Kehinde Wiley and inter-textuality

"Intertextuality is the shaping of texts' meanings by other texts." - wikipedia, (n.d), Retrieved August 10, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intertextuality

Intertextuality is when you have a piece of Artwork/writing and find similar qualities in it from another piece of work that makes you understand it more. A lot of Artists these days are doing so as they try to reproduce an Artists work.

Wiley's portraits are based on photographs of young men who he sees on the Street. His models were asked to assume poses from the paintings of Renaissance masters. "He creats a fusion on period styles, ranging from French Rococo, Islamic architecture and West African textile design to urban hip hop and the "Sea Foam Green" of a Martha Stewart Interior colour swatch.(Wikipedia.com, n.d)


"Pluralism in art refers to the nature of artforms and artists as diverse. It honors differences within and between equitable groups while seeing their commonalities." ALVC.2, Caldwell (1999), Page 46 Para 1. You see this in Wileys work as he uses the influence of "Old Masters" in his portraits of African American men.

Wileys work creates a lot of interest in a way that develops questions. "Wiley engages the signs and visual rhetoric of the the herioc, powerful, majestic and the sublime in his representation of urban, black and brown men found throughout the world." KehindeWiley.com,n.d. For me stereotypes show in Wiley work how he has used African American men, dressed them in normal "gangsta" clothing and placed them in a high classed power setting. This gives us many questions in what he is trying to portray in these images to the audience.

Hussein Chalayan

Afterworks (2008) was inspired by the horror having to leave your home at the time of war. After talks with his family Chalayan explored the ideas of how we may want to hide our possessions or how we may want to carry them with us on departure in such an ordeal.

Burka (1996) is very thought provoking. It Challenges us with ideas such as modesty, identity and feminity. Chalayan presented models wearing different length burka inspired creations with nothing underneath them, with some models being completely naked except from a mask and sandals. This ability to stay relevant to society this many years on is what makes Chalayan's work stand out above many other designers.



'Afterworks' and 'Burka" both have meanings behind them and stand out very clearly. When seeing these works I see the person inside them as well as what he is trying to portray. Fashion these days is just about the lastest trends and making an image that everyone seems to follow. Chalayan's work is not just creating clothes he creates ideas and works or art that forever cross the line between art and fashion.

The level Tunnel (2006)
Chalayan has created an installation to help advertise Level Vodka. I believe that this is still art in a way that shows different ideas than normal artists. It interacts with the audience and gives them an experience like all art installations do. "The individual going through the tunnel might feel like they are able to feel the smell or taste the sound resulting in a synaesthetic experience." It is not only trying to sell a product but also showing a piece of Chalayans Artworks. Chalayan is taking a step further and working with promotional companies to make his work.


Absent Presence - 2005 venice Biennale




I personally think that it is not a big deal if you do not make the artwork or clothing yourself. A lot of Artists are making such big artworks that they need help to make it faster. I still believe that it is all coming from that Artist. They are the one that thought of the idea and planned it all out. When looking at a piece you are not thinking of how they made it you are thinking of the concept and ideas that comes with it. In the fashion industry they have different people for everything. The designer might not be a sewer so they have someone to do that just but they still came up with the ideas and patterns. On the other hand as a painter you should be able to do your own pieces yourself. In my opinion getting someone else to do your painting will never turn out the same as your own.

Post modernism, Ai WeiWei and Banksy

Post Modernism:
- an art movement which was thought to be in contradiction to some aspect of modernism.
- it is a tendency in contemporary culture characterized by the problem of objection truth and inherent suspicion towards global cultural narrative or meta-narrative.
- The period in which we now live in is often called "post-modernism".
- something which evolved after 1968
- the term is used in philosophy, literature, social sciences and architecture.
- composed by two parts "post" and "modern". "post" is latin for "after", and "modernism" refers to the modern period.
- It was during Postmodernism when we started to see an “indifference to social concerns.”
- Post modernism partakes of uncertainty, insecurity, doubt, and accepts ambiguity.
- It is very closely synced to what “is also called New Age thinking.”

"The post-modern artist is "reflective" in that he/she is self-aware and consciously involved in a process of thinking about him/herself and society in a deconstructive manner, "demasking" pretensions, becoming aware of his/her cultural self in history, and accelerating the process of self-consciousness." Witcombe(2000)

During the post-modernism, people started to agree on "social and cultural pluralism". After there was an "attention to play of surfaces". People started to adapt to "simulation, visual media becoming undifferentiated equivalent forms." "hyper-reality" became much more powerful than the "real" images. There was also mixing of "pop culture" and "hybrid cultural forms". Art started to "authenticate by the audience" rather than just ny the "artist".

Ai WeiWei Han Dynasty Urn with Coca-Cola Logo.

Ai WeiWei is one of Chinas earliest and most influential avant-garde artists. He is a self-taught artist who sparks the modern art movement in Beijing. He is influenced by Dad, Duchamp and Warhol by creating provocative and subversive photographs, installations and sculptures.

Banksy uses stencils to make statements about everything from war to politics, big business, government oppression, and the mess we're making of the environment. "Does the image mean we are powerless? Flowers are so ephemeral, so fragile. How could they possibly hurt anything? Or are the flowers a symbol of the intangible power that comes from belief and hope and that certainty of truth?." (Tommi Lou Carosella, n.d) It is also very interesting the way Banksy shows his work. A way that many people don't like and think it is vandalism. I think it is powerful and makes people look at it in a different way to what they would see if it was in a Gallery.

In 'Los Angeles'(2008), I see a cave man/ape holding a bone in one hand and a tray with fast food on the other. This is very interesting because you would never see an ape/cave man and also you would never see one holding a tray of fast food. You see a lot of ideas like this in Post-modern art as artists are now looking further into making things without meaning.


References:

http://www.artzinechina.com/display_vol_aid109_en.html
http://arnica.csustan.edu/carosella/banksystreetart/street_art_by_banksy.htm