Module 4, 7th artist: Maurizio Cattelan

Maurizio Cattelan is Italian contemporary artist. Since the early 1990s, his work has provoked and challenged the limits of contemporary value systems through its use of irony and humor. His work seems odd at some point but I felt he express strong comments to our society. In reality we tend to act with manners, force to smile, and talk with soft voice. But through his work, when I was looking at the work, I felt as if expressing what I really want to show and tell the others. I don’t have to hide my feelings and act differently. We don’t need to lock ourselves and pretend to be live in perfect life. Sometime, we all need to have some time off, and act natural as possible and show who we really are. As human being, it is natural to feel suffocate and suffer from particular issue, so Maurizio clearly points out that situation and creates art as humor but have strong meanings. Often time, I had to think deeply to figure out his concept of the art, but overall very impressive and interesting work!

Module 4, 6th artist: Maya Lin

Maya Lin is an American artist who is known for her work in sculpture and landscape art. Maya Lin examines how our current relationship to landscape is extended, condensed, distorted, and mapped via new technologies, and then translates these systematized spaces of the natural world into objects and environments that can be engaged physically. The work called “Vietnam Veterans Memorial” was most touching work she has created. Lin's conception was to create an opening or a wound in the earth to symbolize the gravity of the loss of the soldiers. The memorial has since become an important pilgrimage site for relatives and friends of the American military casualties in Vietnam, and personal tokens and mementos are left at the wall daily in their memory. To me, this was most touching work. she want everone to know how brave and courage the soliders were at that time... never want to be forgotten...

Module 4, 5th artist: James Turrell

James Turrell was born in the year of 1943. He said, “My work is about space and the light that inhabits it. It is about how you can confront that space and plumb it. It is about your seeing, like wordless thought that comes from looking in a fire.” Just like what he said, I thought his work was interesting on how it was mainly focus on lights and space. Although it is hard to understand, but at least you get to think more and look deeply as you look into the work. I sort of thought his work depends on how we see things and how we all can come up with different solutions. Is there a chance that he might want us to ask question to ourselves, such as, the object we are looking at are real? Are we not missing any important part by our ignorance on particular object? Perhaps, he might want us to think and see more closely and deeply as we see things… maybe…

Module 4, 4th artist: Nancy Popp

Nancy Popp is performance artist. I found that her work seem very interesting. Mostly her performance looked dangerous and she was arrested by police, but I think that was her intention, meaning, to see how people react by her dangerous performance. Also, she might want it to experience the new ways of looking down the society. Climbing up the pole is very risky but she would still perform her work. I felt that she was trying to find what is hidden by tall buildings and people ignorance.

Module 4, 3rd artist: Allan Kaprow

Allan Kaprow was an American painter, assemblagist and a pioneer in establishing the concepts of performance art. He helped to develop the "Environment" and "Happening" in the late 1950s and 1960s, as well as their theory. I personally like the performance called “Time Pieces” It was about Partners read pulses and exchange breaths. Breathe… if we can’t breathe then that means we are dead. It is sort of like exchanging you’re experiencing with other. I can breathe just as you can breathe. What is he trying to convey the audience? I don’t understand.  Is he trying to say that we are all same? Its really hard to understand but somehow it seem very interesting and mystery… to me!

Module 4, 2nd artist: Burning Man

Burning Man is a week-long annual event held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, in the United States. The event is described by many participants as an experiment in community, radical self-expression, and radical self-reliance. Burning Man is organized by Black Rock City, LLC. The “Burning Man” caught my attention at first. I thought Burning Man as burning human being. “ART CARS ON THE PLAYA” I found this was interesting because regardless of their appearance, as long as the art cars have the right to be driven, to be mobile and given life, they will in turn give life to the event regardless of its size and location. It can be look as nasty, funny, and more like toy looking but the appearance don’t matter. What it matter is that it’s still the car. I think this is sort of comment on our society too. Regardless of how people look alike or different, we are all equal and we should never be judge by our appearance. Am I right? We should always respect others so that way the others will respect you.

Module 4, 1st artist: Joseph Beuys

Joseph Beuys was a German performance artist, sculptor, installation artist, graphic artist, art theorist and pedagogue of art. His extensive work is grounded in concepts of humanism, social philosophy and anthroposophy. He mentioned that everything must be expressed, negatives even those beyond language. One particular work called Infiltration for Piano 1966 / The Skin 1984, seem very interesting work to me. “The piano is an instrument to produce sound, when not in use is silent but still has sound potential. When no sound is possible the piano is condemned to silence.” This was what he said during his interviews on this particular project. It’s hard to truly understand what it means but I think he’s trying to convey the audience on how we are all related to objects during his performance. For example, the Red Cross mark on the piano and being silent could relate to on how our society can be cruel to those who need help if we were to keep our mouth shut. During his performance, it does not talk about what we should be understand, but he hints the clue on his performance, such as Red Cross and being silent on piano, often explains what we should be think and understand.