Objectism: the new anti-composition
Art todayOther peoples work on Objectism
How art is a reflection of society
How objects are now defining the individual
The impact that this is having on our artwork
Define terms –
Post – internet
Anti-composition
Objectism
Anti-composition
Photography is no longer needed to capture moments of the present, Anti-composition
sustains arts position as still being useful, purposeful and a candidate for exploration and
contemplation.
What this means for art
What comes after this?
Conclusion
What does the use of objects mean for society – should we change how we live?
Art today has entered an age of anti-composition.
Post- internet art: the anti-composition within Objectism
We have now entered the era of post-internet art. Conceptualism, new media and net art
are being side-lined by art which focuses on the exploration and use of objects when
responding to and trying to define the events and experiences that surround us. As one of
the defining characteristics of “an artist” is to explore and consider, the use of objects in
today’s world provides us with an opportunity to contemplate and reflect upon the artwork
which is being produced and begin to re-analyse it. Objects are beginning to define
individuals and are a reflection and a record of our society. Someone that wears Nike
trainers and a pair of skinny jeans will be not be viewed in the same light as someone that
wears Vans trainers and a pair of skinny jeans. Post-Internet Objectism is “of the now” and
suggests that the use of objects within art is a reflection of our culture.
The term – “post-internet” has been in circulation since 2008. It points to a separation, a
“shift in its practise,” from net art to art which is about objects and the use of “anticomposition.” The growth of objects in art can be pinpointed to the development of
Western societies and the continuous focus on the economic expansion which has enabled
us to embrace the consumption of manufactured goods produced by those less well off than
ourselves. The changes within the way that we live are being explored within today’s art as a
response to capitalism and to continue arts position as being useful and an exploration. Net
art focused on conceptualism and the use of new media in response to the impact of the
internet. Objectism is about the use of objects in response to the growth of our increasingly
object orientated global society.
By looking at the physical objects which people own we are able to make judgements about
their lifestyle. Objects help us to decide how someone sees themselves in comparison with
others and as an individual being. The development of the individual who is defined by their
use of objects is a result of capitalism and our capitalist ideologies and values. It seems
appropriate to reflect on this object orientated world through art which explores these
changes.
James Mollison reflected upon his own bedroom as a child and realised that it was not the
location of the person that will define their life they lead but the relationships that they
have with objects. Can you guess which bedroom is occupied by each child?
Tank Magazine
After thinking about the use of objects within art and society, I read an article in Tank
magazine which reinforced my thoughts about the use of objects. It stated, how, after 2008
there were “two indisputable facts about post-internet art:”
1. That it refers to the object, and therefore marks the return to materialism
2. That the term if useful in defining a broad trend similar to (yet distinct from)
“conceptualism” and “new media art”
To illustrate this idea I have included a quote from the magazine. The artist Amalia Ulman is
captured sleeping in different outfits in a series of photographs for the artwork “Sleeping
Fashion Story.” By photographing her and displaying the images with a description of what
she wears, the artist makes it impossible for the viewer to detach her from the object. The
art critic and curator Rozsa Zita Farkas explains:
“Her work is a whole cohesive set of praxes which remain partially hidden in their
ordinariness or ubiquity, in order to critique the creative processes that are at the
performative heart of almost all contemporary social relations.”
By exploring the events, ideas, concepts and thoughts which cannot be studied in a
traditional or naturalistic way, Post-internet art takes into account the everyday, the
“cohesive set of praxes which remain partially hidden in their ordinariness”. As we can
capture (and continue to capture) a huge proportion of nature and the natural world within
photography and realistic painting, Objectism and Post–internet art are focusing on the use
of anti-composition and the use of objects.
Anti-composition occurs within post-internet art and new media
when something that cannot or does not resemble nature is
assembled in a way which is meant to look disturbed/unnatural/unright/not-right. It is an exploration of nature in a way that is not
natural and is a reaction to the use of objects within society.
Anti-composition: An artistic exploration of nature, assembled in a
way which does not bare resemblance to any man made or natural
object.
Anti-compositionist art cannot resemble natural objects or
manufactured items but instead explores the things we cannot see.
To explore and capture an unnatural thing which does not occur in
nature
The changes within society and the continuing focus on objects has provoked changes
similar to when the constructivists of the 20th century based their ideas around geometry
and the laws of combining forms. This reflected the increasingly mechanised and
industrialised world in which a realistic and the painterly approach was not considered
useful or appropriate; today, it is only Objectism and anti-composition which continue to
cements art’s positions as STILL being useful, purposeful and an exploration of the
globalised materialistic world. Anti-composition makes art a candidate for contemplation
and appreciation; it helps an artist to establish a point of view and uses rhetorical ellipsis
which allows for the exploration of colour, shape and form but also of the ideas and
concepts which cannot be seen. Post-internet art is not devoid of nature - it tries to explore
and recreate nature but in a way which cannot be seen as natural. Through objectification
and the distortion of nature, post-internet art no longer resembles but still expresses the
fundamental elements of human existence and the creation of life. Even if the finished
pieces do not resemble objects or a collection of objects, they are still about objectification
and the use of objects within society. As “” said, “the use of the internet has not been fully
made to show its full impact, if the use of the internet is, then so is the use of objects.”
As opposed to “net art” which was predominantly created and displayed in a digital format,
post-internet art has started to return to the traditional formats of painting and sculpture.
At this point it seems suitable to describe the art that we see in the “post-internet” era as
being objectist and about the exploration of the anti- composition.
How objects define the individual
Objects play a part in defining an individual because we surround ourselves with objects
and use objects every day. We dress ourselves in objects, drive ourselves to work in
objects, live in objects. We also buy and consume objects that we think reflect our
lifestyle choices and help us when working out who we are a person and as individual
individuals.
Photography
Paintings which resemble lifelike objects are no longer needed to capture moments of the
present. They do not have the same role in society that they once had to preserve and
capture. Realistic painting is a good way of preserving how something or someone looks. A
physical painting is in itself an object and whilst other objects carry the same existence as a
painting, they do not show it in the same way. A painting represents a moment in history which
has been taken down and preserved with the use of colour and a paintbrush and therefore possesses
an aura which cannot be achieved through photography. A painting is in itself an object but by
looking at it as though it actually it represents something it becomes more than this and is actually a
memory of the past.
More photos will be uploaded to Facebook today *350 million uploads* than were taken in
the entire 19th century. We now carry photo taking objects with us everywhere we go.
Although a photograph will never carry the same aura as a painting, the development of
photography has led us to focus on other elements of art. (Post-internet) art and Objectism
takes into account this reflection and allow us to question once more the meaning of art
and whether the ability to digitise instantly has forced us to try and explore the questions
and ideas which do not appear (or are unable to appear) within photographs or nonabstract paintings and sculpture. The art of today is starting to focus on the use of anticomposition and objects, pink, grey brown and orange colours, and a mix of medias, ideas
and performances.
Objects of reference rather than representation – objects of
representation as well as reference.
Anti-composition.1
As we are unable to see the clear progression through other physical objects (such as
stones) life or what it has been through (as no one has modified it to resemble a scene or
something from a time ago) it doesn’t mean that it should resemble any less of the past.
How art has changed:
Art has developed from prehistoric times when cavemen painted animals onto cave walls to
pieces based around digital media and performance. The painting of caves led eventually to
the production of religious artwork and the development of classical painting and sculpture.
The progression of technique and the importance of the artisan meant that by the 15th
century, the renaissance was able to explode and the artist was able to consider the whole
canvas as an exploration of their own ideas. Modern and postmodern art developed and the
post-post-modern era of art is now
thriving
and
developing.
The
international and globalised world
depends today on the digitisation of
society and has led us to develop art
which focuses on new techniques and
the use of new materials. The use of
anti-composition reflects the use of
objects and the digitisation of society in
which a huge proportion of life can be
captured upon a screen.
Picasso - Les Demoiselles d'Avignon
Cory Arcangel – Diddy Lakes
Stones - Photograph of stones on board. October 2013 – approx. 600mm x 300mm
Stones takes influence from the idea that we can personify objects to evoke feelings and
respond to them in a way we would normally associate with people. By assuming that each
individual is made up of two parts (a body (to move about) and a brain (to think)) all that is
needed to represent someone is two things. In this image I have laid out a variety of stones
on a board, with each set of stones representing an individual. Each set is laid out in a way
which is supposed to reflect or symbolise the individual personalities. I would like to extend
this conceptual idea of using objects to symbolise ideas and figurative beings to other
objects and also to how they might “interact” with one another in different settings.
This piece focuses on the development of conceptual ideas and the multi-disciplinary
approaches I have used within my work. This merges intellectual thought with art and tries
to question the way we view objects.
How objects have their own existence – especially natural objects, such as
trees and stones and how we can re-arrange them to view them in different
ways.
This is slightly tangential but the use of objects within pieces like Stones shows how all
(particularly natural) objects have their own existence and experiences. They are not simply
“there” but travel and “experience.” A stone has lived and existed for far longer than any
human and will continue to live and exist beyond the span of our existence. One could say
that it has greater knowledge and perspective of its surroundings.
I have used a plastic bag as an example of how an object may exist within a series of states
of forms to illustrate my idea that an object has an existence. A plastic bag starts from the
petroleum or natural gas extraction where it was once made up of tiny plants and animals. It
then undergoes ethylene manufacture and polymerization where it is then transported to
the plastic bag factory. Once it has been made into a usable plastic bag, it is then placed in
the hand of the consumer where it transports and carries objects from one destination to
another. Once it has been used, it is then disposed of where it goes to the landfill, or is reused to carry more objects. A plastic bag has played a part in the existence of the world and
should be recognised.
By going back to the prime elements that make up objects, the materials (and where they
have come from) are considered and allow us to reflect on what they have seen and what
they look like now. An object has its own journey before it reaches the consumer, and will
often be thought to lack spirituality and is disregarded due to its menial role within human
society. Is the human the end of the chain in most use of objects? Is this the end of their
existence?
How the design of objects influences their use and therefore how we live.
Anyone who has thought about design knows how significant it is. The design of objects is
paramount to how we use them and good quality is essential.
A reflection of society?
We must now consider our choice and our use of objects in relation to our interaction with
others. The notion that by changing our relationships with objects, the relationship with
people and our built environment must also be changing should help us to reassess how we
consider and use objects and should help us to create meaningful and contextual pieces of
art. Furthermore, we must consider whether art has really changed, the purpose of art is
often the same: to create something we are able to contemplate upon and admire.