April 12th

Reading Response 9: Due April 12

Miranda July's piece was strange definitely, but really awesome and interesting to watch. The narrative was hard to grasp and put together, but the emotions I felt during my viewing of the piece complement that. I was confused, nervous, and scared during the film, which I believe was in line with the character of the piece. The animation was fun to watch, and the projected video behind the performer worked well. Not as perfectly as earlier pieces, but good none the less. July's performance was very emphasized, in order to reach the entire audience.

Catching up from last week: Christie Milliken, "The Pixel Visions of Sadie Benning"

1. How is Sadie Benning's work related to general trends and characteristics in Riot Grrl subculture? Its got that lofi quality to it. Its subversive and promotes women (particularly the groups who are ignored.) How is Riot Grrl subculture similar to and different from punk subculture? Riot Grrrl subculture started out of magazines and seems to be more focused on promoting a political agenda for girls then punk culture was on promoting any kind of political agenda.

2. Why does Milliken refer to Benning's work as visual essays? What are the advantages of viewing the work in relation to this genre? What is meant by "radical feminist essayistic" form? The film cannot easibly be catagorized as a documentary, or a ficiton and that they are very expressive which seperates the work from the documentary tradition. Radical feminist essayist form means that the film doesn't attempt to answer problems but merely brings up their questions in an attempt to change the way things are.


Keller and Ward, "Matthew Barney and the Paradox of the Neo-Avant-Garde Blockbuster"

3. What has changed in the gallery art world that allows Barney to describe his work as “sculpture”? In other words, how has the definition of sculpture changed since the 1960s, and why? Well the definition of sculpture has become more relaxed. When a cutout of a trench in the desert was determined to be sculpture that opened the floodgates as to what scuplture is. Barney sees his film as a family of objects.

4. Tricky but important question: Why was minimalist sculpture seen as a reaction against the “modernist hymns to the purity and specificity of aesthetic experience”? In other words: Why do they say that minimalist sculpture is post-modernist? Minimimalism brings the viewer into the art. The purpose of minimalism is to say that the viewers perception of the art is highly related to the art.

5. Describe the role of the body in the works of Vito Acconci and Chris Burden. You may wish to consult the following links to supplement the descriptions in the readings: The body is the focus of the work. It's the object that the artist sculpts, and then its the object that the audience reacts to. Similar to a performance piece.

http://www.ubu.com/film/acconci.html

http://www.ubu.com/film/burden.html

5. In the opinion of the authors, what are the key differences between performance art of the 1960s/1970s and Barney’s Cremaster cycle? What do they mean by the term "blockbuster" in relation to the gallery art world? There is a lot of marketing and overhead which is kind of strange for the art world.


Walley, "Modes of Film Practice in the Avant-Garde"

6. What is meant by “mode of film practice”? Give two well known examples of non-experimental modes of film practice. Why does Walley argue that the concept of the mode of film practice can help distinguish between the experimental film and gallery art worlds? Just the guidelines for how the film is produced. Types include studio era hollywood, and French new wave. How the film production is financed plays a crucial role.

7. What are some of the key differences between the experimental and gallery art worlds in terms of production and distribution? The experimental films are more often than not more personal, independent works while the art gallery work is more collaborative. In the art gallery world the prints are editioned.
Posted by jimbosuave at 9:31 AM 0 comments