WEEK 2 : Post-Modernism, Ai Weiwei and Banksy

Define Post-Modernism using 8-10 bullet points that include short quotes.

• Complex phenomenon - Grenz. S 
• The quest to move beyond Modernism - Grenz. S 
• Associated with relativism. The idea that "anything goes." - Saugstad, A. 
• Society is fragmented and there is "no grand narrative." - Saugstad, A. 
• "The period in which we now live." Composed by the two words ‘post’ and ‘modern’. ‘Post’ is Latin for ‘after’, and ‘modernism’ refers to the modern period. - Saugstad, A. 
• The idea of social constructivism. "The idea that there is no objective knowledge or absolute representation of reality." - Saugstad, A. 
• Linguistic idealism "Reality does not determine language, language determines reality." - Cupitt, D. 
• Involves the rejection of the modern mind-set, but launched under the conditions of modernity. - Grenz. S
  
  
  

Use a quote by Witcombe (2000) to define the Post-Modern artist.

"The post–modern artist is ‘reflexive’ in that he or she is self–aware and consciously involved in a process of thinking about his or her cultural self in history, in de-masking his or her own pretensions, and promoting processes of self–consciousness." - Witcombe, C (2000)


Summarize Post-Modernity.

Post-modernity is widely considered a rival to the ever manipulative ideologies of modernism. Where modernism relies on a sense of faith for its themes of social and cultural unity, postmodernism ideas are driven by disunity and social and cultural pluralism. As well as that, modernism also focuses more on meaning and the signified, postmodernism pays more attention to a play with surfaces without concern for depth. Modernity ideas also support a dichotomy of high and low culture, however post-modernity's hybrid cultural forms cancel high and low categories. Within post-modernity ideologies, art is respected more by its process and production as opposed to modernism's respect for the unique object and finished work. It is also believed that modernism supported a seriousness of intention and purpose where postmodernism challenged any official seriousness and rather subverts any sense of earnestness.


What features of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei's 'Han Dynasty Urn with Coca-Cola logo' (1994) are Post-Modern.

Contemporary Chinese artist, architect and political activist Ai Weiwei is openly critical of the Chinese Government's stance on democracy and human rights and this is evident in his works. According to Ambrozy (2011) Weiwei is opposed to being labelled as a dissident.

"Weiwei’s experimental conceptualism was precipitated by the infectious creative atmosphere of Beijing’s East Village, which begat some of his most iconic images: the Coca-Cola urn." (Ambrozy, L. 2011)

I believe Weiwei's 'Han Dynasty Urn with Coca-Cola logo' has features of postmodern themes because it challenges the grand narratives within the communist built structure of China's society. I would imagine that the inclusion of the Coca-Cola logo on the historical Chinese urn would have mostly been considered offensive in Chinese society as it almost implies the idea of a foreign invasion. Coca-Cola is a widely recognised American brand, and its presence somewhat corrupts the cultural and historic nature of the urn. 

How can British artist Banksy's street art be defined as Post-Modern?


"We can’t do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime we should all go shopping to console ourselves." (Banksy, 2007)

"When you go to an art gallery you are simply a tourist looking at the trophy cabinet of a few millionaires." (Banksy, 2007)


"We don’t need any more heroes; we just need someone to take out the recycling." (Banksy, 2007)

"I am unable to comment on who may or may not be Banksy, but anyone described as being 'good at drawing' doesn't sound like Banksy to me." (www.banksy.co.uk)

"I use whatever it takes. Sometimes that just means drawing a moustache on a girl's face on some billboard, sometimes that means sweating for days over an intricate drawing. Efficiency is the key."  (www.designiskinky.com)

Naked Man image by Banksy, 

on the wall of a sexual health 

clinic in Park Street, Bristol.

Work on building in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, August 2008

Banksy's stencil on the waterline of The Thekla, an entertainment boat in central Bristol.

I believe we can define Banksy's street art as Post-modern because a majority of his works encourage the audience to pay just as much attention to their appearance than they do to their purpose. He achieves this by creating his works in locations that in a sense blend or interact with the environment they have been placed in. Although his work locations come across rather intentional, I feel Banksy challenges any official seriousness his works may have by sometimes incorporating irony or just generally playing with his location. Further evidence we should regard Banksy's work as post-modern is because of his approach to the process of the works, as he states "efficiency is the key" when explaining his technique which shows he cites art more as a process and production as opposed to modernity ideologies that focus on art as a finished work. 

Reference List:

• Ambrozy, L. (2011) Ai Weiwei's Blog: Writings, Interviews, and Digital Rants. Massachusetts, US: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press.
  
• Witcombe, C (2000) Modernism & Postmodernism. Retrieved from http://witcombe.sbc.edu/modernism/modpostmod.html
• Grenz, S. (1996) A Primer on Postmodernism. Michigan, US: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
• Saugstad, A. (2001) Postmodernism: What is it, and What is Wrong With It? Retrieved from http://goinside.com/01/1/postmod.html
• Banksy (2007) Wall and Piece. UK: Random House.
• www.banksy.co.uk
• www.designiskinky.com

WEEK 1 : Nathalie Djurberg's 'Claymations'

What do you understand by the word 'claymation'?

I believe the word claymation originated from the process of stop-action animation using clay models. (Murphy, M. 2008) Immediately when I think of the word claymation, I reminisce of a range of television series that I remember from my childhood. Otmar Gutmann's Pingu is one series in particular that never failed to amuse me. The series is about a small family of anthropomorphic penguins who live in the South Pole.

What is meant by the term 'surrealistic Garden of Eden'? and 'all that is natural goes awry'?

Personally I believe both terms have a misleading sense about them. I would imagine that if something was being described as a Garden of Eden, it would typically have a sense of grace and beauty about it. But as the work is being described as surrealistic as well, I am led to believe that it also consists of something that contrasts from what gives it the sense similar to a Garden of Eden. In my opinion, "all that is natural goes awry" describes how the nature of the work gradually divides itself from its physical form, to the extent where it almost becomes something that viewers wouldn't believe was intentional.

What are the 'complexity of emotions' that Djurberg confronts us with?


I believe it would be acceptable to state that Djurberg's work confronts viewers with a complexity of emotions as I would imagine the graphic nature composed with the fictional sense of the work may encourage viewers to interpret her work in a variety of ways.

'Experiment' (2009) Venice Biennale

How does Djurberg play with the ideas of children's stories, and innocence in some of her work?


There is a sense of childhood story ideas and innocence within Djurberg's work as she contrasts a mixture of positive and negative themes within a fictional, dream-like depiction. Both the positive and negatives themes could be based on the idea of how children's stories usually have an obvious protagonist and antagonist. An example of this children's story concept are the fictional characters; little red riding hood (positive) and the wolf (negative). The use of clay modelling may also suggest a sense of innocence as the character models have a child-like cartoon nature about them.


There is a current fascination by some designers with turning the innocent and sweet into something disturbing. Why do you think this has come about?


I think this fascination has come about since designers have realised that creating a strong contrast within there work can make it so much more effective in terms of how an audience may interpret it. The contrast between the innocent and disturbing nature within Djurberg's work allows a mature audience to be able to reflect on how maybe someone of a young nature would interpret the work.

Why do you think Djurberg's work is so interesting that it was chosen for the Venice Biennale?


In my opinion, I think Djurberg's work was chosen for the Venice Biennale because it is capable of intriguing a wide range of viewers in the sense that the theme of the work is very fictional but can encourage an audience to be perceptive due to the strong contrast between the nature of innocence and disgust within her work.


Add some of your own personal comments on her work.


Another feature of Djurberg's work that interested me, was the use of lighting within the work space. I believe it would have added a gloomy and imaginative nature to the work that may have even brought the fictional ideas ever closer to reality, as experiencing the work would have almost been like you were walking around inside the artist's mind.

Reference List:

• Murphy, M. (2008) Beginner’s Guide to Animation: Everything you need to know to get Started. New York, US: Watson-Guptill
• http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/6886/nathalie-djurberg

Industrialisation, Modernism and Architecture

Eiffel Tower (1889) Gustave Eiffel

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao (1997) Frank Gehry

Research both architectural structures in order to comment on;
-the importance of the design and construction
-significance of the materials
-significance of the designer
-function for which each was built
-function now-has it changed?


Compare the two architectural structures, by noting their similarities and differences.

Named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, the Eiffel tower is considered one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The tower is built of riveted wrought iron, a material that will last virtually forever if it is painted regularly (Eiffel Tower Maintenance, n.d). Ever since it was constructed in 1889, it has been an attraction for many aspiring and famous photographers. It has had great importance in France, as it held the title as the tallest man-made structure in the world for 41 years, standing at over 300m tall.

What I have found interesting about the design of the Eiffel tower is that it is similar to Eiffel's earlier construction of the Garabit Viaduct rail bridge.

 

The Garabit Viaduct was constructed by Eiffel between 1880 and 1884, and opened in 1885

According to Cuito (2003), railroads are symbolic of sustained and unlimited progress. From his youth Eiffel showed "great inclination toward the study of the sciences as well as a thorough interest in succeeding in the society of his time" (Cuito, 2003). Shortly after Eiffel finished his engineering diploma, a contract was arranged by his mother to work with Charles Nepveu; an engineer who heavily influenced Eiffel. “Nepeveu introduced the young Eiffel into the world of bridge building, and it was thanks to Nepveu, as well that Eiffel obtained the supervision of the bridge in Bordeaux, where he demonstrated his great organizational capacity and his gift of socializing with people" (Cuito, 2003). These qualities eventually served Eiffel well as he founded his own construction firm in 1865, at a time when France was industrializing. "Eiffel was also responsible for designing the structure that supports the Statue of Liberty, a gift to America from France in 1886" (Wilbur, 2010).

The design for the Eiffel tower was unanimously selected from 700 submissions at the Paris International Exposition (also known as the Exposition Universelle). The tower originally functioned as an entrance archway to the exposition, but was soon considered by many as an “eyesore” (Wilbur, 2010).

“It’s true that you must take endless precautions, in Paris, not to see the Eiffel Tower; whatever the season, through mist and cloud, on overcast days or in sunshine, in rain- wherever you are, whatever the landscape of roofs, domes, or branches separating you from it, the tower is there; incorporated into daily life until you can no longer grant it any specific attribute, determined merely to persist, like a rock or the river, it is as literal as a phenomenon of nature whose meaning can be questioned to infinity but whose existence is incontestable” (Barthes, 1979).

Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) was a popular 19th century French writer, who often lunched in a restaurant at the base of the Eiffel Tower; because it was only there that he could avoid seeing its otherwise unavoidable profile. According to Wilbur (2010) many artists and critics tried to stifle the design of the tower. Yet over a hundred years later, still it stands as a “universal symbol” (Barthes, 1979) of France. The Eiffel tower has been described as “one of modernity’s most clichéd images” (Bergdoll, 2003). The Eiffel Tower came close to being dismantled in 1909, but was saved due to its usefulness as a functioning radio tower. It may be safe to say that the tower is a key component in the French tourism industry as it was recently recorded that the tower has over six million people visit it each year (Wilbur, 2010).

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao under construction

Similar to the Eiffel tower, architect Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum located in Bilbao, Spain, is another structure that provokes great international interest. Built out of limestone, glass, and titanium, the museum is situated in the largest city on the north coast of Spain, only 100 kilometers away from France. However unlike the Eiffel tower, the initial construction of the Guggenheim Museum was welcomed and hailed by architect Philip Johnson as “the greatest building of our time” as numerous artists, architects, journalists, politicians, filmmakers, and historians visited the building site in the mere four years of its construction anticipating the success of the venture. (SRGF, 2011)

Despite also having a fascinating design, the constant presence the Eiffel tower has with its locals is where the Guggenheim Museum differs. From a far distance, only the roof of the museum may be visible. But what may intrigue viewers from afar about the museum is its reflective steel, curved shapes and sail-like design. These visual dynamics may be symbolic of Bilbao's past reputation being the leading industrial city in Spain, with its two main industries once being steelmaking and shipbuilding
(Poulakidas, 2004).

The experience the Eiffel tower offers contrasts to the experience of the Guggenheim Museum. Due to the view of the tower constantly being present, locals in Paris may sometimes feel like they have experienced the tower without having to visit it up-close, which means most viewers will possibly credit the Eiffel tower as just a distant observational experience. However, as well as offering general exhibitions, the external architecture of the Guggenheim Museum offers an additional experience for viewers who step foot in its presence.


It’s no secret that the age gap between the Eiffel Tower and the Guggenheim Museum structures is more than 100 years. Therefore it is possible values and ideas in society may have been different in the period each structure was made. However, I interpret the purpose of the Eiffel Tower as being one that individualizes France, where the Guggenheim Museum was built to show one countrie’s appreciation for local and international art and design. It has been said the museum represents "one of those rare moments when critics, academics, and the general public were all completely united about something" (Tyrnauer, 2010).

Reference List:

Website:

• Corrosion Doctors (1999). Eiffel Tower Maintenance. Retrieved May 2011, from http://www.corrosion-doctors.org/Landmarks/Eiffel.htm

• (SRGF) The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation (2011). Retrieved May 2011, from 
  http://www.guggenheim.org/bilbao/history
  

• Tyrnauer, Matt (30 June 2010). Architecture in the Age of Gehry. Vanity Fair. Retrieved May 2011, from
  http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/08/architecture-survey-201008?currentPage=all

Books:

• Bergdoll, B. (2003) Introduction. In Mark Lamster (ed.) The Eiffel Tower. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. p. 7.

• Barthes, R. (1979) The Eiffel Tower, and other mythologies. New York: Hill and Wang.

• Cuito, A. (2003) Gustave Alexandre Eiffel. New York: Teneues.

• Wilbur, H. (2010) E is for the Eiffel Tower. Michigan: Sleeping Bear Press.

• Poulakidas, G (2004) The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao: Transforming a City. Canada: Children's Press.

Landscape and the Sublime

'Wanderer in the mists' (1818) Caspar David Friedrich

'Untitled #2" (2002) Richard Misrach

 'Untitled # 394-03' (2003) Richard Misrach 

1. What and when was the Enlightenment?
The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement that occurred in the 18th century and is commonly referred to as the Age of Reason. It supported a variety of ideas about man, society, and nature, which according Hamilton, P. (1992) "challenged existing conceptions rooted in traditional world-view, dominated by Christianity".

2. Define the concept of the Sublime.

The concept of Sublime was one of the most influential philosophies for landscape art. It was defined by Edmund Burke (1729-1797) who believed that "the life of feeling and spirit depended on a harmony within the larger order of the universe. The sublime, therefore, was the ultimate experience of divinity, a mixture of awe, fear, and enlightenment produced by the contemplation of a powerful, terrifying nature; for Burke, the sublime was already connected to landscape." ("A Philosophical Enquiry Into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful", 1757)

3. How did the concept of the Sublime come out of the Enlightenment thought?

The Sublime, like the Enlightenment thought, defied traditional and existing conceptions and values of the world. It focused very much on the value of nature as opposed to the traditional value of humanity. From the birth of the Sublime concept, landscape and setting became a newly important focus in traditional art and certain subjects began to require specific outdoor settings to portray their status.

4. Discuss the subject matter, and aesthetic (look) of Misrach's work to identify the Sublime in his work. Add some more images of his work.

 

Battleground Point #3 (1999)

  

Southeastern Nevada (1992)

Richard Misrach's works are commonly of human intervention in landscapes. It is not difficult to identify the sublime in Southeastern Nevada (1992) and Battleground Point #3 (1999) as nature is the prime focus of these images and it has been depicted so beautifully, it would be considered unnecessary to have the inclusion of a human figure in the photographs. However, human life is visually existent in Misrach's Untitled #2 (2002) and 
Untitled # 394-03 (2003). Where the sublime is concerned in these works is with the scale of land photographed, dominating much of the visuals which consequently portrays humanity as being of very minor value to the artist.

5. Identify some other artists or designers that work with ideas around the Sublime, from the Enlightenment era as well as contemporary artists.

William Hodges

A View of Cape Stephens in Cook's Straits New Zealand with Waterspout (1776)

Claude Monet

Poppies Blooming (1873)

Richard Diebenkorn

Cityscape I (1963)

6. How does Misrach's photography make you feel? Does it appeal to your imagination?
Misrach's photography makes me feel like I have yet to explore so much of the world's beauty. Much like the sense that a travel advertisement tries to create for its viewers. From viewing these images, I personally feel a sense of encouragement to explore and travel. This feeling I believe is provoked by the nature of these images. The fact that they are photographs and not paintings enables me to relate to them more in a sense that I know the image depicted is of a real and imaginable experience. The scale of the area photographed suggests a sense of exploration, and combined with the bright and natural features in the image, a strong depiction of the nature's beauty is created.

7. Add a Sublime image of your choice to your blog, which can be Art or just a Sublime photograph.

Colin McCahon

Maitai Valley (1947)

Reference List:

• Burke, E. (1757). A philosophical enquiry into the origin of our ideas of the Sublime and beautiful. London, England: T.W. Copeland.
  

• Hamilton, P. (1992). The Enlightenment and the birth of social science, in Hall, S. & Gieben B. (eds.), Formations of Modernity. Cambridge: Open University Press (p. 23)

The Social Status of the Artist

Self Portrait in Fur Coat (1500)

Albrecht Durer

Knob (1997) Gavin Turk

Damien Hirst and Maia Norman (1995)

1. Identify aspects of Durer's self portrait that show a changing view of the artist's view of himself as an individual.
From my perspective, this self-portrait has been manipulated to depict Durer, the artist himself, as a man of great importance. The title suggests what he is wearing in the painting is in fact fur, an expensive commodity at the time this work was painted. Its confrontational directness to the viewer is contradictory to any self-portrait before it. In the Renaissance period, the front-on style of portraiture was reserved only for important religious figures. Because of this idea, it is clear that Durer had a very high opinion of himself, as his representation in the self-portrait challenges the importance of dozens of people’s loyalty to their religion and beliefs.

2. Explain how the artist's social status increased during the Renaissance period. Briefly explain why this happened.
The social status of artist’s increased through the Renaissance period as artists started to become freely educated individuals as they separated themselves from other craftsman.
“The renaissance period was the start of a great debate over the social position of the artist”, (Blunt, 1962).
Evidence that certain artists asserted an individual reputation that set them apart from other members of their profession was a letter written in 1470 to the Duke of Ferrara by the Italian painter Francesco del Cossa (c.1436-78) in which the latter complained that all the artists working on a series of fresco paintings for the Duke at the Schiefanoia Palace (plate 3) were being paid by the same rate per square foot of wall regardless of reputation. Late Renaissance, artists had a better name for themselves as they were no longer seen as just skilled workers or craftsmen. Artists were able to prove that their intellectual ability and knowledge exceeded above the usual craftsman and were therefore directly hired by individuals or groups of a high status, consequently raising the status of the artist too in terms of importance and wealth.



3. Comment on Gavin Turk's work in relation to individualism, status of the artist and egotism.

Gavin Turk has displayed a sense of Individualism in his work “Knob” (1997) by using his own name as the center focus. I believe the autograph style he has used to produce his name suggests he is labeling himself as an artist before considering the opinion of the viewer. This idea may give the viewer the impression that Turk shapes his own status in society without valuing the opinion of others. The title “Knob” could possibly refer to the critical idea viewers may have of Turk when they view this work, as the piece strongly suggests Turk has an egotistic and self-obsessed personality.

4. Comment on Damien Hirst's use of his work and the media for self promotion.
Damien Hirst is believed to be one of the most commercially successful contemporary artists in the world (Art Encyclopedia, 2011). But behind his artistic reputation is an intelligent businessman who knows how to capture the public eye. Aware of the global attention he acquires, Hirst can take advantage of the media at any time for self-promotion. In his work “Damien Hirst and Maia Norman" (1995), Hirst has displayed himself in a photograph embracing his beautiful young partner. I believe the image suggests a connection between his work and his personal life as his partner in the photo is wearing clothing that identically matches the wall pattern behind them. Hirst however, is wearing dark clothing which draws focus towards him as he stands in front of the bright wall. The idea behind this composition could possibly be that of an attempt of self-promotion. My first impression of this image was that Hirst is depicting the result of all his work (the result being his beautifully portrayed partner). But at the same time, it tells me “It wasn’t all that hard to achieve”, with the use of simple patterning making the connection between his work (the background) and his personal life (his partner). Being the wealthy man Hirst is, the simplicity of the pattern may be symbolism to suggest he regards his work as effortless. This idea has concerns of egotism, as people who are familiar with his work would be well aware that what he produces is far from effortless.

5. Find 2 images of work by artists or designers that reflects some of the ideas of individualism, self promotion or egotism that have been discussed on this blog. Upload images to your blog, title and date the work, identify the artist/designer and comment on the work in relation to the question.

Jasper Johns - Flag (1954–55)
Jasper Johns was born in the United States and claimed to have painted Flag (1954–55) after he had a dream of the American flag. It was only a couple of years after World War II and during the beginning of the Cold War when this Flag was painted. There is no doubt that it would have been common for a lot of Americans to have felt patriotic at this period of time which may have opened an opportunity for Jasper Johns to use the American flag for self-promotion and win the hearts of many Americans.

Colin McCahon - Six days in Nelson and Canterbury (1950)
Colin McCahon (born in New Zealand) has expressed a sense of individualism in this painting as he has represented his identity with the portrayal of the landscape that surrounds the region of New Zealand from where he was born.

6. How do you think artists and designers are viewed in Western society today?
I believe the media is responsible for the view Western society has on artists and designers of today. Depending on how the artist is portrayed, some artists who gather media attention will often obtain a reputation as being successful. This can separate them from other artists, solely based on the way they are publicised as an individual.

Reference List:

- Art Encyclopedia (2011) Damien Hirst. Retrieved May 2011 from 
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-artists/damien-hirst.htm

- Blunt, A. (1962). Artistic Theory in Italy 1450-1600. Oxford; Oxford University Press.

Ron Mueck's sculpture and Humanism

Mask II (2002) Ron Mueck

A girl (2006) Ron Mueck

1. Mueck's sculpture is described as 'hyper-real'. Define the meaning of this term and apply it to his work.

The term Hyper-real has been used to describe artists who attempt to create an extreme sense of visual similarity between a subject or model, and their work. Hyper-real derives from the genre of Hyperrealism which is using the method of painting or sculpture to resemble something of a similar class to a high-resolution photograph.

Mueck’s Mask II (2002) and A girl (2006) would both be described as hyper-real because with the very technical skill he acquires, Mueck has applied accurate detail and physicality to the sculptures, and as a result, they successfully resembled very life-like human figures.

2. Mueck is not interested in making life size sculpture. Find out why he is more interested in working with the scale of the figure which is not life size, and mention 2 works which use scale that is either larger or smaller than life.
Mueck separates himself from other realists by often working in a scale which is abnormal and not of life size. This method interests him because he believes working in a life size scale would take away the psychological experience of his some unique sculptures. The scale of his work alters between being undersized or oversized. This manipulation with scale is an intentional attempt to startle viewers.

Boy (2000), a five meter high sculpture of a young boy crouching. There are a few attributes of this sculpture that would startle and/or intrigue viewers. One being Mueck’s use of abnormal scale, but another being the subject - a young boy characterized to be much larger than your average adult, and another aspect being the thought of the size of the sculpture if the boy wasn’t crouching.

A New York Times article describes In Bed (2005) as a 21 foot long “colossal tableau” and goes on to explain “its size distracts from its emotional intensity”.

Barbara Kruger & Mercantilism

I shop therefore I am (1987) Barbara Kruger

Face It (Green) 2007 Barbara Kruger

Describe the 'style' that Kruger has used in the two presented works.
The presented works are of a conceptual and pop art style (“The Art History Archive “, 2007). The simplicity and bold text in both these works create a very effective contrast which I like to describe as I.Y.F (In your face). This effect has proven useful to the artist as she is renowned for making statements in her works that refer to social, economical and political concerns.



What are some of the concepts and messages that Kruger is communicating in them?
Kruger chooses to work with images and text because she believes they "have the ability to determine who we are and who we aren't" ("Whitney Museum of American Art", 2011). Most commonly, her works communicate ideas of feminism and consumerism. The use of personal pronouns in these works suggest Kruger also explores identity and social status, which draw viewers to connect with the image.



Do these images communicate these ideas effectively?
These thoughtfully composed works consist of the use of personal pronouns to create an association with the viewer and puzzle them as to who and what the image is refering to. There is also a range of symbolism in these images that communicate her ideas. An example of this is the inclusion of the colour red in the text
'I shop therefore I am' which could represent general sale and consumerism, but at the same time it can be interpreted as a negative and convey its self as a warning to living an expensive lifestyle. Another example of symbolism is the overlaying green in Face it! (Green). The colour green could be representational of wealth and money, and the fact that the image has an overlaying of it could have significant relevance to money being an every day essential in our lifestyle. It is money that gave us the clothes we have on our backs, it is money that buys us the food we eat to stay alive, it is money that gives us our shelter and homes and almost everything we do, and it make's us what we are.



Define the concept of Mercantilism and explain how these two examples can connect with the concept. 
Mercantilism is a theory that dominated Western European economic policies from the 16th to the 18th century. It suggested that wealth and power were to be gained by increasing exports and gaining precious metals in return. This export focused economic ideology led to the realization that trade could provide not only state but personal wealth and hence a social class of wealthy merchants emerged as a product of international trade. The Merchants played an important role in the development of renaissance painting,particularly in Italy, as wealthy merchants would often commission artists to paint idealistic portraits of themselves and all their worldly goods.These portraits were designed to act as a symbol of wealth, a record of the Merchants prosperity and power. These two images by Kruger strike a similar chord as they too consider the idea that wealth and power are linked to the possession of worldly goods. The wording in both Kruger's images suggest that what you buy can have relevance to who you are and your social and personal status.

Barbara Kruger

Untitled / Chess Board - 2006 

One of Kruger's most recent works, Untitled / Chess Board, is a sculpture, distancing her self from the usual flat 2D posters she makes. Despite this, I believe it still portrays her distinctive style and concerns for social, economical and political issues. This work may intrigue viewers as they will ask themselves what the purpose is of the dramatic image in the centre of the board as well as why the traditional white chess pieces have been replaced with red chess pieces. Kruger has once again used a black-and-white photographic picture. This one would appear a lot more dramatic however. Like the previously discussed images, this one links with the viewer again through the personal pronouns displayed all around the edges of the board. The phrase "You don't have any choice" placed on the sculpture strongly links with the dramatic image printed on the surface of the board suggesting a sense of distress in the restrictive nature of the text. This would then lead viewers to wonder which chess piece is most representative of their social status. The text could imply that you don't have many options, much like a pawn in a game of chess, therefore possibly directing the viewer to believe we are all just pawns in a wealthy and powerful society.

Reference List:

The Art History Archive (2007). Barbara Kruger
 http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/feminist/Barbara-Kruger.html

Whitney Museum of American Art (2011). Barbara Kruger
http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/1aa/1aa667.htm