Redraw graham sullivan’s diagram ‘Framework of Visual Arts Practice’
chen zhen
• born in shanghai in 1955 and deceased
in 2000 in paris
• considered the leading representative
of the chinese avant-garde.
• catalogue of works
http://www.chenzhen.org/2000.htm
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2g8am_chen-zhen-exhibition_creation
examples of artists as theorists
• chen zhen, shanghai 1955-paris2000
• Yong Soon Min South Korea,
‘la chose plus importante’
(the most important thing in art
is to first show the artist’s
piece of identification)
chen zhen said ‘the most
important thing is that the
cultural hybrid is no longer
limited only between two
cultures, but among the many
cultures and civilisations’.
‘chen zhen: the body as
landscape’
exhibition at the mart,
rovereto, italy
23rd february 2008 - 1st june
2008
http://www.designboom.com/contemporary/chenzhen.html
notion of ‘transexperience'
• “summarizes vividly and
profoundly the complex life
experiences of leaving one’s
native place and going from
one place to another in one’s
life.”
“This condition, characterized by in-between
ness, has similarities to many other descrip
tions of the diaspora, but the departure from
convention lies in the way that Chen
considered transexperience as a creative
catalyst.”
• Melissa Chiu
• http://artzinechina.com/display_vol_aid464_en.html
Yong Soon Min, Defining Moments. 1992. Six-part photographic installation. Body image
(left)1/6, Gwangju image (right) 4/6. 20 x 16 inches.
Many contemporary artists move easily over the terrain of other disciplines as
they absorb, adapt, and co-opt a research language. For instance, a potent
sense of historical and cultural critique is achieved by Yong Soon Min in her
1992 photographic installation, Defining Moments. Yong Soon Min describes
the work this way:
“All of the images and dates of Defining Moments refer to dates with personal
significance that have uncanny connections to important events in Korean and
Korean American history. The year 1953 was the year of my birth as well as the
year that the Korean War ended. The next date is known in Korean as ‘Sa-il-gu’
or 4/19, the date of the popular uprising in South Korea that overthrew the
Syngman Rhee government which I witnessed as a child. This event allowed
our family to leave Korea. 5/19/80 refers to the Gwangju uprising and
massacre, an important turning point in Korean history that served as a
catalyst in my growing interest in current Korean history. The last date, ‘sa-i-gu’
or 4/29 refers to the LA riots which also happens to be my birthday.” (cited in
Hwa Young Choi Caruso, 2004, p. 201).
Extract from Art Practice as Research, Chapter 6, Artist as Theorist, p. 15
Stephen Wilson
the author’s companion web site
http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~infoarts/links/wilson.thames.html
http://www.thamesandhudson.com/artscienceartists.html
LEONARDO THINKS 1968 - 2011
Historical Article by Stephen Wilson
http://www.leoalmanac.org/index.php/lea/entry/industrial_research_artist_a_proposal/
Industrial Research Artist: A Proposal
• I. Introduction: The Absence of Artists at the Frontier
of CultureII.
• II. Analysis of the Problem: The Isolation of Artists
From Industrial Research and Development (R&D)
• III. The Difficulty of Involving Artists in Industrial R&D
• IV. A Possible Solution: Industrial Research Artists
• V. Benefits of Artist Involvement in Industrial R&D
• VI. Summary: The Challenge
Artist Placement Group (APG)
• founded in 1966
• artist-run organisation
• Aim: place art outside the gallery,
predominantly through attaching an artist in a
business or governmental context for a period
of time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artist_Placement_Group
Artist Placement Group (APG)
• Founders: Barbara Steveni, John Latham (background: Flat Time Ho,
belham rd, peckham)
http://www.ligatus.org.uk/fth/
Context is half the work
central APG axiom suggests
• 1-Creative engagement between the artist and
the host:
APG is not concerned to seek 'employment'
for artists, but in placing 'creative' people
inside the working parts of governments,
organisations and institutions
http://interrupt.org.uk/symposia/educator/repositioning-art/
1969, 1st Industrial placement: British Steel, Port
Talbot, one of the largest steel-producing
complexes in the country
Artist: Garth Evans
Project: interviews apprentices on-site, culminating
in a paper for the Iron and Steel Federation as
well as reports for the corporation.
David Hall on his B.E.A. placement filming cloud formations
over the Swiss Alps.
1970, Industrial placement: British Airways
Artist: David Hall
Project: He went with a British Airways crew, filming
the special cloud formation which forms over the
Rock of Gibraltar. He made particular proposals to
BA to incorporate more of the visual flying
experience into their airport environs.
Film still from The Journey, made by Ian Breakwell on an APG
placement with British Rail.
1970, Industrial placement: British Railway
Artist: Ian Breakwell
Project: The Journey, a film made with British Rail, was
interesting as art and well received by British Rail as
was his presence with them. There was a slight upset
since the soundtrack was of the girl in the train seat
opposite apparently having an orgasm.
"Peterlee only started in the 1950s so the
history of the area is the history of the
villages that grew up around the pitheads,"
he said.
http://www.easington.gov.uk/services/arts/4-6184.asp
1976, government placement: Peterlee Development Corporation as
Town Artist. Peterlee was a new town (1950s)
Artist: Stuart Brisley
Project: ‘History Within Living Memory'. contained three distinct parts:
1- to develop an ongoing process of collecting and disseminating
information under the title History Within Living Memory
2- to establish a publicly available history of the Development
Corporation made in association with the Sociology Dept of the
University of Durham
3- to introduce a community workshop dealing with current issues
Horden, Easington District
Council 1900.
• six local people were employed to make tape recordings,
transcribe them and collect photographs to provide a
statement of life in the villages from prior to World War 1
to the present.
• Photographs lent to the project were enlarged and
mounted, and an archive organised.