Blog Post #2

The following is an excerpt from Christo and Jeanne Claude's website. It is an explanation on how they view the work and was also written by them. The website is very in depth and covers their entire career. Take a few minutes to browse their site and then respond to the questions at the bottom in bold print.

The temporary large-scale environmental works (both urban and rural environments) have elements of painting, sculpture, architecture and urban planning.
For instance the Surrounded Islands, Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida,1980-83. could be seen as giant flat paintings (shaped canvases).

The Pont Neuf Wrapped, Paris, 1975-85. could be seen as a very large sculpture, in a traditional sense of antique folds and draperies, however the bridge, while wrapped,remained a bridge, a piece of architecture. Cars were rolling on it, boats were passing under the wrapped arches, the public was crossing the bridge, walking on the fabric.

The Umbrellas, Japan-USA, 1984-91. has to do with urban planning. 3,100 umbrellas, each two stories high, 59.3 square meters (638.17 square feet), spread on a total span of 49 Km. (30 miles) by a width of 4 Km. ( 2.5 miles) along roads and highways, adjacent to barns, temples, churches, gas stations, schools, habitations and cattle.

Once the work of art has been read for what it really is, then the process preceding the completion is easily understood.
Nobody discusses a painting before it has been painted.But architecture and urban planning are always discussed before completion. People discuss the possibility of a new bridge, a new highway, a new airport before those are built.One of the numerous permits to be obtained from various government agencies, in addition to the 25 ranchers in California and the 459 rice field farmers in Ibaraki, was the 200 pages book from the Ministry of Construction in Tokyo. They worked for one year, together with our engineers, to finally grant us a Permit to build 1340 houses (shaped canvases creating settlements as houses without walls).Our projects are discussed and argued about, pro and con, before they are realized.To understand our work one must realize what is inherent to each project. However, there is an important difference between our works of art and the usual architecture and urban planning, we are our own sponsors and we pay for our works of art with our own money, never accepting any grants nor sponsors.

Their monumental undertakings have always been controversial. This controversy stems not from the subject matter, but because of the encroachment into public space. After viewing some of the projects by these two, would you be opposed to a large scale Christo project happening on our campus?...In your hometown?...why or why not?

Put yourself in the shoes of a public official and consider what types of issues that you would have to take into consideration before giving one of Christo's projects the green light...please explain.

Within our current system of Art, there are many other people involved besides the actual artist. Please give examples of others that contribute to a work of art being seen by the public.

Blog Post #1

Recently in class, we determined that institutions like museums and galleries are who define what art is, and from this weeks lecture we have seen that art as we know it has changed greatly and developed into much broader contexts. Chapter 1 in your text book divides up art into several categories like Fine Art, Popular Culture, and Kitsch. In our class we will be considering all types and not just Fine or High Art. The reason for this is that my understanding of art today is not limited to what I see in a museum or gallery, that within theories like, Visual Culture, all of what we see on a daily basis is taken into consideration. Contemporary artists are keen on understanding the blurring of categories of art...that there is a good deal of grey area to work within and to create new ideas from. For example, lets look at contemporary Japanese artist Takashi Murakami .

Most recently he was given a very large exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. Murakami wants to occupy the space between high art and popular culture...he produces paintings, installations, large scale inflatable art, designer handbags and many types of commercially available objects. His work is a blend of different cultures and different styles but it always reflects a self-conscious consumerism. Please visit the two links I have provided, google for more info if needed, and respond to one or more of the questions within this post.

If an artist works with a team of people to complete large projects and/or to produce objects that are not unique, but are for public consumption, does this diminish your definition of what an artist is? Please explain.

What is more important in your definition: (1)the artwork's meaning or (2)its aesthetic appeal?

Why do you think that Murakami continues to produce objects that we might think of as kitsch or far from the realm of high art? Do you think his large scale paintings and sculpture should be enough?