Art 21 video Response

Cai Guo-Qiang: "POWER"

• "You have to learn that the materials are uncontrollable but then learn to control them."
• Flow with your materials --> have to see where to material wants to be taken
• Drawing is like love making... 
• "Making drawing"-- laying down paper, laying down the sheets of a bed
• In Chinese... One would say "Reading a painting or picture" as opposed to seeing/viewing. 
• Metaphor for actually experiencing and being with art illustrated through language.
• "Page by page, section by section we read art."

John Baldessari: "SYSTEMS"

• "Art making is about making a choice."
• Practice- systematic with the use of the color wheel.
• "Art is communication."
• Words & Images is the way we communicate in life-- there is no reason for them to be separate from art

Vija Celmins: "TIME"

• By redoing an image so many times-- the image starts to have a memory even if you can't see it (the artist re-sanding, re-painting the work)
• Building a painting versus painting a painting
• Includes more of the thought process and prep-work into the piece
• Creative le-way in photorealistic work...
• Letting something creative subconscious seep into your work-- something that your brain couldn't figure out by spending so much time with it
• When illustrating work that has no symbolic meaning (represented & interpreted by the artist)-- chooses surfaces that already have intrinsic meaning

Katharina Grosse: "FICTION"

• Art: Observing the world vs. actually being in it/present
• Artwork: Not idea based, more thought based.
• Thought- more fluid- feeling that gets feedback
• When she starts a piece she undergoes an agreement/judgement
• Instant feedback with the materials when working- changes the relationship to the agreement.. a non-fixed/written down thought process
• The power of iconic images- tree, soil, landscape --> bringing surrounding environment into her work