Taylor's DTC 355 Blog

The piece Siemens, Karlsruhe,  by Andreas Gursky stood out to me in this section because it shows how crowded workplaces can be in factories and other manufacturing jobs. Conditions aren't the best in a lot of workplaces like that, and this just shows that. Too many people are crammed into too little an area and that can cause the whole workplace to be unsafe at the very least, if not dangerous or life-threatening, depending on the job. This piece really speaks volumes, even though it is an older image. That sort of unsafe work environment exists in many places even now, and so this piece is still relevant.

This section talked about scanning famous artwork and digitally recreating parts or bringing attention to certain aspects of these pre-existing works. I thought that Mona/Leo was interesting, simply because of the incorporation of some of the most famous artwork of all time. As recognizable and iconic as the Mona Lisa is, Lillian Schwartz made the final piece her own while incorporating these famous works. In a way, digital art can be a form of found art. Appropriation is really easy using digital mediums, and if done well, you can still claim the work as yours provided that you made significant changes. It's interesting. Digital art sort of walks that fine line.

I really enjoyed this section because it had a focus on female artists that work to redefine the dominant ideas in art and add a more feminine perspective to various mediums. The idea of the female gaze being prevalent in so many of these pieces was really interesting. The book also specifically named Stephanie Smith and Edward Stewart, saying that these two artist were confounding relations between the sexes in their installation works. I think this concept is really intriguing and inspiring, because it challenges society's standards and expectations for how people are supposed to act or portray themselves or their work. Another artist that was mentioned was Pippilotti Rist, whom I have only heard of recently. I think her work is really cool though. It is kind of confusing and also challenges expectations that people may have based on her appearance or other factors of her pieces.

In this section, I liked looking at the work of Mary Lucier. Her work was kind of an homage to Monet and similar artists, according to the book. This was really apparent to me when I very first saw it, because the example piece in the book immediately reminded me of a puzzle I got for my mom. The puzzle was an image of one of Monet's garden paintings. The colors and the overall composition of Lucier's piece reminded me a lot of this puzzle, which I found cool. The colors themselves are lovely; they really reflect nature's own artwork. The leaves and the flowers that occur naturally were captured nicely in this image and I really enjoyed Lucier's pieces overall in this section.

I thought Douglas Gordon's Hysterical  was interesting to read about as a visual experience, because the subjects of the piece are equal parts the actors on the screen and the audience members being confronted by the actors. I think this sort of digital installation is really well done because it can be difficult to make the audience feel like they are really in it sometimes when the installation is shown through screens as opposed to physically being there in the room. Having this sort of audience inclusion factored into the piece is quite powerful and it draws attention into the piece for sure. If I ever do a digital installation in the future, I will be thinking about this piece as inspiration for the setup at least. The audience is incredibly important. If the audience doesn't feel anything from the piece, it's harder to communicate the message behind it.

I think this is an interesting section because of the section about making political statements. I think that using art to bring awareness to important issues that may not be taken seriously or are potentially covered up is incredibly important. In some cases, this can be dangerous, but regardless I think artists have a specific, unique ability to open conversations on topics that are otherwise taboo. One might even say that to a certain extent, artists have a duty to showcase political statements that they feel passionate about. If they can reflect their own opinions in their work, why not do it? Maybe it's not for everyone, but I think art is a great tool for activism and push towards social and political change.