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amvisionsWilliamTerburgh

American Visions 7: Empire Of Signs

Well, the first part of the video was about Pearl Harbor, a turning point in American and world history. This can be related to the 9/11 attack. However, a line that struck me in the film was, "Kill the Bastards!” I can understand that sentiment, but it just shows you how much America has changed over the years. After the shock of the 9/11 attack dulled, then some had that same Pearl Harbor sentiment, but it was not universal. Logic dictates that there would have been more talk like that because it was not a military oriented attack. We (the Government) went so far as to install 'Relocation Camps' for Japanese-Americans just after the attack on Pearl Harbor, which is something we would never do to the Americans of Middle Eastern descent. So that fact alone changed my general perception of America. We really have changed as a nation.
The video also touched on the controversy of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan after we declared war on the Empire. We dropped two only because they would not surrender, and to avoid island hopping that would cost thousands of soldier’s lives on both sides. There is something to be said for the latter fact, but we didn't kill Japanese soldiers in those attacks. The Japanese intent for the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was only military in nature. So does that military retaliation for Pearl Harbor by the US on non-military targets speak to the mentality of our past generation? Has our value of human life and empathy for military conflict changed? Another part that struck me in the movie was the fact that we are becoming more and more detached from what's going on in the world. It seems to have degenerated into the "If it doesn't directly affect me, it's not important" way of thinking. The fact that we didn't have the "Kill the bastards!" mentality after 9/11 (not as much at Pearl Harbor) says something.
After those events, the video moved onto the 1960s. A time that constituted a vulgar, innocent, and triumphant paradise. At this point, there were isolated abstract expressionists emerging. Jackson Pollock, Rothko and Motheswell to name a few (forgive the spelling, but the host's accent made it difficult to pick up on the names). I found it interesting that Pollock got over the surreal movement and had traces of influence from Picasso. This led to his interest in Navajo art work. He was in tune with nature and loved how the American Indians constructed their works, and how they depicted their natural environment. I also enjoyed his work entitled "Autumn"(1960), for it's balance and beauty. Pollock wanted to 'be' nature, and not just paint it.
I also found it funny that artists like Rothko thought they could out do an artist like Michelangelo for religious representation. I have to give him credit; it's hard to have religious meanings in abstract expressionism. I also thought David Smith's work with metal was interesting. He was born into the machine age....after the industrial revolution changed the world. He also had influences from Picasso and oddly enough worked on a human scale with metal forms. Almost as if giving them a human identity. Of which I am sure he like many would be able to relate to. Depictions of human sized robots were very common in pop culture of the era.
The video moved on to talk about the time known as the 'age of the automobile'. I found it fascinating that they thought of cars as works of art. Although I find it ironic that the cars also depicted (in their baroque style) the vulgar nature of America at the time. Even the leader of Russia (former Soviet Union) commented on the American's idea of the 'everyday kitchen'. Even he KNEW that was only an idealized depiction of what American's actually had, and then went on to comment that it was not what anyone needed. This was truly the age of paranoia because we felt (as a nation) that we must flaunt our wealth in the face of our most feared enemy, the Soviet Union. Jasper Johns is a testament to this paranoia. He used images of flags in his art with targets on them. He also did very elaborate scenes of daily American life, depicting the first signs of American apathy to what was really important in the world.
There was also the work of Rosenqiest that I found interesting. He used to work for ad agencies to do the art work for billboards, but when they kept telling him the colors were all wrong he ended up using those colors in his art. I really loved his "F-11" panorama. It's an intelligent metaphor for an Eden (the US) compromised by its own violence.
I found Warhol poetically ironic. People of the time didn't really understand that his mere depiction of pop art was a commentary on America's sacredness of celebrity. The utter frivolousness of American culture.

American Visions: Age of Anxiety


This video is a continuation of the previous one, and it starts out with a review of the 1960s with the cold war paranoia. Then it talks about the Vietnam War in 1968. Much of art in that time reflected the Vietnam War. Minimalism of the 1970s rejected imagery all together. Instead it went for impersonal and Machine like representations. I found Donal Judd’s symbolic representation of art. His art was in the world, but told you nothing about it. I found that indicative of Americans in that they are in the world, have influence, yet know almost nothing about the world they are in.
I also thought Serra's work was thought provoking. He had a process for working on his art that was all manual, which made it more natural. His sculptural weight had meaning against the world. Which in a way would symbolize the weight of America's influence in the world.
An artist that was unique to me was Bruce Namun. It is art, but it was so much more than that. He represented ways to communicate, and showed controlled behavior by others. It really spoke volumes of how we are controlled by our superiors, and how little control we have in this world. I also liked Phillipe Gustan's story telling in his art. He had a deeply felt relationship to history, and his sadness of human fate was very prevalent in his work.
The video also went into the art boom of the 1908s. Oddly enough, created by Reagan. One of the big artists that came out of that era, who was mentioned in the previous video, was Andy Warhol. Even though he started out as a commercial artist, he ended up becoming famous for his depictions of celebrities. However, most of Hollywood was not aware that Warhol was being sarcastic and more or less be-littling the pop culture world. Most of what he had said about Hollywood and Pop culture has been of a sarcastic nature. I was looking through some of his quotes, and this one sums him up:
"My image is a statement of the symbols of the harsh, impersonal products and brash materialistic objects on which America is built today. It is a projection of everything that can be bought and sold, and practical but impermanent symbols that sustain us."
One artist that I didn't really like was Jeff Koons. His idea of 'art' is something not truly his own creation. He takes objects, and infuses his own attempt at religious imagery into it. Even the pieces they displayed on the video were not very appealing. He really doesn't create his own ideas himself; I coined him as the 'architect' of the art world. He is in a way, but at least architects come up with their own ideas for a concept, and then play an active role in creating them. I am sure he is smart, but I wouldn't call him profound in any form of art.
The artist I found the most disturbing other than Namun, was Eric Fish. His angry depictions of his life in the suburbs is utterly sickening, but sadly somewhat accurate I would imagine. He depicts the middle class as deranged, angry people. I sometimes think artists do this just for attention, and not really depicting anything true or saying anything profound. Proof of this is Loise Bourgiouse (spelling??) And her 'anything goes' attitude. I can understand her perspective though. Art education in Europe is very structured and rigid, and the US gave her the freedom to do what she really wanted to. Her art created an intentional feeling of anxiety and the fear of chaos. Although I do like her work, because she puts so much work into her art, you have trouble denying the significance.
The basic idea of this video was that American Modernism, and the depictions of the American landscape inspiring manifest destiny, has been losing intensity. This goes back to the first video, and the statement I made about the social decline of the United States.

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