Week 7 : Industrialisation and Cao Fei's RMB City

The artists of the late 1800's and early 1900's, in Europe, were influenced by the Industrial revolution.

1. What and when was the Industrial Revolution?
The era known as the Industrial revolution took place during the 18th ceuntury in most of the western Europe; especially England was at the centre of this rapid-changing enrionment (industrialisation process was most highly accelerated in England)
Industrial Revolution can be defined as the application of power-driven machinery to manufacturing. Basically it was a turning point in history, where developments in various areas such as agriculture, textile and metal manufacture, transportation and economic policies all contributed towards this change.

Both paintings featured on this blog, that are from the early 1900s were painted by Modernist painters from the group called 'Futurists'. The Futurists celebrated the machine, and objects in motion. Their primary objective was to depict movement, which they saw as symbolic of their commitment to the dynamic forward thrust of the 20th century.

2. Research both Modernist paintings in order to comment on the subject matter, form and style used to celebrate the machine and motion in each painting. Answer the question in 2 parts for each painting.

The City Rises (1910) Umberto Boccioni

Boccioni's 'The City rises' depicts a scene where mens on a construction site 

tries to utilise the power of horses in their labours. The main subject matter in this work is the horse as it appears to be the center of the focus, positioned right in the middle of the picture plane; the idea of power and strength is clearly delivered to the viewer through the horse. Other subject matters also include the figures and the construction of a new modern buildings on a backdrop; these also suggests the celebration of the development and industrialisation.

The forms in this painting are mostly defined by the blocks of colours and the use of multiple brushworks; some line works at the back too. Quick, lively brush strokes creates a spontaneous, energetic atmosphere, also added by the use of strong, vibrant colour palette such as reds, blues, greens and yellows (primary colours). These colours are juxtaposed to crate a 3D-like look and achieves more dynamic mood which hints on the concept of movement and motion. 

Dynamism of  a dog on a leash (1912) Giacomo Balla

'Dynamism of a dog on a leash' by Giacomo Baila, is a typical futuristic work which portrays a great sense of speed and urgency within the painting; also energy of a modern life
The subject matter in this work are quite straight forward;the scene depicts a lady walking a dog. But what makes this painting fascinating is what lies behind the technique that Balla uses to create this effect of motion and movement.
Blur of multiple images are overlayed on top of each other to create this frame-by-frame view; almost resembling multiple photographic exposures of a moving object.
The forms are identified through the stark black colour and multiple layers of flowing lacey veils.



Cao Fei's RMB City (2007-9) refers to China's recent rapid industialisation and urbanization.
(www.artspace.org.nz/exhibitions/2009/cafeintopia.asp)

3. Research Cao Fei's RMB City (2007-9)  in order to comment on this work in more depth.
i.e what images has she used in her digital collage that refer to China's present and history, and why has she used these.

RMB City (2007-2009) Cao Fei

Cao Fei's RMB City is a collection of visual imageries collaged together to form a complete
piece of work. These visual images represents the recent urban and cultural explosion of China.
Some of the images include -: Chinese flag, Panda, wheel of the bicycle, Chinese charaters, 
“Named after Chinese money, RMB City shows a perverse view of Beijing—a blend of communism, socialism, and capitalism.” It is said to be constantly under construction, always changing like the city Beijing.
4. RMB City is described as a utopia/dystopia. Comment on what these terms mean, and how they can be applied to the work.
The term 'utopia' was first coined from the greek word 'ou-topos' meaning 'no place' 'nowhere'; this is really interesting as this is a pun - the almost identical greek word 'eu-topos' means a good place. Basically, Utopia refers to the imaginary place that would never exist in reality but if it had, it would be an ideal community or society under a perfect condition; a pleasant place to live.
On the other hand, dystopia, alternatively known as cacotopia or anti-utopia, is described as the direct opposite of utopia; thus meaning a destructive, unpleasant place.
RMB City can be directly compared to both utopia and dystopia as it has both qualities.




5. Although the Modernist paintings and the contemporary digital work have emerged from
different contexts, there are also many similarities. Comment on the similarities that you can see in the work. Look at the moving digital image atvimeo.com/4272260, if you have not already researched it.
Although the three art works 'The city rises', 'Dynamism of a dog on a leash' and 'RMB city' differs in the way it was constructed and produced (the use of different medium and approach), these works do have one thing in common: they all deal with the idea of motion/ movement and the celebration of industrialisation: working with what's current at the time. 


References
- Montagna, J.A. (2011). The Industrial Revolution. Retrieved April 17, 2011, from http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1981/2/81.02.06.x.html


- Wildy, J. (2010). Futurism and Umberto Boccioni's The City Rises. Retrieved April 17, 2011, from http://www.suite101.com/content/futurism-and-umberto-boccionis-the-city-rises-a280519

- Lubbock, T. (2009). Great Works: Dynamism of A Dog on a Leash (1912) Giacomo Balla. Retrieved April 17, 2011, from http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/great-works/great-works-dynamism-of-a-  dog-on-a-leash-1912-giacomo-balla-1781174.html


-RMB City Planning Video Clip. Retrieved April 17, 2011, from http://vimeo.com/4272260

Week 5 : Science and Reason - Video Art by Pipilotti Rist

1. Define the 17th century 'Scientific Revolution', and say how it changed European thought and world view. 

Scientific Revolution which flourished all around Europe during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was  a  major movement which greatly challenged the way in which the Europeans thought and viewed the world  that they were in. It was a huge move away from the thoughts and beliefs of the Church. The period of exploration encouraged new 

Scientific revolution was, not only a movement which was associated with natural science and technological change/ development, in fact it was more about the series of changes in the structure of European thought itself: systematic doubt, empirical and sensory verification

2. Give examples of how we can we still see evidence of the 'Scientific Revolution' in the world today.

We are surrounded by 'scientific revolution' everyday. The world that we are living in is still developing 

Research Pipilotti Rist's video installations to answer the following:

Ever is all over 2007

3. From your research, do you think that the contemporary art world values art work

that uses new media/technology over traditional media?

I think theres pros and cons to the both sides: but personally I think it is important to keep traditional media because after all, everything springs off from somewhere (base), and it is quite crucial that the base/ foundation is well established before anything else can be made.

4. How has Pipilotti Rist used new media/technology to enhance the audience's experience of her work.

Pipilotti incorporates the use of bright vivid colours in her work to drag attention of the viewer.

This is shown in her work 'Hero's of Birth' as she uses LCD triptych to display two colourful large scale video projection works.

5. Comment on how the installation, sound and scale of 'Ever is Over All' (1997) could impact on the audience's experience of the work.

Ever is Over All is constructed in a way that two slow-motioned clips are merged together without any boundaries in between. One side of the clip shows a woman in a flowing dress strolling down the street to a gentle soundtrack. She's holding on to a flower ,'Red Hot Poker', in her hand like a weapon, and smashes down the glasses of the car window as she pass by. The smashing sound somewhat alarms the audience from middle of the peaceful mood.

The other side shows a peaceful field (contrasts greatly with the first clip) filled with the exotic

flowers (Red Hot Poker). The scale of the work is almost the double the life-size, therefore it makes the audience to be completely surrounded by the work,enabling the audience to interact with the environment of the video cilp. 

6. Comment on the notion of 'reason' within the content of the video. Is the woman's behaviour reasonable or unreasonable?

Certainly unreasonable. The woman's behavior is something that is quite hard to be understood by the community/ society now, because the action that she's taking is outside the boundaries; it's illegal. This is quite ironical at the same time because the police woman who appears in the video clip does not stop the woman from making these actions.

7. Comment on your 'reading' (understanding) of the work by discussion the aesthetic (look), experience and the ideologies (ideas, theories) of the work.

The woman in this video almost looks like a child - conveying characteristics such as youth, naivety, innocence. Its even resembling the Dorothy with her blue gown on her journey to wizard of Oz; Pipilotti Rist strays far enough from reality to explore the fantastical, dream-like experience.

The woman is consistently smiling throughout the clip which does not match with her violent action; it makes us to think about 'can violence enacted with a sweet smile be more easily forgiven?'. Police woman does not charge the woman anything for smashing down the cars, instead, they both just gently smile and greets.  

References

-http://ap_history_online.tripod.com/apeh6.htm
- http://archive.fact.co.uk/index.php/objectui/type,vra.vrawork/id,474