A Portrait of Thought

Post your review of the MFA Thesis Exhibit (Museum of Fine Arts):


In showcasing the culmination of work by five WSU Master of Fine Arts graduate candidates, the 2009 Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition accentuated notion that every artist has a distinctive style and that unique meanings are to be derived from his/her art. Upon entering the gallery, I was exposed to what appeared to be an assortment of unconnected culminations of art. While the pieces of each artist were professionally situated around the room, they were chaotic and inconsistent in meaning, style, and form. The lack of conformity between each artist detracted from being able to derive a meaningful take home message. Relationships between each of five artist’s art were skin-deep at best, in that the only commonality appeared to be that they were all students at Washington State University.

As a student majoring in neuroscience, I have been taught, when locating an unknown structure in my neuro-anatomy lab, to begin by first identifying a familiar area of the brain. I believe the same concept applies to extracting meaning out of art. At the exhibition, the art of each artist appeared to drift into different realm of meaning and representation, making it fitting that each pool of work was isolated to one side of the gallery by empty wall space. In attempting to extract value from the exhibit, I started by identifying pieces of art that I could relate with.

Immediately, the work of Brad Dinsmore resonated with me. On his website he described that his work “creates a context where the mood or general feeling can be understood, but like a memory the more you focus on it or try to understand the specifics, the more elusive it becomes.” His pieces had a consistent theme revolving around the impact that thought and memory have on mood and the execution of emotion.

In Converging Thoughts (included above), Dinsmore uses a combination of scribbles and doodles to represent individual thoughts and memories. Consistent with modern day science which suggests that the creativity is predominated by the right side of the brain, I interpreted the colorful squiggles, above the man’s right hemisphere, to represent creative thought and unrestricted imagination. I perceived the black doodles, above the man’s left hemisphere, to represent comprehendible memories and analytical thought as the outlines of a hand and even a bird could be recognized. In the portrait, it is the confrontation of creative thought and rational memories that create knowledge and emotion. The man’s preponderance of knowledge and emotional content are the consequence of his converging ideas.

My interpretation is further supported in Dinsmore’s Problems of Knowledge, Letting Go, and Learning to See. In Problems of Knowledge, knowledge is again represented by the intertwining of black and colorful squiggles between the hands in the piece. What separates this piece from Converging Thoughts is that the colorful squiggles are only shades of green. I believe that Dinsmore uses specific colors to thoughts that evoke distinct emotions. Although there is no indication of the category of mood in Problems of Knowledge, the title suggests that green may induce a “problematic” emotional state of disorientation and confusion.

The portrait Letting Go, the man has yellow, green, and black forms hovering over his head. He appears to be in a pondering state of confusion and confliction as to how to let go of the knowledge lurking above him. Interestingly, the man appears to be comfortable with his mood, which is suggestive that yellow stimulates a level of satisfaction and content. The piece is consistent with Problems of Knowledge, where I interpreted green to represent an emotional state of confusion. I’d imagine that red would convey an angry emotional state and blue a sad mood if similar paintings of Dinsmore were accessible.

While I did not derive a meaningful take home message from the exhibit as a whole due to its incoherent and distractive nature, I did find the work of Brad Dinsmore to be evocative and significant. Dinsmore’s collection illustrated the physical representation of a manifestation of thoughts. With squiggles, scribbles, and doodles, Dinsmore played with the philosophy that thought is real and that only its physical form is an illusion. Often we as a society fail to recognize the value and shear existence of thoughts in nature because we cannot see them nor are we exposed to the hidden fantasies of others. Dinsmore sheds a beautiful light on thought and its influence on mood, making the viewer more aware that he/she is the one ultimately in control of emotional state in which he/she lives.

Image Above:
Brad Dinsmore
Converging Ideas (2009)
Charcoal and Crayon on paper

Freudian Analysis of Madonna

Which of the following artists/fictional protagonists (a. Spiderman, b. Jackson Pollock, c. Madonna) lends him/herself to a Freudian/Foucaultian analysis and why? Choose one for a brief Foucaultian/Freudian analysis.

For the purposes of this assignment, I believe Madonna lends herself to a Freudian analysis. In the “Revelation of the Poet to Day-Dreaming,” Freud explained his perception of the relationship between art and the human unconscious process. He focused on how a poet’s art was a reflection of his/her day-dreams and unconscious processes. As a professional singer,
Madonna’s songs represent a form of poetry, making her a prime candidate for Freudian theory.

Freudian theory conveyed that the poet is a day-dreamer and that his/her art is the equivalent of a day-dream. He believed, through the assessment of art, one could construe the artist’s unconscious thoughts and suppressed day-dreams.

Madonna’s most popular song, arguably, is “Like a Virgin.” The main chorus of the song is as follows: (for complete lyrics visit http://www.madonnalyrics.org/like_a_virgin.html)

“Like a virgin
Touched for the very first time
Like a virgin
When your heart beats
Next to mine”

On the surface, Madonna’s song “Like a Virgin,” appears to be about a girl who is confused about love after enduring a number of unsuccessful relationships. She is vulnerable and depressed in her bewildered search for love. She then meets a man who then sweeps her off her feet and for the first time, like a virgin engaging in sexual intercourse, she feels unrestricted love.

Using Freudian analysis, one could interpret that “Like a Virgin” clandestinely represents Madonna’s unconscious longing to be protected and cared for by a male figure. The song was her way of unconsciously crying out for someone to protect her with a shield of love. At the time of the song’s conception, it could be interpreted that she was uncertain if love would find her in her fruitless journey and that her day-dreams were engulfed with worrisome feelings. By repressing her day-dreams, Madonna, at a surface level, was able to disconnect her personal day-dreams from the song. Freudian analysis would claim that the song exposed her unconscious instead of concealing her feelings.

Image From: http://media.marketwire.com/attachments/200603/MOD-253305_MadonnaTourPic.jpg

"The Heidi Chronicles"

Discuss “The Heidi Chronicles” from whichever angle you please. You may consider the art/gender issue we have discusses which Heidi is concerned with, e.g. in connection with the above two artworks. Briefly put: does gender determine art? Any notes on the WSU performance?

The two mentioned art works depict a segment from the deuterocanical Book of Judith in which Judith beheads Holofernes. From a historical standpoint, Judith was a Jewish widow of noble rank in Bethulia, a town besieged by the army of the Assyrian general Holofernes. To defeat her captor, Judith seduced Holofernes with her beauty and successfully got him drunk. After Holofernes fell asleep, Judith and her maid Abra beheaded Holofernes with his sword. Judith brought the head back to Bethulia which sent the leaderless Assyrians in fleet. The event marked the Hebrew’s victory.

The paintings are significant to “The Heidi Chronicles” because they illustrate a female heroine who was ultimately rewarded for passionately acting on her beliefs. The paintings glorify Heidi’s lifestyle in which she made sacrifices to advance the interest of the women’s movement. Heidi was a female heroine in that she passionately acted on her values, instead of the expectations of women imposed by society. She forfeited the traditional duties of a wife by never marrying, she advocated for equitable representation of women in the art world, and she empowered her sex by conveying that women are not obligated to conform to social expectations. She expressed that women should aim for their 10 and in fighting to ensure women could without restraint; she lost sight of what her 10 represented. In the end Heidi won as she realized that her efforts had opened doors for women and that her daughter would learn from the mistakes of her mother.

Does gender determine art?

In answering the question I could only wonder if “The Heidi Chronicles” would be any less meaningful if a man had written it. I believe that the play would be less meaningful; hence, while gender does not determine art, it greatly influences it. Until men and women are equal in every aspect there will be a difference, even if it is slight, between art produced by a woman and art produced by a man.

The WSU performance?

I was impressed by the WSU performance. It was a great opportunity to see an entirely different perspective and interpretation on “The Chronicles of Heidi.” When I initially read the play I interpreted the ending as a sorrowful moment in which Heidi seemingly gave up on the pursuit of her happiness and was dissatisfied with Scoop. The WSU performance sold me on their jovial interpretation of the ending in which Heidi appeared satisfied and content with her current position in life.


Image Above:
Judith Beheading Holofernes (1598-1599)
Michelangelo Caravaggio

Jackson Pollock & Tolstoy’s Views of His Work

(1) What do you think of Pollock?

Although initially appearing wild and disorganized, I found Jackson Pollock’s paintings to be aesthetically appealing. Upon first encountering his work, I was attracted by the plethora of colors and the chaos in which each was arranged. I held Pollock’s work to a higher regard after watching videos about how he produced his art and hearing the in-class presentation. The “dripping” technique utilized by Pollock truly enabled him to express himself through his art. Pollock’s art became meaningful in nature after I discovered his struggle against depression and alcoholism.

“When I am in my painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It is only after a sort of 'get acquainted' period that I see what I have been about. I have no fear of making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through. It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give and take, and the painting comes out well.”

The quote above, made by Jackson Pollock, describes the intimacy he shared with each of his pieces. I enjoy Pollock’s art because, beyond being immediately stimulated by the bold colors and seemingly frenzied assembly, his art is a meaningful expression of “self.” His art depicts his battles in life and the boisterous “drip” design expounds the alcoholic state he was in while creating many of his pieces.

(2) Align one of the theorists we've discussed with Pollock.

I chose to align Pollock with the views and opinions of Tolstoy. Tolstoy believed that a piece, in order to quantify as art, must contain the three components of (1) evoking individual feeling in others, (2) having clearness about that feeling, and (3) having sincerity amongst it.

When it comes to critiquing Pollock in Tolstoy’s eyes, Pollock satisfies the first condition of evoking feeling and emotion in others. After watching, “Who the $#%& is Jackson Pollock,” this is evident in Ms. Horton’s emotional connection to a piece of art that she believes Jackson Pollock created. Pollock fulfills the third condition of sincerity amongst his pieces as he was genuine in the intimacy he shared with each piece and was honest about the meaning they had to him.

Tolstoy would unfortunately not hold Pollock’s art in high esteem due to his inability to create art that had a clear obvious meaning. Pollock’s art, although produced strategically and purposefully, appears wild, confusing, and disorganized. The chaotic appearance of layers of multicolored “dripped” paint obstructs the clearness that Tolstoy would have sought to critically qualify Pollock’s work as art.

Image Above: "Unformed Figure," Jackson Pollock, oil and enamel on canvas, 52 inches by 6 feet 5 inches, 1953, Museum Ludwig, Cologne

Nietzsche vs. Tolstoy

Compare/discuss Nietzsche and Tolstoy. Nietzsche talks about "this collapse of principium individuationis" (p. 164) and Tolstoy talks about 'infection': "The stronger the infection the better is the art" (p.179). Are they talking about the same thing/dynamic or something different?

After reading Nietzsche and Tolstoy, I feel that they are both expressing similar concepts as both of their philosophies demand that art, especially art of quality, must deviate from the podium of individualism. Nietzsche’s philosophy about “this collapse of principium individuationis,” calls for true art to be in tension between the Apollonian force of individual character and the Dionysian force of chaotic emotions. Tolstoy’s belief that “the stronger the infection the better the art,” calls that in art the emotions of the creator must be shared, become less individualized, among those who experience the art. In both theories, art digresses from the individual who creates it to a sense of communal emotions or feelings.

Nietzsche conveys his thoughts about “this collapse of principium individuationis,” in which he composes two separate forces—Apollonian and Dioysian. Apollonian force was named after Apollo, the Greek God of Sun who represented luminosity and clearness. In Nietzsche’s account, Apollonian force served to define individualism, individual thought, and individual character. Whereas Dioysian force was named after Dionysus, the Greek God of wine, who represented pleasure and drunkenness. Dioysian force served to define illogical, chaotic emotions and feelings.

In critiquing art, Nietzsche believed that authentic art must contain a conflict between the Apollonian and Dioysian forces in that the clear individualism behind each piece must be convoluted with drunkenness emotion.

Tolstoy had a similar perception of art in that, to qualify as art, the piece must expand beyond the individual and contain the three components of (1) evoking the individual feeling in others, (2) have clearness about that feeling, and (3) have sincerity amongst it. To be considered art, individualism must be diluted as each art piece becomes less unique as more people experience the feeling that the artist experienced while creating it. Tolstoy believed, “to evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds, or forms expressed in words, so to transmit, that feeling, that others experience the same feeling—this is the activity of art.” It is in such a sense that both Tolstoy and Nietzsche have similar views when it comes to qualifying art. In the perspectives of both men, art cannot be purely individualistic in nature.

Above Image: Image of Tolstoy

“Faking It”

Discuss the part of Faking It? that we watched - and provide a prediction: Will Paul manage to fool the experts? ..."fool"!? Why would he be a fake?

In the portion of the show “Faking It” that we saw in class, Paul O’hare, a house painter, was quickly transformed into a “fake” contemporary artist in an attempt to trick the art world of the United Kingdom. During his transformation, he had access to professional artists who taught and coached him. He took art classes in which he learned how to draw and paint using a variety of techniques. He was mentored how to understand art and speak its language. He even had professional critics come to educate him as to how art is critiqued and, as if that weren’t enough, he received a complete makeover so he could look the part of an artist.

I found the title of the show to be ironic. As Paul received more and more coaching from professionals, he became less of a fake. Instead of acting as a “fake” artist, the show does a better job converting him into a real artist (not a good artist, but a real artist nonetheless). Paul illustrated some key characteristics of professional artists in my opinion. First, he took his transformation seriously. Paul spent as much time as he could in the studio improving his artistic abilities. Second, his art was made with emotion and had profound meaning to him as he used it to express his disabilities from when he was a child. Third, Paul quickly learned to appreciate the art around him.

After listening to the professional critic’s evaluation of Paul’s artwork and demeanor, I do not believe he will manage to trick the experts. Paul’s art lacks depth that experienced artists typically capture and his novice knowledge of art is evident when he is in conversation. While I do not think he will fool the experts, I do believe Paul will have become a “real” artist by the end of the show. Paul’s inexperience and innocence in the art world doesn’t disable him from being able to produce meaningful art.

"That Old Master? It's Down at the Pawnshop"

Read the article: "That Old Master? It's Down at the Pawnshop" and discuss it's emphasis of the commercial aspect of art in relation to the Kinkade-video.

Both “That Old Master? It’s Down at the Pawnshop” article and the Thomas Kinkade 60 Minutes video diverted attention to the commercial aspect of art and how it can be financially profitable. Objectively speaking, the Art Capital Group, mentioned in article, is able to profit from art by commercially selling the art that they acquire from art owners who default on the loans that the company provides and Thomas Kinkade is able to profit from art by commercially selling mass productions of his original pieces.

From a subjective point of view, I felt the actions of the Art Capital Group and Kinkade were deceitful and served as a disservice to art. In reading the article, I didn’t perceive the Art Capital Group as an honorable loan organization for owners of fine art as I felt their practices lacked legitimacy and transparency. In my eyes the Art Capital Group provides extraordinary loans at excessive interest rates to financially troubled art owners in ill faith. Unlike most loan organizations, the Art Capital Group provides loans hoping that their clients, who have signed the rights to their fine art as collateral, will default on their loans. When clients default on their loans, the Art Capital Group seizes their fine art and places it up for sale. In that sense the article was correct in treating the Art Capital Group as little more than a glorified pawn shop.

In the case of Thomas Kinkade, his organization is deceitful in an entirely different aspect. The video segment made it apparent that Kinkade maximizes his profit by providing the illusion that his art is original and unique, despite that fact that his art is mass produced and, if it does have the pleasure of touching an actual paint brush, it is often at the end of an intern artist’s hand. Kinkade’s art lacks personal touch and meaning.

In my opinion the Art Capital Group and Kinkade’s organization financially exploit art by commercializing it. Both organizations value the art they handle and sell for solely monetary purposes, each lacking all appreciation for value associated with meaning derived from each piece. The Art Capital Group acts as a disservice to art by treating it as merely a commodity that can be used to achieve financial success. Kinkade’s organization acts as a disservice to art by stripping it of its unique properties. The commercially distasteful practices of each company demean the intrinsic value of art, condensing the beauty of each to piece to a dollar amount.

Image Above: One of Kinkade’s Pieces