This weeks student presentations were on the artists Carolee Schneeman and Barbara Rubin and in the experiential discourse they explored in their artworks on the body, sexuality and gender.
Amber engaged our class with a re-enactment of Rubin's quiz on sexuality performed with Andy Warhol and The Velvet Underground at a psychiatric conference in New York, 1966.
We were preparing to restage Rubin's double projection performance for two 16mm films, colored gels and radio, Christmas on Earth (1963) called "the ultimate study on the celebratory and erotic nature of free love", made when she was only 17 yrs old. The title of her work, formerly called "Cocks and Cunts" is taken from Arthur Rimbauds poem Morning from his book of poems A Season in Hell (1873).
We practiced working in the studio with our materials and machines, and spent some time looking at Bauhaus artist Josef Albers work Homage to the Square, a study begun in 1949 of 100's of paintings systematically exploring chromatic relationships. Then we attempted to communicate with each other via colored gels performed live through the auspices of Rubin's outrageous film.
reading: Barbara Rubin: The Vanished Prodigy, from Art in America
resource: on Josef Albers Color Theory, courtesy brown.edu
We also delved ever so briefly into the life and works of the enormously significant and influential artist Jack Smith, scratching merely the surface of his oeuvre for general context of art-making process, materials, and the exotic fantasy of life embodied within and without.
We watched excerpts from Mary Jordans documentary Jack Smith and The Destruction of Atlantis.
OUR CLASS PERFORMING CHRISTMAS ON EARTH:
We also delved ever so briefly into the life and works of the enormously significant and influential artist Jack Smith, scratching merely the surface of his oeuvre for general context of art-making process, materials, and the exotic fantasy of life embodied within and without.
We watched excerpts from Mary Jordans documentary Jack Smith and The Destruction of Atlantis.
OUR CLASS PERFORMING CHRISTMAS ON EARTH:
Some of the blurred images look nice but the picture with the projector and color wheel is the best. All the other pictures were more enjoyable while in class.
ReplyDeleteSome of my favorite affects we when someone would make a fan or gels that progressed through the rainbow. the colors blended really well to create a rainbow pulse in front of the projector. The bigger gels were also a little easier to be rhythmic with
ReplyDeleteThe energy performing this piece was great. The sexual elements of the image, 60s rock soundtrack, and the bright colors worked really well together to take you back to the psychedelic era in which it was originally performed.
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