Lectures
Art is a way to record human activity in a century, it is like an archive, to record the culture, social phenomena and political issue. What century are we in now? I think we are in an era of digital technology. When we travel, we are constantly taking photographs, and then share the images on our social media. The invention of portable technology changed our living style and created a filter in reality. It reminds me a short video called “Life Smartphone”, which presents the portrait of our modern life.
(Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbAgY0Ksqvw)
Questions about Appropriation:
If a copy of a famous painting is placed in a museum, will anyone notice it?
I found that there are many works in museums have been repaired by technical painters. Last year, I saw a painting by Van Gogh at the Van Gogh Museum in the Netherlands, and I heard the colour of his paintings had changed over time. The original colour is not the one that we are looking at, so what are we looking at in a museum when we can see almost all the things from Google. (for example, Google Arts & Culture App) It reminds me of the scene I saw in front of the Mona Lisa in the Louvre in Paris. We can barely see the details of this famous painting from the viewing distance. There are people tried very hard to squeeze to the front, took a snap, then took a glance on the painting and walk away. Realising that we are generally watching things with a screen, we are inseparable from our phones.
The ‘Black Mirror Series’ always makes me think whether modern social development and technological progress are a beneficial progress for us. For example, the Dating App(automatic matching), or filter device (filter the violent information automaticly). When Zoe mentioned it, I was a little bit surprised and wonder what is the connection between this and space? Then, she explained, the development of social science and technology changed the layout of a bedroom or study. Now, we can spend a day with our laptop and smartphone and what remains on the desktop becomes invisible. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h3Qcdl8bKg 'Evolution Of The Desk')​ At this point, personal space has not only existed in the room but also existed inside the screen, which can take us to an infinite space. However, in that space, we do not have any security. In the photo above, the digital screen made a strong contrast to the drafts or graph papers on the bulletin board. It presents the current phenomenon in our society, that we are communicating through the computer, but we cannot trust it to keep our secret. It also reminds me of a movie called ‘Unfriended: Dark Web’.
I really like the way she found everyday or ordinary objects as her source, she transformed it with the help of modern technology and emphasised through art language.I like her works, especially in '0 to 10000000’ she combines the nature general shape of birds and transformed it in the virtual world by computer Programme and represent another group of object. Her methodology is very powerful/ The interaction between human and science. Also, as I remember she said her works are form her impression, memory, touch, sense or experience of an object. (e.g. The Sea Wave) Everyone sees the world differently and art is a way for as to see how they felt. It is why art attracted to me so much and there are so much, countless to look at.
