· How does the action of doing repetition mean to you while you are creating art/learning about art? Provide an art example to demonstrate it.
I see repeating a process of making as an opportunity to learn about and notice nuances in a material. For example, when working with plaster clay molds, repetition helps you develop a sensibility for timing (when the piece can be removed), and how wet or dry the clay must be to be in the ideal workable state. It also makes the viewer see the objects as a collective rather than an individual, and form a whole new significance. In this recent piece by Alleghany Meadows, a simple bowl form becomes the building block of a continuous, floral-like pattern. Looking at the complex structure, one doesn’t realize that the bowls are functional and can be removed and replaced.
· Please apply your artworks to explain your understanding/arguments for each concept in one or two sentences:
o Art as Praxis
The praxis in this woodcut piece was very intensive, as each color had to be individually carved out and pressed over and over, for each version of the print. The process is preserved in the blocks of shapes, and while I was making it I had to reflect on each stage of the printmaking process, and then I had to repeat the action of putting it through the printing press.
o Art as Symbol
In this papercut piece, I used both discursive and non-discursive symbolism. The discursive symbolism is the Arabic writing at the bottom, which are letters presented “successively” as the reading explains, and translates to “what the eye sees it never forgets”. The non-discursive symbolism is the scene: a mother and her children walking through the hot, expansive desert: this elicits a “complex combination” of sadness, and curiosity for their story, and an instant understanding of the desperation in their situation.
o Art as Presence
In this piece, I meant for the viewer to stand in front of it and experience a sense of isolation and intimidation in the crowded, warped, intimidating cityscape. The piece is not a representation of the real thing, but rather meant to illicit an idea, an emotion in the viewer.
· When an artwork is produced and presented to viewers, who are giving the meaning to it? (Consider Rene Magritte's example in the article)
I think the meaning of a piece often depends on the context in which it is presented. For example, background knowledge can be vital in understanding some works. In Kente Cloth, an example of which is shown below, strip woven pieces form a visual proverb. The pattern and rhythm can be read by the Asante people of Ghana; it’s a form of visual language. However, Kente has also become a pan African symbol, taken out of its original context, and forming a new meaning. When hung on a wall in a western gallery, the meaning is often misinterpreted or unacknowledged by the museum visitors. Presenting it in a gallery rather than as a worn piece also alters the way it was originally meant to be deciphered.
· How do you think about the relationship among making-naming-seeing-living?
This lays out the way in which art can be experienced, first in the process of the artist creating it altering it from one thing to another, then in naming it the meaning and context begins to develop. When a piece is really looked at and taken to an experiential level, the piece enters the realm of living-how has the way the artist lives, what they do informed the way they have created the piece.
· What is a "sign" and what is a "symbol"? Do you have any art creations to represent the two ideas?
In the reading, a signed is described as being an indicator, such as thunder, which makes people assume it will rain, whereas a symbol is a reminder (Zurmuehien 12-13). The piece below is a drypoint print inspired by the solar eclipse of 2017. When the eclipse occurred, everything surrounding you felt different: the light was more intense and it created strange shadows, everything felt different, the experience can be likened to a sign: looking at the eclipse could damage your eyes. The art piece now acts as a symbol, or a reminder, of that day: everyone went out wearing the special protective eye gear, and the CSU campus was crowded with people wanting to see the spectacle.
· How do we recognize, feel, and make the presence of art?
In recognizing the presence of art, one must be an active audience member, and try to really see a piece, and experience it rather than just pass by. This can’t be accomplished if one tries to fit it in a box or take the meaning at face value.
Discussion Question: Are their ways in which visual forms/art pieces can be interpreted as discursive symbols rather than non-discursive symbols?
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