Quiz Make Up

Tim Hawkingson is one of the artist that features Art 21: Episode Time. He is an artist who I gave credit for his rare creation and his particular way of expressing his concerns about the relationship between body, movement and sound in the space. He created a complex and giant kinetic sculpture made of simple means and new media, which also was a musical instrument. In his installation "Uberorgan" he used a space of a football size field where an "organism"  made of some huge inflated balloons, big pipes, fishing nets, gears , an a keyboard connected to some photo sensitive switches, formed this amazing installation, which suddendly reproduced some church hymns that the artist listened when he was a child. It seems that the artist created an extraordinary airy creature that breaths and exhales a choreography of sounds with the aim of "bring some memories back and reflect faith" acknowledged the artist. Moreover, people who walked around the installation looked amazed and captivated by the sculpture. However, I believe that the artist did a great job expressing his unique view about art, and also sharing his particular interest about music by creating a sculpture that is strange, but somehow resembles a living organism. The motion and sounds of the sculpture made me think on our respiratory system, in which oxygen is aspirated through the nose and passes through the mouth, the thorax and inflates our lungs, so then when the air is released, it creates vibrations and sounds  through our vocal folds. On the other hand, the scale of the sculpture, the use of technology and some synthetic materials such as plastic and wires, gave to the artwork a completely artificial aspect, so I mostly perceived the sculpture as a huge musical instrument.Tim Hawkingson is a talented and innovator artist who used new media to create a kinetic sculpture that impresses the viewers for its strange form, its peculiar sounds and its coordinated movements.

Tim Hawkingson
"Uberorgan"
Technology, plastic

Design in Our Lives, The Museum of Modern Art

Design is an important aspect in our lives that has simplified our past and also has evolved for new necessities in our contemporary world. In the galleries of  the Museum of Modern Art, many examples of old and new designs can be found in the exhibitions "Born Out of Necessity" and "Foreclosed: Rehousing the American Dream."  Both exhibitions remark that designs are the final process of  some creative minds that are looking for solutions to the many flaws that affect our lives, as well as for creating some original objects that can be usable to perform certain activities or not. However, some designs seem to be more indispensable than others when their functionality can dramatically change the life of the human beings.

In the the exhibition "Born Out of necessity" I found very interesting objects that captured my attention. Some of them were: a plaster sculpture, some electric light-bulbs, and a water collecting cone. They were created in different times and used for different purposes. The first design is the sculpture created for the artist Antoni Gaudi. The white and big sculpture called "Stars and Doves" did have an apparent low functionality in terms of how a person could use it,  yet that  artwork did change the landscape in which we are living. Instead of  walking around on an empty space, people who visited the church in which the sculpture was placed could gather around the object and admire it, so when I think in those elements, I realize that the sculpture was functional in that environment. I think that the presence of art in our lives adds harmony in our space, and that makes our lives more interesting.

The second design I founded interesting was these old and huge light- bulbs. Although these objects continue to be one of the greatest inventions of all times, and people use them everyday, these particular type of light-bulbs are due because they do not meet our necessities today. Yes, we do need light at night to read and to see in the dark, but the world today demands a lower consumption of any kind of energy including electricity, so  new bulbs use lowest watts, have a better light output and save energy costs. Despite that these giant old-bulbs look great and could still function, the time in which we are living determined that these bulbs are outdated and that they waste our energy resources as well as our money.

On the other hand, the third design I found was this amazing device shaped as a cone, which collects water from the rain and the moisture of the environment. This cone has been designed to aid people who lives in remote places and who do not have access to any source of  potable water. Now, thanks to this device, drink water, prepare a meal, or wash some hands are not a struggle anymore for many people. This brilliant design solves a big problem for many people who lives in the dessert or in extreme latitudes, so I consider it as a great design, it is simple but combines a perfect balance between a creative mind and a high functionality that assists  people's basic necessities.

The fourth design that I found outstanding was located in the exhibition "Foreclosed: Rehousing the American Dream." When the economical crisis started in the U.S years ago, many designers and artists combined their efforts to find solutions  to some issues related with housing and lifestyle. This incredible project called "Nature-City" combines the urban life with the health benefits of the country living. Some of the features of this ambitious project were: housing affordability, an ecological infrastructure with access to agriculture, public open spaces, renewable energy and natural processing of waste. This project is the perfect solution for the issues that our society is living today, since cities are overcrowded, houses are expensive, there are not enough green spaces and pollution continues growing steadily. Because this design addresses all those problems, I believe that it could be the city of our future. There is not doubt that art and design are blended together to create a highly functional city like this.

In short, art and design are not two separate ideas, they create objects which are indispensable, usable or not.  We tend to categorize these designs and their functionality depending on how well they assist  our necessities.

Antoni Gaudi
"Stars and Doves"
Plaster
1883

George Agule, Charles V. Weden
"Electronic Tubes"
Rhodium-Plated Cooper, Other Metals, Heat-Resistant Glass
1954

Stephan Agustin
"Water Collection Device"
Plastic Water-cone
1999

Amale Andraos, Dan Wood
"Nature City"

Illustrate a Story

This is the story of Grant, a brave and strong child who has healed from a terrible and mortal illness. He has overcame a sad period of pain and fear in his life, which now he remembers with his mother. Thankfully, all now is in the past, and Grant has became a wise person a his short age, so he embraces the gift of life with joy.
The drawing below represents Grant's process of healing, while his mother cries and hopes for his well being.

Fabiana Grosso
Untitled
Acrylic paint, paper
2012

MoMA PS1: The Good, The Bad and The Misunderstood

Janet Cardiff and Darren Badder are some of the artists who were exhibiting in MoMA PS1, and which artworks I consider "Good," "Bad," and "Misunderstood." The mixed media used in their installations were unconventional, and most of the artworks presented were conceptual. However, when I attended the exhibition I found the experience quite enjoyable, strange, and questionable. Nevertheless, no matter what reaction I did have, these exhibitions were worth to be seen.

By far,  I believe that "The Forty Part Motet,"  by Janet Cardiff  is "Good Art" for her eloquent installation. The artist presented forty speakers in an aired- illuminated room  playing a recorded choir, in which each speaker played an individual voice. While walking around the room, the presence of the choir filled up the space, and each voice of the singers could be heard closely from the speakers. The atmosphere of the room was solemn. I evoked some memories of ceremonies, and pictured some images of  cold and spaced churches. This installation was suggestive, so I definitely consider it "Good Art".

On the other hand,  I consider "Real Fruit/Veggies on Pedestals" by Darren Badder "Bad Art"  because it looked strange. His exhibition consisted in a number of wooden columns standing in the middle of a room, while some fresh fruits and vegetables  rested on  top of them. Moreover, the fruits and vegetables were served to the viewers during the exhibition. Aesthetically,  the installation looked pale to me, and it did not provoke me any particular reaction, yet I acknowledge that the concept of the artwork was still valid, since the artist used food as a medium that the spectators could eat. Anyway, I feel that this installation was "Bad Art" because it was boring, and probably the only reason to have remained in the room for more than one minute was because I was hungry.

Another artwork that Darren Badder exhibited was "Thetuesdayafter," which I "Misunderstood," since the mixed media of this artwork was quite intriguing. The artist presented a room where there were: a dishwasher machine with a whole regular pizza in it, a croissant resting on the floor, and a live iguana in a glass cage. Moreover, the public who visited the exhibition could adopt the reptile if they lived outside New York. My reactions to this artwork were: a smiling face, curiosity and questions. However, there are two things that I can point about this exhibition: 1) Some things have not explanation, and 2) People who live outside  New York could be very lucky to own an exotic pet.  For sure, I misunderstood this artwork, but I really appreciate its commitment to rescue animals and to find new homes for them.

To sum up, I consider Janet Cardiff and Darren Badder's artwork "Good," " Bad,"  and "Misunderstood" because I could capture some of the concepts of their eccentric fashion, but in other cases I did not.

Janet Cardiff
"The forty Part Motet"
40-Track sound recording (14 minutes), 40 speakers
2001

Darren Badder
"Real Fruit/Veggies on Pedestals"
Pedestals of wood, fruits, vegetables
2012

Darren Badder
"Thetuesdayafter"
Glass cage, iguana, croissant, pizza dishwasher machine
2012