Shameen Arshad
Achim Hochdorfer – How the World Came In from Painting 2.0
Reading group
Our first reading, quite an abstruse piece of academic writing, took a few times to become clear. The text talks about the ever evolving nature and meaning of the term “Painting”. Below I will add brief statements on what I concluded to be the main ideas highlighted in the text :
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The write up starts with the ideas of ownership in Art. It discusses how the definition of painting expanded from being a labour intensive technique to one where the artist’s job was not necessarily to execute a work of Art but simply to come up with a concept.
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The fate of Painting was thought of being doomed because of the insistence of many to keep it unaffected by modern technology, thoughts and mediums. The writer claims that due to these theories Painting was being kept from being an authentic and appropriate tool for expression.
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Manzoni’s practice was in sync with the to the commercial art market as he adopted techniques and materials relevant to the time. He is a prime example of how artists assimilated modern mediums to their painting practice maintaining its relevance and autonomy in a society that was receiving a surfeit of images and information through other outlets. Paintings remained a mode for self- assurance due to its ability to merge with other artistic forms. The very thing that posed a threat to the authenticity and autonomy of Painting is what made it survive through time.
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The role of Artists in society was debated. Artist actively started working to defend their position against the popular opinion that Art was a romantic occupation disconnected from reality. This idea was further explored in our second reading where it has proven to be instrumental to many world events.
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The passage contains Adorno’s opinion on how the very nature of a particular medium encourages or drives the artist to change it, do something different. The many art movements that took place over time, support this theory as each resulted in artwork that was a conscious deviation from the previous one.
Imaging Terror: Gerhard Richter’s ‘October 18, 1977’
Reading group
Our second reading group consisted of two readings; one talking about the role of terrorism and media based representation of terror and the other on Gerald Richter’s work based on a similar theme.
The discussion on terrorism majorly came into play after the events of 9/11 and escalated through the media’s representation of the account, redetermining the political landscape around the globe. The reading material highlights the importance of art and media and how the dissemination of information affects the global social and political climate. Though the topic at hand not entirely pleasant, it does reinforce the power of Art in contemporary times challenging the popular idea of the medium have a very minimal contribution to the community.
Though the readings touch upon several complex and grave issues, I will only talk about some that I seem to clearly recall.I feel that Richter’s supposed deference to the family of the gang members was more of a publicity act where by refusing to have an opening and declining to publish particular images alongside articles he made his viewers more curious and hence more interested in the show. Though I might not be a big fan of Richter’s insensitive exploitation of his subjects , I do believe that his treatment of the images have the strength to make one question their opinion of the members of the Baader- Meinhof gang and their death. The soft blurred strokes gives his characters an ethereal feel adding an element of sorrow and loss.
Though the artist claims he simply painted found images without an agenda, I believe that the artist seems to want the audience to empathize with them by presenting them as vulnerable. The series seem like a tribute to them, as he takes famous political figures and humanizes them by revealing their mortality. Richter’s may have refused to verbalize his opinion but it is evident through his portrayal of the gang members.
The talk was followed by a series of videos played by Geraint. What I found particularly ironic was how the movie trailer (can’t seem to remember the name of the movie) was clearly glorifying the Baader-Meinhof gang. Being a Muslim and Pakistani this hit home hard. It really made me think about how much the media has a hand in representation of different communities. Where most movies have Muslims as terrorists or Russians as super villains, they were painting these social activities/ terrorists as heros. The trailer just as in Richter’s work subtly guides their viewer into accepting certain opinions, without knowing that they are perhaps being manipulated. The group discussion led me to look into ideas of the politics of representation through art which is what my current practice is centred on. Having had a strong reaction to the reading material I realized that it was perhaps a good idea to explore how this could contribute to my practice.
In addition, I felt that a single class dedicated to such a loaded topic was not enough. Some of Gerald Richter’s imagery such as that of 9/11 holds such importance, a visual that changed the dynamics of the world, which cannot be analysed enough in one group discussion.
Anna Bunting Branch - Artist Talk
Interim Show - Squeezed
Anna’s lecture was one of the most interesting one’s I’ve attended so far. The lecture gave me a different perspective on a lot of the reading material I was already looking at. Considering the fact that we both drew inspiration from Audrey Lorde’s writing I felt it was important for me to see how an another artist has taken that inspiration and how it has manifested in the form of an artwork. To quote Lorde "There are no new ideas, just new ways of making them felt". It was also helpful to see the indirect references to the artist's take on feminism.The film "witch" was anything but didactic which made it all the more absorbing. The enigmatic quality of the film had the ability to grip one's attention for a longer period of time. This is particularly important when it comes to talking about grave topics such as sensuality and discrimination. Having observed her practice helped me inculcate a similar subtly.
Interim show- Squeezed, The Nunnery
The MA Interim show served mainly as a trial run for the final show. It refreshed my understanding of curating a space and the different issues faced when putting up a large group show.
The show reinforced how necessary it is to take a unbiased approach to your own work when it is to be displaced alongside many others. Having had experience as a Curator I feel that the artist should in most cases stand back and give up the responsibility of hanging their own show. I feel that having spent so much time with a work of Art, one tends to become way to attached which tends to result in impartial stance on how it should be put up leaving little room for negotiation. This cuts the work off from so many possibilities and different ways it can be read.
Curating a space can easily be seen as a collaborative three dimensional artwork, thus it needs to be given its due time and effort to create cohesiveness.
