SanArt

For some it’s an ugly, unspiritual perversion of Renaissance art. But mannerism’s eccentric poetry has a rightful place in history

They called it “the manner”. The manner was precious, artificial, convoluted, a bit pretentious, often dry, always unnatural. It was everything that good, healthy, humane art is not supposed to be. And often, it was fascinating.

In art criticism, indeed in daily life, to call something “mannered” is conventionally a negative remark. A mannered individual, a mannered style of address … but when it comes to a mannered or, to use the term that modern art historians evolved from the 16th-century Italian “maniera”, mannerist art, things are not so simple.

Mannerism is one of the most insidious, engaging styles in European history. It appeared quite suddenly in early 16th-century Florence and Rome just as the Renaissance was reaching a climax. In many ways it seems a perversion, a decadence, of Renaissance art. To compare an arch-mannerist concoction of a painting such as Bronzino’s Venus and Cupid with, say, Botticelli’s much earlier Birth of Venus (to juxtapose two ways of seeing Venus) is to see how ornate, how opulent and how much less spiritual art became in 16th-century Florence.

Yet, in my forthcoming book The Lost Battles, I demonstrate how this new style was born out of the geniuses of Leonardo and Michelangelo – it was the afterglow of their imaginations. As afterglows go, it is a fine one. There’s an eccentric figurative and chromatic genius to the art of Jacopo Pontormo, an icy brilliance to that of Bronzino, and in the works of El Greco and Tintoretto, the art of mannerism achieves sublime poetry.

The 16th-century art writer – and mannerist – Giorgio Vasari gave a perfect definition of this style’s originality in his discussion of Michelangelo’s architectural works at San Lorenzo in Florence. In the interiors he built there, argued Vasari, Michelangelo did not follow the classical rule book but took complete “licence”. These are poetic spaces, melancholy architectural self-portraits. Mannered masterpieces.

If mannerism is a detour in the history of art, then it is a detour that leads you down a winding alley to a palace of peculiar delights.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude, The Surrounded Islands. 1980-1983, 6.5 million square feet of pink woven polypropylene fabric and eleven islands in Biscayne Bay.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude, The Wrapped Pont-Neuf. 1985, 430,000 square feet of sand-colored polyamide fabric and one four hundred year old bridge.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude, The Wrapped Reichstag. 1994, over a million square feet of fireproof polypropylene fabric, nine miles of rope, and one German Parliament building.

Reviewed by Susan Ballard.

Curated by Carolyn Kane for Rhizome.org September, 2009.

The HTML Color Codes exhibition features a selection of internet based artwork that address the topic of digital color. The central question that the exhibition poses is whether or not artists working with the internet are in fact limited to a “ready-made” color palette, a premise that many artists working with film, photography, and mass produced, standardized paint sets have assumed. The rationale for this question stems from theories of perception that argue that color is a not ready-made object found in a paint set or machine, but rather it is an experience that results from a complex process of light interacting with the retina and human nervous system.

Dr. Susan Ballard is a writer, curator, musician and artist who spends her time writing, thinking and teaching about contemporary digital and time-based installation art, sound and noise. Her current research investigates the contribution of artists to contemporary notions of utopia and the political and cultural implications of a materialist reading of media cultures in antipodean environments. Su is the Principal Lecturer in Electronic Arts at the Dunedin School of Art, in New Zealand. Her book The Aotearoa Digital Arts Reader was published in 2008. She is a founding trustee of ADA (http://www.aotearoadigitalarts.org) New Zealand’s digital artists network. She tends to blog here: http://housesparrow.blogspot.com

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Violence, history, amazing architecture … who needs art galleries when you have the castles of North Wales?

There were no art galleries in North Wales when I was growing up – but there was something better. My first experience of great and awe-inspiring works of art was martial. My paintings were battlements, my sculptures towers.

The castles built by Edward I to rule the Welsh did not strike me as imperial enemies planted in the landscape but as places of imagination and romance. Caernarfon Castle with its polyhedral towers beside the slumbering Straits of Menai was self-evidently a colossus of beauty, an architectural masterpiece whose mathematics of straight lines and sharp angles endures its ruin and mirrors the power of the Snowdonian mountains.

Rhuddlan, more sadly wrecked by Civil War cannon, still has a dignified might as it looks down on its river and across the wide plain towards misty mountains. Best of all, though, and my favourite, was Conwy, whose spiral staircases up and down mysterious towers, wide courtyards where you can play at Robin Hood, and best of all its setting on a craggy outcrop above a roiling rivermouth made it as alluring to me as to JMW Turner.

It’s one thing to praise British cathedrals – but if you live in Wales this military medieval heritage is more local, and it is just as exciting.

Some of the greatest artists and architects have designed fortifications: their genius became part of the story of castles. When you visit a church you are hushed, but in a castle you hear the roar of angry voices and clash of arms. A child is more likely to be inspired by a castle than a cathedral. I was. And perhaps more strangely, less familiarly, castles are rule-breaking, inventive, precocious structures that anticipate modernism in surprising, daunting ways.

The dreamy chateaux of France are after all not what most fortresses looked like. Those of Wales were functional as well as aesthetic. The way Conwy arises from its rock, the way Caernarfon’s clipped geometries rebuff assault, these features were designed for functional reasons but possess a savage beauty. Is Caernarfon gothic? Is Conwy? This arty question seems irrelevant in the face of their sublime aggressive strength. In castles, there are no rules, and no limits to fantasy.

Now in its 75th year, the Whitney Biennial is still the big kahuna—the show every American artist wants to be in and every art lover wants to see. This year, the career-boosting show includes no Philadelphia artists. Instead, the curators of this national show sought talent in Chicago, Oregon, Los Angeles and, of course, New York. They rounded up 55 artists and, for the first time, more than half were women. Reflecting our times of war and global recession, the show is a somber parade, sometimes tedious, sometimes achingly beautiful, with a surprising number of photographers and video artists channeling anthropology á la Margaret Mead. It’s a good show—you should see it.

One of several Portland, OR artists in the Whitney Biennial. Storm Tharp, Pigeon (After Shunsen), 2009 Ink, gouache, and colored pencil on paper, 58 x 42 (147.3 x 106.7) Collection of the artist; courtesy PDX Contemporary Art, Portland

But why should you have to travel all the way to New York to see such a high-cailber show? Here’s an idea. Let’s have a Philadelphia Biennial—a large curated show of regional contemporary art hosted by all of our major art museums, organized by museum curators and with a catalog. Though staging a biennial in Philadelphia would be expensive, Whitney’s 75-year track record proves that it can be a lasting investment.

Rocco Landesman, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), recently spoke at a panel titled “Can the Arts Revive Our Cities and the Nation’s Economy?” Landesman and the other panelists—practitioners from Austin and New Orleans, an academic from Penn and the head of the National Council for the Traditional Arts—all delivered a resounding “Yes, we can.”  (More on that panel in another post. Meanwhile, read Gary Steuer’s post and the Inquirer’s story on the panel.)

The NEA is offering 15 grants of $250,000 to cities (including Philadelphia) to fund bold arts initiatives. Proposing a Philadelphia Biennial is just the kind of move that could win the city that money. PEI (Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiatives, an arm of Pew Trusts) could match that as an initial priming of the money pump locally. But it’s going to take more.

The Whitney Biennial 2010 is sponsored by Deutsche Bank, Tommy Hilfiger, Sothebys, a couple foundations and the Friends Committee of the Whitney Museum. Philadelphia corporations like Comcast, PNC Bank and others could step forward. Local donors and art museum trustees could create a Friends of the Philadelphia Biennial fund.

The exhibit could be at the Institute of Contemporary Art one year; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts the next; Philadelphia Museum of Art after that. It could be split between the museums and our premier big-box space, the Icebox at Crane Arts Center. There are no rules to break and creative thinking can pull this off.

Biennials, like museum shows in general, are democratic—they are shows for the people. A Philadelphia Biennial would bring the public to contemporary art and educate them about it. In the local art community, people bemoan the lack of educated art consumers in Philadelphia. Buying art is essential to retaining artists here and keeping the arts economy going and growing. Create the Philadelphia Biennial and you will be taking the first step in educating this new group of collectors.

What is needed to make this happen is leadership. Mayor Nutter and art czar Gary Steuer need to get on board and exert political clout. Financial leadership from foundations, the city, universities, corporations and private donors is a necessity.

Who is the audience for the Philadelphia Biennial? It’s the Flower Show attendees—people interested in the city, the arts, beauty and discourse about things that bring joy and meaning to life, that and the thousands of artists, gallerists, collectors, museum professionals and arts lovers in the region.

The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance’s research shows that people in this region spend twice as much on culture as they do on sporting events—and these same people report more satisfaction from those art events than from sporting events. Give the people what satisfies them—a grand, blockbuster contemporary art show to talk about for months with their friends.

If Whitney can do it, so can we. We have the beginnings of a model for this in Philagrafika 2010, the citywide print festival. It’s risky and it’s going to cost money, but the payback could be huge.

Read this story at Philadelphia Weekly.

You can see more of Rai Escale’s art here.

John Baldessari, "Beach Scene/Nuns/Nurse (with Choices)", 1991 courtesy Marian Goodman Gallery, New York

Within the first few pages of the season 5 Educators’ Guide, readers are asked to think about the power and influence of juxtaposing images in order to give the viewer very different experiences. Working with artists like John Baldessari, a few of my classes recently began a unit to explore how juxtaposition has the power to send visual messages, tell stories, and even share qualities about ourselves.

Over the course of a few days, I asked students to bring in and collect a variety of images they would like to combine in a single artwork. After assembling the images and cropping them a bit, I asked them about the images they selected and what these images said about their interests, their habits and even their passions. One student remarked that the images he selected basically described his obsession with money. Another described her images as being primarily connected to food, which is something finds comfort in. Still another described his images revolving around his work related to environmental projects.

As students assemble their works this week, we will also begin moving into some small-group research exploring how juxtaposition can be used to send messages simply by placing certain images side-by side.

Nancy Spero "Masha Bruskina / Gestapo Victim" 1994, courtesy the artist and Galerie Lelong, New York

Students will be asked to work with partners to research and collect images (fine art reproductions, advertisements, posters, etc.) that send specific messages through juxtaposition. Along with viewing works by John Baldessari, we will be also be looking into artists such as Yinka Shonibare MBE, Nancy Spero, Kerry James Marshall, and Eleanor Antin.

Creating high quality works of art that are technically proficient is always very satisfying for both teachers and students, but when we have the opportunity to make students more aware of the images they see, and how they relate to larger themes and broader issues, we are teaching students not only how to create works of art but also how to interpret them.

Ivorypress Art + Books and PaceWildenstein currently present an exhibition that represents a decision by Claes Oldenburg to re-explore a work that he and his wife Coosje van Bruggen had made together in 1990. The show The European Desktop is comprised of a number of sculptures – a shattered desk pad, a quill, an ink pot, a blotter, and postal scales. The European Desktop is the third and final work in a series of theatrical installations that grew out of Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s performance with architect Frank Gehry for the 1995 Venice Biennale, Il Corso del Coltello (The Course of the Knife). The first two works in this series were The Haunted House and From the Entropic Library.

Claes Oldenburg & Coosje van Bruggen: The European Desktop / Ivorypress Art + Books, Madrid / Spain. Press Preview, February 16, 2010.

This segment has been realized with the kind support of Turespaña.

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Get Playful: Submit to 6X6

Coming up next with 6X6 is “Play,” to be curated by Submit’>!

Six selections will be shared at this event, scheduled for April 7, 7-8pm @ Ciné Lab’> in Athens, Georgia. Open for submission to anyone from anywhere in the world. Video, film, sound, performance, or combination. Six minutes or less. Shorter can be better! Monthly themes and curators through August 2010. Fast, fun, and free. Be a part of it.

(Watch Video) Didi talks about Play’>

More about Didi Dunphy: Didi Dunphy received an MFA from SFAI in performance and video art. Selected exhibits and installations include, Playscape, COCA, St. Louis, Playscape, Atlanta Contemporary, Let’s Fall in Love, Ivy Brown Gallery, NY, Push Play, Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art, A/D 2004, The Lab, San Francisco, AIM, Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA, Georgia Triennial, Telfair Museum, GA. Ms. Dunphy also exhibits design objects at the ICFF, NY and CaBoom West Coast Indy Design Show, Santa Monica. A number of features have been written about Ms. Dunphy including Craft, CMYK, Southern Living, as well as reviews in the LA Times, SF Chronicle, Atlanta Journal Constitution, and more. Ms. Dunphy is a visiting Artist and Assistant Professor at the Dodd School of Art, University of Georgia in Athens where she teachings in the time-based arts, contemporary arts and professional practices. She lives in Athens GA with her husband, artist Jim Barsness and 15 year old daughter, Lucy.

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ASPECT: The Chronicle of New Media Art, a biannual DVD publication, is currently accepting submissions of work for V16: Lo-tech, and V17: Hi-tech. Artists have historically co-opted emerging technology, adapting and expanding complex developments to suit their own goals. Conversely, there is nostalgia for obsolete technology. We seek work that exploits antiquated or sophisticated technology, either as an aesthetic or technical choice. We will review installation, video, performance, sound, and any other work best documented in time-based format.

ASPECT asks artist/commentator pairs to submit proposals of time-based work. Commentators may be curators, historians, critics, or educators who can offer a distinct perspective on the work. Criteria for selection will include the qualifications
of the commentator and the quality of the work. Audio recordings of the commentary will be assembled after the submissions have been selected.

Submissions must include:
-Video documentation (less than 15 minutes in length)
-A brief (100 word) statement regarding the submitted work
-Resume of the artist, resume of commentator
-Contact information for the commentator and artist
-Brief notes outlining the proposed commentary w/ respect to theme

Submissions must be received by the respective deadlines, sent to*:
ASPECT: The Chronicle of New Media Art
46 Waltham Street, suite 108
Boston, MA 02118
617.695.0500
* please do not ship with signature required

For more information see our FAQ:
http://www.aspectmag.com/submit

Company Information —The mission of ASPECT is to foster a deeper and more intimate understanding of contemporary new media art by expanding access, education, and distribution of the genre. ASPECT pioneered DVD distribution of artworks and continues to set the standard for new media art publishing and distribution. ASPECT Magazine is a biannual DVD magazine of new media art. Each issue highlights 5-10 artists working in new media whose works are best documented in video or sound, including in-depth information on the artists and commentary by distinguished curators and critics. Individual issues and subscriptions are available directly from the ASPECT website.