Twenty-first-century Bodies

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With the exploration of the body and its capabilities in the twenty-first century, designers began seeing that body ideals were shaping fashion instead of being defined by it.

The Bauhaus

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Photo Title: Oskar Schlemmer / Abschied





The Bauhaus was an institution that provided education and insight for individuals looking to expand their knowledge about how to incorporate all the visual arts together and display them through the medium which was essentially, theatre. The principle that underlined the things done in the Bauhaus was that, "work on the stage is a work of art." The philosophy of those who ran it (Lothar Schreyer) was to maintain the "pure" amalgam of technology and art. As the institution grew however, this core principle was not upheld and eventually fell into the reliance on, "feelings." Since this went against most of what Bauhause stood for, the one in authority of the Bauhaus (Lothar Schreyer), was forced to resign and Oskar Schlemmer took his place. Schlemmer, who had previous artistic experience in painting, was able to combine his artistic talent with technological elements to create a design that was represented by art and technology. This drew the interest of other artists who might be interested in working, "beyond the boundaries of their own disciplines." Because Schlemmer was determined to not become complacent with the categories put on art, this allowed him to understand where the focal point needed to be as the director of the Bauhaus Stage.

Since the beginning of the Bauhaus, its motivation has revolved around, "creative theatre." This meant that the feelings of satire and parody were present and that they were expressed through improvisation and avant-garde costumes and masks. In addition, students didn't need to have experience or be professionally trained in dance to take part in the performances. Even though Schlemmer did not have any prior dancing experience, he eventually danced his work as well. He also developed a theory of performance. Painting was to be considered as most intellectual and illustratively took up the two-dimensional elements of space where theatre was seen as a place where space could be "experienced." Theatre and painting were to be seen as complimentary actions. Therefore, the visual art that resulted could be perceived as something that is experienced not only through sight, but also throughout the entire body.

Prosthetics & the Senses

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Prosthesis, even though they are physically used to replace parts of the body that have been amputated and are no longer functioning, can also be seen as a type of art medium that allows the user to integrate technology with their physiology in a practical meaningful way. This is not to say that prosthesis are viewed by everyone as a medical art piece, but that they are an extension to the body which can then be viewed as a work of art. A question that is posed in the article, "On The Subject of Neural and Sensory Prostheses" by Lisa Cartwright and Brian Goldfarb that asks, "...how do the very ideas of object, organ, and part change when the senses and the nervous system are recognized to be the entities replaced or supplemented in a prosthetic system?"
I find this question intriguing because it suggests that the prosthesis alter not only the physical properties of a human being but also the psychological. As is stated further on in the article, prosthesis essentially give mobility to the user but it does not give the feeling of sensation. This is why technology has been implemented into prosthesis in order to simulate the sense of touch. Nerve pathways are stimulated in the musculature of the individual wearing the prosthesis through electrodes embedded in it. This advancement in technology allowed those who had prosthesis to experience senses such as touch and temperature for the first time in a long while.
The sense of touch is powerful because it connects human beings at a personal and intimate level. Being able to "feel" through the use of a prosthesis creates the opportunity for those who have nerve endings that can be accessed to actually be able to sense things such as touch once again.

Japanese Contemporary Media Art

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"Thus what art means to society is subject to change within the network of influences." - Device Art: A New Approach in Understanding Japanese Contemporary Media Art by Machiko Kasahara
This statement is quite intriguing because it suggests that even though artists create pieces that represent their views on society, society determines what "art" is. This means that as new technologies develop, the way society views and interprets art will change. Therefore, a piece that may have been viewed as successful years ago might be viewed by someone today, who is technologically savvy and unfamiliar with older artwork, as unsuccessful. In addition to how art is changing, there is no longer a distinct border line between art that is for entertainment or for commercial purposes.
Just as artists from the West approached the making of art, Japanese artists also followed the same concept. This was and is to question value systems that exist and to create a new way to deal with the changes that are occurring in society. It is interesting to note that the "notion" of art being something other than visual fine art did not exist until the second half of the nineteenth century when Japan began to become modernized by Western influences.
Later on in the 1970's, with the modernization of art in Japan, confusion accompanied a type of art called intermedia art which was confused with technological art. By the 1960's Japanese art stylistically represented Euro-American art. Japanese art resembled that of Western art by means of the modernization that occurred after the 1940's.

Final Project Draft Details

Summary:

My piece will focus primarily on how touch and vision, seen outside of an everyday occurrence such as a person giving a hug or handshake, can be "relocated" to a different part of the body (such as the arm) in order to be translated into an emotional and physical response that would otherwise be seen as awkward or abnormal. Since these senses are important to understand both physically and psychologically, the primary objective of this piece will be to get the participant involved by having them activate their senses allowing them to better interpret the "norms" of society for what they really are: Rules or traditions. The point: I intend to make the viewer / participant psychologically digest the information given in order to determine for themselves what is actually normal.

Conceptual Questions:

- Could the piece be viewed as a mean of display; such as an animal displays its colors to show off or protect itself?
- Could it be seen as an individualistic performance where it is about one individual acting or participating at a time or could multiple individuals participate?
- Could it convey or express an emotional or physical bond between two people?
- Could it portray the fact that dance is a form of bonding and that it is / or can be activated through touch?
- Could it be perceived that even though this is not a dance piece, that that art of dance is still present? The question would then be, "Is the participant supposed to dance or react in a certain way?
- Should the piece be taken at face value or analyzed to explore a deeper range of understanding?

Technical Challenges:

- Can I use a variable resistor to control the amount of electricity flowing out of the Pico Cricket? In other words, if I use a variable resistor, how much electricity is needed in order to power on a light? Maybe I could use an LED light and have the color of the light change depending on how much electricity is being passed through the variable resistor. The Pico would have to read the output voltage and change the light color based on the values that I set for it.
- Should a value be set for the length of time that the Pico would run the program or should the program run only upon direct human connection? That is, when someone touches the "activation area" (metal sheet) the program would run, and when the participant removed their hand, it would stop? - OR - The program would run for a minute even after the participant has removed his or her hand?
- Will I need 6 Volts of power to activate the transmitter? Is that power needed for distance transmission?
- Can I complete the circuit and activate the transmitter with only 4.5 Volts?
If I cannot activate it with the 4.5 Volts, then I may need to attach an switch that would allow for higher power to be accessed. I could then use the 6 Volts of power and use the switch to control the flow. I would be limited to either an on or off position, but that would be ok. I believe it would be risky and that something might short-out if there wasn't a direct circuit with an either constant flow of power or none at all.
- What is the output voltage from the Pico through the alligator clips?
- How many LED lights can be connected together and operating from one power source... specifically the Pico?

Needed Materials:

- 1 Pico Cricket
- 1 Omega module
- Possibly 2 alligator clip pieces
- 1 transmitter
- 1 receiver
- 1 disco ball
- an AC outlet
- 1 extension cord
- Possibly 1 large rug (for people to get electrically "charged up" for a better interactive experience)
- Possibly 2 variable resistors
- 1-2 LED light(s)
- A black trench coat or soft robe (not sure which one I want to use yet)

Production Schedule:

4-2-09 (In-process critique) Find out if my ideas will fly or flop.

4-9-09 Discovering the specific functions of the Pico and what it's limitations are relative to what I want to accomplish. Technology, technology, voltage. Bring in variable resistor (maybe Professor Colleen has one that I can borrow) and test.

4-16-09 Build costume / attach wires where needed for safety and conductivity. Decide which article of clothing works best.

4-23-09 (In-process critique) Continued working on costume. Tweaking...

4-30-09 Rehearsal. Adding finishing touches to design / Emergency Maintenance

5-7-09 Everything is completed. Ready to Roll!

Literalist Art and Theatrical Presentation of Art

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Robert Morris and Donal Judd are both literalist artists. The concept that a literalist artist follows is one of exact representation. Therefore, the ideas of being universal, ubiquitous and forms of illusion are eliminated from their practices. However, something that both men see as crucial to the development of an art piece is shape. I believe this is not speaking exclusively about how a piece of art "looks" after it has been assembled as a whole, but also of the shapes that went into creating the structure or art piece. In the article, "Art and Objecthood" Fried says that the pieces that go together to create the piece are as important or more important than the object that is created when joining them together. He states, "...I want to say, in the mutual and naked juxtaposition of the I-beams, girders, cylinders, lengths of piping, sheet metal, and grill that it comprises rather than in the compound object that they compose. This is interesting because attention is normally drawn to the completed object made and not the elements that were used in the creative process.
Included with the concept of shape is the size of it as well. Using the shape and size of an object to create a situation that attracts attention to both the object, space, and the viewer is also part of literalist art.

The "Art" of Communication

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The artwork of Rebecca Horn combines both the physiological and psychological to create art that can be invested in by the artist and the viewer. To explain, Horn used items such as sticks to extend the "feeling of touch" that is made when a human interacts with an object. She states that she can feel, grasp, and touch them while maintaining her distance. This extension of the body includes literally adding to the physical state of the body in order to simulate that of touch. The physical and psychological aspects are seen in a film Horn produced titled, "Berlin" where two people had magnets attached to their legs. The physical connection that was or was not made, depending on the individuals placement to each other, resembled the difficulty that we, as humans, sometimes have with direct physical contact and communication. In correlation with this concept, the reason that touch and direct communication can be difficult to engage in is because of the fear of how that person might react (or how we are supposed to engage). This was another concept that Rebecca Horn was interested in and was reflected in her film titled the, "Eintazer."
Dialogue was also something that Horn found intriguing. Instead of using it in what is considered the normal form (which is the conversing between to individuals), she used objects to to paraphrase her meaning, or introduce a new way of speaking. Specifically, she used two swings that would sway in the same motion therefore trying to symbolize the act of clear communication between two individuals. This process of exploration shows how the act of communication between non-living objects results in finding the idiosyncrasies as well as the complicated issues of communication that we (as humans) deal with every day.
Rebecca also tried to determine the type of communication that takes place when masks are used. She sees them as tools which symbolize, "...the loss of facial identity through the necessity of rejecting oneself as well as of being in complete possession of oneself." I believe this means that there is a process that must take place when an individual puts on a mask. The "rejecting of oneself" indicates that the individual wearing the mask must take on the characteristics of it. That the identity of the person wearing the mask must subject themselves to its full symbolic state by loosing their own identity. When speaking of, "being in complete possession of oneself," I think this is simply in addition to what was just said. Namely, that when a mask is put on, a person becomes that of the mask. Therefore, one can put on a mask and still be in complete possession of themselves because the mask is then their identity. I may have over analyzed this, but the subject matter discussed here intrigued me. These are my thoughts and therefore they may not accurately reflect what Horn was trying to convey.
Implementing the experimentation of simple concepts, such as the oddities that take place within communication into artwork, can reveal a multitude of amazing results that we either take for granted or never realized exist.

The Artist's Body As the Artwork

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In the article, "ritual space / sculptural time" by Nat Trotman he notes that Matthew Barney and Joseph Beuys are similar in their presentational qualities. They both like to use their bodies not only in their art, but as the artwork itself. For example, Beuys took fat and applied it to himself to create art that resembled an "initiation ceremony." He also created an instrument using the fat and an antenna. Barney used mythical experiences to create a narrative that he would implement himself in. He was more interested in the process of storytelling and wanted to develop symbolism. I like how the article "in potentia: Matthew Barney and Joseph Beuys" says that Beuys wanted to think about the portrayal of his art, "from the idea of a personal rebirth to that of worldwide political and social awakening." The body and how it functions when restricted of certain movements interested Barney. He set up an artwork that involved him being restrained by elastic cords where he would have to try and draw on his studio walls while trying to fight this restraining system. Beuys and Barney were both chronic storytellers and therefore shared in the same interests. Both of these men offered unique perspectives in the way that they made art, however after examining their practices more closely, we realize that they were not that different from each other after all.

The Theatre of Death

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The art that is created by means of an actors' displacing of themselves with a lifeless object is the result of a humans' fascination with death. As Kantor explains in, "The Theatre of Death" according to Gordon Craig the human figure, who is the actor, must be eliminated in order for the inanimate being, that holds the characteristics of a human, to become "alive." It is interesting to note also that when the connection between man and nature (the natural elements that are associated with man and its being) are severed, that this is when the object takes on a life of its own. Number six in Kantor's "The Theatre of Death" (which is, "THE REJECTION OF THE ORTHODOXY OF CONCEPTUALISM AND THE 'OFFICIAL AVANT-GARDE OF THE MASSES'") explains that "the concept of LIFE can be vindicated in art only through the ABSENCE OF LIFE..." Although it may seem counter-intuitive I believe this statement is declaring that the realism of life can only be manifest if the object possesses qualities of life in and of itself with no external assistance. This is significant because this view then points to both the psychological and spiritual realm where the mannequin takes on "life" possibly through itself or through the manipulation of the puppeteer.
Something that I was thinking about in the discussion that our class had last Tuesday but didn't have time to share was that the human can become an extension of the puppet. Many times we think about the human operating a puppet or mannequin and neglect to see the puppet as the actual actor. In addition, as discussed last Thursday, the mobility of the puppet or lack thereof determines the characteristics of the puppet that is being manipulated as well. To connect this to the reading of Kantor, it is mentioned in number seven of his observations that a mannequin is or can act as "a kind of ADDITIONAL ORGAN for the actor, who was their master." This means that at some point the mannequin must take on its own unique qualities and almost detach itself from any human connection in order to become its own entity. I am not sure that I completely understand this, but I know that it is what I'm trying to convey. In the article by John Bell entitled, "Death and Performing Objects" he states that those who perform with objects must, "turn directly to this dead world for their inspiration." He goes on to say that because these objects are connected to this "dead world" that they can offer better insight than a human is able. The similarities that a mannequin shares with the physical characteristics of a human are evident, yet it can never achieve that of a human relationship. The only way that it is able to establish any type of connection is through that of a spiritual and dematerialization process. This, in part, is what makes mannequins and other objects of similar nature so appealing.

Ubu

Image from a performance of "Ubu and the Truth Commission."
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William Kentridge, as portrayed in the written work, "Mundus Inversus, Mundus Perversus" by Lynne Cooke, was an artist who enjoyed exploring the theoretical and literal abnormalities of human interaction as well as placing factual and historic material into his art. As a young artist, Kentridge chose to expose things such as a governments' brutality using symbolism within puppetry and video. He also liked twisting the ideals and norms of society in order to engage with the audience so that they would have to pay close attention to what was happening. Kentridge said, "a spot where optimism is kept in check and nihilism is kept at bay. It is in this narrow gap that I see myself working." He wasn't going to be confined to a box and he wanted others to release themselves from their own confines as well. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was developed in 1996 which was an agreement that took place between the old government and the new ANC which investigated human rights abuses in South Africa during the past thirty-five years. Kentridges' character Ubu was revived when he was asked to take part in an exhibition. Ubu seems to have a multiple personality disorder as the character is paranoid and on the defense one minute and in a state of confidence and song the next. The world that Ubu lives in is opposite that of what would be considered normal as everything evil, rational, or false dominates. However, in the film "Ubu Tells the Truth" things such as torture and killing are placed into view. These images are unsettling and, as they should, provoke a sense of respect for those affected and an acknowledgement that the things that were done in South Africa were inhumane. Overall, I believe that Kentridge wanted to create an environment through his art that would provoke people to think about the world around them. He used his characters to portray a definite sense of uneasiness which I believe allowed him to express truths with greater impact and reception.

Puppet History & Performace

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A common thread that seems to be shared in both readings ("Puppets, Masks, and Performing Objects at the End of the Century" by John Bell, and "A Puppet Tree" by Stephen Kaplin), is that both writers reinforce the history and documentation of puppetry as one of its main actuators as well as one of its inhibitors. To explain, Bell speaks of how individuals such as Claude Levi-Strauss wrote about how masks were used by the Northwest Coast Indians in order to describe, "tribal kinship patters" instead of the performance aspect of the masks, which points to the roots and theology behind why the masks were used. Similarly, Kaplin mentions that both Peter Schumann and Jim Hensons' puppet companies stay true to the historical roots from which puppetry came despite the companies and enterprises that would desire to lead them astray. The underlying theme that Bell and Kaplin share is that the roots of puppetry are important to understand in order to effectively implement new concepts and ideas. It is interesting to note that even though the history of puppetry is important, that studies and research regarding its origins have been minimally focused upon in America. According to Bell, it has only been recently that both education and resources have become available. In addition, it would seem as though information about mask and puppet performance would be available in America since people from many different countries currently inhabit this land... many of whom probably possess much knowledge about the significance of these things. A possible reason why America is illiterate might be that: The people of America come from a different culture and don't find much interest in puppetry because it doesn't have a ceremonial or direct connection to them. As Bell points out, many different countries such as Europe, Russia, Japan, Italy, Germany, and Africa all have roots with puppetry and masks and therefore consider them to be of higher regard. I have to admit that my own personal experience with puppets and masks have been referenced only as objects you play or pretend with, and that they hold minimal historical value within the culture in which I grew up. For instance, the television show "Sesame Street" involves puppets that tell stories and are used for educational purposes for young children. This is part of what I remember as a child and my exposure to puppetry, which doesn't include a significant spiritual or theoretical connection. I am not suggesting that this is good. I am merely pointing out that my connection with puppetry has not been stressed as much or in the same manner as other countries, which is why education materials are scarce.
One other topic that Bell and Kaplin share in discussing is automation. Where Bell touches briefly on the fact that "performing machines" have had a large impact in this century and will continue in the next, Kaplin agrees and disagrees at the same time. Kaplin states that puppets can be directly connected to a human by means of a mask or body suit which helps to convey a specific character or personality and body image. This enables the one who wears the mask or suit to become connected with it in a more personal way. As the puppet increases or decreases in size however, a more limited connection can be made. Namely, as the suit becomes larger, the performer becomes further detached from its confines as well as the fact that it takes more individuals to operate. In the same manner, the smaller the suit, (a hand puppet for example) the more attention has to be made in the operation of it. This ensures that it contains the desired traits and it can function without the total physical embodiment of the performer. Kaplin also says that as the distance between the performer and the "performing object" increases, that the object takes on a existence of its own. Therefore, the object no longer is connected by means of human physiology but by mechanisms which are controlled by many individuals. This also brings up the point that Kaplin makes when he states that the more technology that has to be used, whether mechanical or computer controlled, the more individuals are required for its function. This can displace the connection between a puppet and its maker/performer. However, with the advanced technology that is available today, a more personal connection to be made between a puppet and performer. This allows that "virtual world" which was seen as unrealistic in achieving many years ago to be the innovative medium and driving force behind new forms of puppetry.