Biography Barbara Kruger

BARBARA KRUGER

 Barbara Kruger not angry enough 1997                                         

This image tells me that no amount of suffering will be enough for equality between the races not even Death.

Barbara Kruger a Feminist Artist, born in Newark, New Jersey in January 26^th 1945.  She attended Syracuse University School of visual Arts,  she studied art and design at the Parson’s school of design in New York with Dianne Arbus.  Her background is in graphic design and she worked in the media for fashion magazines as picture editor and art director.

Barbara Kruger uses found images mostly from print media sources and collages words directly over them in bold black and white text with a slash of red as a border or a background.  She is known for her feminist art, conceptual art and social criticism.  Her phrases are bold, loud and she commonly uses pronouns like We, They, You, I and Your.  She questions the viewer about issues like feminism, consumerism, desire, and classicism.  She challenges the modernist ideas of originality, authenticity, subjectivity and ownership from modernist production to post-modernist reproduction.  This shift from originality to creativity was predicted by the French literacy critic Roland Barthes in his essays ‘The Death of the Author’ 1967 in other words the death of the creator and the birth of the consumer, the viewer.

  Barbara Kruger We wont play Nature to your culture  1983

In this image Kruger is challenging the  stereotypical passive feminine role, by using text from we to your, which is refer to the culture of men and women. The role here was women to play nature and be viewed by men in the world, but she is saying no.

Belief and Doubt is Barbara Kruger lastest installation at the Hirshhorn Museum and sculpture garden in Washington D.C.  Her works covers 6,700 sq. feet space, this covered the walls, floors ceilings and stairs, every inch with her signature look text on colours red, white and black.  Kruger installation needs to be cleaned daily as the foot traffic is massive.

Watch the Installation of Belief and Doubt the end result is impressive.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT4Fqpn3XYU

She is very clear in how she has chosen to display her text and what it says, as when viewers use the escalator they will look down to be meet with the words “Don’t look down on anyone” also text like “Plenty should be enough” and text spread across the floor  “Hoard it”, “Crave it”, “Break it”, and “Return it”.  There is a hidden message behind her words to the consumer, which is look at yourself before you look down on others.  As people are we never satisfied, we consume too much and to what end.  Are we a slave to consumerism trapped in the cycle created by society. 

Ms Kruger does not represent any political party, even though her exhibition is very close to congress.  Text in her exhibition reads, “Whose Power” “Whose value” “Admit nothing. Blame Everyone” Her aim is to provoke a reaction, make people ask questions about themselves and others and those in power.  What is it all about and why?  Barbara comments, “At election time, questions come in handy, right?”(Kruger, 2012)

My favourite quotes by Barbara Kruger:

"Things change and work changes. Right now I like the idea of enveloping a space and getting messages across that connect to the world in ways that seem familiar but are different." - Barbara Kruger

"I'm living my life, not buying a lifestyle." - Barbara Kruger.

References

Crow, K., (2012) 'An Artist Has Her Say-All Over a Museum's Lobby and Store' 'TheWall Street Journal' 2 August [Online] Available at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443866404577564944016522540.html (Accessed 23/04/13)

Hacking, J., (2012) ‘From Post-modernism to Globalization 1977-Present’ Photography The Whole Story. London Thames & Hudson.

The Art History Archive 'Barbara Kruger' 'Feminist Art' [Online] Available at: www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/feminist/Barbara-Kruger.html (Accessed 24/04/13)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT4Fqpn3XYU



http://mylens1.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/barbara-kruger.html

Biography Andreas Gursky

Andreas Gursky

Andreas Gursky Paris Montparnesse 1993

http://www.c4gallery.com/artist/database/andreas-gursky/andreas-gursky.html

Andreas Gurksy a German Photographer born in Leipzig East Germany in 1955.  He came from a photographic background, as his father Willy Gursky was a commercial photographer.  Andreas Gursky studied under the class of Bernd Becher in Dusseldorf in 1981 until 1987.

When I think of Andreas Gursky I think BIG is too SMALL, it's ENORMOUS in size and scale.  My favourite image is of Paris, Montparnasse 1993 a chromogenic colour print on paper and Perspex size 134cm x 319cm. To create this image Gursky used digital montage for it to work visually.  The building was too big to take in one shot so he merged two separate images digitally together to create one.  In doing this the image became sharper and the wide angle distorts the camera stand point, where is it?

Andreas Gursky images are extra large, huge, majestic and examines the relationship of the mass and the individual, interest in a global cultural and the aesthetic contrast between a painting and his minute detailed photographic method. Gursky is looking at human behaviour in a monumental arena in great detail, but with a cold detachment.  People in his images are tiny dots which fade into the background.  We as the viewer cannot connect with the people, only the mass architecture and space.  His images are stunning to view and  they look like collage of abstract colour.  His images are also digitally manipulated and takes months to finish and get just right.

His photographs are considered Art as the attention to detail can pass as a painting, one of his photograph titled The Rhine II fetched 2.7 million at action and is the most expensive photograph, its beautiful, vibrant and memorable.

Andreas Gursky Pans, Montparnasse 1993 reminds me of the painter David Hepher’s Beautiful Tower Blocks.

Albany Flats' (1977-79) 

Camberwell Nocturne Painting oil on canvas 1984

http://transpont.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/david-hephers-beautiful-tower-blocks.html

This painting depicts the Bradenham Block on the Aylesbury Estate.  It is part of a series depicting tower blocks in South London, others include Stockwell flats, Walworth flats and Peckham flats.  The detail in both painting and photography is amazingly detailed and interesting to look at.  It like living, breathing visual art.  To quote David Hepher: ‘ I like best to work from council blocks, preferably stained and eroded by the dirt and the weather, where the facial appearance is continually changed by the people who live there, their comings and goings, and the changing decor. I would like to think that the pictures could make people look differently at the flats around them, to see beauty in objects that they normally dismiss as ugly.’

This is a video on Andreas Gursky life it's very interesting, enjoy watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK9Vzeks35Y


References

Golden, R., (2008) Masters of Photography. Classic photographic artist of our time, London Carlton books.

Hacking, J., (2012) The Dusseldorf School. London Thames & Hudson.

 Jeffery, I., (1997) The Photo Book. London Phaiden Press .

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK9Vzeks35Y (Accessed 23/4/13)









http://mylens1.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/andreas-gursky.html

Core Topic Semiotics

HAND GESTURES

How would you interpret these hand gestures of my children and my niece?  

             Naughty       OR     Nice    

            Rude            OR     Innocent         

            Political       OR     Radical

            Peace           OR     Love

So many hand gestures with variety of different meanings home and abroad by Caroline Small.

 

Caroline Small Theory is not about Art

http://hoodedutilitarian.com/2011/04/theory-is-not-about-art/

Black-Power-Fist

http://madamenoire.com/45706/study-finds-black-proud-happy/black-power-fist/

This hand gesture to me represents Black Power, which I associate with the Black Panther movement.  To others it may represent Power, Peace, Strength, Unity and solidarity.

A gesture is a movement that shows a persons expressions or an act of goodwill.  Gesture is Latin and means gestus an action, which is a way of standing or meaning.  Gestures are from the subject of Semiotics, which is the theory of signs and what they mean.  Semiotics is all about communication in a variety of different forms through signs, gestures, body language and much more, also how we interpret and understand in different ways.  Semiotics was introduced by swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913)

Hand gestures are universal and we all use our hands to supplement or speech, mostly without realising.  Hand gestures are spontaneous and individual to different people.  It is most likely that you today used your hands when you spoke, think about it.

Kenneally writes, “If you have human language, you have gestures" (Kenneally 123)

An example of hand gestures used in advertising is This Diesel advert.

http://georginejoneslevel4.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/semiotic-compositional-and-content.html

A hand gesture of a clenched fist is used for Diesel aftershave, it is the focal point of the advert and yours eyes are drawn immediately
to the masculine shape and colour of the product.  As well as the masculine, brave, strong, cool pose and his body language which oozes power and strength.  His fist in the shape of the product adds to the advert.  The font on the advert is bold, rough and masculine and is not just informer the viewer, but making a statement buy me if your brave.

According to Barthes (2000.p. 21) 'I was interested in Photography only for "Sentimental reasons; I wanted to explore it not as a question (a theme) but as a wound: I see, I feel, hence I notice, I observe, and I think.

 References

Barthes, R., (20000 Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography, London:Vintage

Barthes, R., (1972) Mythologies, London: Cape

Berger, J., (1972) Ways of seeing, London: Hamondworth: British Broadcasting Corporation: Penguin

Hall, S., (2007) This Means This This Means That, A user Guide to Semiotics: Lawrence King

Kronenberg, J., (2011) Semiotics and Mediation: Do our hands help us talk. [Online] Available at: http://pages.vassar.edu/semiotics/2011/02/22/do-our-hands-help-us-talk/ (Accessed 03.04.13)

L & Strurken, M., (2001) Pratices of Looking: An Introduction to visual culture, Oxford: Oxford University Press.


http://mylens1.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/semiotics.html