Body III - Andres Serrano "Piss Christ" - by Ian

Key works of Andres Serrano:

Piss Christ (1987)

•Title: Piss Christ

•Artist: Andres Serrano

•Year: 1987

•Category: Prints

•Medium: Cibachrome print mounted on Plexiglas

•Dimensions: h: 59.7 x w: 40.6 cm

Shit series:

Heroic Shit (2008)

Romantic Shit (2008)

Deep Shit (2008)

"A History of Sex" Series

Eline (1996)

Key points:
•Abject
–a distinction was made between the “good and proper body” and the “abject”

•Religious aspect
–offensive to Christians
–threatens the identity of conservative Christians
–blasphemous

Quotes from the artist:

1. "The photograph, and the title itself, are ambiguously provocative but certainly not blasphemous."
   
2. "I have always felt that my work is religious, not sacrilegious.”
   
3. "My Catholic upbringing informs this work which helps me to redefine and personalize my relationship with God. "
   
4. "My use of such bodily fluids as blood and urine in this context is parallel to Catholicism's obsession with the body and blood of Christ."

Questions:

1. Do you think Piss Christ (1987) is an anti-Christ artwork?
   
2. To what extent do the artist’s works express the theme of “body”?

My opinion:

• The title of the work causes the problem

• If we do not know that Serrano store his urine in a jar, the work is quite beautiful

• Christ transformed to light by light because the blood and urine burn like a halo and light, as always, light makes it beautiful.

Body III - Orlan , "Omniprescence" - by Ava

Omnipresence (1993)

• 9 plastic surgery operations in 1990-93
• performed before live audiences
• remained awake, read and spoke during operations
• planned and executed, directed and edited by Orlan

• Omnipresence is her 7th operation
• took place in New York in November 1993 transmitted live via satellite to her New York gallery, Paris, Banff, Toronto and other sites
• Viewers could communicate with her during the performance
•The Omnipresence video and photographs record the entire surgical process




ISSUES EXPLORED

1. To challenge traditional perceptions of beauty
•an expression of the sublime and grotesque, eccentricities carved into human flesh and sculpted in living bone
•celebrates bodies combined with technology

2. “Self-sculpturing”/ creating oneself
•the idea of giving birth to oneself but at the same time that birth was a split, a cloning, a play on identity and otherness
•By surgery people can change their faced, bodies, skins, colors and, which are innately determined by human genes
• people can change genders by nowadays technology
•a way of refiguring yourself. It involves the idea of not accepting what is automatically inherited through genes

3. To challenge the concept of suffering/ pain
•she was under local anaesthetic 麻醉 during the operation
•kept smiling, speaking and reading
•she thinks pain is outdated



Her face a few days after the 7th surgical operationa


























Omnipresence No.2

• Created in conjunction with the 7th surgerg
•16 meters long
•Made out of two horizontal rows of images

•Bottom row: Orlan’s features digitally combined with different classic beauties from the art historical canon
•Top row: Orlan’s photographs of her face gradually healed after the operation.

• Meaning:

-“machine-body” vs. “ machine-computer”

- Questions the historical and contemporary notions of physical beauty

- Contests the distance between the real and the virtual

Drawings done by Blood (1993)

• drawn with Orlan’s blood during her eighth surgical operation performance
•Involves the use of abject object
•Functions as forceful material evidence that her body is her artistic tool

Relevant works about body

Self-Hybridization series (1999)

African Self-Hybridization series (2000-2003)

• Facial features combined with the features found on artifacts from pre-Columbian (Olmec, Aztec, Mayan) civilizations and masks from some black African civilization

• Meaning: to unearth the incredible diversity of esthetic ideals across time and space
-Explores the non-Western conceptions of beauty
-Reveals the West’s imposition of its canons of beauty onto other cultures
-Implies the replacement of a set of aesthetic principles from one hegemony to another

Body II - Kiki Smith " Tale " By Hugo Lee

Nov 5 Hugo Lee

BODY II - Kiki Smith & her Dark Cruse

1.　What is Body Art?


　1.Using the image of (or a part of ) human body. (e.g. symbol of human being)
　2.Using the actual body as a tool to create artwork (e.g. as a brush)
　3.Using the actual (or a part of ) human body as (or a part of ) the artwork.

2.　Cartesian dualism (笛卡兒的二元論)& Abject aspect

　Dualism(二元論) :
　　•two confronting elements in the world.
　　•such as dark & light, god & evil, paradise & hell, body & soul
　Cartesian dualism :
　　•there are 2 worlds : material (物質,形以下) & spiritual (精神,形以上)
　　•‘body’(肉體) and ‘soul’(靈魂) form human
　　•so, humans appear in both material and spiritual world
　　•body follows the physics, but soul does not
　Abject (pessimistic) aspect to Cartesian dualism :
　　•body is only a vase (or only a cheap container) of soul
　　•but our body is aging and being disappear one day
　　•our bodies force us to react, we are controlled by our bodies
　　•our body is ugly, it is just a machine without emotion
　Features of Body art in expressing the abject aspect to Cartesian dualism :
　　•is direct related to the subject: Body is the simplest symbol – present & represent
　　(e.g. the indicator of toilet : M of F)
　　•creates sublime: concrete and powerful
　　(naked body with realistic presentation)
　　•demonstrates unfamiliarity (陌生化): rebirth of ordinary view forcing viewer to rethink
　　(e.g. saying ‘computer’ as ‘an aluminum box containing electronic components)

3.About Kiki Smith

　Kiki Smith (Jan,1954)
　　•Famous American Feminist artist in 20th century
　　•Depicting the images of human body (especially female body)
　　•Showing the ugliness of the human appearance and organs
　　•Interested in life, death, natural, and the concept of rebirth in religion

4. Illustrate 3 of her art pieces

Digestive system, 1988

　　•Digestive system, was made by Kiki Smith in 1988.
　　•This artwork reminds that human body is only a machine. We do not have
　　 any power to control our body. When we are hungry, we eat.
　　•She depicted the image of inner organs ans she used black colour to represent
　　 the dirtiness of the human organs.
　　•It shows the abject perspective to human body of the artist. The dirty image of
　　 human digestive system is demonstrating the ugliness of human body.

Untitled, 1992

　　•This art piece was done in 1992.
　　•She used the image of a female body with 2 deep scratchings at the back
　　 of the sculpture.It is quite odd to see a wound without bleeding.
　　•It implies that it depicting a image death body instead of a live sculpture.
　　 Question: What prove us we are live? Breath? Think?
　　•It shows the weakness of human body. You cannot spot any energy from
　　 this art piece.

Born, 2002

　　•KiKi Smith created Born in 2002
　　•A deer is giving birth to a woman. It is obvious to know that deer gives
　　 birth to deer and human gives birth to human.
　　•It discusses the issue about ‘the difference between human and animal’.
　　 As perCartesian dualism, body is only a container, so what make the difference?

5. Discussion

　1.Do you think our body is ugly and dirty?
　2.Do you think Kiki Smith believes human body is more dirtier, or
　 the soul? (reflecting the dirty soul?)

6.Reference

　Body Art and Performance: The Body As Language, Lea Vergine, (Skira, 2000)
　Body Art/Performing the Subject, Amelia Jones, (University of Minnesota Press , 1998)
　Kiki Smith: A Gathering: 1980-2005, Siri Engberg and Linda Nochlin, (Walker Art Center, 2005)
　KIKI SMITH, Helaine Posner, (Monacell,2005)
　Kiki Smith: Werke/Works 1988-1996, Kiki Smith and Thomas Baltrock, (Salon Verlag, 1998)

Body II - Mona Hatoum, Corps etranger, 1994 - by Jacob Carrigan

These are three images from the video installation of Mona Hatoum's Corps etranger. The title of this work translates to Foreign body. Hatoum uses endoscopic technology to penetrate different orifices of her body in order to raise artistic questions about who gets to be the viewer of the body, what it means to look at the body (especially in a gendered context), and what the "body" is.

The DVD of this work can be found on reserve at the library under the title "Illuminations."

Body II - Janine Antoni, Slumber, 1994 - by Sonia

Here is some notes and points of my presentation = ]

About Janine Antoni:
•

Freeport, Bahamas in 1964
• Education :
BA of Sarah Lawrence College
MFA of Rhode Island School
• Women artist
• Works:
àmainly using her body as a tool /media to create
àtransform everyday activities into ways of making art
• Using “feminine” medium • Aim : recorded her existence in the world

Basic concepts of Slumber:

•An installation included artist performances.
•Make a sculpture out of sleep
•Artist’s brain as a creative tool /media
•Record the dream by electroencephalograph
(EEG) machine
•Weaving the pattern of EGG record into a blanket by a large wooden loom at day
•Interact with the audience
•Artist sleep & cover with the woven blanket at night

The intentions of Slumber:
•Artist:
-Using her own body to sculpture the dream through sleeping
-The story of Penelope in feminist –inspired version
- a counter-myth, new fairytale

Why using Body?
•performance-based & process-oriented art since 1960s and 70s.
•Most intimate way to interact with viewers
• Tactile method of feminist theories
• Body as a main material of Feminist artists’ works in 1970s 80s.
à Body as a primary site & important sources of information
àWomen’s social status based in the body

Other works :

Questions:
1.It has long been saying that women artists like to use their body as a powerful weapon to challenging the inequity of two genders, do you agree? And can you feel it in above works?
2.There two kind of participation of artist’s body among the works( face to face vs. leaving a traces) , which one give you a stronger feeling?

Body I - Shirin Neshat - by candy

About Shirin Neshat

The artist was born in 1957 in Iran, her parents were addicted to the western culture and always looked down on their own country, so , in the year 1973, she was sent to United States for college, and this influences her on making this series of artwork, and I will talk about it later.

She is now a contemporary visual artist and lives in New York now. For her artistic achievement, she is famous in her large-scale film installations, videos, and photography. One interesting point is that she likes to do multileveled work which means the artworks involve different meanings. But one common feature of her artworks is that, the focus is always women as she likes to reveal the female inner expression.

About the background of the artwork

The title, The women in Allah, reveals that this series is related to the Muslim as Allah is the one that the Muslim believe in. In 1979, an Islamic, revolution happened in the artist’s homeland Iran, the whole place are forced to under control by the Muslim belief. The artist thought that it is invading people freedom and felt very stunned when she went back to her homeland in 1990. So she decided to use an artwork series in respond to the ridiculous rules happened in Iran, especially for the veiling. (That means their black cloth) In fact, this series is her first body art photography series and made her become very famous later.

The Artwork

Offered Eyes (Occhi offerti), 1993

Rebellious Silence (Silenzio ribelle), 1994

Faceless (Senza volto), 1994

Story of Martyrdom (Storie di martirio), 1994

Guardians of Revolution (Guardiani della rivluzione), 1994

Bonding (Collegamento), 1995

Faith (Fede), 1995

Seeking Martyrdom #2 (Alla ricerca del martirio n.2), 1995

Spechless (Senza parole), 1996

Untitled (Senza titolo), 1996

Untitled (Senza titolo), 1996

Whispers (Sussurri), 1997

Meaning of the work

Religious meaning

First of all, in the religious aspect, the artist challenges the concept of martyrdom, she especially put the gun together with the Muslim women to create a feeling of death and dangerous in order to let you think is it worth to death for your religious, also in her another photo, faith is something you can find in religious, but when that religious called you for martyrdom, is there anymore faith? And so, this kind of photos is challenging the religious fanaticism.

Cultural meaning
For the cultural meaning, she challenges the Western people for not understanding the Iran women, of coz when you see a Iran women, some western people would think that they have the eastern beauty which is mysterious and attractive. The feeling is they need protection. But the artist especially write some calligraphy on the only visible part of the women to show that the western only see their beauty but not undersetand (juz like looking at different langusage) it creates a cross cultural problem.

Sexual meaning

For sexual, this artwork reveals a strong sense of how we look at female, in the photos, we can see only the face of the women but we know that she is a woman, it is because we learn form the society and we know that the Iran women are look like that, and so we create the associated feeling for example beauty and weak, the artist uses this to challenge the contemporary gender role, she was not like the western artist who like to use smth for reveal the female characteristic, but use something for hidden them, it is to show that every female is different.

Political meaning
For political meaning, as Muslim are later related to the terroristic attack, some people related Iran women with fear and dangerous, so the artist used gun to be one of the symbol of protection and resistance to the ruler. It is to show that that are strong.

Question to think

If the calligraphy is put separately with the female body (maybe just written on a paper next to the women), in what extend do you think it will affect the ultimate purpose of the artwork?

My opinion

•Strongly affected
•A strong feeling of linking up if they are in the same part
•Also it creates strong sense of shocking when the calligraphy are put on female bodies
•Body gestures help a lot

Body I - Cindy Sherman, Untitled Colour Photo, 1992 - by

Body I - Maureen O'Connor, Thinner than You, 1990 - by Mandy

• Artist: Maureen Conner (from U.S.)

• Year: 1990

• Dimension: 60 x 17 x 7 ½ inches

• Medium: Stainless & Cloth (Sculpture)

• evoke an image of female body

• Clothing as a mediator between the body and culture

(women as a sexual object & thinness as a highly valued characteristic of female body)

Women as a sexual object of men

• massive element at the base of the dress refers to testicle

• Maureen Connor: ‘‘it is about a woman as depository, as container. Men ejaculate inside of the women. This is clothing, so it could represent her interior as as a pocket.’’

• Woman has been portrayed as sexual objects no matter from which period: from the Renaissance artworks (completely/partially naked) to today’s mass media (e.g. present the stewardesses as beautiful and exotic females rather than their professional values)

• Male spectator gazing at the female as a passive & pleasurable sexual object (Male gaze on women)

• A see-through dress symbolizes an empty vessel of soul

• Tradition ideas in art: the body is a home of soul

• Postmodern idea: the human figure is emptied out by experience, there is no soul inside the body.

• The soul of women is emptied out by the social stereotype. They loss their identity and real meaning of life. Their sexual identity and how they see themselves are reshaped by the social experience and values.
--> female is an empty vessel of male.

Thinness as a highly valued characteristic of female body

• Evoke an extreme thin female body
--> extreme consequences of current fitness and slimming: anorexia & bulimia)

• Body is a sign of social meaning (stereotype of female presentation)
--> the mass media links the thin female bodies to successful relationship
--> a research from Michigan State University ( thin female characters in television programs are more likely to have a romantic relationship than the fat ones)
--> Thin body becomes a sign of successful relationship

• How does anorexia relate to art?
--> Maureen Connor destroys the cultural ideas and myth of thinness in a romantic relationship through negative presentation of beauty.

Identity - Catherine Opie, Chicken, 1991 - by Map Lau

Art on “Identity”

• Preeminent theme in Western art and art discourse
  
• Interested in identity:
  - 1990, The Decade Show
  - 1993, Whitney Biennial
  
• Key theme in United States and Europe after WWII


• Identity
  - self identity
  - gender identity
  - sexuality identity
  

Catherine Opie

• North American


• Homosexual artist, photographer
  
• Documentary photography


• Identities <-> surrounding architecture


• Play with color
  - formal color-saturated portraits


• “Let’s push the boundaries a little bit here about what you guys think normal is.”
  

Catherine Opie, Chicken

• 1990 series, Being and Having


• altered by sporting facial hair


• Fake mustaches and beards


• Chicken - nameplate engraved with“gang persona”

• Challenge gender stereotypes


• Binary oppositions (二元對立)
  --> act correctly = Normal
  --> Chicken- cross-dressing = Queer , Abnormal
  --> mix two gender’s characteristics together


• Identity is not fixed


• Fluid, transformable and expanding


• Determine by outside influences
  - using fake mustaches


• Gender is ambiguous
  

Questions

• Rather than identity, can you think of other issues/messages that Catherine Opie is going to present in the work of Chicken? Or do you have other interpretation of this work?


• To what extend does this work help to understand the issue of identity?
  

Personal views

• The status of female
  - maleà higher status in society
  - pretended to be male
  - strive for the acceptance and increase status


• Challenge on “What you see is what you get?”
  - subvert expectation of realism and authenticity
  - invisibility of the homosexual community and queer culture

References

• Christopher Lyon, Lesbian Art in American, United States of America: Rizzoli International Publications, 2000.


• Robertson, Jean and Craig Mc Daniel (2005), Themes of Contemporary Art: Visual Art After 1980. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.


• Catherine Opie at the Guggenheim, The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/09/25/arts/0926-OPIE_1.html


• Peter Plagens, From Frame to Tame,
  http://www.newsweek.com/id/160063?tid=relatedcl

Identity - Hung Liu, Judgement of Paris, 1992 - by Lea

about prostitute in China and distorted history, sexism and feminism。

the story about Paris: Paris, who is a sheepherder,are going to choose the most beautiful goddness, but he is actually too overwhelmed by the goddesses’ beauty to choose between them, and is also fully aware of the hazards of seeming to show any preference. Eventually (somewhat prompted by Hermes) he agrees to see them naked – Hermes himself decorously turns his back. This still doesn’t help Paris to make up his mind, so he then asks to see them one by one. Hera is first, and she offers to make him lord of all Asia. Paris says he won’t be swayed by rewards. He also rebuffs Athena when she offers to make him a perpetual victor in battles. Finally Aphrodite comes before him and makes the offer of Helen that does spark Paris’ interest; indeed, he claims to be already in love with her mere account of Helen. Paris awards Aphrodite the apple and the dialogue abruptly ends.


Revising history:
•pioneer of fashions of the period(pursuit modernity
•Now, everything have been westernlized.
Forgotten by Chinese patriarchy,
Distorted by communist(bad women).
Self-portrait:
•A woman escape from Chinese patriarchy or sexism;
•Regarded as a traitor in the western world.
Liu Hong said:
I communicate with the characters in my paintings, with reverence, sympathy, and awe."