Jeff Koons: Artist or Artificial

Jeff Coons is an American artist known for his giant reproductions of objects. They are usually stainless steel with mirror surfaces and brightly colored. His works have stirred criticism throughout his career. Critics have sharply divided their views of Koons and his artwork. Is it pioneering or is it a tasteless copy of someone else's artwork. Either way, there's been no hesitation for lawsuit and Koons has seen himself sued on numerous occasions. Some of those cases he has won and on others he has served defeat.

Despite his legal hindrances, Koons is arguably an entrepreneur to a new style of art. His replications of prior artwork and newly formed sculptures have influenced artists incredibly. One, being such, the likes of Damien Hirst. Koons Neo-pop art style has produced significant hype and profit. His pieces have sold for millions of dollars and are on display all over the world. He has an undoubted taste for elegance and structure.

So what do you believe? Is it Koons the "Sensation" or Koons the "Artifical Artisit." It's a great debate and art critics from all over have their opinions. However, you must keep one thing in mind concerning his artwork, they are still selling for millions of dollars.

The Crystal Skull

Damien Hirst's Crystal Skull called "For the Love of God" is truly an amazing piece. Ha, I can't really see how this piece is more "art" than it is an investment. The skull has diamonds galore on it costing 14 million pounds to produce. The art piece went on display with an asking bid price of 50 million pounds which would make it the highest price ever paid for a single work by an artist.

This is the point I was trying to make. Think about encrusting anything with 14 million pounds worth of diamonds, or covering a whole skeleton in platinum and gold? Can just about anyone actually flip a piece of artwork for this much money? I think that it's absolutely ingenious of Damien Hirst. He took a piece that he knew would be worth something very valuable to begin with and turned it into an investment where he knew big bucks could be sought. As a business major you kind of have to respect Hirst's ability to realize the true "investment" that relishes in art. He deserves his piece to sell for that much and deserves to currently be the richest artist today. Hey, in all respectfulness, he was the entreprenuer who did it first. He's about as smart as the guy who invented Viagra.

200 one dollar bills

Andy Warhol 200 one dollar bills Lines

Tang Teaching Museum

On Saturday February 13th I visited the Tang Teaching Museum in Saratoga, New York to view work from Fred Tomaselli. I found Tomaselli's work to be very interesting and moving. To the right is one of Tomaselli's more recent pieces "Avian Flower Serpent" 2006. In this exhibit there were a couple of other paintings similar to this one.

This art piece really grabbed me because of all the different colors that were used. I am also someone who happens to be colorblind, and the colors still stood out for me. Another thing that I really enjoy about this piece is that when you look from far away all you can really see are the colors, but as you move closer you start to visualize the detail and precision that Tomaselli contributes.

It almost appears as if the bird is living, and looking right at you. And as you move closer you can see a myriad of objects and visualizations inside the bird, and the snake. There are snakes that are inside the snakes. The bird also has more than one eye. That really intrigued me.

Then if you begin to look at the tree the bird is perked on, and if you concentrate enough you can see that there is not one leaf that appears the same as any other leaf. I feel this adds to the detail of the art piece. It seems to almost collaborate with the different colors, and objects used to represent the bird and the snake. This idea of having so many different objects gives an illusion of imperfection, but it somehow made me feel that I am looking at perfection.

Tomaselli's exhibit was truly liberating for me. I must have taken a good hour to view all of his pieces in the gallery, then I spent another hour perusing through a book consisting of his art discography. This experience has made me feel eager to visit more art museums this semester.

Jackson Pollock

The painting I chose to analyze is Jackson Pollock's "Autumn." Jackson Pollock is an abstract expressionist artist. He has multiple famous paintings on canvases. He has a tremendous ability to collaborate colors and paint to create masterpieces. What I see in the painting next to me is a contrast of colors. By viewing the title prior to viewing the painting you actually get to see an image of what Pollock was trying to paint. The painting "Autumn" to the left has the same coincidence. Once I saw that "Autumn" was the title and then I actually saw the painting itself, the colors stuck out to me. The light colors are sort of being overwhelmed by the darker colors. This is only natural that our eyesight see this (darker colors stand out much more). So in this case, Pollock overpowers the lighter images in the painting with the darker colors. This symbolizes the transition from summer to fall and fall into winter. When we associate the seasons with colors, we see winter as the darkest month (both in actuality and psychologically) and vice versa with summer.

Mi Mundo Privato

In this painting by Nuno de Campos, a lot of different actions are taking place. At first glance I see horror because the citizens are running away as the large central figure of a Pinocchio is standing stern. The dark ominous clouds and three demons circling the people makes me believe that this in fact is a painting of terror. In addition, top center all the birds seem like they are in distress and flying away from the scene. The location of this painting resembles Rome with the basilica and columns, at the same time however I see people riding around horses which makes me think that this is a Spanish country. The buildings and animals are very detailed which makes it very easy to get distracted by all the different scenes taking place.

My feelings after looking at Campo's painting are intriguing yet a mild sense of terror at the same time. I am very curious as to what Campo's was trying to reveal with this painting and the story that was trying to be told. The black and white shading makes the important details in this composition stand out forcing the viewer to stare at darker central objects like the Pinocchio and demons lurking around. I would recommend this painting to anyone curious about unique art with many different objects to focus on.

I chose a drawing by Rembrandt to discuss and analyze. The reason for choosing this piece is because I like how he used different weight of line to have this man's hat and face stand out. Rembrandt did a great job using light sketch on a different type of paper to portray what I see as a broken old man. By the look of his facial expression and overall style I believe he is of asian descent. This drawing in my mind evokes sadness and loneliness being that this man is alone and seems cold and homeless.

It surprises me how a small sketch of this nature can bring out so much emotion from the viewer. By taking up just the right amount of space to have a clear sketch while placing nothing in the foreground or background, Rembrandt is showing that this man is alone and in my mind cold and homeless due to the old ruffled clothes and full beard. The artist did a great job through the idea of weight of line and sketching to depict this man.

Against Interpretation by Susan Sontag

Something Susan Sontag mentioned in her essay that grabbed me is that "Interpretation takes the sensory experience of the work of art for granted, and proceeds from there." I found this statement very interesting because I feel that interpretation completely takes away what you're feeling in that moment. And what you feel affects what you see, hear, and think.

By interpreting art you're trying to claim what someone else was trying to convey. So you're not actually seeing the work of art, but instead you're masked by the illusion that you think you've revealed what the artist was trying to convey. By doing this you're not thinking for yourself. I feel that by making your own interpretation and/or opinion about a piece of art you're thinking as a critic, and not as yourself. And who gave you the authority to critique this piece of art. Who's to say that you even know what you're talking about.

I feel that in order to view art the correct way you need to think for yourself. The only way to think for yourself is to simply let go of your interpretations, and just sense the art in front of you. What you feel in that moment the first time you lay your eyes on a piece of art work will be different than any other individuals experience. Because of this there can be infinitely many interpretations about a single piece of art. But all that should matter is what you feel the first time you experience the artwork.

I believe that interpreting art prohibits people from thinking for themselves, and instead lures them into thinking like everyone else. I will end this post on another quote from Susan Sontag. "What is important now is to recover our senses. We must learn to see more, to hear more, to feel more."

Installation Art vs. Art

Installation Art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional, on-site work that take up a designated space. Installation art can be either temporary or permanent. The pieces of art are constructed in exhibition spaces such as museums and galleries, as well as public and private spaces. Installation art incorporates all of your senses. The use of sight, sound, performance, virtual reality, and internet in an interior space.

Installation art is a very broad genre of art. It defies the meaning of the elements and emotions involved in art. This movement of installation art started in the 1960's and was made popular in the 1970's. Installation is theatrical, immersive, and experimental. Most of installation art is influenced by earlier works such as Marcel DuChamp's "Fountain" (1917). A very popular exhibit of installation art today is found in the Tate Modern in London, England. This museum has incredible pieces of art such as Rachel Whitread's, "Embankment" (as shown in the photo).

But what exactly makes Installation art stand out? First of all, there is a much more different experience that someone can derive from installation art than simply looking at a painting. Plus in several occasions, there is an artist interaction with the painting. In one case, the artist actually lived in her art. Another interaction is that there is a crack down the middle of one of the rooms at the Tate. It allows the audience and the viewers to actually interact with the art as well. This three-dimensional appeal in installation art actually touches on the boundaries of what constitutes art. Is this three-dimensional approach really art?

My personal opinion is that a painting/portrait delivers viewers with a much more emotional effect that installation art can ever provide. However, not to denote installation art, it does provide an empowering feel to it. The massive and elaborate artwork can be very overwhelming to the audience, but i offer that one objection to it. The emotional factor given to us through framed and pictorial art is lost significantly. That is just my opinion however, you can offer yours.

Against Interpretation - Susan Sontag

Sontag's Essay, "Against Interpretation" analyzes and highlights imitation of an imitation. Sontag discusses the difference between Plato and Aristotle. Plato believes that art is not real so therefore it is useless to us as individuals. Aristotle offers an opposite view and states that art arouses and purges the mind.

I'd say I have to agree with Aristotle; that it's not about what or how we interpret art. It's about what you grab from it, and if you extract emotion, then it is useful and real. And therefore art is an important aspect of society.

Sontag makes a great point in her essay. She says, " What the overemphasis on the idea of content entails is the perennial, never consummated project of interpretation. And, conversely, it is the habit of approaching works of art in order to interpret them that sustains the fancy that there really is such a thing as the content of a work of art."

A piece of artwork has content and substance. And what that content is can only be perceived by the person reviewing the content. This drives us to "interpret." We interpret the elements of the artwork that drive emotions out of us. This is the "content" that we should see when looking at a piece of artwork. However, not all artwork will drive emotions out of us, but it will drive thoughts. Whether you like a piece of art or not, the thought of wondering "why" will pass through your mind. It's a simple human reaction derived from looking at something, especially when looking at artwork. A thought, an emotions, or reaction, something will be driven out of us. This is the "content" and the "substance" that art hands over to us.

Tang Art Gallery - Fred Tomaselli

The Tang Art Gallery at Skidmore College in Saratoga, NY was an interesting experience. Fred Tomaselli is an extremely talented and unique artist. His paintings were so exquisite in detail up close and trippy when viewed from farther away.Surprisingly, they also didn't give my hungover ass a headache either. His canvas paintings use actual pharmaceuticals, leaves, twigs, and other objects that make each and every painting stand out. The gallery offered a nice environment to showcase Tomaselli's paintings as well. I don't know what it was about that day either. Maybe because it was the first warm day we saw all winter or Tomaselli's paintings actually had an effect on me. Whatever it was I came out of the exhibit feeling positive and great, ready to conquer another Saturday night.

My favorite Tomaselli works include "Field Guides" (2003), "Avian Flower Serpent" (2006), and "Ocotillio Nocturne" (1993). Each painting has an array of colors, that drive both your emotions and senses. Fred Tomaselli's works are very good and I would definitely go view them again.

While in the gallery, I stumbled across a book about Tomaselli's. On one of the pages was an interview with the painter and he revealed the secret to his approach to art. He stated, "The notion of transubstantiation is really important to my approach to materials. The idea of taking a piece of bread and turning it into the body of Jesus is so crazy - even crazier than DuChamp turning a urinal into art! Of course, all artists engage in a transformative process: you squeeze paint out of tube, mix it up, slap it down and it becomes art. I suppose you can call it magic, alchemy, or transubstantiation.