Damien Hirst's Shark

Posted by: Jeff Bruneau

Every time I think about this class, I always happen to reflect upon Damien Hirst's "Shark" that we viewed in class in the beginning of the semester. I do not view it as art at this point because I still can not help but classify things as art in the traditional sense but Hirst definitely provokes the thought great art has been known to do and it has definitely left an impression upon me. The shark, preserved through formaldehyde, is supposed to promote the fear of death, dismemberment, and danger. The shark does not necessarily strike me with a certain degree of fear but it intrigues me so much. I have always been one of those people who finds these great, powerful animals interesting and I was never one to take a pass on an episode from Shark Week; however, I think it really has to do with the improbability that one could be this close to a shark, ready to attack, and still live to tell the tell. The fact that you can even see inside the body without having to worry about getting eaten is pretty incredible. It does not feel right that this fish is out of the water and yet I can not help but stare at the picture and take it all in. The body is preserved so well that its awesome power just speaks for itself. For all the artwork we have seen, this is definitely my favorite one.

2/16: Stuckism

Posted By: Casey LaChapelle

In class on February 16th one of the concepts that was discussed was "stuckism." I didn't really understand it until I started looking at a bunch of different stuckist paintings. Stuckism was started by Charles Thomson and Billy Childish within the past ten years. Their whole motive was to have an answer to modernism in art. According to the stuckism website, the shark cut in half and put on display would not be considered art. They don't believe that anything dead should be considered art.

After reading a little bit about stuckism I find them to be a strange bunch, almost like a cult or weird political figure in the art world. I will admit that I do not know much about this type of art and would like to learn more but reading between the lines they seem like a very hostile bunch over what type of art is better or worse. With that being said I think that some of their stuff is interesting. I like the picture of the skull that has a caption of "life is great," it gives a lot of meaning to the saying "enjoy life one day at a time."

I would be interested to find more out about this type of art as it is still really confusing to me and their theory's are unorthodox.

2/9 Class: Jeff Koons:

Posted By: Casey LaChapelle

In class on February 9th, we had looked at some of Jeff Koons' work. For the first time I was able to relate to some of the work being showed on the screen. As I have stated previously, my knowledge of art is minimal at best and I can never understand what the artist is portraying.

When we looked at the basketball equilibrium, I was immediately interested in the piece as I saw it as something I would love to have in my office or in a sports bar. Maybe this has to do with my love of sports but when I look at this piece I find that it would be an instant conversation piece, which is the point of art.

Every six months the basketballs go out of equilibrium and have to be reset which gives this piece even more meaning. I feel that everything goes out of balance and needs to be reset in order to gain true success. I would love to see Koons do a series of this work such as a baseball and football equilibrium.

Sue Coe: Artist Activist

Post by: Casey LaChapelle

During class we talked about Sue Coe, and her paintings which focus on animal rights. As I was searching through her pieces, the one titled "modern man followed by ghosts of his meat" really stood out to me. One thing that really intrigued me about Coe's work is the fact that they look very similar to political cartoons, I suppose that is the type of look she is looking for seeing that she is an activist artist.

I am a person who eats meat as a part of every meal and to see the perspective of the artist in this piece actually strikes home to me. Its a really interesting view that she portrays the animals so differently then just livestock raised for eating.

Reaction to "Against Interpretation"

Posted By: Casey LaChapelle


To be completely honest, while I was reading this article I had no idea what to think. I was getting lost in the authors translations of other people, historical time periods, etc. I was beginning to wonder how I was even going to respond to the article, until I read the first paragraph in part five of the article.

"In most modern instances, interpretation amounts to the philistine refusal to leave the work of art alone. Real art has the capacity to make us nervous. By reducing the work of art to its content and then interpreting that, one tames the work of art. Interpretation makes art manageable, comformable. "

After reading this section, it clicked for me, because this is what I do. I am so taken back by art that in order to make sense of it all, I have to put my own meaning into every work that I see. Every single piece of art that is put up in class, whether it is a urinal, a shark split in two, or random canvasses with paint thrown all over them. In my mind I am always trying to to interpret what the artist was thinking.

This article made me realize that there doesn't always need to be a true description on art. Why can't the artist just make something that doesn't need to be thought out and put into a distinct category? Why do I need to make sense of everything all the time? Through reading this article I realized that in order to get the full experience of a piece, just let it come alive and enjoy it for what it is.

Interpretation Reading

Entry By: John Pedlow

This reading was something completely different than most things I've read about that concern art. This is because this reading talked about how we as a society try to over analyze art and interpret its meaning. This reading said how sometimes this is not what we should be doing and in fact some art is meant to just be taken at face value and not looked into and interpreted. Some of the genres of art that get away from interpretation are Abstract painting, pop art and some French poetry. This was incredibly interesting for me to read because I've always heard growing up you have to look at art and try to find its true meaning. Well according to this reading that is not always true. Also this reading talked about movies and how they have not been interpreted yet because of how relatively new cinema is and also how good movies free us from our need to interpret. So overall this reading was a breath of fresh air because it made me feel good about not being able to interpret art because sometimes that is just what the artist wanted.