Matthew Barney

Matthew Barney serves as a very interesting performance artist to study. Barney uses role players, characters and narratives to display changes and endurance that the body goes through. His use of characters is a very effective technique in that it adds originality to his artwork. His characters and narratives are based specifically on experiences or ideas that have influenced his own life which allows the viewer to grasp a sense of his personality. It is also useful that Barney actually plays a role in the films and videos that he produces. By allowing the viewer to physically see the artist it not only portrays his passion for his work but allows the viewer to relate more easily. While we are able to see the artist firsthand it is important to note that Barney does not play the role of himself. His use of “alter-egos” to establish a being other than himself gives him permission to go beyond his natural beliefs and values. He is able to take his ideas further by masking them with another identity. His ability to refer characters as a way to express himself is shown particularly in his film production entitled “The Cremaster Cycle.” In this production he is able to follow imagination of his own work through the use of the horses and different characters. The expression of art through multi-narratives plays in the idea of the “alter-ego” that is seen in much of Barney’s artwork.

Performance Art

In looking at performance art it became clear to us that there are many different interpretations of this term. It is possible to relate performance art to abstract expressionism through the use of "space" as the artist’s canvas. Artists such as Jackson Pollock refer to their work as "action painting" because he uses the floor as his canvas which provokes more movement while creating his art. Another aspect that defines performance art is time. Performance art takes time in preparation and often time in which the artist is displayed in their own work. One very famous performance artist is Marina Abramovic who points out that performance art differs greatly from theater. Abramovic claims that theater is “fake” while performance art is very real in both an emotional and physical sense. Abramovic has been known to hurt herself in creating performance artwork which is likely to adds to the powerful effect her performances has on the audience. Abramovic has also developed an idea in performance art everybody is an artist. Just like Abramovic people such as athletes put themselves through a great deal of pain to obtain an outcome for a passion of theirs. This particular aspect of Abramovic's thinking allows for people observing her art (us) to relate more deeply as it creates a stronger energy.

Robert Ryman

Robert Ryman’s work is normally identified as monochrome painting and minimalism. He designs conceptual art and leaves his work open for interpretation. People may be drawn to his painting because of the white colors he uses and the quality of light within his work. Ryman finds himself experimenting with both the color and light before showing his work to the public. When viewing his work one does not need to know what it is or what it means to enjoy it. His work does not tell a story yet it is a visual experience that we personally find to be relaxing and pleasing. Although Ryman does not find his work to be abstract, it most certainly is. As shown below his paintings are mostly rectangles that do not contain things that we see or know.

Enter the Dragon: On the Vernacular Beauty

This article described the "beauty" as being "the issue of the nineties." This concept at first glance seems to be extremely out of the ordinary considering most people think that what makes art special is one thing: its beauty. While Edward Ruscha himself seems to think his initial statement is "off-the-wall" he continues to build his argument of the possibility that beauty truly was the issue with the nineties. Because art and its "beauty" is a very subjective concept however it is impossible to generalize these opinions as the issue of the nineties. Ruscha argues that beauty is based on how something looks while real art critics would be able to focus on the true meanings behind each piece of artwork. This particular piece of his argument does seem to be in keeping with our definition on "What is art?" We have previously described art as a piece of work that provokes a feeling inside the person viewing it therefore in this aspect we agree with Ruscha. On the other hand it is an extreme exaggeration to assume that artwork having beauty takes away from the meaning it serves.