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.