New guest blogger: Sarah Stephenson
Thanks to Lily Rossebo for her series of terrific posts. Up next is Sarah Stephenson, a New York-based writer from London, via Berlin. She has written for Art In America, ArtAsiaPacific, and NY Arts Magazine, among others, and was a contributing editor for Artkrush.
New Ways of Walking
Walking in London
When I first arrived in Scotland to study in the Art, Space + Nature program, I was confronted with the question, “Are you keen on hillwalking?” Not quite sure if I had true hillwalking experience, I answered in the affirmative, making the assumption that since I like walking, I’m sure I would like hillwalking as well.
As time went on I discovered that while hillwalking is similar to hiking or backpacking; there are subtle nuances that differentiate the activities. Hillwalking is not meant to be a survivalist sport that arouses a competitive spirit. It is better described as a reflective activity that calms a cluttered mind.
Walking is so popular in the United Kingdom that according to Wikipedia, it is believed to by the nation’s most popular outdoor recreational activity. There is even a national charity known as the Ramblers’ Association, the largest organization to serve the interests of walkers.
It is no wonder that walking has greatly impacted a number of British artists, such as Hamish Fulton and Richard Long. In 1967, Long, a twenty-two year old student at Saint Martin’s School of Art in London, walked back and forth along a straight line in English countryside. His path left linear track, which was documented in a black and white photo. This single image is now seen as a milestone in land/walking-based art.
William Kentridge: Collaboration
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In celebration of Art21′s new feature film William Kentridge: Anything Is Possible — which premiered nationally on October 21, 2010 and will continue to air on PBS (check local listings) — the Exclusive series devoted the past six weeks to telling stories about Kentridge’s numerous artistic collaborators. This is the final episode of six. Be sure to catch the full mini-series featuring: Peter Gelb at the Metropolitan Opera, Composer Philip Miller, Weaver Marguerite Stephens, Studio Manager Anne McIlleron, and Sabine Theunissen & John Pitts on the opera curtain for The Nose.
Episode #127: Three of William Kentridge’s long-time collaborators — Sabine Theunissen (Set Design), Catherine Meyburgh (Video Composite & Editing), and Kim Gunning (Video Control & Projection) — recount the creative process of mounting a production of The Nose (2010) at The Metropolitan Opera, New York.
Having witnessed first-hand one of the twentieth century’s most contentious struggles—the dissolution of apartheid—William Kentridge brings the ambiguity and subtlety of personal experience to public subjects most often framed in narrowly defined terms. Using film, drawing, sculpture, animation, and performance, he transmutes sobering political events into powerful poetic allegories. Aware of myriad ways in which we construct the world by looking, Kentridge often uses optical illusions to extend his drawings-in-time into three dimensions.
William Kentridge is featured in the Season 5 (2009) episode Compassion of the Art in the Twenty-First Century television series and the Art21 special, William Kentridge: Anything Is Possible (2010), both on PBS. Watch full episodes online for free via PBS Video or Hulu, as a paid download via iTunes (link opens application), or as part of a Netflix streaming subscription.
VIDEO | Producer: Wesley Miller & Nick Ravich. Interview: Eve Moros Ortega & Susan Sollins. Camera: Robert Elfstrom & Joel Shapiro. Sound: Ray Day, Roger Phenix & Mark Roy. Editor: Mary Ann Toman. Artwork Courtesy: William Kentridge. Special Thanks: Kim Gunning, Catherine Meyburgh, Sabine Theunissen, & The Metropolitan Opera, New York. © 2010 Art21, Inc.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Ink | Thinking Aloud: The Prints of William Kentridge
William Kentridge, "Learning the Flute," 2004. Letterpress on 110 sheets of Arches Johannot, edition of 18 (another 18 impressions were printed on disbound pages of Chambers’ Encyclopaedia, 1950, of the same size). Assembled overall: 9’ 3” x 11’ 7 ½” (281.5 x 354.6 cm). Published by Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg. Courtesy David Krut Projects, New York.
William Kentridge, "Learning the Flute" (reverse), 2004. Photolithograph on 110 sheets of Arches Johannot, edition of 18 (another 18 were printed on disbound pages of Chambers’ Encyclopaedia, 1950, of the same size). Assembled overall: 9’ 3” x 11’ 7 ½” (281.5 x 354.6 cm). Published by Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg. Courtesy David Krut Projects, New York.
The recent release of William Kentridge: Anything is Possible invites exploration of the artist’s significant body of prints, which currently numbers over 400. A natural match for his artistic philosophy and political subject matter, printmaking has always been a significant means of expression for Kentridge. His virtuosity in printmaking is apparent in the impressive variety of approaches he has employed, each of which contributes to an extremely rich body of work that invites dedicated attention.
As demonstrated in the recent exhibition and catalogue William Kentridge: Five Themes,1 much of Kentridge’s work has been guided by motifs that he explores in a variety of formats, from theater to drawing to animated film and, of course, printmaking. Myth, political history, literature, the performing arts, and cultural artifacts are a few of sources that inspire Kentridge’s investigations into the nature of being human and “the persistence and robustness of contradiction.” 2
Kentridge’s working process requires space for uncertainty and exploration, a fertile condition under which “ideas and images emerge.” 3 In interviews, he places a great deal of emphasis on the necessity of working with his hands in order to think, which accounts for his preference for drawing-based media. In explaining his unique style, Kentridge speaks of visual knowledge as inherently flawed, in that we only see the present situation at any given moment; the history of what has come before and any underlying issues are lost. 4 This sensibility informs his technique of layering and revision, resulting in complex compositions that convey a sense of the passage of time and a richness of ideas not possible in a single image. In a similar vein, Kentridge frequently uses the word “provisional” to discuss the nature of mark-making, connecting the temporality of a drawn line to the constant change that has become a fixture of modern life.
Lives and Works in Berlin: Feathers, Magic Mushrooms and Bicycle Tours
Bundle up, Berlin: winter is almost here, and it might be a long one, again. If you haven’t fallen prey to the sniffling, the sneezing, the nose-blowing and coughing, germ-spreading crowd on the city’s subways and got stuck in bed with the first cold flu of the season (like me), there are some interesting exhibitions going on that make it worth the effort of getting out there.
There is, for example, Dutch artist Willem de Rooij’s project Intolerance at the Neue Nationalgalerie, which consists of a site-specific, temporary installation as well as a three-part publication. In the installation, de Rooij presents a group of 17th-century Dutch bird paintings by Melchior d’Hondecoeter, who exclusively painted birds, with a group of Hawaiian “feathered heads” from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Willem de Rooij, "Intolerance," 2010. Installation at Neue Nationalgalerie, detail view with hawaiian feather objects and paintings by Melchior d‘Hondecoeter © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Photo: Jens Ziehe.
Willem de Rooij, "Intolerance," 2010. "Symbol of the War God Kukailimoku," Hawaii, 18th century. Collection of James Cook, Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Photo: Claudia Obrocki.
De Rooij’s works investigates notions of image-production and image-distribution through playing with conventions of presentation and representation in various media such as photography, film, sculpture and text. In this way, his work opens up a large amount of possible interpretations and so, according to the press release, “Intolerance can be read as a three-dimensional collage, as a reflection on the conditions of the exhibition space and of institutional practice, and as a visual study on the triangular relationship between early global trade, inter-cultural conflict and mutual attraction.” Intolerance will be on display at the New National Gallery until January 2, 2011.
On View Now: Tony Oursler’s Uncanny Bodies
Tony Oursler, "F/X Plotter #2," 1992. Cloth and video projection, dimensions variable. Courtesy SFMoMA.
The video artist Tony Oursler is perhaps best known for his video projections of human faces onto the heads of small doll-like bodies. Lying on the ground or hanging limply from a pole in the corner of a gallery space and speaking in anxious, angry or even hysterical tones, these disturbing little effigies with their lifelike faces often startled passersby. Oursler’s practice of projecting human heads onto otherwise deflated bodies has been associated with the Freudian uncanny, since the confusion between the living and the inanimate is one of the uncanny’s key features. In Peak, Lehmann Maupin’s current exhibition of new work by Oursler, the artist continues to elaborate his professed interest in the uncanny, now exploring the ways in which virtual systems and spaces are increasingly becoming proxies for our psyches and consciousness. As the press release states, “Oursler [investigates] our contemporary Internet usage, viewing the Internet as a mechanical reflection of our human psyche, inducing a compulsive relationship despite its disturbing effect. The dynamic developing between humans and the virtual apparatus becomes and is an epistemological mirror of the human consciousness and, thus, is uncanny in its nature.”
Partial installation view of "Peak," at Lehmann Maupin. Image courtesy Lehmann Maupin
It is certainly fair to say that Oursler’s works in Peak are about the uncanny, but when standing before these new objects, one no longer senses that they aim to induce in us an experience of the uncanny on the order of his earlier, seemingly preternatural dolls. Collectively, the works in Peak seem instead to intimate that the uncanny is no longer something we encounter outside ourselves, stumbling upon it in the world around us, but is now a constitutive feature of ourselves already internalized in our twenty-first century lives. In these new works, the loss of our autonomous selves in and through new technologies appears not as an impending threat but as a structuring principle of our very being.
From the Flat Surface to the Curved Mirror
Using variable media – taking the form of tapestry and sculpture to performance, cinema, and stereoscopic imagery— William Kentridge calculates a not so obvious curve to create socially informed work that challenges the way we look.
In early October, the Henry Art Gallery participated in a preview screening of Art21’s William Kentridge: Anything is Possible. To celebrate the upcoming release, the Henry invited local animator Tess Martin to teach an all-ages animation workshop, inspired by Kentridge’s work. The workshop allowed participants to explore the creative process behind a modified base, a technique used by the artist in his many animated films. Following a brief introduction to the history of stop-motion, from flip books to Victorian parlor toys to Muybridge, workshop participants were asked to experiment with three mediums – charcoal/pastels, paint, and grain – to create a collaborative film.
Participants, mostly twenty-something adults, came from a variety of backgrounds including drawing, film, video, and digital animation. Pens and notebooks in hand, each brought with them a sense of eagerness and a variety of questions about the animation process. While many focused on the practicality of production, there were some participants who seemed more interested in the process of animation and what it means to animate an idea. This led to a later conversation around Kentridge’s use of animation, and his practice as a whole, as a tool for exposing the viewer to the act of seeing. Taking a cue from the film, one participant pointed out how Kentridge used found materials and familiar objects to create fantastical situations in which the viewer is made aware that they are looking, that they have control of what they see and how they interpret it. This realization brought up an interesting correlation between this awareness of seeing and the socio-cultural context of much of Kentridge’s work.
“Near-Scientific Experiments with Humorous Side Effects”
Roman Signer, "With the Boss" (2009)
Sometime last winter, when the days were at their shortest and the collective spirit seemed to be at its annual low, a friend gave me a DVD copy of Signer’s Suitcase on the Road with Roman Signer (1996). The DVD came with the personal message, “Watch this and your winter blues will be gone…” Needless to say, I returned home, watched the DVD, and have been hooked on Roman Signer ever since.
Roman Signer, "Water Boots" (1986)
The film, directed by Peter Liechti follows the Swiss action artist, Roman Signer, to a number of locations including the Swiss Alps, Poland, Stromboli, and Iceland. In each location, Signer performs an action, best described by curator Gianni Jetzer as, “near scientific experiments with humorous side effects.”
What More Can We Ask For?
Judy Pfaff, "Buckets of Rain" 2006 Courtesy the artist and Ameringer and Yohe Fine Art
Students in my Advanced Placement class recently began a work for their portfolio inspired by the theme of loss. We spent a few days at the beginning of the unit to define loss from many perspectives and explore ways artists have interpreted loss visually while sharing works by Alice Neel, Janine Antoni, Jim Dine, Judy Pfaff and Kiki Smith, to name a few. We explored how different people experience loss in different ways, as well as how loss can involve a range of emotions that include sadness, anxiety, surprise and even confusion.
As students begin forming their ideas and creating initial designs for this assignment, I have already begun to see fantastic results from sharing a wide variety of art and artists to start the unit. Students have started works that range from losing a loved one to losing a first tooth. Others are beginning works that focus on loss of innocence and “losing our way”.
I’m continually surprised at how broadly defining a theme or subject can serve as a launch pad for helping students avoid clichés. Not a single work or idea so far has me saying, “I’ve seen that before.” When students get to marry great ideas with strong technique and design, we’re always moving in the right direction….. and what more can we ask for?
Open Enrollment: Coffee and Politics (Part 1)
Coffee and politics. They go together almost as good as politics and art. A week ago I met up with a good friend of mine for a cup of coffee and to talk a little about the projects we have been working on. We chatted about school starting, upcoming shows, and each other’s work. Then our conversation shifted a little to talk about Detroit. For the last year, I have been living, working, and going to school in the Detroit Metro area. I spend my time outside of the studio with friends getting to know the various parts of the city. Detroit is host to a wide variety people including those born and raised south of Eminem’s Eight Mile Road and a large amount of recent transplants with origins spanning the world. Detroit has become a bit of an urban testing ground with the media’s recent focus turned towards the nation’s once glamorous car capitol.
Since the 1998 publication of Relational Aesthetics by Nicholas Bourriaud, small flowerings of Relational Art projects have cropped up all over the world. Dinner parties and community gatherings of this nature seem to be thriving in every major city across the US. Chicago’s InCUBATE runs a monthly soup brunch that has become a model for soups from Portland, Oregon, to New York City. It raises money and funds independent creative projects and at the same time provides a place for community discussion. Earlier this year Detroit Soup, founded by Kate Daughdrill and Jessica Hernandez, popped up right here in Motown.
