Critical Reads

Claire Bishop

adstepter — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 10:35:00 -0400

Last week I had a rough day at work which resulted in me not getting a chance to attend an artists talk that I had been looking forward to. I decided to go home and do something to make myself feel better, which in this case, was to listen to a lecture by Claire Bishop I’d been meaning to get to for a while.

The lecture was delivered at the University of Chicago in 2008 and was titled “Pedagogy as Art.” Listening to that lecture, which I’ll post later, was so exciting. Bishop’s work is totally new to me, but she has been publishing really useful thoughts about relational art practices for at least six or seven years. Now I’m on a bit of a mission to read as much of her work as I can.

Instead of posting the lecture or one of her essays, I am posting a short, easily digestible letter she published in October back in 2006. The letter is a response to a Liam Gillick’s reaction to (I am assuming here) Bishop’s pivotal essay Antagonism and Relational Aesthetics, published in October in the fall of 2004. (I can help you track down a copy if you don’t have access to jstor or a library with October.)

I picked this letter because it sort of falls in the middle of a lot of her work. Reading the one page letter, you get a sense of the work she has done previously and the reaction it garnered. She also clearly states her intentions for the original essay and her goals for work as she moves forward. Consider it a starting point for those like me, who have somehow been unaware of Bishop’s work until now, to begin exploring her ideas.

Clair Bishop Responds

-Anthony

"So this begs the question how can I use this blog, this site, and the webs connectivity and very..."

porcupineschool — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:10:00 -0400

“So this begs the question how can I use this blog, this site, and the webs connectivity and very material resistance to a uni-vocal trajectory, to have a conversation with you? I want to talk with you reader. I want to have a conversation. I want us to come to an understanding together over what the words I am using mean to you. But, I also delight in the knowing this can never really happen. You will misunderstand me and that’s ok, there is a power and potential in the space where understanding begins to break down: the margins of knowledge. This site offers an opportunity to conjure a world where we can become connected and converse from a place of common misunderstanding. I’m looking forward to meeting you there.”

- SFMOMA | OPEN SPACE » Blog Archive » Overthrowing syntax:making an arguement for being misunderstood

This blog is great. One of the best art institution blogs I’ve seen. The work of guest columnist Lynne McCabe is particularly good.

Episode 250: Nato Thompson : Bad at Sports

porcupineschool — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 20:40:57 -0400

Episode 250: Nato Thompson : Bad at Sports:

Hot damn! This podcast is good. Nato Thompson at Open Engagement. Randall Szott and Abby Satinsky (of InCUBATE fame) chime in as well. It’s very relevant to a lot of conversations I’ve had lately. Plenty of “what are doing?” “who are we doing it for?” “how can we monetize it?” “should we monetize it” and so forth.

I really like how they talk about the dilemma that always plagues critical discourse: The more specialized and specific the language, the more difficult it is for people to engage.

Also, Nato Thompson’s voice sounds exactly the opposite of what I thought I would sound like. But he’s really fun to listen to.

-Kevin

Video from the panel discussion I was on this past...

mixedfeelings — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 13:50:00 -0400

Video from the panel discussion I was on this past Wednesday.

Kevin wrote a pretty good critique of the discussion on the Rapidian. There is some cool conversation going on over there.

I left the panel feeling as though what I was trying to say wasn’t really being heard (which is clearly a failure on my part), and that despite the fact this talk is at minimum the 3rd large-scale public discussion about these issues we are still at the bitch-fest phase in our growth as an artistic community. This, as Kevin points out in his review, is the result of an oversimplistic understanding of what the “problem” is, coupled with the inability to start thinking outside of the traditional direct-trade funding paradigm. Why do support structures (and their development) remain virtually absent from these kinds of discussions? And more frustratingly, why are attempts at developing new models dismissed as “small potatoes” rather than first stabs at problem solving when they actually do come up?

We have such an amazing opportunity in Grand Rapids to experiment with new ideas and new models of funding art-making. We are at a fantastic point where a lot of small stabs have the opportunity to add up to something really significant. So where they at?

- George

ps. the video doesn’t pick up the audible murmur from the audience when I said i do my work for free.

"The Guggenheim, in other words, wants to curate a show of the best YouTube videos."

porcupineschool — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 19:43:59 -0400

“The Guggenheim, in other words, wants to curate a show of the best YouTube videos.”

- YouTube in the Guggenheim? Go for It! — Vulture

Oh man, I’m pumped about this.

-Kevin

thejogging: “[Art] should therefore be portable, manipulable if...

porcupineschool — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 13:25:26 -0400

thejogging:

“[Art] should therefore be portable, manipulable if possible, by whoever (except the artist himself) assumes the responsibility of removing it from its place of origin to its place of promotion. A work produced in the studio must be seen, therefore, as an object subject to infinite manipulation. In order for this to occur, from the moment of its production the work must be isolated from the real world. All the same, it is in the studio and only in the studio that it is closest to its own reality, a reality from which it will continue to distance itself. It may become what even its creator had not anticipated, serving instead, as is usually the case, the greater profit of financial interests and the dominant ideology. It is therefore only in the studio that the work may be said to belong.”
-Daniel Buren, The Function of The Studio

If we were formerly offered only two options for art’s existence (to rot away alone with purity in a studio or to be corrupted by decontextualization elsewhere) Automatic Redirect proposes a third choice in light of both the studio and gallery’s new locations: to use a gallery’s online presence as a way of creating viewership for art in its original studio context. During the week of June 7-14, Create Art Today’s website will automatically redirect all visitors to Jogging, a blog that simultaneously functions as a studio and ongoing exhibition alike. In doing so, C.A.T.’s promotional role is stripped bare as all semblance of a middle ground between the two entities is removed. This is a project about minimizing interference– an attempt towards transferring social capital and attention in the most immediate way possible. For the week, C.A.T. will conform to Jogging’s content instead of Jogging’s works fitting inside of C.A.T.’s residence at New York’s PPOW gallery. To inaugurate this brief transformation and demonstrate the informational boundlessness of digital display, we invite you to watch Jogging enter a mode of hyper-productivity during this period.

Nice. -Kevin

"There is no chance of a spectator distinguishing between an artwork and a “simple thing” on the..."

porcupineschool — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 22:30:28 -0400

“There is no chance of a spectator distinguishing between an artwork and a “simple thing” on the basis of the spectator’s visual experience alone. The spectator must first know a particular object to be used by an artist in the context of his or her artistic practice in order to identify it as an artwork or as a part of an artwork.”

- Boris Groys, The Weak Universalism / Journal / e-flux

This is a really fantastic essay. I need to find time to read it again.

-Kevin

Concentrating on the Social in Portland | Art21 Blog

porcupineschool — Wed, 26 May 2010 16:56:08 -0400

Concentrating on the Social in Portland | Art21 Blog:

A post about Open Engagement.

-Kevin

"What I know now is that she and MoMA have brought some magic back into art — the sort of magic that..."

porcupineschool — Mon, 24 May 2010 10:08:27 -0400

“What I know now is that she and MoMA have brought some magic back into art — the sort of magic that all of our courses in art history and appreciation had encouraged us to hope for. James Turrell, the light artist, once told me that after seeing the slides of paintings in the courses he had taken, he was disappointed by the actual paintings. What he had really loved was the light, and in a sense then vowed to make sure his art, consisting of light, would never lose its magic. Those who do get lucky enough to sit with Marina will not be disappointed, because the light I noticed will be there, even if they are not ready to see it.”

- Arthur C. Danto

Sitting With Marina - Opinionator Blog - NYTimes.com

-Kevin

127 PRINCE

porcupineschool — Thu, 20 May 2010 10:45:01 -0400

127 PRINCE:

“127 Prince is a new journal named after the location of artist Gordon Matta-Clark’s 1971 restaurant FOOD. Like FOOD, 127 Prince hopes to function as a site for conversation. The journal will present and examine ideas on the art of social practice, and the social practice of art.”

Welcome to my RSS reader, 127 Prince.

-Kevin

"Art appears to be result-based but is generally action-based and occupation-based. It is towards..."

porcupineschool — Fri, 07 May 2010 00:42:29 -0400

“Art appears to be result-based but is generally action-based and occupation-based. It is towards something. It reaches out. It only has meaning within a context and that context will always determine what activities might be necessary to improve the context.”

- Liam Gillick, The Good of Work / Journal / e-flux

"Today, the productive alternatives to this troubled life of institutional critique lie with those..."

porcupineschool — Mon, 03 May 2010 16:16:20 -0400

“Today, the productive alternatives to this troubled life of institutional critique lie with those artists who pose not critiques but insertions within our institutional frameworks.”

- Some Alternatives to Institutional Critique | Art21 Blog

A good read.

At 3:59, Cory Arcangel talks about how his gradient prints will...

adstepter — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 16:18:00 -0400

At 3:59, Cory Arcangel talks about how his gradient prints will change in the eye of the viewer over the next 50 years. I consider recognition of this type of contextual shift to be a cornerstone of understanding visual culture as a distinct perspective for exploring art.

-Anthony

"I have positive and negative feelings. Negative is that I don’t really like that kind of..."

adstepter — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 12:24:00 -0400

“I have positive and negative feelings. Negative is that I don’t really like that kind of publicity. But I would like for people to know. The problem is that they are more interested in the life issues and don’t understand art. That bothers me. But I feel positive that people who know about it feel something even if they don’t know about art. For example, mothers with young children often say to us, “You know, I’ve been tied to my baby for two years.” That means she understands in some way.”

- Tehching Hsieh responding to the national attention received by their collaborative performance in which he and fellow artist Linda Montano were tied to eachother by an 8 foot rope for a year.

http://www.communityarts.net/readingroom/archivefiles/2002/09/year_of_the_rop.php
via: http://karaj.tumblr.com/

-Anthony

Kandinsky on Making Art

adstepter — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 13:00:56 -0400

Inner necessity originates from three elements: (1) Every artist, as a creator, has something in him which demands expression (this is the element of personality). (2) Every artist, as the child of his time, is impelled to express the spirit of his age (this is the element of style)—dictated by the period and particular country to which the artist belongs (it is doubtful how long the latter distinction will continue). (3) Every artist, as a servant of art, has to help the cause of art (this is the quintessence of art, which is constant in all ages and among all nationalities). -Wassily Kandinsky, The Doctrine of Internal Necessity

You should really try to find the whole (very short) essay, but the main argument being made as Kandinsky elaborates on the quote above is that the first two points are subjective and, over the arc of time, will decline in relevance while the third is objective and ever-present in all great works of art. The objectivity of the third element, Kandinsky argues, is derived from the “Internal Necessity” or the spiritual element that an artist is moved to express.

Or as he put it:

In short, the effect of internal necessity and the development of art is an ever advancing expression of the eternal and objective in terms of the historical and subjective. -Wassily Kandinsky, The Doctrine of Internal Necessity

I certainly see the validity in the point that is being made here, but I think that there is also a lot of relevance in the subjectivity of art work created by artists. If there is some universal spiritual imperative that an artist seeks to express, it seems to me that the artist’s unique method of communicating that imperative is what makes the ongoing practice of art making interesting and worthwhile.

-Anthony

"Rarely is the question asked, is our children learning?"

adstepter — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 12:09:53 -0400

"Rarely is the question asked, is our children learning?":

This is based on a really small sample, but it does point out some interesting observations about how people’s memories of lectures (and by extension, artist talks) are subjectively shaped by a “near-constant layer of distraction.” It gives us something to think about when preparing to give a talk and/or when reading a second hand account of a discussion without the original transcript.

-Anthony

"A talented, creative writer invents a story about an object. Invested with new significance by this..."

porcupineschool — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 13:03:00 -0400

“A talented, creative writer invents a story about an object. Invested with new significance by this fiction, the object should — according to our hypothesis — acquire not merely subjective but objective value. How to test our theory? Via eBay!”

- Significant Objects | About the Significant Objects Project

I love this project. I just read this nice story about Homies by Ron Currie Jr. The way he describes collecting them is spot on (I collected a few in my day):

“What can I say? I was in my early twenties, so I imagined my fixation on Homies would come off as a moderately hip eccentricity. Like, “He’s cool enough not to take himself too seriously.” Or, “He’s self-possessed enough to not care if anyone thinks that collecting arguably racist figurines is just, well, you know, kind of gay.” Something like that.”

Facebook | Perfo Rmanceart

porcupineschool — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:14:53 -0400

Facebook | Perfo Rmanceart:

I just sent a friend request to “Perfo Rmanceart” on Facebook, and I’m actually kind of nervous.

From the page:

PERFO RMANCEART IS A PROJECT THAT USES THE SOCIAL NETWORK FACEBOOK AS ITS CANVAS.

ALL OF PERFO RMANCEART’S ACTIONS ON FACEBOOK SHOULD BE SEEN THROUGH AN ARTISTIC CONTEXT.
DOCUMENTATION OF THESE ACTIONS CAN BE FOUND UNDER PERFO RMANCEART’S PHOTOS SECTION.
PERFO RMANCEART IS BY http://thejogging.tumblr.com

-kevin

Sara Krulwich / New York Times As someone who (completely...

mixedfeelings — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:12:00 -0400

Sara Krulwich / New York Times

As someone who (completely embarrassingly) thought that Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party was somehow a video piece (what?) up until last night, I plan on attending this talk on her work at the Ryerson Auditorium in the main branch of the GRPL tonight at 7:30:

Suzanne Eberle, Professor of Art History at Kendall College of Art and Design will introduce participants to the fascinating art of Judy Chicago, whose monumental work “The Dinner Party” remains one of the most important examples of early contemporary art. In addition to exploring the subjects and processes of Chicago’s work, you will also see how her ideas reflect late 20th century art practices such as historical referencing, collaborative production and feminist theory.

This is, of course, in anticipation of the main event at Celebration Cinemas North (again, what?) Monday night.

-geo.

“It was intriguing. It was frustrating. It was hilarious....

porcupineschool — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 11:39:13 -0400

“It was intriguing. It was frustrating. It was hilarious. My initial thought was: what a better way to “kill your idol” than to beat her at her own game, but then I also wondered what if it was a way to present affection to a long-admired artist and influence?”

An interview with Marina Abramovic’s doppelganger, Anya Liftig.

The Anxiety of Influence – BOMBLog