Art Criticism and Theory: Question: How Constraints

ART CRITICISM AND THEORY: Question: How constraints practices artists/designers/architects influence make? Make reference TWO response: - Site - Views art critics historians - Historical precedents - Materials technologies - Time - Audience expectations.

Post-modern art and theory

Artists in the post-modern era realized that they dealt with a lot of pressure coming from the public and that it was important for them to employ attitudes that would reflect positively on their works. Even with this, people need to understand that artists have always been constrained and that being limited actually had a constructive effect on most individuals. Chaos is difficult to discuss when regarding things from an artistic point-of-view, as while some people consider it to be an important asset, others believe that it is better for an artist to work with a limited amount of tools because this makes it possible for him or her to actually demonstrate that he or she is different.

Bill Viola's 'painting' Silent Mountain is one of the most intriguing artworks in recent years. The fact that this paper relates to the video as being a painting is largely owed to the feelings that it triggers as the storyline progresses. Its silence dominates the whole motion picture and makes it possible for viewers to consider that they are practically watching a painting come to life and that they actually understand what the actors are going through as their facial expression changes and as they appear to become consumed by their thoughts.

Painters are limited by their impossibility to make use of concepts like time, movement, and sound in their works and Viola apparently wanted to create art that would change people's understanding of paintings. The artist's work virtually pervaded the world of painters and succeeded in providing viewers with unique feelings as they realized that they could appreciate both the beauty of a painting and a storyline accompanying the respective artwork. Silent Mountain is inspired from Dieric Bouts' painting "The Anonciation," an artwork portraying the Archangel Gabriel while he delivers the news to Mary.

Viola appears to be dedicated at creating videos that are focused on the relationship between past and present. The artist's "Ocean without a shore" is probably one of the most suggestive works that have ever been created. He used the church of San Gallo with the purpose of providing visitors with the feeling that they are interacting with the underworld and that the dead are attempting to communicate. It appears that the church's three altars stand as a portal where life and death intersect and where the dead are provided with the opportunity to leave their eternal resting places in order to reach out to the living. The dead appear to express little to no happiness with regard to the fact that they come into the living world because it appears that they acknowledge the finite character of this particular environment. From their perspective, being alive means nothing as long as one is eventually going to go to the same place where they are. It appears that Viola wants people to understand that it would be wrong to play with the laws of the natural world and thus emphasizes this concept by bringing in individuals who are actually familiar with what comes after death with the purpose of having them enlighten viewers. This work is inspired from a poem written by Birago Diop.

Audiences seeing "Ocean without a shore" most probably think about the morbid enjoyment related to leaving the world of the dead in order to return to that of the living. Most are even likely to express confusion concerning why dead people refrain from smiling or from putting across any form of happiness. This is surely a delicate topic when considering that viewers typically leave with a sort of sadness combined with a feeling of strength. It is almost as if the video discusses the fragility of life and the fact that one needs to enjoy it to the fullest.

Frank Gehry's "Fred and Ginger building" is one of the most controversial buildings in Prague. The architect performed a bold move by designing this structure, taking into account that the city is renowned for its Neo-Gothic, Neo-Baroque, and Art Noveau buildings. While many architecture lovers were offended as a result of seeing this building in Prague, one also needs to see it as being a transition. Its daring character is exactly what the city needs, as simply designing an uninteresting structure to stand alongside of beautiful architecture would be pointless. The location needed to put across a message informing people with regard to how Prague is not only a place that lives in its memories, as it can also provide visitors with an intriguing new attitude.