Through the sprint study in the third and fourth weeks, I got to know some artists’ works and artists’ toolkits. One of my most impressive works of art is Comedian created by the artist Maurizio Cattelan. This work of art can be completed with fresh banana and adhesive tape, provided that the authenticity certificate of this work of art is obtained. But because of this, the work of art is easy to load and unload. Maybe banana actions can be called a conceptual art. Though the item itself is perpetually under threat of decomposition, Emmanuel Perrotin, founder of the gallery selling Cattelan’s work, emphasized to the New York Times that the real value of the work lies in the certificate of authenticity, which includes a manual for installation. “All artwork costs a lot of money,” Perrotin said. “They buy an idea, they buy a certificate.”(Elbaor, 2019) In my feeling, either of which version of the banana works, selling price is a concept rather than specific sculptures or paintings, it is also verified conceptual art: the authors did not make art as a commodity, but some thoughts or way as a work of art itself. The artist turned an ordinary banana into a valuable work of art that made many people willing to pay for it.There are just two elements of Comedian that create tremendous artistic value, and inspire discussion and reflection. This made me think that learning how to do subtraction might be a good way to do it, whether in creative games or art projects. Compared to a wide variety of materials, a banana and duct tape can also show its artistic value.
Finally, there is an after-class assignment in these two weeks about creating an art assignment, and I chose to turn off the screen. The ring, photographed through a gray and black perfume bottle, is somewhere between clear and fuzzy. The ring and perfume bottle are used to take pictures, in order to express the ambiguity and uncertainty of the ring, hoping that to some extent, the ring does not reflect imprisonment, but a way of self expression. For example, many people think that a ring on a girl’s middle finger is a sign that she is in love or engaged. However, is it possible that some women wear a ring on their middle finger simply because it is the right size? So, to some extent, the ring is just an expression of an idea, maybe loyalty, maybe freedom, maybe a blur in between. The purpose of this assignment may be influenced by the feminist artists in this week’s profile, who boldly use many ways to demonstrate the power of women in art. This is something I have not been exposed to before.
In addition, I have not been exposed to other learning materials in my previous study. I feel that I have been expanding my vision by watching art works this week. It turns out that meat can be made into a book, and one-minute sculpture also exists, but I can’t think of other materials to make a book. I can only think of plastic or cloth, which may be the reason why I need to continue to study.
As for connectionism, I couldn’t open the text so I only watched the video for 3 minutes, and I was wondering if connectionism could be interpreted as communication. Just like our course needs to write a blog, writing your own blog and then reading other people’s blog to get some new ideas from it, is it also a process of connection? Can people in their daily life also be considered as a form of connectionism? After all, humans live in groups, and it is impossible to be completely independent from groups. That’s just my assumption.
Thank you for reading and I hope I can provide some useful information next time.
References
Elbaor, C. (2019). Buyers of Maurizio Cattelan’s $120,000 Banana Defend the Work as ‘the Unicorn of the Art World,’ Comparing It to Warhol’s Soup Cans. [online] artnet News. Available at: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/maurizio-cattelan-banana-collector-1728009.
wjake
24th October 2022 — 1:54 pm
Jiahui Li, this was a very imformative post that provided useful insights about what you have found interesting so far and has provoked a response for you personally. Similar to the last post I’d recommend including images to illustrate your thinking, for instance you discussed Cattelan’s ‘Comedian’ but didn’t include any documentation of the work or articles about how it was received despite referencing these discussions. It is a good idea to do this as a form of academic referencing, this will help you build your arguments with more external context and develop a habit of citing sources and responding to them in your own writing.
Your observations on connectivism are astute and could be something interesting to pursue further, the means of technology we have access to shape the nature and content of the ways we communicate and learn from one another.
s2298567
24th October 2022 — 7:23 pm
Thank you for your comments. I will add the literature and pictures of the work discussed as soon as possible this week to extend the external background and relevant information of the work.