New Museum: NYC

The New Museum is located on Bowery in New York City and is the only museum in NYC that is exclusively devoted to contemporary art. It is a strikingly interesting looking building as it looks like big white boxes stacked on top of eachother (I took the picture to the left while standing across the street from the museum but I was unable to take photos inside because photography was not allowed). The rose that is situated on the exterior of the building is a peice of artwork by German artist Isa Genzken.
Inside the museum there are six floors of which the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th are actual galleries. The elevator has a soundtrack of a man repeating a speech and certain words which reminded me of some of the videos we had seen in class where repetition was a common theme, such as Clown Torture.
The exhibits change every couple of months and at the time that I went, the exhibit on the 2nd floor was titled "Free" and the thirs anf fourth floors were an exhibit called "The Last Newspaper". This was supposed to relate to the fact that the use of newspaper in fine art is no longer a novelty. All of the exhbits on these floors had to do with the nespaper and the press, incorporating it into the art by using it or re-imaging it in one's own drawings or sculptures.

Some of the exhibits that stuck out to me were the large round, blue carpet (because I everybody was walking around it and all I wanted to do was lay down in the middle of it), the mannequin women with dresses which portrayed pictures of topics commonly brought up in the news (because, as a Sociology major, I took a sociological perspective of how we relay news to people and how it effect a society's views to favor or go against a certain issue and because they only know what is revealed through the media when there are many other things that are kept covered up - one of the dresses portrayed images to represent this idea), the typewriter that typed by itself and produced a large scroll of paper which gathered all around it on the floor (It was crowded with people around it so I wasn't able to get close enough to know what it was typing), and the projector showing images of what would be a sunset and a person holding a picture of a sunset over the original image. This last exhbit was part of "Free" and was titled "The Sun Is Always Setting Somewhere Else". I particularly enjoyed that one because I am a collector of beach images. My bedroom is a beach theme and I have alot of photography and art of beaches, sunsets, and the ocean around my room.

"Courier" at Ualbany Museum

Courier is a group exhibition featuring 11 different contemporary artists who have created works that reference the typewriter as a touchstone to history and also explore the properties of the typewriter. I specifically found the Dark Woods, Light Woods embossed print by Leona Christie interesting. When I first looked at this piece of artwork all I saw was a bunch of random typed words and phrases; reminding me of Vija Celmin’s work of randomness and lack of point of reference. When I looked further into this piece of art, I learned that the artist’s autistic brother had typed these words out on a typewriter; merging memories with typing. I found it extremely interesting that her brother could recall every specific detail from every single Detroit railway. Having worked with autistic individuals in the past, it was intriguing to be able to see her brother’s near-photogenic memory and detailed lists come to life through art.

Dave Hickey: Custodians of Culture Speech

This speech by Dave Hickey was relative to what we had seen in The Mona Lisa Curse documentary, that art is no longer what it used to be and that the ability to put a price on it has changed the entire structure of the art world. Hickey explains that the problem is that more artists care about money than they do art, when a couple of decades back, no body went into art for money. He also makes a distinction between non-commercial art and art that doesn't sell. In his comical manner, he explains art that doesnt sell is just bad art. Non-commercial art still pays the artists enough so for them to be in the business class for the rest of their lives.

I think it's sad that the love of making art has seemed to disappear for some artists who are now focused moreso on the love of making money. I also think the idea of people spending millions of dollars on pieces of art is rediculous and unecessary, especially when they are only doing so to flaunt their wealth and get themselves noticed. Unfortunately, I think that seeing art as a commodity and that auctioning it for more than it is truly worth is inevitable in a capitalist society.

Improv Everywhere

Improv Everywhere is a group based in New York City that is notorious for its comedic performances that allow average, everyday New Yorkers to participate. The website for the group states:

Improv Everywhere causes scenes of chaos and joy in public places. Created in August of 2001 by Charlie Todd, Improv Everywhere has executed over 100 missions involving tens of thousands of undercover agents.

The group is known to engage in acts that will be somewhat socially awkward for observers and bystanders, perhaps with the goal of lightening-up the busy hustle and bustle atmosphere of the city. While the group has gained much recognition for it's pants-free NYC Subway act (April Fool's Day, 2010), other famous scenes include: synchronized swimming in a public fountain, slo-mo home depot, and the pseudo best buy employees. In may of 2010, the group put together a unique performance which reenacted the opening scene of the move Ghostbusters in the New York City Public Library:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKB7zfopiUA

Mona Lisa Curse

My take on the Mona Lisa Curse documentary is from a sociological perspective. It appears to me that there is a very bold line between the two groups of art consumers: those who consume based on what they like and those who consume based on what they are worth. The former buys art because they believe it to be beautiful, moving, intriguing, and purchase it for pure satisfaction, while the latter group buys art because they look at it as a commodity; it is worth a great amount of moneyand they will feel as if they achieved something by owning the original peice. They also spend copious amounts of money on these pieces to flaunt their wealth and prove how much they are worth.

When Robert Hughes was talking about the new art forms that are popular and costly today, such as Damien Hirst's diamond encrusted skull, he seemed so disappointed in the the path which the art world has taken since his day. It appears that the two groups I mentioned earlier are in a constant battle against keeping art as traditional, based on pure talent and beauty, and allowing it to grow into these modern art forms that are sometimes revolting, confusing, or downright ugly. It's interesting to think what famous painters like Monet and VanGough would say about the art that exists today and the rediculous amounts of money that people spend on them. It is even sad to realize that people like Robert Hughes, who have watched the art world dramatically change before their eyes, must admit that high prices have truly ruined the art world as they knew it.

I think that museums should not be geared towards how much money they will make, but about the artwork itself. If people are really interested and intrigued by artwork they will still go to museums to see real, well displayed, engaging pieces of art. I do not believe that all museums must change their populist nature, but if a few begin the trend of engaging more thoughtful, question provoking art pieces then the museums themselves will not be about making the money. By dumbing down the art museums and not giving people a chance to depict the art and think for themselves, I believe, defeats the purpose of an actual museum. The museums do this to attract more people, but like the Brooklyn Museum itself has experienced, it may not be working. This museum includes a lot of "Saturday night fun" such as dancing, drinking, and cash bars. Although this may be a great community attraction, do people really come to see art or just to have fun and drink? The above picture is at the Brooklyn Museum where an orchestra performed during a Saturday night event.

Fred Wilson: Collection Art

This particular photo has many collectible items including glasses, a cookie jar, and a statue of a standing women. The items represent the American culture and the norms of the popular traditions years ago. The usage of all white and the tall white statue could relate back to a time when African Americans were looked at as inferior to whites; something Wilson represents within his art work quite often.