Mattias Callouet took a Philosophy of Art class and learned several important lessons about art. Art is not boring when one takes the time to analyze and understand it. There is always something new to notice in artwork, even ones that seem simple at first. Art is constantly evolving in its forms and mediums. Art needs an audience to give it purpose and meaning. The cultural and historical context of artwork provides important background knowledge for fully appreciating it. Rules and definitions of art are also constantly challenged and changed by creative artists.
Mattias Callouet took a Philosophy of Art class and learned several important lessons about art. Art is not boring when one takes the time to analyze and understand it. There is always something new to notice in artwork, even ones that seem simple at first. Art is constantly evolving in its forms and mediums. Art needs an audience to give it purpose and meaning. The cultural and historical context of artwork provides important background knowledge for fully appreciating it. Rules and definitions of art are also constantly challenged and changed by creative artists.
Mattias Callouet took a Philosophy of Art class and learned several important lessons about art. Art is not boring when one takes the time to analyze and understand it. There is always something new to notice in artwork, even ones that seem simple at first. Art is constantly evolving in its forms and mediums. Art needs an audience to give it purpose and meaning. The cultural and historical context of artwork provides important background knowledge for fully appreciating it. Rules and definitions of art are also constantly challenged and changed by creative artists.
Mattias Callouet took a Philosophy of Art class and learned several important lessons about art. Art is not boring when one takes the time to analyze and understand it. There is always something new to notice in artwork, even ones that seem simple at first. Art is constantly evolving in its forms and mediums. Art needs an audience to give it purpose and meaning. The cultural and historical context of artwork provides important background knowledge for fully appreciating it. Rules and definitions of art are also constantly challenged and changed by creative artists.
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Mattias Callouet
Philosophy of Art Final exam Dr. Brian Lang April 28, 2023
Art is not boring.
What I learned: When I was choosing my classes for the Spring, I noticed the “Philosophy of Art” class and I remember telling myself: “wow, another boring and useless class.” However, my curiosity took over my mind and I decided to take it. After this semester, I can proudly say that art is not boring. Arti is actually very fun (when one knows how to deal with it). Spending several minutes just watching an artwork and wondering about the aesthetic and formal properties of it.
Artist & Picture: Debra Rapoport is a NYC stylist and artist who creates hats and jewelry from garbage she finds in the streets of NYC.
Why the example is relevant: Debra Rapoport artworks are wearable. She wears every single hat she creates. Like Duchamp she goes against the rules of style and mode by giving a second life to our garbage. THIS is interesting because she manages to create really beautiful pieces from things that most of the people consider disgusting. Therefore, searching for information about the different garbage she uses, the colors et how she went to create hats from garbage makes her work even more interesting. There is always something to notice.
What I learned: There is always something to notice in an artwork. I think this is the most important take-out of this class. Just coming to realize that any artwork has details or elements the audience needs to see to really enjoy the artwork. Details can change the meaning of a whole painting.
Artist & Picture: Rue The Day (2019) by JeffLee Johnson.
Why the example is relevant: What could be considered just a basic picture, might seem boring. This said, the more time the audience look at it, the stranger and weird it gets. Some artworks might seem boring at first but there is always something to see. JeffLee Johnson work emphasis this specific characteristic of art. He did several images of this type, and I chose this one mainly because it takes place in Paris. Can you find all of them? I found 19 disturbing elements! I especially enjoy the fact that he chose Paris, one of the most popular and admired cities in the world, as a setting for his monstruous details. Art is a Pokemon. It is always evolving.
What I learned: Art is a Pokemon. In other words, it is always evolving. Art changed a lot since its “creation”. Its forms, mediums, rules, and audience changed. At first most artists were doing painting, sculpture, theatre, etc… Now, sculpture, for instance, has come to another level to the point that some artists use everything they can find to make art.
Artist & Picture: From left to right: A couple of Dirty Fucking Rats (2000); Miss Understood & Mr Meanor (1997); Dirty White Trash (with gulls) (1998) by Tom Noble et Sue Webster.
Why the example is relevant: Among the things an artist can find everywhere, garbage is a material of preference for some artists. Tom Noble et Sue Webster uses garbage to create, when light is facing it, a particular form with the shadow of the sculptures. Most of their art is provocative and somewhat disturbing. A Couple of Dirty Fucking Rats, for instance, is basically just shadowing two rats enjoying life. Here the artists are bringing the art to a new evolution where artists start to question and explore the combination of physical material with light. Art needs an audience.
What I learned: People make art for display or personal use. Therefore, there is always an audience for a said artwork. Even if the artist did a piece just for himself, he becomes his own audience. Sometimes, artworks are even built by the audience.
Artist & picture: Measuring the Universe (2007) by Roman Ondak.
Why the example is relevant: In Measuring the Universe, Roman Ondak explores the creation of a universe made of the height of his audience. Without audience, his artwork would not exist. The artist is placing the existence of his artwork in the hands of the audience. In the same idea, the audience has to be willing to participate in the artwork. This artwork also breaks the walls between cultures and communities by gathering everyone in the same “Universe”. Art is an archive. It saves cultures.
What I learned: An important function of some artworks is saving cultures. Especially
cultures threatened to disappear because of cultural imperialism. Therefore, art can be used as an archive. A lot of artworks we discussed in class were influenced by the culture of the artist. Some artworks present the culture in different ways, modernize it, or just try to represent its struggles.
Artist & Picture: Saving Iraqi Culture (2010) by Mohammed Ghani Hikmat.
Why the example is relevant: Hikmat’s sculpture is located in Bagdad. A city with a rich history. Bagdad was considered as the biggest city worldwide in the 10th century and was the center of education. The cuneiform on the seal reads « writing began here ». This artwork is made to be thought provoking. Therefore, the sculpture aims to gather people and save Iraqi’s culture. The single person with five arms is a call for union and fellowship among Bagdad’s citizens because it is only when people will fight together that chages will occur. Rules can define artworks.
What I learned: An artwork cannot be restricted to its physical and visible characteristics. The rules attributed by the author to the artwork are also part of it and build the artwork. An artist might let the artwork to a museum without any rules or guidelines concerning its display, participation etc., and this is fine! Art cannot be restricted to one definition. This said, when the artist provides rules, the meaning of the artwork depends on those rules.
Artist & Picture: Untitled (Portrait of Ross in L.A.) (1991) by Felix Gonzalez-Torres.
Why the example is relevant: For his artwork Untitled (Portrait of ross in L.A.), Felix Gonzalez-Torres gave a set of rules to the curators of the museum. He asked the curators to create a pile of candies with an exact weight of 175 pounds in a corner of a room. He also asked the curators to let the audience take a candy in order to reduce the pile (metaphor of his boyfriend who passed away because of AIDS). Therefore, his rules provide a specific participation of the audience that influences the artwork itself. The participation of the audience is part of the artwork. It’s mainly a way to express the lapse of time and the harm done by AIDS. The more extravagant a piece of art is, the better it is.
What I learned: Art is a free mode of expression where creativity and imagination have no limits. When an artwork is really creative and extravagant or awkward, it is more interesting because the audience have to try to understand and find her own way to get the message of the artwork. Some surprising artworks are also made without necessarily have any message to spread.
Artist & Picture: Mad Hatter’s Tea Party in the eye of a needle (2016) by Willard Wigan.
Why the example is relevant: Willard Wigan is known for making the tiniest sculptures in the world. His sculptures are often presented on needles. When displayed in museum, the visitors can watch them through microscopes and notice these incredibly detailed sculptures. He even manages to paint those tiny characters. In his pieces, he explores the limits of size an artwork can have. It’s creativity makes his artworks even more interesting. Art is an experience.
What I learned: Art is meant to be experienced. Whether one takes part in the artwork or not. When one is looking at a painting or a portrait or even a sculpture, he experiences different emotions and thoughts that this particular artwork is rising in him. Reflecting and questioning the art is also part of the experience.
Artist & Picture: Tim Burton’s Labyrinth (2022) by Tim Burton.
Why the example is relevant: Tim Burton’s Labyrinth brings the audience in a total immersion in the world of Tim Burton. His disturbing and uneasy creatures coming from his creative mind are displayed inside a gigantic labyrinth of 5,000 m 2. Therefore, with the experience of immersion, the visitors become their own movie character trying to find the exit of this strange labyrinth surrounded by all the best movie sets. Once inside the labyrinth, the visitors might experience a feeling as if they were in those movies since the sculptures and surroundings are very realistic. Art is often a synonym for challenging the rules.
What I learned: Art evolves because of people challenging the “popular” rules. Therefore, some of the best artworks ever made were ones that completely disrespected the rules or at least the current artistic movement.
Artist & Picture: Fountain (1917) by Duchamp.
Why the example is relevant: Duchamp’s Fountain completely refuted the ideas people had about art. Duchamp, a French artist, presented this basic and common urinal he found and signed to a museum. They refused because his “piece” was not considered as an artwork according to the rules of art defined at the time. He still managed to put his “fountain” on display, and it became a reference in the modern art world. The viewer needs background for some artwork in order to completely understand it.
What I learned: Artworks have background. Each artwork has its own story. Some are straightforward and the audience can enjoy them without necessarily know the background. However, if the audience learn about the background and the story of an artwork, then the audience will appreciate even more the artwork and might notice some details or understand some subtle things present in the artwork. In museums, the audience has always access to short summaries next to each artwork. Even though not everyone read them.
Artist & Picture: Guernica (1937) by Picasso.
Why the example is relevant: Without an explanation of the background of the famous painting Guernica by Pablo Picasso, no one can enjoy the artwork. This said, the dark tone along with some details of injuries and fire express the violence and sadness of the moment. On April 26, 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, the Nazis tested their new air force on the Basque town of Guernica in northern Spain. This test resulted in tons of bombing with more than 5,000 deaths. Without this knowledge, the painting is much less powerful. The background gives more meaning and more reasons for the painting to exist (as a criticism of war).
