Beyond Art for Arts Sake

Untitled (aleph)

by Ann Hamilton

Ann Hamilton is one of the most well know large-scale installation artists that is created with deep amounts of meaning and purpose. She studies particular things to connect a historical and cultural meaning within each piece of work. She also uses a non-verbal way to portray these meanings in her artwork. Some of the unusual materials that she has used are horsehair, thousands of honey-coated pennies, beetle-infested turkey carcasses, and hundreds of pounds of work uniforms. (Ragheb)

Ann Hamilton does a great deal of practice with showing cultural symbols in her work and also stimulates the viewer to develop a sense of memory within the preconscious or the unconscious that they see in their own personal way and can relate to their own past. In her artwork, she allows the viewer to use imagination to create their own story with the image, with whichever emotion the person uses to create this story, they can still respond to the artwork with their own personal experience.

When I first saw this video in the Walker Art Center, I was absolutely appalled that it was considered art because the sight of seeing the rocks rolling around in the artists mouth made me sick to my stomach, especially hearing the sound of them clanking together. I did not understand this piece and what it could possibly represent, but after some research I found out that it was meant to represent a struggle with speech. The rocks in the mouth was to enable the person to speak, and shows an obvious struggle. As you watch closer it makes you feel as though words are trying to come out as the lips are moving, but all that is shown is struggle.

The installation that I chose to research “Untitled (aleph)” is one of four series of silent color films. These four films show an experience that has to deal with the senses of speaking and hearing. In the “Untitled (dissections... they said it was an experiment)” water is shown running down a neck. In the “Untitled (the capacity of absorption),” an ear is shown being filled with water. In “Untitled (linings),” a mouth is shown being flooded, and in “Untitled (aleph)” a mouth is shown being filled with rocks to represent struggle to speech. This is also the only video that incorporates sound. The name of the video is from the shape the mouth forms when it transitions from silence to speech. These four videos allow the viewer to experience body functions in the transition between speaking and hearing. (Discepola)

The Untitled series that she has created can be related to the phycological theory of Sigmund Freud. The three categories: the conscious “ego”, the preconscious “superego”, and the unconscious “Id”. The “Id” represents the impulse to pursue pleasure and illogical sensations (un-responsible behavior). In the Untitled series, I believe that the messages in the films represent the “Id” as they can act as a sense of memory, which brings back these memories from the unconscious state of mind, especially childhood memories. An example could be when I see the film “Untitled (dissections... they said it was an experiment” the water running down the neck reminds me a time I stood under a room and water dripped down the back of my neck, the ice cold water gave me goosebumps. (Discepola)

As Melisa Discepola states, “She seems to reflect us in her work just as photography mirrors us as individuals and collective wholes,” Ann Hamilton is able to capture a sensual image with her camera that grabs our attention and allows us to take in the message that the image is sending. The films, such as “Untitled (The Capacity of Absorption)” intensionally make the viewer feel discomfort when seeing them. It brings back memory of having to put peroxide in my ear canal; the cold liquid filling in the hole of my ear caused me to twitch with discomfort. (Discepola)

Although I was disgusted with the “Untitled (aleph)” film when I first saw it, I now have a respect for it. As I researched Ann Hamilton, I really liked the idea that she uses materials that I wouldn't even think of touching for her artworks. I like that she used the rocks to symbolize the struggle of speech because when I see it, I can actually feel and taste the dirty rocks in my mouth and it makes me afraid to swallow. I can understand how she has won many awards for her sculptures because of the significant context and meaning she puts with each piece of work. She allows the viewer to get inside the artwork, or maybe even allows the artwork to get inside the views head as they take in the meaning and relate the context to their own personal experience. I like the fact that she uses a lot of cultural symbols and realistic context in her artwork because it gives a dynamic twist to what she is selling to people. I found many of her artworks to be fascinating and odd at the same time, which I like!

Work Cited

• Ragheb, Fiona J. 2010. Web. 4 Dec. 2010.
• Discelopa, Melisa. "Ann Hamilton: Individual and Collective Memory in the Subconscious." CUJAH Volume VI. Web. 04 Dec. 2010. <http://cujah.com/publications/volume-vi/ann-hamilton-individual-and-collective-memory/>.
• My 12^th grade Psychology class for studying the Sigmund Freud theory among other things.
• Images found from Google Images.

How Can This Be Art

When I looked at this, it was more of wow to me. I was confused on how a bunch of puzzles on a table could be call art. Is it really that simple?

Ok I understand the common “puzzles can represent life” thing. Everyone knows that, and key term EVERYONE. Puzzles represent the different parts in life to become one as a whole. So how is this art if for one represents something everyone knows, and two that this is like play land. Kids learn by putting puzzles together and it can also be a fun activity to do together as a family.

Maybe it’s time for some research on this…

First off the one rule in most galleries is not to touch the art. Rirkrit Travanji goes against this. He wants people to become an essential part of his art in the process. He wants people to interact with his artwork. He wants them to enjoy their time and to make it feel like it’s not a formal exhibition.

Ok so I understand that he wants people to interact with his work and a puzzle is a good idea!

Ron Vawater:

Ron Vawter American, 1948–1994

Roy Cohn/Jack Smith stage set 1992

Your first impression of this set is what is its purpose? Who are Roy Cohn and Jack Smith, what do they have to do with this set? Upon looking further into the background you learn the sad story that it represents. 


Ron Vawter is a play write/ set director/ actor that was part of the experimental theater company known as the Wooster Group. The Wooster's emerged between 1975-198. In the year 1992 he worked on the set for a play known as Roy Cohn/Jack Smith. The play is two monologues that follow the story of two men who died from AIDS. 

Ron Vawter has done more preformance art versus visual art, in fact the set design for Roy Cohn/ Jack Smith is the only work that has been recorded today. He has been in many movies and plays such as Silence of the Lambs,  Philadelphia, and Swoon 


I would classify Roy Vawater as a very talented artist, I had no idea what his set design was about and really doubted his credibility, I think that any kind of design has its hard parts and the material he was designing for was very controversial at this time and he executed it thoroughly and respectfully. Set design can be difficult especially for plays. They have to be able to have multiple purposes, simple yet tell a story, and be practical to construct. 


Ron Vwater lives from 1948-1994 and was suffering from AIDS himself. 

Walker blog Part 2--An art piece I don’t understand

Untitled Raymond Hains 1959-1960/2002 posters on metal mounted on wood

This large rusted painting reminded me of a billboard or something I would see lying on the side of the road. It looked to be made out of old garbage or newspapers though there was something interesting about seeing something so old and dirty inside the white and pristine rooms of the Walker. Perhaps that was the initial reason I didn’t like it. In an art museum you expect to see art that is beautiful or at least somehow interesting or that caches your attention. Upon seeing this piece I just wanted to get away from it. Like an old newspaper you see on the side walk, it’s not something you want to touch or look at, its something you want to forget about, instead of wasting time wondering why people can’t be decent enough to recycle.

After doing some research on the piece, I don’t like it any more than I did when I first saw it, however I now have an appreciation for it and the ideas the artist was trying to express.

Raymond Hains (1926-2005) was a French artist. He started his career doing abstract Photography, using distorted mirror images that were inspired by Surrealism and Dadaism.

Hains was a founder of the Nouveau Realism or new realism movement, in early the 1960s. Artists of this movement liked to incorporate found or junk objects into their work to make ironic comments on modern life.

In 1949, Hains, with his colleague Jacques Villegle began collecting advertising and political propaganda posters from the streets of Paris. They claimed these posters as their own art and considered all the people who touched, graffited or tore the posters as collaborators. He used a putty knife to tear the posters further

As Hains described his art “My works existed before me, but nobody had seen them, because they were blindingly obvious.”

Hains used materials that would degrade over time. He used posters that were significant to him, so he possibly wanted to capture his culture as he saw it.

Although I still don’t think his piece is nice to look at I can apprecate his vision of capturing postwar paris in a work of art.

Alec Soth, Mother and Daughter, Davenport, Iowa, 2002

chromogenic print

Alec Soth was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1969. He is a well known photographer who has had exhibitions all over the world. His work is very contemporary and mostly on a large scale. Through my research of Soth I found he was “...an avid traveler, [who] spent five years working his way down the Mississippi River and documenting the places and people he saw with his 8 x 10 camera” (http://www.gagosian.com/artists/alec-soth/). On this same website they talk about the meaning of Soth’s work and how he expresses “beauty and poverty, anonymity and familiarity, and, above all, individuality and a collective consciousness.” This is really interesting to me because when I first saw the Mother and Daughter photograph of his, the last thought that came to my mind was beauty. I don’t know why but I felt annoyed and discouraged by this piece. Soth is said to capture the “personality of his subjects” and describing issues in a poetic manner.

I believe inside I knew the meaning of Soth’s work even before I researched him, and the meanings he wants to convey through his work; I just don’t think I wanted to believe or pay attention to the meaning because the images leave me feeling displeased. Although isn’t that the truth, while most want to look past the problems and poverty of the world, because we strive to live a perfect life, Alec Soth shows reality and emotion up close in his work for people to see. I now can say I understand his work and have come to really appreciate the his work.

GURL! What was you thinkin'???

Title: Rebus
Artist: L William Pope

this painting thing... is... UGLY. just not okay at all... it is compiled of awkward swampy looking colors that just aren't appealing to my own personal eye. normally being a fan of chaos and such, i was completely turned off by the demeanor of this piece.

it seems as though the piece is reminiscent of the loss of sanity, not completely having a sense of self and wondering what "everything" is about.

i just want to know what the artist is saying, because as of right now i cannot seem to shake this feeling of being uncomfortable and unwelcome when i view this.

i feel this piece looks immature, as though it was a collage made by a kindergarten class in the late 90s. i just really dont know what to think about it!

it somewhat reminds me of the chaos of man kind, the fact that it has feet kind of gives me the feeling that this represents the idea of no peace for man, we will forever be in a state of chaos.
-N

response to Helvetica

Helvetica: 

Font and typography is something that is overlooked in our society today because it has become something that we use in everyday life. Most people do not take the time to think about how the font was created or what it was inspired by, the film, Helvetica, really gives insight to how a font was made and the controversy that it gave, its just letters, really. Who knew fonts could cause such a stir? 

I had a love/hate relationship with this movie. I thought the idea was cool but it did not always hold my attention. I think the idea about learning hoe fonts are created and how they have developed over time was interesting but there is really only so much you can say about a font...  I have a lot of respect now for those who make fonts by hand, carving them out. That cannot be an ideal job all the time. You have to be really innovative to think of new fonts, I do not know how many more can be created!  

I would like to try this process sometime, i am just unsure if i have the patience! 

-Ro