Marina Abramović e Ulay - MoMA 2010

Marina Abramovic at MOMA (Museum of Modern Art NY)

March-May 2010

JayZ Picasso Baby 2014

JayZ with Marina Abramovic

Performance artist Marina Abramovic (November 30, 1946 Belgrade, Serbia). Lives in New York.  She is considered by some to be the "grandmother of performance art". Abramovic began her art career in the l970's and has been active since then.  

Abramovic describes performance art vs. theater as being "real"- and "ephemeral".  "Theater is not real-a knive and blood are real in performance not in theater.  She believes in being 100% present with the audience. Performance was more active in the l970's and less in the l980's because you can't really make money with a performance piece.  Performance deals with memory and the art of the l980's dealt with profit and sales.   

Performance as conceptual art deals with the purity of an idea. Abramovic deals with the relationship of the performer and the audience. She is testing the limits of the body and the possibilities of how the mind functions.  

The Artist is Present March 14-May 31, 2010

We will do a performance with individual students and the teacher similar to Abramovic.

Setting: 2 people sitting in chairs facing each other

Dialogue: Student: "I can have it all."

                 Teacher: "Yes you can."

This dialogue is repeated for a minute.After some students have participated answer the following 

questions:

1. What were your expectations before the exercise began? Which ones were met and which were not? What were the surprise expectations for you?

2. How did the performances inspire you to become a better person?

3. What happened during the performance that motivated you to help others?

4. What is the importance of being present with people around you?

Sonia Romero- Piles Art works

Sonia Romero and Frank Romero (father)

This installation of bison skulls is in response to the photo of 1870 which illustrated the massacre of bison by the early settlers trying to respond to the demand for bison pelts.  The massive /excessive slaughter of bison affected the lives of the Plains Indians.  One man is known to kill 20,000 bison on his own.  Buffalo Bill was also involved in the multiple deaths of the bison.  Pelts/hides went from $3-$50 each.  There was great profit considering many men were only earning $1. a day.

1870 Bison Skull photo

Skull pile by a butcher

Sonia Romero is a Los Angeles based artist who comes from a legacy of artists.  Her father is a well respected and prolific Los Angeles artist in addition to her mother Nancy.  Also her grandmother is owner of the Craft and Folk Art Museum of which Sonia is a participant.

The "piles" artwork has to do with Romero's response to our society's excessive waste of materials, food, and animals.  She speaks of our over-consumption and absence or little regard for the bounty/ and abundance our country provides for its citizens.  Her art is designed to create awareness and a hope for people to more conservative with what we purchase and consume.

The bees are also symbolic of community and diligence for a united goal of protecting their home (beehive/ queen bee) and production of nourishment.

Took a 3-D pile of bee to a local supermarket to display art in non-gallery settings and also to campaign for her cause of over-consumption and the protection of the bee populations that are diminishing. (No bees/no life/human or otherwise)

1. What is your visceral reaction to seeing the pile of bison skulls from the l870 photo?  Have you ever seen piles of animal carcasses or other piles of wasted food/garbage etc.?

2. Why do you think Romero is concerned about our society's abuse of food and other products?  What is the need to portray this concern in her artwork?

3. Art can be used for political statements.  All art is political.  The art an artist produces is his/hers own opinion about a personal experience or influence.  How can an artist influence a society's perspective/lifestyle and improve their well-being? (hint: use the relationship of Romero's artwork in the supermarket)

Aurelio of Camplittle (2010) 6 panels, 2500 zipper tabs per panel, gel med,acrylic paint

Sandra Vista

Close up of Aurelio of Camplittle

Nancy Baker Cahill Graphite Drawings /Sandra Vista Crosshatch pencil drawing

Virgil

 Nancy Baker Cahill had stayed away from making art for about ten years before her creation of these drawings made of purely graphite on paper. (Cahill married and had three children during her time away from her art/)  She claims that the "id" was primarily in charge.  These large scale graphite drawings labor by using the unconscious, gesture and the entire body which takes command of her work.  The physicality of these drawings has helped her to heal from a medical issue she dealt with in the past few years. She also describes her drawings as "erotic landscapes", "viscera at work"  and "searching ceremonially and experiencing a range of emotions".

ID, SUPEREGO, EGO: DESIGN BY SIGMUND FREUD AS A STRUCTURAL MODE OF THE PSYCHE

ID: HUMAN BASIC INSTINCTS, BODILY NEEDS, WANTS, DESIRES, AND IMPULSES, OUR SEXUAL AND AGGRESSIVE DRIVES.  THE ID CONTAINS THE LIBIDO WHICH IS PART OF INSTINCT VS. THE DEMANDS OF REALITY. (the pleasure principle, immediate gratification) 

NEWBORN BABIES ARE "ID-RIDDEN" they are masses of instinctual drives and impulses, no good or evil, no morality...

SUPEREGO; INTERNALIZATION OF CULTURAL RULES, TAUGHT BY PARENTS, SOMETIMES CALLED THE CONSCIENCE. ALSO TEACHERS, EDUCATORS, CHOSEN PEOPLE AND ROLE MODELS ARE INCLUDED IN THE FORMING OF THE SUPEREGO.

IT PUNISHES MISBEHAVIOR WITH FEELINGS OF GUILT AND PROHIBITS HIS OR HER DRIVES, FANTASIES, FEELINGS AND ACTIONS.  IT DOES INCLUDE THE EGO IDEALS, SPIRITUAL GOALS, AND IS NOT ENTIRELY UNCONSCIOUS. IT IS A BALANCE BETWEEN THE ID AND THE EGO.

EGO: IT SEEKS TO PLEASE THE ID'S DRIVE WITH REALISTIC WAYS SEEKING LONG TERM GOALS. IT IS A MEDIATOR BETWEEN THE ID AND REALITY.  IT HELPS TO FUNCTION IN THE REAL WORLD AND CALM DOWN THE ID'S DEMANDS FOR IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION. 

DESIGNED BY FREUD IN THE 1920'S, THE WORD EGO ORIGINALLY MEANT A SENSE OF SELF BUT LATER REVISED IT TO MEAN JUDGEMENT, TOLERANCE, REALITY TESTING, CONTROL, PLANNING, DEFENSE, INTELLECTUAL FUNCTIONING AND MEMORY.  

THE EGO IS PART OF THE ID BUT HAS INFLUENCE OF THE EXTERNAL WORLD.

Sandra Vista Crosshatch drawing #2 pencil on paper 2007

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Sandra Vista-Drawing deals with the basic drawing principles of crosshatching and making simple marks on paper.  The #2 pencil is used as a primary tool on paper to create an intriguing drawing.  The idea is to use simple materials like a #2 pencil to its full potential.

1. Cahill stated that the "id" was in charge during the creation of her drawings.  How can a person's basic instincts influence their need to create?

2. Cahill's drawings are large scale works, how does using her entire body, the physical energy that it takes to create these works help to heal her previous medical issues. 

3. Cahill describes her drawings as "erotic landscapes", this terms does not only have a sexual connotation but also has to do with emotional feelings.  A landscapes is something with a large field of vision.  How does having a larger focus help an artist with their work and increased creativity?

4. Compare Nancy Baker Cahill and Sandra Vista's drawings, how are they similar in execution (using materials, imagery, emotions) and how do they differ (scale, ideas for creation,...)