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Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Some quick writing - an attempt to articulate:
What is this culture/ ideology/ paradigm gap/ vacuum/ platform that i am talking about? the condition? the state?
Modernity is not an original idea in our context. it is an imposed ideology that has been constructed before it has been realized. the paradigm that is imposed is one structured and organized externally. from a consumer's point of view. something to be achieved, aspired towards, consumed, conformed to. it ha become a so-called global language as has culture. every 'utility' is aspirational. no longer organic no longer natural. but the people who are consuming this ideology and believe themselves to be a part of it ( unconsciously or consciously) do not necessarily belong. they are built from phenomena that are more original, organic, gross, and pertinent to survival, in a system that needs coping with, instead of aiding the process of coping with life. it adds a layer between what is 'naturally intended' to be lived and what is 'wanted' to be lived. a single step ladder becomes a two-step ladder. where it replaces nature, and natural environments. the environment becomes something to aspire to, not understand, internalize, but aspire or conform to. the disconnect is then what embodies the experience. where the utility or functionality is the only primary basic connection. beyond which it is only the disconnect that makes common ground. ideally this should make good common ground for the contrasts between the 'real' and the 'unreal' to show. the contrast making clearer the difference between nature and simulacra. but the elements have been in our collective conscious too long. we now describe nature using inorganic unnatural terms. the consumer is not a self-aware critic. but a critic in part. affect is visible but not effect. fragments make the contrast clear. the state of the visual elements reflect the state of the consumer. the state of the environment reflect the state of the inhabitant. the presence, the lack, the misuse, the use, the interpretations, the seeing, the unseeing, the seen, the unseen, the redundant, the crucial,the decorative, the planned and the unplanned, the 'organic' and the inorganic, the meaningful, the ignored, the unknown, the foreign, the indigenous, the accepted and the unaccepted, the spoken and the unspoken, the agreed, the common, the consensus, the usual, the unusual, the cultural and the cross-cultural, the pragmatic and the quixotic, the organization and the chaos, the lone and the mob, the singular and the numbers, the patterns and the aberrations, the uniform and the freaks, the normal and the abnormal, the old and the new, the lost and the found the known and the unknown, the paths and the mazes, the corners and the centers, the formal and the informal, the understood and the misunderstood, the rules, and ones which are broken, the ground and the underground, the individual and the aspiration and all the things that are silent witnesses and bear the signs.
On Judging the Pyramid Atlantic Critic’s Award
filed in Artists' Books, Book Art, Conferences on Mar 29, 2009
by Elisabeth Long
On judging artist's books:
Judging requires a certain degree of focus, lest you get lost in the sea of possibilities, so I focused on 3 aspects of book art that I was looking for:
- Visually and tactilely compelling
- Content that takes me somewhere (but where the art, not the content, does the heavy lifting)
- Structural integrity
Criteria 1: Visually and Tactilely Compelling
It may seem odd to combine these two criteria into one since they involve two very different senses, but I find it can sometimes be difficult to extricate the one from the other when analyzing my reaction to a work. The materials used in a piece can have such a significant impact on its visual experience. [Of course both are also intertwined with, and affected by, the book's meaning as well, but I am speaking here just of the sensory experience of the work.]
I do not think that there are any visual forms, or production methods, or materials that are intrinsically better than others, but I do believe that materials have particular qualities and certain combinations can work at cross purposes—the character of the images straining against the texture of their paper for instance—which detracts from the overall effect of the piece. I found this in some of what I saw at the book fair—things that almost worked but left me feeling like something was lacking. Soft, dreamy images on hard shiny paper, for instance. I want a satsifying sensory experience as much as an intellectually compelling one.
Taking on the role of an award judge made me painfully aware of the somewhat accidental, personal nature of sensory taste. [I mean accidental in the philosophic sense in which it stands opposite essential]. What I find visually and tactilely appealing may say as much about me as about the piece itself. I sometimes feel helpless in the face of my senses, having aesthetic longings for sensory enjoyments that I cannot achieve. I have always wanted, for instance, to like brussels sprouts (for reasons ranging from my delight in the odd way in which they grow like ping pong balls on stalks to a recognition of the great delicacy they are considered to be when smothered in browned butter), but no amount of intellectual understanding of these attractions can cajole the small bumps on my tongue to find the taste of a brussels sprout anything but awful. Almost more disconcerting is the way in which taste can suddenly change without warning or explanation (asparagus used to be in my brussels sprout camp, but now I adore it). Interestingly, I’ve always found my visual sense to be more ‘trainable’ and open to learning to enjoy new things than are some of my other senses.
Nonetheless, I do believe that there are aesthetic principles that can make a piece of visual art more universally compelling and effective. Part of the process of judging is focusing more on these aspects and less on the quirks of one’s own personal taste. The burden of judging lies in the recognition that the latter inevitably plays a role even when the former is well satisfied.
Criteria 2: Content That Takes Me Somewhere
The importance of content in artists’ books has lately become something of a rallying cry in the field, though there still remains a need to explore what, exactly, that means. I would maintain that content does not equal text—visual imagery can speak as eloquently as the best turned phrase—but it does imply a certain level of specificity. The kind of specificity that gives shape and substance to an idea. I want a work to take me somewhere, whether that be to contemplation, or insight, or laughter, I want to find when I reach the end of a book that I have arrived at somewhere more than a cliche. I want to feel that the artist has let me share in their unique vision of the world. I don’t require that the content be of a serious nature in order to be substantial. Humor, beauty, whimsical delight—all are as significant components of a full life as the political outrage, pain, and suffering that too often masquerades as the only scope for ‘important’ art.
Questions I ask myself when looking at a piece include: what specifically does this work say about its subject? and is that interesting or does it remain in the realm of the obvious? is the content contained within the work or is it merely a pointer after which I have to use my own knowledge of the subject to fill in the gaps? is half the content in a lengthy explanation in the colophon or is it fully played out within the pages of the book itself?
These questions underly my comment that I want the art, not the content, to do the heavy lifting in a work of art. The depth of meaning in a piece should come from the artistic interpretation of the subject, not from the external importance or inherent interest of the topic. This seems to be especially problematic with the hot issues of the day. How many book have you seen on X (fill in the blank with the topic du jour: war, child abuse, depression, global warming, political repression, etc) that really don’t say much except maybe that X happens (i know that) or that X is bad (i know that too). Do something more than point at a topic and let it do all the heaving lifting. Don’t use the topic’s own emotional impact as a crutch to move me. Tell me something uniquely your own about it. Show me the details of what it looks like, or how it plays out in the human experience. Examine the contradictions. Make the art speak.
Criteria 3: Structural Integrity
Book artists have the luxury of control. Control over their layouts, control over their materials, control over their constructions. I like to see books where that control is used to create a structurally-integrated whole in which the formal elements complements, enhances, and/or completes the meaning of the book.
Structure is the architectural, spatial elements of a book and it can be played out both in the 3-dimensional elements like the binding and shape of the book, as well as the 2-dimensional relationships of elements such as the layout of the page or page spread. Structural integrity can take many forms, sometimes subtle—quietly complementing the piece, and sometimes central—shaping the primary mode of the experience. My desire for structural integrity does not require that a book’s structure take the lead role, just that there be a consonance between the book’s meaning and its structure; that they not fight each other. Shibata uses a plain codex binding and simple materials for Karaoke, but it suits the book perfectly.
On the other hand, in some books, the layering of different structural elements can be effectively utilized to create a rich experience. Cummin’s Anatomy of Insanity, for instance, does not stop at a structure merely imitative of its subject (the book is bound as though it were medical record), but further employs that structure to convey elements of the book’s meaning: the male and female sections are juxataposed so they can be viewed simultaneously; the pages have a translucence that compounds the visual impact of the differences between the male and female diagnoses.
I have been speaking of all these elements as though they can be treated separately, but in truth I find them far more intertwined than that. Beautiful materials do little if they don’t mesh with the content of the book; structural elements can rely on the types of materials used, intriguing structure don’t save banal content. The point is not to think of them as a checklist of elements, which might all too easily lead to their mindless exploitation (“use handmade paper—special collections librarians love it” I once heard it advised, as though the element existed independent from the context of its book), but rather to ask something of the books we look at and make; to inquire into how their constituent components interact to form our experience. Always ask. Ever question.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Prep for review 4
Possible forms to consider:
- Photography
- Illustration
- Writing
- Video (?)
- series of visuals
- artist's book
- Hand done vs. Digital.
Content:
- Looking at visual elements in a space/place to express various notions regarding sense of place.
- Conversations with people regarding their relationship with the place/space. Their ideas about the visuals around in that space, that define / or are redundant in the space/place.
Stated as "quotes". These come form a certain fixed but informal questionnaire.
- Text written by me. about my experiences in the space/place. How i see these visual elements.
Juxtapositions:
- Photographs- Illustration- Photomontage.
- A completely graphic experience or exploration of space/place.
-Combines with text.
- Looking to represent or expose/ illustrate the present post-modernist condition of spaces and how our relationships or lack of relationships with our spaces reflect a certain present condition of our society in general.
- In a way a micro reflecting the macro.
Looked at :
- The visual culture reader - conversations on visual culture ( what is visual culture? )
- Modern Illustrators.
- Photomontage.
- Collage, Bricolage.
- Constructivism.
- Dada, Fluxus.
- Art books/ Artist's books.
- Landscapes. looking at landscapes, photographing landscapes.
- Kandinsky.
- Atlases, (defined as a book of maps or charts, or a book of illustrations or diagrams on any subject), encyclopedias.
-Visual recordings/reportage.
- Postmodernist geography.
-Virtualism.
- Shibui
- Haiku
Specifics:
- What am i looking at in term of photography and illustration?
The styles an visual implications of these forms can help in segregating and restructuring the 'liminal' and 'concrete' experiences of space.
- Which place/space? :
The place still remains to be Hospital road. since in terms of contrast and content it provides interesting elements to consider. The idea or the hope is to create some sort of feeling of generality or placeless-ness as the detailing becomes more intense. to somehow reflect larger ideas through the depiction of this one place.
- Form of the book ? :
A layered navigation through a space/place. -The order and details of the layers is still to come
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Further
"Man invented things by imposing a shape on nature." (Moulding, Weaving, Carving, Building, Painting)
"Man discovered things by revealing the pattern of nature" ( Cutting, Splitting, Skinning, Crushing, Heating)
Somewhere in between these two ideas lies mundane life, and yet, there is poetry latent in the mundane environment, that is as poignant, if not more, than the moments of revelation and connection between man and environment. There are silent witnesses in our surroundings that express this poetry in very subtle ways, in the way that they interact with each other, with the natural elements, and with us, the people who in effect put them there, view them, interpret them, ignore them, misunderstand them, and really just walk by them. These larger patterns that express a certain predetermined plan, an intent, a purpose, and over time they begin to express the ambiguities of these larger plans, in relation to everyday life, as aberrations and morphings.
Some notes extracted from some speed writing:
- Visual elements (color, shape, line, form) in the place--idenitify them--(have conversations about them)-- record them.
- Through this have a text and image play that reveals- how these visual elements signify intended and unintended meaning
- (this has to be separate from functional objects, and affordances. it is about perceiving the intangible in something tangible, yet abstract.)
- Even with photography and text, maybe the images can go back where they came from. The idea of creating public art was to look at the image in the environment there itself. That entire aspect of the project is falling through. Maybe this could be 'step 1' in the project. Looking at the spectacle, to insert a spectacle is tricky. to understand the context and physical and mental constructs of the place/space would be the first step. Otherwise any other visual is as irrelevant as the visual that I am addressing in the first place.
What is the idea behind that? -as a graphic designer to look at 'graphics' in our environment, the intended and unintended roles and effects of these basic visual elements in our environment. How they contribute and do not to our perceptions of our spaces. Whether they are part of it at all or whether the two spheres are mutually exclusive. A study between theory and practice, and how this gap shows the disconnect from the 'original' intent and the varied interpretations.
Some very rough initial visual explorations:
(sorry about the quality, had to be compressed to be uploaded)
Looking at image juxtapositions such as these ( some more intricate, depending on the idea)
coupled with excerpts of text/conversations/writing.
THE STRATEGY OF THE REAL
-Simulacra and Simulation - Baudrillard
The impossibility of rediscovering an absolute level of the real is of the same order as the
impossibility of staging illusion. Illusion is no longer possible, because the real is no
longer possible. It is the whole political problem of parody, of hypersimulation or
offensive simulation, that is posed here.
For example: it would be interesting to see whether the repressive apparatus would not
react more violently to a simulated holdup than to a real holdup. Because the latter does
nothing but disturb the order of things, the right to property, whereas the former attacks
the reality principle itself. Transgression and violence are less serious because they only
contest the distribution of the real. Simulation is infinitely more dangerous because it
always leaves open to supposition that, above and beyond its object, law and order
themselves might be nothing but simulation.
But the difficulty is proportional to the danger. How to feign a violation and put it to the
test? Simulate a robbery in a large store: how to persuade security that it is a simulated
robbery? There is no "objective" difference: the gestures, the signs are the same as for a
real robbery, the signs do not lean to one side or another. To the established order they
are always of the order of the real.
Organize a fake holdup. Verify that your weapons are harmless, and take the most
trustworthy hostage, so that no human life will be in danger (or one lapses into the
criminal). Demand a ransom, and make it so that the operation creates as much
commotion as possible - in short, remain close to the "truth," in order to test the reaction
of the apparatus to a perfect simulacrum. You won't be able to do it: the network of
artificial signs will become inextricably mixed up with real elements (a policeman will
really fire on sight; a client of the bank will faint and die of a heart attack; one will
actually pay you the phony ransom), in short, you will immediately find yourself once
again, without wishing it, in the real, one of whose functions is precisely to devour any
attempt at simulation, to reduce everything to the real - that is, to the established order
itself, well before institutions and justice come into play.
It is necessary to see in this impossibility of isolating the process of simulation the weight
of an order that cannot see and conceive of anything but the real, because it cannot
function anywhere else. The simulation of an offense, if it is established as such, will
either be punished less severely (because it has no "consequences") or punished as an
offense against the judicial system (for example if one sets in motion a police operation
"for nothing") - but never as simulation since it is precisely as such that no equivalence
with the real is possible, and hence no repression either. The challenge of simulation is
never admitted by power. How can the simulation of virtue be punished? However, as
such it is as serious as the simulation of crime. Parody renders submission and
transgression equivalent, and that is the most serious crime, because it cancels out the
difference upon which the law is based. The established order can do nothing against it,
because the law is a simulacrum of the second order, whereas simulation is of the third
order, beyond true and false, beyond equivalences, beyond rational distinctions upon
which the whole of the social and power depend. Thus, lacking the real, it is there that we
must aim at order.
This is certainly why order always opts for the real. When in doubt, it always prefers this
hypothesis (as in the army one prefers to take the simulator for a real madman). But this
becomes more and more difficult, because if it is practically impossible to isolate the
process of simulation, through the force of inertia of the real that surrounds us, the
opposite is also true (and this reversibility itself is part of the apparatus of simulation and
the impotence of power): namely, it is now impossible to isolate the process of the real,
or to prove the real.
The impossibility of rediscovering an absolute level of the real is of the same order as the
impossibility of staging illusion. Illusion is no longer possible, because the real is no
longer possible. It is the whole political problem of parody, of hypersimulation or
offensive simulation, that is posed here.
For example: it would be interesting to see whether the repressive apparatus would not
react more violently to a simulated holdup than to a real holdup. Because the latter does
nothing but disturb the order of things, the right to property, whereas the former attacks
the reality principle itself. Transgression and violence are less serious because they only
contest the distribution of the real. Simulation is infinitely more dangerous because it
always leaves open to supposition that, above and beyond its object, law and order
themselves might be nothing but simulation.
But the difficulty is proportional to the danger. How to feign a violation and put it to the
test? Simulate a robbery in a large store: how to persuade security that it is a simulated
robbery? There is no "objective" difference: the gestures, the signs are the same as for a
real robbery, the signs do not lean to one side or another. To the established order they
are always of the order of the real.
Organize a fake holdup. Verify that your weapons are harmless, and take the most
trustworthy hostage, so that no human life will be in danger (or one lapses into the
criminal). Demand a ransom, and make it so that the operation creates as much
commotion as possible - in short, remain close to the "truth," in order to test the reaction
of the apparatus to a perfect simulacrum. You won't be able to do it: the network of
artificial signs will become inextricably mixed up with real elements (a policeman will
really fire on sight; a client of the bank will faint and die of a heart attack; one will
actually pay you the phony ransom), in short, you will immediately find yourself once
again, without wishing it, in the real, one of whose functions is precisely to devour any
attempt at simulation, to reduce everything to the real - that is, to the established order
itself, well before institutions and justice come into play.
It is necessary to see in this impossibility of isolating the process of simulation the weight
of an order that cannot see and conceive of anything but the real, because it cannot
function anywhere else. The simulation of an offense, if it is established as such, will
either be punished less severely (because it has no "consequences") or punished as an
offense against the judicial system (for example if one sets in motion a police operation
"for nothing") - but never as simulation since it is precisely as such that no equivalence
with the real is possible, and hence no repression either. The challenge of simulation is
never admitted by power. How can the simulation of virtue be punished? However, as
such it is as serious as the simulation of crime. Parody renders submission and
transgression equivalent, and that is the most serious crime, because it cancels out the
difference upon which the law is based. The established order can do nothing against it,
because the law is a simulacrum of the second order, whereas simulation is of the third
order, beyond true and false, beyond equivalences, beyond rational distinctions upon
which the whole of the social and power depend. Thus, lacking the real, it is there that we
must aim at order.
This is certainly why order always opts for the real. When in doubt, it always prefers this
hypothesis (as in the army one prefers to take the simulator for a real madman). But this
becomes more and more difficult, because if it is practically impossible to isolate the
process of simulation, through the force of inertia of the real that surrounds us, the
opposite is also true (and this reversibility itself is part of the apparatus of simulation and
the impotence of power): namely, it is now impossible to isolate the process of the real,
or to prove the real.
Memory Traces
Memory Traces is a recent publication, in which Markerink relates to notions about landscape, culture, history and memory. Memory Traces is an unconventional photo-book, composed to be an experience, in which a selection of landscape photographs are combined with a multi-layered range of texts including exerpts from traveloques, 'written photographs' and a short story situated in the art-world which, among other things, deals with 'The Artification of Photography' and 'The End of Silver-based Photography'. The publication consists of the book Memory Traces and two smaller books; Höffding Step and Dark Star. Presented in a special box. The large format photographs were made in Sarajevo; Hiroshima and Nagasaki; Berlin, Bitterfeld-Wolfen and Ronneburg; Bikini Islands and Nam Island; Chernobyl; Khe San and My Lai. Photography & text Cary Markerink, Amsterdam. Designed by Irma Boom Office, Amsterdam Published by Ideas on Paper, Amsterdam, 2009. Printed by 1455 Fine Art Printers, Hasselt. Photography & text Cary Markerink, Amsterdam. Designed by Irma Boom Office, Amsterdam. Published by Ideas on Paper, Amsterdam, 2009.
Looking at the form of an art book. something that could collate photography and writing in an abstract form - not like a storybook . This form is the anti-form of what i started with, in terms of the 'viewer'. im not sure what i think of that yet, but it is disconcerting.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
"Pattern, the fruit of design, can be seen as the measure of culture" - william fever
"interpretations of interpretations, interpreted" - james joyce
"i work with things left over form other things" - julian schnabel
"by means of the sign man frees himself from the here and now for abstraction" - Umberto Eco
"interpretations of interpretations, interpreted" - james joyce
"i work with things left over form other things" - julian schnabel
"by means of the sign man frees himself from the here and now for abstraction" - Umberto Eco
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
"Square One"
There has been a slight change in plans, with my project. In the beginning it felt like a complete return to square one, and although that is true in many ways, im working towards taking this forward using this as an insight and looking at other forms of abstraction.
After my last review i did the following:
Ideated upon and planned the experiments with line, color and shape:
Mindmapping
Free-association of colour line and shape elements - where do we see them originally.
Looking at existing elements in the place and seeing how i could subvert them.
Observation of uses of space - looking to insert elements that would (ideally) change the use of the space in some way.
Looking at various 'natural' activities in public places and looking to create interactions around them.
Different levels of interaction:
Passive :
insert something in the environment that has to be interacted with - pavements, walkways, gates, staircases, walls.
- markers or boxes for sitting or waiting in places that are informally used for these activities.- staircases, signal crossing.
- a 'path' traced out on a pavement.
- tracing the pattern of spit on walls, by simulating the same splatters with different colored paints.
Mildly active:
the viewer could choose or not choose to interact with such an intervention- this decision would primarily be recorded as the reaction.
- game outlines in the space in front of shops (inside an enclosed complex), where children usually wait outside while their parents are busy inside.
- mazes on sidewalks and pathways
Active:
where the piece of work is created or completed purely by people's participation.
- tracing paths-
- colored footsteps. - place trays of paint on the floor- near the overhead walkway- and ask people to step in and make a mark with their footsteps- how people play and react with such a level of interactivity.
- threads- tying different colored threads to one side of the walkway, at one pint, and give the spools to people walking by, to be unravelled wherever they went as far as they would go.
etc.
Planned the execution:
After my initial experiences in the city, where i was receiving a lot of unwanted attention and troublesome behavior on part of the public, i decided that i would have to resort to some sort of "guerilla tactics" and catch the place at times when there are as few people around as possible. This i figured would be early morning, since it is a commercial area which usually opens around 10 am.
So i carried my materials and reached the place at 7 am, which gave me a 3 to 4 hour margin before the real people-traffic started to come in.
The experiments that i planned were using simple materials, (colored insulation tape and paint, colored thread) that i could handle alone, and could be used 'on the spot' since i dont have a team, nor the time for 'pieces' that would require a certain level of production.
After testing these out on surfaces i went out with them. and started work. i also borrowed a hand-held camera and tripod ( to use in case, but mosty i was planning to shoot quite discreetly) and was ready to document reactions.
The problems arose with the experiences with people that i repeatedly had while trying to construct these pieces. I became more of a spectacle than the pieces themselves. even in the early hours i was attracting unwanted audiences. who would linger to see what i was up to and thus ruin it for any one else who came by, since people would automatically side-step a crowd. Repeatedly i have been feeling that this 'form' of public art or interventions is impractical at the scale and time-frame with which i am working, and is these practicality issues are coming in the way of the content i want to to talk about.
The same recurring experiences after many attempts pulled me back to assess the situation practically. I realize that part of the problem was due to my 'image' as well. a girl in jeans and sweatshirt/kurta wielding a camera sticking tape and paint on a sidewalk at 7 am would hardly go unnoticed anywhere.But this behavior also made me realize that there are factors involved for me, a female artist working on the streets, that i could not control or help in any way, and was being detrimental to my process. At an individual scale this would almost be impossible to handle.
The idea of using this public art medium was to be able to deal with the image in the place that it is coming from. a more 'activated' form of articulation. however this is not happening as the audience is not on the same page, there exists no real platform for such work unless there exists a 'culture' for it already. it is proving too hard to crack.
An example of a conversation that i had might give you a clearer idea of what i am talking about:
over many previous observations the theater on Iyengar Rd, I had noticed a certain pattern and placement in the way people sit on the front steps while waiting for the show.
So, 9 am in the morning i went up into the theater and spoke to the two people in charge that i could see standing out there, and one sweeper boy sweeping the steps. as i explained to them that i wanted to stick a little tape on their front steps (outline squares of red placed in a pattern on the steps) and that it was for an art project that i was doing from college and whether they would please let me do it. ( this entire bit of the conversation was carried out in telugu- which i was hoping would earn me some brownie points too.) They seemed alright with it and agreed.
Upon installing my 'boxes', i took a small video of the place and decided o come back in some time to catch the crowd for the first show.
as i started to walk away i was frantically called back and asked when i was going to remove the tape. i was perplexed- since i thought i had explained myself already, but to be on the clearer side asked when the first crowd would come ( 10.30 am) and whether i could keep it there till then.
suddenly the theater manager bursts out in english "no no i cannot allow that. this is a public place and the pubic will be arriving shortly. you cannot put up your 'art' here. please remove it and leave."
I tried to explain that that was the whole idea behind 'public art' - that the public has to be able to see it, but to no avail. i asked what was the inconvenience being caused by some tape on the stairs, it wasn't in anyone's way. All he would say is " i cannot allow this in a public place. go walk down the road and find some other place." I had to remove the tape and walk on.
The same issue i had in many places, including a man coming up to me and telling me i might get arrested if i use permanent paint in public places.
The rest of the experiences were nothing more than street harassment.
I see the irony in these situations and am almost tempted to look at this project through that lens. but of course that is a complete de-railment of my project and the content that i want to deal with and talk about.
The conclusion i reached finally was that there are things that i want to talk about but this form has been wasting my time and getting me stuck. the audience is not on the same page. the reflectivity of a visual, is what i want to insert. but there exists no platform for it. as a solo artist working at this scale is impossible. i need to create a spectacle to out-do the existing spectacle. which is not the point of my project at all.
Since i was so thoroughly discouraged with the possibility of dialogue with people using image, i started to naturally gravitate towards forms that i could control more easily , that would be within my control, give me the space to talk about the content that i want to talk about. These forms being photography, graphic design, writing, and maybe video.
I notified my panel regarding the same, and although they agreed, im going to have to work fast.
Review 3.5 is coming up and im working on gathering material and articulating further steps..
It’s not a comparison of one imperfect possibility with a perfect one, it’s a question of which goal is attainable.
more coming soon.
After my last review i did the following:
Ideated upon and planned the experiments with line, color and shape:
Mindmapping
Free-association of colour line and shape elements - where do we see them originally.
Looking at existing elements in the place and seeing how i could subvert them.
Observation of uses of space - looking to insert elements that would (ideally) change the use of the space in some way.
Looking at various 'natural' activities in public places and looking to create interactions around them.
Different levels of interaction:
Passive :
insert something in the environment that has to be interacted with - pavements, walkways, gates, staircases, walls.
- markers or boxes for sitting or waiting in places that are informally used for these activities.- staircases, signal crossing.
- a 'path' traced out on a pavement.
- tracing the pattern of spit on walls, by simulating the same splatters with different colored paints.
Mildly active:
the viewer could choose or not choose to interact with such an intervention- this decision would primarily be recorded as the reaction.
- game outlines in the space in front of shops (inside an enclosed complex), where children usually wait outside while their parents are busy inside.
- mazes on sidewalks and pathways
Active:
where the piece of work is created or completed purely by people's participation.
- tracing paths-
- colored footsteps. - place trays of paint on the floor- near the overhead walkway- and ask people to step in and make a mark with their footsteps- how people play and react with such a level of interactivity.
- threads- tying different colored threads to one side of the walkway, at one pint, and give the spools to people walking by, to be unravelled wherever they went as far as they would go.
etc.
Planned the execution:
After my initial experiences in the city, where i was receiving a lot of unwanted attention and troublesome behavior on part of the public, i decided that i would have to resort to some sort of "guerilla tactics" and catch the place at times when there are as few people around as possible. This i figured would be early morning, since it is a commercial area which usually opens around 10 am.
So i carried my materials and reached the place at 7 am, which gave me a 3 to 4 hour margin before the real people-traffic started to come in.
The experiments that i planned were using simple materials, (colored insulation tape and paint, colored thread) that i could handle alone, and could be used 'on the spot' since i dont have a team, nor the time for 'pieces' that would require a certain level of production.
After testing these out on surfaces i went out with them. and started work. i also borrowed a hand-held camera and tripod ( to use in case, but mosty i was planning to shoot quite discreetly) and was ready to document reactions.
The problems arose with the experiences with people that i repeatedly had while trying to construct these pieces. I became more of a spectacle than the pieces themselves. even in the early hours i was attracting unwanted audiences. who would linger to see what i was up to and thus ruin it for any one else who came by, since people would automatically side-step a crowd. Repeatedly i have been feeling that this 'form' of public art or interventions is impractical at the scale and time-frame with which i am working, and is these practicality issues are coming in the way of the content i want to to talk about.
The same recurring experiences after many attempts pulled me back to assess the situation practically. I realize that part of the problem was due to my 'image' as well. a girl in jeans and sweatshirt/kurta wielding a camera sticking tape and paint on a sidewalk at 7 am would hardly go unnoticed anywhere.But this behavior also made me realize that there are factors involved for me, a female artist working on the streets, that i could not control or help in any way, and was being detrimental to my process. At an individual scale this would almost be impossible to handle.
The idea of using this public art medium was to be able to deal with the image in the place that it is coming from. a more 'activated' form of articulation. however this is not happening as the audience is not on the same page, there exists no real platform for such work unless there exists a 'culture' for it already. it is proving too hard to crack.
An example of a conversation that i had might give you a clearer idea of what i am talking about:
over many previous observations the theater on Iyengar Rd, I had noticed a certain pattern and placement in the way people sit on the front steps while waiting for the show.
So, 9 am in the morning i went up into the theater and spoke to the two people in charge that i could see standing out there, and one sweeper boy sweeping the steps. as i explained to them that i wanted to stick a little tape on their front steps (outline squares of red placed in a pattern on the steps) and that it was for an art project that i was doing from college and whether they would please let me do it. ( this entire bit of the conversation was carried out in telugu- which i was hoping would earn me some brownie points too.) They seemed alright with it and agreed.
Upon installing my 'boxes', i took a small video of the place and decided o come back in some time to catch the crowd for the first show.
as i started to walk away i was frantically called back and asked when i was going to remove the tape. i was perplexed- since i thought i had explained myself already, but to be on the clearer side asked when the first crowd would come ( 10.30 am) and whether i could keep it there till then.
suddenly the theater manager bursts out in english "no no i cannot allow that. this is a public place and the pubic will be arriving shortly. you cannot put up your 'art' here. please remove it and leave."
I tried to explain that that was the whole idea behind 'public art' - that the public has to be able to see it, but to no avail. i asked what was the inconvenience being caused by some tape on the stairs, it wasn't in anyone's way. All he would say is " i cannot allow this in a public place. go walk down the road and find some other place." I had to remove the tape and walk on.
The same issue i had in many places, including a man coming up to me and telling me i might get arrested if i use permanent paint in public places.
The rest of the experiences were nothing more than street harassment.
I see the irony in these situations and am almost tempted to look at this project through that lens. but of course that is a complete de-railment of my project and the content that i want to deal with and talk about.
The conclusion i reached finally was that there are things that i want to talk about but this form has been wasting my time and getting me stuck. the audience is not on the same page. the reflectivity of a visual, is what i want to insert. but there exists no platform for it. as a solo artist working at this scale is impossible. i need to create a spectacle to out-do the existing spectacle. which is not the point of my project at all.
Since i was so thoroughly discouraged with the possibility of dialogue with people using image, i started to naturally gravitate towards forms that i could control more easily , that would be within my control, give me the space to talk about the content that i want to talk about. These forms being photography, graphic design, writing, and maybe video.
I notified my panel regarding the same, and although they agreed, im going to have to work fast.
Review 3.5 is coming up and im working on gathering material and articulating further steps..
It’s not a comparison of one imperfect possibility with a perfect one, it’s a question of which goal is attainable.
more coming soon.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Baudrillard said:
"Today abstraction is no longer that of the map, the double, the mirror, or the concept.
Simulation is no longer that of a territory, a referential being, or a substance. It is the
generation by models of a real without origin or reality: a hyperreal. The territory no
longer precedes the map, nor does it survive it. It is nevertheless the map that precedes
the territory - precession of simulacra - that engenders the territory, and if one must
return to the fable, today it is the territory whose shreds slowly rot across the extent of
the map. It is the real, and not the map, whose vestiges persist here and there in the
deserts that are no longer those of the Empire, but ours. The desert of the real itself."
"Today abstraction is no longer that of the map, the double, the mirror, or the concept.
Simulation is no longer that of a territory, a referential being, or a substance. It is the
generation by models of a real without origin or reality: a hyperreal. The territory no
longer precedes the map, nor does it survive it. It is nevertheless the map that precedes
the territory - precession of simulacra - that engenders the territory, and if one must
return to the fable, today it is the territory whose shreds slowly rot across the extent of
the map. It is the real, and not the map, whose vestiges persist here and there in the
deserts that are no longer those of the Empire, but ours. The desert of the real itself."
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Arno Piroud makes the city smile
Gestalten.tv has a filmed interview with artist Arno Piroud on its website, in support of the recent Urban Interventions title. Piroud's art is most at home on city streets, unashamedly amusing passersby...
From his Ephemeral Seats that recondition the trunks of chopped-down trees (some of which have lasted up to two years before being removed), to the heart-shaped filters he applies to traffic lights, Piroud is not afraid of creating amusing art.
Our favourite piece shown in the Gestalten.tv film is the tennis court he painted onto a neighbouring roof (above). He is, he says, attempting to "put fiction in reality" in his pursuit of making "contemporary art about the city".
click here for the interview
From his Ephemeral Seats that recondition the trunks of chopped-down trees (some of which have lasted up to two years before being removed), to the heart-shaped filters he applies to traffic lights, Piroud is not afraid of creating amusing art.
Our favourite piece shown in the Gestalten.tv film is the tennis court he painted onto a neighbouring roof (above). He is, he says, attempting to "put fiction in reality" in his pursuit of making "contemporary art about the city".
click here for the interview
There is a very prominent shift in my project now that might be a cause for worry.
At this point there are two clear directions to take:
1) visual elements in space and study the contrast :
colour - planned and unplanned use of colour.
shape- organic and inorganic
line - functional vs. aesthetic
2) image and types of image - how this relates to place/space identity.
a shift is happening towards the former. does this stray from my brief? in many ways it does.
i feel - context becomes irrelevant, these pieces could be done anywhere. image and therefore meaning is removed from the picture. space/place identity becomes redundant/ irrelevant. although these forms are fundamental, the use of them in pure form (bold colours, lines, solid shapes) would definitely be out of place / irrelevant / alien to the context at an immediate level.
but then talking to divya got me thinking. the element of fiction can tie this together. this element is a fundamental point of interest in my brief. space-place and fiction. and it would add that necessary human element/reaction that i am looking for.
in terms of image, any visual in any space could create fiction. fiction in a place will be relevant to its context ( as a contrast to the function/use/preconception of a space) . and in terms of the place/space i have finally chosen to do the works in - the reason i picked them is so that i have a wide range of people - a generic audience. maybe i could do some in parks and such places as well, seeing how the first few go.
working at an individual scale this seems more handleable, and possible to go into some valuable depth with, in the timeframe that i have.
also remembered : "the idea sometimes lies in the style or quality of an image/visual itself, more than the content of it"
some tweaking of the brief is required i suppose. but right after some work happens on field.
At this point there are two clear directions to take:
1) visual elements in space and study the contrast :
colour - planned and unplanned use of colour.
shape- organic and inorganic
line - functional vs. aesthetic
2) image and types of image - how this relates to place/space identity.
a shift is happening towards the former. does this stray from my brief? in many ways it does.
i feel - context becomes irrelevant, these pieces could be done anywhere. image and therefore meaning is removed from the picture. space/place identity becomes redundant/ irrelevant. although these forms are fundamental, the use of them in pure form (bold colours, lines, solid shapes) would definitely be out of place / irrelevant / alien to the context at an immediate level.
but then talking to divya got me thinking. the element of fiction can tie this together. this element is a fundamental point of interest in my brief. space-place and fiction. and it would add that necessary human element/reaction that i am looking for.
in terms of image, any visual in any space could create fiction. fiction in a place will be relevant to its context ( as a contrast to the function/use/preconception of a space) . and in terms of the place/space i have finally chosen to do the works in - the reason i picked them is so that i have a wide range of people - a generic audience. maybe i could do some in parks and such places as well, seeing how the first few go.
working at an individual scale this seems more handleable, and possible to go into some valuable depth with, in the timeframe that i have.
also remembered : "the idea sometimes lies in the style or quality of an image/visual itself, more than the content of it"
some tweaking of the brief is required i suppose. but right after some work happens on field.
Monday, August 16, 2010
"When you don't know where you're going, all roads lead there".
Roman Saying
Upon hitting dead ends and deep waters i decided to just send out S.O.S s every which way i could think of, that i hadn't already done before.
This yielded two good things -
1. Conversations with a range of people which gave me unexpected insights and new directions.
2. Made me go out on a ledge and take the decision of scouting one last time for a location - since i was feeling stuck with the ones i had for many reasons - and I Found It!
Hospital Road
A 15 minute walk from Majestic bus station, this commercial area is at the very heart of Bangalore's 'people traffic'.
It has a wide range of commercial complexes both built and unbuilt, which house brands, non-brands, street vendors, cart vendors etc, for every commodity from clothing to footwear, hardware, lighting, furniture, daily needs and other bric-a-brac.
A good example of this would be the main square of hospital road, which is flanked on three sides by three 'generations' of commercial complexes. on one side is the Janatha Bazaar, housing handicraft and Khadi emporiums. Opposite which is the row of present day market buildings, propped against the sidewalk, with high-end brands on the first floors and older unbranded shops selling the same merchandise. The illegal street hawkers on the sidewalks. And on the third corner of the square is a cordoned-off construction site for a new Multiplex Mall.
Running above these is a walk way connecting both sides of the street. on both sides of which are citi-walk malls , constructed mall areas for various kinds of shops- similar to tibetan market.
Turning off this busy main street and down onto Iyengar Road, towards Avenue road is a very interesting area.
This area is more than half a century old with buildings that date back to 1958. Primarily a residential area populated by south indians, the rise in the property rates due the commercialization of Hospital rd and Iyengar rd led to the owners renting out to commercial enterprises which are now owned mostly by north indians. The interesting juxtaposition that i found in this place is that amidst the wide variety of these shops, ranging form florists to hair cutting salons, most of them are places that make and sell sign-making services, from hand-painted signs to flex and vinyl printing and cutting, led-lit and laser signage, they are all produced here.
The older residential buildings in this area are now being demolished to be replaced by newer buildings to house these sign-makers and other commercial businesses.
This current scenario makes for many interesting sites to look at, which could be used as bases for my work.
Through this area a two-step project plan-of-action became clear to me :
1)One of the basic aims of my project is a very fundamental question in itself- how does image in a space affect people?
coming from a conversation with Aniruddha Abhyankar, who has been working with and in public spaces for a while now, he pointed me towards using basics to begin.
Considering the wide cross-section of people that come through this area - it would be possible to explore the idea of 'image' in a very fundamental sense - sans context.
breaking it down to basics such as
color,
line,
shape,
the beginning is made possible by carrying out small experiments everyday on the sidewalks and crosses using simple elements:
for eg: painting a blank white/red/black etc. square in the middle of the pattern tiled sidewalk and to record how people react to it, whether walking patterns would change and so on.
A number of these experiments should give me an insight as to how people really do what they do and why.
2) While these exercises provide me with insights that conversations cant, and also get me accustomed to working in public spaces, I have picked out some sites at which i could use these insights to create and execute more contextual 'layered' experiments :
- The idea of various image making techniques and what they signify. Where they come from. Their primary intent and what all else they are used for.Their juxtapositions in spaces and what this says about our current time and place.
In this one area one comes across every kind of image made by a cross-section of techniques.
Lithography posters
Computer printed bills
Flex prints and banners
Hand-painted walls and signage
LED-lit sign boards for branded stores to locally made LED signages and decorative items.
Some ideas:
- Cut Up technique using old discarded flex and billboard signage to make new (possibly subverted) imagery.
- In order to create a dialogue make the people part of the image - live image creation : This will capture both dialogue, reactions, as well as bolster the element of fiction that i am looking to capture.
- The idea of "The Treachery of Images" inspired from Rene Magritte : To take photographs of places and things ( maybe ask people what they would photograph, to remember/iconize/signify this place by) and install them at the original site. - try out different techniques -
Some interesting sites:
An old demolished theatre, now a barren piece of land with a few vestiges of its past, and some new posters.
A corner of what seemed to be a busy ice cream point, right outside this theatre, which is now derelict, with the remains of some old posters.
The square towards Avenue road, a place where books, posters, charts, stickers and other such visual devices. Also the site for the avenue road post office which has now been shifted and vacated.
The beginning of Iyengar road offers many blank spaces .
The sidewalk near the over-bridge, at the beginning of hospital road.
Upon hitting dead ends and deep waters i decided to just send out S.O.S s every which way i could think of, that i hadn't already done before.
This yielded two good things -
1. Conversations with a range of people which gave me unexpected insights and new directions.
2. Made me go out on a ledge and take the decision of scouting one last time for a location - since i was feeling stuck with the ones i had for many reasons - and I Found It!
Hospital Road
A 15 minute walk from Majestic bus station, this commercial area is at the very heart of Bangalore's 'people traffic'.
It has a wide range of commercial complexes both built and unbuilt, which house brands, non-brands, street vendors, cart vendors etc, for every commodity from clothing to footwear, hardware, lighting, furniture, daily needs and other bric-a-brac.
A good example of this would be the main square of hospital road, which is flanked on three sides by three 'generations' of commercial complexes. on one side is the Janatha Bazaar, housing handicraft and Khadi emporiums. Opposite which is the row of present day market buildings, propped against the sidewalk, with high-end brands on the first floors and older unbranded shops selling the same merchandise. The illegal street hawkers on the sidewalks. And on the third corner of the square is a cordoned-off construction site for a new Multiplex Mall.
Running above these is a walk way connecting both sides of the street. on both sides of which are citi-walk malls , constructed mall areas for various kinds of shops- similar to tibetan market.
Turning off this busy main street and down onto Iyengar Road, towards Avenue road is a very interesting area.
This area is more than half a century old with buildings that date back to 1958. Primarily a residential area populated by south indians, the rise in the property rates due the commercialization of Hospital rd and Iyengar rd led to the owners renting out to commercial enterprises which are now owned mostly by north indians. The interesting juxtaposition that i found in this place is that amidst the wide variety of these shops, ranging form florists to hair cutting salons, most of them are places that make and sell sign-making services, from hand-painted signs to flex and vinyl printing and cutting, led-lit and laser signage, they are all produced here.
The older residential buildings in this area are now being demolished to be replaced by newer buildings to house these sign-makers and other commercial businesses.
This current scenario makes for many interesting sites to look at, which could be used as bases for my work.
Through this area a two-step project plan-of-action became clear to me :
1)One of the basic aims of my project is a very fundamental question in itself- how does image in a space affect people?
coming from a conversation with Aniruddha Abhyankar, who has been working with and in public spaces for a while now, he pointed me towards using basics to begin.
Considering the wide cross-section of people that come through this area - it would be possible to explore the idea of 'image' in a very fundamental sense - sans context.
breaking it down to basics such as
color,
line,
shape,
the beginning is made possible by carrying out small experiments everyday on the sidewalks and crosses using simple elements:
for eg: painting a blank white/red/black etc. square in the middle of the pattern tiled sidewalk and to record how people react to it, whether walking patterns would change and so on.
A number of these experiments should give me an insight as to how people really do what they do and why.
2) While these exercises provide me with insights that conversations cant, and also get me accustomed to working in public spaces, I have picked out some sites at which i could use these insights to create and execute more contextual 'layered' experiments :
- The idea of various image making techniques and what they signify. Where they come from. Their primary intent and what all else they are used for.Their juxtapositions in spaces and what this says about our current time and place.
In this one area one comes across every kind of image made by a cross-section of techniques.
Lithography posters
Computer printed bills
Flex prints and banners
Hand-painted walls and signage
LED-lit sign boards for branded stores to locally made LED signages and decorative items.
Some ideas:
- Cut Up technique using old discarded flex and billboard signage to make new (possibly subverted) imagery.
- In order to create a dialogue make the people part of the image - live image creation : This will capture both dialogue, reactions, as well as bolster the element of fiction that i am looking to capture.
- The idea of "The Treachery of Images" inspired from Rene Magritte : To take photographs of places and things ( maybe ask people what they would photograph, to remember/iconize/signify this place by) and install them at the original site. - try out different techniques -
Some interesting sites:
An old demolished theatre, now a barren piece of land with a few vestiges of its past, and some new posters.
A corner of what seemed to be a busy ice cream point, right outside this theatre, which is now derelict, with the remains of some old posters.
The square towards Avenue road, a place where books, posters, charts, stickers and other such visual devices. Also the site for the avenue road post office which has now been shifted and vacated.
The beginning of Iyengar road offers many blank spaces .
The sidewalk near the over-bridge, at the beginning of hospital road.
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