This week in lecture, the guest speaker was Anya Kivarkis, who talked about craft and methods of its production. Much of the lecture was about the art of jewelry making, and showed this media as being a type of craft as well as being a type of art. Not everything she presented had to do with jewelry, though. Roy McMakin created one piece she showed us, and it was titled, “Lequita Feye.” This slide showed a 3D recreation of Roy’s memory of his grandmother’s bedroom. It was made completely in shades of gray, and the proximity between different items in the room was often distorted. This represented the distortions that we have in our own memories, and I really liked this piece, because it made me realize the fact that many memories that I have of certain places are most likely different from what they looked like in reality.
Another image that she showed us that I really loved was “House” created by Rachel Whiteread. This piece was absolutely amazing to me, but I can see why it may have upset some neighbors. Rachel filled an old, abandoned house with concrete, and took the outside walls, roof, and windows off. Filling the negative space of the house left a structure that almost acted as a ghost of the old house that once stood there. I loved this so much because my dad is an art teacher, and he always taught me to pay attention to the shapes that are made with the negative space, and this was a creative way of acknowledging that space.
The online media this week is centered around John Feodorov, and the thing that I liked most about him is that he really lets his personality shine through his art. Sometimes artists get caught up in making their work too serious, and I can tell that he isn’t that way at all. In his video “Office Shaman” with Paul Stuart, it seems to be stupid and meaningless, but it just shows that these guys are really playful with ideas and they have a lot of personality. I don’t think the class really understood it in lecture, but the feeling I get from watching it is that you don’t have to understand it. It’s just dumb and fun.
I really liked John’s work with the “Totem Teddies” because he gave power and meaning to simple teddy bears. I also liked the point that he gave when he said that these meaningful masked bears could be sold, which also gives an example of “commodifying spirituality.” We talked about this exact thing in lecture on Tuesday. For some Native Americans, the symbols of these bears stand for something spiritual, and it has great importance to them, but someone else could purchase a bear and want them to play with or for decoration. Different objects and ideas have different meanings and importance for different people. This reminds me of the idea of “preciousness” that we talked about in class. An item’s preciousness is going to be based on the person’s background, beliefs, likes, and wants, among many other things. I probably wouldn’t think that a Totem Teddy was a precious item, but a Native American might. It all depends on what we give importance to in our own lives.
Another connection I see between John Feodorov’s work and the presentation on Tuesday is subtle, but I can still see it. Anya talked a lot about different crafts, and that is the media that I think John represents. His work goes beyond paint on a canvas, just like she showed us on her slides. Jewelry is a craft that I know well because my grandma makes and sells hand-made jewelry, so I have always thought of it as art as well. John’s work is also art because it evokes different feelings and emotions in people, and I think that is the purpose of art. It makes us think, and most times, we really appreciate the artist’s work and his or her talents.
Ty also asked us to think about the ideas of ownership and power this week, and when I thought of everything we learned, Ted Noten came into my head. Ted asked if anyone wanted a broach made from his or her car, and I can’t remember exactly what kind of car it was, but the man who accepted his offer had a very expensive car. I really liked that the man let Ted do this, because it showed that even though he obviously bought the car to somehow symbolize his power and prized ownership over such an exquisite object, he still let Ted take a chunk out of it. I think that one simple thing really brought the owner of the car back down to our level, and made him more “average Joe.” He removed himself from the material things in his life, and let someone create some art. And, once again, it goes to show that absolutely anything can be art.
My favorite example that Anya gave during her presentation was when she showed the “Do Hit Series.” Not only did I want to smash that box myself and make a chair or something, but I also thought that it was a great way to engage the audience with the work, just like Ted Noten did. It is so rare that the audience has that much input into the art, and that was the coolest thing ever! The viewer finally gets the chance to make of it what they want, picture, or feel at that moment.
We've all used clay to make art before, and clay is sometimes used in jewelry making, so I chose a clip of Polymer Clay Creations from ku-ki-shop.com.
Nice job-- I really love how you insert your self into these entries; this adds a nice charm and perspective to an already well-written post.
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