MARWAN RECHMAOUI
I had never heard of this artist before. And what attracted me immediately to his work was his exploration of society and urban space during the civil war. The artist used ordinary ways of creating paintings and drawings until he began to depict concrete. He wondered why paint concrete structures with acrylics when you could just use concrete. So the artist found one of his materials that is closely related to the object of his research.
45, 2014 Marwan Rechmaoui Basel 2016 [online] At: https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artwork/37311/Marwan-Rechmaoui-45 (Accessed 30.06.2022)
Here I can draw a parallel with myself. I have always lacked colour volume on canvas when working with oil. By trial and error, I found airy paper. Now with the current environment, my newspapers have become the epitome of propaganda. Every day, painting over with paint the news and events described on the sheets, I do not stop thinking about what role such information can play.
JEREMY DELLER
The first thing I need to point out is that my first reaction was rejection. Again, visual images require knowledge of the particular history and knowing all the background. Again, there are many letters and documents referring to subtle matters. Again, something that most ordinary citizens of the planet will not attribute to art, but will take it for an attraction. What is the difference for me between the first artist and the second? It seems to me - fewer words more material. That's why I love Phyllida Barlow so much because she creates images from a material that is ambiguous and complex. And at the same time, the work of a person is visible in this material, even if not her own work, but I like to see on the material how the hands of a person kneaded cement and then smeared it on wood or fabric. And again, human nature probably speaks in me - I don’t like what I don’t know.
But, of course, if you delve into the artist's ideas that do not lie on the surface, the Turner Prize in 2004 and the creation of the British Pavilion in Venice in 2013 could be explained.
“In a way [Sacrilege] was meant to counteract what I felt was the pomposity of sport and the Olympics,” Deller said. “As it happened, it wasn’t so pompous in the UK, but the whole Olympics movement seems to be really full of itself, so I just thought, let’s do something about Britain that shows we have a sense of humour about our history and we’re willing to satirise ourselves almost and have fun with our history and identity.” elephant 27 Jan 2019 ART / CONTEMPORARY CLASSICS The Most Stupid Artwork Ever? Jeremy Deller’s Bouncy Castle Stonehenge [online] At: https://elephant.art/stupid-artwork-ever-jeremy-dellers-bouncy-castle-stonehenge/ (Accessed 04.07.2022)
It seems to me that the method of his work is to analyze a lot and then take everything and suddenly turn it upside down. For example, in the work Sacred, the artist goes beyond all possible boundaries of art and translates great respect for his country into something entertaining.
Or in 'THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD' 1997, a simple scheme speaks of a huge contextual study that resulted in a party=)
“The great strength of Jeremy Deller’s artworks is that they directly raise the question of the sacredness and untouchability of spaces, social codes and emblems of power and even more so of political, economic and religious powers. Whether it’s stepping on Stonehenge’s sacred ground, jumping on it or highlighting popular culture, evoking music fans or the British, it’s all about mass creative power. Rather than fearing or suffering the powers in place, it results in a confrontation between history, culture and heritage.» galerie art concept. Jeremy Deller [online] At: https://www.galerieartconcept.com/en/jeremy-deller-2/ (Accessed 04.07.2022)
One of the artist's most impressive works for me was The Battle of Orgreave, 2001
An incredible element discovered by the artist - a reconstruction of a historical battle. A flashback that allows you to analyze what was and what is happening now. This is probably what I need now. But how can I translate this into "my words?"
CLAES OLDENBURG
A real work of art cannot have a function.
“Oldenburg shrinks the spectator into a bite-sized morsel that might be devoured along with a giant piece of cake, or crushed by an enormous ice pack. His work shows us just how small we are, and serves as a vehicle for his smart, witty, critical, and often wickedly funny insights on American culture over the past half-century.” The Art Story. Claes Oldenburg. AMERICAN SCULPTOR. [online] At: https://www.theartstory.org/artist/oldenburg-claes/ (Accessed 04.07.2022)
The artist works with popular culture by increasing its size and changing its functionality.
Lipstick Ascending on Caterpillar Tracks
“In addition to its feminine associations, the large lipstick tube is phallic and bullet-like, making the benign beauty product seem masculine or even violent. The juxtaposition implied that the U.S. obsession with beauty and consumption both fueled and distracted from the ongoing violence in Vietnam.”
Oldenburg, Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks [online] At: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/later-europe-and-americas/modernity-ap/a/oldenburg-lipstick-ascending-on-caterpillar-tracks(Accessed 04.07.2022)
The finely chosen subjects and the well-used method of presentation point to the possible problems of the American Society. The artist used image of mass culture - lipstick. Here it refers to the vivid images of a woman and a phallus and a bullet and mass consumption.
I see the problem of my society as a dictatorship. Since only one person is in power, and even for so long, there can be no democracy in the state. And since there is no democracy, incredible corruption develops and flourishes. Hence the average level of education is exceedingly low - only the elite can get a decent and expensive education. From education comes the standard of living - alcoholism, crime and drug addiction. Because the culture is not diversified, there is a lot of racism. Given all this tightened by the situation with the coronavirus, the population of the country was enormously depressed.
And then, as Robert Sapolsky (an American neuroendocrinology researcher and author, professor at Stanford University) points out in his lectures when a person grew up in unfavourable conditions and is depressed for a long time, he chooses an object of hatred for himself. This is physiology and biology if you like hormones and genes. And at this moment, the most important thing for the authorities (here you can read "for Putin") you just need to substitute another person for hatred. And this does not happen in one day but is formed over the years. This is how the fictitious enemies of America and the Nazis appeared in Ukraine for the "humiliated and offended" Russians.
I feel better. I made a diagnosis. I'm not a doctor, but I want to help. Do something to make amends. The only thing I can do is make art. Therefore, my help can only be art aimed at correcting this universal grief. You can't bring back the dead, but you can try to heal sick people. What could it be? How to do it?
Using popular culture like Claes Oldenburg is not my thing. Make a reconstruction of the war on the territory of Russia as Jeremy Deller? Unfortunately, what I encountered was the uncontrolled aggression of the Russians! Therefore, it seems to me that it is extremely dangerous for such a society to carry out military reconstruction. If I make some kind of art object, and even if it is shown in a museum, how many people will see it? And I would like the maximum number of people to have the opportunity to think about something alternative when they see artwork.
Perhaps it can be a performance that will be recorded and the video can be distributed on social networks. Or NFT?
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