Jenny Holzer

Vintage photo of graffiti artist Lady Pink
wearing a shirt made for her by Holzer, featuring
a line from Truisms

Jenny Holzer's Inflammatory Essays

For this unit in art we are specifically focusing on street, and it worked out that the artist I wanted to highlight in my blog post did a
lot of street art. Her name is Jenny Holzer and she started publicly
posting her art around 1977 and is still currently doing so. The main
themes of her work is violence, oppression, power, war, feminism, and
death. Holzer's main goal is to shed light on ideas that have been
kept silenced.




Her first project was called Truisms and it is probably her most
famous to date. She would go around NYC hang up these posters, carve
them into benches, and she printed them on shirts as well. Truisms were basically a list of one line phrases she had come up with based
on the writings of authors she was reading as a student.


Her next project, which is my favorite, is called Inflammatory Essays
(1978). She wrote these after reading writings of fascist and
communist leaders, and would write some of them in their voice, like
making satire in a way. Each poster had exactly 100 words and 20
lines. She would distribute post these in neighborhoods of NYC, she
said, "putting the scarier ones in the richer parts of town". Holzer
made printed them on different colors, basically signalizing that it
would be a series of posters.




She would later start to get asked to post her work on buildings.
Holzer also does a lot with lighting, including projecting her work
onto buildings. Her last project was in 2011. I picked her because I
found her art a few months ago and I really fell in love with reading
her inflammatory essays, and then got into a lot of the other public
work she had done.





Questions:
1. What do you think could the negative effects of being so blatantly
political in art?
2. Do you think artists should make the public see the world their
way or the publics?
3. What do you think has a bigger impact in art: a broad message or a
specific message.
-Amanda

Dance . !

The Art of Dance

  Art is defined as many things, but it’s truly just expressing yourself. A form of art that too many people fail to notice is dance. Dance may not be considered art in the eye of some, but in my opinion, it’s one of the most commonly used forms. It shows your expression/emotion through your body. Dance may be the only form of art where you use all of yourself in the making. It’s beautiful to see an artist embody themselves in their work, and dancing allows you to do just that. Dance has been around since the beginning of time. The Aztecs, Egyptians, and other early civilizations used it on a daily basis. They danced and prayed to worship their Gods.Anyway it goes, dance has really become an important form of art that can create and effect peoples’ emotions. FMA (Flash Mob America) is the perfect example of this. A Flash Mob America flash mob is a spontaneous public performance, usually a dance, that appears seemingly out of nowhere with just one person, grows to hundreds of people, and quickly disappears. Flash Mob America strives to give people a purpose which is to create joy through surprise. Flash Mobs are also bringing the community together and helping people in need. They gave a deserving family $10,000 to help change their life; over 1,000 people came out and danced in their honor. Also they beat the world record with First lady Michelle Obama to how many people could jump rope at once.

QUESTIONS :
1) Do you consider Dance as a form of art?
2) Can it evoke emotions and experss thoughts?
3) What is the difference between dance and other forms of art?
 

CTA Public Art ^-^

This colorful public art can be seen on the Pink line on 18^th street and it was completed in 1998. It was done by the artist Francisco Mendoza who was also my elementary art teacher. But he did not do this on his own; he got the help of many of his student who were enlisted in Gallery 18, which is a satellite program of Gallery 37.  His purpose for doing this kind of art was to show the Mexican heritage and some of the cultural icons in Mexican history. This was different than other public art we’ve seen in class since the others have a humorous meaning behind it or they are head turning due to the abstract characteristic they have. This on the other hand is more like a symbol of the community which anyone can see just by going out and riding the train. ^-^

1)      What kind of public art do u like better? (Humorous, the kind that questions people’s morals, etc.? Why?

2)      Do you think this kind of public art is fair or unfair due to the fact that not only do Mexicans live in this area, but other nationalities as well?

3)      Is there any other CTA public art that you’ve seen that you particularly liked? Do you know the meaning behind it?

 

image source:

http://chicago-outdoor-sculptures.blogspot.com/2011/11/cta-arts-in-transit-pilsen-station.html

---Brenda

Tattoo Art & Culture

The word "tattoo" derived from the Tahitian word "tatau", which means "to mark something". Though it may not be known to many, the art of tattooing started over 5,000 years ago. Most people who get tattoos use them to express themselves. Its a way to symbolize and identify yourself with something that will be there forever. However, while most people look at tattoos as just a form of body art, others have more negative views on tattoos. There are certain jobs that wont even allow you to apply if you have visible tattoos. The controversy behind the meaning and purpose of tattoos goes on constantly, with valid points on each side. I chose to do this topic because I'm interested in tattoo art myself, and plan on getting more of them in the future.

- Do you think it's fair for jobs to make no visible tattoos a requirement?

-Why do you think this is a regulation?

- Do you think tattoos should be viewed as a form of art?

Live Love Poetry

Poetry is a form of  literary art that gives people the outlet to express their feelings and soul. To me poetry is a of art that can be shown without having to put it on a canvas, or sculpt it out of clay. The power of words, and feelings you express through your voice can be your strongest weapon. Poetry, over time has formed so many different forms of itself, from haikus to rhyming to not rhyming at all. Yes, there are templates and guidelines to writing poetry,but truly all poetry is free spirited. For many years great poets like Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, and Edgar Allen Poe has used poetry to let the world feel how they feel. I think that poetry is the strongest form of performing arts because its the actions of someone else's feelings becoming your own.

Questions:

What is your take on poetry?

Have you ever read any pieces of poetry that inspired/touched you?

Do you consider poetry to be a form of art?

Mauria

http://vimeo.com/21007929

The world of Graffiti

As I was leaving a grocery store, I noticed a group of men and a female graffiti on a side of a store.  I was going to keep walking but, for one, I wanted to know how the picture was going to turn out. In addition, I wanted to know were they being paid to do this.  When they got done with the painting, I really liked how colorful it was however, I did not understand what the meaning of it was, or even what the picture was. 

  

I walked up to this girl named Kate who told me she has been doing graffiti for 10 years and asked her, “Where they getting paid for this?” She simply said, “No, were not.” That confused me because if you not being paid to do it why waste your time using harmful can of paint with an unpleasant smell! She said, “Some do it for fun and because this is what they love to do. Others do it to express themselves and show their skills. And others like herself simply graffiti to get rid of pain that has happened in their childhood years by expressing it through their art.” That was not only interesting to me but also weird to me at the same time.

Discussion Questions

1. What are productive things you do to express yourself, or get rid of something?

2. Would you still do something if someone asked you to do something that you love to do even if you are not getting a reward for it?

3. Do you feel graffiti is a good way to express yourself and get a point across or is it just ignorance?



Cinematic Stories

Movies have come a long way within recent years. They have evolved from being colorless to having a person believe what they see is real. A movie is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects. The process of filmmaking has developed into an art form and an industry. The visual elements of cinema give motion pictures a universal power of communication. 

1960's



2011

                                                                                                             












Movies express and create feelings. They can make the viewer laugh, feel sad or have a sudden outburst of happiness.                                           

                                  

                                                              Here’s a short video me and my brother created feel free to laugh.

Discussion Questions:

1)From the information above do you believe movies can be considered art?

2) How do you think element and princples of art correlate to the films we watch today?

3)Have a movie you've watched triggered an emotion?

~Terreon~