in the first place?

2.       Quote from page 63 of The Railway Journey:

"Thus the intensive experience of the sensuous world, terminated by the industrial revolution, underwent a resurrection in the new institution of photography. Since immediacy, close-ups, and foreground had been lost in reality, they appeared particularly attractive in the new medium."

How has the perception of photography changed since its infancy when compared with today’s visually fueled digital age that is overabundant in photography? What does everyone think about devices like camera phones and programs like Instagram that allow anyone to be a photographer? How has digital photography affected the photographic process as a whole, a process that used to be done entirely by hand? Does the idea of ‘soul’ come into play here?

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Ceramics Intentions Paper Fall 2012

Ceramics Intentions Paper
Fall 2012

This semester I want to create 3-4 new figures (full bodied or partial) that explore the notions of
childhood wonder, nostalgia, play, and the idea of interacting with one’s environment. I want to
incorporate additional imagery as well, like flora, fauna, and others. With each piece I want to create
something whimsical, fantastical, and out of the ordinary, while still being heavily inspired by the
everyday and the ordinary.

Growing overall as an artist is the primary thing I intend to do this semester in Ceramics. To achieve this I intend to:

  • Stay true to myself and my ideas, challenge myself with every piece, stay motivated, and try something new with every piece.
  • Continue to develop my own personal style while also experimenting with new imagery,methods and mediums….never being afraid to take a risk or try something new.
  • Improve on my concept of anatomical figuration, while still incorporating my own spin and style.
  • Become more aware of contemporary and historical ceramics artists.
  •  Apply to more ‘calls for entries’ and get more exposure as a young artist.
  • Become better at more confidently verbalizing what it is I am trying to communicate with my art…once I fully figure that out, of course! I tend to become a little bit scatter-brained andtongue tied during critiques.
Doing everything listed above will overall help me create a cohesive and strong body of work for
my BFA midway show!