Artist: Chris Burden | Title: Through the Night Softly
After seeing the performance pieces this past Sunday at the Ever After exhibition, I started thinking about how performance art has changed over the years. OFFSpace Founder, Kathrine Worel and I were talking about how there’s a fixation to document and showcase (as much as we possibly can). Being present (truly in the moment) without documentation is so difficult these days. I started thinking about Chris Burden’s work. Specifically, his work Through the Night Softly. It made me think about all the things you can and cannot do on television. Anyway, watch the video…
Last weekend, I watched Full Metal Jacket. Being a huge fan of Stanley Kubrick and a sucker for a well done war film, the movie was phenomenal. Naturally, I thought of the various ways war has been depicted in the visual and new media arts. Admittedly, I’m not huge fan of political art; HOWEVER, when it’s done well, it can be powerful and truly engaging. From visual to performative, the artists below have created some of the most memorable pieces.
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During a Feminism & the Arts course, I studied Martha Rosler‘s photo montage works of the Vietnam war.
Currently in draft mode, I’m working on a zer01 piece on new media art that serves as both political and social commentary. One of the artists I’m looking at is Joseph DeLappe and his work, ‘dead-in-Iraq’.
The conceptual work of Chris Burden possesses an extraordinary and rather dangerous level of self-sacrifice that works extremely well. His work STILL gives me chills. Talk about physicality and gesture – his work is all about that.
Art collectives epitomize the adage, ‘Power in Numbers’, and the Tool Shed Days is a collaborative effort that created the interactive piece, ‘Befriend a Recruiter’. Please watch the video and share your reflections. Again, I am working on a piece and will be discussing them a bit more in detail…In the interim, I would love to hear what you think – positive, negative, or indifferent.
Befriend a Recruiter from artfail on Vimeo.
