Art & Language is a group of conceptual artists formed in the 1960s aimed to challenge artistic purpose and intent. The group uses language as a tool to alter the way the viewer perceives a work of art. The mere visual aspect of the art serves only partial to the complete experience; only with language can the viewer understand the piece. Art & Language is "determined by a sense of the need, critically and contingently, to address the culture of Modernism, and the agency which that culture is, and reflects, and misrepresents ... "
31 August 2009
ART & LANGUAGE
Art & Language is a group of conceptual artists formed in the 1960s aimed to challenge artistic purpose and intent. The group uses language as a tool to alter the way the viewer perceives a work of art. The mere visual aspect of the art serves only partial to the complete experience; only with language can the viewer understand the piece. Art & Language is "determined by a sense of the need, critically and contingently, to address the culture of Modernism, and the agency which that culture is, and reflects, and misrepresents ... "
18 August 2009
JEAN ARP
Hans "Jean" Arp, born in Strasbourg in 1886, was a sculptor, painter, poet, and founding member of Dada. He grew up in the Alsace-Lorraine territory, and was forced to change his name into a Francophone version of Hans upon the end of the Franco-Prussian War. Arp spent time in Paris, then moved to Switzerland to avoid the draft. He remained a radical activist through both writing and art. Arp's simplistic organic sculptural forms are very telling of their time period- a strong gravitation towards deeper meaning through direct, simple portrayals. Dada, a radical group of artists aiming to create turbulence in the art world, was most prominent in the early 1900s. Most of the work that was produced, including Arp's, was abstract and incredibly unconventional.
"Dada is the groundwork to abstract art and sound poetry, a starting point for performance art, a prelude to postmodernism, an influence on pop art, a celebration of antiart to be later embraced for anarcho-political uses in the 1960s and the movement that lay the foundation for Surrealism."
"Metamorphosis (Shell-Swan-Balance-You)" 1935, Private Collection
Arp was one of many during his time who dealt with automatism, which the Artbook describes as "experimental activities, such as nonsense poetry and spontaneous drawing." Another definition: "the performance of actions without conscious thought or decision." This style of producing art, especially circa 1920, is often considered in opposition to the meaning of "art" itself. Creation with intention falls at the centerfold of artistic purpose for many, yet for Dada "artistic purpose" was exactly what they wanted to get away from. The automatism style is highly prevalent in Arp's work. Just from the title- Metamorphosis (Shell-Swan-Balance-You)- a level of spontaneity and disorder can be detected. The piece itself seems to be in a state of transition, birthing a spherical form from within its angular infrastructure. The bronze is smoothed to a fine, sensuous finish. In my opinion, many interpretations can be drawn here, but overall the meaning seems to be irrelevant, almost arbitrary to the aesthetic achievement of the piece. A true Dada work.
I found a lot of Arp's painting, printmaking, and collage really fascinating. Creating art without purpose, drawing or producing while removing ego and filter, has a level of difficulty unmatched. Arp triumphed with original, groundbreaking pieces for his era. I really like the way MoMA chooses to describe the role he played for avant-garde art- "...it was through his investigation of biomorphism and of chance and accident that he proved especially influential on later 20th century art in liberating unconscious creative forces."
"Untitled (Squares Arranged According to the Laws of Chance)" 1916-17, MoMA
"Automatic Drawing" 1917-18, MoMA
"Enak's Tears (Terrestrial Forms)" 1917, MoMA
"Evocation of a Form, Human, Lunar, Spectral" 1950, Hirshhorn
Arp continued to create work until his death at the age of 80 in 1966. The latter portion of his life he devoted to writing and poetry, though produced some works, like a commissioned relief sculpture at Harvard in 1954. He is still very well recognized as a momentous creator of the 20th century.
15 August 2009
ARMAN
Armand Pierre Fernandez was born in Nice in 1928. With an artistic father, Fernandez was directed towards painting at an early age. He attended the Ecole Nationale d'Art Decoratif in Nice, as well as the Ecole de Louvre in Paris. Inspired by Van Gogh's signature of "Vincent" on his paintings, Fernandez began going by Armand, but soon changed his name to "Arman" following a printing error in 1958. Arman became a US citizen in 1972 after years of spending time in New York, and lives and works there today. He has worked closely with Yves Klein, a friend he met at a Judo school in Nice, as well as Andy Warhol. Joined by Klein and a number of other nameable artists, Arman is part of the Nouveau Realisme group formed in Paris whose work is concerned mostly with implications of industrial expansion and consumerist society.