Under the Veil of Social Constructionism

Alter-modernism...

noreply@blogger.com (Ajya Phoenix) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:07:00 +0000

I came across this article that was in the Guardian last winter following an exhibit at the Tate Modern. I like the idea of a new era being coined in art that is a resurgence of the avante-garde, and a push away from the of the ghost of post-modernism. Constructive rather than deconstructive and hopefully a movement that illuminates the glass tower of the elite high art world. (I think that may be my own wishful thinking and projection.) I am fond of the article written about it anyway.

This photo is from the Guardian and it is Charles Avery, my new art hero. His work is brilliant and interesting and subversive and well done. Back to a world where artists have skills and use them, themselves...

On the subject of an art revolution...

noreply@blogger.com (Ajya Phoenix) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:06:00 +0000

http://artisdeadbook.com/

noreply@blogger.com (Ajya Phoenix) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:22:00 +0000

Art is the cultural regurgitation of society, reflecting and often directing the changes social collectives experience. Collapse the illusion of the elitest art world!

We, those who call ourselves artists, must be wary against the art world fantasy that capitalist market traders have fed us. Artists have been turned into fetishized cultural commodities, who the powerful and elite determine the value of and cash in on the profit from. They profit from our labors (some artists have taken advantage of the capitalist system and hire out the ever de-valued art laborer, called "artisans"; at any rate those who labor the most make the least), and in exchange convince us that being enslaved into "success" (i.e. continuing to produce within a brandable style they can sell) is what we should strive for, drive ourselves toward, and starve for. Why should this be our highest goal, why should we think this is success? Art schools churn out hundreds of thousands of artists hoping to be in the small percentage of people who acheive any amount of decent recognition in their own lifetime and what is to happen of the rest? They keep on producing, hoping it will be their turn next, keeping up the lower echelons of the art market.

If all those hundreds of thousands of people used all the creative energy and money spent on the ladder climb (of which most never get past the first few rungs) instead spent their energy on building up the world around them, how quickly would the world change? The irony is that many artists believe themselves to be anti-capitalist, but still participate in the art-world lie. Bring it down, tear down the tower, give the power of creative ownership to everyone!

The Puppet show at the ICA

noreply@blogger.com (Ajya Phoenix) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:48:00 +0000

Upon entering the exhibit at the University of Pennsylvania's ICA, you are introduced to a variety of puppets via a corridor which leads into the show. These appear to be almost cultural remnants of "childhood" in a vague general sense, but at the same time of "childhoods childhood" if that makes sense. Thinking about the relevance of puppets in an age where Jim Henson does not necessarily rule the stage of imagination anymore for children, I wonder how many children of today are even familiar with movies like the Dark Crystal. To the generation of those of us who grew up with these sort of icons, we can look back to the age of puppetry with a sort of distant stare. Recently having made one of Noel I felt an even more intimate connection to the exhibits theme. It seems rather culturally relevant to me, however, in a more socio-political way, that a show about puppets would be fitting in this era. Especially coming from the contemporary art world whose artistic recognition and fame rest on the idea that they are willing to be manipulated by those with money and power within the art community. Removed from the art sphere, we as consumers have become the puppets of commercial producers, we as citizens have become the puppets of political powers, and so on. It is an important things to think about: Who holds the strings of your symbolic controls?

noreply@blogger.com (Ajya Phoenix) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:50:00 +0000

Art and artists function in our society in the same way that scientists, lawyers, and teachers, etc, do. We have roles which are not without social context. Simultaneously, we attempt to make a living at the profession that we have dedicated ourselves to. This is a double edged sword, not only for art as a profession, but also the previously mentioned ones. We cannot fully function in a meaningful way, which benefits both our social world and our own needs for investigation, expression and growth when we are consumed with keeping our bills paid.

Speaking of Celebrity Making...

noreply@blogger.com (Ajya Phoenix) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 01:29:00 +0000

The making of an art star, Jefferey Deitch style.

On Celebrity Figures and Creative Superstars...

noreply@blogger.com (Ajya Phoenix) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 23:33:00 +0000

In retrospect, advancements of this century in the arts and media have had both useful and annoying consequences. The experimentation in art fields and constantly evolving "modern" works have allowed artists, whose role had been previously prescribed, to take ownership and declare its position in society. To claim their contribution to society as far more relevant than it had been in the past. However, as the pendulum moved in the other direction, artists have somehow over estimated their role and ultimate self-worth. This overstatement has worked to confuse the well-meaning artist, and others, as to the significance or ultimate power held by them. In effect celebrities, and other public figures, are believed to become property of the society as a whole. This mis-construed sense of ownership is generally false. Ultimately, celebrity figures and the public who adore them, are both merely marionettes whose strings are held by dealers, producers, publishers and large corporate entities who "promote" these individuals. The artists are living advertisements whose life becomes the promotion of the goods produced by them. In the end, this serves to keep most people convinced of a social hierarchy which will maintain the status quo. This phenomena isn't new to this century, but has been blown out of proportion in this century by mass media and easily replicated images.

Our Three Ring Circus We Call the Democratic Process

noreply@blogger.com (Ajya Phoenix) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 19:55:00 +0000

Found this cartoon... Seems fitting lately, eh?

Mmm, my thoughts on politics...

We are trapped in a maze of reality that our culture has collectively, over centuries, (scratch that, millennia, when we go back to older western civilizations) created. Someone discovers something new only to have their information/invention exploited and manipulated by the powerful for the benefit of the wealthy. It's an old story, and we (even those who are doing the exploiting) have had a long history of believing the stories that ultimately are told to manipulate us out of our personal power. This is the basis for all politics. We're human though, and we sure do love a good story, even when we know deep down inside it isn't true. We love those stories so much we kill for them, we die for them and we tell them to each other. The story must live! But it's time to wake up from the dream we know as history. One long string of lies built on lies, while we kill each other and we kill the planet so that powerful and wealthy people keeping making a profit.

noreply@blogger.com (Ajya Phoenix) — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:15:00 +0000

Universal Healthcare History

Last semester I had the opportunity in Social Problems class to explore the history of the rhetoric surrounding the fight for universal healthcare in America. I won't go into details about the history, but if you are interested the link above leads to the PNHP website which gives a pretty good brief account. More interesting to me was, with this topic so obviously relevant in the coming election, just how have the arguments changed? Also, why did the only candidate actually pushing for actual universal healthcare get marginalized. At the same time, a candidate like Clinton who is pushing the agenda of the organization who has historically been the biggest opposition to universal care, can get away with muddying the term by claiming her plan as "universal"? Polls show that Americans wanted Universal Care, according to a poll by ABC and the Washington Post %62 of Americans want Universal, single-payer, medicare modeled healthcare. This is not, however, what Hilary is proposing. Her plan is a system where everyone is required to buy health insurance. She claims she will make it affordable, but she never tells you what she considers affordable to be. Her plan is alarmingly similar to what is suggested by the American Medical Association. If you take the time to check out the history you would find that the AMA has been fighting against Universal Coverage for over 90 years and is the organization who pushed the propoganda associating it with communism, rhetoric which once held much more weight by Americans than it does today. It's not such a coincidence that the AMA has done some verbal manuevering now that most people are asking for such a system. In a statement posted on their website, it might seem that the AMA has changed their long historical tune. They seem to be for everyone having health insurance, but in reality if you dig through their forest of words, they are still just in favor of "consumer-driven" insurance, again a system which benefits insurance companies keeping profit more important than health. So close to the line of reason that Mrs. Clinton uses and so strange that her plan would look so much like theirs. Whose interest is she dedicated to? Big business or us? By the way, this is what the rest of the world looks like in terms of how countries care for their citizens...

We're going to Africa!

noreply@blogger.com (Ajya Phoenix) — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 17:42:00 +0000

With my student loan money finally in the bank I am feeling much more at ease. I have enough money to pay bills for the rest of the semester and enough for us to finally have a real vacation. So this morning I purchased our round trip tickets to visit Noel's brother in his kush Peace-corp home in Mozambique. We will be leaving from JFK Monday Tuesday May 6 and returning on May 20. Mama Africa here we come...

noreply@blogger.com (Ajya Phoenix) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:02:00 +0000

Returning back to my life after a wonderful and fulfilling visit by our wonderful and fulfilling friends, I am sitting here trying to motivate myself back into the normal grind. Shannon and I had an interesting conversation (something most of my days lack- save for with Noel) about the absurdity of the pace we as Americans, and Westerner's in general, have become normalized to. I can't speak for others, but I need friends, community and stimulating conversations. Without at least periodic instances of these I get really depressed. It's so easy to get lost in the everyday thickness of "to do list's" that spending quality time "living" and processing gets put off for another day when I'm not so busy or not so broke. I don't want to forget to make time for the things that keep me healthy and sane in our un-natural and insane world.

noreply@blogger.com (Ajya Phoenix) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 03:11:00 +0000

The Williams family has been visiting Noel and I this weekend. As part of our adventure today we headed for the PMA and caught the beautiful Frida Kahlo exhibit. The show was amazing. I've never seen her work in person before and walking through the images of her life was incredibly emotional. I came near tears gazing at several of the pieces and contemplated the loneliness of her life. So many of her paintings were about the interconnectedness of the universe, but she herself felt so very alone and suffered so intensely. I really felt like I could relate to her imagery in such a personal way. I find myself so often feeling like a stranger in the world, like I just can't figure out how to connect with most people. While I feel so estranged from people, at the same time I believe so strongly in the need in our culture for more rich and supportive communities. It's a funny dichotomy that was perhaps never resolved in Kahlo's life. I hope one day I can resolve it in my own.

Foundation Work posted

noreply@blogger.com (Ajya Phoenix) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:02:00 +0000

I have posted the work that I have made over the past two years in my foundation classes. These are the works that I included in my portfolio for college applications. I used Google pages to make it a simple (and free!) process to post the works, but, there is a huge limit as to layout and design and so the web page is a bit cluncky. None the less, I wanted to share with everyone what I've been up to here...

mcdonoug21.googlepages.com

Waiting for the tide to come in

noreply@blogger.com (Ajya Phoenix) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 20:55:00 +0000

Standing on the shore of uncertainty,
watching the waves of the future crash off in the distance
I am lost as I look out
trying to discern which wave I will ride
which boat will be mine
I am standing here waiting for the tide

As Noel and I wait for the letters from schools to return with the decisions of our fate, I am contemplating who I am right now...

I am not that girl I once was
I am merely remnant of her
I am not sure who I am now
I am only working toward her

Tales of Philly

noreply@blogger.com (Ajya Phoenix) — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 23:39:00 +0000

Surely this city will grab hold and embrace us, I just keep waiting; believing. I thought about leaving just that line as a haiku for this adventure, but I can't let it stand there alone. We came here to be challenged and challenged we are, but in a rich way; it feels like exactly what we want. Nothing has been very easy, but we keep managing, knowing that we work for it all, and it all still works out. Noel being here makes it all easier for me, if only because we keep each other laughing all the while. Not so easy to laugh alone.
Oh, by the way, nobody should work for Spirit of Philadelphia. Slave job! That's all I have to say about that.

Noel and I spent all day today looking for jobs and ways to break in here. So much.