EPHEMERAL ART - not eternal : an art production which is not made to last for a long time but which is temporary and made with materials and techniques that will be destroyed in a brief time. - type of artwork = sculptures, paintings, installations, videos, photos, dances - we can see this type of art production outside in the street, in nature, in a museum... - there are sculptors, painters, singers, dancers,photographers, performance artists, installation artists... - we're going to study 3 types of ephemeral art : + performance art + street dance + land art - common points : these artists want to show art can be everywhere and for everyone. It can be simple, just for fun or to praise nature or denounce the position of the individual in our modern society. It's free.
1-PERFORMANCE First artwork studied :A happening : ART «CUT PIECE» by YOKO ONO (1965), There are «happenings» : installations or live performances created by an artist which involve colours, light, sound, projection and the spectator's participation. a Japonese multimedia artist ( a singer, a performance artist, a peace activist ) and John Lennon's wife ( Lennon was one of the Beatles, an English band). «Cut Piece» was a performance production in 1965 in Carnegie Hall, in new York City. Yoko Ono was on stage and the spectators could come and, with scissors, cut one piece of her clothes. There are two interpretations : - it's a form of giving and taking : the artist doesn't give a piece of art but the audience takes a piece of art. - it's linked with Buddhism (Eastern philosophy and religion) : it means a total and free giving of life.
PERFORMANCE STREET ART Second artwork studied : There are installations or live performances which take place in the «SIRENS OF THE LAMBS» by streets. They involve colours, light, BANKSY (1974), an anonymous sound and the audience's English street artist who is famous participation or reaction. Their for his artwork made with spray objectives is to entertain but also to paint and stencils and because of his inform and make people think about political and social involvement. our modern society and our way of living. It's art in motion ( a live performance and a video) on October 11th,2013 in New York City, in the Meatpacking district : a delivery truck, full of stuffed animals ( lambs, pigs...) peering and squealing, is driving through a crowded district to a slaughterhouse. It makes the passers-by react. It denounces the cruelty of the meat industry ( bad conditions of transport and killing) and our over-consumption of meat which leads to pollution and diseases.
BODY PAINTING Body painting is visual art : it's also called Body Art. Unlike tattoes, it's temporary. The artwork is made by painting the human skin ( body and face). It comes from prehistoric art, from primitive tribal culture,like in Africa, India, Australia... The body is used as a piece of art. It's sometimes used in political protests, as in the PETA (= People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) installation during its animal rights campaign.
ALEXA MEADE She's an American installation artist who makes portraits painted on human bodies and inanimate objects inside (in shops, museums, galleries...) and outside ( in the streets, in the underground ) Then, she makes photos of these body paintings. They are photos of paintings on a person whereas the real person is hidden under the painting. ( 1986) It's an artistic concept called «trompe l'oeil» in a real three dimensional space. The purpose is to show art can be everywhere and our body can be an artwork.
LIU BOLIN He's a Chinese installation artist who works in China and in the world. He uses an artistic concept called «camouflage» art. In China he used his art in order to denounce repression against Chinese artists by showing art can be everywhere so it can't be stopped. ( 1973) In 2011, in New York City, he created body paintings and installations in «Hiding in the City» : he painted himself in different places. He wanted to show that the individual is lost and helpless in a modern environment.
2- STREET DANCE Street dance is a dance style coming from the USA but connected with African dancing ( see Gumboots dancing in South Africa). It's performed in the streets or on stage. It's part of the urban culture. It's based on improvisation but it demands a good dance level and an excellent physical condition. It's often linked with hip hop, breakdance, funk or rap music. It was a social movement which started in New York City ( in the Bronx) in the 1970s and developed in the 80s. Poor young African-Americans called themselves«breakers» because they «broke» traditional artistic codes by dancing in the streets and mixing dance, music and sport.
GUMBOOTS DANCING It's performed in South Africa by dancers wearing gumboots with bells : they stamp on their feet, the bells ring and they clap their hands. A century ago and during the Apartheid,these sounds were codes to communicate in gold mines in which talking was forbidden. Today, gumboot dancers can be seen in the streets of tourist areas. There are gumboot dancing clubs and it's learnt at school.
HIP HOP Hip hop is a form of street dance. To be hip is to be fashionable and to hop means to jump. This street dance was created in the 1970s in New York City by young African Americans who lived in black ghettos in the Bronx.It was developed in the 80s. The streets of their neighbourhood was their stage on which they danced, jumped, and made dance battles between rival groups.
THE TWINS Larry and Laurent BOURGEOIS ( 1988) are French Hip Hop dancers and choregraphers, from Guadeloupe island. They created the «Urban movement» company and they have already worked with Beyonce and Jay-Z. They practise New Style which is a new form of Hip Hop, influenced by modern dance and sport.they dance everywhere and they make videos of their performances.their goal is to show we can live through routine and modern cities ina fun and beautiful way.
«PICASSO BABY» by JAY Z It's a performance show created by Jay Z ( 1969), an American rapper, at the Pace Gallery in New York City in 2013. Jay Z sang his song «Picasso baby» and the spectators were invited to dance or perform. Some were famous, such as Marina Abramovic, a modern dancer and performer. The objective is to show everyone can be an artist.it's easy and free.
THE YAMAKASI The Yamakasi are urban acrobats and dancers. They performed in «Parkour» or «free running». It's an artistic movement ( part of the French «Art du déplacement» ) created in France, in the suburbs of Paris at the end of the 1990s. Yamkasi is an African word which means «strong man». The Yamakasi practise extreme jump and dance. Their objective is to show the city belongs to them.
3-LAND ART It's an artistic movement which emerged in the 1960s but was developed in the 70s, mostly in the USA. Land artists are mainly sculptors and photographers who use the materials from the Earth : soil, rocks, stones, sand, vegetation, wood, branches It's linked with ecological movement which praises respect for nature. The artwork is outside ( in the countryside, in the mountains, the woods...) submitted to time and natural erosion ( because of natural elements such as the sun, the wind, the rain ). It's temporary and its aspect gradually changes ( change of colour, shape, height ). It can be performed everywhere in nature by everyone. It can be simple or complex.
«SPIRAL JETTY» (1970) by ROBERT SMITHSON Robert SMITHSON ( 1938/1973) was an American land artist : a sculptor and a photographer. He was fascinated by the beauty in the relationship between man and natural landscape. He was also interested in the process of change. «Spiral Jetty» is a huge natural sculpture : a 460 m long spiral on the Great Salt Lake, in Utah ( USA) built with rocks, earth and salt. It's gradually changing because it's often submerged by rising lake waters and then it reemerged with different colours or shape.
ANDY GOLDSWORTHY (1956) He's a Scottish land artist : a sculptor and a photographer who produces artwork in natural settings and takes photos of them. He uses coloured flowers, leaves, mud, rocks, stone, wood... He likes changing his natural environment by creating ephemeral geometric artwork. He often uses the circle which looks like a nest and stands for life. In France, we can see his artwork in Les sentiers de l'art, near Dignes-les- Bains or in Château La Coste, next to Le Puy Ste Réparade.