stay true and be bored blue....

Todays lesson was based around the idea of "truth to materials", meaning that an objects material should be able to be read easilly. I wondered what on earth this implyed because after all, something like a spoon is obviously a spoon, made of metal, and you can see this quite clearly. Most items can be read. A table cloth is made of fabric, a chair, made of wood...But delving further into this idea I began to see how some materials are not true to what they are made of. Some are made of quirky or unexpected materials in an attempt to fool us.

An example of this that we saw was of the delicately "carved" fireplace. This victorian wonder however, was not of wood at all, it was moulded from cast iron. A deceiving design of which imposed no boundaries on itself. Being cast iron, many items like this could be immensely over decorated, because you can cast virtually anything from iron, exploiting the material for what it is normally used for.As I thought about the idea of exploitation of materials and playing with the use of different substances, an artist that we talked about in our lecture sprung to mind, Lisa Walker.

Lisa's works are composed out of many found items and bits and bobs which are compiled into brooches and jewellrey, which she feels would appeal to someone, changing the items original use, or the
"truth to its material" into something quite different. She quotes something along the lines of "There is a person out there for this piece. I don't know them, but there will be."

When we normally think of a necklace, or any other jewellrey piece, we usually imagine gold, silver, or diamonds. Precious materials with connotations of money and wealth. Her pieces are comprised of items with little money value, having quite different connotations alltogether - of which each individual person looking at her jewellrey may feel, on a quite personal level. Something memorable. This had changed the actual use of each item. What was once junk, has found a heart and home.


Because Walker's work is not true to it's materials, it brings a very interesting element of wonder into it.Each individual piece intrigues the mind to wonder about materials used in the making of each brooch, necklace, or ring. Textured and bright colour draw the viewer in to examine on a much closer note.
Sometimes it may take you a while to figure out what some of her pieces are made out of. This induced feeling of curiosity is something I like about what her jewellery does to people. There is also a sense of unpredictability involved which makes works such as Lisa Walker's interesting. none two are alike. They are purely original and do not suffer the medeocre comodity of comercial jewellery.

-I came across this unusual book made by Stas Bekman of which I feel is also a large representation of being un-true to it's materials. The book has been adjusted and changed in order to work as a lunchbox or case. Like Walker's art pieces, (for example, the broch made of old floor sweepings) it has been made decievingly. you may not see at first that it is a box.

A man of solitude

A commodity is something such as an object or skill that is sold or exchanged in a shop rather than making It for personal use. When most of these objects or skills are done in the modern world today, they are Usually ruled over by a capitalist idea. A capital is basically when people only accumulate a small part of A skill such as making the legs on a chair. They only need to finish their small part in order to Continue with the making of the object in its entirety. Jobs are split down in a capitalist society, Reducing people to their sole labour. For example, a man at a factory may only know how to install the Springs on a chair, while another man may only know the carpentry aspect of carving the legs. Neither Man can switch positions in the workplace as they only know the one skill.

In relation to this, the Documentary we viewed on Andy Warhol carried a strong impression of commodity and capitalism.Warhol made his works for sale in both retail to start and in his later years for sale as art pieces in a Gallery scene. They were designed and "made" by him for others to look at and buy. They were not for Himself, although the pieces were highly personal to himself, such as the multiple prints of the famous Campbell’s soup can.

Although the prints were for others to marvel over, purchase and think about, many did not seem to get The idea of his works at all. They were only soup cans. Why buy an expensive print when the actual can of Soup would only cost you 52 cents? Some would have probably wondered about the value of the can. If a Print of a can would set you back $100, was it better than the can itself? Many consumers have this way of thinking. That something similar, but of a higher cost equals a better quality product. Perhaps in This case it could almost be proven true, because the consumers could not see the personal meaning behind The cans. One of the reasons the print was more expensive or "valuable" may have been because of the Labour and personal hidden values it obtained. People could not see that the cans held something personal To warhol. Soup is warm, comforting and wholesome. It provided nourishment in which he grew up on. Also, A can made of ink and canvas was far less disposable than its metal duplicate which was usually tossed away.

As Warhol advanced in the making of art, he soon began to remove himself from the personal aspect of his Works, focusing then on iconic people such as Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley. He even went as far as Getting others to print his works for him, producing highly capitalist pieces. He would tell them exactly What he wanted - How big, the colours, and placement, and each person would have their own task. Normally, a print would have taken one person, who acclaimed all the tasks for himself. His pervious works did also show an idea of capatalism aswell however. The mere idea of a brillo pad box showcased the idea of work and labour. A workplace apon which many people are labouring in their seperate spaces, packing, taping, filling, and working with heavy machinery, using skills taught to them in the workplace, yet a man who is taping would not be qualified to switch places and drive a forklift.

Withdrawing himself from the aspect of involment in the making, it portrayed his own very much Withdrawn persona. Growing up he hated the idea of school, suffering anxiety disorders which would have Contributed to his shy, antisocial personality, affecting profoundly on his art as we know it today. A capatalist comodity.

gold speedos and liquorice sticks. It's all conviviality!

In todays lesson we were presented with three items of interest. Manaaakitanga, Conviviality, and Relational art, all of which supposedly relate to one another in some kind of way. At first it was hard to come to grips with what was being said, but after a while I began to have a better understanding of the three, and how they linked in with each other.

Manaakitanga is the act of acknowledging the mana of others with greater or equal value to your own. This could be through generosity, respect, affection, or welcome. For example,If I, were to host an evening of sort with food and drink for all of my friends, and my friends friends to enjoy, this would be considered a good token of my appreciation towards them. In other words, I would have a good understanding of Manaakitanga - love, generosity and hospitality. Especially by taking special attention to my guests whom I have not met before, and making them feel welcome. I could better my social status amongst my friends and family by providing them with good food, good company, and gain a better communal respect. The quality of your own humble-ness contributes solely to your manaakitanga. If you are one that is known to have good manaakitanga, if you are lucky, by word of mouth you may gain more mana.

Celebrations such as this must always be made to abundance. There must always be food to spare for guests to take home and give to their families. This is why perhaps that back when traditional Haraki's were most popular, the food would be placed over vast wooden structures for displayal and decoration. It made the occasion of a feast seem grand and over generous. The large linear forms are still seen in today's modern Haraki's, as food is still placed on angular shelfes to give a sense of over abundance. Many cups and plates are set out to add to the anticipation of the feast. This is also a decorative way of setting out the Haraki.

Conviviality is the expirience of being sociable within the company of those who are eating and interacting together. By having manaakitanga, you are creating a convivial environment for your guests to grow and flourish, and your mana will prosper in the company of your home. This is how these two relate to eachother in the terms of humble catering and hospitality.

Relational art is much the same in the way that it creates conviviality. It pushes people together to view and talk about art. it is interactive and often involves people doing something, or even simply taking an item away for themselfs to keep. An example of this was Felix Gonzales Torres' work, as it involved a seemingly endless rectangle of liquorice sweets, which people could come in and enjoy, talk about and view the art. The Sweets were constently being renewed ( much like manaakitanga involves food needing to be in abundance) and it made the viewers feel comfortable about chatting in the gallery with eachother. This sense of convivial conduct brought warmth and happyness. Humour also plays a part in the idea of conviviality, such as the video we viewed where it was the artwork (a man clad in a gold speedo, dancing his thing out) that was interacting with the people in the exibit.