So back in March while doing some artist research I had came across Evan Penny. He is a hyperrealist(meaning that his work in incredibly detailed) sculptor and he was born in South Africa in 1953.
His work is incredibly fascinating to me. I can barely grasp how realistic his pieces are.
The other interesting part if his work is how gigantic his pieces are.
That's the man himself on the bottom-right of the image!
This giant head is pretty scary to me even though I'm not infront of it in person. I think the fact that I know its not real is what's creepy.
Penny also plays around with his talent to creat more abstract pieces. This piece is trippy.
Allan Kaprow isn't just cool because he shares the same birthday as me (August 23rd). He's cool because of this piece called "Yard". As I look at the piece I'm intrigued by the concept of a room field with tires. Its such a norm for tires to be outdoors on cars so it's pretty out of the norm to have so many of them in one room. His out-of-the-box idea is actually the placement of these tires in a large-scale box. I love that this piece included the interaction of people witth the tires. I couldn't help but be reminded of being a kid back in West Africa and playing with old useless tires. This piece also reminded me of old relay games played at camp or at p.e. when we would have to run through the tires hopping on each foot, one at a time. The moment you touch the inner rim of the tires, while running, the moment you fall. I could imagine walking through the "Yard" wasn't an easy task, but at least fun. I can't imagine the smell of the old rubber in that particular space. Very interesting piece indeed.
Vanessa Beecroft's piece VB61: Still Death Darfur Still Deaf is very disturbing to me. I've heard about the situation in Darfur and it really is a sad situation in human history, so I appreciate that Beecroft is bringing more awareness to the problem. One thing thats really bothering about the artist herself is her portrayal of the "black" person in her pieces. I see her theme of refering to African in her pieces and in a way I feel as if she's exploiting the image of refugees to make a name for herself. When asked about the proccess of creating this piece and if it was difficult to work with 30 black women, Beecroft answered yes. I understand that's not the pollitically correct answer but to me, why answer that question? She should be thanking the models for creating the piece, instead of discrediting them.
This dress is simply called Black Gown and it's designed by the amazing Donatella Versace. I think its emmaculate and very edgy. I find it interesting that she used different fabrics and material, but made them flow together in unison. The transparent part of the dress unifies the model's bare skin with the dark pieaces of the gown. The shiny leather reflects light off in the right areas and in a way makes the gown look a lot more sculpted. I love the unbalance of the dress and how it drapes down into fun chaos at the bottom. This dress is to die for and if I was lucky enough to ever own it, I would find every reason to wear it and I wouldn't care if people noticed me wearing it more than once.
Marina Abramovic's performance piece, "Rhythm 10" is way intense. This woman is really out of her mind and that's why her work is so fascinating. It's out of her mind. The bravery thats showcased in this piece is crazy to me. Getting a shot at the doctor's office is hard enough for me to bare so it wasn't easy to watch this video. As live animals we have a sense of pain and we do everything to prevent physical pain onto ourselves so for her to go against that natural ability and force pain onto herself leaves me speechless. I get the sense of fearlessness from this artist and in a way she's training her brain to think completely different from normal people. In my past i've gone through some traumatizing things and because of those experiences I'm the person I am today. I've learned to accept those feelings and because of the acceptance of the pain (emotionally and physically), I'm a stronger person today than I ever would have been. In a way I think Abramovic is traumatizing herself, thus resulting in a strong and fearless human being.
The dresses in Hussein Chalayan's retrospective exhibit are so "fetch" (a little "Mean Girls" movie reference). I love the concept of the design of the dresses. Although frozen in time, there's a sense of a wind blowing against the models. The icing on top of the cake is actual wind being blown against the models to give the same effect to their hair. I've never seen anything like this before and it's so cool that a fashion designer created this. It sort of boggles the mind and if I was to see someone walking down the street in something like this I would probably think twice about how fast they are actually walking. They would look like they are flying on their feet!
The Burning Man Festival is something I've always wanted to go check out with my eclectic, arsty group of friends. There's a sense of belonging and coming together at the festival. It gives you a completely different from normal experience and it seems that the people at the Burning man are at peace with themselves and each other. Is it a modern day hippie come together? In my book, yes and I would love to be a part of the occasion. The pieces at the Burning Man truly come alive at night along with the energy of the people and the endless amount of good music! This festival seems to embed a sesne of freedom in my head while I watch the videos.I really hope to go check it out in person soon enough!
Andy Goldsworthy's sculpture at Yorkshire park is very interesting. This is like and abstract paintng brought to life. It's unreal, but very real at the same time. The way it's constructed leaves me wondering how the hell he got a tree in a brick stone box or at least how he came up with the idea. His land art is incredibly an after watching a clip of him at work, you can see how passion this artist really is. It takes a lof of work to create real art out of nature and this man was made to do just that. He's inspired me to start creating my own. I'm sure it's legal in most places.=]
Okay, so I have to say that I am a HUGE fan of Alexander McQueen (may his beautiful soul rest in peace)! I mean his designs are out of this world so I understand why celebrities attach themselves to his one-of-a-kind pieces. The man is a king at thinking out of the box and bending the norm. These now famous shoes that he designed might just be a new pet-peeve of mine. Not only has Lady Gaga played them out, I honestly wish they were never created. They are hidious and if I wanted to look like an alien creature with claw-like feet, then perhaps I would find them attractive. Alone from the fact that they look very uncomfortable, they should just be illegal and put behind a glass box for viewing only. It's dangerous that people can actually buy these for wear. Shoe's that are a feet tall??? hahahaha<3
My performance art piece is basically another expression of a side of me I'd like to describe as the chameleon. I'm always changing up my style and you might not even recognize me years from now because of my quick evolution. The skateboard represents how I'm always on the go. I don't quite remember a long resting period in my life and because of that, I'm always reaping in the accomplishments. Also, how many black skaters girls do you know???? hehe! Let's just say I like to learn new things and get out of my comfort zone.
From the beginning of the semester until now, my perspective of art has been altered for the better. I also had a pretty good understanding of what art is, but that was only justified because it was only my view and opinion of what art is. At the beginning of the year I quickly learned that art is full of different opinions. There is no right or wrong in art and that's one of the most beautiful things about art. Art is about expression, and every piece holds the message or secret the artist is trying to convey. This semester has taught me that art is an actual process. It is a process of creation that expresses the creator's message or point. My eyes are now open to the art of new media and alternative media. I can now see art in everyday things and every where I go now. Art isn't just what's in a museum exhibit. Art is complicated and the beauty is withing the moment the artist is at work. No one but the artist can understand a piece fully and only during the finishing stages of a piece. Thanks to this class, I've put, "Go see a professional artist at work", on my bucket list. This class has also helped me developed the skill to venture out to exhibits and I will continue to do this for the rest of my life. It's very fulfilling to visit museums and each visit is different from the last. This class has also expanded the way I speak about art. Now I really try to analize pieces and I've become better opiniated about what I'm talking about. Another thing I will take away from this class is that it is okay to disagree!
Man was I happy when I got Improv Everywhere as my artist to research! One day I plan on having my degree in theater and I did Improv in high school for the stepping stone phase of my career. Currently I am taking my first college level Improv course and I have to admit, it's been a blast! In January of this year my friends and I were part of the no pants subway ride in downtown Los Angeles and it was the funniest moment of my life thus far.
Improv Everywhere is a performance art group that was started in August 2001 by Charlie Todd. It started in Manhattan, New York and although has it's principle actors, most times the public can be involved also. It's is now an international celebration of silliness. Their slogan is " We Cause Scenes" and the pranks that they do are called missions. They don't consider themselves a flash mob because they started "causing scenes about two years before flash mobs began and also because sometimes there performances only require a handful of people.
On Sunday, January 9th, 2011 over 5,000 people took off their pants on subways in 48 cities in 22 countries around the world. In New York, the10th Annual No Pants Subway Ride had over 3,500 participants, spread out over six meeting points and ten subway lines.
One of my favorite Improv Everywhere missions since I used to be a best buy employee is Operation Best Buy. Basically a bunch of IE members flooded a Best Buy Dress like the employees! Talk about funny!
In the Frozen Grand Central prank, over 200 people when to a terminal in New York's Grand Central Park and on cue, they all froze in place.
Like I mentioned not all of the pranks have to involved a large amount of people. For example the Worst Ice Skater prank is about a man who get stranded on an ice rink and gradually becomes an expert.
Today Improv Everywhere has completed over 100 missions and they are getting bigger every time and funnier.
