Reading Response 9

Catching up from last week: Christie Milliken, "The Pixel Visions of Sadie Benning"

1. How is Sadie Benning's work related to general trends and characteristics in Riot Grrl subculture? How is Riot Grrl subculture similar to and different from punk subculture?

Sadie Benning fully encompassed the Riot Grrrl movement by using a lot of music from that movement in her videos. Also, her videos affirm her as a strong, liberated female, which is something the Riot Grrrl movement encouraged young women to be. Riot Grrrl is basically the female version of punk. Punk culture takes place a lot on the street which is typically prohibitive for females to participate in. Riot Grrrl takes traditionally female activities such as dressing up and the the consuming of pop culture and puts a punk spin to it.

2. Why does Milliken refer to Benning's work as visual essays? What are the advantages of viewing the work in relation to this genre? What is meant by "radical feminist essayistic" form?

They are visual essays in that they feel like they are notes torn from a diary, or are notes passed around during class. They are highly personal and autobiographical and are not confiined by the limits of genre. The radical femenist essaist means that her tapes are highly opinionated calls to action.


Keller and Ward, "Matthew Barney and the Paradox of the Neo-Avant-Garde Blockbuster"

3. What has changed in the gallery art world that allows Barney to describe his work as “sculpture”? In other words, how has the definition of sculpture changed since the 1960s, and why?

Artists have broadened the definition of sculpture over the decades. Someone could call a swath cut deep into a dessert ("Rift" 1969) a sculpture. Barney describes performance, film, and sculpture as if they existed within a "family" of objects.

4. Tricky but important question: Why was minimalist sculpture seen as a reaction against the “modernist hymns to the purity and specificity of aesthetic experience”? In other words: Why do they say that minimalist sculpture is post-modernist?

Minimalist sculpture tries to remove the obvious contributions of the artist to the experience of the work. It is postmodern in that its goals as a piece of art are in direct opposition to those of modernist art.

5. Describe the role of the body in the works of Vito Acconci and Chris Burden. You may wish to consult the following links to supplement the descriptions in the readings:

http://www.ubu.com/film/acconci.html

http://www.ubu.com/film/burden.html

The body of the performers is considered the sculpture, with it performing various acts physical endurance as the performance.

5. In the opinion of the authors, what are the key differences between performance art of the 1960s/1970s and Barney’s Cremaster cycle? What do they mean by the term "blockbuster" in relation to the gallery art world?

Barney's Cremaster cycle cares more about physical tests and accomplishment rather than flowery, visual performances of the body of the 60s and 70s. The "blockbuster" aspect of his productions lie within the fact that they have large budgets, and are exhibited in a fashion which almost ensures their financial success.o

Walley, "Modes of Film Practice in the Avant-Garde"

6. What is meant by “mode of film practice”? Give two well known examples of non-experimental modes of film practice. Why does Walley argue that the concept of the mode of film practice can help distinguish between the experimental film and gallery art worlds?

A mode of film practice is sort of one step above genre in that it categorizes groups of films and filmmakers according to their specific dogma of filmmaking. Examples are Hollywood films, French New Wave, Soviet Montage, etc. Characteristics of Soviet Montage would include agitprop aesthetics, pro-communist agendas, and synechdoche, in which the absense of individual characters is replaced by nameless, stereotyped characters used to represent a certain idea or social class.


7. What are some of the key differences between the experimental and gallery art worlds in terms of production and distribution?

Gallery art films are highly exclusive and rare in quantity, so that they retain a modicum of high value. AG films are the reverse; often they are shown for free in makeshift theaters.