Dance Critique: Ecorchés Vifs

This was a modern dance performed in a very intimate setting. The dance was performed in a series of short dances throughout a sculpture museum. The audience was invited to move around the museum to follow the various dances. This dance was choreographed by Claude Brumachon and performed at Musée Bourdelle.

The majority of the dances took place as a duo interacting and feeding off of each other, however there were few solo dances and few group dances. The dances exerted a primal feeling through their very rough and exaggerated motions. There was a tension in their movement- whenever they had settled in one position they would jerk their bodies into motion. The costuming added to this primal nature. The men and woman wore small amounts of white cloth on their bodies.

The emotions exerted by these dancers was effective in drawing in the audience. The uneasiness we were meant to felt made it difficult to look away from the pain of the faces of the dancers. Their expressive motions as well as their startled looks added to the eeriness of the performance. I felt the performance was an exaggeration of a tumultuous relationship between the two people. The dancers seemed to need to touch of each other, but at the same time were uncomfortable and unable to accept the intimacy. It as was if they were acted out the frustrations they were unable to speak. The stories that were created with each pair of dancers were also enticing. I enjoyed analyzing the dynamic between each different duo.

This dance omitted music, which I believe added to quality of it. Without the music, the audience could hear the heaving breathing and movement of the dancers, which added to the emotional intensity. We could feel the energy being exerted by the dancers. I also enjoyed being able to move throughout the gallery to see the dances. At each new location, I saw the dancers from a unique angle and perspective. The setting also allowed for the audience to get closer to the dancers, which was important to feel the emotion of the dance. Given the energy being exerted, I was impressed with the technical quality and endurance of the dancers. The costumes accentuated their physical strength.

Much like Rite of Spring, this dance had a primitive, animalistic quality. In Rite of Spring, Igor Stravinsky is drawing from the traditional folk dances of Russia. The tension in Stravinsky’s dance is between the people and nature. Ecorchés Vifs deals with more interpersonal tension, but it’s carnal qualities cannot be denied. 

Dance Critique: Tigers in the Tea House

This dance was the latter of two performances at Théâtre de l'Aquarium. This theatre was located in the middle of a forest on the outskirts of Paris. The performance was part of a festival, “June Events”, which takes place over ten days. The dance was choreographed by Carolyn Carlson, an American choreographer who has worked in Paris for twenty-five years.

Tigers in the Tea House was a modern dance, performed by three men. The dance occurred in series of skits. In some of the skits the dancers moved together, while other skits featured solos by the dancers. The men changed their outfits frequently, and wore flowing skirts and tunics. The flowing fabrics worked well to accentuate the movements of each dancer. Keeping with the overall Asian theme of the dance, the colors worn by the dancers were red, white and black. The stage and props also kept with this theme; the decorations were very minimal.

The purpose of this performance was to present three different characters, who embodied the three main asian identities: Japanese, Chinese and Korean. The Japanese character appeared the most brash and confident of the trio. On the other hand, the Chinese dancer played the more secluded and calm character and the Korean dancer was silly and playful. These identities were made evident by how the characters interacted with the props differently, and also by the solo dances each of them performed.

 

The technical quality of the dance was very high- their abilities were made most obvious by how well they stayed in sync with one another. The physically strength of each dancer was especially impressive. The music also added to the tension the dancers created. Songs would slow down when there was little movement on stage and the speed up during the more intricate sections. Music was used well to set the mood for the dances. Although the choreography provided visual cues about the different identities being portrayed, it was difficult to interpret the implications of these identities during the performance. This was not aided by the fact that one of the dancers was not asian. While the dance was overall enjoyable, the intent and direction of it was not always clear.

Given the theme of this performance was asian culture, the dance reminded me of the references that had been made to asian influences in art throughout the week. I noticed this especially while visiting Claude Monet’s house in Giverny. Monet had many asian prints hanging in his house, and his garden was full of plants reminiscent of Asia. The asian prints had a large influence on the modernist painters, and the asian culture continues to influence art in Paris.

June 17th: Au Revoir!

It has been a thrilling couple of weeks! I am sad to be leaving Paris, but also very grateful I had the opportunity to take this class and experience this trip. My demanding schedule as an undergraduate never afforded me the chance to study abroad, so I feel this class is a great way to make up for that disappointment. I have found the arts and culture in Paris inspiring, but not in the way I had expected. Before this trip I was familiar with studying film history and photography, so I was most looking forward to the lectures and activities surrounding those topics. However, it has been a pleasant surprise how much I enjoyed the dance performances and modern paintings. This class has opened my eyes to a different side of the art world I find equally enjoyable.

Another unexpected learning experience has been discovering how art has transformed over the years. It is easy to take for granted the wonderfully open-minded art scene we enjoy today- I was unaware that this was not always the situation. The modernist artists working in late nineteenth and early twentieth century had to fight to make their voices heard, given the people in power did not approve of the work they created. It is incredible the impact their art has had, and continues to have today, given the turmoil they experienced.

If I had any question in mind about the importance of the work I saw in Paris, that was quickly erased when I made a visit to the Columbus Art Museum. The museum was featuring a photography exhibition entitled “The Radical Camera”, which featured photographs from the New York Photo League. The New York Photo League formed in order to document the Great Depression for a ignorant government, and continued to document through the McCarthy era. In discussing their influences, members of the Photo League sited Eugene Atget’s style of photography as one they tried to emulate. It was neat to make this connection and to be able to see the influences the modern art produced in Paris could have; a perfect cap to my Parisian getaway!

June 16th: Automatic Photography

Challenge: Take a picture in every room of Versailles

June 15th: Early French Cinema

The exhibition of early cinema at Le Cinematheque Francaise pays homage to many of the great directors of early cinema by featuring their movies and the materials used to create these movies. On such director is George Méliès, who directed 531 films in his career. Méliès was experienced in theatre before he started directing films, and the influence of his theatre background can be seen in his films. He uses many stage tricks of theatre to create the first special effects in film. Many of his films are playful and fantastical in nature, one example being his most famous film, Trip to the Moon (1902). 

The films of George Méliès have influenced many modern directors, as evidenced by Martin Scorsese’s 2011 film Hugo. This film tells the story of a young boy living in a train station in France who uncovers the magical films of George Méliès. In discussing this film, Scorsese has much praise for the work of Méliès. "He invented everything, basically, he invented it all," Scorsese said. "And when you see these colored images moving, the way he composed these frames and what he did with the action, it's like looking at illuminated manuscripts moving." The success of Hugo in the twenty-first century shows the enduring impact of the magical films of George Méliès.

Along with Méliès, The Lumière Brothers were the other filmmakers notable for their work in early cinema. Credited with building the first camera, the Lumière Brothers filmed many “actualities”, which were short films that documented real life. One actuality filmed a train arriving at a station, and this film was shown in theaters to astonished audiences. Legend says that the audience were quite frightened when they watched this film, because they believed the train was headed toward them. The presentation of films has remained relatively constant since the Lumière Brothers began showing their actualities, until a few years ago when the presentation of three-dimensional movie experiences became popularized. These three-dimensional movies are drawing on that early experience of filmgoers. Much like early cinema captivated audiences with it’s presentation of reality, modern cinema is captivating audiences with how it can make movies feel even more visceral.

June 14th: Jacques Remus

For better or for worse, new technology is constantly providing more opportunities for people to pick up a new trade. The rise of blogs provides an easy outlet for people to spread their writing. Through Twitter or Facebook, anybody can act as a news reporter. The accessibility of the iPhone has created a generation of amateur photographers. There is a similar crisis in the music industry, as the creation and distribution of music functions largely through computers. The record labels, who once were necessary to a budding artist’s career, can be bypassed in favor of spreading one’s music through social media.

Is it perhaps because of these uncertain times in the music industry that one of the most innovate artists of this generation, Björk, chose to embrace technological advances on her latest album, rather than fight it. Björk’s album, Biophilia, is presented with an App for the iPad or iPhone. This App aims to provide a unique listening experience, as the user is able to manipulate the music as they listen. Each song on Biophilia becomes a sonic exchange between artist and listener. Much like Bjork, French artist Jacques Remus is attempted to reinvent how we experience sound. The musical devices he creates allow the user’s body movement to function as an instrument. In this way, the user’s role is changing from passive observer to essential creator of the audio experience. Rather than fight the DIY nature of our current art world, artists like Jacques and Björk are remaining as innovate as ever in how they interact with the public.

In addition to the new experience, the pursuit of alternative instruments is an essential part of the music of both Björk and Jacques. When recording Biophilia, Björk wanted to match the expansive nature of her music by using instruments that were expansive themselves. One such instrument is the Gravity Pendulum Harp. This instrument, designed by musical robot maker and MIT Media Lab alum Andy Cavatorta, largely relies on the natural motion of four 11-stringed pendulums. Software controls the rotation of each pendulum head to determine the note that’s struck when it passes the equilibrium position. Much like Björk, the process of how Jacques creates music is equally as important as the music itself. His dedication to the mechanical way he creates music is quite impressive. By using alternative instruments to create his music, Jacques is expanding the possibilities of what music can be. 

June 13th: Monet's Water Lilies

Having the opportunity to see the paintings Monet created from observing the water lilies in Giverny before making the trip out there was a special experience. At the Musee de l’Orangerie, I spent much time observing the paintings by Monet so I could obtain a mental picture of the space he captured. My aim was also to gain insight about the feeling of the water lilies at Giverny. It was impressive the tranquility and peacefulness Monet was able to capture through his paintings, given his impressionist style lends itself to the more chaotic and cluttered. The brushstrokes are very heavy in these paintings, but the overall painting is one that is at peace and free of tension.

Apart from the occasional disruptive tourist group, the gardens of Giverny matched the serenity of Monet’s paintings. The water lily paintings contain great diversity in color and the gardens of Giverny contain great botanical diversity, but neither is overpowering. There is a natural balance in each experience. Comparing the representation Monet created and it’s original source also captures the beauty of the impressionist style. Through Monet’s use of the heavy brushstroke, he creates art that expands upon the world visible to the human eye. This freedom Monet has allowed himself to represent the space how he envisions it, rather than how it looks, provides the viewer with an opportunity to see into the mind of the artist. It is fascinating the many doors modernism opens for not only the artist, but also the observer.

When reflecting upon my visit to Musee de l’Orangerie, I was impressed by the many perspectives in each of Monet’s paintings. I assumed these perspectives were products of viewing the water lilies at different times of day, given the tonal value changes throughout each painting. If I were able to return to Giverny, I would like to see the water lilies in a sunset or at night so I could compare that experience with the paintings. Until then, I will still have the memory of Monet’s paintings to fill that gap.

June 12th: Giverny

June 11th: Modernism in Architecture

The City University International aimed to unite students and create peace after World War I by inviting students from different countries to study together. It is fitting that a school with such a diverse student population also features diversity in architecture. The building on the City University’s campus, many of which were designed by architect Corbusier, serve as documents of the movements in architecture in the early twentieth century.

An important element of modern architecture is the altered perspective of the building. In traditional architecture, it was possible to understand the structure of a building from viewing the outside. In modern architecture, an observer must walk through the building to understand it’s structure. One main reason for these changes is the building of columns below the ground to support buildings. This allowed architects more possibilities in building above ground. Modern architecture began to take on features such as large glass windows and columns, which expanded the spaces.

During the early twentieth century, cubist painters were attempting to represent multiple perspectives on a single canvas. They used geometric shapes and lines to create two-dimensional paintings that felt three-dimensional. Much like cubist painters, modern architects like Corbusier were expanding the perspectives on buildings. The increased use of glass allowed people to see through the buildings and connected the spaces effectively. Lines became important as devices to draw the eye toward aspects of the architecture.

Perhaps the most obvious influence of cubism in architecture is in the brutalist movement of architecture. Brutalist buildings emphasized their three-dimensional qualities with slabs of concrete jutting out from buildings and strong lines. Much like a cubist painting, it becomes difficult to land one’s eye on a particular feature of a brutalist building; viewing it is an overwhelming sensory experience.

June 10th: First Impressions

What an eventful few days it has been! Having coming this class with only a small amount of background knowledge on modern art, and being that this is my first trip across the Atlantic Ocean, I was unsure what to expect. From walking around the streets of Paris and interacting with Parisians in the best way my broken French will allow me, I feel I am getting a better sense of the culture that defines this city. 

In reflecting upon my time in Paris, I cannot help but compare my experiences with the depiction of Paris in one of my favorite movies, Paris Je T’aime. This movie is a collection of short stories by various directors giving their view of Paris, and often uncovering the rarely told stories occurring on the streets. One such short story documents a middle-aged American lady, Carol, who travels to Paris, a place she has dreamed about traveling her whole life. While sitting in a picturesque park, observing the happy couples around her, and eating a baguette, Carol describes feeling joy and sadness at the same time. A feeling she says has been missing all her life, or perhaps a feeling she has forgotten over the years. Carol summarizes this feeling as being “alive.”

I enjoyed this description, because it does not rest on cliches to describe the feeling of being in Paris. Similar to New York, Paris has can be rough around the edges and intimidating, but it is a place that ultimately endears itself to you though the exhilarating liveliness felt throughout the city.

Of course, the art I have had the pleasure to observe has been an amazing experience. The standout for me is not one piece of art, but rather the connection between art forms I have been able to make. Normally, art is taught compartmentalized by medium and these connections are lost. It is incredible to see how the works of painters, dancers, composers, writers, photographers and filmmakers can be viewed together as expressing a similar viewpoint and discontent with the traditional dialogue in art.

June 9th: Haussmann's Paris

The invention of the camera and Eugene Atget’s exploration of the “old Paris” could not have been more timely, as the layout and structure of Paris would soon be altered in favor of a city that reflected the modern era. Napoleon commissioned Georges-Eugene Haussmann to rebuild Paris in order to make the city more modern as well as to facilitate better hygiene. The most noticeable in the new layout of Paris was the emergence of the wide boulevards. Before the reconstruction, Paris was compromised of mainly small, narrow streets. Napoleon favored the wide boulevards for security reasons; he felt he could better protect against civil war in Paris if the army was able to easily march through the streets.

During the reconstruction, Haussmann also brought water and plumbing into Paris. This significantly improved the cleanliness of the city and the hygiene of the Parisians. Making the city more attractive was important to Napoleon, as he wanted to keep up with the modern architecture appearing throughout the world, especially in New York City.

As the streets of Paris widened, Haussmann made sure to add features that aided the Parisians in navigating around their new cities. One such feature was the presence of a monument at the end of each wide boulevard. These monuments improved the beauty of the city as well as providing directional cues to orient oneself. Another new feature for the directionally savvy was the emergence of passageways. These passageways acted as shortcuts for the Parisians and also connected the building and residents of Paris in a new way.

Perhaps the most important new building built in the nineteenth century was the Opera House. This was not only because Napoleon’s private apartments were located here, but also because of the architectural features of the building. The Opera House reflected the moment at which is what built and the intersect of traditional and modern that was happening at the time. The building is made of a mix of the traditional marble and the modern iron. It also reflected the pride of Paris. The bust of many famous composers can be seen on the Opera House, as well as the incorporation of boats into the architecture, which were the symbol of Paris. The Opera House was a building the Parisians could be proud of and unite over. 

June 8th: Eugene Atget

Eugene Atget is famous for his many pictures documenting Paris as it was modernizing at the turn of the 20th century. Perhaps his work is best described by what it did not feature as opposed to what it did; his photographs of Paris omitted any pictures of the Eiffel Tower and the Opera House. Atget’s pictures idealized the old Paris and the magical moments that occurred in the streets of Paris. Atget’s photographs have been associated with the surrealist movement by some, but Atget saw his work as documents of Paris rather than pieces of art.

Atget’s photograph Fontaine de l'Observatoire captures the playfulness that can be seen in many of his pictures. This photograph focuses on a sculpture horse and a turtle that are part of the same fountain. The framing of the two subjects in this picture draws attention to the fact that these two sculptures are facing each other and gives the impression that they are interacting. The interaction of people in the streets of is the subject of many of Atget’s photographs, and Fontaine de l'Observatoire broadens this subject to the architecture of the city. Through his documents of Paris, Atget creates a world where the people, sculptures, buildings and history of the city are seen as connected.

This connection between the people of Paris can be observed in the photograph Pendant l'Eclipse. This pictures represents a group of people collectively staring toward the sky, and as the name indicates, watching the eclipse. The photograph also showcases a technique that is common is Atget’s work. He often uses a slower shutter speed, which blurs the motion in a photograph. In Pendant l'Eclipse, the slow shutter speed blurs the faces and bodies of many of the figures. This gives the photograph a ghostly and surrealist quality. This photograph also features the development process of Atget. He chose to develop many of his prints in natural light, which gives them a violet-brown. This tint is what might now be interpreted as sepia, and is associated with ideas of the old-fashioned and historic.

June 7th: Le Guitariste

At the Pompidou, we observed an exhibition of cubist paintings by Braque and Picasso. One such painting is Le Guitariste by Picasso. The cubist movement aimed to explore the possibilities of what paintings could offer beyond two-dimensional representation. Many considered these paintings to abstract, but the artists felt their works were connected with reality. Their realities, however, were connected with an alternative dimension- cubist paintings were meant to connect with the “feeling” around a three-dimensional object.

Le Guitariste by Picasso, as the name indicates, is Picasso’s depiction of the three-dimensional space around a guitar. This painting holds value because of the artistic influence Picasso imparted on the work. Upon first impression, it is difficult to uncover to subject of this painting, but the title and knowledge of the cubist ideal inform us that this is how Picasso sees a guitar. This creates an interesting dynamic for the observer, as we are allowed a glimpse into a alternative reality as Picasso views it.

Le Guitariste also holds value in the scientific history it connect with. Around the time of this paintings creation scientists were beginning to uncover a sub-atomic level to the world around us. The discovery of the atom opened up the minds of the artists of the time. Cubists were fascinated by the idea that there was a microscopic world they could capture. This painting by Picasso attempts to depict a sub-atomic world through the use of geometrical shapes and strong lines. 

The techniques of this painting also connect with a larger movement that span across modernism: the pursuit of alternate forms of representation. Le Guitariste fails as a traditional picture of a guitar, but it succeeds in how the artist has offered the observer with a new and exciting way to view an ordinary object. The painting is important because of the ideas it connects with and the vision it proposed for the future possibilities of representation in artwork.

June 6th: Courbet and Manet

The collection at the Musee d’Orsay, a former train station converted into a museum, spans from Neoclassicism and Romanticism to Modern Art. This museum also features paintings by Courbet and Manet, which disrupted the painting conventions of the classical era. Perhaps the most striking difference between the classical paintings and the modern paintings of Courbet and Manet can be seen in the painting techniques. Classical paintings sought to distract the observer from the idea they were looking at a painting by disguising the brushstroke. The paintings by Courbet and Manet stand out in comparison; evidence of the brushstroke can be seen in their works.

Another convention ignored by both artists was the traditional subject matter artists were expected to address. Painters were allowed to capture a subject that existed above reality; references to religion and mythology were essential parts of accepted artworks. Through their unconventional methods, Courbet and Manet proposed that art could be about reality. This can be seen in the work Funeral by Courbet. This painting is on a rather large canvas, and it features a group of ordinary people attending a funeral. The subject in this painting is not the history or mythology to which it refers, but rather the moment in time that it captures. In this style, elements such as composition and technique become central to the reading of the work.

Manet tackles this “crisis of the subject” in his work Luncheon on the Green. At the time of its creation, this painting was considered to rather controversial because it contains an undressed woman in the presence of two clothed men. With reference to antiquity, featuring a naked woman was allowed, but this painting provides no context for this unnatural situation. This lack of strong subject matter allowed Manet to focus on painting techniques and compositions. This change in approach from artists like Courbet and Manet changed the dialogue of painting as the art world transformed from the classical to the modern era.

June 5th: Modernism

Modern art, across any medium, shares the common theme of rejection of previous standards. During the Renaissance, the goal of art was pursuit of a supposed “perfect”. Rules governed what was acceptable art and not acceptable art based on this idea of an aesthetic superior to all others. Modern art distinguishes itself immediately by changing it’s goal; modern art focuses on pursuing alternative forms of representation, without concern to previous guidelines.

This alternative form can be seen in the writing of Gertrude Stein. Stein is famous for her use of repetition, as in her quote “A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose” from the poem Sacred Emily. With her use of simple language and repetition, Stein is pursuing how she can use words to create sentences that flow. As a consequence, her writing becomes about rhythm and pattern. In this way, she is exploring the possibilities of writing outside of linear storytelling.

Modern art can also been seen as different from classical art in how it interacts with the viewer. Modern artists use their respective mediums to raise questions and invite the viewer to answer. Through this process, art becomes a continuous dialogue across all art forms. One example of a piece of art that raised questions is Fountain by Marcel Duchamp. By placing a urinal in a gallery exhibition, Duchamp invited the viewer to consider what defines art. Do the materials used determine what is art and what is not? Does the urinal’s presence in a gallery automatically qualify it as art? Modern art often raises more questions than it answers.

Another way modern artists began to ask questions of the viewer was by changing the perspective. Many artists used non-traditional perspectives or incorporated multiple ways of viewing in one piece in order to represent the world in a new way. This style can be seen in the cubist paintings of Picasso and Braque. These painters used geometric forms to represent their view of a space from multiple perspectives on the same canvas. Although they appear very abstract, their paintings maintain a connection with the real world. Modernism is a diverse movement, but it is unified by a similar train of thought. Modern art is about the possibilities of what can be, rather than what should be.