Darren James Jorgensen’s interview with German artist Wolfgang Laib provides an insight into the artist’s unique and life long practice, and how through his work Laib inspires us to consider his use of materials and their placement within a new context. It seems as though the process as much as the final product is a crucial element in understanding the work’s intentions, as Laib discusses the profound experience in sourcing the material that will eventually become the basis for his work. Throughout the interview Laib talks about his practice in relation to the contemporary art scene, his influences, and his views surrounding the current art practices seen today as well as his beliefs about art’s potential to change the world.
Jorgensen presents us with an overview of the artists’ practice, which is immersed in the sourcing of organic materials such as bees’ wax, pollen and milk. By removing these materials from their original, natural setting and with them creating detailed, abstracted art forms, Laib is offering us the opportunity to appreciate their simplicity and pure form. The ephemeral quality of Laib’s works further highlight the meticulous and overpowering process undergone in order to retrieve these materials and replace them within a gallery space, where viewers are given room to respond. This repetitious and time-consuming procedure gives the viewer an indication of Laib’s personal experience with art, which he considers to be vital to understanding and experiencing life in a totally new way.
Whilst the interview comes across as light-hearted, Laib’s deep enthusiasm for the importance of art and its powerful influence on the world is felt. Through his practice Laib aspires to provoke change, in questioning our society and the morals and values by which we run our lives. These views become evident throughout the interview, as Laib declares his ‘non-European’ cultural influences and describes his workspace as being isolated from the art world, deriving his inspiration and knowledge from natural surroundings. Rather than engaging with art scenes surrounding the art world (as Laib stated in the interview his thoughts concerning the lack of originality seen within art practices today), Laib’s practice is embedded within his life, whereby each day is intended to inform his work. Within this philosophy stems the possibility for something new, with the intention for prescribing change.
Jorgensen’s interview was successful in displaying a personal account of the artist’s practice and beliefs about art, also providing useful images of three of Laib’s works, Pollen from Pine, 1999, Passageway-overgoing, 1996 and Ziggurat, 1999.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Spiritual Reality and ART
On Nicholas Zurbrugg and his Installation art article, my first thoughts were that the article was about honesty, refined to the search (endless and subjective) for the true essence. The article also seemed to be about the real and raw power that propels us to keep our art practice going. This was also true for Wolfgang Laib who further opinioned that the potential of an artist was as significant as a doctor.
The overview - Or as Zurbrugg puts it ‘what is worthy of consideration.
What is significant and active in a 2 D. picture or in a 3 D. object or installation has is a correlation.’ How important something is means interrogating a hierarchy of opinion. This is a reflexive concept that needs to factor in other people and there opinions. This is psychologically interesting ground from which may sprout new ideas or become poetically and artistically barren. A place where one may begin to explore any idea would be by making sure you respect others and by extension yourself. When we are talking Art it seems that boundaries including those of respect are explored.
Wassily Kandinsky and his ‘Concerning the spiritual in art’ text introduces English speakers to ‘the almost untranslatable’ stimmung as meaning sentiment, feeling and the essential spirit. The word, stimmung, is a key to his text and a connection to Douglas Kahns’ book Noise, Water, Meat. Kahns’ book uses the above Kandinsky text to illustrate ideas about music and sound (p106/7). Kandinsky is quoted as saying ‘music was a powerful model for non representation’ and that he developed ‘a notion of inner sound, a deeper and more pervasive vibrational being….’. These ideas indicate to me the same sense of impermanence that I started describing in my previous blog. Kahns’ study and understanding of the history of music and sound helps to make sense of the suggestion that Kandinsky circumvented imitation by conduits of cosmic vibrations behind apparent reality. I wonder if it would be possible to do this while also eating your favourite breakfast brand of breakfast cereal. Kahn also makes reference to a Kandinsky comment that ‘our hearing of colours is so precise..’. Although this seems a little of track it is why I have to allow each to their own spiritual reality because I’m not sure I can completely rule the idea of hearing colour. As you know we can feel sound and colour in various ways so the essence of our relational activities maybe seen, felt, tasted and heard.
The overview - Or as Zurbrugg puts it ‘what is worthy of consideration.
What is significant and active in a 2 D. picture or in a 3 D. object or installation has is a correlation.’ How important something is means interrogating a hierarchy of opinion. This is a reflexive concept that needs to factor in other people and there opinions. This is psychologically interesting ground from which may sprout new ideas or become poetically and artistically barren. A place where one may begin to explore any idea would be by making sure you respect others and by extension yourself. When we are talking Art it seems that boundaries including those of respect are explored.
Wassily Kandinsky and his ‘Concerning the spiritual in art’ text introduces English speakers to ‘the almost untranslatable’ stimmung as meaning sentiment, feeling and the essential spirit. The word, stimmung, is a key to his text and a connection to Douglas Kahns’ book Noise, Water, Meat. Kahns’ book uses the above Kandinsky text to illustrate ideas about music and sound (p106/7). Kandinsky is quoted as saying ‘music was a powerful model for non representation’ and that he developed ‘a notion of inner sound, a deeper and more pervasive vibrational being….’. These ideas indicate to me the same sense of impermanence that I started describing in my previous blog. Kahns’ study and understanding of the history of music and sound helps to make sense of the suggestion that Kandinsky circumvented imitation by conduits of cosmic vibrations behind apparent reality. I wonder if it would be possible to do this while also eating your favourite breakfast brand of breakfast cereal. Kahn also makes reference to a Kandinsky comment that ‘our hearing of colours is so precise..’. Although this seems a little of track it is why I have to allow each to their own spiritual reality because I’m not sure I can completely rule the idea of hearing colour. As you know we can feel sound and colour in various ways so the essence of our relational activities maybe seen, felt, tasted and heard.
Art & Architecture
Chris Burden
Born in Boston, Massachusetts 1946
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Urban Light, 2008
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Chris Burden was a key performance artist during the 70’s, I’m sure you all are vaguely aware at the very least, about the artist who asked his friend to shoot him in the arm. Well that was Burden, November 19, 1971, in Santa Ana, California.
“Shoot” survives in desultory black-and-white photographs with this description: “At 7:45 P.M. I was shot in the left arm by a friend. The bullet was a copper jacket .22 long rifle. My friend was standing about fifteen feet from me.” Why do such things? “I wanted to be taken seriously as an artist.”
So do we take Burden seriously? Or do we not? In consideration of Burden’s recent work “Urban Light” it is clear that some of his childish imagination remains. Urban Light is a permanent installation piece on the grounds of (the Los Angeles County Museum of Art) consisting of more than a hundred and forty handsomely restored antique lampposts.
Arrayed in ranks only centimeters apart, defying notions of space, especially public-space, the hundreds of lampposts make a bizarre yet beautiful sight.The courtyard where Urban Light is positioned, is open to the street and can be visited anytime night or day. The lamps turn on at dusk and remain lit until dawn, like any other street light in the city.
More info:
http://www.gagosian.com/artists/chris-burden/
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/artworld/2007/05/14/070514craw_artworld_schjeldahl
Urban Light, 2005
Installation at Chris Burden's studio, Topanga, CA
Wolfang Laib: Returning to What Is
The article is essentially an interview by Darren James Jorgense and German artist Wolfang Laib. Which describes Laib’s understanding and opinion of “arts” function in the grand scheme of things, as well as Laib’s understanding and explanation of his own artistic practice.
Laib believes art that is, good art, can encompass more power than medicine. Laib feels that medicine can only go so far, it can only cure or aid the physical body. Whereas art exceeds the physical body and can influence not only the body but also the spiritual or psychological state of an individual. This is Liab’s reasoning as to why, he did not pursue his medical discipline and instead became an artist. It is clear that Laib is a true artist, as he adjusts his lifestyle to suit his practice.
Liab has repeatedly been characterized and referred as a nature artist, with minimalistic conceptual grounding by critics and scholars. However Laib sates in the interview, that neither of these are true of by any means intentional. Laib is considered to be a “nature artist” because his use of organic materials witch he uses (pollen, beeswax, and milk) and the ritualistic process that he conducts to collect these materials. Despite varied interpretation and categorisation of his artistic practice, Laib explains his intention as simply to alter and heighten perception. Much consideration and focus is placed upon “position and placement” within Laib’s practice, also the “individual qualities” of pure or singular material.
Laib’s work is created, to intensify our sensitivity of materials whether they are pollen, beeswax, or milk. Through displacing organic or pure materials, within the neutral environment of a gallery or museum Laib is removing all pre-existing connotations. The material is perceived singularly and its unique qualities that are normally overlooked are exposed. Within this practice Laib is interested in the audience’s observation, what it is they see within the material as each interpretation is different.
The closing ideas mentioned within the interview, expose Laib’s disappointment in contemporary art. That is the quick pass and popularisation of art as if it were a “fashion show”, whereby various stylistic approaches go in and out of fashion at a rapid pace. Laib believes that the function of art is to create something ‘new’ and ephemeral for society to experience, and he considers today’s rapid pace stopping artists to be able to achieve this.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Wolfgang Laib: returning to what is.
During the course of the interview with Darren James Jorgensen, Laib describes the unique way he views art and life.
The word naive is mentioned a number of times; how he believes people might view his work and how he was when he began his career in art. Phrases he uses such as " my life is my work, I have nothing else" seem so simple and yet insightful. This simplicity as well as notions that art "could change the world" are why Laib thinks his practice could be seen as naive. His casual conversational tone throughout the interview gives the reader a sense of his humble attitude.
Jorgensen questions the assumptions made regarding Laibs use of natural materials such as the idea that what he is engaging in by creating work out of natural materials such as beeswax and milk is environmental. Laib explains that above all his motive is to display the material as it is without the distractions of the environment which the materials normally exist in, which may alter the impression of the material. The questions addressing the preconceived notions of his work, its relation to spirituality, and his background help get to the core of what his art is about conceptually, aswell as giving insight to what Laib is like as a person.
Jorgensen asks Laib questions like what he thinks of the word artist, adopting Laibs inquisitive attitude toward art. Laib questions the contemporary art world, liking some of the work being produced to a 'fashion show' in that the pace of new types of art are changing rapidly in response to popular culture. During the interview he questions the art world so thoroughly it is as if he has no involvement in it, he wonders about the commercial feel aboriginal paintings take on when mass produced with acrylic paint. Jorgensen wraps all this up with his Perth exhibition that was taking place. Overall Jorgensen’s interview is informative and gives a strong sense of what it is Laib wants the viewer to see in his work.
The word naive is mentioned a number of times; how he believes people might view his work and how he was when he began his career in art. Phrases he uses such as " my life is my work, I have nothing else" seem so simple and yet insightful. This simplicity as well as notions that art "could change the world" are why Laib thinks his practice could be seen as naive. His casual conversational tone throughout the interview gives the reader a sense of his humble attitude.
Jorgensen questions the assumptions made regarding Laibs use of natural materials such as the idea that what he is engaging in by creating work out of natural materials such as beeswax and milk is environmental. Laib explains that above all his motive is to display the material as it is without the distractions of the environment which the materials normally exist in, which may alter the impression of the material. The questions addressing the preconceived notions of his work, its relation to spirituality, and his background help get to the core of what his art is about conceptually, aswell as giving insight to what Laib is like as a person.
Jorgensen asks Laib questions like what he thinks of the word artist, adopting Laibs inquisitive attitude toward art. Laib questions the contemporary art world, liking some of the work being produced to a 'fashion show' in that the pace of new types of art are changing rapidly in response to popular culture. During the interview he questions the art world so thoroughly it is as if he has no involvement in it, he wonders about the commercial feel aboriginal paintings take on when mass produced with acrylic paint. Jorgensen wraps all this up with his Perth exhibition that was taking place. Overall Jorgensen’s interview is informative and gives a strong sense of what it is Laib wants the viewer to see in his work.
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