A ven diagram of themes would be nice.
Identity/becoming/belonging
I'm very interested in costume, it's been interesting learning more about fashion and about 'becoming' as a theme within art, the creation of identities.
It's all about carving new tribes, mix all texts up til their soup, then re-sort into new categories of our choosing. Creating 'belonging' e.g. a cockney autonomous zone.
how many images would i need to represent me? can one image express it all? How have others attempted this?
Ruth Jones - to what extent can contemporary art practice stimulate and manifest 'becoming' (something about horses, reminds me of darton and hunt.)
"conceived models of an ideal future life"
I don't like plasticy stuff. I prefer more natural things both visually and ethically but i get bored and put off by the style it's normally done in and it's associations
simplicity/complexity - nomad/skype. cassette crochet. modern/traditonal.
images of breastfeeding/bottle feeding - in media, in art. different?
ethics and art - materials? promoting social change.
pre-modernist sisterhood. ways of using technology to travel back in time. idealised past/future
wabi-sabi
future portraits
the idea of freedom. representations of freedom in art/media. How are they representing it now? has it changed? the names on international train station boards and old radio stations. frequently show as close to nature.
Changes and relationships within the art world
what happens when we view art in different locations?
trends within big shows - turner etc
what is most hated currently? Most ground breaking movements seem to be hated first. What are the rules for this? They are not mutually exclusive, to be hated needn't mean it's groundbreaking but what of the other way round?
have gallery exhibitions become more 'total', more theatrical, more music/sound, atmosphere and experience, are we trying to immerse our audience? Is it becoming more like modern cinemas in that all encompassing way?
audience, artist relationship. allowing audience to experience, be part of the art/action, be the artist. People as selected medium. In what ways have the audience been used as the medium before?
why are crafts boring? are there rule breakers in basketry? can pottery be shocking? Why is art higher status than crafts?
improvised and anti-professionalised, enthusiastic... spartacus. what is she influenced by? who else has trodden in her shoes before her?
scrappy
Internet reproduction has de-valued 2D images. Live, 3 D, physical or analogue art is kept exclusive and thus more emotionally valuable. Is this true?
Performance and it's position in the art world.
noise - wind through wire, musical saw, strange singing, spoons. Sound and the gallery space. How has it changed?
history of performative and experiential art. when the 4th wall was broken. Was it ever there? Was it temporary? Where was it? Mummers plays and other older popular entertainment were theatrical with no 4th wall.
history of the musical saw.
What's the difference between art and entertainment? Art becomes making a badge with a code from an old kids magazine. Entertainment becomes dressing up and creating your own walkabout character to attend a circus show. Are the roles reversed?
interview people for views on performance as an art form. what would they go to watch live? would they go to watch if billed as 'performance art'? would they go to a circus? is it art? do they go to cinema? how is it different? would they stop for a street show? and why? how important is it that a performance be 'polished'? If something's funny, can it be 'serious' art?
does circus for camera exist? Dance for camera can be beautiful and strange and not really 'dance' like in a more conventional sense. see Kyra Norman's work.
what is 'classic' or 'traditional' circus/street theatre and why.
Marina Abramovich, Susan Philipsz, Spartacus Chetwynd (do i know any names of current contemporary 2d artists?)
Art and Social Comment
politics and art. protest and art. ethics and art. how do we use them? how have they changed?
since chanel said 'dress like your maid' has it ever gone away? Was there a history of ever having fetishised the working classes before?
What is the current social tension?
how long have we been emulating hookers? prostitution/empowerment ('burlesque' aimed at teenagers)
rebels are cool in hindsight - who are the rule breakers? Lady Gaga's meat dress was shocking? thought provoking?- does that mean she's ground breaking? Shocking needn't mean new or original.
who leads - art, politics, music, theatre... who's the most influential? which crosses over most successfully? who has the higher status?
Moving things
bikes how many ways can you ride a bike?
how many ways can you celebrate bikes?
is the bike a good substitute for horses?
did people revere the bike in art right from the start?
puppets
automata
bike slackrope & juggling rims
skate park tricks
circus tricks
bike polo
colour wheels
the white bike of wales
automata bike band
automata of bike going down hill and nearly falling off
miscellaneous interests
light. glass towers, shadow puppets. lightbox animation. 'arch of innanity' sculpture idea
science in art. so much - how many different diciplines? psychology, physics, chemistry, botany, engineering. Tree bark from different places, comparisons between pollution and not for example...
diy spaces. grass roots art - sometimes boring, sometimes the best, most exciting, most inventive. Cycle festival (though council sponsored was still grass roots), cube cinema, invisible circus, antler, hamilton house, PRSC in this corner of Bristol alone.
I like your ideas in 'Performance and it's position in the art world'. I'd like to read your research when it's done.
ReplyDeleteYou might find this blog of a street performer in NYC useful SubwayMusicBlog.com because it tells of many of the musicians in the NYC subway.
And since you mentioned the musical saw - the above blog is of a saw player :)