Visual Cultures Across Time

ART 100Module 3.1

agenda 6.19

OVERVIEW: definitions of art/audiences for art (art in different times and places) if time

permits, otherwise, view on Compass 2g

ACTIVITY 1 5 mins

read posts by your classmates, pull out what you think are the 3 most interesting points—you don’t necessarily have to agree

share what you found by typing into chat here and we will discuss some common ideas and possibilities that are emerging

Lego as popular culture

Lego as design

Apartment, ParisDesign team: Munchhausen

Lego as art

Zbigniew Libera, Lego Concentration Camp Set, 1996

Lego as art

Zbigniew Libera, Lego Concentration Camp Set, 1996

Same object, different contexts

only in one of these contexts is the Lego socially designated as “art”

conclusion

Art is not an ontological, but a sociological property.

conclusion

Art is not an ontological, but a sociological property.

There is no quality inhering in the object itself that makes it art or non-art.

conclusion

In any society, some objects are called ‘art,’ others are not. These designations are a matter of social tradition and convention. Such labels can change over time as a society’s values and preferences change.

What is visual culture?

It includes everything that art excludes: All the objects that are left out from

consideration in the traditional fine arts (painting, sculpture, architecture)

things made not for elite but ordinary audiences

the role of vision in the production of knowledge/power

technologies/enhancements of vision (for example, scientific and medical imaging)

The Art World: a system

AN INTERLINKED SYSTEM OF:

•MONEY•PRESTIGE•IDEAS•FASHION

Let’s explore these one at a time.

The Art World: money

AN INTERLINKED SYSTEM OF:

•MONEY• Buyers and Sellers • private collectors• institutional collectors

• Galleries• Auction Houses (resale market)

The Art World:prestige

AN INTERLINKED SYSTEM OF:

•MONEY•PRESTIGE• What artists receive shows in

large museums?• What artists receive shows in

galleries?• What artists are represented

by major gallerists?• What artists are interesting to

curators?• What artists are interesting to

critics?• What artists are interesting to

art historians and other intellectuals?

The Art World:ideas

AN INTERLINKED SYSTEM OF:

•MONEY•PRESTIGE•IDEAS• what artists are written about

in mass-circulation newspapers and magazines?

• what artists are written about by art critics in more specialized publications?

• what artists are written about by scholars in highly specialized publications?

The Art World: fashion

AN INTERLINKED SYSTEM OF:

•MONEY•PRESTIGE•IDEAS•FASHION

“who’s up/down, who’s in/out”“who’s pricey, or in demand?”“who’s the latest, coolest thing?”

Flashy mix of money, style and smarts

Brad Pitt withAmbra Medda,Design Director,Design/Miami,2008

Art can serve to create a fashionable environment for other forms of display

Art BaselMiami Beach,(“Miami Basel”)2008

The Art World: example

Pictured at a 2008 event in Moscow: Larry Gagosian, Dasha Zukhova, Takashi Murakami

Dasha Zukhova

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2009/oct/04/dasha-zhukova-interview-roman-abramovich

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/t-magazine/28talk-zhukova.html

The Art World:example

Tobias Meyer, auctioneer at prestigious auction house Sotheby’s

The art world is not all glamorous types clad in black!

Viewing a recent acquisition of Dali printsat the Oglethorpe University Art Museum, Atlanta, GA,Summer 2010

OK, so who else?Anyone who has an interest, whether casual or devoted, in following the culture of contemporary art as it changes over time

•Art students•Students in general•People in general who are interested in art or want to be culturally aware

Thomas Struth

Artist Thomas Struth has made an ongoing series of photographs of people viewing and engaging with art in major museums and cultural sites around the world.

In these works, the audience for art becomes the focus of attention.

Thomas StruthAt the Louvre 2, 198967 ½ x 53 ¼ inches*

*Note the monumental size of this work. Why do you think the artist might print his photographs at such a large size?

ACTIVITY 2 10 minutes Take some time to look at this photograph

from the same series by photographer Thomas Struth.

sentence 1—Write an overall descriptive sentence that points our the main features of this photograph to your reader.

then a list, of at least 5 different ways you see people interacting (with the art and with each other) in this photograph. Be detailed!

POST on Compass 2g, then PASTE into chat window here so we can all discuss.