I have been aware of this book for book for a wile through my History of Art courses. I have read sections of it in reaction to documentation and curation so I was aware of Groys’ interest in duality and was interested in how his righting might relate to my work.

I have got a copy of the book and have just read the introduction. Groys talks about plurality and paradox, thesis and antitheses. To him Modern and Contemporary art is comprised of assertions and oppositions that has created an ever widenings definition of Art and variation of work. Wherever this is a light a shadow is created to neutralist its power and resort balance. This idea of plurality and balance is something I am trying to directly engage with in my work. I like the idea that each medium I work in to create my pieces balances the aspects of the other mediums and in doing so adds to a grater, more interesting whole. I see my experimentation with creating one work in multiple dimensions as perhaps more of a discos than Gorys’ description of neutralising contradictions, but I can certainly see his interest in plurality in my own work.

Groys also speaks about Modern and Contemporary art as being either politicly or market motivated. At the moment I’m not really sure where my work falls into that dichotomy or even if it does. At the moment the way I’m working seems to speak of an individual as a pluralistic being witch I suppose could be quite spiritual/philosophical and so political. But I think it will become clearer as my project progresses if my work is ideologically motivated or if I intend it to be more of a commodity that simply exists to be itself.

For Groys the exhibition, he specifically mentions Biennials, are the perfect stage to represent the balance of power in Modern and Contemporary art. Seemingly Groys feels that it is only when works are viewed together that we can fully understand the conceptual/material/ideological dialogue or plurality that exists in Modern and Contemporary art. I feel that although each of the elements that makes up my work can be experienced separately, as Groys suggests, a viewer can best come to terms with the complexity of my work when all the elements are experienced together. However, in the case of my work I’m not sure if  if an exhibition space is the best way to experience the full plurality of my work. I think that my work can best be understood slowly in a small un-monumental environment, which is why I am making my 2d work in business card form so it can be easily taken home and experienced slowly and fully. I like the idea that instead of studying my work in a gallery, viewers engage in the work. They perhaps see the 2d poster, learn about the concept, take a business card sized version of the work home, see the digital image, print the 3d sculpture and then over a period of time experience all three elements.

Other chapters I want to read:

• Art in the Age of the Biopolitics: From Artwork to Art Documentation
• From Image to Image File – and Back: Art in the Age of Digitization
• Multiple Authorship
• Critical reflections

Boris Groys, Art Power – Introduction / Isabella Inskip / MA FINE ART 4 STUDIO AND RESEARCH (2020-2021)[YR] by blogadmin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0