New Media in Art: 36-57 Response

   This section is an examination of the symbiotic relationship between media as an art form and performance. As art as a performance evolved, the action of making the art became just as, if not more, important as the final painted subject. This idea of art evolving from a marketable object to a process in and of itself and distancing itself from other commercial and traditional art is very interesting to me. How much of art is actually just one's ability to convince others of a work's artistic worth?

   When one typically thinks of art, they think of the final product. However, the idea of the process being the source of the actual art is interesting in that it requires an artist to examine their rhetoric carefully. Rather than having to sell the final product itself, one must be able to sell others on the process as well as convince the audience that it is performative art, rather than just an unorthodox way to make a painting or video. This makes me think of what constitutes art in the first place. In the case of Actionists, what differentiates simply destroying something and creating performance art? Is it all in the marketing? Rhetoric and the ability to arouse emotions (whether they be positive or negative) in the audience seems to be an art in itself. This section really reinforces the idea that being able to sell your work as a concept is one of the most important skills an artist can have.


   Rush, Michael. New Media in Art. 2nd ed., New York, Thames & Hudson Inc., 2005.

   

Comments

  1. Carson ColeSeptember 16, 2018 at 3:37 PM

    Hey Kyle,
    I found your analysis of this section very interesting, especially with regard to the Actionists. I think in their case what separates simple vandalism from art is the intent, if you have a real reason for destroying, and are trying to convey some kind of message, then it's art. It's definitely an interesting question about how such a thing is 'sold' to an audience.

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