Pluralism and the Treat of Waitangi

1. Define the term 'pluralism' using APA referencing

Pluralism in art refers to the nature of artforms and artists as diverse. The cultural context of art is all encompassing in it respect of the art of the worlds cultures. Inclusion of individuals of differing ethnicities, genders, ideologies, abilities, ages, religions, economic status and educational levels is valued. Pluralism honours difference within and equitable groups while seeing their commonalities. Caldwell (1999)

2. How would you describe New Zealand's current dominant culture?

I would describe New Zealand's current dominant culture is the Europeanwho based around appearance. In an art perspective view on how styles are if we were to speak of culture in the art perspective. Styles come up as a way of forming a visual attraction to the mind. And art comes through style which is appearance which some may not know but this does have alot to do with culture. The way society portrays themselves with what they wear, old vintage, retro, future, present. There are many ways to base culture upon, but how I see New Zealand's dominant culture is that the current dominant culture is Style and appearance caused by the European.

3. Before 1840, what was New Zealand's dominant culture?

Dominant culture of New Zealand used to be Maori. The reason for this being Maori is because they owned this land before the european settlers had discovered it which was founded by James Cook in european understanding but there is also evidence that he was not the first to discover the land of Aotearoa. There is reason to believe that there were many who discovered New zealand, first disvoery was by a Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman then another which is a myth saying a polynesian explorer named Kupe discovered New Zealand.

And if I were to question this I would think that cavemen were the first dominant culture if this were even relevant.

4. How does the Treaty of Waitangi relate to us all as artists and designers working in New Zealand?

The reason for the treaty to relate to us and have anything to do with us is that we are able to relate to this land and the people and the art works and creativity that has come through all these years have impacted on us and our cultural background also because of the mixture of art that was around even before we were born. We are still connected through New Zealand with art and it helps us become more creative because our ideas flow  from the history of the countries art even if we don't notice. The treaty of waitangi is a our pathway to European history and Maori history where art flows through all.

5. How can globalization be seen as having a negative effect on 'regional diversity' that leads to a 'homogenized world culture' in New Zealand in particular? (ALVC2 handbook page 52, http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/globalization)

Globalization may be seen as having a negative effect towards many cultures based in New Zealand because it can change the way traditions are done and also the social world that we may have which is different in a lot of worlds. This can lead world culture together but in New Zealand culture is a unique subject for us. It isn't something that you just share but it is also a meaningful subject for New Zealanders and it may effect them different to how others may see New Zealand's diverse culture. There are many things to look into for globalization because it can effect the countries way of living and the uniqueness will be as ordinary as McDonald's being in every common country. 

6. Shane Cotton's paintings are said to examine the cultural landscape. Research Cotton's work 'Welcome'(2004) and 'Three quarter view ' (2005) to analyze what he is saying about colonialization and the Treaty of Waitangi.

For the Shane Cotton paintings I could not find information on his work ' Welcome'(2004) but I did however manage to find a YouTube video of a short explanation of his work 'Three Quarter View' (2005), "Three-quarter view is dominated by the moko (facial tattoo) of the nineteenth-century British flax trader Barnet Burns. The striking physical transformation of the Englishman resulted from his extraordinary decision to live among the Maori from the 1830s. Cotton used a nineteenth-century etching of Burns as his source, yet his painting process has transformed the original image. Removing all signs of Burns' Englishness, Cotton has reproduced only his moko in two-tones of blue. Hovering around the disembodied face are targets, sparrows and a goldfinch. The avian motif has particular importance in Maori cosmology and the goldfinch symbolises the passion of Christ in western religious art. The combination alludes to the complex relationship between Christianity, colonialism and contemporary culture. Cotton's art questions the notion of cultural identity, looking instead to the space between Maori and Pakeha perspectives." - 

 87 149998 - Shane Cotton 'Three-quarter view' 2005.

So personally what I see Cotton is showing through his work is the disruptiveness of outsiders and the mixture of cultural context and belief system being westernised and affiliating itself with his society and how it had changed it from the past and also how he is bring up his belief and background by researching in depth about how it has transformed and influences that it may have had from the other cultural views that had an impact of the history of his background.

 

'Welcome' (2004) Shane Cotton 

http://www.printsandprintmaking.gov.au/catalogues/work/52293/shane-cotton-welcome.aspx

  

'Three Quarter view'(2005) Shane Cotton

http://artsearch.nga.gov.au/Detail-LRG.cfm?IRN=149998 

http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/shane-cotton-paintings-examine-cultural-landscape-126412

7. Tony Albert's installation 'Sorry' (2008) reflect the effects of colonization on the aboriginal people of Australia. Research the work and comment on what Albert is communicating through his work, and what he is referring to. Describe the materials that Albert uses on this installation and say what he hopes his work can achieve.

Albert refers his work towards the history of his people and acknowledging that the history of his culture had been deprived of their own heritage and that Europeans had stolen their treasured things that meant a lot to them. In his work he shows faces that show different emotions and very Aboriginal styles on to it. And they each share a different element of history which lets you in to what the heritage was and what had happened from the way he has shown it.
And it shows the apology to the Indigenous Australians for what had happened to them. The materials that he had used were kitsch objects applied to vinyl letters. He hoped that he would get through to the audience that it is irony playing in his art work but giving it also the sense of giving the objects a voice to be heard/seen. 

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6afMy0rlqq8&feature=player_embedded )

8. Define the term 'kitsch'.

Something of tawdry design, appearance, or content created toappeal to popular or undiscriminating taste. -http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/kitsch

Kitsch is something that was made cheap and to appeal attention to the audience but has that very attractive look to it.

9. Explain how the work of both artists relates to pluralism.

They both connect to Pluralism because of the context of which they choose to use or refer their work to. Both artists have a respect for culture and diversity so then they chose to involve culture and globalization and colonization etc. This all adds upto a world view and reaction of history towards the audienc of whom is approaching the art work and towards those who the artist want to appeal to. History and culture are a big part of pluralism and I think that both artists have this same thing in common.

                                       Tony Albert | Australia b.1981 | Girramay people | Sorry 2008 |

                                               Found kitsch objects applied  to vinyl letters | 99 objects :    

                                               200 x 510 x 10cm (installed) | The James C Sourris Collection.

                                               Purchased 2008 with funds from James C Sourris through the 

                                               Queensland Art Gallery Foundation | Collection: Queensland Art Gallery

                             

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6afMy0rlqq8

http://qag.qld.gov.au/collection/indigenous_australian_art/tony_albert

Reference's:

ALVC2 handbook page 52, http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/globalization

Caldwell, B. (1999) Cultural context. retrieved 16 Oct, 2003 from http://www.public.iastate.edu/~design/ART/NAB/PluArt.html

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 

Howe, K.R. (2008) The quest for origins: Who first discovered and settled New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_discovered_New_Zealand#ixzz25B1s4FMw

King, M. (2004) The Penguin History of New Zealandhttp://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_discovered_New_Zealand#ixzz25B1s4FMw

http://qagoma.qld.gov.au/collection/indigenous_australian_art/tony_albert

87 149998 - Shane Cotton'Three-quarter view' 2005.

Uploaded by NationalGalleryAus on 16 Dec 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaGKr3YHw9M

Tony Albert | Brisbane Interview - YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6afMy0rlqq8&feature=player_embedded

Wiley, J & Sons Ltd. (2009) European Journal of Social Psychology.               Article first published online: 22 OCT 2009 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejsp.715/full

Anish Kapoor Sculpture

Anish Kapoor

Cloud Gate (2004), Millennium Park, Chicago

1.Research Kapoor's work in order to discuss whether it is conceptual art or not. Explain your answer, using a definition of conceptual art.

Definition of Conceptual art : Art that is intended to convey an idea or concept to the perceiver and need not involve the creation or appreciation of a traditional art object such as a painting or sculpture. (The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.)

In my opinion i find that Kapoor's work is conceptual because his work shows that he is trying to perceive the viewers eye with what really is done and the artwork itself within the meaning of it which is meaningless because of how he has done it intentionally . I see that he is trying to show annoyance in what he has done to challenge the viewer from what they know of the object and in viewing it in another way.

2. Research 3 quite different works by Kapoor from countries outside New Zealand to discuss the ideas behind the work. Include images of each work on your blog.

Anish Kapoor

Leviathan (2011)

PVC
33.6×99.89×72.23 metres

“The sculpture cannot be seized from the inside,” explained Mr. De Loisy. “The viewer needs to walk around its contour in order to understand its shape and remember the inside experience.”- By LAUREN HOUSSIN

In the work Leviathan, Kapoor shows his interest of colour and space, I could see that he wanted to show the viewer what t is like on the inside of his work and to be apart of his work but also see that it is a new form of art on the inside and is different from what you see as its appearance on the outside. This work makes the viewer appreciate the art work more from being on its surface and moving with its shape and form. 

Anish Kapoor
Sky Mirror (2009)

270×270×151 cm

Stainless steel
Pavilion Gardens, Brighton Festival, 2009

What I have researched on 'Sky Mirror' is that the meaning behind this is that he wants to bring what is beyond our reach to the ground. Giving the viewer the option to see what they see is up come down and seeing what is down is up. Flipping things in reverse so we have an optical illusion of deformation in landscape and scenery.And it also changes its look from being part of what is on land and blending in with its surfaces. As Kapoor said in one of his interviews, he wanted the look of it to be a void of an open door to somewhere else.

ANISH KAPOOR 
Orbit
Project for the London Olympics 2012
Collaboration with Cecil Balmond, Arup AGU

For the 'Orbit' i have found out that he has collaborated with another artist and they wanted to create something huge to grab viewers attention. And also to challenge them with what is around them to see how people react to it. In an article it talks about how they wanted to annnoy the audience with the art work being in public and not mattering about attention of how they like or dislike the work but just being in the presence of it.

3.Discuss the large scale 'site specific' work that has been installed on a private site in New Zealand.

Anish Kapoor - The Farm 

2009
Mild steel tube and tensioned fabric 
West end 25 x 8m, East end 8 x 25m. Length 85m

I find it unusual for a very big sculpture that looks like this to be in a farm. The colour red being dominated by green seems to me that it was meant to be dominated by land and is trying to connect itself with the space it has and emphasizing how wide the land is. It was installed on this private site because alot of artists create sculptures on this site so therefore it private for just artists to display sculptures or works. When i first saw this i thought it was an old record player where the sound comes from. But in reading in depth about the work I think the viewer gets to choose how to interpret the work with what they understand about the image and site and colour. 
4. Where is the Kapoor's work in New Zealand? What are its form and materials? What are the ideas behind the work?

Kapoor's work that is in New Zealand is set up in henderson, Auckland, New Zealand.

The sculpture was fabricated in Ferrari 1302-S series PVC fabric in a deep red custom color. Two identical structural steel ellipses support the fabric span of 280' with a self-weight of 16,000 pounds. The major axis of the ellipse is 80' and minor axis 40', with each ellipse weighing 95,000 pounds. The ellipses are orientated one horizontal and the other vertical. Thirty-two longitudinal mono filament cables provide displacement and deflection resistant to wind loads while assisting with the fabric transition—from horizontal ellipse, to a perfect circle at midspan, through to the vertical ellipse at the other end. The sculpture, which passes through a specifically cut hillside, provides a kaleidoscopic view of the beautiful Kaipara Harbor at the vertical ellipse and the hand contoured rolling valleys and hills from the horizontal ellipse.(Copyright ©2012 Industrial Fabrics Association International. All rights reserved)

In my perspective of Kapoor's work, I find that he is trying to emphasize the land and the space and bringing it out more so the artwork brings out the land more. And also i researched that he wanted to install a tensioned membrane  sculpture. And in doing this he is complementing the outdoors/scenery for what it is so it is part of the work. And it also can withstand weather changes which is why it is now a permanent sculpture. I also found out the goal for the sculpture was for it to withstand vast winds and weather and have stability. 

5. Comment on which work by Kapoor is your favourite, and explain why. Are you personally attracted more by the ideas or the aesthetics of the work?

I find that his work 'Sky Mirror'(2009) interests me. I don't specifically have a favourite work of his because i am not overly fond of this style of work but I do however find it interesting. The reason Sky mirror interests me is that the shape of all his Sky Mirror interpretations are made in different shapes and sizes and I like how he uses his space and environment to help the work become what it is and involving the world with the work so its more understandable to enjoy his work. I find that I am more personally attracted to the Idea of the work rather then the work being there itself because I can understand how the works idea wants to involve the world without no one not having a tiny bit of knowledge of the work.

Reference: 

Anish Kapoor website
http://www.anishkapoor.com/

Gibbs Farm Kaipara Harbour New Zealand
http://www.gibbsfarm.org.nz/kapoor.php

Houssin, L. (2011) Kapoor’s ‘Leviathan’ Fills Grand Palais in Paris

http://intransit.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/kapoors-leviathan-fills-grand-palais-in-paris/

Public Art Fund (2006) Anish Kapoor Sky Mirror. Presented by Tumi. Hosted by Speyer, T. Rockefeller Center.

http://publicartfund.org/pafweb/projects/06/kapoor/kapoor-06.html

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

The Farm - Anish Kapoor

http://www.ifaipublications.com/iaa/articles/1407.html

Kehinde Wiley And Inter-texuality

Kehinde Wiley

1. Untitled (2009)

 

2. Untitled(2009)

3. Kehinde Wiley Count Potocki, 2008 oil on canvas, 274.3 x 274.3cm

4. Kehinde Wiley Support Army and Look after People, 2007 oil on canvas, 258.4 x 227.3cm

Kehinde Wiley is a Gay American based painter born in Los Angeles, who has an international reputation. Wiley lives and practices between Beijing and Brooklyn.
 

1. Find a clear definition of Intertextuality and quote it accurately on your blog using the APA referencing system. Use your own words to explain the definition more thoroughly.

Intertextuality is based on the way one text in written or visual work is understood and viewed. It is built upon many varieties and is always influenced by something else. Intertextuality might be that whatever we have knowledge of and our minds will always refer back to what we understand or see it as from what we have experienced which helps us understand written or visual work. Chandler (2003).

2. Research Wiley's work and write a paragraph that analyzes how we might make sense of his work. Identify intertextuality in Wiley's work.

In Wiley's work we may see that he has mixed a lot of familiar famous art works of history in his work.  There are a lot of similarities in all his works and he uses a lot of colour in them. A way we may analyse his work could be for us to think of what the art work reminds us of and how he has changed it, obviously he has been influenced by history and glorification in many powerful postures in his work which are similar to historian paintings of kings and queens. For his work to make sense we can also see that he is not using the original colour of the ethnicities or clothing, he views it from his perspective  culture including others not only of one nation. I have identified that intertexuality can be seen in Wiley's work from understanding your knowledge of history and how it has been influenced in his art works and that intertexuality comes in from this by the viewers background understanding. 

3. Wiley's work relates to next weeks Postmodern theme "PLURALISM" . Read page 51 and discuss how the work relates to this theme.

Wiley's work relates to pluralism from what he has based his theme upon. He focus's alot on ethnicity, colours and laso a wide variety in art of men, masculinity. Through this he shows the emphasis of genders and ideologies, religion and economic status. He shows the differences between groups while viewing their commonalities.

4. Comment on how Wiley's work raises questions around social/cultural hierarchies , colonisation, globalisation, stereotypes and the politics which govern a western world-view.

His works raise alot of questions leaning towards the use of American history that is influenced in his works and also the way he uses his meaning of the work. The social/cultural hierarchies is the most affective expression that is brought through his work from the differences of colour and in a way he plays with the real meaning that had war with racism. His work deals with alot of world issues that  America face in the passed and what every country went through with colonisation and with the power that people had that dealt with politics against colours and the dealing with stereotypes. His work raises alot of history and differences that the world had faced in the past that we can now see how others had viewed it.  

5. Add some reflective comments of your own, which may add more information that
you have read during your research.

Kehinde Wiley's work is more related to society issues and world reflection to how his culture was forgotten and is showing the pride that he has for his people. Because of american's history of racism there were so many historical paintings and portraits of the European culture that other cultures of society were forgotten. Through his work he shows the American history in another perspective showing the other side of things. And the importance of not just one colour. That there is pride in others not just focusing on only one colour that they must learn about. Gives the audience the time to re think their history knowledge and plays with the idea of bring american history in a new way.

Chandler, D (2003) Intertextuality. Retrieved 9 Oct, 2003 from
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/sem09html
ALVC Handbook

http://www.cretique.com/archives/4012

http://www.deitch.com/artists/sub.php?artistId=11 

http://www.kehindewiley.com/Artist_Statement.html

http://www.thinkcontra.com/kehinde-wiley-on-current/

Hussein Chalayan and Post Modern Fashion

Hussein Chalayan

Chalayan is an artist and designer, working in film, dress and installation art. Research Chalayan’s work, and then consider these questions in some thoughtful reflective writing.

1. Chalayan’s works in clothing, like Afterwords (2000) and Burka (1996) , are often challenging to both the viewer and the wearer. What are your personal responses to these works? Are Afterwords and Burkafashion, or are they art? What is the difference? Not all clothing is fashion, so what makes fashion fashion? 

Fashion

Hussein Chalayan, Burka (1996) 

Burkafashion is a set of words put together. The term burka is an Arabic term formed by the Islamic. Burka may also be referred to as Burqa which is a garment worn by women over their faces only showing their eyes and is traditional garment worn over their bodies also to cover their skin except their eyes.

A Burka can also mean Caucasus a traditional man's coat made from felt or karakul. Burka is also a district in Baghlan province, Afghanistan. So Burkafashion is a style which he formed to put together with a traditional piece and mix it with post modern style.

For the Burka Fashion style, I think that he is trying to play with the official seriousness of the cultural tradition and challenging its tradition not to produce an uproar but to broadcast the meaning of the 

Burka transitioning into post modern work, but in my opinion I see that this is art and fashion because fashion is a part of creativity which relates to the artistic mind ones self concious into developing work.

                         Hussein Chalayan, Afterwords, 2000

 Afterwords is a term related to Epiloque which is a short speech or poem in this case shown through art work/ fashion at the end of a literary work. (Collins English Dictionary & Thesaurus (p.277)

For the 'Afterwords' fashion/art work , I feel that this piece is an artwork because you can use it for display for an event but i don't see it as something you would wear out or formal because of its look and structure, this seems as it was made for only art to see but not to be worn out or bought. Putting the viewer in the position of reading what this really means and how the discomfort of wearing this piece would make you feel. To me this piece is giving the viewer something to think of, its telling you a story with few detail but a lot of structure. 

In viewing both of the works and researching the meaning of the words and reading the image, this gives me a different perspective of what is fashion? what makes fashion? what is the difference, I see that the meaning of a piece of work defines its category, fashion or not fashion, it depends on the meaning. For example the Burka, i don't think you'd see someone walking around revealing their bodies and wearing it as a fashion trend. I think fashion is something that can be worn out and where people will see you wearing. The difference between the to in my opinion is that fashion art can be anything but for fashion in general it is things people wear for others to see and be comfortable and isn't as unusual as the Burka and Afterwords. 

2. Chalayan has strong links to industry. Pieces like The Level Tunnel (2006) and Repose (2006) are made in collaboration with, and paid for by, commercial business; in these cases, a vodka company and a crystal manufacturer. How does this impact on the nature of Chalayan’s work? Does the meaning of art change when it is used to sell products? Is it still art?

It is still art because they are regenerating ideas from another but instead developing it to relate to their theme and nothing is original, the ideas of arts has to have come from something. Forms of art can be developed through simple things and things already created. I don't thing the meaning of art changes if it is used to sell products, i see that it is also selling the art and the designs attracting people and finding out the meaning of it. 

3. Chalayan’s film Absent Presence screened at the 2005 Venice Biennale. It features the process of caring for worn clothes, and retrieving and analysing the traces of the wearer, in the form of DNA. This work has been influenced by many different art movements; can you think of some, and in what ways they might have inspired Chalayan’s approach?

Post Modern, Contemporary, Modern and Hyper Reality. They might have been inspired by Chalayn's work by the meaning behind the piece or either the grasping concept of his work. They may be using clothing but they are also using DNA which involve the people in it. I think the approach they are taking from Chalayn's ideas are from the tradition within which grasps the true nature of what is within and unveiling it to the viewer.

Hussein Chalayan, still from Absent Presence, 2005 (motion picture)

4. Many of Chalayan’s pieces are physically designed and constructed by someone else; for example, sculptor Lone Sigurdsson made some works from Chalayan’s Echoform (1999) and Before Minus Now(2000) fashion ranges. In fashion design this is standard practice, but in art it remains unexpected. Work by artists such as Jackson Pollock hold their value in the fact that he personally made the painting. Contrastingly, Andy Warhol’s pop art was largely produced in a New York collective called The Factory, and many of his silk-screened works were produced by assistants. Contemporarily, Damien Hirst doesn’t personally build his vitrines or preserve the sharks himself. So when and why is it important that the artist personally made the piece?

In my opinion I think it is the artist's piece because without the artist the work wouldn't have been made and also he created the idea of what should happen what it should look like and also instructing the helpers what to do. Why ? because he is the artist and creator of the work. When ? when he has thought of the creation and helps develop the idea, an artist must have help with something. It all depends on the artists creation and whoever thought of it and instructed it , they are the true artist. The one who gets it done or tells them how to. But on the other hand there is still a chance that the artist isn't the only artist, there are those who helped. 

Reference:

http://www.aims.org.af/maps/district/baghlan/burka.pdf

Collins English Dictionary & Thesaurus (p.277)

http://www.designboom.com/eng/interview/chalayan.html http://www.husseinchalayan.com/blog/ 

http://www.husseinchalayan.com/#/home/

http://www.slideshare.net/cjmcd/the-history-of-the-burqa

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Caucasus

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/epilogue