Postmodernism - Contemporary Art
For me, it is OK as long as I can breathe, as long as my heart is pumping, as long as I can express myself. - Ai Weiwei
Random InternationalThemes: movement, technology, interactive
From http://random-international.com "Founded in 2005, Random International is a collaborative studio for experimental practice within contemporary art. Taking science as a means to develop a new material vocabulary, their work invites consideration of the man/ machine relationship through explorations of behaviour and natural phenomena, with the viewer an active participant. Random International is led by founders Florian Ortkrass and Hannes Koch, who met at Brunel University before going on to study at the Royal College of Art. Ortkrass and Koch led the creative direction of the studio alongside cohort Stuart Wood until his departure in 2015. Based in London, with an outpost in Berlin, the studio today includes a wider team of diverse and complementary talent." |
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Ai Wei Wei: Sunflower SeedsThemes: propaganda, social justice, human rights, political activism, globalization, symbolism
From https://www.artsy.net/artist/ai-weiwei "A cultural figure of international renown, Ai Weiwei is an activist, architect, curator, filmmaker, and China’s most famous artist. Open in his criticism of the Chinese government, Ai was famously detained for months in 2011, then released to house arrest. “I don’t see myself as a dissident artist,” he says. “I see them as a dissident government!” Some of Ai’s best known works are installations, often tending towards the conceptual and sparking dialogue between the contemporary world and traditional Chinese modes of thought and production. For Sunflower Seeds (2010) at the Tate Modern, he scattered 100 million porcelain “seeds” handpainted by 1,600 Chinese artisans—a commentary on mass consumption and the loss of individuality. His infamous Coca Cola Vase (1994) is a Han Dynasty urn emblazoned with the ubiquitous soft-drink logo. Ai also served as artistic consultant on the design of the “Bird’s Nest” stadium for Beijing’s 2008 Olympics, and has curated pavilions and museum exhibitions around the globe." |
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Kara WalkerThemes: Racism, African American racial identity, sexism, classism, culture, power, dominance
From PBS: Art 21 Click the link or photo to watch the video "The illusion is that most of my work is simply about past events, a point in history and nothing else," says Kara Walker about her subversive use of the traditional silhouette technique. The segment traces the evolution of Walker's work, from time spent in the studio to the artist's recent installations of projected light. "A lot of what I was wanting to do in my work and what I have been doing has been about the unexpected...that unexpected situation of wanting to be the heroine and yet wanting to kill the heroine at the same time." Projecting fiction into fact, Walker's art upsets the conventions of history and storytelling. |
James Turrell: Roden CraterThemes: Light
From http://jamesturrell.com/about/introduction/ Click here to watch the video on the Roden Crater "For over half a century, the American artist James Turrell has worked directly with light and space to create artworks that engage viewers with the limits and wonder of human perception. Turrell, an avid pilot who has logged over twelve thousand hours flying, considers the sky as his studio, material and canvas. New Yorker critic Calvin Tompkins writes, “His work is not about light, or a record of light; it is light — the physical presence of light made manifest in sensory form.”" |
Additional Resources* PBS's Art:21
* Contemporary Art Daily * Interview with Tim Edler * YouTube: Maya's Lin's Vietnam War Memorial * Incredible website on the Vietnam War Memorial by Maya Lin. *Discover Ai Weiwei's Sunflower Seeds * This seems fun! Create a really |
Artwork List
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