Caroline's readings Weds Nov 6th and Mon Nov 18th

Caroline's readings Weds Nov 6th and Mon Nov 18th

1. More, Thomas, Utopia// 1516, From Utopia: Documents of Contemporary Art. Edited by Richard Noble, MIT press, 2009
2. Eggers, Dave, We Like You So Much and Want to Know You Better, The New York Times Magazine, Sept 29, 2013 ( optional reading)
3. Gregory, Alice, Rain Man, The New York Times Style Magazine, Oct 6, 2013
4. Modernism: Searching for Utopia, Modernisn: Building Utopia, Cold War Utopian Ideals. This content was originally written in association with the exhibitions 'Modernism; Designing a New World 1914-1939', and 'Cold War Modern: Design 1945 - 70' on display at the V&A, London.
5. Campanaro, Pamela, From Utopia to Dystopia, Montserrat College of Art, press release fall 2013.

Caroline's readings Weds Oct 30 and Mon Nov 4th

Caroline's readings Weds Oct 30 and Mon Nov 4th

Packet of readings on Marxist Art Criticism

1. Marxist Arts Criticism - Dictionary and Encyclopedia, www.encyclopedia69.com/.../marxist-arts-criticism/marxist-arts-critici.

2. Chandler, Daniel. Marxist Media Theory.  Gramsci and Hegemony, Stuart Hall, Strengths of Marxist analysis. www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/marxism/marxism 

 3. Haacke, Hans, Statement, from Harrison and Wood, Art in Theory 1900 - 2000, pp. 930-931

4. Lipton, Eunice, The Laundress in Late Nineteeth - Century French Culture:Imagery, Ideology and Edgar Degas,  Art History, vol.3, no.3 Sept 1980, pp 295 - 313  

5. Burgin, Victor, What does possession mean to you? solomonthoughts.wordpress.com/...possession/what-does-possession-.

6. Cotter, Holland, Martha Rosler, Photomontages:1965-2004, NYTimes Dec 24, 2004

Greg: Oct. 28: Wish You Were There?

For Greg's discussion group on Oct. 28, we'll be discussing the exhibition "Wish You Were There?" at the Montserrat Gallery. Respond to the art in the show. What common themes do you see among the works here? Read the catalogue about the show. How does or doesn't the art in the show match up with the themes of the essay?

Research paper update:

= Discussion classes of week of Oct. 28: Final research paper due. Full assignment here.

Assignments will lose one letter grade for each week they are late. Failure to turn in a paper will result in a zero, which could result in you failing this class.

Research Paper

Research Paper

Fall 2013.

Senior Fine Arts Seminar                                                                                                           

Caroline Bagenal (caroline.bagenal@montserrat.edu )                                                      updated 09.02.13

Greg Cook (greg.cook@montserrat.edu)                                                                       

Research Paper: Interview an Artist

Write a profile of a living artist. Your research will include (1) your interview of the artist and (2) at least two written sources about the artist (reviews, articles, artist statements, press releases).

Describe and discuss the artist’s work. What is the art about? What does the art look like? How is it made? How does the work’s physical properties convey or embody its meaning? How has the artist’s work changed over the years? How has the artist’s career developed—shows, sales, recognition? What are the artist’s influences/inspirations? What day jobs has the artist held? How has where the artist lived affected the art? How have the artist’s personal relationships influenced the art? Students are encouraged to see the artist’s work in person. Discuss specific artworks in detail—and include reproductions of the artworks.

Address how the art relates to various contexts, such as in relation to themes in contemporary art; to social, political, scientific, spiritual and scientific contexts; to the artist’s biography; to the artist’s peers; etc.

1. Artist interview.

Students must interview an artist in person (preferred) or by phone. Interviews may not be conducted by e-mail. (Students needing special accommodations to fulfill this part of the assignment should discuss them with their teacher in advance.) Students may choose any living artist, except those with ties to Montserrat (student, teacher, staff, alums). Students are encouraged to try to meet the artists in their studios, and photograph the artists and their work for images to include with the final paper. Students must prepare an (at least) one-page transcript from the interview.

2. Research paper.

Your essay will be based on your research – your interview of the artist and reading about the artist. Be sure to note your sources – plagiarism will not be tolerated. The focus of the paper is your selected artist, but in your discussion of their artwork you may also speak about how your own work relates to their artwork.

The paper must include a bibliography listing at least two sources. Bibliography format: Author (last name first), “Title of Reading,” name of newspaper/magazine/blog/journal it appeared in, date of publication, page of publication, web link. Examples:

Book: Dukes Jordan, Matthew, “Weirdo Deluxe: The Wild World of Pop Surrealism & Lowbrow Art,” 2005.

Magazine/newspaper: Meland, Louis, “Top of the Pops: Did Andy Warhol change everything?” The New Yorker, Jan. 11, 2010, pages 57-65.

Web: Caruth, Nicole J., “A Look into the Future with Saya Woolfalk,” Art: 21 Blog, Aug. 18, 2009. http://blog.art21.org/2009/08/18/the-future-with-saya-woolfalk/.

Research paper length: Five page essay, plus separate bibliography, one-page transcription of interview, and of the artist’s work. The paper must be typed and printed out when turned in.

Deadlines:

1. Discussion classes of week of  Sept. 23: Students must provide a brief written update on which artist they have chosen and when they are scheduled to interview them. The sooner you interview the artist the better.

2. Discussion classes of week of Oct. 21: Turn in one-page transcript of (part of) the interview.

3. Discussion classes of week of Oct. 28: Final research paper due.

Assignments will lose one letter grade for each week they are late. Failure to turn in a paper will result in a zero, which could result in you failing this class.

Caroline's readings for Weds Oct 23rd and Mon Oct 28th

Caroline's readings for Weds Oct 23rd and Mon Oct 28th

1. Grayson Perry, bio, Victoria Miro gallery,www.victoria-miro.com/artsts/_12
2. Perry, Grayson, A Refuge for artists who play it safe, http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2005/mar/05/art/print
3. Fullerton, Elzabeth, Dressing for Success, http;//www.artnews.com/2012/09/24/dressing-for-success/
4. Abigail Newbold speaks about ' Crafting Settlement', Journal of Modern Craft, http://journalofmoderncraft.com/articles/abigail-newbold-speaks-about-crafting-settlement
5. Tomic, Milena, Edmund de Waal, London at Alan Cristea, Art in America, reviews Dec 04, 2012
6. Millar, Ian, The Writer and the Potter: Edmund De Waal on his New York Debut, The Daily Beast, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/12/the-writer-and-the-potter-edmund-de-waal-on-his-new-york-debut.html

Caroline's Readings for Mon Oct 21st and Weds Oct 16th

Caroline's Readings for Mon Oct 21st and Weds Oct 16th

1. Stomberg, John, and others, Kara Walker: Harper's Pictorial History of the Civil War ( Annotated), catalog essays, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum. 2013
2. Mendelson, Scott, Review: "12 Years A Slave" Is Among The Year's Best Films, Forbes Magazine, www.foebes.com/sites/scottmedelson/2013/09/30/review-12-years-a-slave-is-a-superb-achievement/
3. Steve McQueen, bio, Marian Goodman Gallery,www.mariangoodman.com/artists/steve-mcqueen/

Greg Oct. 21: Risky business: Performance art and danger

“If An Artist Doesn’t Take Risks, Then It’s Not Worth It.”—photographer Robert Frank.  

For Greg's discussion group on Oct. 21, we'll be looking at the work of Los Angeles artist Chris Burden (whose work is the subject of a just-opened major retrospective at New York's New Museum) and New York artist Marina Abramovic to consider risk-taking in art—particularly in performance art. Check out and respond to the following videos and readings: 

= Chris Burden "Shoot" video (above). 

= "Chris Burden: The body artist" by Roger Ebert, April 8, 1975.

= Chris Burden: "My God, are they going to leave me here to die?" by Roger Ebert, May 25, 1975.

= "The Stuff of Building and Destroying: 'Chris Burden: Extreme Measures' at the New Museum" by Roberta Smith, Oct. 3, 2013.

= "Marina Abramovic" by Sean O'Hagan, Oct. 2, 2010.

= Chris Burden "Metropolis II" video (below).

In your essay consider: Does art need to be risky to be worth it? What do we mean by risky? A major area of performance art has centered on actions that place the performer in physical danger. What are the benefits of such dangers? What are the risks? Can we mitigate such risks and still get the same charge in the art? Is it necessarily in art for actions to be actual (as Abramovic says, "the knife is real, the blood is real, the emotions are real") instead of simulated? Must the performer actually be in danger? How important to such performances are the stories, the legends they foster? Why do we so value risk in art? Do such performances respond to their times? How, for example, might Burden's performances reference violence in our society or war? Do Chris Burden's intentions become clearer in his later works, like "All the Submarines of the United States of America" (1987) or "Metropolis II" (2011)?

  

Bus Trip:
= NY bus trip is Oct. 19.

Columbus Day:
= No class next week because of holiday.

Research paper update:
= Discussion classes of week of Oct. 21: Turn in typed, one-page transcript of (part of) the interview.

= Discussion classes of week of Oct. 28: Final research paper due.

Assignments will lose one letter grade for each week they are late. Failure to turn in a paper will result in a zero, which could result in you failing this class.

Caroline's readings for Mon Sept 30th and Weds Oct 3rd

Caroline's readings for Mon Sept 30th and Weds Oct 3rd

1. Rogers, Elizabeth Barlow, The Shaping of Space; The Meaning of Place, Intoduction, Landscape Design: A Cultural and Architectural History, Abrams, 2001
2. Dean, Tacita and Miller, Jeremy, Nature, from Art Works:Place, Thames and Hudson, Documents :15, 2005
3. Dion, Mark, Neukom Vivarium, Interview Art:21: http//www.pbs.org/art21/artists/dion/clip1.html
4. Evans, Andrea Sherrill, Artist's Statement and Statement of Purpose, 2013

Greg Sept. 30: Folk art?

For Greg's discussion group on Sept. 30, we'll be discussing folk and outsider art by reading:
= "Art in the Streets: Why does the art world still disregard community pageantry?" by Greg Cook, Art New England, March/April 2013.
= "Composition in Black and White: A collector's fight to get an untrained artist into the canon" by Paige Williams, New Yorker, Aug. 12 & 19, 2013.

Questions to consider: Are museums correct to consider fine art more important than folk or outsider art? What are the differences between these types of art? How do we decide which art and artists get included in our museums and histories and which do not? How do art market concerns shape these definitions?

Related but not required: "About, With & For," an exhibition of artists addressing "various aspects of folklife," is at the Boston Center for the Arts from Oct. 4 to Dec. 1.

Research paper update:

1. Students must provide a brief written update on which artist they have chosen and when they are scheduled to interview them. The sooner you interview the artist the better.

2. Discussion classes of week of Oct. 21: Turn in one-page transcript of (part of) the interview.

3. Discussion classes of week of Oct. 28: Final research paper due.

Assignments will lose one letter grade for each week they are late. Failure to turn in a paper will result in a zero, which could result in you failing this class.

Caroline's Readings Mon Sept 23rd and Weds Sept 25th

Caroline's Readings Mon Sept 23rd and Weds Sept 25th

Bishop, Claire, Antagonism and Relational Aesthetics, October 110, Fall 2004, pp 65 – 80

Caroline's readings for Mon Sept 16th and Weds Sept 18th

Caroline's readings for Mon Sept 16th and Weds Sept 18th

Bishop, Claire, Antagonism and Relational Aesthetics, October 110, Fall 2004, pp 51 - 65

Greg: Sept. 23: Is the golden age of abstraction now?

Greg's discussion group on Sept. 23 will be reading about and discussing the question: "Is the golden age of abstraction now?" Based on reading and responding to the following readings:

= “The Golden Age of Abstraction: Right Now” ArtNews

= “Abstract Painting: The New Casualists”

= “Provisional Painting”

Consider what are some of the types of abstraction being pursued now? Why might or might this work make this the golden age of abstraction?

Greg Sept. 16: Is Bruce Myren doing New Topographics?

For Greg’s class on Sept. 16, we’ll be reading, writing and talking about Bruce Myren’s “40th Parallel” project, on view at Gallery Kayafas from Sept. 6 to Oct. 12. Read the essays below, look at photos by Myren and the New Topographics photographers and answer the following questions: Is Myren doing New Topographics style photography? What is New Topographics?

Readings:
= “From Sea To Shining Sea: Bruce Myren's Photo Cross-Section Of U.S.” by Greg Cook, WBUR.org The Artery, 2013.
= Introduction to “New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape” by William Jenkins, 1975.
= “LACMA traces photography’s New Topographics movement” by Leah Ollman, 2009

Look up photos by Myren and the New Topographics group. Consider the following quotes from the readings:
= Lewis Baltz: “The ideal photographic document would appear to be without author or art.”
= Robert Adams: “Pictures should look like they were easily taken. Otherwise beauty in the world is made to seem elusive and rare, which it is not.”
= John Schott: “This work basically said there’s a new world to be seen, and it deserves to be looked at, whether you see it as despoiling the landscape or simply as a fact.”

Pictured at top: Bruce Myren’s photo at “N 40° 00’ 00” W 104° 00’ 00” Hoyt, Colorado,” 2008.

Greg Sept. 9: Failure Support Group

For discussion on Sept. 10, Greg's group will read, write about and talk about the essays noted below.

Type up a one or two page response that briefly summarizes some of the main ideas and then responds to and analyzes them using examples from the reading as well as from the wider art world.

=This Mike Kelley quote from "Art21": “I knew by the time I was a teenager that I was going to be an artist, there’s no doubt about that. There was nothing else for me to be. I didn’t even want to be the other things that at the time were outside general culture. I didn’t want to be a rock musician; I wanted to be an artist. And I think the reason I chose it was that at that time it was the most despicable thing you could be in American culture. To be an artist at that time had absolutely no social value. It was like planned failure. You could never be a success. And the fact that I’m now a professional artist? At that time it seemed like a contradiction of terms. I came from a milieu in which artists were despised, whereas rock musicians and drug dealers were—you know—hipster culture heroes."

= Platform2's invite to their 2008 "Failure Support Group."

= Matthew Nash's report on BigRed&Shiny on the "Failure Support Group."

= "If at First You Don't Succeed ... Celebrate" by Lisa Le Feuvre, Tate, 2010.

Some questions to consider: Why do we fear failure? How do we define failure? How do we define success? What does it mean to fail in life? In art? Is art making like scientific experimenting, in which failures can be part of testing out an idea? Should art making focus primarily on end results? What are the benefits and drawbacks of these approaches. Is there, actually, a recipe for failure? Are certain methodologies more prone to failure than others? What is at stake in acknowledging failure in one’s process, one’s community, or one’s career? Can you think of other contemporary art addressing failure? Does this or doesn't this art somehow reflect our society today?

Caroline's Discussion Groups Readings, Mon Sept 9th and Weds Sept11th 11

Caroline's Discussion Groups Readings, Mon Sept 9th and Weds Sept 11th 2013

1. James Elkins, Why Art Can Not Be Taught,  Chapt 1, “Histories” Univ. of Illinois Press. 2001

2. Joseph Beuys, Not Just a Few Are Called, But Everyone, from Art in Theory 1900 – 2000. Eds Charles Harrison and Paul Wood

3. Sean T. Buffington, Art Teaching for a New Age, The Chronicle Review, The Chronicle Of Higher Education, July 8, 2013 chronicle.com/article/Art-Teaching-for-a-New-Age/140117

Caroline's readings Weds 10th April and Weds 17th April

Caroline's readings Weds 10th April and Weds 17th April

My Mon group meet on Weds 17th


1. A Q &A with Author Jaron Lanier,http://www.amazon.com/You-Are-Not-Gadget-Manifesto/dp/0307389979
2.Iyer, Pico, The Joy of Quiet, NYTimes Dec 29th 2011
3. World Policy Institute, Chatroom with Ai Weiwei: The Art of Dissent, http://www.worldpolicy.org/journal/fall2012/chatroom-ai-weiwei

Greg April 10: Street Art

With the opening of the Barry McGee show at the ICA, in Greg's class on April 10, we'll be discussing street art.

Read and respond to:
= Catalogue essay from "Barry McGee" exhibit.
= Swoon interview from "Art in the Streets."
= Banksy interviewed by Shepard Fairey in Swindle.

Caroline's Readings Weds April 3rd and Mon April 8th

Caroline's Readings Weds April 3rd and Mon April 8th

1. Antonelli, Paula, Talk to Me: Design and the Communication between People and Objects, http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2011/talktome/essay/
2. Brubach, Holly, The Right Stuff/Orhan Pamuk, NYTimes Magazine 10 / 07/ 2012
3. Smith, Roberta, Duro Olowu: Material, NYtimes, March 1 2012
4. Smith, Roberta, Awash In a Cultural Deluge, NYTimes, March 15, 2013

Greg April 3: Natural Ingredients

In Greg's class on April 3, we'll be discussing art about nature.

Read and respond to:

= Rebar group's "Park(ing).
= Tim Knowles interview excerpt.
= Mark Dion interviewed about "Neukom Vivarium"
= Futurefarmers' "Soil Kitchen."
= "Farm Fountain."
= Bonnie Sherk: "LAND ART / Living Truths / A performance artist-turned-educator sheds light on the Islais Creek."
=  Agnes Denes "Wheatfield."

Remember:

= Late Research papers lose one letter grade for each week they're late.
= Thesis shows begin April 8.
= Oral presentations start April 17.

Caroline's Readings, Mon March 25th, Weds March 27th and Mon April 1st.

Caroline's Readings Mon March 25th, Weds March 27 and Mon April 1st

RESEARCH PAPERS DUE THIS WEEK

Mon March 25th

1. Foucault, Michel, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Part 3, chapter 3; Panopticism.Vintage; 2nd Edition edition, 1995
2. Berger, John, Ways of Seeing, Chapter 3, Published by the BBC  and Penguin Books, 1972
3. Hoffmann, Irene, Dorit Cypis, from Girl's Night Out, Orange County Museum of Art. 2004

Weds March 27th 

1. Foucault, Michel, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Part 3, chapter 3; Panopticism.Vintage; 2nd Edition edition, 1995
2. Berger, John, Ways of Seeing, Chapter 3, Published by the BBC  and Penguin Books, 1972
3. Hoffmann, Irene, Dorit Cypis, from Girl's Night Out, Orange County Museum of Art. 2004

Mon April 1st

1. Dubord, Guy, Theory of the Derive, Bureau of Public Secrets. http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/2.derive.htm

 2. Rubio, Agustin Perez, Tracing the Universe of Julie Mehretu: A Choral Text, from Julie Mehretu; Black City, ARTBOOK, 2007

3. Sarfati, Lisa, On Hollywood, The New York Times, Sunday, March 25, 2012

4. Deitsch, Dina, What the Situationists left behind: Psychogeography, ARTS the international guide, Sept/Oct 2005

5. McQuaid, Kate, All over the map, The Boston Globe, April 15, 2005

Greg March 27: Public Art

In Greg’s class on March 27, we'll be discussing public art.

Read and respond to:

= “City timidity on public art” by Yvonne Abraham, Boston Globe 2010.

= “The very public debate over Fred Wilson’s Indy sculpture” by Tyler Green, 2010.

http://blogs.artinfo.com/modernartnotes/2010/10/fred-wilsons-indy-sculpture-and/

= "Can public art help retain Boston talent?” by Greg Cook, 2011, based on Caleb Neelon's TEDxBoston talk (video above).

= “The Apartment at the Mall” by Greg Cook, 2007.

= “Public Art—Preparing for the Next Chapter” by Elizabeth Keithline and Elysian McNiff, Art New England, March/April 2012.

= “Art in the Streets” by Greg Cook, Art New England, March/April 2012.

Consider what makes good public art? How does it engage with and benefit the public, the community? What are the difficulties of making good public art? Where is the public in public art? How might we foster better public art in our communities?

Remember:

= Research papers are due March 27.
= Thesis shows begin April 8.
= Oral presentations start April 17.

Greg March 20: "West of Center"

In Greg’s class on March 20, we’ll be discussing the introduction to "West of Center: Art and the Counterculture Experiment in America, 1965-1977."

Remember:

= Spring break is the week of March 11.

= Research papers are due March 27.

Caroline's readings for March 6th and March 18th

Caroline's readings for March 6th and March 18th

1. Bradbury, Leonie, Absent/Present: Artwork as Network, 2013, catalog essay soon to be published
2. Deleuze, Gilles, and Guattari, Felix, A Thousand Plateaus, from Literary Theory an Anthology, 2nd edition 2009 pp378 - 386

Greg March 6: "Paint Things”?

In Greg’s class on March 6, we’ll be discussing hybrid abstraction based on readings about “Paint Things: Beyond the Stretcher” at DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln. Seeing the show is recommended, but not required.

Consider: What are the common aspects of this art? What is motivating the artists to make this sort of work?

Remember:

= Evening crits run through March 6.

= Spring break is the week of March 11.

= Research papers are due March 27.

Pictured: Katie Bell, "The Remnants," 2011, wood, acrylic, carpet, foam, plastic, plaster, and window blinds on wall, 7 x 11 feet,

Caroline's groups readings for Weds 27th March and Mon 4th March

Caroline's groups readings for Weds 27th March and Mon 4th March

1. Weil, Harry, Old Themes, New Vaiations: The Work of Kate Gilmore, Afterimage, vol 39. no 3 pg 6 - 8
2. Bagenal, C, Ravishing Beauty: The Aesthetics of Rape in Grace Ndiritu's Video Desert Storm, Afterimage, vol 39 no1 pg 63 - 65
3. Blackwell, Diane, Feminist Video Art as a Forerunner to Postmodernism, Theory Now theorynow.blogspot.com/.../feminist-video-art-as-forerunner-to.html

Greg Feb. 27: New Topographics and photography today

For Greg’s class on Feb. 27, we’ll be discussing New Topographics and photography today. Read the following essays:

= Introduction to “New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape” by William Jenkins, 1975.
= “LACMA traces photography’s New Topographics movement” by Leah Ollman, 2009
= “RISD’s ‘America in View: Landscape Photography 1865 to Now’” by Greg Cook, 2012.
= “Alec Soth speaks at MassArt,” 2009.

Look up photos by the New Topographics group and Alec Soth. Consider the following quotes from the readings:

= Lewis Baltz: “The ideal photographic document would appear to be without author or art.”
= Robert Adams: “Pictures should look like they were easily taken. Otherwise beauty in the world is made to seem elusive and rare, which it is not.”
= John Schott: “This work basically said there’s a new world to be seen, and it deserves to be looked at, whether you see it as despoiling the landscape or simply as a fact.”
= Alec Soth: “Facebook: 15 billion uploaded photos. At its busiest, 550,000 images each second being uploaded. So I’ve been struggling with that. How do I function as a photographer in that environment? … How do we deal with the fact that [photography is] such an easy medium? And vernacular photography is often as good as the photography we try to do."

Did New Topographics photography achieve its goals? What is its continuing influence in the conceptual approach, the deadpan look, and the cameras used by photographers like Alec Soth today?

Remember: Evening crits run from Feb. 25 to March 6.

Pictured at top: Nicholas Nixon "Southeast View of the Fenway Area, Boston," 1975.

Greg Feb. 20: From Disneyland to Installation art

For Greg's class on Feb. 20, we'll be discussing installation art from "Pirates of the Caribbean" to Christoph Buchel. Watch the video above, read the essays below and consider the following questions in your written response: What makes great immersive installation art? What are some ways that "Pirates of the Caribbean" as well as Christoph Buchel, Randy Regier and Shary Boyle use symbols and stories to create mood and meaning? How do they connect to history or current events or cultural mythology? What are the advantages or disadvantages of being immersed in the experience? What are lessons we can take from this sort of installation art and apply to painting, photography, sculpture, performance, etc. Is there a difference in quality or meaning between what Disneyland achieves and what "fine art" installations do? Did Disneyland invent installation art in America? Can you identify earlier examples? Better earlier examples? What makes them better?

= Christoph Buchel's abandoned "Training Ground for Democracy," from 2008 court decision.

= "Fire in the Night: The Pre-Eminent Attraction-as-Art" from Passport to Dreams, Aug. 21, 2011.

= Randy Regier's "Dime Star" from The New England Journal of Aesthetic Research, May 11, 2011.

= "Shary Boyle, beloved in Canada's art world, doesn't think she needs to leave the country to achieve international acclaim" by Mark Medley, National Post, Sept. 11, 2010. (More images here.)

Remember:  Our discussion group won't be meeting for a full discussion on Feb. 13. It will be a studio work day instead. But your preliminary list of exhibits that you are considering for your Research Paper is due on Feb. 13.

Also: Feb. 18 is Presidents Day, so there will be no classes that day.

Caroline's readings for Mon Feb 11 and Weds Feb 20

Caroline's readings for Mon Feb 11 and Weds Feb 20

NOTE: No discussion on Weds Feb 13th / studio time  / or Mon Feb 18th ( Presidents Day)

1. Moore, Rowan, The Inescapable Power of Architecture, The Guardian, May 8 2012 /
 online thelonggoodread.com/2012/.../the-inescapable-power-of-architecture/ 

2. Bachelard, Gaston, The Poetics of Space, 1964, chapt 1 pg. 4 - 10.

3. Phenomenology, Excerpted from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, plato.stanford.edu/entries/phenomenology/

4. Smagula, Howard, Currents: Contemporary Directions in the Visual Arts, 1989, pgs 292 - 299

Caroline's Readings Mon Feb 4th and Weds Feb 6th

Caroline's Readings Mon Feb 4th and Weds Feb 6th

1. Reva Wolf, Homer Simpson as Outsider Artist, or How I learned to Accept Ambivalence (Maybe), Art Journal Fall 2006

2. Harvey Blume, Art Spiegelman : Lips, The Boston Book Review, 1995 

Greg studio visits Feb. 6

Greg will do studio visits on Feb. 6 with the following folks: Suzi Evans, Angela Ferrara, Ivy Fowler, Angie Hill and (hopefully) Rachael Kollar.

Greg Feb. 6: Risky business: Chris Burden's dangerous art

“If An Artist Doesn’t Take Risks, Then It’s Not Worth It.”—photographer Robert Frank.  

For Greg's class on Feb. 6, we'll be looking at the work of Los Angeles artist Chris Burden to consider risk-taking in art—particularly in performance art. Check out and respond to the following videos and readings: 

= Chris Burden "Shoot" video (above). 

= "Chris Burden: The body artist" by Roger Ebert, April 8, 1975. 

= Chris Burden: "My God, are they going to leave me here to die?" by Roger Ebert, May 25, 1975.

= "Chris Burden--A Daredevil's New Expressions: Realism Makes His Works Tick" by William Wilson, April 24, 1988.

= "Unmasking Chris Burden: His Art Has Always Challenged the Rules; For a While, So Did His Antics. Now, L.A.'s Notorious Bad-Boy Artist Has Settled Down. Or Has He?" by Kristine McKenna, Nov. 29, 1992.

= Various statements by Chris Burden.

= Chris Burden "Metropolis II" video (below).

In your essay consider: Does art need to be risky to be worth it? What do we mean by risky? A major area of performance art has centered on actions that place the performer in physical danger. What are the benefits of such dangers? What are the risks? Can we mitigate such risks and still get the same charge in the art? Is it necessarily in art for actions to be actual instead of simulated? Must the performer actually be in danger? How important to such performances are the stories, the legends they foster? Why do we so value risk in art? Do such performances respond to their times? How, for example, might Burden's performances reference violence in our society or war? Do Chris Burden's intentions become clearer in his later works, like "All the Submarines of the United States of America" (1987) or "Metropolis II" (2011)?

= Artist Zsuzsanna Szegedi visits SFAS on Feb. 6.

 

Greg studio visits Jan. 30

Greg will do studio visits on Jan. 30 with the following folks: Grant Archer, Olivia Boi, Dan Ceritto, Morgan Dyer and Suzi Evans.

Caroline's discussion groups readings due Jan 28th and Jan 30th

Caroline's discussion groups readings due Jan 28th and Jan 30th

1. Kitaj, R.B, "Look at My Picture!, from Mortality Immortality. The Legacy of 20th- Century Art, edited by Angel Corzo, The Getty Conservation Institute, LA. 1999
2. Munitz, Barry, Forword, from Mortality Immortality. The Legacy of 20th- Century Art, edited by Angel Corzo, The Getty Conservation Institute, LA. 1999
3. Coddington, James, The Case Against Amnesia, from Mortality Immortality. The Legacy of 20th- Century Art, edited by Angel Corzo, The Getty Conservation Institute, LA. 1999
4. Tate Modern, Eva Hesse, Materials, Processes and Meanings, http://www.tate.org.uk/download/file/fid/6384

Greg Jan. 30: Creating creative communities: Providence

For Greg’s discussion group on Jan. 30, we’ll be talking about how to foster creative communities. And looking for examples in Providence, Rhode Island. Read:

= “AS220 at 25” by Greg Cook. (AS220 is pictured above.)

= “Only in Lonelyville” by Sara Agniel.

= “Compost and the Arts” by AS220 StinkTank

Some questions to consider: What do these examples suggest about how we can build lively, meaningful, generous, supportive, inspiring, serious, competitive, fun art communities? What other examples do we know about and admire? What haven’t we admired? What sort of community would help foster our own art making? What are the basic requirements? What do we like/dislike about the art world? What works? What doesn’t? Why? How do vital creative communities make their whole community a better place to live?

We’ll also be discussing the handout of suggestions for writing essays, so be sure to read it.