Written by: Renny McFadin Ragnar Kjartansson, born in Reykjavik, Iceland, tends to encapsulate the entirety of mediums that art has to offer in his works. Literary, musical, theatrical, technical, technological, filmic … you name it. This can partially be accredited to his childhood. Being raised by an actress and a director/playwright does tend to have artistic consequences. Kjartansson describes his works as pieces that are “always about a feeling, but there’s no story.” So, he likes to tap into the concept of human nature to help emulate and create feelings of happiness and transcendence. His tragicomic works “combine sorrow and happiness, horror and beauty, drama and levity” (Artsy). Basically, his works aspire to reach a place of utopia within the human mind. The execution of this is always solid, the medium, however, can differ greatly. According to “The Broad”, Kjartansson’s works can be split up into three distinctive mediums. Live, recorded, or immersive. Live, in the sense of only done once, in the flesh. It’s there, then it’s gone, therefore its living. Recorded in the sense of his renowned, The Visitors (2012). A set of videos of nine musicians, repeating the same lyrics, all in the same household. All of the performers take on different instruments and interpret the tempo, and performance of the lyrics in unique ways. All nine of these videos are screened in a gallery at once, and the experience can be described as an “entirely absorbing ensemble piece that was alternately tragic and joyful, meditative and clamorous, and that swelled in feeling from melancholic fugue to redemptive gospel choir” (Hilarie Sheets). Lastly, immersive. Immersive like his piece Woman in E (2016), where a woman in a gold dress on a pedestal strums the chord E on a guitar within the gallery. Immersive as in present in the gallery. Obviously, Kjartansson’s repertoire of practiced works is immensely large, and immensely impressive. He continues to make works that poke and prod at the human mind and conscience today. And continues to spark our interest with his “opulent, ironic, and deeply human” (Artsy) works.
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Written by: Natalie Kim and Maya Koehn-Wu Cultured Kitties Two cats that live in Japan have spent the past two years trying to to be admitted into an art museum, being thwarted each time by the security guards. The art museum in question, Onomichi City Museum of Art in Hiroshima, has denied access to the duo, named by the museum, Ken-Chan and Go-Chan. The art museum’s Twitter page has posted videos about the cats’ numerous attempts to sneak into the museum before being ushered out by the security guards. Their 45,000 followers are all supporting the kitties attempts to become more cultured, even offering to pay the 300 yuan or $2.65 admission fee, but the museum still refuses to budge on its no animals policy. Ken-Chan and Go-Chan are now fairly internet famous, with the museum picturing them on a variety of merchandise. Watch Go-Chan try to enter the forbidden location: https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/1057547012923523072 Destroying Art to Protest the Destruction of Art Ron English, an American artist, bought graffiti piece, Slave Labor, by Banksy on November 14, 2018 at Julian’s auction for $730,000. The work itself was taken off of the side of a London discount store at a Julian’s auction, a practice that Banksy and English both detest as it is removing the work from the location that gives it part of its content, just for people to purchase and “own”. English’s plan is to whitewash the entire piece to protest this practice, and says that he will continue to do so with as many street works as he can. He plans on selling the new whitewashed version for an elevated price of one million dollars, an homage to Banksy’s stunt when he shredded his print at auction and, thus, raised the price of the work. Jeff Koons Sued for Plagiarizing Art American Artist Jeff Koons was sued in Paris about four years ago over a sculpture titled Fait d’Hiver, which translates to “fact of winter”, for plagiarizing the concept from Franck Davidovici photograph in a 1980 fashion company’s ad. The work was part of a series titled Banalism, which has had a total of five lawsuits against it for plagiarism. Koons has so far lost three and settled one in court, being ordered to pay the injured party by the French government. These occurrences question the line between plagiarism and appropriation, as Koons is well known for his incorporation of brands and pre-existing ideas and objects in his art. The Art of an Abandoned Town Pyramiden, is an abandoned coal-mining town located in the Arctic Circle between Norway and Greenland. The town is ultimately named after a pyramid-shaped mountain located 30 miles from Svalbard capital, Longyearbyen. In its heyday and under Soviet Union control, there was more or less 1,000 inhabitants. After the fall of the Soviet Union, and with the dwindling of the coal mining operation, support for the settlement weaned, and the settlement was altogether abandoned in 1998. The town, today, remains wholly untouched by time - with the vacant 1998 facilities, including the northernmost swimming pool, grand piano, and monument to Lenin. Today, however, artists are daring to venture back for a one-off showcase of music, dance, and submersive blast to the past, in which 50 select guests are allowed to attend. The magic perhaps of the showcase is not only that the different performances are exhibited in different settings, however, there is inherently no distractions in Pyramiden; the town is just so remote (the only way to get to it is by an hour and a half boat ride). Featured performances from the artists include Annasuolo, Julie Alapanes, Kartellet, Marian Torset, Mork, and Violet Road. Source: https://www.cnn.com/style/article/svalbard-russian-ghost-town/index.html Want to learn more about the Expo? Check out this link: http://www.ryk.no/en/northern-expo-2018/ Stolen Picasso Found, Only to be Found Fake Picasso’s “Tête d'Arlequin”, Henri Matisse "La Liseuse en Blanc et Jaune", and Monet’s “Waterloo Bridge, London,” and “Charing Cross Bridge, London,” were all stolen from the Kunsthal museum in an art raid in 2012. The raid “loot” was estimated to be close to 21 million dollars by the prospective Romanian Prosecutors. Ultimately four Romanians were convicted a year later to six years in prison, and reimbursement of the lost money; however, the stolen paintings were never recovered. One of the robbers’ mother claims to have burned the paintings to protect her son, and museum officials found the claim to be substantiated due to the traced pieces of canvas and paint found in her oven. However, in recent events, in an anonymous letter revealing the whereabouts of one of the seven paintings, Picasso’s stolen “Tete d’Arlequin” resurfaced, found underneath a tree in Tulcea County by novelist Mira Feticu. Investigation and speculation has concluded that the painting is ultimately fake, and perhaps part of the project, “True Copy.” Exploring the Effects on Art in the Instagram Age With the general advancement in technology and the blossoming of the digital age, there is a unique and very clear shift in art presentations that is defining how the virtual lens is shaping our modern day culture. Not only selfies, but videos on instagram have resulted in big, submersive, interactive pieces that no longer have to be site-specific, but rather can travel virtually all around the world. Popular modern day art installations that engage not only the art audience touring the actual site, but also viewers everywhere, include Studio Swine’s, “New Spring” that features a fountain that emits scented bubbles, and Kusama’s light installations that explore infinity. In general, many instagram-famous artists tend to share common characteristics in their works in the sense that they are big, highly immersive, fantastical and escapist works - which ultimately reflect the surreal form of the 21st Century’s Pop Art - highly engaging, and optimized for social engagement. Citations:
https://qz.com/quartzy/1466332/two-cats-have-been-trying-to-get-into-a-japanese-art-museum-for-two-years/ https://news.artnet.com/art-world/jeff-koons-plagiarism-lawsuit-1354876 https://www.cnn.com/style/article/svalbard-russian-ghost-town/index.html https://www.cnn.com/style/article/stolen-picasso-romania/index.html https://www.cnn.com/style/article/instagram-installation-art/index.html |
AuthorsNATALIE KIM is a junior at MLWGS and is committed to informing others of history being made in the art world. Archives
April 2019
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