FInal Video

I wanted to show the decontextualization of makeup. I cut up a plastic bag and put it over the camera lense (since I did not have any clear wrap). I made up a song using a similar style to Pipilotti Rist. I recorded the statement "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." It is basically the camera as a person and we see makeup being applied in a way that most people ever see.

Pipilotti Rist

I think that Pipilotti Rist is a very unique and creative human being. She was born in Switzerland and has become a very well known video artist. Her works always include her own self and her exploration of sexuality. In the film "I'm not the girl who misses much," she starts out in a black dress, half exposed with her speech and actions sped up so that she sounds as if she has sucked helium. She moves all around the frame and the entire picture is very fuzzy. The film continues on until it goes into several different scenes. At one point there is a naked man dancing and bouncing freely as if he is one with nature. Another scene is of a naked Rist. The camera shows going into her mouth and out of her anus. I consider this to be the most graphic thing we have seen all semester. The last scene it looks like Rist is in an elevator with large glass windows in a tall building in a downtown setting. I really liked the double exposure that you could see. It was as if there was another face in the room with her. Throughout the film I enjoyed all of the nature that was present. The natural backgrounds calmed the initial reactions I had when I saw the nude bodies.

I think that overall, Rist's work is very interesting and innovative. It certainly has not been thought of before. She still continues to make video art and just completed a full length film last year. She has a son with her longtime boyfriend and continues to be successful.

"Television Delivers People"

I thought that this video art piece was very interesting. It contained a very deep and true message that affects people all over the world. We are so consumed by t.v. We cannot go a single day without watching it or hearing about something that was on it. The piece brings attention to the fact that we are encompassed by the television itself. All of the shows do not matter. It is the ads and commercials that matter. Once we bought a television we agreed to be manipulated by everything that we would see from that point on. We decided to have our opinions on subjects be made and new ideas pop into our heads that are not our own. The t.v. is an extremely powerful tool that has been created to now persuade our every decision in life.

Nam June Paik obituary

Nam June Paik died January 29, 2006. His obituary listed all of the highlights of his career; however, I do not think it was written how he would have wanted it. He would want to be remembered as a pioneer for his work and all of the interesting ideas that he had in his head and eventually brought to life. I think that this obituary could have done him much more justice. There were so many achievements not listed here. I know that everything he achieved cannot be listed, but more of the inventions that impacted other people and art as a movement should have been there. He seemed to be a very humble man with a lot on his mind. I think it should have spoken more about all of the difficult things in his life that he had to overcome and all of the challenges that he went through growing up and having such different ideas from everyone around him.

The Residents

It is very difficult to find information on who makes up this outrageous avant-garde band. They are always masked and in full costume so they never reveal their true identity. I did find that they met in high school in Louisiana. They wanted to move out to California and so they did. They have many followers to their music, but no one really knows who they are. We do know two members and they are Phil Lithman and N. Senada. They are both European performers who decided to stay with the band when they met them in 1969.

Many people have tried to find out the true identity of the members, but no one is telling the truth. They will always be mysterious and deny the infinite accusations that people make against them. Their identity is crucial to their whole concept as a band. If people found out who they were, then I do not think that they would be as popular as they are today and still going on World Concert Tours.

Performance Art

My friend works at a pizza restaurant. I directed him while he made a pizza from the very beginning. Stretching the dough, putting on the toppings, taking it out of the oven, and cutting it to be served. I put this with some of the music we have been learning in class. I chose Tiesto's "Fresh Fruit." Everyday he says that making pizza is like putting his art out for the world. He takes it very seriously and has a lot of pride in his work. Pizza is his art!

Marina Abramovic

This is exhibit seems to be for mature eyes only. I do not understand why someone would try and touch the performers that are acting out a famous piece of art. When we are young, we are taught to never touch anything in a museum and this is no different. The performers that are on the spotlight are in extremely vulnerable positions and do not need to be ridiculed in an inappropriate manner either. I do think that security should intervene and be able to help out and defend the performers when members of the audience are acting inappropriately. Also, maybe the shows need to be a ticketed event. Only those that are invited that will truly appreciate the event should go. Maybe an age limit also needs to be set so that the performers and fellow guests can enjoy and experience this type of performance art.

Theremin

The theremin was created by Leon Theremin, a Russian citizen. He patented it in 1928 and it has had such a major impact on the pop culture world especially in electronic music. Vladimir Lenin was so impressed with his invention that he sent Theremin on a tour of the world to promote the newest Russian technology. It became very popular. After WWII, the theremin became very popular in the United States.

In the 1950s Robert Moog began to invent his own theremins when he was in high school. He became so obsessed that he created his own invention a synthesizer called the Moog. His invention has been used to create music for movies and artists from all different artistic backgrounds.

Some enthusiasts disagree and say that the theremin is not an actual musical instrument. However, when we listened to the example in class, the theremin produces a sound that can never be recreated by an instrument. It sounds more like an operatic voice that can reach unimaginable pitches.

Stelarc

Stelarc is very innovative. His ideas are more advanced than most scientists or engineers and he is an artist, creating these things for his own pleasure and not because he is forced to. His work is very impressive. I wonder how he first came up with the idea to create these robotic appendages among other things. The third ear is a little freaky at first. It would be really amazing if it could actually hear, but I guess he will leave that up to genetic engineers. I think that his work is so completely different from itself. Each project involves some new form of technology. Some of his projects are as if there are two different artists living inside his body. To go from suspension to creating exoskeletons is in a sense crazy. He would be an artist that I would like to see perform live one day.

Dada Project

For this project I only wanted to use my hands and only black and white images. I created a collage of hands face up, face down, holding, "I love you," and peace signs. Then, in the center I displayed the word "peace" using sign language.

Orlan

Orlan is crazy! At first, I admired her for wanting to recreate famous works of art. Wanting to be the main character such as Venus de Milo in Botticelli's work I thought was very inspiring. She had great courage to go into a museum, take off her clothes and assume the same position as the character in the painting. However, as she got older her work became much more extreme and very feminist.

The Reincarnation of St. Orlan is one of the most disturbing works of art that I have ever seen. The fact that she was awake while she was having plastic surgery done is unbelievable. He work is so extreme that even feminists think that she is an anti feminist. She is too outlandish, has plastic surgery, and defines herself with males, which is the opposite of what feminists stand for. The work that was shown in class where she is making art with used tampons is disgusting regardless that she was taking a political stance. Her beliefs can be brought about without her having to do something disgusting and harmful to her health.

Gilbert and George

They have said that when they met it was love at first sight, but really George was the only one in the class that could understand Gilbert's English. Their appearance itself is surprising because they are a gay couple that pride themselves in wearing suits and looking very presentable. They compose performance art as well as individual pieces of art using grids and framework. Their work is undeniable and very distinct.

While still students was when they did the singing statues and living statues. Then they became famous for "The Pictures." They would take photographs and then later would use red or yellow ink to color them in and later used more colors. They were married in 2008.

Fluxus

Fluxus is a movement that began in the 1960s. It combines two different art forms to create a new art. It started with music and composers creating works that explored new ideas in the music world. It has a do it yourself approach to art. It is a post Dada movement, but was greatly influenced by it.

George Maciunas was one of the most famous Fluxus artists. He would create works with cubes or boxes. One example we talked about in class is Nam June Paik. Yoko Ono was also involved. All of the fluxus participants were said to have childlike characteristics. They all had to follow Maciunas' ideas or else they could be kicked out.

Joseph Beuys

Joseph Beuys was born in 1921 in Germany. As a teenager he was involved in Hitler youth and participated in several demonstrations. He was always interested in natural sciences, but decided that he wanted to become a sculptor at a young age. He was a gunner in WW2 and was shot down. When he was, he stated that tribesman rescued him and covered his body in felt and animal fat to protect him. However, when he was found researchers never found record of any tribesmen in the area. This is why he uses felt and lard in many of his works.

He is considered to be one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. He used his work for social sculptures. He was influenced by ideas that were going on in society. All of his artwork was based on the human body producing a good. His work with the hare was considered by some critics as the new Mona Lisa of the 20th century. His work where he locked himself in a gallery with a coyote he says that he wanted to isolate himself and only look at the American coyote and nothing else. He actually never even stepped foot on American soil.

He died in 1986.

Dali's "Un Chien Andalou"

This film was extremely weird and very hard to follow. The characters all looked very similar so it was difficult to distinguish one from another, especially the men. The beginning had no explanation for the women having her cut open and then she is never seen again. The film does not follow a constant time frame going 8 years before and then 16 years later. There are several metaphors for death present in the film such as the ants climbing on the man's hand and the moth that has a skull on it's back. The film was overall confusing. Several people die and the young woman never seems to be happy until the very end when she is on the beach with another man. At the end, they are shown buried in the sand but none of our questions are truly answered.

What happened when the man was dragging the piano, men, and dead animals across the room?

Why was the woman allowed to get away only to be trapped in another room with another negative situation? The movie was bizarre, but I guess for its time it was considered revolutionary.

Mona Lisa Postcard

I believe that Duchamp wrote L.H.O.O.Q. on the postcard of Mona Lisa in order to make fun of it. Her face is so serious that he wanted people to laugh at it and realize that it was not natural. The mustache is present because maybe he knew that Mona Lisa was a self portrait of DaVinci so he wanted a manly feature to be present. When I researched I found that Duchamp gave Mona Lisa a mustache to look more like himself. Also, he gave an interpretation of L.H.O.O.Q. saying that it meant she was horny. He is basically poking fun of the entire piece.

Grid Project

Here is my grid. I chose to do a needlepoint for my project. Even though it is somewhat small, it took a very long time to complete!

Grid Project

For the Grid Project I am going to do a needlepoint canvas. My aunt has always made stockings and Christmas ornaments for everyone in our family so I think I will give it a try. Wish me luck!

Triumph of the Nerds

Too bad the movie kept skipping during the second episode!!! So far, the film has been interesting and I have learned a lot about the beginning of computers. I only knew of Steve Wozniak before this from the Bravo show "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List." It is crazy how computers have come from being boxes with switches and lights to laptop computers and iPads. Also, I can't believe how much money all of those guys have made! It's crazy. At least they seem pretty humble about it, but I am sure they have robots running around their homes and have smart houses! Hopefully it will work today!

Flip Book

My flip book shows a flower at it's beginning stages of life and how it needs sunlight and rain for it to grow. As it continues to grow, it grows too big. Then when winter comes, the petals change color, weaken, and eventually fall off. Then the process begins all over again. I wanted to show the seasons and how it affected the flower itself.

Singing in the Rain

A couple events come to mind when I was trying to do this assignment. The Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War were the main things I could think of. Class on Wednesday was very entertaining. The clips shown in class, I had never seen before. Also, we have talked in class about this time period and how women were being liberated and free to have sex with whoever and not just to procreate, but to have fun. Woodstock also took place during that time. Drugs became more mainstream during that period as well. Overall, the U.S. was changing but morale was still positive. This song has been a constant factor that people of all ages and backgrounds can sing and appreciate. I am really excited that we are starting to get closer and closer to current times. I enjoy it the most when we watch clips in class of movies that I have already seen because I feel like I can better understand the example shown.

I am determined to watch Singing in the Rain. The clips that you showed in class were hilarious and I loved all of the costumes and backgrounds that we got to see while you fast forwarded. I also think that it would help me with my studies since I am taking two other film classes and the movie goes through the history of film. I am glad that we are starting to get into more modern medium. I have seen Birth of a Nation and am glad that we will not be watching it in our class. I like the film, it is just very long and hard to follow sometimes.

Opera and Broadway

Busy weekend with the Super Bowl on Sunday. I have been working on my Project and decided to Madame Butterfly by Puccini and then write a modern story based on the same premise. Class last week was very entertaining. I love Broadway and have seen many shows in New York City. I have seen Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Wicked. Wicked is my favorite so far. Just like you, I memorized the soundtrack before I saw it and love the song "Popular."

I am not sure if anyone knows this, but I was telling my dad about my class and he told me that some movie theaters, especially AMC, show certain operas in movie theaters about twice a month. The tickets are around $25, but that is better than the real tickets. The website is metropolitanopera.com.

I think that the next project sounds interesting, but still am not sure what I am going to draw inside the book.

Steve Jobs

I am a Mac owner and I never really knew that much information about Steve Jobs. He has been a very succesful entrepeneur even though he has experienced some down sides. It is amazing to me that he was able to always recruit other computer savvy engineers to whatever new company he moved to. To me, it seems that he has always inspired other people in his field so much that they will leave their jobs to be his "apprentice."

Knowing that he was the one that developed so many new devices for Apple, I do not think that he will have a problem making a profit from the Apple tablet. He revolutionized the way people listen to music, talk on the phone, and go on the Internet. I am sure the this new tablet will be the next big thing for the new decade as so many of his products paved they way for its competitors.

Link

www.santiago.bz

Link back to class.

Stages

After watching all of the clips, it is amazing to me that they were able to come up with all of the technology needed in order to put on such an elaborate production. I think the techniques that they used were still in use up until a few decades ago on modern stages like the ones on Broadway. The fireworks and use of pulley systems surprised me the most. They were able to create productions that were very entertaining and do things that were never done before.

I never knew that Mozart had such a difficult childhood and that his own experiences influenced all of the operas that he created. I also only thought that he was a composer. I had no idea that he was directors of operas.

The class so far has been really interesting and a lot of fun for me. I like learning about the history and then how it ties in to modern art that I have never seen before in class. All of the clips that have been shown have been great examples for me to better learn the material.

Spring Semester

I went to FSU my freshman year and hated it! The school was way too big for me and Tallahassee was not a nice place to live. I moved back home to boost my GPA and then came to UT last year and I love it.

I can't believe it's the final semester of my senior year!!! I am so excited to almost be done. I first started out as an AD/PR major and just recently switched to Communications. Right now, I am also applying to law school and taking an LSAT prep course at nights so I am very busy right now.

I am really excited about this class. I find all different types of art interesting and I want to learn more about art that I have never seen before. I think that the shock value that we will supposedly experience in this class will be a nice change from all of my previous classes at UT.