General Readings
Readings cites in Cloud and from other sources
Drozdek, Jenni (2006), 'Looking to the Left: Politics in the Art of Barbara Kruger and Jenny Holzer', Kritikos, 3.
(Drozdek 2006)
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Critic Lucy Lippard believes that all art is ideological.
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Kruger surveys advertising systems to rebadge with an agenda that criticises trad views on women and power structures.
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Holzer – ' utilizes an anonymous voice to send messages of authority to the public' 2 – large text 'graffiti' in walls, buildings etc. – truisms e.g. 'if you have many desires your life will be interesting' – also posters, led signs, projections. Now uses text from others – e.g. the lobby as Southern World Trade Centre. ALREADY ON WIX SITE
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Drozdzek’ article focuses on work of Holzer and Kruger
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Both have overt and covert messages
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Both leftist
Kruger
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Cites Kruger’s choice of leftist literature to for designing book covers as evidence of her leftist slant before going into fine art work
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Much of Kruger’s work feminist – e.g. Kruger’s work for a pro-choice (abortion) march – billboard – YOUR BODY IS A BATTLEGROUND – cites other work on the same theme
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Kruger also produced anti- bomb work – mushroom cloud with
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Your manias become science
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Led to works on money and buying from 1984 – e.g. I shop therefore I am
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K railed against the turning of health care into a charity enterprise – with money being ripped out by the rich.
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Use of images from magazines, books, advertising as backing –
Jenny Holzer
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Text alone without image
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‘Truisms’ – (1977-1979)
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More left than right wing – many ambivalent – e.g. “everyone’s work is equally important”, Any surplus is immoral, ‘It’s not good to operate on credit’, ‘redistributing wealth is imperative’, “Remember you always have freedom of choice” “Using force to stop force is absurd”
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C.f. the few right wing truisms ; Absolute submission is a form of freedom, freedom is a luxury not a necessity, killing is unavoidable but nothing to be proud of, most people are not fit to rule themselves’, ‘occasionally principles are more valuable than people’, ‘separatism is the way to a new beginning’, ‘sex differences are here to stay,’ ‘The idea of revolution is an adolescent fantasy’. ‘Trading a life for a life is fair enough’ ‘violence is permissible and even desirable occasionally’. – these feel ironic – need challenging – point up the absurdity of the right wing beliefs they espouse.
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Holzer says was attempting to be neutral with the truisms – but most are not read that way – they are not really a ‘sampling of opinion’ –
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Cites use of Holzer’s truisms on t-shirts e.g. the ones chosen for this are the left-wing ones almost predominantly.
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Became almost offensive with ‘it is fun to walk carelessly in a death zone’, ‘people are nuts if they think they are important’ ‘what country should you adopt if you hate poor people?’ - had to have disclaimers – but Holzer says that she has the hope that ‘readers will, in reaction, land in the right place’. Drozdek conjectures about what the right place might be.
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Holzer leaflet “Jesus will come to New York November 4” (election day). – background (stated in the leaflet that 3 million fundamentalists are newly registered to vote. – Holtzer’s aim is to ‘scare most liberals into voting’.
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Holzer’s work not just in galleries – billboards, projections, electronic signboards.
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Anonymous – no artist name attached to these public billboards etc. – aim to produce common maxims.
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Both artists question and confront power structures – are very effective in getting the message across.
Amy Bourne, Gender and Social Codes of Looking
Week 2 reading (Bourne)
Def code – 'a system of conventions of set of practices, used for communication' p. 1
Codes
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Categorise signs into systems
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make up for the arbitrariness between signified (something which needs to be represented) and signifier (how something is represented)
Article specifies it is looking at 'codes of looking' (as opposed to e.g. verbal codes)
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humans are both lookers and looked at
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social identity marked by attire, appearance and behaviour (e.g. how we approach and look at people)
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includes distinctions of gender.
Infants learn social mores e.g.
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looking at the speaker/speakee
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where to look (and where not to gaze)
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wide-eyed staring may present a threat (c.f. the animal kingdom) – cites the white American's 'hate' stare for blacks.
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Not meeting eyes may have a –ve connotation – e.g. nervousness, cultural (e.g. Aust Aborigines), shyness, inferiority – eye contact comes out assertive, confident
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Staring behaviour is determined by – co-operation vs competition, attractiveness of the other person, cultural rules and meaning, distance, conversational content, status, environmental setting and props, interaction sequence. (ref. Given)
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Higher a person's status the more others look at the person (perhaps due to respect or envy)
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Notes that 'social identity is determined through our appearance along with our material wealth, acquaintances and general lifestyle.'
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Gender difference in gaze – 'men have a 'right to look'; women can only glance'
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For women, it appears that appearance is more important than for men (male dominated world) – attractiveness in a women gains greater attention.
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Women worry about how they look [more than men].
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Staring –occurs because of envy, admiration or curiosity
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Notes alcohol can break down the 'staring' mores – especially with males and their staring at females
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Homosexual men – a prolonged stare to denote interest, and to reciprocate.
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We also have a 'non-confrontational' opportunity to stare – at media, e.g. TV photographs, magazines
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Notes females are often photographed looking at camera , with head on side, men models look away from the camera. Cites Hitchcock's films as an example of setting up women for voyeurism (cites Laura, Mulvey, feminist, film theorist)
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Voyeurism very obvious in magazine pictures of women – accepted as the norm by society – mirrors the social code of men being allowed to stare at women.
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Notes that the photographer gazes at the model as he/she photographs, the model's gaze is captured on film, and the third gaze is that of viewers.
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Some 'views' are considered taboo (e.g. Courbet The origin of the world)
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Nakedness is accepted as OK in art, but not in pornography where it has sleazy overtones.
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Concludes that the social codes of viewing, despite their gender differences, are so embedded in society that we do not notice them, and accept them as the norm.
Marc Prensky, 'Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Part II: Do they really think differently' (Prensky 2001)
Says that children who play videogames etc. From a young age (digital natives) have different thinking patterns
Term neuroplasticity – the theory 'that stimulation of various kinds actually changes brain structures and affects the way people think' – this continues throughout life.
Enrichment of experience leads to growth in the sensory areas stimulated, and other layers are thicker.
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This theory also borne out by psychological evidence.
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People brought up in different cultures actually think differently
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Brains change only after repeated work – e.g. playing of videogame day after day.
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Implication – we should be teaching to these new skills – emphasising technology, games based learning over text-based learning.
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Digital natives gain success with less linear methods of learning – more 'scatter shot' approach of dabbling here and there. More lateral thinking, mental mapping, etc. (see p4 para 4)
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Attention span is limited only 'for the old ways of learning' – extended attention span for games, interactive experiences,
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Students are able to get the gist of a program, while paying only scant attention (doing other things)
Cons of being a digital native
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Less reflection time – less ability to reflect – to make generalisations, create 'mental models' based on our experiences.
Using Computer/video- based learning tools
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Many ed. Learning games are very poor examples of the video game genre and not very effective.
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Computer games etc. May be seen as an extra rather than as a core learning method.
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Chn may not use ed. Games long enough for them to be really effective. Practice is vital. Reinforcement.
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Cites US military as using computer=based training methods for new recruits.
Concludes that it is vital that learning for 'digital natives' works to utilise the strengths of their brains, i.e. training in computer interactive games etc. Rather than the weaknesses – ability to learn linearly, reading only based learning.Need for constant feedback, reinforcement.
Jarvis, Sue 'Postmodernism and the Visual Arts', AEV Conference - The Art of Creativity, (Spring 2004), 14-17.
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Jarvis)
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Lists characteristics of Postmodernism as:
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Pluralism or double meaning.
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Eccentricity.
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Historical pastiche - taking parts from various art periods or artists.
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Not meant to be taken seriously as High Art.
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Often used mixed media, or more than one material
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Differentiates between appropriation and plagiarism –
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Appropriation – taking something and putting into a new context – fine line drawn between how much can be used (very grey area for artists)
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Plagiarism – passing off another's work as one's own – directly copying without acknowledgment of other's input – (fine line!!!)
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Cites Mike Bidlo – 1988 – Picasso's women – exhibition – repainting picasso's women, same size medium, but from poor reproductions – so Jarvis says are 'neither copies not fakes but a kind of mimicry.'5
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Cites Jeffrey Smart – use of solitary figure in industrial landscape (also Rick Amor) – ambiguous meaning (hower, Smart always stated that his work was about composition, not subject).
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Cites use by cartoonists – e.g. John Spooner (the Age) – use of Botticelli's Venus – to depice Pauline Hansen. (also Leunig, Cathy Wilcox).
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Grant Wood –American Gothic – painted from a family photo – satirical but can be 'misread'
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Has itself been copied and parodied.
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PM art – not elitist, beauty and taste no longer important (or appropriate)
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PM often seen in architecture – sculpture – cites Petra Stork Architectural Fragment
Cites Melbourne Central – the pm steel enclosure of the old shot tower – no attempt to harmonise the new with the old – in comparison with 101 Collins Street – which fits with the 19th c buildings nearby with marble columns to tie in the new glass and steel with the old.
Readings for Unit 5 - The Artist's Studio
Walker, Sydney 'Big Ideas and Art Making'.
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Broad human ideas, characterised by complexity, ambiguity, contradiction and multipilicity.
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Each has many aspects – e.g. conflict can represent power, personal and social values, justice and injustice and winners and losers.
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Are often explored by artists in all fields
Developing Big Ideas
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Artists may explore a wide range of ideas, then find one to direct their work for an extended period (may be even a lifetime)
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Ideas are informed by personal interests, and the work and ideas of others.
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Discusses concept of a theme differing from an idea – but may be synonymous with it, especially for long themes – e.g. George Segal – theme – alienation in the urban environment – theme – urban scenes (interior and exterior)
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Robert Motherwell is e.g. of where a theme may differ from the artist's main big idea – e.g. the series on death – 100 paintings Elegy to the Spanish Republic (1948-97) – but Motherwell's 'big idea' is the exploration of human emotions – of which death is only one facet.
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Differentiates Subject Matter (the artist's topic) from Big Ideas (the artist's concepts). Cites Warhol's soup cans etc. As topics whereas the big idea was the erosion of barrier between high art and pop art/general life.
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Discusses this in relation to classroom art teaching
Case Study
Jennifer Bartlett
Subject – gardens Big idea – the exploration and use of rules and systems
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e.g. Nice – series of ~200 drawings of her neglected winter garden
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Battery Park – a failed commission led to the landscaping of her home and rooftop garden –
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Rules – for Nice series – all of the 'awful little garden' – all on same-sized paper – but the style and media changed.
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Gives unit of study based on ideas by Heidi Hayes. P. 6
Other classroom 'big picture' unit ideas
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Unit on Kandinsky – what's wrong with this picture? P.8
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Work on Deborah Butterfield p. 9 – includes assessment rubric
List of Key Concepts for big ideas –
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e.g. Dreams and Fantasy
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list p. 12
Case study – Misreading the big idea of Andy Goldsworthy p. 12
This article would be useful for art teachers to tease out big ideas for students to explore via art.
The book title is not given!
Walker, Sydney 'Personal Connections', 20-35.
Students, as well as other artists, need to link their idea to the reality of their life – to make personal connections.
Artist Study – Donald Lipski: A fascination with objects
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sculptor – focus on the manufactured object, using Surrealist ideas – e.g. Magritte, Dali, Max Ernst, poet Andre Breton.
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Lipski juxtaposes unrelated objects – e.g. high-heeled shoes stuffed with matches connote feminine power and energy.
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Untrained as a sculptor so technique preference is tying, wrapping, gluing – use of ready-made items rather than fabricated ones.
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Likes the form and aesthetics of found objects
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Suggestions for the classroom p. 23-
Artist study – Sandy Skoglund – personal history
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Installation artist – interest in the sterility of personal contacts in suburbia – and the repetition of themes – e.g. new display (clone style) houses.
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The green house – couple sitting in a living room, unaware of 25 blue and green dogs within the glossy space – grass instead of carpet. – references the vacuity of urban life and the lack of real human interaction
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Suggestions for the classroom p. 26-
Artist Study – Andy Goldsworthy – connecting with nature
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Photography of rocks and wet, study of marine life, used the sun to melt ice and then re-fused it.
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Geometric patterns on the beach – using the sand as his canvas.
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Attempting to understand the interconnections between natural things – the ecology
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Works on site – experimenting with found materials.
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Describes a japanese commission – bamboo screen from found bamboo through which view of mountains is seen. Also a Scottish commission.
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Classroom suggestions 29-
Artist Study - Fred Wilson – Questioning Museum practices
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Amerindian descent – mixed-media installations that disrupt and question racial exclusions from museum display.
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Mining the Museum (1993) – Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, - e.g. a work where busts of white male 'heroes' and empty black pedestals for Baltimore black 'heroes' – Harriet Tubman, Benjamin Banneker, Frederick Douglass flank a 1923 'Truth trophy'
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Works show how museums distort history – a debunking of the white male hero.
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Social commentary
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Classroom suggestions p. 33-
Not Quite Art, Part 2 - The new folk art
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about the street art of Australia - especially Melbourne laneways
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Australia's top tourist attraction
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Interview with Andy -
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backpackers named Melbourne's laneways as Australia's no. 1 tourist attraction
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Throw-ups - a stencil - quick
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Paste ups - roll of posters posted up -
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Very current - may have political themes
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Female graffiti artists - e.g. Baffy? French, Dexta - Australia, Flox (new Zealand)
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Eventually works gets tagged to the point of being ready for painting over
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Better work gets left "You can't go over anything that you can't beat" - example of a work put up one day, painted over the next
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Andy also runs 'City Night' - art in light boxes.
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Andy says street art is like advertising - imagery etc.
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so the light boxes use advertising gimmick for art purposes
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People come to the laneways to have their wedding photos
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Refers to Banksy - some of his art is worth to $400,000US (Banksy stencil bought by Angeliqu Jolie)
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the place to be photographed to be 'cool'
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Why paint on walls? -
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huge audience - passers by
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egalitarian
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A place to put your point across - political statement - 'a space where people can voice their opinions of the world'
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A lot of Australian graffitti from US styles - but now more Australian style - e.g. Ned Kelly stencils
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Andy has some stencil work as part of the NGA collection of stencil art - 'as like artists proofs'
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Some people are daunted by the trad art gallery, museum
The uncollectable artists
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began as a joke - the but being magazine Australian Art Collector
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was to be a guerrilla magazine insert into AAC - the 50 most uncollectable art works
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to become bubble gum cards (with a stick of gum)
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e.g. artists who made a 'weed' tour of weeds at an ababdoned drive-in site - a tour with a glass of wine - of the weeds with a head phone commentary. - a project about raising awareness of our weeds
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Will and Dave - sited at the Sydney Opera House - to make people think differently about how people set criteria for what is art.
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A 28 km geoglyph -
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The works were ranked from 1-50 - by notoriety of artist, aesthetics (higher points for ugly) etc.
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empty - A work about derelict building - painting the walls - Geelong Powerhouse is an example of this. - except that this was in derelict buildings without permission of condemned buildings
Computer Art
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e.g. music making (band The Heard) - sampled electronic music - founders of independent record company
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also allows production and distribution easily without needing big commercial companies
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Notes - that classical music is, in fact - 'the playing of 'covers'' - not original music
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Computer Games - e.g. Escape from Woomera - about refugees wanting to escape from Woomera Detention Centre (caused an outcry because it had received public funding) -
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Kids are at the forefront of watching video games - they are usually US based - for that market
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Australian game makers - need to find a niche - usually in an acceptable existing genre - but there is creative innovation - but little chance of funding or publication for this new type of game (like Escape from Woomera)
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SSO - clip performing Mario Bros
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Comment that it takes a long time for a -medium to become accepted - e.g. photography and film only now seen as art
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But the new forms are validated by finances - people will pay to buy them.
(The next video in the series is called 'Art and Money'.
Cindy Sherman - Interview -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZekNrhRWek&feature=relat Uploaded 2010
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photographer -
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history pictures were a turning point - at about the time of the stock market crash (long after the film stills)
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felt guilt about the popularity of this so did a confronting series - the sex pictures
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dressing up is fun, now I have to do something that is really hard