Transience As Beauty
What are the differences between these 2 objects?
You can find one in a museum and the other in a hardware store.
The first, which is entitled, "In Advance of a Broken Arm" was made by Marcel Duchamp. He patented his 'readymades' as a way of showing that art was not about its aesthetic quality, but the definition of art rested primarily on the artist's intention. This introduced an important question that has not yet been answered:
What does it mean to make something technically vs. what does it mean to make something impactful?
Duchamp proves that he has technically made art, but I'm not sure anyone would call his work stirring.
You can follow a tutorial, reproduce the steps, and technically have created a simulation. But what makes your simulation something more than a faithful copy?
There is an aesthetic paradigm that believes if we are making something to its highest technical proficiency it would embody three truths - that nothing lasts, nothing is finished and nothing is perfect. This is the Japanese concept of Wabi Sabi:
"Wabi, as an aesthetic, takes objects ravaged by time or imperfect in their creation, and finds within them a conspicuous beauty that surpasses the material. More than that, wabi takes objects which, under other aesthetics, would be discarded for their worn or irreparably damaged appearance and elevates them to a position of high art.It re-values decay and forces the connoisseur of art to re-evaluate their perspective on beauty itself...In the modern sense, wabi is often paired with sabi, which is a quantitative principle of feeling that refers to the specific quality of the emotions of the artist or the perceiver that arise in response to imagers."
Action 1: Group Discussion
Look at these images and choose one of the stills to focus on. Imagine this building in pristine condition and fast forward to where it is now.
Thinking back to week 1, what 2 words summarize or encapsulate your chosen image? How would you extend that description through a simulation? What would you focus on?
To introduce the second assignment is a story that combines the themes you explored in week 2 - intent and materiality - with the idea of wabi sabi.
2 words that could be used to describe Pienza's church are utopian and fallibility. With that in mind, how would you proceed in creating a destruction sequence of the church breaking away?
Action #2: Choose two words that you would like to express in your work and find a way to elevate the materials so they seem more beautiful for having been broken. Use a combination of materials (concrete, wood, glass) for a destruction simulation. You could:
- Create a destruction sequence of the apse breaking away from the church, falling down the side of a cliff.
- Show the final stand of a building that has been weathered over time.
Reminders: This is the week to take risks and push yourself. If you are doing something you know will work, you are probably not pushing hard enough. "This might not work" is the feeling you want to into the project.
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