Doris Salcedo

Doris Salcedo's work is extremely moving as it represents a sociological view. Through her work, she aims to represent the silenced lives of the marginalize, whether it be individual victims of violence or the disempowered of the Third World. Her work incorporates the struggles of such people in hopes of making viewers aware and moved. This particular work titled Noviembre 6 y 7, Salcedo used 1,550 purple and yellow chairs nestled between two buildings in Columbia. The colors she chose reflect the look of brown when viewing from afar. She was commemorating the political massacre of 1985. She placed each chair over a 53 hour period, which was the duration of the seige. The chairs seem to represent people who may be, but should not be, forgotten; people who once occupied a space in time and are no longer there. The feeling of this installation artwork is that of remembrance, but also of awareness. By choosing to create this piece in the original place of the event was risky as it must have stirred old memories and past grievances, hard times, and personal emotions.

Installation Art

Installation art is art that has been organized or arranged  in a specific place by the artist. The objects can evoke multiple thoughts and associations. The art can contain a broad range of everyday materials and natural materials; like the picture of the tree in Korea to the left. The artist attempts to express the feeling of heavy cool raindrops which are made out of clear plastic tubes that are filled with water and air. The aim of Penelope Thompson, the artist, is to provide the viewer with a special, multi-sensory experience in a specific space. The viewers were able to walk under the tree, between the raindrops and feel the swaying of the cool breeze.

Salvador Dali: Three Sphinxes of Bikini

Salvador Dali's painting titled Three Sphinxes of Bikini portrays a strange and confusing image when first looked upon as it appears to be the backside of a human head, a tree with a gaping hole in the center and a replica of the first image off in the distance. However, after looking upon the image a number of times, the image farthest back seems to become more clear. In fact, it is not a replica of the first image but a nuclear mushroom cloud errupting in the distance. Perhaps this cannot be recognized without knowing some history about Dali or the events of his time, but this small detail makes all the difference in understanding his painting as an image concieving some meaning and rational thought.
Dali lived through World War II, and became quite interested in science as he was so inspired by the shock of Hiroshima and the drawing of the "atomic age". What this image reflects is the actions of the U.S. in Bikini Atoll where they conducted 23 nuclear tests which, naturally, caused radioactive contamination on those Islands. As a surrealist painter, Dali was inspired to paint an expression of inner experience rather that a portrayal of reality however, he hardly ever conveyed the true meaning of his work in order to keep people curious. So, in this image you see the nuclear mushroom cloud which may represent distruction, the tree which may represent nature, and the human head which must represent humanity. The fact that they all embody the same shape may represent a strong, yet subconscious relationships between humanity, nature, and distruction with nature being the most wodely affected, as the tree is positioned closest to the nuclear cloud.

Andy Warhol's piece of art entitled "200 One Dollar Bills" sold for $43.7 million dollars. This is one of Warhol's first silk screening paintings and this technique gave him freedom to exploit his new approach to subject matter. The series of "Dollar Bill" paintings were done in March-April 1962 and Warhol's first silkscreens were created from ink drawings  picturing the fronts and backs of one- and two-dollar bills. When I first looked at this piece of contemporary art work I didn't think much of it at all. I initially just thought whats so great about a bunch of 1 dollar bills?! I then began to see the meaning behind the picture; it was created in response to the post-war world's media. This particular piece removes the hand of the artist and makes the viewer feel a sense of disconnectedness and distance in which the world around him was portrayed. I also think that Warhol is trying to convey to his audience that we become so wrapped up in money and take it for granted. Warhol grew up through the depression and therefore cherishes the value of a dollar whereas many others are filled with a sense of greediness and forget the value of such a thing. The attainment of wealth and fame for Warhol was something in which he had to work long and hard at. At first, I did not see this as 'art work' but as I began researching and looking beyond my first impressions, I saw further meaning behind the piece.

Vija Celmins

The random picture of this particular tree reminds me of  one of Vija Celmins pieces of art due to the randomness and lack of a point of reference. It appears that this work of art was chosen at random and is unimportant. Her work demonstrates a realistic view of nature and is a close engagement with the natural environment. If this were to be Celmin's actual art piece though, the surfaces would be more abstract and the details of the tree would be much more pronounced.

Dave Hickey: The Invisible Dragon

Dave Hickey's work titled The Invisible Dragon has truly ignited a debate about beauty within art as he calls for all readers to reconsider beauty and to reconsider the nature of art itself. Hickey's purpose of his writing is to move people to see that beauty as a means and not an end is what makes art powerful, what makes it interesting. Hickey explains how many people, specifically in most traditional views, have believed that art should sell itself through beauty, for if it sells it is commodity, but if it sells something other than itself it is advertisement. He also shares that he has found that art dealers only care about "how it looks" while new instituationally employed art professionals "really care about what it means". I agree with Hickey that this is what is truly more important, not to mention what is becoming more and more preferred in contemporary art forms. People don't just want to look at something beautiful, but to look at something that may first be confusing or scary or abstract and be able to draw something out of it: a realization, an emotion, an idea. This is what makes art beautiful, the fact that it is so much more than an inatimate object, but something that can provoke a movement in each and every eye that does not just look at it, but truly sees it.

Dave Hickey

Hickey seems to differ from most art critics in that he says it is not important what the actual art is saying, yet why a work is efficacious in the first place is as important as whether or not it is satisfying, is what he seems to portray. His argument essentially is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I believe that it depends on the direct one on one relationship between the viewer and the art work as well. Hickey suggests that beauty allows us direct access to art without the public over seeing. It seems as though beauty ultimately comes down to the pleasure in which one has with that object when engaging with it.