Discovering the Humanities THIRD EDITION CHAPTER 15 Decades of Change: The Plural Self in a Global Culture Discovering the Humanities, Third Edition Henry M Sayre Copyright © 2016, 2013, 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc or its affiliates All Rights Reserved Learning Objectives Outline the principles of existentialism and how they manifest themselves in art and literature Compare and contrast the varieties of Abstract Expressionism and describe how the Beats and Pop Art challenged its ascendency Learning Objectives Examine the role politics played in the art and literature of the 1960s and 1970s Characterize the ways in which pluralism and diversity are reflected in postmodern art and literature Discovering Art: Introduction t o Mark Rothko Mark Rothko Green on Blue 1956 Oil on canvas 89-3/4" × 63-1/4" Collection of the University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, Gift of E Gallagher, Jr Acc 64.1.1 © 1998 Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York [Fig 15.1] Duane Hanson Supermarket Shopper 1970 Fiberglass Height: 65" Neue Galerie – Sammlung Ludwig, Aachen, Germany Art © Estate of Duane Hanson/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY [Fig 15.2] Europe After the War: The Existential Quest • The Holocaust and the devastation at Hiroshima and Nagasaki dramatically increased the profound pessimism that had gripped intellectual Europeans ever since the turn of the century How could human beings be governed by reason, yet possess the ability to annihilate themselves with weapons and genocide? The Philosophy of Sartre: Atheistic Existentialism • French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) rejected religious existentialism and argued for what he termed existentialism • Rather, humans must define their own existence (who they are) through their existential being (what they do, their acts) The Philosophy of Sartre: Atheistic Existentialism • According to Sartre, "Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself Such is the first principle of existentialism." Sartre's play No Exit makes this principle more accessible than his 1943 philosophical work, Being and Nothingness The Theater of the Absurd • In the 1960s, Theater of the Absurd, a theater in which the meaninglessness of existence is the central thematic concern, was termed The Theater of the Absurd • Irish writer Samuel Beckett's (1906– 1989) Waiting for Godot (1953) demands that its audience, like its central characters, try to make sense of an incomprehensible world in which nothing occurs Video: Art21: Shahzia Sikander: The Last Post Shahzia Sikander Pleasure Pillars 2001 Watercolor, dry pigment, vegetable color, tea, and ink on wasli paper 12" × 10" Courtesy of Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York [Fig 15.28] David P Bradley (Ojibwe) Indian Country Today 1996–97 Acrylic on canvas 70" × 60" Museum purchase through the Mr and Mrs James Krebs Fund Photograph courtesy Peabody Essex Museum, Massachusetts Acq 06/17/1999 [Fig 15.29] A Multiplicity of Media: New Technology • Temporal media like video art are often concerned with the passing of time itself • Bill Viola (1951–) created the installation piece Five Angels for the Millennium with different-length videos that loop endlessly Bill Viola Five Angels for the Millennium 2001 Video/sound installation, five channels of color video projection on walls in a large, dark room (room dimensions variable); stereo sound for each projection Image size 7'5" × 10'6" each Edition of three Photo: Mike Bruce, courtesy Anthony d'Offay, London [Fig 15.30] A Multiplicity of Media: New Technology • Nine-screen installation Ten Thousand Waves by Isaac Julien (1960–) layers three stories of Chinese origin together in a highly institutionalized environment • In 2004, English artist Phil Collins invited people to perform karaoke renditions of songs from the Smiths' 1987 album, The World Won't Listen Isaac Julien Ten Thousand Waves I 2010 Nine-screen installation 35mm film, transferred to High Definition, 9.2 surround sound Duration 49 mins, 41 secs Edition of plus 1AP Installation view, ShanghART Gallery, Shanghai Courtesy the Artist and Victoria Miro, London, Metro Pictures, New York, and Galería Helga de Alvear, Madrid © Isaac Julien Phil Collins, still from part one of The Smiths karaoke trilogy, The World Won't Listen 2004–07 Synchronized three-channel color video projection with sound, 56 minutes FILM STILL Courtesy Shady Lane Productions and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York [Fig 15.32] A Multiplicity of Media: New Technology • Single-track video I'm Not The Girl Who Misses Much by Pipilotti Rist (1962–) is a parody of videos that began to air on MTV in 1983 • Janine Antoni's (1964–) video, Touch, shows the artist walking on a tightrope that meets the horizon The sense of teetering balance reminds the viewer of an impossible place Pipilotti Rist Three stills from I'm Not the Girl Who Misses Much 1986 Single-channel video (color, sound) © Pipilotti Rist Courtesy the artist, Hauser & Wirth, and Luhring Augustine [Fig 15.33a] Pipilotti Rist Three stills from I'm Not the Girl Who Misses Much 1986 Single-channel video (color, sound) © Pipilotti Rist Courtesy the artist, Hauser & Wirth, and Luhring Augustine [Fig 15.33b] Pipilotti Rist Three stills from I'm Not the Girl Who Misses Much 1986 Single-channel video (color, sound) © Pipilotti Rist Courtesy the artist, Hauser & Wirth, and Luhring Augustine [Fig 15.33c] Pipilotti Rist Ever Is Over All 1997 Audio video installation, National Museum of Foreign Art, Sofia, Bulgaria, 1999; sound with Anders Guggisberg; single-channel video Museum of Modern Art, New York Courtesy the artist, Hauser & Wirth, and Luhring Augustine Photograph: Angel Tzvetanov [Fig 15.34] Janine Antoni Touch 2002 Color video, sound (projection) 9:36 loop The Art Institute of Chicago Gift of Donna and Howard Stone, 2007.43 Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York [Fig 15.35] Continuity & Change • The extraordinary visual effects of Eliason's installation The Weather Project were, in the end, created by rather ordinary means • This ordinariness suggested profound and somewhat disturbing truths about our world and our environment What might we, as a world, create with advanced technologies at our disposal? Olafur Eliason The Weather Project, installation view at the Tate Modern 2003 Monofrequency lights, projection foil, haze machine, mirror oil, aluminum, and scaffolding Photo: Jens Ziehe Courtesy the artist; Neugerriemschneider, Berlin, and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York © Olafur Eliasson 2003 [Fig 15.36] ... Nothingness The Theater of the Absurd • In the 1960s, Theater of the Absurd, a theater in which the meaninglessness of existence is the central thematic concern, was termed The Theater of the Absurd... existentialism and argued for what he termed existentialism • Rather, humans must define their own existence (who they are) through their existential being (what they do, their acts) The Philosophy... occurs America After the War: Triumph and Doubt • Abstract Expressionism was a means of conveying the antithesis of communism • The Abstract Expressionists were ready to define themselves through