James Lunas Avant-Garde Art - Assignment Example

James Luna’s Avant – Garde Art In the rise of the contemporary art scene, it cannot be denied that the most common form of artworks present in galleries have been installations and performances. Combination of mediums happen and the artworks consists of relatively different themes; ranging from the cultural, ideological, identity and so on. As an artist, James Luna had his proper training at the University of California at Irvine where he has received his formal training from different artists back then. 1 Having his Indian roots, James Luna has used his creative capacity to forward and change the perception towards Indian culture in a very general up to the very specific sense. 2 This paper, at the onset, will not be focusing more on the biography of James Luna as an artist since that would appear to be following the paradigm of hagiography, which was put into action by the Giorgio Vasari. 3 There will be more focus on scrutinizing his forms of conceptual, performance and installation arts; following a semiotic, iconographic and aesthetic analysis that can evoke the complexity of the artwork in more detailed sense and perspective. Furthermore, there will be an investigation of the influences of culture and issues of identity which also exposes the complexity of ideology that his arts carry. In totality, there shall be a synthesis of all the art historical methods of inquiry and analysis of artworks to clearly improve the knowledge that these artworks possess under the very condition culture and sensibilities. James Luna as a Performance Artist As performances have become a common spectacle in the art world, James Luna followed suit. His image on the left (Fig. 1) is a performance he did in the 90’s. It is important to see the way he portrays a certain stance. This kind of appearance can be seen to be an imitation of the famous Rodin’s sculpture “The Thinker.” 4 When assessed in a more detailed perspective, it can be seen that there is a very different condition that can be seen from the artworks. The former is more focused on seeing the act in its full scope, which is in contrast with the latter being a sculpture. In terms of a materialized condition for the act, Luna makes the viewer feel what a person feels when thinking. His performance in “The Thinker” provides a condition for the spectator to feel the artwork. However, when analyzed further, the essence cannot be retain; possibly, the aesthetic condition, due to its tendency to changed whenever it is presented. Thus, there is an intrinsic indeterminacy present in James Luna’s performance art. Another performance artwork made by him is the “Half Indian / Half Mexican” which can be considered to be focusing on the issue of identity. The presentation of different facial angles could possibly provide an analysis on how James Luna presented the issue of identity; possibly extending to racism. The image on the left, where long hair is set loose, can be attributed possibly to the common conditions about Mexicans about having an obsession to wear long hair, especially for men. The image on the right can be attributed to the appearance of Indian men possessing relatively short hair. However, when the two finally merge in the photo at the centre, it can be seen that there is an ambivalent condition about the identity being delved into by the artwork of James Luna. To a certain extent, there is a questioning of identity and racism. The dominance of racist policies and actions can be considered to have influenced the nature of Luna’s artwork: an exposition of injustice, prejudice and racial profiling. This has been constantly worked out by James Luna especially with his latter artworks like the “Mixed Color Marriage” and “The Sacred Colors”. However, it can still be seen that Luna’s artworks also include an assertion about diversity and acceptance as a solution to problematic condition about racism, especially with the “Mixed Color Marriage.” For “The Sacred Color”, one must be keen about the performance since it also focuses on the same matter. However, it is important to understand as well that the performances have been translated into photographs to allow a further study of it. One thing to know is that performances changes and cannot be the same as the original. Given the issue of identity evoked by the artworks of James Luna, there is a need to scrutinize and look the installation arts he has presented. Creative Installation: Complexity of Visual Presentation As contemporary art flourish in key cities of art around the globe, an artist must be able to respond and comply with its standards to ensure that he or she must prosper as an artist. Installation art has been a major art form wherein multiple mediums are used. 5 There is also the involvement of technology, which has been integrated to certain artefacts to create an art form that cannot be confined to certain conventions of making art. 6 Several artworks of James Luna also consist of installations, which explores on relatively different themes. One thing that cannot be denied about installation art is its capacity to change an ordinary object into a work of art by altering its conditions and presentation. 7 When it comes to installations, one thing that people must be considered upon viewing it is the ambivalence that it possesses. The art form is open to relatively multiple interpretations and analysis which depends to a certain cultural sensibility. 8 At the same time, the artworks also pertain to a certain cultural conventions of the artist who created the said work of art. 9 Having such condition, it cannot be denied that James Luna is extending his identity and culture when it comes to his artistic creations and creative faculties seem to be at work. This appears to be like a dream catcher, however, it is a sombrero redesigned to appear like one. In this case, there original condition is already lost and a new proposition emerges; giving the artwork a complex condition that must be engaged by critics and curators. At the same time, the very use of the sombrero could possibly extend to a Spanish cultural standard which could have been derived, assumingly, from Mexico. The next artwork of James Luna, as shown on the left, exemplifies another complex condition about the artwork where one must be able to experience the process involve it. This requires a condition where the installation must not just be viewed as an artistic spectacle but an interaction between the observant. The artwork invites a discussion that must be rich and engaging as the installation art must be confined with the very premises of inquiry of art history. The photos that signal a process of cognition must be acted upon by sitting through the chairs and observing the film presentation to set a standard for the discussion. Further analysis requires a need to engage the condition that the cultural conventions can also be at stake in this artwork that is why it is needed to be discussed since art is now threatened by the technologically advance world that paves to a loss of aesthetic judgement which leads to neglect of humanistic sensibilities because people tends to forget the standards of beauty. 10 The next installation of Luna, which was set up in 1990, as shown on the left, opens up another level of discourse where culture and identity seems to be at play in the artworks. It cannot be denied that most of the cultural conventions and even identity seems to be dissolved. Given the contemporary conditions of the art world, it cannot be denied that identity seems to be one of the most common issues when it comes to artworks due to several complications and predicaments that come along the way. The artists, not just James Luna, starts to make artworks that pertains to identity as this starts to fade in most cases due to the hegemonic conditions and forces present in the interaction of culture across the globe. Appropriations become a common tool to compensate the loss of identity that happens in most of cultural interactions. 11 This seems to be a common process to ensure that the interaction of culture will not result to dominance but there will be a complementary scenario. Hybridity becomes a phenomenon of the artworks here. There is a need to understand that the artist culture must complement the conventions of a particular culture he has chosen to subscribe in to. Hybrid artworks are actually products of two standards of artistic creation. 12In this case, there seems to be an inclusion of the Spanish, American and possibly, Indian cultural convention that are all mixed up. Identity even appears to be mixed up and jumbled. An analysis of the artworks would definitely require a deconstruction of almost all the elements and identify their respective cultural origins and check how their interaction resulted into a new form of art that cannot be identified with a particular culture. Another theme of the installation artworks of James Luna is focusing on time. Given the artwork present above, one must be able to understand how Luna played on the idea of time and functionality since the interaction of these two evokes a complexity of ideas and knowledge. The artwork appears to be joining the idea of an outdoor living with an interior lifestyle having been displayed in the environment. At the same time, what seems to be futuristic in this case is the integration of highly technological materials with a tent. This only provides a condition of comfort. The comfort being sought seems to be an aspiration to a more humane living where one enjoys the comfort of life with experiencing prejudice and other harsh treatments from the society. In this case, it can be noticed that most of his artworks revolve on the idea of identity and culture. CONCLUSION James Luna’s artwork can be considered to have been working on the dialectics of culture and identity. At the same time, the most integral factor with his artworks is on how he opens up the discourse to a more complex level, especially on the works of art where he projected several ideas and concepts into one. With such phenomenon, one must clearly understand the questioning posed by the artworks and make a thorough reflection about the conditions of the artwork. At the same time, the culture and identity of the artist must be observed carefully. In terms of looking the virtuosity of the artist, one cannot deny that James Luna is capable to playing the sensory perception of a viewer. At the same time, the very interactive condition that the installation and the performance art possess makes the person or the spectator part of the artistic process. The installations are complex and the performance goes well with it. Even the way James used medium cannot be question. His foundations in terms of artistic production cannot be questioned but should be commended. Hence, his artworks, in the eyes of art history are aesthetically appealing with compliance to certain cultural sensibilities whether it can be considered to be Indian, American and the like. At the same time, the semiotic inquiry that the artwork requires can be considered to be evoking multiple meaning, which again, pertains to certain cultural meanings and conventions. Socially and culturally, the artworks can be considered to be rebellious and defiant as the artist provides questioning of the current social order. In the end, even if there are several things that can be determined from the artwork, one still cannot deny that there are still indeterminate qualities of art that shows that best essence about it. WORKS CITED Preziosi, Donald. Art of Art History. Oxford University Press; London. 2009. Kant, Immanuel. “Critique of Aesthetic Judgment.” Art of Art History. Oxford University Press; London. 2009. Harris, Jonathan. Art History: The Key Concepts. Routledge; New York. 2006. Pooke Grant and Diana Newall. Art History The Basics. Routledge; New York. 2008. Geertz, Clifford. “Art as a Cultural System.” MLN. Vol. 91. 6. John Hopkins University Press. 1976. p. 1473 – 1499. Art of James Luna. James Luna. Accessed April 10, 2011. Auguste Rodin. Art Directory. Accessed April 10, 2011. Papatergiadis, Nikos. “Hybridity and Ambivalence: Places and Flows in Contemporary Art and Culture.” Theory, Culture and Society. 2005. IMAGES: Art of James Luna. James Luna. Accessed April 10, 2011. Read More