Art Since 1945 New York – The Art Capital of the World

Art Since a move away from traditional Western art - a move away from realism

Traditional Western Art art has to be beautiful art has to be realistic, i.e. closely resemble nature an object of art always has a monetary value: it can be sold, it can be bought art has to be experienced in a museum context

Traditional Western Art art is not about process, but about the final object painting and sculpture are more important than decorative arts (i.e. there is always a very clear distinction between art and craft) art is detached from life

Dada, early 20 th cent. - “What is Art?” Fountain, Marcel Duchamp, 1917 (ready-made object)

Importance of Context Anything can become art, even ready-made objects. The meaning of an artwork does not necessarily lie within it, but often times arises out of the context in which it exists. Marcel Duchamp: Fountain (1917), Bicycle Wheel (1951)

“Please Do Not Enter” Video

Abstract Expressionism – 40s & 50s Convergence, Jackson Pollock, 1952Jackson Pollock

Key Artists: Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning emphasis on spontaneous, automatic or subconscious creation large scale work completely engulfs the viewer work is about the act of painting or creation itself brush strokes & paint texture have physical presence work is abstract, nonrepresentational, gestural, dynamic, emphasizes emotions Abstract Expressionism

Color Field Painting – 40s & 50s Untitled (left) / Orange and Yellow (right), Mark Rothko, , oil on canvas

Assemblage – 1960s, NY Assemblage is an artistic process. It consists of making a 3D artistic composition from putting together found objects. Robert Rauschenberg, NYC

Art was inspired by Dada Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg – most important artists Art is closely related to life Subject matter was the everyday, banality of urban America Used “found” objects, advertising materials, images from magazines Assemblage – 1960s

Robert Rauschenberg Interview with the artist Monogram, , Robert Rauschenberg

Earthwork & Installation Art There no longer any particular materials that enjoy the privilege of being immediately recognizable as art media: recent art is made not only with oil, metal and stone, but also with air, sound and light. Andy Goldsworthy Andy Goldsworthy – earth art installation James Turrell, “Gard Red” (1968) – mixed media installation

Installation Art – Key Points Space is part of the work Art no longer has to be viewed in a museum Audience is part of the work Viewer’s Experience = immersive, interactive

Pop Art – late 50s, 60s Pop artists drew their inspiration from the banality of urban America. Their work acted as a critique of the commercialization of mass media, TV, advertising, consumption, etc. Warhol believed that art is a commodity in the same way the soup cans are. Andy Warhol James Rosenquist

Pop Art Marilyn Series, Andy Warhol, 1960s (right)

Dada & Fluxus – emphasis on formal instructions & process + the willingness to embrace chance. In life, things just happen. Ex: Marcel Duchamp, “Rotary Glass Plates”, 1920 Ex: Nam June Paik, “Random Access”, 1963 Fluxus - Importance of Chance

Art is Part of Life Alan Kaprow coins the term “lifelike art”. New art forms are created such as performance art, “happenings”, etc. The distinction between art and the everyday is no longer relevant.

“Happenings” were staged performances Blurred the line between artist and audience Gave rise to Performance and Conceptual art of the 70s Example: Yoko Ono’s “Cut Piece”“Cut Piece” Happenings

Artists highlight the importance of the creative process over the final product. The documentation of the process would often be presented as the work of art itself. Ex: art made of the leftovers of some prior activity. Bruce Nauman, “Composite Photo of 2 Messes on the Studio Floor”, 1967 Importance of Creative Process

Conceptual Art: 1950s-70s All of the new art movements that were created in the 50s-60s can be put under the umbrella of “Conceptual art”. In Conceptual Art, “the idea becomes the machine that drives the work.” (Sol LeWitt)

Ex: Joseph Kosuth, “One of The Three Chairs”, 1965

Postmodern Art

Key features of Postmodernism: Appropriation (recycling and re-mixing old images, ideas) Pluralism (art can take many directions at once and all of them are equally valid) Art Since the 80s

Key features of Postmodernism: Effects of globalization (Western ideas about art as well as system of art education have been adopted by other non-Western countries, etc.) There is no such a thing as “progress” in art: (art history is not a straightforward progression of 1 style to another: you have to study everything that happened, not just the winners…) Art Since the 80s

Postmodern Art Fountain, Sherrie Levine, 1991, bronze

Postmodern Art Keith Haring

Digital Media Art Definition & Examples

Digital Media Art is: 1.Created with the help of digital technologies such as computers, digital cameras, GPS devices, mobile phones, etc. 2.Created by artists interested in the intersection between art & technology

Digital Media Artists: 1.Use technology as a tool Examples: digital photos, prints, etc.

Digital Media Artists: 2. Use technology as a medium (art is being stored in digital format, uses interactive and participatory features of the medium) Examples: Game Art, Net Art, Interactive Video Installations, Robotics, Data Visualization Art, etc. Data Visualization Art - C5 Landscape Initiative

Digital Media Art – Strong Connections to Previous Art Movements 1) Dada 2) Fluxus 3) Conceptual Art

Dada – emphasis on formal instructions Ex: Marcel Duchamp, “Rotary Glass Plates”, 1920

Digital Media Art – Characteristics Formulated by code (math. rules, functions) Artists set up rules, than leave work open-ended. Example: Sims myData=myMondrian is an interactive computer program in which the personal data provided by viewers is translated into Piet Mondrian-like composition

Fluxus – randomness and chance Ex: Nam June Paik, “Random Access”, 1963 Visitors were able to use the sound head, which has been detached from the tape recorder, to interactively run through the tapes glued to the wall, and constantly vary the sound sequence according to location and speed. This random access to the musical raw material enabled visitors to produce compositions of their own.

Conceptual Art – emphasis on the idea Ex: James Morgan & John Pierre Bruneau, Looks Very Tidy,Looks Very Tidy

Digital Media Art – Characteristics Audience is part of the work – interactive and participatory aspects of digital art

Digital Media Art – Characteristics

Often open ended, in the state of flux author is a co-creator along with the audience Ex: Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau, A-Volve, 1994 (interactive, real-time environment)

Digital Media Art – Characteristics Ex: Christa Sommererand Laurent Mignonneau, Verbarium,

Digital Media Art – Main Points 1.Consists of binary data 2.Can be easily manipulated, changed, etc. 3.Process-oriented work is ephemeral 4.Often requires collaboration with others 5.Often requires audience participation 6.Often deals with art & technology 7.Often reflects upon digital medium, it’s language and aesthetics 8.Often blurs boundaries between various disciplines

Cool Digital Media projects to check out: “A Global Festival of Art on the Edge”, San Jose, California

What is Art?

Exercises

What style is this? What are some of the key characteristics of this style?