reading response mega-post

Duchamp: The Creative Act

My Dear Friend Duchamp,

I believe your essay raised a good point, although I admit that some parts did confuse me. I think the last paragraph summed up the piece simply and concisely.

“All in all, the creative act is not performed by the artists alone; the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and interpreting its inner qualification and thus adds his contribution to the creative act. This becomes even more obvious when posterity gives a final verdict and sometimes rehabilitates forgotten artists.”

Do you remember saying that in April of ’57 Mr. Duchamp? It’s a good point, and like you said, especially obvious when studying art history.

Your Best Friend,
David Zorn




Selections From DADA Almanac:

These selections reinforced your separation from other artistic movements such as Expressionism and Futurism, and enforced the themes of embracing the chaos, disorder, and irrationality of everyday life. This article aided in describing a movement that probably would wish to remain indescribable.



Intermedia: Four Histories, 3 Directions, 2 Futures,

This article helped me grasp what exactly Intermedia is by exploring its various roots. I didn’t know Iowa was one of the first schools to have an Intermedia program. That’s pretty neat. I was confused about the section about the differences between Intermedia and Multimedia. It would help if Multimedia were more thoroughly explained.


Dick Higgins: Intermedia

Dear Dick,

I thought it was interesting how your views on Intermedia changed over time. I agreed more with the second piece, especially with your rejection of the idea that Intermedia is a movement that can be placed in a period of time.

Thanks,
David


Sol Lewitt, Paragraphs on Conceptual Art

My Dear Friend Sol,

Although I found your article interesting, I didn’t totally agree with some of the points, and thought that others contradicted, a fact you noted in the last paragraph. And I think you’re right, conceptual art isn’t for everyone. Although I agree that good art can be made this way, I know that it isn’t how I create. For me materiality does factor into a large part of the final piece. The point that I most disagree with is that art cannot be functional. I believe art doesn’t have any merit to lose by being functional, but can understand that if by making the art functional the artist sacrifices the parts of the idea or concept the art will suffer. Overall I enjoyed your article, and although I do disagree on some points it’s probably more of a personal disagreement with conceptual art in general than your personal opinion.

Thanks Buddy,
David Zorn


Dick Higgins: A Child’s History of Fluxus

Fluxus killed the Beatles. Just kidding. A little.

I liked the simplicity of this article, and I think because of its simplicity it did a better job of describing a movement, or history of a movement than the other articles we have read. I want someone to tell me that I’m not Fluxus someday. I don’t think I could keep a straight face.







Dick Higgins: The Origin of Happening

Dear Mr. Dick,

It’s interesting how a word can loose it’s meaning so quickly, but then again, even the artists actively involved had a hard time defining the term.

Your Friend,
Mr. David


Allan Kaprow: Essays on the blurring of art and life

My Dear Kaprow,

I never really thought of a room as a “frame” before. I guess it’s just so ingrained in us that art (painting) is shown indoors, in rectangular frames, that it’s easy to forget that there are more possibilities. I agree with breaking the “don’t touch” policies, the feel of the materials or interactivity helps the viewer fully appreciate the piece.

So Long,
David Zorn


Michael Rush: Media Madness

Dear Mr. Rush,

It’s neat how artist mediums evolve along with the changes or advances in technology and society.

I wrote you a haiku.

Art on the big screen
It moves and stuff sometimes, yeah
I guess that’s very neat

I hope you enjoyed it, because it took me a really long time.

Your Best Friend,
David Carl Zorn





Information and Form: Lev Manovich

When we watched part of Soft Cinema in class, I didn’t realize that the movie changes every time it is viewed.

“The DVD was designed and programmed so that there is no single version of any of the films. All the elements – including screen layout, the visuals and their combination, the music, the narrative, and the length – are subject to change every time the film is viewed.”

This is really interesting to me, and I think I would have appreciated the film even more if I had known. It does a great job of reflecting the ever-changing electronic communication that our society is becoming so accustomed to.