Ana Mendieta

In this image by Ana Mendieta, the artist has covered herself in plants and sat amongst similar sparse vegetation in a dirty, rocky environment. She attempts to make her body blend in with the natural surroundings, as she does in this entire series of pieces where she covers her body in various natural materials and makeup to become more of a part of the scenery. I think that it's really interesting how she manages to point out the human connection to nature by making her body look like something it's not.

Matthew Barney

Matthew Barney

Matthew Barney's "The Order" from Cremaster 3 is a simultaneously disturbing and extraordinarily beautiful piece.  In this piece, the artist takes the familiar figure of the Scottish gaurd (complete with headpiece, tartan skirt and plaid socks) and transforms him into a grotesque persona.  Ordinarily, these guards fade into the background of our imaginations as silent, stoic characters, but in this piece Barney makes the guard a bright, almost flamboyant figure.  The artist seems to also be commenting on the guard's refusal to speak while on duty, stuffing a bloody handkerchief into the model's mouth.  The artist perverts the concept of a valiant guard with his incorporation of bright, almost technicolor shades, and the fallen statue of the animal by his side disturbs the spectator even more.  The artist draws his audience in by using beautiful color and composition and then he forces them to confront extremely gruesome imagery.  Awesome!

Joseph Beuys

This piece by Joseph Beuys is a very interesting piece to me in that it incorporates three very different 'objects' or styles. The harshness of the rocks in teh front is contrasted with the smooth architecture of the background, and the man in the middle stands as the only sign of human life in a black and white world. The sharp contrasts of blacks, greys, and whites, makes this piece very appealing

Ana Mendieta- Untitled (Body Tracks)

This work by Ana Mendieta comments on art on several different levels because it is a photograph of an artist creating a painting. Mendieta makes art itself ritualistic in this depiction by using her own body in a suppliant position as the central focus of the art. I think this work is very effective as both performance art and photography.

Ritual

This is a photograph from one of Joseph Beuys' most famous art projects.  Beuys is a German artist who came to America in order to spend three days in a room with a coyote.  He was covered in felt the entire time because he claimed that he wanted to see nothing of America other than the coyote.  He named the act "I Like America and America Likes Me" which was meant to be an ironic title because Beuys was actually infuriated with America for being at war in Vietnam.  An act like this can be seen as either artistically brilliant or insane and it is interesting to see how close the two categories come to one another.  I think that Beuys is certainly artistically brilliant and brave to make such a radical statement, but it also seems that he could have thought of a way to make his intent clearer.  It is thought that the coyote represents the significance it once held by the Native Americans, but it doesn't seem evident that Beuys did very much to convey this.  While these photographs are interesting to look at, I do not believe I would understand what the meaning behind them without having read a description first.  

Matthew Barney: Ritual

This photograph, titled "Cremaster 3", is the work of Matthew Barney. Barney is known for his fantastical pieces that have sometimes been described as Freudian. It is apparent by the strange subjects that he portrays that his art comes directly from his imagination after altering personal experiences. "Cremaster 3" is a good example of how Barney has taken something he may have experienced, a british royal guard, and warped it into a representation of his mind.

matthew barney

This work by matthew barney contrasts with his other work in that it is less modern — more ornate, and less stark/striking than other pieces in his series "cremaster."  He continues, however, with his exploration of the human body.

Hannah Wilke - Handle with Care

Hannah Wilke was known for her attempt to create a uniquely feminine imagery through photography. The title of this piece suggests to me a confrontation with and satire of idealized notions of female fragility. The presence of the birds, as well as the sleeping pose of the model, calls to mind imagery of pastoral innocence and stylized virginity. The woman, however, must be in at least her late twenties, and, suspiciously, she is only covering one breast--her modesty may be affected. "Handle with Care" is a parody, and it ultimately has an unmistakably staged look to it.

Hannah Wilke

Starificationis another of Hanna Wilke's portrait series using bubblegum. The bubblegum is shaped like scars, put on her body to represent the use and disposal of women, as if they were a piece of chewing gum. I find it interesting how her face is covered by a middle-eastern head dress, contrasting her nude breasts. The way she is looking away from the camera emphasize the idea of women as objects to be looked at, trapped under the gaze of men even when she tries to hide from it.

Tania Bruguera - Illusion II

This piece by Tania Bruguera is one from a series entitled "Flying Machine." Overall, I find this piece calming.   It drew my attention with the simplicity of its general composition, a simplicity reached despite the intricate overlaying of materials and parts.  The rather monochromatic nature of this piece gives it a tranquility and almost old-fashion quality.   Although there seems to be a fragility to this installation, the interaction between the different components adds a dynamism that is appropriate for the series title.  

Ritual Artist: Guillermo Gomez-Pena.

This is an untitled work by Guillermo Gomez-Pena. (There's a tilde in his last name, but I can't type it.) He is a Mexican-American, who wins a lot of awards and primarily does performance art. And yes, it is a photo of a girl in stockings, a strap-on dildo, and those ridiculous boots that look so cool on girls. And no, the conflation of imagery doesn't make much sense to me either. I know he's trying to expose our dirty little secrets, but I can't specify what secrets these are or how he accomplishes this. Here's my best shot at unraveling the piece: Christianity vs. radical sexuality, violence vs. blinding the eyes, radical sexuality vs. violence. What if there is no monolithic interpretation to his work? What if he's confronting us just to draw a reaction, just so that we expose ourselves? Then that's a pretty cool idea. I don't know if it's true.

Ritual Artist: Guillermo Gomez Pena

An interesting aspect of this piece is its public accessibility which allows us to glimpse public reactions to the scene. Gomez Pena is an interesting artist because he challenges the viewer to think critically about his art.  This image represents both cultural exotification and exploitation, a fact that the woman posing for a photo may or may not be conscious of. 

Ana Mendieta

"Untitled (Blood Sign #2/Body Tracks)"

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

This short film was projected onto a white wall and the bloodied shirt the artist wears was hung nearby in the same gallery. The sight of blood is uncommon in most peoples’ everyday life. When we do see blood it is usually associated with either menstruation or an injury of some kind. Mendieta’s slow, controlled, silent movements are quite the opposite of the violence one might associate with blood on the walls. Medieta was a Cuban exile who was deeply involved in the feminist movement. The blood may represent menses and the large “V” on the wall could stand for vagina. The artist confronts us with a vivid representation of womanhood. I like how Mendieta blurs the line between acting in an art film, painting art, and actually being art herself. I also appreciate the coolness and tranquility of her body as she performs such a shocking act.

-David serota

"phora" by Ann Hamilton

I love the blurriness in the photo. That combined with the section of the face that is photographed deliberately causes a sense of ambiguity. We don't know what this woman looks like. She might not even be real. The crimson lips, rouged cheeks and pale skin make her look like a doll. I also love the juxtaposition with the black.

RITUAL ARTIST: Ann Hamilton

This work is called "untitled (body object series) #5-bushhead” by Ann Hamilton. It is one out of a series of photographs where the artist is shown interacting with common objects or materials. The objects are all joined to the artist in one way or another. In this case Hamilton’s head is engulfed in a bush. I thought this piece was interesting because it comments on how we interact with the world around us. I also found interesting the concept that the photograph is “senseless” both in that the artist cannot see, hear or smell with a bush as a head and that the image itself is in a way nonsensical or fantastical.

Tania Bruguera: Statistics

Tania Bruguera's work titled "Statistics" is a bold political statement that draws strongly on symbolism. She uses strands of human hair of various Cuban people to create an image reminiscent of the Cuban flag, and thus reinvents a conventional emblem of nationalism, while imprinting her own views about the country's history. Her work evokes a powerful metaphor of ordinary people contributing their bodies and identities to a cause. Although initially the thought of human hair on a work of art strikes me as somewhat repulsive, I believe this is relevant to the message being conveyed, as it represents the memories being honored in the piece.

Tania Bruguera Férnandez: The Weight of Guilt, Untitled #2

I think that this work is simply fascinating because of the composition--meat next to meat, forcing us to question the similarities and differences between the two (the woman and the beef) and the validity of these differences. Is a woman just a piece of meat? What makes a human being superior to an animal? Surely, this is not the first time such questions have been posed, but they are ones that must be continuously discussed for they are no less relevant now than they were at their first asking (however long ago that was). I think this piece relates to how art has the capability to convey strong messages without the use of any words.

Alicia Dillard: Ritual Artist-Sol LeWitt

I instantly liked this work by Sol LeWitt. When I look at this structure I get the impression that I am looking from several angles at once. My immediate thought was, “stairs,” however the more I looked at it, the less I saw stairs. An Aztec temple began to take the place of stairs, but eventually my mind ceased to try to relate the structure to something I have seen before and simply take it for what it was. What this structure is, is a question that I cannot answer because I feel that it is something that can only be seen and digested unconsciously.

Agnes Martin: Stars

This is a piece from artist Agnes Martin executed in 1963. Martin is known for her simplistic, uniform works and trademark grid patterns. She has described the grid patterns as "sublimity of reality, perfection or transcendent reality." In Stars, she uses the grid to convey the concept of the sky. "We perceive a grid, but…we recognize a form of nature imagery." I like this piece because there is no central focus, the entire work is balanced, which gives the viewer a sense of harmony. I also appreciate how she uses the blue watercolors and the subtle background strokes to create depth and fluidity; it looks like the piece just keeps going on and on. This relates to the importance of attention to detail that we've been discussing... at first, this looks like a blue square with straight lines across it. But at a closer look, we can see an individual dot within each square, and the contrasting brush strokes in the background.