- Can an idea be a work of art? Yes, the thought and process is what makes something art.
- Is good art always skilful? Yes ,except the skill may not be technical it may be a skilful way of capturing light, emotions, motion or simply a skilful way of thinking about art.
- If you don't make works of art can you be an artist? Yes, being an artist is simply looking at the world in a way personal to you.
- Why might artists ask other people to make work for them? To create a collaborative piece that reflects the duality of opinion and emotion or a shared experience.
- What makes an instruction interesting? instructions are not always clear and often depend on someones experience andtheir relationship with the subject matter.
- Does a photographer always have to be the one who presses the shutter? No, photographers can repurpose.
John Baldessari
Baldessari is a conceptual artist that uses the idea of appropriation, starting with text and later using print, film, sculpture and most notably circle stickers on people's faces. Baldessari is known for his wit and the ability to create a humorous narrative around high-brow art. What I found most interesting about Baldessari's art was his use of colour and shape which often works as a distraction.
- One person copies or makes up random captions
- Defenestrate objects, photograph them in mid air
- Photograph the back of things, foreshortening, underneath things
- Imitate John Baldessari
I found it quite easy to follow the instructions as they were quite broad and could be applied to a variety of subjects. i composed my images as i wanted to focus on the subject. I focused on observing movement around me as Baldessari often looked for absurdity in life. I took 40 images as many of them were trial-and-error and I tried to capture movement which caused a constant change in composition. I found myself looking at the images by thinking about how absurd I could make the angles, subject or range of tone. i don't like these images as I feel they lack any kind of thought or creativity as i felt I was simply copying an artist and I was limited by the fact I did not create the project or was able to take inspiration from Baldassari.
We were asked to pick from a set of assignments inspired by Baldassari. I chose this assignment as i thought the idea of movement and or the lack of movement was interesting as it relates to Baldessari's work.
Assignment #8 Document change, decay, metamorphosis, changes occurring in time. Photograph the same thing at various times during the day.
Assignment #8 Document change, decay, metamorphosis, changes occurring in time. Photograph the same thing at various times during the day.
i think that this series went well as i was able to show decay in many ways. I looked at the idea of abandoned art and what art becomes in a liminal space, and how light and colour can change to show the value of objects. I looked at how space was taken up by light and water to create an absence .
This is my favourite photo as i feel it represents the ideas of decay and change as the tonal differences show the slower decay.
Do it
'Do It' is a series of works of every medium imaginable all with the key theme of instruction whether direct of not. 'Do It' was born out of a conversation in 1993 between Christian Boltanski and Bertrand Lavier yet evolves with each new artist that takes it on. Currently residing at the Manchester Art Gallery, the exhibition uses instruction to create its art. This causes visitors to not only consider the pieces they see or the commands they follow, but consider process as this calls into question What is art? When does something become art? When is an art piece finished? and Who is the artist? Some artists hope that people take this exhibition out into the public either as they travel through the gallery or outside, such as giving people notes or simply smiling on the streets. This of course creates discourse about both art and us as people. I found some of the examples overdone such as 'write a note' or Yoko Ono’s wishing tree. These instructions no longer provoke thought as everyone can wish something , whereas it is much harder to apply meaning to an empty room clad with dolls and rope such as Jon Chamberlain did. This article or collection of instruction based art has not changed my opinion on instruction based art as i still view it as a way artists attempt to apply some kind of thought to a meaningless piece rather than exploring what meaningless means and how it has value. Of course many artists use instruction based art well, exploring exploitation, control and freedom such as Leon Gloub’s 'Don’t do it, refuse' mentality.