Tutorial 5- Exit Through the Gift Shop: A Banksy Film Reflection.

Overall, I enjoyed the documentary as it was entertaining and made you want to find out more about street art through Thierry Guetta. Thierry the main character, showed what it is like to be a street artist and the climb to fame. It was great how they showed how Shepard Ferry and Banksy, would be battling against each other with their work. As Thierry's pieces of art were emulated slightly from different artists, Shepard and Banksy were surprised by his quick claim to fame. The intention of the film was to show street artists express their art and should be appreciated for it.

Lecture 5- Conceptual Art

Douglas Huebler (1924-1997,USA) was a painter, sculptor, photographer and used word art.

Hurbler used words in his art to communicate messages to the viewers. 

Conceptual art was no longer conventional art shown in galleries. The artwork not only was on show but was also intended to pose questions to itself. The conceptual art became a subject of itself. They worked with words in minor ways such as providing words on white walls in galleries. This was something different to conventional art as there was no frame present. 

Joseph Kosuth (1945, USA) was a word, neon and illustration artist. 

He created the neon signs which would be displayed with a reference to words. This new creation altered the was words are used. Language refers to itself not the real world. The neon signs would be presented on walls with no frame which intrigued people. 

Jenny Holzer (1950-, USA) was an installation and word artist. She also created city scape projections as shown below. She created a system of signs, writing on the walls using projectors on architectural cities. Onlookers would read the signs which could even spur inspiration. 

Pop Art

Andy Warhol created the Campbell's soup can design This is an image taken in the supermarket where I found the colours really stood out to me and it was instant that I knew it was Pop Art. This limited edition tomato soup can design was released to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Andy Warhol's 1962 32 Campbell's soup can piece. These soup cans feature pop art labels from the original artwork of Andy Warhol.

Andy Warhol created many designs for the Coca-Cola company. Had he not created the image of the bottle as a promotional tool, we may not have seen it advertised. The idea of having the bottle of coca-cola on the left side is something Andy Warhol incorporated into his work never has anyone seen coca-cola presented on the right. Also, I thought the circles presented in different colours could be inspired from Andy Warhol's work as a lot of his pieces were the same design presented in different colours and patterns as shown here.

This image was taken on the tram so it is a bit difficult to see. However, this image is similar to the works of Roy Lichtenstein It appears to be a woman who is in love and focused on that one person, looking up to them. Although this isn't a comic, the way it has been created appears that way. Unlike, Lichtenstein's work there is no speech bubble we as an audience can make our own speech bubbles as to what we perceive her to be thinking. The image is more shown inside what appears to look like a speech bubble as if her expressions reveal what she is thinking. 

Tutorial 4- Pop Art

Painting- Nighthawk

Location: Phillies diner 1am at Night

Characters: -Woman: Susan, Man: Geoff, Isolated man: Phil, Bartender: Graham Dowdy

Geoff (gestures to his right to an isolated man): What's that guy doing over there? No-one usually comes this late at night, except for me

Susan (looks at Geoff, with a disgusted look) : Hey I'm here!

Geoff: Yeah, but you're a pretty woman, probably single and an alcoholic

Susan (her mouth opens with shock): Hey!

Graham (looks at Geoff only, while making a drink): I don't know, it looks like another one of them kicked out of their house by their wife and has no where else to go. 

Geoff (looking at Graham, with a confused face): Oh yeah, that explains it at least he isn't telling us his life story like the last guy did.

Susan (pleads for attention): that's not the case. The man wants sympathy, he wants to tell you he is having financial problems and wants all your money.

Geoff (annoyed with her interrupting, gestures to her and slams fist on table): You look a fine woman, but we are here all the time. We see these people come in all the time and that is not the case.

Susan (can't be bothered): Ask him yourself?

Graham: Excuse me, lady let us two men talk. Who invited you to the conversation?

Susan (pleased tone of voice): Suit yourself, us women are always right.

Graham: women don't know the simplest thing about men

(Susan looks at her nails, as she is not included in the conversation).

Geoff: You're not wrong Graham. Well I spoke to my father and he said he use to work with you at Smith's brewery. 

Graham: what was his name?

Geoff: Simon Jones

Graham: Ohhh Simon Jones, yeah we were great friends. How is he?

Geoff: He is good

Graham: How's your coffee?

Geoff: Good thanks, Graham

Lecture 4- Pop Art

Andy Warhol (1928-1987, USA) used commercials, an illustrator and a painter.


He was famous for creations of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Mickey Mouse, Elvis Presley. He distinctively used contrasts with colour and dark shadows around the celebrities.

 
Also influenced by commercial advertising, Warhol recreated a Brilla Box packaging. This era was fascinated with signage and trademarks.
Some of his advertisement recreations include Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola, matchboxes, and Campbell soup cans.

Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997, USA) is a painter who uses strong colours such as reds and yellows. He played on the speech bubbles, using phrases such as sweet dreams. His inventive phrases were implemented in films before someone would shoot someone. He used automateopia in his comics to describe the sounds happening in the narrative. The following is one of Lichtenstein's pieces of work called the drowning girl:



Even this picture describes a narrative and we can assume what has happened. Without having to read the comic, only from experiences and the experiences of others we understand the message of the image. It shows a woman who is love struck, and her emotions are commercialised. The image is a pun, that she crying and looks as if she has taken the water of the ocean from her tears. It explains that she does not care anymore, she would rather just "sink" hide away and never come back than call Brad.

Lichtenstein has the ability to isolate a moment and make us focus on the one situation. It displays a problem in a narrative and what she her head is thinking. The speech bubbles are the monologue, as verbally they express what she is thinking. The narrative could again be love struck and that there is no point running after the one she loves when it is hopeless when he doesn't love her back.
Below is the image Hopeless:

Tutorial 3- Cut Ups

This tutorial was interesting as we experienced avant- garde practices.  We cut up pieces of newspapers and magazines. We put columns and sentences together in order to create different meanings and stories. I found this tutorial challenging as we needed to concentrate and ensure the context of the sentences made sense.

Story Cut-Up

Image Cut-Up

This cut-up circles around the central text "10 facts about coconut oil." With the mouse indicator on the text, it could represent our technological world. The other words on the page could symbolise the several links from an original website. The cut-up contains 10 "facts" that are used in advertising to promote a product. In this case the product is coconut oil and they go about promoting it by showing pretty pictures of celebrities and state you will look like them. The different words is how they may advertise the product stating you will feel like the words shown, if you purchase the product. This cut-up explains how fantasies are portrayed as reality.

Lecture 3- Cut-Ups

Cut-Up Method

American novelist William Burroughs and Brion Gysin created cut-up techniques which would be used in more ways than they first intended.

The cut-up method was actually thought of before Gysin invented the technique. Tristan Tzara, part of the Dada movement formed an idea of randomly choosing words.This shows they could see what would occur in years to come.

Gysin's skills from various occupations such as being a painter, writer, sound recordist and poet, could be a precursor for the formation of the cut-up technique found in 1959.

Brion Gysin

William Burroughs

Burroughs whom respected Gysin, used his cut-up techniques in his own writing. Experimenting with perceptions Burroughs took many drugs in order to view the world, through different and sometimes even whacky perceptions. He noticed that human perceptions of the world change when under these condititons.

Possibly due to his experience with various drugs, Burroughs believed the cut-up method not only includes the forming of words, but also the use of images and blocking the cut-outs into different positions, preferrably long columns. Due to the cut-up method Burroughs had the ability of making lyrics for music.

 

Kurt Cobain was fascinated by Burroughs and used cut-up techniques in his own music.

 Gysin was fascinated by music and cut-up the human sound on tape. However, Gysin was always given credit for his discovery of the cut-up method.

Tutorial 2- Automatic Writing and The Exquisite Corpse

Automatic Writing
Using surrealist techniques and putting ourselves in a receptive state of mind we began what is called automatic writing. Writing from our unconscious state of mind with the instructions if we pause we have to continue writing. My piece was very interesting and began with the present however it eventually delved into my past. These things I have wrapped up so tight in my mind unknowingly to stay strong and keep it all together. For some context my Pop one of the first in my family passed away last year from cancer. This is what I came to write and is translated below:

Pink starts with the letter P.

What am I writing? Why am I writing this? Who is around me? Why do I care? Almost Pop's death anniversary. What will Nana think when she finds out this date is while she is on holiday with us. Parents on holiday Thailand, wow that's great! I'm so fucking jealous? Why couldn't I go, stuck here at uni. just doing this piece. Yeah I'd love to be in Thailand with heat opposed to this stupid Melbourne weather. Flowers, Flowers we will put near Pop's grave, to remind us of how much he meant to us. Great guy full of laughs, loved him so much. Why did he have to go, that funny bugger. Grant, brother sick. Says I have to help why I shouldn't have to help he's sick he should help to even though Nana plots around in her own world as if everything is okay but when, Oh when will she break down. I don't want her to break down but I reckon, she will, when she goes to the grave perhaps she cries, well that is sad. I know how she feels I cry. Why don't I cry about him every day, well i should. Sometimes I forget, I wonder why did he leave get cancer and go he was so sick tied to wheelchair unable to move. Why? He didn't deserve this AT ALL! I can't believe it happened? Where is he? Where? My note feel and I thought that was his spirit.

My arm is so sore. But not as sore as Pop's pain from cancer. Wish he was here, why why isn't he here? Where did he go? Why do we live and die? It's not bloody fair! Seriously we can't live a life with everyone around us dying how does that work?

After writing this piece and after reading over it, made me realise how much I miss my Pop. But also underlying questions about the afterlife and what comes after death. As to posing where we go? Whether we are reincarnated. It shows that I hope my Pop is in a good place and is treated well and happy.

While writing the piece before my pen was put to paper came certain words rolling around in my head and I had to choose the word which first comes to mind. The speed of my writing was very quick resulting in a sore arm, however I believe my mind was working faster. My idea that our minds think faster than our pens to paper challenges the surrealists idea of automatic writing coming directly from our unconscious minds.

The Exquisite Corpse
In a group of three, each person in the group noted either a verb, adjective or noun. We folded the sheetof paper ensuring our players don't see what we have wrote. After doing so, the words are put together to form a sentence, which resulted in oddly sentences.
Sentences our group created were:

The hard blood will hit an old car.

A beautiful London screaming at the futile body.

A peculiar cup played the ancient tune.

These unusual sentences would have been made sense of by surrealists of the time. Assumingly they would not laugh at the sentences but rather accept these sentences to be expressed and understood by the world.

It was very interesting in this tutorial to experience what surrealists practiced back in history. It was like taking a step back in time.

Lecture 2- Early 20th Century Avant-Garde Movements

George Braque- Popova: Two Figures

Cubism (1907/1911) is an art whereby the painter has atomised space and by doing so has reduced the perspective lines. It breaks the horizon line and replaces the painting with surface, volume and mass by producing three dimensional objects.

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973,Spain)- Weeping Woman 

Futurism (1909) destroyed language and saw the potential of the modern world emerging. In this era they freed the typography of language by bending words and portraying words in different ways. Automatopia allowed the words to describe things we hear such as BANG, CLANK and POW! Futurism was the era of the creation of words.

F.T Marinetti (1876-1944, Italy)

Dada (1915) was the invention of words and sounds. Kurt Schwitters (1888-1948, Germany), used collage work and was intrigued by the words as a visual design. Schwitters designed Dada posters and used his collages in drawing, magazines, money and print.

Kurt Schwitters - Merz Cover, 1925

Surrealism (1924) was the era of experimenting with language. Many surrealists were interested in the rational mind and that it can reveal true repressed thoughts. This in turn could help the person deal with issues they have unconsciously hidden in the back of their mind.

Andre' Breton was a poet writer and played around with language.

Andre' Breton