What I found most interesting in the Francis Alys interview with Anna Dezeuze, is the echoing of conversations we have had as a class or echoes of previous projects we have explored in class. The ever popular issue of “Is it doing anything?” that we (I myself, a lot) bring up surrounding performance work is commented upon, that as an outsider Alys has the ability to call international attention to an issue that is otherwise ignored. To me, it touches on that issue of the “white man’s burden,” that since as Alys comments, Britain didn’t colonize Latin America and subsequently they did “not form part of the British Empire” that Latin America is an obscure fantasyland to the English. As he notes, “it remains a bit of a caricature” which I think can be easily compared to our knowledge of the Middle East. This sentiment is repeated later in the interview when he admits that he was able to move through space easier (concerning his piece involving Palestinian/Israelti conflict) due to his foreign standing; that his experiences, although experiences that he constructs, can’t match those of actual Palestinines in conflict or a Zapatista fighting a false government. So it’s now an issue, that if you are presenting a piece in place of another body or speaking for a people that you do not belong to, is it valid? Alys’ comments on the act of consciousness raising, similar to how second wave feminists believed if you could just open everyone’s eyes to patriarchy, patriarchy might just disappear, Alys’ is doing the same with his art concerning issues of government failure and aggression. As Megan would say, small scratches to lead to an eventual larger mark. He echoes the Mexican cabaret by saying “the action had to be borderline ridiculous for people to start talking” and Galindo by saying “history is forgotten more quickly than we think.” (Which I rapidly highlighted, because this is such an important issue. Did anyone think that when the Zapatista’s rebelled against their government’s false promises of a better life in 1994 – when the US was seeing green with Clinton, that shortly thereafter we would be seeing worldwide We are the 99% movements fighting against the corruption of capitalism?) All these artists are working in a similar discourse, attempting in a small way to raise consciousness, however since Alys is an outsider, he faces tougher criticism concerning “paternalistic, naïve, sentimental and judgmental” categorizations of his work.
On a side note, I love what he said about the issues of claiming urban space and utilizing public space in a private way. That sleeping hobos and beggars outside a subway are now “part of what the city offers” and we often don’t think of it that way.
Walking the Line is an article about many of Francis Alys' artworks by Anna Dezeuze who was the interviewer. Francis Alys' frist solo show was at the Lisson Gallery in the UK in 1999 called 61 out of 60 and was presented on a table which was shown only once. She made 60 plaster figurines of gurrilleros and broke them into hundreds of pieces and reused them to create 61 figures. It was a multiplication of the Zapatistas at the time. Zaptism stands for people who remain a kind of barometer for national health. I found this interesting in that her first solo work was a kind of political sentiment in which the goverment lost all credibility during the 90s because of the people who thought the promise of progress of entering the 'first world' was a complete fraud and their reaction was quite a violence of disgust and negation of all political power and representation and a reaction against the North American model of society. In reaction to this, I, myself, sides on the Zapitas type leftist kind of thinking. Without a plan for a better government or society, change cannot occur. One needs to assess the requests in order for change to happen. Problems are only solved when one perceives reality correctly. I believe their government is out of touch with reality and should not deceive their people with false thinking or false beliefs or false perceptions.
"Lyching--is a very generic term--...of regaining an autonomous space, some kind of identity in the age of globalization."
I believe this term, "Lynching", is for a way to reveal the general state of things in Mexico, etc. It also mentions the "age of globalization" which is a optimistic perspective which gives me a lot of hope for their future and is mention all throughout this article in more than one way.
In the article, Walking the Line, Anna Dezeuze interviewed Francis Alys regarding a survey of his socio-political artwork of Mexican society. As a European living in Mexico City in the 1960s, Alys said he sought to change from being an observer to a person who is politically involved with the state. He talked about injustice and creating paintings through vague description of the tragic stories he heard regarding the chaos, and government corruption. My favorite quote from this article is when the interviewer asked him about making a change as a witness, and he responded with
"I think the artist can intervene by provoking a situation in which you suddenly step out of everyday life and start looking at things again from a different perspective - even if it is just for an instant."
Absolutely! I believe the power of art is more than expression; it is a way to provoke paradigm shifts. He is not saying his artwork can change the world, but it's those "little scratches" we talked about in class that will accumulate into a bigger force that cause people to think twice about their "realities".
He also mentions that this is an artist's privilege. An accountant will probably have a difficult time challenging thoughts in a cubical office environment than an artist who is labeled as unconventional, which is given the freedom to create unusual activities. So as art historians/ art history students, where do we stand? Can we call ourselves artist? Or do we stand at the borderline of artistic practices and the average routine-obeying citizens. What is our privilege as an art history student? Do we have the same privilege as an artist? Or is our job just fixed at categorizing and analyzing history and contemporary history, being a passive evaluator? I want to believe that we can be hybrids of artist and art historian.
A black and white photograph of a gentleman laboring over a block of ice preceded the dialogue of Anna Dezeuze and Francis Alys. Dezeuze got the interview underway with an inquiry into Alys’s first solo exhibition. Alys divulged on his intention to bring about awareness to the Zapatista Movement and phenomenons. Dezeuze’s conversation with Alys warrants a blog post because in it Alys testified to the Zapatista movement, his function as an artist and his project specific ideology. The reading linked the faction with the author’s involvement to the year of 1994. Alys marked 1994 as the year he left the role of observer behind to engage the city. The populace called fraud and answered with violence. He acknowledges the latent risk in addressing specified spheres of society. He attains inspiration and reminders from the locals of Mexico City. His interest lies in the private assault of the public realm, paradoxes, and the manner in which it is integrated within the metropolitan system. Francis considers his responsibility as an artist to be comprised of stages. His mission is to play witness to the inner workings of the society he inhabits, to elevate consciousness and to provoke a reaction by means of incendiary of actions. He seeks to generate commentary with Mexico being the exception in that he attempts to transcend as well as translate a situation. He categorizes humorous artistic action as excusable and finds a level of complicity in physical collective activities. Alys admires young artists for their conviction paired with ingenuity and communicated the loss as personal concern. His paintings are created in parallel with his actions. Though Alys has left- wing associations, he avows that, If one makes two proposals that cancel each other out is the equivalent of articulating that neither is primary to the other thus he stands neutral. I was alarmed but respect the fact that Alys was willing to be repeatedly bitten by street dogs in the name of art. I found several quotes to be of great consequence. He put great weight on the Zapatista Movement when he rendered them a barometer of the national health. Prior to the course I had never heard of the movement and what little I know portrayed them as a subversive group not one that speaks for sectors of society such as the indigenous communities. The citation I chose is, “Is it any more violent than taking a photograph of someone sleeping in the street? I’m not sure I think the artist can intervene by provoking a situation in which you suddenly step out of everyday life and start looking at things again from a different perspective – even if it is just for an instant.”
In "Walking the Line" article by Anna Dezeuze records her interview with Belgium born Francis Alys. Dezeuze discusses various of Alys's seemingly futile actions. In this article it is very clear that Francis work is very profound in the sense that these seemingly random actions are a sort of a raised flag action in the sense that they have to do with actions that have become so common that they are unnoticed or they can be on the verge of absurdity as in his work in Jerusalem where the artist himself brings up a good point about being able to execute his intervening work, "Perhaps because of its ridiculous or absurd quality, an artistic action becomes excusable, and sometinmes it can make its way through unlikely situations because it simply cannot be taken seriously".(323) This brings me to the point that Francis is an "observer type" who takes in the various forms of data that his urban surroundings and daily life provide then regurgitates them in the form of out of the ordinary "ordinary actions". I really found this particular artist very interesting in part because of his research and working methods. This is also a perfect example of a variation of the performance art and artists that we have been discussing this semester in class. Leads me to believe that there has to be just about every conceivable type of "art" and "artists" producing works that may be performed right before our eyes or look at and walk pass it without giving it second thought because of the current globalized stage of human experience that we are all a part of...we need to start seeing everything we know and are comfortable with from a new angle, with a different set of eyes even...
We have been discussing and grappling with the question of does art really do anything and I think Alys's illustration of a homeless person sleeping on the street does. The citation made me recall a ethnographic image I was presented with in an Anthropology course I took a few semesters back. It was a photo a indigenous girl with scoliosis. The picture was taken for science but it had a graver impact. In taking that picture her face showed how she was further victimized. Taking a photo of something with a negative connotation perpetuates negativity. It is victimizing someone over again because just like when we watch something bad happen but we don't do anything about we are just as guilty as the perpetrators. Moments can change lives even if the residue only lasts for a minute. Artists jobs are to create the moment and we the audience make it extraordinary.
BLERG! I hate being first. >:(
ReplyDeleteWhat I found most interesting in the Francis Alys interview with Anna Dezeuze, is the echoing of conversations we have had as a class or echoes of previous projects we have explored in class. The ever popular issue of “Is it doing anything?” that we (I myself, a lot) bring up surrounding performance work is commented upon, that as an outsider Alys has the ability to call international attention to an issue that is otherwise ignored. To me, it touches on that issue of the “white man’s burden,” that since as Alys comments, Britain didn’t colonize Latin America and subsequently they did “not form part of the British Empire” that Latin America is an obscure fantasyland to the English. As he notes, “it remains a bit of a caricature” which I think can be easily compared to our knowledge of the Middle East. This sentiment is repeated later in the interview when he admits that he was able to move through space easier (concerning his piece involving Palestinian/Israelti conflict) due to his foreign standing; that his experiences, although experiences that he constructs, can’t match those of actual Palestinines in conflict or a Zapatista fighting a false government. So it’s now an issue, that if you are presenting a piece in place of another body or speaking for a people that you do not belong to, is it valid?
Alys’ comments on the act of consciousness raising, similar to how second wave feminists believed if you could just open everyone’s eyes to patriarchy, patriarchy might just disappear, Alys’ is doing the same with his art concerning issues of government failure and aggression. As Megan would say, small scratches to lead to an eventual larger mark. He echoes the Mexican cabaret by saying “the action had to be borderline ridiculous for people to start talking” and Galindo by saying “history is forgotten more quickly than we think.” (Which I rapidly highlighted, because this is such an important issue. Did anyone think that when the Zapatista’s rebelled against their government’s false promises of a better life in 1994 – when the US was seeing green with Clinton, that shortly thereafter we would be seeing worldwide We are the 99% movements fighting against the corruption of capitalism?) All these artists are working in a similar discourse, attempting in a small way to raise consciousness, however since Alys is an outsider, he faces tougher criticism concerning “paternalistic, naïve, sentimental and judgmental” categorizations of his work.
On a side note, I love what he said about the issues of claiming urban space and utilizing public space in a private way. That sleeping hobos and beggars outside a subway are now “part of what the city offers” and we often don’t think of it that way.
Side side note - I made 40 little quarter sheet surveys. Do we think thats enough?
DeleteI think probably?
Yes, that should be fine. Thanks.
DeleteWalking the Line is an article about many of Francis Alys' artworks by Anna Dezeuze who was the interviewer. Francis Alys' frist solo show was at the Lisson Gallery in the UK in 1999 called 61 out of 60 and was presented on a table which was shown only once. She made 60 plaster figurines of gurrilleros and broke them into hundreds of pieces and reused them to create 61 figures. It was a multiplication of the Zapatistas at the time. Zaptism stands for people who remain a kind of barometer for national health. I found this interesting in that her first solo work was a kind of political sentiment in which the goverment lost all credibility during the 90s because of the people who thought the promise of progress of entering the 'first world' was a complete fraud and their reaction was quite a violence of disgust and negation of all political power and representation and a reaction against the North American model of society. In reaction to this, I, myself, sides on the Zapitas type leftist kind of thinking. Without a plan for a better government or society, change cannot occur. One needs to assess the requests in order for change to happen. Problems are only solved when one perceives reality correctly. I believe their government is out of touch with reality and should not deceive their people with false thinking or false beliefs or false perceptions.
ReplyDelete"Lyching--is a very generic term--...of regaining an autonomous space, some kind of identity in the age of globalization."
I believe this term, "Lynching", is for a way to reveal the general state of things in Mexico, etc. It also mentions the "age of globalization" which is a optimistic perspective which gives me a lot of hope for their future and is mention all throughout this article in more than one way.
In the article, Walking the Line, Anna Dezeuze interviewed Francis Alys regarding a survey of his socio-political artwork of Mexican society. As a European living in Mexico City in the 1960s, Alys said he sought to change from being an observer to a person who is politically involved with the state. He talked about injustice and creating paintings through vague description of the tragic stories he heard regarding the chaos, and government corruption. My favorite quote from this article is when the interviewer asked him about making a change as a witness, and he responded with
ReplyDelete"I think the artist can intervene by provoking a situation in which you suddenly step out of everyday life and start looking at things again from a different perspective - even if it is just for an instant."
Absolutely! I believe the power of art is more than expression; it is a way to provoke paradigm shifts. He is not saying his artwork can change the world, but it's those "little scratches" we talked about in class that will accumulate into a bigger force that cause people to think twice about their "realities".
He also mentions that this is an artist's privilege. An accountant will probably have a difficult time challenging thoughts in a cubical office environment than an artist who is labeled as unconventional, which is given the freedom to create unusual activities. So as art historians/ art history students, where do we stand? Can we call ourselves artist? Or do we stand at the borderline of artistic practices and the average routine-obeying citizens. What is our privilege as an art history student? Do we have the same privilege as an artist? Or is our job just fixed at categorizing and analyzing history and contemporary history, being a passive evaluator? I want to believe that we can be hybrids of artist and art historian.
A black and white photograph of a gentleman laboring over a block of ice preceded the dialogue of Anna Dezeuze and Francis Alys. Dezeuze got the interview underway with an inquiry into Alys’s first solo exhibition. Alys divulged on his intention to bring about awareness to the Zapatista Movement and phenomenons. Dezeuze’s conversation with Alys warrants a blog post because in it Alys testified to the Zapatista movement, his function as an artist and his project specific ideology. The reading linked the faction with the author’s involvement to the year of 1994. Alys marked 1994 as the year he left the role of observer behind to engage the city. The populace called fraud and answered with violence. He acknowledges the latent risk in addressing specified spheres of society. He attains inspiration and reminders from the locals of Mexico City. His interest lies in the private assault of the public realm, paradoxes, and the manner in which it is integrated within the metropolitan system. Francis considers his responsibility as an artist to be comprised of stages. His mission is to play witness to the inner workings of the society he inhabits, to elevate consciousness and to provoke a reaction by means of incendiary of actions. He seeks to generate commentary with Mexico being the exception in that he attempts to transcend as well as translate a situation. He categorizes humorous artistic action as excusable and finds a level of complicity in physical collective activities. Alys admires young artists for their conviction paired with ingenuity and communicated the loss as personal concern. His paintings are created in parallel with his actions. Though Alys has left- wing associations, he avows that, If one makes two proposals that cancel each other out is the equivalent of articulating that neither is primary to the other thus he stands neutral.
ReplyDeleteI was alarmed but respect the fact that Alys was willing to be repeatedly bitten by street dogs in the name of art. I found several quotes to be of great consequence. He put great weight on the Zapatista Movement when he rendered them a barometer of the national health. Prior to the course I had never heard of the movement and what little I know portrayed them as a subversive group not one that speaks for sectors of society such as the indigenous communities. The citation I chose is, “Is it any more violent than taking a photograph of someone sleeping in the street? I’m not sure I think the artist can intervene by provoking a situation in which you suddenly step out of everyday life and start looking at things again from a different perspective
– even if it is just for an instant.”
In "Walking the Line" article by Anna Dezeuze records her interview with Belgium born Francis Alys. Dezeuze discusses various of Alys's seemingly futile actions. In this article it is very clear that Francis work is very profound in the sense that these seemingly random actions are a sort of a raised flag action in the sense that they have to do with actions that have become so common that they are unnoticed or they can be on the verge of absurdity as in his work in Jerusalem where the artist himself brings up a good point about being able to execute his intervening work, "Perhaps because of its ridiculous or absurd quality, an artistic action becomes excusable, and sometinmes it can make its way through unlikely situations because it simply cannot be taken seriously".(323) This brings me to the point that Francis is an "observer type" who takes in the various forms of data that his urban surroundings and daily life provide then regurgitates them in the form of out of the ordinary "ordinary actions".
ReplyDeleteI really found this particular artist very interesting in part because of his research and working methods. This is also a perfect example of a variation of the performance art and artists that we have been discussing this semester in class. Leads me to believe that there has to be just about every conceivable type of "art" and "artists" producing works that may be performed right before our eyes or look at and walk pass it without giving it second thought because of the current globalized stage of human experience that we are all a part of...we need to start seeing everything we know and are comfortable with from a new angle, with a different set of eyes even...
We have been discussing and grappling with the question of does art really do anything and I think Alys's illustration of a homeless person sleeping on the street does. The citation made me recall a ethnographic image I was presented with in an Anthropology course I took a few semesters back. It was a photo a indigenous girl with scoliosis. The picture was taken for science but it had a graver impact. In taking that picture her face showed how she was further victimized. Taking a photo of something with a negative connotation perpetuates negativity. It is victimizing someone over again because just like when we watch something bad happen but we don't do anything about we are just as guilty as the perpetrators. Moments can change lives even if the residue only lasts for a minute. Artists jobs are to create the moment and we the audience make it extraordinary.
ReplyDelete