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NOW: Artist of inspiration

Tehching Hsieh

Tehching’s practice has been a major inspiration for our group publication since the very beginning. This is because the practice of this NYC-based, Taiwanese artist is focused on habit, repetition and scheduling. The artist purposefully designs their performance pieces in such a way that their life revolves around completing it. Tehching’s work has included locking himself in a wooden cage without reading, talking or watching TV for a year, as well as spending a year entirely outdoors. Tehching himself does not refer to these performances as feats of endurance, but rather as commentaries of ‘time and struggle’.

Tehching Hsieh ‘One year Performance’ (1980-1981) Cameras, photographic film. 

Tehching’s year-long performance from 1980-81 had him punch a clock every hour for an entire year; a total of 8760 punches. Tehching’s practice is a very clear commentary on ‘now’ in the temporal sense. It is an insight into the stringency of goal setting and perseverance; such motivations set a series of ‘nows’ which one must meet at an exact time and space in order to become fulfilled. In Tehching’s case, it was the commitment to his hour-by-hour schedule. 

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Progress on one of the publication’s pages!

I’ve always wanted to use my tablet for one of the fine arts assessments, and since the publication is being composed online, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity. When I started drawing up stuff for the publication, I realised that I was starting to shift into my diagrammatic, colourful way of presenting things. However, I decided to stick with it; it seems that there is now a common thread between my three ADAD1002 works in that they focus on the sensory and subsequent (almost childlike) engagement with them.

My pages did contrast highly with those that were submitted by my other group members, but I think this is ok! I mean to communicate some of the aforementioned theory through my drawings, in contrast to the highly textual pages of ‘now’ interviews. Perhaps this relatively unique style will help cement these messages which I have attempted to weave through the paper? 

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‘Now’ Publication: Theory

Our group had to make a few major choices at the beginning of this assessment in regards to the direction our publication would take. We firstly agreed that we would attempt to make our publication a work in itself as opposed to having it describe or document a pre-made/pre-performed work. 

Another challenge was to decide how we should treat the topic of ‘now’. Some groups have decided to focus on contemporary issues. Instead, our group has tried to take the idea of ‘now’ more directly, looking at how different points of time can act as motivators, creators of anxiety and habit. We have decided to conduct interviews both online and in-person so give the publication some substance.

One particular bit of inspiration for me was this article: http://psycnet.apa.org/record/1976-25334-001

The scientific article, published by the American Psychological Association, looked at how the imposition of deadlines impacted the amount of interest one shows towards a task. I wanted to try to develop this in the article by commentating on how the immediate ‘now’ (the now as we know it) can seem more attractive as opposed to future ‘nows’ in time and space. 

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The final body of work!

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Statement

Kim Gallagher. Do you prefer GAC, TAG or ATA?, 2017. Board, glue, string, paint, leaves, dog fur. UNSW Art & Design.

The purpose of my major work: ‘Do you prefer GAC, TAG or ATA?’ was to expand on the themes I had established in my first poster project, albeit in more detail. My poster project explored tactility and manipulability as very ‘human’ mediums through which we gain knowledge of the environment and other non-human forms of intelligence. I wanted audiences to realise that this desire to ‘understand by feeling’ is but one consequence of a specific evolutionary pathway.

 My major work expands beyond what was presented in the poster by exploring more of these ‘evolutionary consequences’ that are unique to humans and which distort our views and attitudes towards the rest of the natural world. However, it was difficult to hone in on any human attitude that had widespread contemporary impacts and, furthermore, could be related to by an audience. I thought a good starting point would be to perform experiments that probed the ideology of anthropocentricism and how it might be combatted.

 Anthropocentricism (in short) states that ecology holds a diminished position from the singular, human species (Colombi et. al., 2013); since the late 20th century, many creative practitioners and essayists have attempted to dissolve this binary. Donna Haraway, in her cyborg manifesto, justifies human-animal relationships not as ‘irrational denials of human uniqueness’ but as a ‘clear-sighted recognition’ of human’s place in nature (Haraway, 1984). A number of contemporary Australian artists, including Patricia Piccinini and Lucy McRae, take a step even further from Haraway. Their practices suggest that the human is not a chimera of the organic and technological, but humans are now recognised as a manipulable technology in themselves ("PATRICIA PICCININI", 1999). This ‘blurring’ is a hallmark of the avant-garde, post human movement which was a major inspiration for my practice both conceptually and materially. The particular line of experiments that lead to the final work contrasted form with material, or contrasted different materials with each other.

 My early experiments also dabbled in a number of ways to challenge whether art could only be made by humans, as well as whether it could only speak about humans. They began with simple material practices, such as arranging found objects. Eventually I played with the theme of ‘cuteness’. Humans deem things ‘cute’ under very specific and unique conditions, and we subsequently force ecology into a hierarchy of varying levels of respect.

 I initially began by morphing a knife into a legged, furry creature, an idea inspired by Wonbin Yang’s ‘Species’ series (2012) (wonbin yang, 2012). However, I felt as though the knife- as a household object- lay outside the focus of my research; I wanted to keep things within the realm of ecology. I then began to experiment with gluing plant analogues for natural textures (scales, shells). This had a much more desirable effect, and so I stuck with this material practice for the major work.

‘Do you prefer GAC, TAG or ATA?’ is designed to dissolve the level of respect and attention humans give to ecology at its different layers and scales. As all life is based on a common, repeating molecular structure, it should not be viewed as a linear hierarchy, but rather as equally-developed end products of a radial system. The title of the work stems from the four genetic ‘bases’: ‘A’ ‘T’ ‘C’ and ‘G’, which form the genetic code of all ecology (Nelson, D. et. al.)

 Although this was not intended, in making the works I found that they closely resembled masks and paintings of ancient cultures, such as the ceremonial masks used by the pre-colonial Kuba Kingdom in Central Africa (Ives Bortolot, 2003) and Aboriginal depictions of the ‘Wandjina’ or Rain Spirits in the Kimberley region of Australia (Flood, 1997). However, I thought this strengthened the message of the works, as it was these very people who understood over 4000 years ago that all ecology must be respected, despite whether the human psyche finds one element more attractive than the next.

 I have also carried across several motifs from my poster project (dog, plant, bacteria, DNA) which continue to express the range of ecological scale. The overall effect of the ‘mixed and matched’ materials is for audiences to question their uniquely-human attachment to certain realms of life based on how they look and what they are made of.

Bibliography:

Colombi, M. & Fussilo, M. (2013). Artaud, Barney, and the Total Work of Art from Avant-Garde to the Posthuman. Purdue University Press, 15(7), pp1-5.

 Haraway, D. (1984). A Cyborg Manifesto. Radical Society, pp1-3.

 PATRICIA PICCININI. (1999). Patriciapiccinini.net. Retrieved 15 September 2017, from http://www.patriciapiccinini.net/writing/1/429/94

 wonbin yang, 양. (2012). Wonbin Yang. Wonbinyang.com. Retrieved 15 September 2017, from http://wonbinyang.com

 Nelson, David L. and Michael M Cox (2008). Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry, ed. 5, W.H. Freeman and Company. p. 272.

 Ives Bortolot, A. (2003). Kingdoms of the Savanna: The Kuba Kingdom. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 13 September 2017, from http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/kuba/hd_kuba.htm

 Flood, Josephine (1997). Rock Art of the Dreamtime.

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Some final short notes about how to display the major work. There should be some nice anchor points in the studio to display it, but I’m concerned that the collective weight of the masks might depress the string. If this happens, perhaps it’s better to hang them individually?

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artwork of inspiration: Wonbin Yang’s ‘Species’ series (2012)

Wonbin Yang, Species series (2012), installation view, New Romance: art and the posthuman, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney, 2016, mixed media.

About this time last year I visited the ‘New Romance: art and the posthuman’ exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art. This is the work that I remember the most.

Wonbin Yang’s ‘Species’ series is a collection of twelve short videos, each depicting a piece of trash that has been implanted with moving, robotic components. With the simple addition of basic movement, pieces of junk that would have been otherwise overlooked are now subjects of curiosity and engagement. Wonbin Yang reinforces this with the use of Latin binary nomenclature (e.g: ‘Umbra Infractus’) and scientific-style documentation: ‘Umbra infractus tends to live alone for entire life and each individuals (sic) has unique psychological tendency’.

This work appeals to me because of its simplicity. It has clear connotations about wastage and recycling, but Species also suggests a disjointed relationship between human and ecology. As the lines between natural and man man become more blurred and technology explores smaller scales, maybe what was once referred to as artificial might be incorporated into our definition of ‘ecology’.

Wonbin’s work has inspired me to use dynamic, moving elements as part of my own installations to heighten audience engagement. However, I am unsure about the feasibility of incorporating such elements into this particular Body of Work.

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experiments in fur:

After receiving my garbage bag of dog fur yesterday afternoon I decided to combine it with my craft-making material practice. I wanted to contrast the instincts of pain and affection as manipulators of human behaviour and influencers of our relationship to the non human. While pain and affection are not unique to humans, there are still very specific ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors that shape human attitude towards other forms of life or intelligence. 

I also thought that the use of fur continued to reinforce the ‘touch-driven’ learning process that is a common thread between Assessment 1 and this Body of Work. 

Fur is also proving to be a tricky material to work with, as it gets everywhere!

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Fur has arrived!

I want to continue my material ‘crafts’ practice (which I established in my poster project) to reinforce the role of tactility in the human culture as a disseminator of information. In other words: learning by making and manipulating. 

I’ve also chosen fur as a principal material for my major work. This is to explore the avenue of cuteness within the wider theme of ‘humanity as defined by evolutionary consequence’. Humans define their relationship to the inhuman based on a level of ‘cuteness’. Cute commands respect and tenderness. I’m hoping to play around with the mental construction of ‘the cute’ as an example of how human-inhuman relationship is built around evolutionary discrimination.

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experimenting with ‘the lowest common denominator’

In my answer to the question: ‘How can art propose new possibilities for imagining the human and the environment?’ I have attempted to portray the human as an iteration in itself of basic sequences (atoms, molecules, cells, tissues.) The ‘non human’ -including the environment- is yet another iteration of these basic blocks. 

I started by drawing onto a spool of string historical constructs of the ‘human’: the man and woman binary, the Vitruvian man, and the modern representation of DNA. I then unravelled the string across a two-pole frame. The alternating sections of dark and light are meant to be a reminder of how the ‘human image’ once thought to be dominant, centric and privileged (spiritually and evolutionarily) can be represented at a common level. 

I am thinking of continuing this experiment by rearranging the string into other forms. It would also be interesting to see this work scaled up in a gallery to something human-sized. Maybe with an interactive element?

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Patricia Piccinini. Sphinx (2012). Silicone, fibreglass, human and animal hair, bronze: 112 x 110 x 55 cm. Roslyn Oxely9 Gallery, Sydney.

 Another artist of inspiration: Patricia Piccinini.

 Piccinini’s practice is rooted in dissolving the human/nonhuman boundary, specifically when it comes to ‘artificial versus organic’ technology. She does not agree with Donna Haraway’s Cyborg Manifesto, which states that everyone is a composite of ‘human’ organics and the ‘human-made’ including technology and political construction. Instead, Piccinini’s argument is that the human and technology have become nearly one and the same.

The Australian artist collaborates with scientists in fields ranging from zoology to molecular biology, granting her sculptures a spectacular level of quasi-realism and sophistication. Her practice is very similar to that of Oppenheim’s Object; an organic, ‘human-like’ material is transposed onto an inhuman form. And, much like Oppenheim’s Object, Piccinini’s sculptures have been described as ‘creepy’ and ‘disgusting’. What they truly are is an interplay between relatable, ‘human’ features and inhuman shapes, creating a psychological effect that distresses the ‘friend or foe’ response in an audience. The sculpture forces someone to decide if it is a human or not.

Piccinini’s practice is very relevant to my own, as it is a revelation of how our own evolutionary ‘human’ instincts can be played with. I want to try and experiment with novel material procedures along these lines.  

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Experiments: works/collations guided by the nonhuman. 

Tonight I went for a night walk with my dog Bailey down to Tamarama, across to Bondi and then up Bondi road back home. I decided to collect an item at every point Bailey stopped to pick up a scent or investigate something. This was another attempt for me to ‘curate’ an experience or a journey through a particular lens. At the end of the walk I composed the items, effectively creating a profile for my dog’s experience as opposed to mine. 

I undertook this experiment in an attempt to diverge from the anthropocentrism of much of today’s contemporary art. It is an attempt to answer the question: ‘can we/should we create art for the nonhuman? or can this relationship only exist in one direction: can art only be of the nonhuman? is art, the creative process, and making, purely constrained to humans?’

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A (well known) work of inspiration: 

Meret Oppenheim. Object (1936). Chinese Gazelle fur, cup, saucer and spoon. 20.2 x 7.3cm. Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Oppenheim’s Object serves as a material inspiration for my experimentally-driven practice. The transformation undergone by these objects has made them repulsive if one still treats them with their usual function (drinking.) Our evolutionary upbringing has associated the combination of hair and drinking with emotions of disgust. Instead, we are forced to view the cup and saucer with affection (rather than utility) if we are to interact positively with these items. Although, in the 1930′s, fur was seen as an object of luxury rather than naturalism, there is still a common message. By transposing natural materials onto the everyday, we can reveal surprising instincts and reactions, brought about by ‘human’ evolutionary attitudes. In this case, there is a demand for the separation of body (hair) and sustenance (drinking cup, spoon)

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Week 8: Reflections from research week

I have emerged from week 7 (research week) with many thoughts on the fast-approaching Major Project assessment. That being said, with so many ideas floating around in my head, I need to sit down and make something if I am to move forward anywhere with practice-lead research. The basis of this experimentation is rooted in a few concepts I had whilst researching, and here they are:

-My research question for this project asks whether there are new possibilities (resolutions? networks?) for imagining human/nonhuman interaction. I want to focus on humanity’s interaction with the nonhuman as the consequence of a very specific evolutionary chain. I established this concept in my poster project; that work was intended to emphasise the highly tactile relationship humans have towards the environment and how we use this tactility as an information-gaining tool. Indeed, the theme of ‘learning by manipulating’ is characteristic of the creative practice itself!

-One niche I wanted to explore is ‘cuteness’. What we (the human) consider ‘cute’ is one of the most powerful yet overlooked relationships our species has to the rest of the natural world (and some artificial forms as well.) Cuteness determines the amount of attention, respect and care we give to inhuman forms. A 2002 study in the Society and Animals scientific journal comments on how human perception of cuteness acts as a unique selective pressure on other species, akin to sexual selection. The closer an animal is to humans on the evolutionary tree, the more cute we tend to find it (as a general rule). Through my practice-lead research, I want to experiment with ways in which anthropocentrism can be diminished and erased. I want audiences to be able to experience respect, pride and privilege of their position within their own species, but also realising this species is by no means the sole, ‘leading edge’ of the history of life on earth.

-This brings me to potential solutions for anthropocentric behaviour. For the first of my experiments, I want to try and find different ways of ‘breaking down’ the human and the inhuman to a lowest common denominator. 

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This is a Voice: Thoughts

Yesterday afternoon I attended the ‘This is a Voice’ exhibition, held at the Powerhouse Museum. The exhibition traces the voice from its material qualities, to its role in politics and social identity. Here are a few works that I thought were interesting (guided by focus questions):

1. Erik Banger's ‘I Hereby Command You to Give Voice to These Letters Silently or Out Loud’ (2011) is a work that I believe is extremely relevant to the topic of ‘Body Politics’. The work challenges the notion that we are in control of our own bodies; it suggests instead that the voice acts as a separate entity that allows the inhuman to take control of the body. It draws not only on the power of voice but of the power of words and how these can be used to ‘hijack’ the voice as a vector of political expression. The politic here is one of free speech (or lack thereof): there is no escaping the command of the artwork as you are forced to give voice to the words whether you are silent or speaking. 

2. Danica Dakic’s ‘Emily’ (2012) was a bit of a sensorial revelation for me; the work is a short video of a young girl learning to ‘sing’ in sign language. The video remains at an extreme closeup for its entire duration, so an audience can focus on the girl’s attempts to not only learn the song, but to form an unorthodox connection between voice and sight. This was a unique work in the exhibition as it did not focus on voice. It focused on the absence of voice, and how particular structures around the voice (songs, speech, chatter) are defined. In this case, a ‘song’ is defined not as a construct of the voice, but by its cultural purpose which endures when voice cannot be accessed. 

3. Anna Barham’s ‘Liquid Consonant’ (2012) utilises new technologies of the time to try and communicate a voice. This was a work I found particularly creepy, most likely due to the ‘uncanny valley’ effect which so often accompanies technological emulation of the human body. The grayscale colour scheme, combined with the pitch black background and rotating camera angle, gave the work a highly experimental overtone. However, the attention to detail on the model’s larynx and its articulation made it feel almost scientific in nature. The warped facial movements did not detract from its creepiness though!

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The finished work!

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The ‘Homeo-toy box’ in its final stages of construction; hammering in a childlike theme by putting a colourful border down. Also decided to add in some text boxes to simply use up space, however the work as a whole still looks a bit empty. Maybe this is a positive, though?