Reading Response #9

1. How is Sadie Benning's work related to general trends and characteristics in Riot Grrl subculture? How is Riot Grrl subculture similar to and different from punk subculture?
a. She relates to the Riot Grrl subculture by making diary/essayistic style videos
b. Riot Grrl subculture is similar to punk subculture because both scenesmade use of low-technology and each preached the belief of the existential DIY aspect (i.e. just do it).

2. Why does Milliken refer to Benning's work as visual essays? What are the advantages of viewing the work in relation to this genre? What is meant by "radical feminist essayistic" form?
a. Advantage: Benning’s videos can be viewed subjectively/personally. Its essayistic nature helps liberate it from other genres. And radical feminist essayistic form refers to Benning’s videos being so opinionated that they she is basically creating/standing for some kind of movement of action.

Keller and Ward, "Matthew Barney and the Paradox of the Neo-Avant-Garde Blockbuster"
3. What has changed in the gallery art world that allows Barney to describe his work as “sculpture”? In other words, how has the definition of sculpture changed since the 1960s, and why?
a. Minimalist and post-modernist ideas led to the liberation of sculpture as merely a skillfully/artfully created structure. New ideas of what structure is/can be revolve anything that interacts with time and space.

4. Tricky but important question: Why was minimalist sculpture seen as a reaction against the “modernist hymns to the purity and specificity of aesthetic experience”? In other words: Why do they say that minimalist sculpture is post-modernist?
a. Minimalist sculpture is post-modernist because it places more emphasis on the interaction/experience of the viewer with the object.

5. Describe the role of the body in the works of Vito Acconci and Chris Burden. You may wish to consult the following links to supplement the descriptions in the readings:
a. Burden was fucking crazy → he allowed himself to be shot, crucified, and almost drowned all in the name of art. They both believed that by using their bodies as the artistic centerpiece, they could nullify permanence, therefore cancelling art as an object.

6. In the opinion of the authors, what are the key differences between performance art of the 1960s/1970s and Barney’s Cremaster cycle? What do they mean by the term "blockbuster" in relation to the gallery art world?
a. These days, unlike artists of the 60s/70s, artists like Barney focus and work towards documenting their performances. By blockbuster, they refer to huge and expensive sets like those created for Barney’s Cremaster Cycle.

Walley, "Modes of Film Practice in the Avant-Garde"
7. What is meant by “mode of film practice”? Give two well known examples of non-experimental modes of film practice. Why does Walley argue that the concept of the mode of film practice can help distinguish between the experimental film and gallery art worlds?
a. Mode of film practice: film practices/techniques/movements that are distinct in how they distribute, exhibit, and produce films.

8. What are some of the key differences between the experimental and gallery art worlds in terms of production and distribution?
a. Gallery art is more collaborative, their works are not widely distributed (helps jack-up the price of the piece), and usually have bigger budgets.
b. Experimental films are usually produced and created by a sole filmmaker, they distribute the films through co-ops or film organizations/clubs, and usually have very small budgets.