When I think of contemporary art I generally think of conceptualized work that mixes medias and evokes a reaction. There are also some common reoccurring, more modern, themes that come to mind such as pop culture, gender and ethnicity issues, and appropriation. Another aspect that separates contemporary art from past genres is how people go about creating these themes like doing performances, making installations, altering size, making things interactive, and using new media or found objects. The piece I created is a mixed media collage appropriating other artists’ images, where the images address the above issues, in a representation of what contemporary art means to me. I tried to address current events with images of children holding guns, Middle Eastern women, which also addresses issues of gender and ethnicity, and a woman shopping in a slow economy. In addition, I tried to find images that were using technology and found objects and that showed a performance or installation. All of this was arranged and topped off with my own mark making.
Lee Bul
Cyborg W1- W4
1998
View of work in production
Lee Bul is a sculptor and performance artist who also works with installations and new media. Most of her work deals with issues of gender, heritage, and technology. Some of her series explore how people interact with technology and the use of time based media while her performances tend to deal with how she views herself and her body confronting being a Korean woman. One of her well known series “Cyborgs” deals with idealized women in western society and how they are unrealistic and incomplete. I have been influenced by her style, specifically her Sci Fi themes and views on gender issues. I also love her choice of materials and use of casting. In my own work I have used similar materials and concepts. I have made cyborg type creatures and played with the idea of the masculine/feminine juxtaposition and use of craft media.
Andrea Zittel
A-Z Comfort Unit II
1994
No permanent location
Andrea Zittel is a sculpture artist that explores space. She puts a strong emphasis on form and function as well as necessity. Many of her series such as “A-Z Comfort Units” and “A-Z Living Units” deal with the idea of portable environments. Her self contained functional spaces are visually interesting while serving a purpose and not being over extravagant and wasteful. She also puts a strong emphasis on tactile surfaces incorporating textiles into her environments as well as making her own cloths. I relate to her “Comfort Units” having something come out of necessity and being portable but still comfortable and like home. I also respect her approach to surfaces using textiles. Her tactile approach is probably where my work relates to her work the most.
Bruce Conner
St. Valentine’s Day Massacre/ Homage to Errol Flyn
1960
Collection SFMOMA
Bruce Conner is a sculptor from the West Coast Pop Funk Art era in the 1960’s. His work goes into the category of assemblage, using anything and everything he could find lying around. In fact Conner was apposed to traditional art materials. Like most of his work, the “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” is a collage/found object piece. He has a way of arranging even flatter pieces into interesting compositions with even more bazaar and interesting subjects, such as wigs and crosses glued to collaged board or a mummified looking child in a high chair. I love his use of materials and the odd feel of his work. My work is similar to his in the fact that I use anything and everything in my sculptures and tend to use collage in different aspects of my work.
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