JASMINE BERASATEGUI - SPONTANIOUS DIVERSITY IN THE POST MODERN ERA
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During the Post-Modern Era, it changed the idea that there was one meaning when it comes to art, or that the meaning would be determined by the artist. A new idea came that the viewer's perspective when it came to art mattered just as much as the artist's. After this, some artists would do public works that required the public's attention and opinion, some leading to a positive reception while others leaving a negative impact. But despite the mixed reactions, this era sparked a new passion and creativity amongst artists and how their work impacted their viewers.
Rhythm O / Marina Abramovic/ 1974
Marina is a well-known performance artist, in this particular work, she sat in a gallery and allowed viewers to do whatever they wished with her without any response from her. The viewers were offered objects that ranged from pleasure to pain, and the exhibit lasted six hours long. The most notable thing about this exhibit was the viewers getting rowdy and aggressive halfway through, but Marina still kept her passive position. There is a sense of form in this performance art because it had been recorded that knives were one of the objects Marina had let her viewers use on her. Someone used the knife to cut her clothes off around the three-hour mark. This art brings me a sense of fear, because of how many people were actually doing these things to Marina. Her body was cut, her clothes were cut, and in the picture, the reason why there is a cloth pressed to her neck is due to someone slashing her neck to suck her blood. The presence of the artist is what makes this so powerful because she expressed how much fear she felt, but she stuck by until the end time of 6 hours, to which people ran away because they were scared of what she might do. This was incredibly influential in the postmodern artwork era as it challenged the notion of the artist's figure.
Rhythm 10 /Marina Abramovic / 1973
This was Marina's first art piece, in this game, she plays a game of "Finger Fillet" where she jabs a knife in between her fingers of one hand. If she accidentally stabs herself, she would grab another knife out of the twenty others she had and record herself. In the end, she would watch the recordings and then mimic the gestures and sounds she made during the performance. The reason she does these art pieces is to test how many limitations the human body has, both physically and mentally. Time is a very present art element, as she constantly repeats her process of playing the game by herself until she stabs her fingers with a knife, then repeats the process twenty more times. The performance gives negative emotions, but there is also a sense of passion from Marina, as it would later lead on to more performances where she would test the endurance of her health for the public eye to see. This is also an example of how her performances changed the perspective of post-modern art, and while not as impactful as Rhythm 0, it still helped pave the way for her career.
https://www.theartstory.org/definition/postmodernism/
https://www.wikiart.org/en/marina-abramovic/rhythm-10
Apple Trees /Gerald Richter /1987
At first glance, in my opinion, it looks like a photograph of trees. However, this is actually an oil canvas painting. During the Post-Modern Era, many artists were moving on from painting to make room for performance art. Gerald uses his art skills to bring back traditional painting, but he diverts expectations by making the painting blurry to the public's eye. This already brings up the topic of texture and form, because the texture looks grainy and blurry, like the painting was a picture that was taken with an old camera. For form, Gerald makes the painting blurry on purpose so the subject and objects of the painting aren't as visible as a normal painting. The reason he makes the painting blurry is so that possibilities are open for the viewer to see. If the title didn't specify that these were apple trees, it would be hard to make that conclusion as it only looks like regular trees under a cloudy sky.
Townscape Paris /Gerald Ritcher / 1968
Similar to the first painting, this one painting is depicted as blurry, and it is unsure on what the subject is until you look at the title. This painting uses neutral colors, and the texture shows the rough brush strokes and blobs of paint. The overall appearance is sloppy, which is something Gerald does in a lot of his paintings, with the answer it being up to the audience's perspective on what they think the painting is. To me, the painting does look like buildings, but I wouldn't have known it was somewhere in Paris if not looking at the title. Gerald uses shading to depict where the light is coming from, and while still sloppy, he still does a good job of portraying where the sun is shining.
Michael Jackson and Bubbles / Jeff Koons/ 1988
In this sculpture, Michael and Bubbles are shown to be sculpted in a gold color, this is due to the artist wanting them to be depicted as a type of godlike figure, since at around the time of this sculpture being made, Michael Jackson was at the height of his popularity. When examining closer, it is shown how their faces are painted white with makeup on. It is unsure of what other intentions this sculpture had, but it shows both the sides of Michael Jackson's fame and his personal life, as Bubbles was Michael's best friend who was often seen on tours with him. Porcelain was used to create this sculpture, and the sculpture is already beautiful with how the folds of the clothes are sculpted as well as the shape of their faces, since Jeff used a photo of Michael and Jackson as a reference. This sculpture is also a means of showing Jackson's self-discovery since the artist also wanted to portray the more childlike personality he would sometimes show. I think this sculpture did a wonderful job of portraying the idea of Michael being similar to a god figure because his influence was so huge that he is still a popular artist to this day, even years after his death.
Couple (Dots) /Jeff Koons / 2009
The first noticeable things about the paintings were the texture and colors. This is a very bright painting that shows a scandalous painting of a woman. However, there are scribbles and paintbrushes that shown her to be crossed out. Jeff is known for making paintings like this which shows women being seductive or their undergarments being cut out on purpose. The reason for the brush strokes is to add an abstract effect to the paintings. The dots and scribbles aren't used with an actual paintbrush but on programs like Photoshop. The woman is an actual painting on an oil canvas. Artworks like these push the usual narrative of painting with how messy and cluttered it looks. Normally, paintings have more of a clean look to them, even when the paint strokes are messy. However, during this era, artists were more spontaneous with their work. Art had more risk to them which is why they were so impactful. It subverted expectations and included more of the audience's interpretations and viewing, which made things more fun.
Great job bringing in such a variety of mediums and art exhibits, I am especially intrigued by the performance art, something I am not very familiar with. I have been to a few exhibits where the viewer becomes immersed in the art, sound rooms and such, and find them to be very impactful. The idea of having the artist in those same styles of displays would be super interesting. I find it scary that she was able to put up with so much during those six hours without breaking from her plan, this is a great example of the abilities of the human mind over the body.
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