Ball-Playing Ceremony: the king before a goddess, possibly Hathor,   Gallery 133

I am fascinated by the connections between art, power,  religion and psychology in a large acceptation.

I’ve chosen this representation of  Hathor for the role and functions of this Egyptian goddess.  It is interesting to me to see that Hathor is the goddess of joy with political functions. She’s  the goddess of artistic creation, of fertility and she also has the power to link the two Kingdoms. She’ was sort of a mother figure to the ancient Egyptians and she was in fact often represented as a cow. 

I see in her something very important in arts in general, that is the political component. When we feel joy our power to act is stronger, whereas sadness diminishes that possibility.

In this sense joy helps the society to fight against the status quo, if this is perceived as not fulfilling. 

To me, art should have this dissident component. Of course by joy I mean I sort of playfulness that help getting things dynamic and evolving; strangely enough there can be joy is sadness.  

Discussion is open

My contemporary

AdelAbdessemed

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adel_Abdessemed)

It is a difficult task to say what ‘My contemporary’ is, in part because one should have a whole philosophy concerning the interpretation of time,  lots of self-awareness and a vast knowledge in art. I am going to talk about  ‘My contemporary’ as one precise sensation I felt some five years ago, when in Turin (http://www.fsrr.org/?lang=en ) I saw the solo exhibition of Adel Abdessemed, and in particular the screening of ‘Don’t trust me’. From that sensation I’m going to try to develop some characteristics of 'My contemporary'.

‘Don’t trust me’

In this video a series of animals is being bludgeoned to death with a sledgehammer blow on the head. 

The view of this work paralyzed me. 

With some distance I can say that this was an aesthetical experience related to the most classical conception of sublime, or even delight

This sort of provocative ritual, barbaric for our western contemporary mind, linked past and present in a powerful, non-judgmental, understanding of life – of its fragility and value. 

Sometimes we think of art as a safe place, this is to me an example of how art can deal with courage, risk, the politically incorrect, and all sorts of contradictions and deep problematic of life. It is, of course, an extreme example. However, I found something necessary in this atrocious execution. I am under the impression that Abdessemed was dealing consciously with our most instinctive and original side and society’s moral constructions. How did our vision of life evolved? How do we respect and support forms of life? Our physical pain, the other’s? Justice. Fairness. Etc. 

When there’s a call to awareness concerning us as human being and members of societies, I feel there’s a call to contemporaneity. The emotions and the questions raised live in an unsorted stream of time: past, present and future display themselves simultaneously.  

‘My contemporary’ would then be that artist, or work of art, that manage to uproot my little self from a self-absorbed vision of existence.  ‘My contemporary’ pushes me to embrace all the shades, the most extreme and the most silent expressions of the “right now”; my contemporary empowers life. 

Prompt 7 - Psychic Atlas

1 the first is the last

20 twenty is the last but, as things are given, it’s actually the second number of the list. Despite being the higher number on the list, twenty is not the first number

9 is the day I was born, and it’s three times three, which, as we know, it’s an important number

3 three it’s a beautiful number cause non-native English speakers often pronounce it as TREE or FREE 

16 sixteen it’s for rituals of passage, in Mexico apparently they break piñatas with candies inside when a girl turn 16. In America 16 years old girls get a car, or not. 

19 are the candies that fall from the piñatas hitting the poor Mexican girl on the head

(82) Even if it should not be on the list, because the list goes from number 1 to number 20, 82 is lead’s number on the element’s table. Lead happens to be the candies’ material falling from the piñata on the (poor) Mexican girl turning 16. 

2 two is the biggest lie ever, the origin of every problem. The other side of the apple doesn’t exist, symmetry neither

6 six, interesting number: in Italian six is pronounced as “you are”. I’m open to discussion, but I have to remind you that six is three times two, therefore TREE or FREE (3) may not exist (see number two). 

XVII seventeen.   VIXI, Latin, I lived. If I lived, I’m dead.  17 interestingly enough is linked with number two and also number sixteen if that Mexican girl has a thin skull. 

4. Four is the crossway of three lines, or two, or one bended.  This graphical conception confirms that often one thing means another. 

11 graphically speaking, how weird is it that 9/11 was on 9/11, as if the number contained the events. 

5 five guys. Thibault eats five guys a lot and I enjoy it too sometimes. 

14 I suspect that fourteen is my mental age. At that age I enjoy pointing at a map and imagining my life in the place on which my finger hazardously fell. This thing that I used to do was surely an anticipation of what this prompt would have been.  

7 seven is the rhythm of our moods, how do you feel Sunday night? 

13 Thirteen it’s absurd. I never think about thirteen. Now that I think about it I feel like I neglected it. 

8 Eight o’clock in two hours. One hour and fifty minutes to be precise. 

10 ten are the places I could have tought of living, all at the same time, if I only used all my fingers to point on the map that I used to play with as child . That would have been confusing.

12 twelve on the clock points to the sky, are the numbers on the clock positioned as the sun ? OMG. Western movies

(15/18)  Between me and me, what is my work? To create microenvironments that seem autonomous, that have their own language, and that, hopefully, reveal a form of necessity. To contaminate thoughts, to shift identities.  

Reflection

Eye and Idea really helped me sharpen my senses when approaching art. Before, when viewing an artwork, I would try to think more than purely to "look." For the first presentation, I was surprised that this is actually a non-spoken presentation, and that we have to simply show our works by itself. Without saying anything, I showed my works one by one, and while doing that I realized that the works can "speak" by itself. I got to say I really enjoyed doing the presentations. Since I have only taken art history classes in the past, giving talks about my favorite artist, as well as my own artwork (mini artist-talk :)) was truly fresh and delightful. I also learned a great deal from doing the weekly prompts. One of the most inspiring ones was "When there is nothing to see, you look." I realized then, that there is real beauty in the ordinary things around us if we pay attention carefully. The gallery walks and field trips to artists' studios were also inspiring and fascinating! I remember when we visited Michael's studio he talked about his art- making process. He said that while making art, all the people and the things he has heard and seen flash through his mind, and that at the end, it is "him" who is left. This touched and inspired me. I know as an artist that one has to put his heart and mind into his work. There is countless inspirations among us that we can retrieve, and we (artists) have the capacity to transform what is ordinary (things existing around us) to something new and wonderful. The particular exhibit that I was drawn into was William Kentridge's show at the Met. (Emma's piece for the Met Marathon) This semester was the first time I learned about William Kentridge, and I was blown away when I saw the exhibit. (I actually got inspiration from William Kentridge for my Final Project for Drawing II class) This class was amazing. Thank you Mary for organizing everything! I really hope to see all of you in the future.

Reflection

Well, I am starting this post a bit late because I was not sure what to do. I wanted to make a piece, but to be honest all my work for this class has been made not because of the prompt but from my own motivation before the assignment that I have fit to be within the parameters of the topic through a written justification. I could have done the same thing for this assignment but I didn't really find a fit. I could say how the Kentridge shows have inspired my films, but that wouldn't be true. He inspired my films but I had those ideas way before I saw those shows and I changed nothing after seeing them. I could talk about how my other pieces have been inspired by the trip to the Morgan Library as they are text based works, but that would be off as well. I made them because of a need to make them. Nothing more, nothing less. I make work because I have to get something out. Working for a prompt just doesn't suit me and this class has made that clear to me. Which in and of itself is an interesting discovery on my work.
In terms of then writing about a particular show or exhibition or talk, that would also be insincere. I have enjoyed all the different talks and have taken bits and pieces from everyone, but not one in particular really stands out as a major  influence in my practice. There are moments like the use of the flower presses as a pedestal from Virginia Poundstone to the funny timer in that video of yellow objects in that LES gallery, but nothing I could dedicate paragraphs to. Perhaps its simply the way I function in regards to art. I like fragments. I don't take references as a whole. Even the artists I most admire, I tend to really only gravitate to a detail (Matisse's gestures of the spine, the feet on greek statues, or Picasso's hair on his minatour sketches). The detail surpasses the whole to the point where speaking to a whole does not make sense to my logic.
I guess what I can say is that I have learned the most not from the field trips or talks, but y'all. Hearing different perspectives on the exhibitions, prompts, and then seeing your responses in the context of y'all's work has really pushed me to think about different ways in which art discussion relates to practice, and how many different ways there are to approach an idea, so thank you for that. Learning about everyone through art was really cool. You forget how much your art says about you until you see other people's work that you know. That really has changed my awareness to my own work and how I need to approach aspects of pieces in the future.
Sorry to say that I slept through the party tonight, I do feel terrible that I did not get see everyone for one more class. Hopefully I'll see y'all soon (perhaps at the undergrad show on friday yay advertising). Good luck in the future. Y'all are a talented bunch. 

Considering Poundstone's Total Meltdown (Prompt 9)

     Ironically, Virginia Poundstone’s September show invite makes the same sentimental gesture she examines. Flower arrangement artfully posed atop a pedestal, the shows title Total Meltdown appears across the front and is ready for hand delivery. Just like the subject she explores, a subtle gesture meant to engage the viewer personally on a deeper level. Poundstone’s show, Total Meltdown, seems to do just that.

     By looking closely at something as simple as the personal sentiment attached to a flower arrangement (micro level), Poundstone then expands her discussion to include complex topics such as global economy (macro level). In the process, she transforms her original subject, flower arrangements, into something other than their original form, for better or worse. Cast with negative parts left behind, photographed and framed, and reassembled dissected flowers and packaging are all used to full effect to bring into question not only Poundstones concept, but the dubious appeal of the subjects themselves.

The Tao of Emma

One of the more original acts I witnessed in this class was Emma's response to "there's nothing to see so you look." Whereas most of us followed Charline von Heyl into the outdoors -- me, included -- Emma described how a visual thinker such as herself often fails to *see* with her other senses. Her other senses are muffled when there is literally nothing in front of her to look at.

I love this sentiment. While my case is not as extreme as the experience Emma describes, I relate. Certain outdoorsy scents transport me immediately to Camp Michigania, a touchstone of my youth, and certain songs transport me to a specific slice of life. But these intense experiences of my non-visual senses are fleeting and rare.

Visuals, on the other hand, are saturated and reminiscent and constantly collaging upon themselves and one another. Visuals fit my framework, and I include words seen on the page, or on screen, in this category.

But back to Emma. I admire how she came at this prompt from an entirely different direction, and it totally worked. That is the essence of original thinking, and I aspire to it.