For the Courageous the Curious and the Cowards

Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba is a part Japanese and Vietnamese artist who creates films which explore Vietnamese history and national identity, and have referenced issues such as the displacement of Vietnamese "boat people" after the Vietnam War. But Hatsushiba's principle theme revolves around Alienation.

"For the Courageous, the Curious, and the Cowards" was a 13 minute video by Hatsushiba exposing the difficulty and hard labor that the job of dragging the cyclos through the ocean floor had involved. This video acts in the same way as a documentary, it consisted of real Vietnamese fishermen, no actors were employed. The viewer is forced to acknowledge the fact that all physical struggles evident in this video are real, this also brings out the absurdity of such tangible barriers the men may face. According to Wikipedia, Cyclos are used for local transport, mostly used in the South, Southeast and East Asia, where the passengers are pulled by a person on foot. The fisherman drag the cyclos completely underwater, across the sea floor towards about thirty mosquito nets, spread across the sea bed by the artist himself. The fisherman remain calm and determined until needing to breathe, they then rush up to the surface and gasp for air.

Concepts and ideologies from the Renaissance, Modernism are evident in the video. Interest in the future (scientific or the technological) as to capture the footage underwater would require a specific video camera. By capturing the real scene and atmosphere of dragging the cyclos, the audience better absorbs the real issues. Hatsushiba also shows interest in he everyday and mundane human lifestyle of the Vietnamese. He really focuses on their hardships and struggles.

As said by Hewit, (2008), “the arduous job of dragging the cyclos through the ocean speaks to the difficult burden of the past in the face of modernization.” From Hatsushiba's work we are exposed to the lifestyle of some Vietnamese people who struggle with change, modernization an industrialization. The people who do not accept the westernized ways and methods.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jun_Nguyen-Hatsushiba

http://www.nyartbeat.com/nyablog/2008/07/for-the-courageous-the-curious-and-the-cowards/

Landscape and the Sublime

1. What and when was the Enlightenment.
According to 'www.philosopher.org' the core period of Enlightenment was the second half of the eighteenth century. The characteristics of Enlightenment involve skepticism towards the beliefs and doctrines that the church had enforced on society. It involved the importance of individualism, science and experimenting, the use of reason and that education can drive for social change and the demand for political representation.
It was an intellectual movement that brought on the ideology of humanism, people being able to think for themselves and gain their own opinions through their own experiences or experiments. To observe human life and the universe rather than settling for what the church has enforced.

2. Define the concept of the Sublime.
- "Aesthetic category associated with ideas of awe, intensity ruggedness, terror, and vastness emphasizing Man's relative insignificance in the face of Nature, arousing emotions, and stimulating the imagination."
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-Sublime.html

- "The sublime is a form of expression in literature in which the author refers to things in nature or art that affect the mind with a sense of overwhelming grandeur or irresistible power. It is calculated to inspire awe, deep reverence, or lofty emotion, by reason of its beauty, vastness, or grandeur"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sublime_%28literary%29

3. How did the concept of the Sublime come out of the Enlightenment thought?
With exploring human life and the universe being a factor of the Enlightenment, it included the beauty of nature in which we are surrounded. This meant that the majestic landscapes and other wonders of our natural environment had become more recognized by artists of the Enlightenment era.

4. Discuss the subject matter, and aesthetic of Misrach's work to identify the Sublime in his work.
Richard Misrach is an American photographer who was born in 1949, Los Angeles. In the 1970’s, he helped pioneer the renaissance of color photography and large-scale presentation that are widespread practice today.
Misrach is well known for his work, photographing the deserts of America for more then 20 years. He has a passion for capturing every Sublime glance of the worlds natural creations, and through the beauty of God's creation, we, as an audience of his work, find the beauty in his photography. He focuses on revealing the different features of nature, landscapes as well as seascapes. To show the wonders of nature and how it deserves to be appreciated.



5. Identify some other artists or designers that work with ideas around the Sublime, from the Enlightenment era as well as contemporary artists.

Caspar David Friedrich
A 19th-century German Romantic landscape painter



6. How does Misrach's photography make you feel? Does it appeal to your imagination?
Misrach's art shows landscape and nature, making me, as a viewer feel inadequate in comparison to the vast wonders of the worlds natural creation. My attention is drawn not only to the sublime landscape but to how the image gives off a sense of surrealism, how for some reason the contents of the image seem non-existent. And not only is it beautiful and aesthetically attractive, but it gives off an eerie atmosphere, an amazing yet somewhat abandoned piece of land, so it may seem. With this reaction, i can either find myself at peace with the image, or slightly uneasy with curiosity.

7. Add a Sublime image of your choice to your blog, which can be Art or just a Sublime photograph.


References:
http://www.philosopher.org.uk/enl.htm
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-Sublime.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sublime_%28literary%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Misrach

Damien Steven Hirst

Damien Steven Hirst

Damien Steven Hirst is an English artist and the most prominent member of the group known as "Young British Artists", he dominated the art scene in Britain during the 1990s. He is well known for his contemporary art and has been claimed to be 'the richest living artist to date' according to Wikipedia.

His work became iconic in Britain, including dead animals (a shark, a sheep and a cow) preserved and sometimes dissected, e.g. "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living" , works in which the themes centered Death.

One of his recent works, from 2007, a diamond encrusted skull, “For the Love of God”, was a product of Hirst’s, estimated to be worth more than $50 million, (maybe even $100 million) and is said to come from the skeleton of a man who lived between 1720 and 1810, a 35 year old man from Europe.
It had taken 18 months to have the skull fully covered in 8,601 diamonds, with the teeth as an exception, for it to be fully ready to be displayed.
As said by Wikipedia the skull was inspired by when Hirst's mother had asked "for the love of god, what are you going to do next?"

Mercantilism in the Renaissance era was when wealth had been measured by your possession of gold, silver and other precious metal as such. Aspects of the Mercantilism ideas and the increase of Damien Hirsts status is evident through this particular piece, as it is counted as one of the most expensive pieces of art so far, heightening or elevating his status as a high class contemporary artist.

This art work is now held at the White Cube gallery in London, this work costs fourteen million pounds ($30.4m NZD) to make, and was sold for fifty million pounds ($108m NZD)

"I think most people would agree that their skulls are a priceless asset. But what artist Damien Hirst has done to the following skull has actually made a nondescript skull into one of the most expensive pieces of art ever."

Referencing: http://anthropology.net/2007/06/01/damien-hirsts-diamond-encrusted-skull-jeweled-skulls-in-archaeology/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damien_Hirst

Three Triennial Artists

Shahab Fotouhi

-when first approaching the neon lights in such an open space, it felt like the archway was more of an entrance to a place of peace and serenity. It felt calm and like a hypnotized insect you feel somewhat fascinated and engrossed by the "glowing trail". This is what first caught my attention to the sculpture. However when acknowledging the theme and the looped video that accompanies Fotouhi's sculpture, i found the work both humorous yet daunting, with thinking this may be an interpretation of a "doorway to peace" when really such imagery can be seen as a hint to the brutal ruthlessness to come to Iran. The irony and the contrast amused me.





Shilpa Gupta

The "singing cloud" when seen, doesn't give the impression of something light and fluffy like what the name suggests. The 4,000 microphones in which emits multiple layers of voices and sounds would be found to resemble something heavier and to some extent more daunting in comparison to something you would call a "singing cloud". You could say that this mass of technology is very closely reminiscent of a bomb or a mushroom cloud. Though without realizing this resemblance, i at first found difficulty relating it to the airport-style flap board that accompanied the sculpture, displaying cryptic messages based on the psychology of fear and prejudice. Through this i discovered a deeper meaning within the mass of microphones and i started to appreciate the work more.

Three Triennial Artists

Week 2 - Auckland Triennial 2010

1.What are the themes behind the title "Last ride...' for the
Auckland triennial?
-the title "last ride in a hot air balloon" is a speculative approach to describing being adventurous and taking a risk with today's contemporary art.
-this leaves the works to be more thought provoking and open to individual perception, rather then apparent or literal.
-the theme pushes viewers to reflect differently on our engagement with adventure and risk, by looking at artists who generate an adventurous condition.

2. What does a curator of an exhibition do?

a host that guides or takes you through the main themes and ideas of the works.

3. Which countries are represented in this year's triennial?
-Middle East and Asia, opposite hemispheres - northern and southern

4. Is Auckland the only country to have a triennial? Are there other similar art shows?
-there are other triennial's and biennial's similar to ours in Auckland such as:

4th International Triennial of Graphic Arts -in Prague, Czech Republic (2004) Tallinn Print Triennial - in Tallinn City Gallery, Estonia (2007) Triennale de Chamalières - in Chamalieres, France (2006) 5. Name 4 artists who will be showing work in the show. - Shilpa Gupta ( Born 1976, Mumbai, India. Lives and works in Mumbai. - Bundith Phunsombatlert Born 1972, Bangkok, Thailand. Lives and works in Rhode Island, New York. - Shahab Fotouhi Born 1980, Yadz, Iran. Lives and works in Tehran, Iran and Frankfurt, Germany. - Alicia Frankovich Born 1980, Tauranga, New Zealand. Lives and works in Berlin, Germany and Melbourne, Australia. 6. Select an artist's work from the website, copy the work to your blog and write a short comment on what the work is, and what it represents.(Reference your sources) - Shahab Foutohi , Route 2010 Iranian artist Shahab Fotouhi presents a linear sculpture made of black and white neon that shows the helicopter route taken by Shiite Muslim leader Ayatollah Khomeini on his return from exile after the 1979 revolution. The six stops that Fotouhi's sculpture consists of ends with a high curved doorway that becomes a symbol for the country’s future. The neon trail is also accompanied by a video played on loop of Khomeini's supporters being whipped by leather belts to create a clearing for his helicopter to land. Referencing: http://eyecontactartforum.blogspot.com/2010/ 04/4th-auckland-triennial-themes-part-2.html http://www.aucklandtriennial.com/artists/shahabfotouhi.asp 7. Comment on why you find this work interesting, how does it relate to your own interests? -when first approaching the neon lights in such an open space, it felt like the archway was more of an entrance to a place of peace and serenity. It felt calm and like a hypnotized insect you feel somewhat fascinated and engrossed by the "glowing trail". This is what first caught my attention to the sculpture. However when acknowledging the theme and the looped video that accompanies Fotouhi's sculpture, i found the work both humorous yet daunting, with thinking this may be an interpretation of a "doorway to peace" when really such imagery can be seen as a hint to the brutal ruthlessness to come. The irony amused me.