The Gutai Group

The Gutai was a Japanese artistic movement founded in the 50’s. The word translates to embodiment or concrete. “In their early public exhibitions in 1955 and 1956 Gutai artists created a series of striking works anticipating later Happenings and Performance and Conceptual art.” The art of the Gutai was created to give life to the material instead of changing it or falsifying it. Their work included events such as: rolling through mud, running through a paper screen, painting with feet, throwing glass jars filled with paint into a canvas, and more.

(10/29/07)
http://www.tate.org.uk/collections/glossary/definition.jsp?entryId=130
http://www.ashiya-web.or.jp/museum/10us/103education/nyumon_us/manifest_us.htm
http://nezumi.dumousseau.free.fr/japon/j2/japarmurakami2.jpg

Faces and Mirrors

Today's activity of using mirrors to imitate each other's expressions and walking as far as you can while still trying to imitate facial expressions was sort of interesting.
The activity was kind of strange, but also humorous and a little fun. It was insane how the activity can actually go on for a long period of time with enough space. I expected the activity to take a while, although it was a short and quick performance. I think that the activity could be more interesting with maybe bigger mirrors and instead of only facial imitations gestures and motion was copied from each other. Also, being the viewer of the activity instead of the performer might be more fun as well.

Logos?

Logos are generally used to simplistically represent business entities such as corporations, product lines, stores, organizations, various proprietorships, and etc. They tend either to involve both a symbol/shape/design as well as unique font or just unique font. There are logos that have several sets, which can consist of one with only font, one with only the design and/or one with all of the above. Logos are designed to stand as the image of company’s products or services in the form of planned typeface and/or intriguing shape(s) (sometimes even line).

http://www.gameonly.pl/partners/playstation.jpg

http://www.minidisc.org/images/walkman_logo_2000.jpg

10/16/07

Comment on "Bride"

The work of Duchamp, "The Bride" is very interesting in its own way. At first glance, it just appears as weird and random shapes that all differ from each other in many ways. One panel of glass appears very spacious, because of the abundance of negative space. The opposing glass appears very crowded and in turn acts as an opposing reflection of the first glass and vice versa. Some parts appear machine like, but there are also shapes in the composition seem more organic or out of place. After, seeing a digital animated version (a manifestation created from Duchamp's notes), the art appears as a giant flowing machine that is similar to the union of woman & man and reproduction. The machine ingenuously flows smoothly as one and perhaps reveals the artist’s genius intentions and the massive amount of depth he put into his work.

Patterns, All Around

Patterns are basically everywhere, in many forms, for many purposes. For design purposes, it is very plentiful in a vast amount of things. Generally, most designs of floors, walls, and fabric are dominated by pattern designs. All of the patterns differ in their own ways, while others become similar. Some are more complex, some are very simplistic; some are eye-catching, can hurt eyes. These designs may vary from substance to substance, but the patterns used in Islamic art are all designs of a different category. They seem to blend shapes into shapes, patterns into patterns, and lines into both patterns and shape so flawlessly. These designs display great intricacy and precision; and at times are spread over great distances of structures and other items. Patterns may frequently stress eyes, if they aren't simple, but each design can be significant in it's own right if fitted for the best purpose.