Me on my work

This video is in two parts, here is the first part:

and here is the second:

Artist Link

Nam June Paik (July 20, 1932 - January 29, 2006) was a South Korean-born American artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the first video artist.^[1] He is considered by some^[2] to have been the author of the phrase “Information Superhighway“, which, according to his own account, he used in a Rockefeller Foundation paper in 1974.

This artist has inspired me to look at working with video, I saw the Buddha watching TV during my visit to Berlin last week, and it helped me to think how I could use video to explain the concept of what I am trying to show in my art. 

 

Nam June Paik, «TV-Buddha», 1974
© Nam June Paik

 

 

 Nam June Paik
«TV-Buddha»

Paik’s possibly most famous video work was produced as a gap-filler for an empty wall in his fourth show in the Galeria Bonino, New York. Shortly before the opening, he hit upon the idea of making a TV viewer out of an antique Buddha statue once purchased as an investment. The subsequent addition of a video camera meant the Buddha now watched his videotaped image on the screen opposite – past and present gaze upon each other in an encounter between Oriental deity and Western media.
During the ‘Projekt ‘74′ exhibition in Cologne, Paik took the Buddha’s place in his recent creation, suggesting the implicit antithesis between transcendentalism and technology was equally present in his own personality.

 

 

 

Assignment 1: Interview

Interview. Joanne lease is an up and coming artist who is currently studying at Staffordshire University, stoke campus. On first impressions she appears an average student, but once engaged in conversation, it becomes entirely apparent that she isn’t your average run of the mill student, there is a lot more to her than that.

 Q. In one word how would you describe your work? A. Honest.Q. Because you feel, you do work honestly do you encounter problems with just how honest to be? A. I see it as a challenge, to remain diplomatic, [the work is done] in such a way that its there but only if you look hard enough, and are able to understand the code. Q. Do people have to know you well to know your code?A. No, it’s [the work] targeted for a certain audience who either get it or they don’t. Q. If a person isn’t part of your target audience and perceives something [in your work] differently from what you intended whilst making it is that person wrong? A. I try to keep my work aesthetically pleasing in order for the audience who don’t get it to still appreciate it; I would hope they find it “nice”.Joanne’s work is as she describes it, “nice”, and very aesthetically pleasing, there is however something that I cant quite put my finger on, maybe its because she does use text from The Holy Bible, or maybe its because her conviction when she is talking about her work is so strong. Q. I find that some of your work is highly moving and emotional, is that something you aim for in your audience’s reactions? A. Yes, for the right audience. I want my work to stir something up in their soul.Q. Do you mean emotionally or on a higher level than that? A. On a much higher level than that. Q. How do you achieve that goal [reaching people on a higher level] in you work? A. Its not the actual end result that is important, as in…. a painting or sculpture … its more about the thought and questioning that goes with it from the viewer. Q. So does your work make the audience ask specific questions? A. Not specific questions but I want to lead them onto a path of self belief, even when you’re in the eye of a storm you can still stand. Q. Do you think that you use your art almost as a form of therapy and if so do think this is an effective way to work? A. No, no I don’t. I believe that I have to make art and I have to make it in this way with hidden meanings, always with hidden meaning. Q. Is the source of the text more important than what it says?A.I use biblical text as a way of anointing, where people are unaware of the meaning and may find it attractive so they might ask, or research its origin. The words I use are really selective, and are meaningless without understanding… they are selected as key words.

 Joanne’s conviction in God is astounding; it seems in the face of adversity people still have hope. It’s her conviction that seems to compelling her to create extremely interesting pieces of work about what seems to have been, to me anyway, a very interesting life so far. What is also just as interesting is that she does it all without straying to the use of iconography, and garish colours, so often associated with religious art. I’m not sure if hers is religious art , as such, there is a definite spiritual element especially when talking to Joanne, but I felt whilst talking to her it didn’t over rule. 

My Comment:

I feel that perhaps I didn’t explain myself clearly enough when suggesting that I don’t mind if the audience finds my work to be “nice” as I am fully aware that this is a very slack word and an insult to any art-work. Though I do want my work to be attractive to a large variety of people, not just people who naturally read and understand art.

I try to keep it simple. As far as keeping my work set in an evangelical fashion; I feel that this is always sewn into the fabric of all the art-work that I create. (even the little things like locating materials)

Sketch Book 2008

Evidence 2008

I have recorded the evidence of the cutting of the ties, though only a few of the images ar shown here, their are twentyseven images of indevidual evidence bags in total

The evidence bags are the ones that are used in forensic science.

Binding and Releasing

This is where I calaberated with another art student to create a body of work…The other student’s work included S&M, the female form, basques and images of binding (laced up) Female form, bound up in ties.

Making Progress

Letters

All in alphabetical order and ready for action

I located these lovely block prints….perfect, and just the size I wanted.I then paced them into alphabetical order, all in a row.

TAG

I printed off the image onto ascitate, then placed it onto an OHP to project the image onto my canvas get accuracy for my first lines.This is the original print, done with oil based printing ink onto a microscope slide. Our fingerprints were etched upon our bodies before we were even born.

I am

The ties are damaged, though not broken.Digital image, shot in RAW. My friend Angie Manning assisted me with preperation for this shot.
With the use of conrolled lighting and text.