"Artforum" (December 2009)

Today, for my last journal entry, I will be writing about the December 2009 issue of Artforum, which is the "Best of 2009" issue. Looking at the table of contents page, I see that this magazine reviews films, music, dance, books, and art. And a name has already caught my eye: Charlotte Gainsbourg. I know (and love) her as a French actress, but here in Artforum, she is being written about as a musician, which I did not know she was. Anyway, I really like this magazine; it's big and the pages are glossy, and it seems to offer quite a bit in the different areas it covers.

In flipping through, I have discovered an interesting section entitled "The Artists' Artists." It's a spread of many pages in which artists write very brief descriptions of what they think is the "Best of 2009." And a few pages in, I have stumbled upon an account of an artist seeing Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty (1970), which we studied in class and will most likely be on the final tomorrow. Apparently, Florian Maier-Aichen, the artist, saw Spiral Jetty resurface during a fall in water levels after the work had been underwater for nearly four decades.

Robert Smithson, Spiral Jetty, 1970

After looking through that feature, I am coming across pages upon pages of exhibit advertisements. I could literally look through these for hours, which is pretty overwhelming. But now I have found a feature in which thirteen scholars choose their very own top ten best art moments, pieces, or exhibits of the year. And I see that Christine Macel, the chief curator of contemporary art at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, has chosen Roman Ondak's latest exhibit as her number one art highlight of the year. This is interesting to me because I wrote about Ondak's art in my December 2nd entry, which was about the December 2009 issue of Flash Art. This is now the second time that I have discovered an artist while writing in this contemporary art journal, only to come across the artist a second time (the first case was Beatriz Milhazes)! And a few pages later, Matthew Higgs, an artist and curator in New York, chooses Roman Ondak's art as his number five highlight of 2009. It seems that in reading about Ondak last week in Flash Art, I really came across someone to be watching in the future as he appears to be very popular.

And now, after arriving at the final section of the issue, reviews, I see a review on the multiple reinventions of Allan Kaprow's Yard (1961). This seems to be a fitting way to end my contemporary art journal: writing about more contemporary reinventions of a piece of contemporary art that we studied in class this semester.

Allan Kaprow, Yard, 1961

Allan Kaprow's original Yard, as shown above, was first exhibited at the Martha Jackson Gallery in New York City, on the Upper East Side, the same location that currently houses William Pope.L's 2009 reinvention of Yard. Before Kaprow's death in 2006, he exercised tight control over the exhibition of Yard, "insisting on reconceiving his environments each time they were shown." However, following his death, artists were finally given the freedom to put their own unique spin on Yard. Pope.L's reinvention, although at the Martha Jackson Gallery, is not exhibited at the exterior site that Kaprow used, because it was built over quite a few years ago. Instead, Pope.L utilizes the entire first floor of the building. Pope.L says that his reinvention has a lot to do with death: the implied environmental decay, the presence of body bags, and Kaprow's absence.

William Pope.L, Yard (To Harrow), 1961/2009

Another reinvention of Yard, that of artist Josiah McElheny, was inspired by Kaprow's speculation about perhaps bringing his audience to the junkyard instead of transporting the tires to Manhattan. In McElheny's reinvention, visitors to the Queen's Museum saw photographs of Willets Point, a nearby area of waste activity, projected onto a wall.

Josiah McElheny, Yard (Junkyard), 1961/2009

All in all, this review shows that beyond Kaprow's recreations of his own work, artists today are continuing to alter and reinvent his work, showing that Yard is an ever-changing piece. To me, this article has been an interesting look at reinventions within contemporary art because when I think of recreations in art, I imagine artists recreating works from long ago. However, it is now clear to me artists are reinventing works made within the past 50 years. I think this is a good close to my journal as it reveals that contemporary art is vibrant and very much alive.

Buskirk, Martha. "Allan Kaprow, Yard." Artforum 68 (2009): 226.

"Parkett" (2009)

Today I am looking at Parkett magazine, and it appears as though this magazine comes out just once a year because this issue just seems to be the 2009 issue, not a specific month or season of 2009. Parkett is quite large in comparison to the other magazines I've read while keeping this journal, and thus, feels a bit overwhelming. However, this should be an interesting issue to look through because it marks the 25th anniversary of Parkett magazine. The table of contents page is somewhat confusing, so my plan is to flip through the pages and see what I find.

And now I'm discovering why this magazine is so much larger than the others I've read: each article is printed in both English and German. To me, that is very cool. Too bad the second language isn't French! What is even more interesting is the fact that different images accompany the two articles (English version and German version), so for someone who does not speak German, he or she can still examine the images that are included in the original (German) text. This seems to go back to the whole issue of the accessibility of art, something that we have discussed in class and that I've seen further in a few of the articles I've read while keeping this journal.

And now I've stumbled upon an English translation of an interview that looks interesting. It is an interview with Beatriz Milhazes, an artist I first discovered when reading and writing about the November/December 2009 issue of Art on Paper on November 20th. In that issue, I saw one of her works (Batucada, 2009) featured as one of the most compelling prints published worldwide over the past year, and instantly liked it enough to want to purchase it, so I am very excited to read the English translation of this interview, and to look at the works featured in the original German text.

Beatriz Milhazes, Batucada, 2009

From the very start of the interview with Beatriz Milhazes, I am interested and intrigued. She discusses her fascination with Mexican culture, though she is Brazilian, and reveals that Frida Kahlo served as an influence on her art in the late 1980s in her use of ruffles and lace as adornments, and the depiction of flowers as more than just decoration, but also as something that holds an important role in the rituals of weddings and funerals. I'm noticing that Milhazes uses the word "fantasy"/"fantastic" a great deal when talking, and I can see how this is portrayed in her work. Also of interest is the fact that Milhazes states that "music defines the notion of soul", yet she prefers to create her works in silence because while working, she listens to "the rhythm of the painting." Milhazes also kind of sets the record straight in terms of her works being seen as sensual. She says that she knows that everyone considers her work to be very sensual, but her work is actually a lot about geometry and "how geometry structures life."

Milhazes also references Yves Klein in her discussion of the use of color in her works. She says that she learned that Klein once said that adding one color to another creates endless conflict, and that it is this conflict that she wants to start, a conflict with no winners, when she creates relationships between colors in her art. And in returning to Milhazes's love of music, she informs the reader that the titles of her works are separate from the works themselves--the titles are related to songs and lyrics. She says that her titles do not attempt to explain the works because words are dangerous and can "ruin the freedom of an image." And toward the end of the interview, the interviewer, Arto Lindsay, brings up the fact that Milhazes has begun to work with other mediums outside of painting to create stained glass windows and collages, and Milhazes responds by saying that working with different media inspires her and allows her to bring new questions into her paintings.

Beatriz Milhazes, Peace and Love, 2005, Gloucester Road Station Project Platform for Art Underground, London

Reading this interview has been very interesting because I have learned a great deal more about an artist I first discovered a few weeks ago. I think it is very cool that because of this art journal, I have discovered a contemporary artist whose work I really like, and have now been able to read an interview with her!

Lindsay, Arto. "Musical Expression: Arto Lindsay in Conversation with Beatriz Milhazes." Parkett 85 (2009): 132-137.

"Art on Paper" (September/October 2009)

Because of our class discussion yesterday on Art in the Age of Terror, today I'm going to write about an article in the September/October 2009 issue of Art on Paper which is entitled "Keeping the Message Alive", and is about the twentieth anniversary of The Center for the Study of Political Graphics which is based in Los Angeles.

The article begins by positing that we are seeing a revival in the creation and production of political posters and that at least part of the credit should go to George Bush and the Iraq War because an increase in political poster production of this magnitude has not been seen since the Vietnam War. And the Center for the Study of Political Graphics (CSPG) has been collecting these posters, which come from all over the world.

Lambert Studios, Inc., War is Good Business, 1969

What makes the CSPG different from other political poster archives, such as the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, is that its collection focuses on post-WWII materials, making it one of the largest contemporary political poster collections in the world. "...at least ninety percent of the collection dates from the 1960s to the present and focuses on popular movements rather than government or corporate propaganda."

Favianna Rodriguez/Code Pink, Make Out Not War, 2008

Another unique characteristic of the CSPG is its two criteria for poster submission: works must be overtly political and must be produced as multiples. This gives people the opportunity to create and submit their own hand-made signs as long as they also reproduce and distribute the signs so that their messages will be seen in more places. Essentially, the CSPG emphasizes the grassroots nature of its organization, and also its progressive nature. For example, the CSPG does a variety of exhibits including shows on broad topics such as war, immigration, labor, and racism, or more specific exhibits such as the legacy of Che Guevara, the death penalty, and the ongoing murders of women in Juarez, Mexico. And thus although most of the posters in CSPG's collection are progressive, they also have a collection of right-wing posters.

Carol Wells, the founder and executive director of the CSPG, talks in the article about the power of political posters and gives an example of one of the most powerful political posters in the CSPG's collection, a 1970 poster protesting the Vietnam War and its killing of innocent women and children.

Frazier Dougherty, Jon Hendricks, Irving Petlin, R. L. Haeberle (photographer)/Artists Poster Committee of Art Workers Coalition; Q. And Babies? A. And Babies; 1970

This poster is a combination of Robert L. Haeberle's famous photograph of the My Lai massacre and text from a CBS interview with a soldier who had participated in the massacre, during which several hundred women and children were murdered by U.S. troops. When Americans found out about the massacre, the American sentiment toward the war went from support to opposition. Wells says that while television images are fleeting, posters keep history alive. Thus, the CSPG's main goal is to collect posters, yet ensure that they are always out in the public eye.

This article definitely relates to our class discussion yesterday of Art in the Age of Terror. In my group, we discussed the climate of fear and how the government depends on war and the climate of fear so that we will continue to depend on the government for some sense of security, safety, and protection . And so although the posters at the CSPG "keep history alive", I believe they could serve to do away with this climate of fear if we could all see the anti-war posters. Looking at the anti-war posters featured in this article, I felt empowered and felt the need to take action. This is somewhat similar to our class discussion of identity art, such as art about the HIV/AIDS crisis, the government's lack of action, and the public's ignorance toward the virus. The posters we saw in class that day had the power to open people's eyes: kissing does not spread the HIV/AIDS virus, the government does not help those with HIV/AIDS receive treatment, etc. The messages contained in each of those works of art inspired action in one way or another. So, in the same vein, the posters I saw in this article (the ones I have posted in this entry), seem to serve to open our eyes to war and its completely unnecessary nature, yet at the same time, its tragic nature, and our need to take action. Therefore, I think these posters could change or put a new spin on the concept of the climate of fear and war in general. The posters have the ability to show us that war is something to be feared, but not in the way we currently fear war. The climate of fear instills in us this sense that we should fear for our lives and thus, we should rely completely on the government to protect us, the same people who create the climate of fear. Instead, we should fear for the welfare of the soldiers and for the innocent civilians who are in danger of losing their lives each day. And then we should take this fear and translate it into action!

Mizota, Sharon. "Keeping the Message Alive." Art on Paper 14 (2009): 44-55.

"Woman's Art Journal" (Fall/Winter 2009)

Today was the last day of class (Art Since 1945), and although I am thinking about and preparing for the final, I'm also thinking about the art history class I will be taking next semester, Gender and Art, so today I'm going to write about the Fall/Winter 2009 issue of Woman's Art Journal.

It seems that some of the art shown and written about in this magazine is not necessarily contemporary, such as the cover art, which is Paula Modersohn-Becker's Self-Portrait, Age 30, 6th Wedding Day (1906). However, the magazine also contains a great deal of recent reviews, so I'm going to focus on that part of the issue. In fact, there's a review of Louise Bourgeois's latest exhibition catalogue which looks interesting. I remember Louise Bourgeois being mentioned in class at some point this semester, however, I cannot seem to find her listed on any of our class handouts. Maybe my memory will be jogged while writing this entry and I will remember when and in what context we studied Bourgeois this semester. Another thing I remember being mentioned in class is Linda Nochlin's essay entitled "Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?" (1971), which happens to be referenced in this review.

Louise Bourgeois, Spider, 1997

What I'm learning so far is that this catalogue is a traveling compendium, as well as a retrospective, but does not follow the typical chronological format of a retrospective. Instead it focuses on the people, places, and subjects that have served as influences on and inspirations for Bourgeois's life and art. Also, the title of the catalogue is taken from her 1999-2000 mixed-media installation, "I Do, I Undo, I Redo", which is very fitting for a retrospective that examines how and why certain subjects have become recurring themes in differing forms throughout her career.

In terms of the non-chronological layout of the catalogue, it is set up as a glossary with alphabetically-arranged entries ranging from names of family members and friends to titles of specific works to the themes in Bourgeois's life and art, such as "Abandonment" and "Abstraction." However, the author of this review says that this format, while innovative, tends to be too verbose in terms of biography, and thus works to its detriment and complicates the work itself. For example, because biography has the tendency to "heroicize the male artist-genius", the use of biography with female artists "often results in the reduction of their work to a mere visualization of personal life and positions them as exceptions to the rule in a patriarchal system." Therefore, Rachel Epp Buller, the author of this review, states that the authors who wrote the biography for this catalogue are reducing Bourgeois's work by assuming that it is merely the translation of her personal life into visual form. According to Linda Nochlin, the author of "Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?" (1971), "art is almost never that [the translation of personal life into visual terms], great art never is."

However, Buller recognizes that this is not entirely the fault of the authors. In fact, Bourgeois herself stated that her work "can be traced in inspiration to her formative years, and particularly to the perceived double betrayal in the open affair of Bourgeois's father and nanny." One must also consider Bourgeois's spider theme and its relation to her mother, a weaver, as seen in Maman (1999). Thus, it appears that through her art, Bourgeois leads to the viewer back to her biography, so it is important to find a balance between seeing her biography as a way of understanding the influences on her art, but not relying too heavily on it to the point of reducing her art and its meaning. Also, although it is important to recognize the role of biography usage in an artist's retrospective, one must also consider Bourgeois's theme of doing, undoing, and redoing, such that none of Bourgeois's works ever stand for one single thing.

Louise Bourgeois, Maman, 1999

Buller's review goes on to cite the opinions of various writers and the extent to which they use Bourgeois's biography when writing about her art and its meaning. (Buller even happens to mention the Donald Kuspit article that we read for class, which reminds me when we studied Bourgeois this semester!) And Buller then concludes by saying that although the catalogue is too heavy on the biographical side, it is also "a feat of scholarship" that provides many more opportunities for the continuous discussion and analysis of Bourgeois's art.

Buller, Rachel Epp. "Louise Bourgeois." Woman's Art Journal 30 (2009): 54-55.

"Flash Art" (October 2009)

Once again, the most recent issue available is October 2009. However, this time, the magazine is Flash Art, "The World's Leading Art Magazine." I've already flipped through the issue and it seems similar to some of the other magazines I've written about. It begins with a news section, proceeds into the features section, and ends with reviews.

There's an article called "Inside the Market" that asks a series of questions to various art advisors and looks very interesting and also very different from the articles and reviews I've written about in previous journal entries. I've also come across an article called "Measuring the Universe", which is an interview with artist Roman Ondak. I'm going to do another flip through, but I think I will be coming back to this interview to read it and then write about it because the photograph on the first page of the article is very intriguing.

Roman Ondak, Measuring the Universe, 2007

And I've come back to the interview with Roman Ondak, a Slovakian artist who lives and works in Bratislava. The image above is a photograph of Ondak's performance piece, Measuring the Universe, that was shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2007. Ondak reveals in the interview that the performance began with the very first measurement and that it concluded when the last visitor was measured. The interviewer, Klaus Biesenbach, states that MoMA had Measuring the Universe for twelve weeks and sees anywhere from 5,000 to 20,000 visitors each day, each of whom may be measured and become part of Ondak's piece. This prompts Ondak to talk about the various cultural and architectural influences on Measuring the Universe. For example, this piece showed for the same amount of time at the MoMA in New York and at the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, but Ondak believes that each space had factors working in its favor in different ways. Whereas the room in the museum in Munich was four times larger than the room in the MoMA, the MoMA was more likely to see more visitors because of its location in New York City. The various factors that influence how many people see Measuring the Universe and get measured affect the performance aspect of the piece.

Ondak goes on to discuss the fact that he takes the tradition of recording children's heights on the wall into a public event. He calls the exhibition room "a container of the 'here and now'", and believes that this piece reveals the existence of "an invisible potential to transform the presence of people into a physical object." Clearly, this work relies heavily on viewer participation, which seems to be a theme across his art, especially when considering Measuring the Universe (2007) in relation to More Silent Than Ever (2006), an empty gallery with a label on the wall saying that there was a hidden eavesdropping device in the gallery. No one, except for Ondak himself, knows whether or not there really was an eavesdropping device in the gallery, but he says that the act of expecting and wondering about the presence of the eavesdropping device is already indicative of participation.

Roman Ondak, More Silent Than Ever, 2006

I can imagine being in that gallery, perhaps by myself or perhaps among a crowd of many people. And whether we'd like to admit it or not, we'd all be thinking about the words coming from our mouths, and what is "okay" to say. However, if we end up speaking or choose to remain silent, we are all influenced by the piece and participating in line with the influence. It's very interesting to think about.

The interviewer, Biesenbach, goes on to discuss several other works by Ondak, and concludes with Teaching to Walk (2002), a piece in which a mother brings her one-year-old child into the gallery and teaches him how to walk, how to make his first steps. Ondak made this work with the concepts of intimacy and unpredictability in mind. The instant in which a child takes his or her first steps is a very intimate moment, yet simultaneously a very unpredictable moment because of the child's age. This notion of unpredictability clearly creates an impact on the aspect of performance in the piece.

Roman Ondak, Teaching to Walk, 2002

Overall, I've very much enjoyed reading this interview and considering the aspect of performance and viewer participation in contemporary art. Hopefully someday I'll be able to see an exhibit of Ondak's work and be measured on his work, Measuring the Universe, becoming part of the art itself.

Biesenbach, Klaus. "Measuring the Universe [Interview with Roman Ondak]." Flash Art 62 (2009): 78-81.