The Shift from Medium Specificity

Yinxuan Ma 1 The shift from medium specificity as the organizing principle for advanced art production to the notion of “site” and “system” can be seen as a bold attempt—it challenges the expectation for art marketing as well as criticizing consumer centric culture. During the period, artists may still be invested in the visual or formal aspects of art, however, there is a new sense of prioritizing the conceptual ideas that reveal different understandings of artwork and even painting. It is inadequate for viewers to just focus on the presentation of the article, because only the words behind the objects can show the great shift.

Frank Stella, an artist who embraced geometric abstract painting, switching his concentration from fascinating visual shock to simplified painting form by using minimalist strategies, when he created works, such as “Die Fahne Hoch! ”. Frank made minimal decision as to how to extract necessity from his format. Apart from this, Frank minimized the presentation of the color and aesthetic strategy. “This flew in the face of the Modernist idea that painting imposes a fixed set of aesthetic limitations. ” (Frank Stella, Seltz and Stiles, P143) As I mentioned before, “Die Fahne Hoch! (Franks Stella, “Die Fahne Hoch! ” 1959), which translate to English means “Raise the Flag” consists of black background and white lines, it seems like the painting has nothing to do with “flag”. However, the idea of naming the title “Die Fahne Hoch” comes from the Nazi marching song which emphasis the “domination”. Here, in the painting, the color of background—black dominates the whole Yinxuan Ma 2 article and we can also easily find the scheme of sketch and the symmetry pattern he applied in painting.

As the basic and surfaces are so ordinary and unadorned that many critics of that time refused to accept them as art. But Frank argued that, his painting is based on the fact that only what can be seen there is there. It really is an object. Any painting is an object and anyone who gets involved enough in this finally has to face up to the objectness of whatever it is that he is doing. (Frank Stella, Seltz and Stiles, P144) I’m in favor of his argument—because “accurate” and “right” are not only adjectives for the art. The object he created is more straightforward and clear.

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Different from other forms, Frank wanted viewers to explore painterly detail, and his object did so by basic and plain presentation. Standing in front of the painting, viewers will see the symmetrical white lines across the black background, comparing to other paintings, Frank’s work is much more plainly and simply, the “black and white” article ask viewers to put their eyes close to the object--how the two elements “black” and “white” coexist, and represent the execute of the article. Audience needs to switch their focus from “what the painting trying to tell me” to “ what I see on the canvas”.

To Robert Morris, his preference is sculpture but not painting. Instead of using rich materials or scales to frame the article, Robert takes sculpture to maintain his particular insistence on the minimalism—Sculpture. For want of a better term, that grouping of work which does not present obvious information content Yinxuan Ma 3 or singularity of focus. (Stiles and Selz, P701) For example, the Untitled (Robert Morris, Untitled “three L-beams, 1964) doesn’t present obvious information content or singularity of focus.

In the limited space, these L-beams are placed in sitting, lying and balancing postures, like three Platonic Grace. (David Hopskin, P140). The presentation of the L-beams are casual and disordered, when viewers walk into the exhibition, the beams are just “there”—occupy the limited space with different patterns. You can consider the sculpture as bench, arch or platform. “Through the design of the beams Robert attempt to “tone up” Viewers’ eyes, bodies and minds. ”(Hopskin, P143) “What work does? ” Robert raised the question to his audience.

The physical extension of Robert’s sculpture obey the rule of the nature: from which, viewers see the shadows, space and positive forms of the sculpture. What audience needs to do is that forget the limitation of the space, getting rid of the relationship between “work” and “made”, to read, to taste the sculpture with their original forms. “The form used in present-day three-dimensional work can be found in much past art. Grid patterns show up in Magdalenian cave painting. Context, intention, and organization focus the differences.

The similarity of specific forms is irrelevant. ” (Stiles and Selz, P703) If Robert Morris comes up with the idea of “Anti Form”, Eva Hesse rejuvenates the concept by exploring the movement’s hiding aspect and system. Her work-- Yinxuan Ma 4 Accession II (Eva Hesse, Accession II, 1967) shows difference between Frank Stella as well as Robert Morris because of the “ imperfection”. The “Accession” was composed of perforated Minimalist cubes threaded with thousands of pieces of plastic tubing, which provided them with bristling interior “lives”. (Hopskin, P150).

The cube, with crude inside and smooth outside, will make viewers think about human body, the skin may glossy and clean, but the hair, the internal organs, looking rough and chaotic. Eva minimizes the formal form of an object, what she emphasis here is “literal nature of materials”. Meanwhile, Eva’s objects are closely interrelated to “biological” and “human body” because of her experience--from German Nazi to America, from father’s death to mother’s suicide, and eventually, Eva suffered from cancer herself--the pain and the sorrow come from body as well as psychological.

Her effort is bold as she put social and political agenda aside, creating article to express every-day life. Male, female, love and sex. She minimizes the narration and frame, using basic, or raw material like fiberglass, latex to absorb the spectator in its tangles. As a feminist, Eva Hesse says, “To me insurmountable to achieve an ultimate expression, the complete dedication seemingly only man can attain. ” (Stiles and Selz, P704) The object “Studio view” (Eva Hesse, studio view, 1965) can be recognized as representative article to her. There are lots of stuff hung on the wall, circles, tire-shaped stuff and rope-shaped stuff.

Among these objects, there is one that captured my eyes—several ball-shaped stuff inside string bags. Yinxuan Ma 5 From my point of view, the ball-shaped stuff definitely speaks out Eva’s objection of “his domain”. Female can have work, female can say “no” to male. What is more significant, females can display their own achievement! From this, viewers can find the self-confidence of Eva, comparing to male, her studio is also full of works and successful artworks. When audience admires Eva’s objects, the “whole work” or “perfection” should be ignored.

Without fixed formula or logical form, Eva Hesse’s articles come from her “mental decision” and her detailed observation of daily life. Viewers need to put their eyes on the “imperfection” side of sculpture, thinking about the human body at same time—none of us are prefect, the blemish and shatter make our life real. To the artists, the color, the material or the forms are no more important, what viewers should notice and learn is the “words behind the objects”. To Frank, the conceptual art is broader than any other art, his geometric objects are specific and creative that speak out his idea.

To Robert, his sculpture stay “real” and “phenomenological”, to Eva, the cube brings up the humanity and the imperfection of human in real life. As a viewer, what capture your eyes is no more bright color or fantastic frame, as they are minimized. Here, the simple lines, the curve and the plastic tubes can lead you to artists’ world, to hear what they say, to watch their experience, to explore the relationship between art and the idea they came up with. ARTH 2201 Art + Design Dr. Gloria Sutton Yinxuan Ma 11/13/2012

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