New Media in Art 58-81 Response

I was once again impressed in this reading by the lengths the artists would go in the name of their art. Orlan, for example, underwent several facial surgeries in order to convey her message, bringing a whole new meaning to suffering for your art.
Also, The Speech, the video performance by Doug Hall really resonated with me. I think that often in American politics, politicians give prepared speeches to audiences that are already supporters of their platforms. Even in the 'debates' we see before presidential elections, the candidates simply state their established positions at one another. There is no real attempt to convince or have a reasoned discussion. The message I got from Hall's performance is that people are more concerned with the optics of giving a speech, rather than the actual content of it.
Mike Smith's 'Mike' character also made me think of questions I've had about myself and humanity in general. Namely, are we capable of original thought, or is everything we believe somehow based on something we heard or saw somewhere else? Obviously we are going to base our opinions in part on our life experiences, but the existence of 'true originality' is something I have always thought about. Maybe it matters less how or where you get your ideas from, and more about how you apply those ideas in a unique and meaningful way to the world around you. The 'Mike' character, for example, gets all of his ides from TV or advertisements, but the true problem is that he simply regurgitates these ideas without adding anything or giving them any kind of critical thought.

Comments

  1. Kyle KoptaSeptember 23, 2018 at 7:28 PM

    Hi Carson,

    The dedication a lot of these artists have for their art is really interesting. I would like to think that I am dedicated to my work, but I don't know how many of us would go through surgery for the sake of our art. I think you're getting into some existential questions with your idea on "true originality". They say there is nothing new under the sun, and it really seems that way with everything being derivative of something else we have seen before (perhaps including our own "selves").

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  2. DaisySeptember 23, 2018 at 11:36 PM

    I was also very impressed with just how far these artists were willing to go for the sake of their work. I can't help but wonder if that's taking things too far, or if there is such a thing. Many say that pushing the boundaries is what makes good art after all, and if making an impression truly is the goal then I suppose those works are a success. In my opinion good art makes you ask hard questions, and it sounds like you definitely found a few of those in this reading.

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  3. Vanessa A.September 24, 2018 at 11:06 AM

    Carson,
    I to was fascinated by this week’s reading. Especially with Orlan. It came to my surprise on how she wanted to redefine the history of poetics of body art, by use of carnal art and body art as her fundamental stages. My opinion on this form of art I found this to be a great form of self-presentation and self-awareness that she wanted to bring out.

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