The popular avant garde

"The popular avant garde" / edited by Renée M. Silverman
Amsterdam : Rodopi, 2010.
9789042031609
  One of the popular avant-garde artists in the 20th Century, David Alfaro Siqueiros. He is a Mexican social realist muralist and painter,  which interested in using new materials and method, for instance gun cotton and pyroxylin. Siqueiros had a honor at the Contemporary Art Exihibition at the St.Regis gallery, and prepared political art workshop in 1936. Most of his works is related to the politics since he was captived frequebtly. However, he still kept his faith.

  He though that the Italian Renaissance's murals are the public art which meaningful and accessible to people. This idea deeply affect the minds of Mexican avant-garde artist.

Avant-Garde Film

"Avant-Garde Film"edited by Alexander Graf and Dietrich Scheunemann.
Amsterdam ; New York : Rodopi, 2007.
PN1995.9.E96 A95 2007

  Abstraction, Surrealism, Futurism are parts of the history of Avant-garde cinema, it  protests against realism which dominates the market.  They aim to break down the classic usage of toolsand try to give a new defination to the existed thing, for example having a new use of language and camera, changing the common perception.
  Although avant-garde film is not the popular culture in the society, it affects the commercial cinema and editing.  It can easily see the affect of avant-garde film from music vedio. The MV using many editing method from avant-garde like fast editing, montage, automatism,etc.

"Window Water Baby"

  At the beginning, for woman aspect, I feel sweet and touch since the husband looks after the wife and records the important time of baby born. But then, I feel scary about the baby born, it is a painful time although I never experiment, and also the scene is so direct and real which we cannot clearly see by ourselves. Although I am a girl and have learnt the basic knowledgr in high school, I seem firstly realize that maybe I never know myself.

"Fly" Yoko Ono

  This film Yoko shooted the static woman and a dynamic fly. The fly walk on the woman body and the camera closely shoot the fly. The sound is producted by Yoko herself with variety and specical tone. It is said that "fly" is the autobiography of Yoko. If the fly represents Yoko, I think this film is the journey of life and also the love of mother. Hearing Yoko's tone, the fly just like a baby giving birth and finding their way by itself.

NAM JUNE PAIK

  Nam June Paik, a Korean artist, is the first person using TV monitor as a sculpture. The art work "TV Buddha" he created in 1974 is one of his representative works. Paik used the closed-circuit camera to directly seeding the buddha, and the buddha gazed permanently the TV monitor which view itself only. The concept of this work are old and now, the past and present, and the real and illusory.

 It lets me associated with conservation problem. The invention of new technology usually replaces the old one, however, it actually cannot completely replace the old one since everything has their specificity. It just like the film and digitalize technology.

Nam June Paik, TV Buddha

YOKO ONO

  Yoko Ono is a Janpanese avant-garde artist. She has different achievement in many aspect, like film, poem, performance,etc.

  Her famous performance art, "Cut Piece", first performed at the Sogetsu Art Center in Tokoyo in 1964.
She randomly chose the audience to pick up the scissors and then cut off a post card size pieces from her clothes until she is totally nake. She hoped that that piece in the audience's hand can give to their lover.
Yoko Ono have performed "Cut Piece" many times, and each performance has their own message. Sometimes it protests against war and violance, sometimes it promotes world peace, sometimes it protests against ageism,sexism,racism and violence.

PERSONAL RESPONSE

  During the lesson, I quite like an avant-garde artist, Michael Snow.

  Most of his art work cannot be defined easily, since it mix many media to try to bur the boundary of different media. His art work, The Central Region, breaking the limit of realism and the concept "camera is part of our body" by dehumanization brings a new concept to me—camera can be used differently not only use for capturing real world. He though the camera projects a different world to us which unusal vision to human, and his act inspires us that we should use our tools roundly and develop more aspect.