Annotated Bibliography - MONA HATOUM

Hatoum, Mona. Mona Hatoum: The entire world as a foreign land. Curated by Stephen Deuchar. TATE Museum of Modern Art, 2000. Exhibition catalogue. 

- This exhibition catalogue details significant works, as well as an insightful overview of inspirational artists and issues Hatoum uses. Hatoum's exhibition examines the world around us, through ideas of displacement, social inequality and feminism. 

Hatoum, Mona. Mona Hatoum: Unhomely. Curated by Besonderer Dank an, Galerie Max Hetzler Berlin, 2008. Exhibition catalogue. 

- This exhibition catalogue describes previous works in relation to present works in the exhibition. The overview section of the catalogue examines influences of each works, whilst comparing Hatoum's personal history with the work. An important reading based upon its forethought into future exhibitions.  

Outlines of a theory of the Light Sense (1964) by Ewald Hering translated by Leo M. Hurvich and Dorothea Jameson. Harvard University Press Cambridge, Massachusetts 

- Scientific journal which gives an overview of the colour spectrum in relation to the human eye perceiving colours. Relates strongly to Hatoum's use of colour and the pyschological issues colours create in art.   

Bill Viola

BILL VIOLA b. 1951 New York, United States

Going forth by Day: First Light 2000

video/sound installation

Dimensions variable

• Instrumental in the establishment of video as a vital aspect to contemporary art practise
• An artists thus far for 40years
• Uses video to explore the phenomena of sense perception as an avenue to self knowledge
• Kira Perov - wife and executive director of Bill Viola Studio

http://www.billviola.com/biograph.html 

UN-MONUMENTAL Summary

The concept of the unintentional.

There is no longer the suggestion, art is about the narrative. 

Thought processes and practical process.
Taking everyday objects the "Combines" or "assemblage" which give new meaning to the materials used.
The juxtaposition between the found and the ready made.

Performance Summary

Frazer Ward states that artists who utilise their bodies for their practise ‘have had a critical effect by pointing to the contingent, social construction of subjectivity’[1]. The shift from the object towards the subject indicated that the body during performance is a pathway to language as it is used as a material substance. The artist's body serves as the primary medium, communicated through presentational and representational means. The reading emphasises that the aesthetic of the work is second to the linguistics. The body itself is a pathway to language. 

The art of performance links the act of making, there is a relationship between private and the social production of art. Vito Acconci's Step Piece (1970) challenges the reception of art and how accessible it is to the public. 

Performance in relation to conceptual is the questioning of form and the influence of politics. Performance linked with conceptual practise criticises work that must be physically present, not work that is ephemeral.  

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[1] Rosenthal, Mark. “Understanding Installation Art from Duchamp to Holzer”,  (2002): 61.

John Kaldor Family collection

The John Kaldor Family Collection in the Art Gallery of New South Wales exhibits a collection of contemporary works gifted to the museum by John Kaldor. John Kaldor is a collector, patron and supporter of the arts. He is responsible for bringing groundbreaking and innovative art to Australia. Kaldor’s Art Projects have contributed to a change in the understanding of contemporary art in Australia. The Kaldor collection exhibits 50 years of works totalling a value of $35,000,000.  

‘I did not set out to form a collection; to collect was a way to participate in the excitement, the creative energy of contemporary art.’ – John Kaldor

The Kaldor Project’s purpose was to bring international contemporary art into Australia. These works represent important trends in contemporary art practice. Kaldor developed lasting relationships with these artists, it is through his art projects the Australian public is introduced to his love of art. These projects worked directly with the artists and their studios. The exhibition features the Kaldor Family collection in conjunction with the galleries art collection, the final goal being a comprehensive display of art history from the 1960s till the present. 

The exhibition houses works from:

Sol LeWitt Wall Drawing #1091: arcs, circles and bands (2003) LeWitt was an important figure in the minimalist movement and who set he groundwork for conceptual art. Kaldor admired the work of LeWitt and therefore his collection of LeWitt work is the most comprehensive of any in the world.

Jeff Koons White Terrier (1991) an artist who celebrates Neo-pop and references Art history and popular culture.

Robert Rauschenberg’s Dylaby (1962). Rauschenberg was leading contributor in movements of the post-war era, his ‘combines’ changed American art through its disjointed nature.

Donald Judd Untitled (1975) Judd was a Minimalist who explored properties of ‘new’ materials, experimenting with different forms.

Frank Stella Untitled (1965) Stella is regarded as the first minimalist.

In 1993 John Kaldor was awarded the Order of Australia for his contribution to the development of contemporary art in Australia.

‘John Kaldor has been one of the most forward thinkers in bringing unique contemporary art projects to a broad public who might not otherwise be exposed to such work.’[1]

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[1] Agnes Gund, Chairman International Council of Moma, New York www.http://kaldorprojects.org.au/about/john-kaldor

Summary - INTERVENTIONS

The act of installation moves away from the traditional and the conventional aspects into the concept of the works literal space, this introduction of ‘site specific’ style allowed artists to experiment through mediums in order to define circumstances of personal or cultural importance. Sculpture as a form enables the viewer to gain a sense of real time and spatial awareness.

Buren suggests that the museum although permits grand exhibitions, it limits the works fundamental purpose of extension beyond its physicality. Buren’s work Within and Beyond the Frame (1973) exploits the concept of boundaries within the physical space and thereby leaves his work open to interpretation.  Throughout the 1960s criticism towards the term museum arose as artists perceived a museum was not contemporaneous with daily life.

The underlying concept of an intervention is to move the “conventional” out of installation. Minimal artists such as Carl Andre captured the essence of this by extending their works enabling the once ‘flat’ object to become a three-dimensional form. Andre’s works utilised the physical space as his works were unobtrusive to the eye and allowed the viewer to become part of the work. Andre’s work 100 Lead Square (1968) invites the viewer further into the gallery drawing attention to the structure in relation to the artwork.

Artist Richard Serra wished to deconstruct architecture establishing three-dimensional sculptures that contradicted space. Serra’s Delineator (1974-75) and Bruce Nauman’s Double Steel Cage (1974) induced distressing viewer participation. Both works were site-specific, and engaged the viewer through a different emotion to that of Andre.

The Performance art of Vito Acconci Seedbed (1972) engaged the viewer as it corrupted the ‘innocence of space’, whilst challenging the traditional concepts of museum.

Installation art serves a far reaching purpose of multicultural interaction, where the concept of realities and cultural values are encompassed to represent life.

Annotated Bibliography of Carl Andre

144 Magnesium Square New York (1969)

Annotated Bibliography for Carl Andre:

Serota, Nicholas 1978, Carl Andre, Syon Print, England

              This book is a review of Andre's exhibition in the Whitchapel Art Gallery, London. Although this review was written con-currently with the exhibit, the authors insight into Andre's career and personal life is applicable. The review outlines the contexts, themes and inspirations for Andre's work and includes photographs of the exhibit, along side artist sketches. This book summarises Andre's career until the late 1970s.  

Colpitt, Frances 2002, Abstract Art in the late twentieth Century, University Press, Cambridge

              This collection of essays, is divided into three sections; Pre-Abstraction, Abstraction and Abstractive artists. These essays written by a selection of art critics outline the historical context of their preferred period. The last section on Abstract artists relates strongly to Andre as it explains the connection of abstraction to minimalism.

               

Page, Suzanne 1990, un choix d’art Minimal, Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France

             This extract from an art journal is translated from French into English. The extract begins with the interview of an art critic. Although this journal extract does not focus primarliy on Carl Andre it incorporates the leading minimal artists of the time including Andre. The brief interview outlines the definition of Minimal art and discusses Abstraction as a form of minimalism.

Moszynska, Anna 1990, Abstract Art, Thames and Hudson ltd, Singapore

             This Art history "novel" runs through important events in the development of abstract art. Andre features predominatly as a founder of the minimalist group, who gained their inspiration from the abstractive artists. Moszynska outlines Andre's career and his contributions to the minimal movement.