If You Want to Say Something—Speak in the Language of the Language: Ewa Partum's Model of Conceptual Art

ARTMargins ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-92
Author(s):  
Karolina Majewska-Güde
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Production ◽  
Conceptual Art ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Artistic Practice ◽  
Mail Art ◽  
Art Works ◽  
West Berlin ◽  
Specific Position ◽  
Networks Analysis ◽  
Point Of Reference

Abstract The artistic practice of the Polish-born Ewa Partum can be divided chronologically into Polish (1965–1982), West Berlin (1982–89) and transnational / global (from 1989) periods. This essay focuses on the specificity of the conceptual art developed by Partum and her self-historicization as a conceptual artist. At the same time, it regards the local and global historicization of conceptual art as fragmentary and contradicting processes. The study examines local genealogy of Partum's conceptual strategies as part of a localized reflection on the geopolitics of knowledge; it considers a specific position of cultural production that is characteristic of Central and Eastern European neo-avant-gardes. It examines Partum's model of conceptual art in relation to Polish and Western practices. It is argued that Western conceptualism was only a point of reference for Partum's art. Works such as Presence / Absence or Luncheon on the Grass realized by Partum in years 1965–1972 formed a basis from which the artist responded to knowledge of the transnational conceptual movement that was disseminated through Mail Art and Fluxus networks. Analysis reveals Partum's model of conceptual art to be contrapuntal, as it is not subordinate to either its western inflection or local (Polish) cannons and protocols.

scholarly journals SPACE AS A CONTEXT IN DANIEL BUREN’S ART

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 301-322
Author(s):  
Tuğba RENKÇİ TAŞTAN
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Conceptual Art ◽  
World Order ◽  
Art World ◽  
Artistic Practice ◽  
Innovation Development ◽  
Traditional Art ◽  
The Social ◽  
Art Scene ◽  
The 1960S

20th century; it is a period in which two world wars took place and a new world order in human history occurred in many areas of innovation, development and transformation. After the war, the meaning, content and boundaries of art and the artist have been discussed, expanded and gained a new dimension and acceleration with the deep changes in the social, economic, political and cultural fields with the crisis brought on by the war. This complex period also manifested itself in the traditional art scene in France. The French artist Daniel Buren (b. 1938) has witnessed this process; by adopting the innovations in art with his productions, he has demonstrated his space-oriented conceptual works dating back to the present day in a period in which daily life accelerates with the mechanization of art practice and conceptual art movements are in succession. In this article, in order to comprehend the point of the artist and his productions from the beginning until today; the cultural environment in France after the World War II, the developments in the art world, the changes in the social field and the artistic dimensions of these changes are mentioned. The development and practices of the French artist Daniel Buren's artistic practice, policy, artistic attitude and style for the place, architecture, workshop and museum in the period from the second half of the 1960s to the present day are examined with examples with certain sources. In this context, the views and concepts that the artist advocates with his original productions are included. Finally, in the research, the evaluations were made in line with the sources and information obtained about the art adventure and development of the artist, and the innovations, contributions and different perspectives he offered about the art are discussed.

International Indeterminacy: George Maciunas and the Mail

ARTMargins ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 57-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colby Chamberlain
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Attorney General ◽  
Conceptual Art ◽  
New York State ◽  
John Cage ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Mail Art ◽  
Art Object ◽  
Curatorial Practice ◽  
History Of

The term “network” has often been used to characterize Fluxus's internationalism and to identify its membership. This has led a number of scholars to argue that Fluxus anticipated forms of artistic exchange now associated with Internet-based art. More recently, it has cast Fluxus as a precedent for applying a network model to other transcontinental avant-gardes, particularly in curatorial practice. Yet in the rush to relate Fluxus to contemporary discourses on global connectivity, insufficient attention has been paid to the specific apparatuses that facilitated its cohesion. This article stages an intervention into Fluxus studies (and by extension Conceptual art, mail art, and other transnational movements associated with communication and the “dematerialization” of the art object) by drawing on the field of German media theory to analyze the “paperwork” that makes up much of the movement's material production. Specifically, it focuses on how the artist George Maciunas's engaged the postal system in order to facilitate Fluxus's collectivity, as well to insinuate Fluxus's methods of experimental composition into larger power structures. After an opening discussion of Maciunas's important diagrammatic history of Fluxus's development (a.k.a. the John Cage chart), the article tracks Maciunas's deployment of newsletters to organize Fluxus activities, his infamous mail-based sabotage proposals, his collaborations with Mieko Shiomi and Ben Vautier, and his “Flux Combat” with the New York State Attorney General.

Fandom as an Art Form

2020 ◽  
pp. 234-257
Author(s):  
Kirsten Fleur Olds
Keyword(s):  
Economic Systems ◽  
Affective Behavior ◽  
Artistic Practice ◽  
Mail Art ◽  
Social Connectivity ◽  
Fan Behavior ◽  
Art Form ◽  
Art Scene ◽  
Fan Clubs

This chapter examines the practice of fandom as an art form in and of itself, exploring the example of fan clubs and zines by artists in the international mail art scene (known as the Eternal Network) in the 1970s. Fandom as an artistic practice differs from fan art produced in admiration of celebrities. Instead, what this chapter argues is that the artists of the Eternal Network engaged in fan activities. The first part of the chapter explores the network and compares several of their practices to fan behavior, including the desire for social connectivity, cultivation of insiders, and semiotic productivity. The second part delves into fan clubs and their publications as representational devices, and considers the role of affective behavior, including humor and the power of naming, to create group identity. The last section examines fandom as a form to critique social, political, and economic systems, analyzing a publicly circulated mock presidential campaign. The chapter concludes by suggesting that artists deploy fandom as a strategy to imagine the worlds they want to inhabit.

Enunciability of the work of architecture after Alberti

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Capela
Keyword(s):  
Visual Arts ◽  
Conceptual Art ◽  
Artistic Practice ◽  
New Framework

After Alberti, the “architecture project” started to be understood as an autonomous entity mediating two separate phenomena: the conception of an architectural artifact and its eventual execution. In 1967, Sol LeWitt advocates a new framework for artistic practice, which he calls “conceptual”, saying that “when an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all of the planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair”. Apparently, LeWitt merely seems to claim, within the scope of visual arts, an operative model similar to what Alberti inaugurated within the scope of architecture. However, I do not believe that this is all he does. I propose to dicuss the enunciability of architectural artifacts, comparing and contrasting the operative model of the “project” inaugurated by Alberti – which is essentially formal (the project is mainly constituted by drawings) – vis-à-vis the operative model that is characteristic to conceptual art – essentially discoursive (the idea can be verbalized). In this way, I also propose to discuss how the issue of the fidelity to the “executed work” in relation to its enunciation can be addressed within these two approches. * A partir de Alberti, o “projecto de arquitectura” terá começado a ser entendido como uma entidade autónoma e intermediária entre dois fenómenos independentes: a concepção de um artefacto arquitectónico e a sua eventual execução. Em 1967, Sol LeWitt preconiza uma nova conjuntura para a prática artística, que designa como “conceptual”, afirmando que “quando um artista usa uma forma de arte conceptual, isso significa que todo o planeamento e todas as decisões são efectuados de antemão e que a execução é uma tarefa perfunctória”. Aparentemente, LeWitt parece não fazer mais do que reivindicar, para o âmbito das artes visuais, uma conjuntura operativa semelhante àquela que Alberti terá inaugurado no âmbito da arquitectura. Contudo, julgo que não é apenas isso que faz. Proponho discutir a enunciabilidade dos artefactos arquitectónicos, confrontando o modelo operativo do “projecto” inaugurado por Alberti – essencialmente formal (o projecto é sobretudo desenho) – com o modelo operativo característico da arte conceptual – essencialmente discursivo (a ideia pode ser verbalizável). Neste sentido, proponho ainda discutir de que modo, nestas duas conjunturas, pode colocar-se o problema da fidelidade da “obra executada” ao respectivo enunciado.

In response, a call

2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
REBECCA SCHNEIDER
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Production ◽  
Artistic Practice ◽  
A Minor

I am happy to strive to add an appoggiatura – if my comments might be considered a minor bridge towards a deferred conclusion – to the very stimulating set of articles by Michelle Duncan, David Levin and Fred Moten that appear in this issue. It struck me that these three articles can be read as imbroglio in that they offer contest, or dissonant engagement, more than seamless convergence. Indeed, by underscoring the complexities that haunt our habits of reception in ‘artistic’ practice, these essays further the passion and urgency in listening closely to less audible aspects in any cultural production including opera.

Stalin's Decrees and Soviet Trophy Brigades: Compensation, Restitution in Kind, or “Trophies” of War?

2010 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantin Akinsha
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Popular Belief ◽  
Joseph Stalin ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Art Works ◽  
Red Army ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Private Collections

AbstractThe article is dedicated to the official decrees issued by Joseph Stalin in 1945 ordering the Soviet removal of cultural property from Eastern European and German territories occupied by the Red Army. As opposed to popular belief dominant today in Russia, such decrees were few. Preparation for the removal of cultural property from enemy countries had started before the fate of the war was decided. In 1943 on the request of academician Igor Grabar, the Bureau of Experts was established with the task of composing lists of so-called “eventual equivalents,” which Soviet officials wanted to receive after the war as “restitution in kind,” to compensate for the cultural losses of the USSR. The listed equivalents included art works from museums and private collections in the Axis countries. However, the projected provisions for “restitution in kind” were never approved by the Allies, in large part because during the last months of the war and immediately thereafter, the Soviet Union had already begun massive removal of cultural property from territories occupied by the Red Army. Different trophy brigades sent to the front lines were authorized or ordered to send back home whole collections of German museums and libraries. Only rarely were any of the ‘trophies’ labeled “compensation.”

scholarly journals Promises of artistic research and its actuality. Artistic research in teatre

Menotyra ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramunė Balevičiūtė
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Model ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Academic Discourse ◽  
Research Culture ◽  
Artistic Practice ◽  
Theoretical Level ◽  
Specific Knowledge ◽  
Contemporary Research ◽  
Art Works ◽  
Artistic Research

The article analyzes the phenomena of the rise of artistic research in academic research culture,its reasons and premises. On a theoretical level, artistic research is treated as a new promising paradigm of research; however, the concept of artistic research is not homologous and steady. The lack of prominent art works that would be the outcome of artistic research is considered to be the biggest handicap for a perfect reputation of artistic research. The article discusses if the contribution of artistic research to contemporary research culture as well as its significance both to academic discourse and artistic practice is not overestimated. When searching for an answer to this question, the article analyzes the advantages of artistic research and the possibilities to create specific knowledge as well as the weaknesses and controversies. In the second part of the essay, the author focuses on artistic research in theatre, particularly in acting. Finally, she suggests an alternative model of research that would involve both artists and scholars.

The Aspect of “Time” in an Artistic Work (on Selected Examples of Polish Conceptual Art, Own Work and Student Works)

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Artur Chrzanowski ◽  
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Contemporary Art ◽  
Fine Arts ◽  
Conceptual Art ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Art Works ◽  
Artistic Work ◽  
Great Tradition ◽  
Semantic Element

Attempting to visualize concept of “time” has a great tradition in contemporary art, in particular in conceptual art in the 20th century. The starting point for that consideration are conceptual activities in Polish contemporary art and their influence on the didactic program of teaching photography – the topics and selections taken for the visual structure of the work. Discussion on the example of selected works of Polish conceptual art of the 20th century, including the effects of the didactic process of the Photography and Multimedia Activities Studio that I run at the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź. As a part of research and didactic observations, for many years students have been given the task of creating a visual work that shows the passage of time. The selection of photographic pictures and the method of working should be treated as an attempt to create a personal commentary on the surrounding reality. Students are choosing a theme, planning and recording over for a long period of time, for example a few weeks or months, the natural variability of the motif with particular emphasis on the type of light resulting from the time of day and the environment. The collections are presented in the form of a slide show, and the rhythm of the appearing photographs can be variable, consciously used as an additional artistic element. In the initial phase, the students discuss the selected issue and chosen artistic convention, while the technique and artistic form are free. In my own artistic work, too, the aspect of the “time” is an important factor. In many art works and art projects it is an important semantic element. Years later, I return to the same themes or places to reinterpret them and relate to the past. It concerns both the topic, issues and the composition of the visual implementation. Examples of artistic projects implemented over many years are cycles regarding the identity of the home city, for example “Postcards from Łódź”, “genius_lodzi” or “The Origin”.

scholarly journals Gdje je granica između profita i slobode produkcije?

Liburna ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolina Miletić
Keyword(s):  
Nonverbal Communication ◽  
Cultural Production ◽  
Basic Element ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
Special Role ◽  
Human Relations ◽  
Cultural Products ◽  
Linguistic Communication ◽  
Special Regard ◽  
Art Works

Communication represents the basis of human interaction. Human relations are based on linguistic communication, which is always accompanied by nonverbal communication. It is an inevitable basic element that accompanies verbal communication, although it sometimes reveals more than spoken words. This paper examines nonverbal communication with special regard to its impact on cultural production, particularly in the field of puppetry. The cultural production refl ects the achievements of various art works of all kinds. The communication between the author/performers and the audience plays an important role in the process of realization of a cultural product. Since the effect of the message is in most cases achieved by a nonverbal content, the channels of nonverbal communication have a special role in creating, transfer and perception of cultural products. In this way the phenomenology of nonverbal communication serves as a help to cultural production.

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