Article Response and Influences

ARTICLE RESPONSE

Luis Camnitzer's article had little effect on me. I felt as if I were reading the preaching of an erroneous end of days enthusiast making claims with little or exaggerated support. I found the majority of the article to be incessant rants regarding tensions between art disciplines, criticism of progress or lack thereof amongst artists (overwhelmingly printmakers), and an obsession with the concept of craft. It was not until the final two paragraphs that any claims were made explaining why he felt the need to rant about these topics: the art world as we know it is coming to an end.

"Painting, sculpture and printmaking, if at all, will be taught in courses like Home-making II. Art departments will be abolished and the new Photoshop majors will graduate after four upgrades. In other words, what I am saying is that our history of art will become obsolete and inappropriate" (4).

I highly disagree with this opinion. It may be true that some aspects of the way art is made and taught are changing (which I feel is natural considering very little about the world we live in is stagnant), but to state that “our history of art will become obsolete and inappropriate” is absurd.

INFLUENCES

Moving things around; my roommates; Greer Lankton

Moving things around is something that I can’t get away from. At the beginning of the semester, I move all of my things from my home in Pittsburgh to my apartment at IUP. I have had three different housing arrangements while at IUP, which means I need to figure out where I want to put my belongings each time I move in to a new apartment. I feel this task is always ongoing. If I need to sit and concentrate on something such as writing a paper, I cannot begin until I have made sure to take care of small tasks that are on my mind; the carrying out of a small task usually ends with me rearranging my room or at the very least making sure everything on my desk is in an acceptable spot. This may just be procrastinating, but at the same time I feel as if putting my things were I feel they should be that day influences the task that I am procrastinating doing.

My roommates are people that I can’t help but be influenced by. If you live with someone, you are bound to be affected by them in some ways. For example, I now make my oatmeal in a mug rather than a bowl, which is something I never would have done had I not lived with the people I live with. Of my two roommates, one is an art major and the other is not. I feel that this is a particularly beneficial situation for me. If I am working on something, I always get two very different opinions on my work and both influence what I am doing.

I recently visited the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh, and while there had an unusual reaction to Greer Lankton’s It’s All About ME, Not You (http://www.mattress.org/index.cfm?event=ShowArtist&eid=45&id=462&c=Permanent). The artist recreated her bedroom, which is viewed through the window of a vinyl sided house. While viewing the interior through the window, I felt as if I were looking at a self portrait of someone. However, while I was standing there, an employee at the museum gave me the opportunity to enter the room (which is usually locked). Being inside the work caused it to take on a completely different meaning for me. No longer was I looking at a self portrait of Greer Lankton; while inside the room, I felt as if I were her. It was disturbing and exciting at the same time. This overwhelming emotion that I felt is something that I would like to try to make tangible in my work.