The Cultural Context of Drawing - The Real and The Unreal
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Welcome to The Real and The Unreal, an exploration of the cultural context of my arts practice. This area of enquiry relates to a longstanding interest in generating artworks with the potential to induce psychological and emotional responses in the viewer. Not in the crass shock-aesthetic of Brit Art but probably related to, and stemming from, the subtle and sublime elements of a Dadaist or even Surrealist sensibility.This developing element of my practice is inextricably linked to my frequently conscious and deliberate application of uncanny aesthetics and to an interest in the Freudian notion and theory of Das Unheimlich. I have long held the view that the prevalence of so many seemingly uncanny contemporary artworks (examples to follow) are directly related to postmodern cultural beliefs and fears. In particular the fear of the future (especially at the turn of the millennium), the death of religion, the western culture of self-worship (me, me, me!), 911, The Iraq War and so many other catastrophic disasters (natural and manmade) that are graphically depicted in our living rooms on a daily basis. This is my view and personal theory; that the uncanny aesthetic, disturbing and unsettling, is the natural artistic by-product of a cultural response to postmodern living and dying. My question is this,’Is there a correlation between the prevalence of uncanny aesthetics in contemporary drawing (and art generally) and the defining facets of post-modern western culture?’What do you think?
Welcome to The Real and The Unreal, an exploration of the cultural context of my arts practice. This area of enquiry relates to a longstanding interest in generating artworks with the potential to induce psychological and emotional responses in the viewer. Not in the crass shock-aesthetic of Brit Art but probably related to, and stemming from, the subtle and sublime elements of a Dadaist or even Surrealist sensibility.This developing element of my practice is inextricably linked to my frequently conscious and deliberate application of uncanny aesthetics and to an interest in the Freudian notion and theory of Das Unheimlich. I have long held the view that the prevalence of so many seemingly uncanny contemporary artworks (examples to follow) are directly related to postmodern cultural beliefs and fears. In particular the fear of the future (especially at the turn of the millennium), the death of religion, the western culture of self-worship (me, me, me!), 911, The Iraq War and so many other catastrophic disasters (natural and manmade) that are graphically depicted in our living rooms on a daily basis. This is my view and personal theory; that the uncanny aesthetic, disturbing and unsettling, is the natural artistic by-product of a cultural response to postmodern living and dying. My question is this,’Is there a correlation between the prevalence of uncanny aesthetics in contemporary drawing (and art generally) and the defining facets of post-modern western culture?’What do you think?
posted by maria edney at 8:43 AM
2 Comments:
horrific things(such as war/911) come into our livingroom through tv
things we see on tv and read in newspaper might affect our perception of our closest surroundings
i'm not sure if this is any good, but in 'regarding the pain of others' sontags questioned wether warphotography(media) really does affect the reader
agot
Thank you Caroline. I have heard of Straw Dogs but had no idea what it was about, I'll seek-out a copy! Thanks, M.x
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