After our last class, I went back and really gave thought to what my idea of art is and what I believe constitutes itself as art. There's definitely a number of definitions and personal beliefs expressed amongst us students, but our discussion on performance & body art is what really provoked my own consideration.
Ultimately, I won't reveal my final answer...but it's more due to the fact that it's a work in progress rather than being shy. I will however say that, I'm of firm belief that art is strongly defined by the context of its presentation than the exhibit and/or physical work itself.
A great illustration of this was discussed in my OTHER class this quarter. It's called "The Kuleshov Effect". Russian filmmaker Lev Kuleshov produced a short project where he filmed the face of an expressionless man, then alternated the shot between three other things: a plate of soup, a girl in a coffin and a woman on a divan. The film was shown to a small audience and, ironically, they believed that the expression on the man's face was different each time he appeared. What the audience felt depended on which shot it preceded. He was perceived to be looking hungrily at the plate of soup, pitifully at the girl in the coffin or lustfully at the woman on the divan. All the while, the shot of the man was the same exact deliberately expressionless face.
What this project conveyed was the importance of juxtaposition when it comes to film editing. The context and sequence of the selected unrelated shots combined to create a separate and new thought. Inasmuch, I believe the same phenomenon applies to art in general. We can juxtapose different elements (performance, layout, medium, subject, etc.) and use their combination to communicate a message. The presentation of the art is almost as critical as the final execution of it. (I guess that makes me partial to "process art"...or maybe not, I still have a week before the test and be sure.)
What this project conveyed was the importance of juxtaposition when it comes to film editing. The context and sequence of the selected unrelated shots combined to create a separate and new thought. Inasmuch, I believe the same phenomenon applies to art in general. We can juxtapose different elements (performance, layout, medium, subject, etc.) and use their combination to communicate a message. The presentation of the art is almost as critical as the final execution of it. (I guess that makes me partial to "process art"...or maybe not, I still have a week before the test and be sure.)
Anyway, for anyone interested, here's a quick video of a modern day reproduction of the Kuleshov Effect. Do you agree with the results?
No comments:
Post a Comment