Television Delivers People

"You are delivered to the advertiser." "He consumes you." "You are the product of television." This short film of scrolling text and elevator music was about how advertisers purchase you, you don't purchase products. I think this was done to emphasize societies attachment to multimedia and the effects advertising and technology have. Since so many people tune into tv daily - the tv can consume all of them in one shot. The way the video was made kind of makes you zone out and get sucked into the scrolling text that seems never ending. Since there are no images you're forced to read the text. The text consumes you as does television, as well as advertising. The elevator music is supposed to be soothing and causes you to relax. This music makes me think of being on hold and how badly I want it to be over. This video had the same effect because the music brings me to an impatient state of mind. This video was created by Richard Serra in 1973.

Human Body & Technologu - Stelarc

I find Stelarc's art to be something of it's own league. Technology is what advances this world and is what, we as human beings, are obsessed with and couldnt live without. Stelarc takes this to the next level by intergrating technology into himself. His third ear on his arm is so random, but is something that has never been done before. By him installing this and creating a place on the internet where people can log into and listen is incredible. It allows the public to be a part of his artwork. I also think his third arm is a unique invention. In my opinion it's an invention but I guess that means it is art. By combining technology into his artwork he's showing the deep routed connection society has with technology. Stelarc is also famous for the many suspensions he did. Here he would suspend himself from the ceiling with hooks. By correctly balancing and placing the hooks in certain locations around his body he can successfully hang there. I particularly like the suspension with the rocks that are used to balance him. All in all, his work is quite interesting and unique.

Video Art

From Inside the Bubble

For this video art piece I wrapped my phone in bubble wrap multiple times and then went at popping them. I mostly like the audio in this piece because it's so much louder and chaotic then I thought it would be. It sounds more so like you're at a shooting range then underneath layers of bubble wrap.

Orlan

What I find most interesting abour Orlan is her plastic surgery performances. Something that many women go through but in an element of privacy. Most women wont even admit they've had work done. Orlan saw this as an opportunity to shock the world and create art that nobody else has done. The glamorizing the procedures with costumes and props, Orlan went through numerous surgeries to her body without amnesia. As you can see in the image, the perfomance wasn't fake and included numerous bloody, graphic scenes. She also had horns installed in her forehead that remain there today. She wanted to make her performances obvious, and by adding horns - there was no hiding it. I think her message was that if you're going to undergo certain procedures that are costly and life changing - why not share the experience with everyone. By making artwork out of it she attracts a new audience - an audience who have never seen anything like this. By integrating props I believe she is saying how normal and everyday these procedures are for people. I think she made a huge statement by filming these surgeries and took a huge step in the definition of art.

Joseph Beuys

Joseph Beuys was an artist who came into light during the FLUXUS movement. Although he did participate in many FLUXUS performances he decided to take a different route in art. His main goal in his artwork was to present political and social issues within in order to show his feelings about a subject and to evoke emotion in others. An example of one of Beuys' performances was him holding a dead hare and whispering things to it behind a glass wall. People didn't know the hare was dead and they didn't know what he was saying. He was also covered in honey and gold leaf. Each aspect of the performance meant something to Beuys and symbolized some sort of social or political relationship. Another interesting image is a piano covered in clot with a stiched red cross on it called "Homogeneous Infiltration for Piano." To me he is saying playing the piano is old art. It is art, but needs to be combined with other mediums to create something special in this era. By covering the piano, he is enclosing it's identity and forcing the music to be closed off. By the addition of the red cross I am getting the idea that it needs to be fixed, or combined with other art otherwise it is not new and fresh. He was making a stand for his new way of art that presented problems in society.

FLUXUS

FLUXUS was started by a man named George Maciunas. This term stands for a network of artists who blended different means of art together. FLUXUS means "to flow" and that is what these artists strived for. In the early days of the movement John Cage explored music. With different compositions he created art. Other artists chose to get visual and create video art as well as short performance pieces. In my opinion this was a good move in art. By combining different elements they create something new and fresh. These new creations have so much more power than traditional art and music, because with the combination they present new ideas - they represent the feelings and the opinions of the individuals creating it. This is something that hadn't been done in the past. And, it was the door swinging open for talented people to combine their means and basically go crazy with the artwork presented.