"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.