Week 4 - Damien Hirst and the diamond skull.

As we will be at Noho Marae at Awataha in week 4, this blog question is for week 4 and week 5.
Research the art work of Damien Hirst, in particular his work 'For the love of God'(2008), a diamond encrusted skull.

Discuss how Hirst's persona and work relate to the Renaissance concepts of Mercantillism and the (increased) status of the artist.


Damien's works involves in talking about the death and lives. this diamond skull work of his "For The Love Of God" consist of a platinum cast of a human skull encrusted with 8,601 flawless diamonds including the big one on the forehead part of the skull. It cost £14 million to produce this work, the work went on display at the White Cube gallery in London in an exhibition Beyond belief with an asking price of £50 million. which is the highest price paid for a single art work made by a living artist.
Damien Hirst wanted to show us that money worth nothing after death. he wanted us to realize that people are willing to take the risk of dieing for money (which worth nothing once we die). Damien Hirst also wants us to know that life cannot be bought. and we should enjoy and use the time wisely while we live.

Week 2 - Auckland Triennial 2010

Mahmoud Bakhshi, Tulips Rise from the Blood of the Nation's Youth, 2008,
neon, tin, wood, plastic, electric engines, courtesy of the artist and
Khastoo Gallery, Los Angeles

'Last Ride in a Hot Air Balloon' is the title for the 2010 4th Auckland triennial
which is on show from 12 March - 20 June. Watch the video of the curator,
Natasha Conland discussing the art show.
Youtube conland348. MP4
Use the information from the video and
on the Triennial website to answer the following questions;

1.What are the themes behind the title "Last ride...' for the Auckland triennial?
2. What does a curator of an exhibition do?
3. Which countries are represented in this year's triennial?
4. Is Auckland the only country to have a triennial? Are there other similar art shows?
5. Name 4 artists who will be showing work in the show.
6. Select an artist's work from the website, copy the work to your blog and write a short
comment on what the work is, and what it represents.(Reference your sources)
7. Comment on why you find this work interesting, how does it relate to your own interests?

Students doing the commentary should comment on their partners answers, and answer questions 6 and 7.

Answers:

1) The last ride in a hot air balloon which is the theme of the 4th Auckland triennial gives an impact towards adventure and risk in art today.

2) Art curators are the backbone of exhibitions; they are in charge of taking care of the collections that is in the gallery/museums. They act as the protector of the collections, they make sure new collections are properly stored and they write articles about their artworks. Art curators are the people who plan for the upcoming exhibitions, they can spend months or even years doing research and choosing the artworks that will be displayed on the upcoming exhibition, Art curators often have to spend time raising money for the new acquisitions and exhibits.

3) This year’s triennial is showing works from all over the country.

4) No. New Zealand is not the only country to have a triennial; there are others across the world that has triennial exhibitions for example Folkstone Triennial which is located in the UK and the Asia Pacific Triennial

5) Shilpa Gupta, Sharon Hayes, Jorge Macchi, Laresa Kosloff

Singing Cloud 2008-9
Steel and microphones. Commissioned by Le Laboratorie, Paris. Collection of Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen.">
"Singing Cloud" by Shilpa Gupta
Singing Cloud, an artwork by containing 4000 steel microphones and speakers inside creating disorientating sounds: whispers, the patter of raindrops.
this artwork is inspirated from the recent terrorist attack in Mumbai where Shilpa Gupta was born.



She wanted us to realize that the world is falling apart. Life is becoming more individual, and i think this could be showing the cause of the bombing. the bomb happened because people are too
ignorant to beware of the terrorist attacks for example helping notice suspicious people that might cause a terrorist attack that could kill thousands of people.
the pile of microphone represent the voices of the people in India, saying that they now no longer
have individual society and now want to make the place a better and safer place, and free from terrorism.



Singing Cloud 2008-9
Steel and microphones. Commissioned by Le Laboratorie, Paris. Collection of Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen.">

Week 3- Fiona Hall's work and Mercantillism

' Leaf Litter' (1999-2003)








'Tender' (2003-05)










Fiona Hall's contemporary work relates to the Renaissance concept of Mercantillism.

Research the two examples; 'Tender'(2003-05) and 'Leaf Litter'(1999-2003) to explain how they relate to this concept. First define mercantillism and explain how it has developed since the Renaissance. For each work you will need to describe the shape, form and materials of the work, and explain the ideas behind each example.

These works were part of an art show titled 'Force Field' which can be viewed in one of the exhibition spaces on Youtube - Part Three: Fiona Hall: Force Field.