Shari+Bieber

Shari recontextualised images:

















Shari Bieber The Concert

The Concert is a piece painted by a Dutch Golden Age artist named Gerrit van Honthorst. The painting is displayed in the National Gallery of Art and shows Honthorst adoption of a style called Caravaggism. The Concert illustrates the importance of authority through the colorful display of a musical group. Gerrit van Honthorst’s work was admired by the Dutch artists and European royalty in the 1600s. He is famously known for his use of bright colors and his ability to illustrate artificially lit scenes. When Horthorst returned to the Netherlands after his visit to Rome, he was recognized by King and Queen of Bohemia, Frederick I and Elizabeth Stuart. The King and Queen of Bohemia were exiled from after Frederick’s Protestant troops were defeated by the Catholics. They moved to the Hague and eventually made Horthorst the court artist. It is believed that The Concert was one of the paintings on display at the Hague. The Concert illustrates a group composed of several musicians playing various instruments. At the front of the artwork, the leader of the musical group is instructing the other musicians as they intently listen and take in his advice. It is also important to note that the group consists of both women and men. Each person is clad in bright colors and headpieces. It appears that the people in the painting are getting along and are willingly working together to prepare their concert. They appear to be cheerful and excited to be there. This painting depicts how a leader can create order and lead to progress. At the front and center of the painting lies the leader of the musical group. He becomes the main focus of the painting as well as the core of the group. The leader instructs the other musicians on how to play in harmony, and without his guidance, the practice would not run smoothly. His authority ensures that the impending concert will run precisely as planned. Along with making certain that the concert is properly executed, the group leader facilitates an amicable environment. The musicians all seem to be cheerful and happy to be working together, which enables them to practice efficiently. This meaning parallels the way that a political leader hopes to rule over his followers. The leader aims to build trust with his followers so that they listen to him and take his advice. In addition, he hopes to be admired by the public and taken seriously. A political leader instructs his followers to ensure that there is law and order in society. Once there is order to society, the leader hopes to create a nation that communicates with one another and gets along so that the nation is productive and efficient. In my opinion, the King and Queen of Bohemia related to this painting because they lost this power when they were exiled to the Netherlands. They yearned for this opportunity to reign again, despite the lavish lifestyle they continued to live. The King and Queen had always been in a position of power and it must have felt strange and confusing to have that abruptly taken from them. This painting reminded them what their lives used to be like and how the power of authority can be more satisfying than being wealthy. The Concert has both literal and figurative meanings. The literal consists of a leader of a musical group instructing his fellow musicians; while the figurative meaning illustrates the importance of authority and the goals a leader possesses when in that position. Honthorst’s artwork inspired other Dutch artists and was admired by many European royals.





Recontextualization Example: [|Rihanna Don't Stop the Music]

Recontexualization Project at the National Gallery

This piece draws on the idea that if leadership is left in the wrong hands, it can lead to disorder and rebellion.









Krauss write up:

Rosealind Krauss discusses the use of video as a medium for art. She argues that the use of video is illustrating an idea in a psychological state rather than a physical state like all other mediums for art. This is unusual because in art, it is not usually the medium that displays the psychological aspect of the artwork. In addition, Krauss claims that this psychological state usually portrays the narcissistic qualities of artists because they tend to become fascinated in using themselves as the subject being manipulated in their artwork. This can relate to today because people continue to use themselves as mediums for art in a self-admiring way. Rosealind’s main point addressed in this article is that video is a medium that draws on psychology to illustrate the point of the piece. By using cameras, artists receive immediate feedback and close the gap between reception and projection of the subject, which is usually the artists themselves. Ultimately, the subject of the piece ends up being “surrounded by himself/herself” because the human psyche is the channel between this constant cycle between reception and projection. Krauss compares this medium of art to a mirror because when a person looks through a mirror, the person sees himself/herself as an object, not a subject. She argues that this leads to narcissism because when the artist sees himself or herself as an object, the artist becomes obsessed with being a part of the work and manipulating himself/herself to display an idea. This becomes fascinating because the artist sees his or her artwork for what it really is. Krauss provides Vito Acconci’s Centers and Richard Serra and Nancy Holt’s Boomerang as examples of how the use of video leads to narcissism. In Centers, Vito Acconci films himself pointing to the center of a television screen. He uses the video monitor like a mirror and is essentially looking at himself in the monitor that he is pointing to. Acconci’s figure is all around him and promotes conditions favorable to self-reflection. Richard Serra and Nancy Holt’s Boomerang uses sound to creating this reflection. When Nancy Holt speaks, the words are repeated to her with a delay. Specifically in this case, we see how the human psyche is being manipulated by the constant reception and projection of audio. This fuses Holt’s understanding of herself as both a subject and an object. She becomes surrounded by herself just like Acconci was in Centers. Krauss claims this condition is narcissistic because the artist is only with himself/herself and can only see themselves as the object of the artwork. This relates to today because video continues, perhaps even more so, to have a narcissistic characteristic. People are constantly taking videos and images to upload to social media. They are using themselves as the subject, but also as the object that they hope to perceive themselves as. People also create videos for YouTube and live stream videos to portray the kind of person they want the world to see. Few even become famous from making themselves the objects of their artwork. They continue to make videos about their opinions and advice and truly believe that what they specifically have to say hold value and should be broadcasted. The same goes for reality TV in which they what they believe will sell and become obsessed with themselves if it does. A great example of this is Kim Kardashian. She has created her persona on the show and broadcasted who she thinks the world wants to see. As a result, she has become narcissistic and uses any way possible to promote herself and her brand. Rosealind Krauss believes that video is a medium that fosters narcissism. When an artist becomes surrounded by himself/herself through video, he or she becomes the object of the artwork and can be easily manipulated. Today, our society has become more narcissistic through the development of technology and social media. As we become more “surrounded by ourselves”, we become fascinated with ourselves and making ourselves into what we want the world to see.

Video Exercise 1:

media type="youtube" key="9SQ41wRindk" width="560" height="315"

Counter-monument reading

The Journal of Architecture provides a definition for a counter monument. The author does this by breaking the counter monument into two terms based on the way that these pieces have been characterized: anti-monumental and dialogic. The anti-monumnetal design is used to convey subjects and meanings that are not typically monumentalized. Dialogic, on the other hand, is a critique on the design of monuments. The author delves deeper into the differences between anti-monumental pieces and dialogic pieces in addition to their differences from the traditional monument. To further understand anti-monumental work, the author states that it differs from traditional monuments in subject, form, site, visitor experience and meaning. The subject of an anti-monumental work differs from a traditional monument because it usually represents a dark event that would usually not be memorialized. These works may be used to war people against an idea or recognize that some event in the past was wrong. For example, Gunter Demnig’s Stumbling Blocks individually identifies residents of the victims of the Holocaust. The plaque indicates a name, date of birth, deportation and death. In America, the sculpture, The Other Vietnam recognizes the three million “enemy” Vietnamese killed in the Vietnam War. Anti-monumental work also differs in form as a means to represent that evil event or ideology being created. Artists sometimes use absence to make a more ominous point. Some anti-monuments are not placed in places you would typically expect to see a monument. Instead, they are placed so that a person encounters them by chance to create a “telling camouflage". Many of these anti-monumental pieces are meant to signal visitors to interact with them. They want you to come close to them to get the full experience of the piece. Artists can’t predict the way people will feel about the monuments but they can encourage sensory engagement so that viewers better understand the meaning. In addition, the meaning to these pieces are unclear and are left up to the viewer. Diagnostic pieces is used as a juxtaposition to another nearby monument to provide commentary on the meaning of the original monument. An example of this is the Gegendenkmal and the Monument to the Fallen of Infantry Regiment Np. 76. The Monument to the Fallen of Infantry No. 76 was viewed as a monument that glorified Germany’s fascist history, so to counter this, the Gegendenkmal was designed, however never actually built, to express the suffering of victims of the war and repression. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial can also be considered a dialogic monument because it counters the other monuments on the National Mall. It sinks into the ground and encourages a intimate, personal experience. The idea of the counter-monument proves that there are many ways to bring attention to an issue or commemorate. These pieces make the viewers think and confront the past by changing the style or subject matter of the work. Although it is debated whether counter-monuments truly create a discourse different from that of the traditional monument, I believe that these counter-monuments have sparked interest for the public. The extensive use of the counter-monument has created certain criteria to follow, which critics believe is the opposite of the true aim of the counter-monument. In my opinion, however, it is still fairly simple to identify a traditional monument from a counter-monument because it has a completely different style and makes the viewer question. These are the most important aspects of the counter-monument. The counter-monument is extremely important for society because it brings awareness to the tragedies of the past and evil ideologies to ensure that these events and ideologies do not affect our future. Picture on National Mall





3 sketches of potential monuments







Room