Constantin Brancusi

Constantin Brancusi, Monument Ensemble at Tirgu Jiu, 1937, sculpture. (Gate of Kiss, Table of Silence, Endless Column)

What you need to know about the artist and the artworks?:

Constantin Brancusi (Romania) Monument Ensemble at Tirgu Jiu (Gate of Kiss), 1937, sculpture

Historical Context: Brancusi was a restless soul. At the age of 11, he ran away from home to Targu-Jiu, an out of the way place that is not easily accessible. This is important, as it was a sort of haven for Brancusi.

Years later in 1937-1938 Brancusi constructs the Monument Ensemble at Tirgu Jiu, which consists of the Table of Silence, Gate of Kiss, and the Endless Column.

Artist’s Inspiration: The entire Monument Ensemble is an homage to the fallen heroes of WWI.

Table of Silence is representative of the table that soldiers confer at before a battle. The seats are shaped like hourglasses to symbolize the passage of time.

Gate of Kiss symbolizes the passage of soldiers from this life to the next. The motif on the pillars (the detail that you see) represents eyes watching, perhaps the eyes of God or another higher power.

Endless Column is considered to be the “spiritual will” of Brancusi.

It is also said that since the River Jiu runs very near to Tirgu Jiu, that this river is the way that the souls of the “hero soldiers” will reach the other life. This is reminiscent of Greek mythology and the River Styx’s.

Brancusi's early works were influenced by Rodin (see earlier post).

Remember that with any artwork that is walked through, as it is a part of a space, the experience of the viewer will change with every experience through the space based on the surrounding environment and others who are also occupying the space.

Brancusi is best known for his work Bird In Space (1923), a simplification that provides the essence of a bird as it glides through space.

Traditions and Heritage: Ibrahim Hussein

Ibrahim Hussein, My Father and the Astronaut, 1970, acrylic.

Ibrahim Hussein was born to a poor family in Malaysia, and always had a knack for art. He studied at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore, and considered his medium to be "Printage", a combination of printing and collage.

What you need to know about this artwork in relation to world history:

THE SPACE RACE: a competition between Russia and the USA to land a man on the moon first. Landing first meant that the winning Superpower would show that they were technologically more advanced, and would be seen as more advanced in a military sense as well.

The Russians landed a craft on the moon in 1959.

The Americans landed a manned spacecraft, Apollo 11, on the moon on 20th July 1969. The world stood watching as Niel Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the moon.

Please make sure to zoom in and see the writing that is present in the artwork. They are important.

"Place sungai limau dalam, yen" is the place where Ibrahim Hussein was born.
"13 March 1936" is the artist's birthday.

Also: Asian Cultural History:

Sometimes, children would refer to their father as "My Father the Astronaut". This was because some fathers would always be traveling for business, and only home for brief periods of time. However, based on the image of how his father is portrayed, we can infer that this was probably not the case in Ibrahim Hussein's household. Also, the title of the painting is "My Father AND the Astronaut". It is still worth noting however.

Question 1a: Using what you know, why do YOU think that Ibrahim Hussein has juxtaposed the image of his father with an astronaut? What is the relationship between the two (also think about the title)?

Question 1b: Why do you think that the text that is placed between the figures relates to the artist's birth? Where does the relation lie between this and the rest of the work?

Question 2: DESCRIBE the mixed-media artwork:

Answer these questions as a guide for ALL 2-D mixed media works (some questions do not apply to every painting):

• What is the artwork an image OF? (What are the identifiable things IN the artwork?)
• Where are these things located IN the artwork?
• Where does the subject of the artwork take place? (in a room, at a festival, etc)
  
• What COLORS are used & what do they look like? (bright, dull, earth tones, etc)
• What type of PERSPECTIVE is used in the artwork?
• What materials are used? Is there a unique effect that these materials create?
  
• What texture (if any) does the artwork have?
  

The title of this artwork is My Father and the Astronaut

Using Nature in Art: Mark Dion

Mark Dion, Neukom Vivarium, permanent installation Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle, 2006

After watching the PBS documentary on his work, and following our in-class discussion, please respond to the following.

1. Mark Dion dulls the line between artist, scientist, and historian. In his artwork, Neukom Vivarium, he focuses on re-creating nature in a lab/classroom-like environment.
a. Recall some of the steps that were used to recreate the environment of a tree underneath the canopy.
b. Dion stated that each time this artwork is visited, it would be a different experience. Why is this? (also recall where the work is located).
c. How does this artwork create a commentary on how we treat our environment? Make sure to use supporting elements from the artwork itself, artist intent, and process to justify your answer.

For his artwork Rats and Tar, please answer the following:

1. What is the historical background of this work?
2. Depending on who you are, you may find this work humorous or offensive. Dion's work is creating a commentary. What is the work a commentary about, and do you believe that he is successful in getting his point across? Why or why not?

Don't recall the video? Catch it again @ PBS.org. Search Mark Dion.

VIsual Culture

Art inevitably reflects life, but at times, life reflects art.

Let's revisit the work of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, this time, 2 other works, The Gates (left, 2005 Central Park, NYC) and Running Fence (California, 1976).

I'd like you to view this video on youtube, and answer the question that follow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QddkHo1X5qY

1. Christo and Jeanne-Claude have been made famous by their large wrapped installations. They are well known both in the art world, and by the general public. Is it ethical for AT&T to use a similar idea in their advertisement without the artist's endorsement?

Please consider the following in your answer: how do you define ethical, how do we know that the artists do not endorse the product, supporting rationale. Also take into consideration Cristo and Jeanne-Claude's stand on having patrons for their own art, as well as the purpose of their art.

Please respond to this question on your own blog.

After you've finished with that, I'd like you to go back to Christo and Jeanne-Claude's website and look at various photographs of their work, The Gates (2005 Central Park, NYC). Follow this link. http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/tg.shtml

Now, when it comes to describing artworks, some are easier than others. 3-D installations are among the most difficult. Try filling in the table below and see if it is easier to describe The Gates. This table has been specially designed for installation pieces. Be sure to use the photos of the work for reference. Feel free to gather information that you are unsure of from Christo and Jeanne-Claude's website as well.

Follow the link below. You can create and post your own filled in version, or just answer the question prompts in your blog.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0Ah4_OuhaRF4EdFMwNkhJSDhkODU1dTl3RkpDNEkySXc&hl=en&single=true&gid=0&output=html

Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Check out their site: http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/wc.shtml, with some interesting facts on their Wrapped Coast project from the 60s.

Check out the excerpt from their Biography on the site:

Eye-level:
To return to the question of how you finance your work, it’s very unusual in the art world and very impressive. Is it done only because you want to avoid any entanglements, or do you see the process of moving from the software to the hardware as an integral part of your art? In other words, if you were independently wealthy, would you just go out and do the installations and not bother with the selling of the drawings?

Christo:
That’s a very good question and we have never thought of it, because (laughter) we have never been independently wealthy and so we have no idea. But the drawings are not created only to be sold. The drawings are extremely important to clarify our ideas and to crystallize the idea. And for every project, because it takes years, you can see the early drawings and collages as just a simple, vague idea, and through the years and through the negotiations of getting the permit, you see that every detail is now clarified.

Jeanne-Claude:
We have been working with the engineers, we know the site by heart, and the last drawings, which are done just before completion, because Christo never does preparatory drawings after a project is completed, then you can see that it’s unbelievable! It almost looks like we’ve seen a photo of the project. It’s so perfect! And this is how our engineers can build it, because finally, its neat and clear and crystallized, exactly what it will look like.

Eye-level:
Your work by its nature draws the public into the process before it is built. They visualize it in terms of why they support it or why they oppose it. How does that interaction with the public shape your work?

Jeanne-Claude:
It doesn’t shape the work. It only shapes whether we get the permit, or not. It doesn’t shape the work itself because we have never changed an idea, we have only crystallized it and made it clearer. Our work is not just painting or just sculpture, even though it has elements or painting and sculpture, but it’s also architecture, environmental planning, all these things. Nobody has ever discussed a painting before the painter has painted it. Nobody has ever discussed a sculpture before the sculptor has sculpted it. But everybody discusses a projected new airport, new highway, new bridge, before they are created. Our work encompasses all these elements.

Eye-level:
You are viewed as controversial artists. What do you see as the source of that controversy?

Jeanne-Claude:
This is a great compliment because we are 66 years old and to be still today called controversial makes us feel so young. It’s marvelous! (laughter) Imagine, they call us avant garde and controversial after 44 years of work. It’s fabulous! Controversial is because we never do twice the same work. We will never wrap a bridge again as we did in 1985 in Paris when we wrapped the Pont Neuf, the 400 years old bridge. We will never wrap a bridge again. We will never build Umbrellas again. We will never wrap a parliament again. We will never do a Valley Curtain or a Running Fence. We will never surround any islands, as we did in Florida in 1983, when we surrounded 11 islands with pink floating fabric in Biscayne Bay, Miami, Florida. We will never do again the same.

Christo:
Therefore, when we arrive in a place and talk to new people about a new image, it is very hard for them to visualize it. That’s where the drawings are very important, because at least we can show a projection of what we believe it will look like. We tell them that we believe it will be beautiful because that is our specialty, we only create joy and beauty. We have never done a sad work. Through the drawings, we hope a majority will be able to visualize it.

If, in Colorado today, were we to tell the people: you have a beautiful bridge. May we please wrap it? Look at this book. It’s 400 pages, showing you how beautiful the bridge in Paris looked. Probably everybody would say, “Oh! That is magnificent. Yes, you may wrap our bridge.” But we have no wish to wrap again a bridge. Therefore we have to go over the fact that all human beings are afraid by what is new. It is our work to convince them that they will enjoy it, and even if they don’t, to allow us just for 14 days to create that work of art.

Proof that all the drawings you do before assignments are not for nothing :D

Please answer the following questions on YOUR blog (be sure to become a follower of mine for a grade). Each question is worth 10 points.

1. Christo and Jeanne-Claude's work is atypical. How would you describe this artwork to someone? Remember to use your elements and principles of art, as well as adjectives to answer.

2. In your own words, what is "Wrapped Coast" about? What was the purpose of creating such a monumental work?

3. Think about an environmental problem in Singapore. Where could you create a wrapped installation to bring awareness to this issue? Describe what it would look like, what it would be made out of, where it would be, what problem you are addressing, and how your artwork brings attention to this issue.