When Art Breaks the Law

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  • Опубліковано 26 сер 2024
  • Pre-order our book YOU ARE AN ARTIST (which includes new assignments!) here: bit.ly/2kplj2h
    This week Sarah breaks down why The Art Assignment sign-off cannot be "Please Don't Break the Law," and discusses artists Ai Weiwei and Pussy Riot who have broken the law for good reasons. What should our sign off be?
    Please Break The Law: Reading List
    (please suggest other readings in the comments)
    Modernism
    - Charles Baudelaire, "The Painter of Modern Life" (1863)
    - Serge Guilbaut, Benjamin H.D. Buchloh, and David Solkin (eds), Modernism and Modernity (1983)
    - Francis Frascina and Jonathan Harris (eds), Art in Modern Culture: An Anthology of Critical Texts (1992)
    - Meyer Shapiro, Modern Art: 19th and 20th Century, Selected Papers, vol. 2 (1978)
    The Avant-Garde
    - Henri de Saint-Simon, "L'artiste, le savant et l'industriel" ("The artist, the scientist and the industrialist") (1825)
    - Clement Greenberg's "Avant-Garde and Kitsch" (1939)
    - Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer's "The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception" in Dialectic of Enlightenment (1944)
    - Peter Bürger's "Theory of the Avant-Garde" (1974)
    - Rosalind E. Krauss, The Originality of the Avant-Garde and Other Modernist Myths (1985)
    - Hal Foster, "Who's Afraid of the Neo-Avant-Garde?" in The Return of the Real (1996)
    - Matthew Witkovsky, ed., Avant-Garde Art in Everyday Life: Early Twentieth-Century European Modernism (2011)
    Pussy Riot
    - Masha Gessen's Words Will Break Cement: The Passion of Pussy Riot (2014)
    - Pussy Riot's Pussy Riot!: A Punk Prayer For Freedom (2012)
    - @Eng_Pussy_Riot
    Ai Weiwei
    - Ai Weiwei and Lee Ambrozy's Ai Weiwei's Blog: Writings, Interviews, and Digital Rants, 2006-2009 (2011)
    - Kerry Brougher, Mami Kataoka, and Charles Merewether's Ai Weiwei: According to What? (2012)
    - Alison Klayman's film AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY (2012)
    - @aiww | @aiww_en
    Art + civil disobedience
    - Hannah Arendt's "Civil Disobedience" (1970)
    - Randy Martin's Performance as Political Act: The Embodied Self (1990)
    - Susan Sontag's Regarding the Pain of Others (2004)
    - Slavoj Zizek's Violence: Six Sideways Reflections (2008)
    - Nato Thompson, Living as Form: Socially Engaged Art from 1991-2011 (2012)

КОМЕНТАРІ • 483

  • @radicalbacon
    @radicalbacon 10 років тому +145

    When I was in the military, sometimes I would do things that hurt no one that were, regardless, against regulation. In the uniform that I wore most days, you couldn't see my socks. Regulation socks were black, but I'd wear the socks that I had knit, rainbow, deep blue with orange, white, and black stripes, cotton candy pink. I understand the uniform is meant to mold and shape us into one, to build camaraderie and discipline, but what each individual brought to the military was as important as what the military brought to us. As the uniform molds us, we mold it back.
    While I wouldn't call it art, it was subversive. Well, maybe the socks themselves are art.

    • @theartassignment
      @theartassignment  10 років тому +38

      Art socks! I do love me some subversion, even if it's slight.

    • @sammyangel98
      @sammyangel98 8 років тому +8

      I had a similar case; when I was young I used to go to private school, where there are strict dress codes and uniforms. But me and quite several of my classmates used to tweak them: wear colored hairpins and bows, unbutton the top button, wear color socks like you mentioned, and wear colorful backpacks. It was small, but it was a shot to express ourselves within the rules that didn't have much freedom.

    • @Dreamskater100
      @Dreamskater100 4 роки тому

      @@sammyangel98 What's it like going to a private school? & Did you like it? Just curious! I went to a state school. I wish I had gone to a private school just for the quality I suppose.

  • @Maelwys
    @Maelwys 10 років тому +126

    This video made me realize something... Crash Course: Art History NEEDS to be a thing!

    • @LindenWilson
      @LindenWilson 10 років тому +4

      That would be FANTASTIC!

    • @theartassignment
      @theartassignment  10 років тому +40

      Wouldn't you rather just do it gradually, like this? I think it's more fun when you're learning about it over time, in the context of contemporary art and issues! In a way, it already IS Crash Course: Art History.

    • @HannahLeeC
      @HannahLeeC 10 років тому

      WOULD WATCH

    • @BenStreeter
      @BenStreeter 10 років тому +11

      The Art Assignment You're just so effortless with the teaching that no one even notices they're learning hahah

  • @saikoujikan
    @saikoujikan 10 років тому +170

    New Art Assignment idea!
    Break another country's law legally within your current country.

    • @ingrossa
      @ingrossa 10 років тому +34

      I like that idea, but it would need to be defined properly. On a daily basis I'm breaking other country's laws, like: use the internet, drive a car while simultaneously being female (I actually don't drive, just to illustrate), not wear any of the 17 hairstyles prescribed by the North Korean government, receive education, make fun of my government, leave the house without permission from my father... You name it!

    • @clairisselynn8284
      @clairisselynn8284 10 років тому +1

      LOVE IT!

    • @saikoujikan
      @saikoujikan 10 років тому +8

      Defining the law you are breaking, the country in which it is a law, and why it is a law there when it isn't a law in your current country would be part of the assignment, including as well any reasons for choosing this particular law.

    • @clairisselynn8284
      @clairisselynn8284 10 років тому +8

      Additionally, even if it was a law that you constantly break in your daily life, recording yourself doing it and sharing that draws attention to something that was maybe otherwise sort of a mundane part of everyone's life. That attention towards the mundane, and the new perspective the assignment would give on it, is pretty damn artistic, imo.

    • @colemyers6972
      @colemyers6972 10 років тому +4

      Well shit it's as simple as saying "the government sucks" it always amazes me how I take being able to talk bad about the government for granted. We really don't understand what we have until we don't have it

  • @RamblingsOfAnElfpire
    @RamblingsOfAnElfpire 10 років тому +329

    You could just use DFTBA (Don't Forget To Build Art)....see what I did there? =P

    • @helgakrobo
      @helgakrobo 10 років тому +13

      Ma'am, you are brilliant. Try reaching them on Twitter, they might be more easily accessible there!
      (and i really hope i didn't misgender you, it's hard to tell by the profile picture)

    • @RamblingsOfAnElfpire
      @RamblingsOfAnElfpire 10 років тому +2

      Lol thanks! I'll tweet it =) and no, you are not mistaken

    • @RhapsodyAfternoon
      @RhapsodyAfternoon 10 років тому +39

      I think "Don't Forget To Be Artistic," even though it's less unique, makes more sense.

    • @sannabenba9732
      @sannabenba9732 10 років тому +14

      Somebody give this person a medal, please.

    • @kumquatlich
      @kumquatlich 10 років тому +12

      Ooooh Art you clever.

  • @PeterAmbos
    @PeterAmbos 10 років тому +23

    I can't believe you refused to get in front of the camera for so many years. You are truly awesome!

    • @colemyers6972
      @colemyers6972 10 років тому +1

      Dang I forgot about that. Haha remember the yeti

    • @Zalied
      @Zalied 10 років тому +4

      it was mostly for the first season of B2.0 where she didnt want to get infront of the camera cus ya know youtube was new who knows what would happen...then it became a running joke which is probably why she still stays out of them

  • @deadeaded
    @deadeaded 10 років тому +65

    For your signoff you could steal Gaiman's "make good art". Or just quote a different artist at the end of each video. might be fun.

    • @notlikewater
      @notlikewater 10 років тому +7

      Oooh, I love that idea! Quoting a new artist every week, maybe some who relate to that week's assignment?

    • @KelseyIsARose
      @KelseyIsARose 10 років тому

      This is a stellar idea!

    • @colemyers6972
      @colemyers6972 10 років тому +4

      She could quote an artist that kind of gives a hint to next week's assignment

    • @matthewtelles8619
      @matthewtelles8619 6 років тому

      please do it!

    • @tanyaaggarwal7582
      @tanyaaggarwal7582 5 років тому

      +

  • @AssortedJade
    @AssortedJade 10 років тому +7

    I quite like the idea of using "keep on questioning" as the sign off. It captures the critical thinking "please don't break the law" evokes without directing that criticism towards the legality of our actions.

  • @jennifermax002
    @jennifermax002 10 років тому +4

    I commend the Art Assignment in that it shows how artistic modern life is and that art transcends a medium and can just be holding an umbrella in a weird way or finding a quiet place. It has redefined art and has made making art so accessible to so many people and it is for this reason alone that the Art Assignment is favored by so many and growing at a constant rate. Thank you for this forum for artistic growth and for letting anyone and everyone become artists. I look forward to the assignments and seasons ahead. :)

  • @nadiact-ie5hy
    @nadiact-ie5hy 10 років тому +33

    Sarah, I think you nailed the outro in this video. That should be what you use from here on out. :)

  • @ArtichokeHunter
    @ArtichokeHunter 10 років тому +6

    This might be the best UA-cam channel in existence.

  • @crowlovescore
    @crowlovescore 10 років тому +9

    I think 'please don't break the law' is still important especially if those laws in question serve to organize the spaces where the freedom of one person has to end to protect the freedom of an other person.

  • @EasterWitch
    @EasterWitch 10 років тому +20

    This was really great and I would really enjoy more of these educational videos in the future. I've really missed art history after finishing high school.

    • @theartassignment
      @theartassignment  10 років тому +2

      Glad you liked it!

    • @crcons
      @crcons 10 років тому +3

      As a Brazilian who has studied in public schools, I've missed art history classes for my whole life. The art classes in school were almost completely a phony. So this is by far my favorite show on YT. I wish I could hit the 'like' button several times.

    • @lorenabpv
      @lorenabpv 10 років тому +1

      Cassio Ruggeri Cons i second all of this

  • @jbramson1
    @jbramson1 10 років тому +19

    Don't forget to be drawsome.

  • @Xenolilly
    @Xenolilly 10 років тому +43

    A bonus art assignment video! What a nice birthday gift!

  • @AnnaEwing
    @AnnaEwing 10 років тому +14

    Ai Weiwei is such an incredible artist and person.
    Sign off idea: Be smart and go make art! (I think it still would convey the need of the use of common sense and it rhymes! :D )

    • @JenniferJiang2013
      @JenniferJiang2013 10 років тому +1

      Actually that is an amazing idea! The Art Assignment Please use it

  • @VideoNozoki
    @VideoNozoki 10 років тому +27

    I've grown fond of your "... and please don't break the law" sign-off.
    It's cute, it's true, and I don't know any other course type program that says that.

    • @sbasra
      @sbasra 10 років тому +1

      Me too. I think just stick with it. It is implied there cases that break rules after this video.

  • @HikeMaple
    @HikeMaple 10 років тому +3

    Please never stop with this program. I love it so much.

  • @mudvlood
    @mudvlood 10 років тому +1

    Literally every art assignment video I watch makes me so happy! Such a nice break from revision!

  • @ballyellam3672
    @ballyellam3672 10 років тому +6

    I love this video, it raises a lot of complicated and interesting questions, great job.

  • @TheBlackrose1989
    @TheBlackrose1989 10 років тому +1

    Excellent video! Incidentally, when asked what The Art Assignment is all about by others, I've always said it's an amazing channel, and place where people come together to "go do art." The reason for that is because, if anything, this channel has taught me that art is an experience or an activity, not an object or final product. I don't know if "Go do art" is adequate enough for a sign off or not, but there you have it, regardless.

  • @sarahconnors4929
    @sarahconnors4929 10 років тому +2

    really really, dont change "dont break the law".... I love it....really, it comes from a genuine place and I like that you are advocating not breaking the law.

  • @TheSlicker83
    @TheSlicker83 10 років тому +28

    I thought banksy would have got a mention.

    • @notlikewater
      @notlikewater 10 років тому +1

      I agree, Banksy would be worthy of at least a mention for this topic.

    • @mikiverevikim
      @mikiverevikim 10 років тому +1

      Jenna W He's never technically been in trouble with the law though... that we know of

    • @cecasander
      @cecasander 10 років тому +5

      mikiverevikim He has never been arrested, no. But his deeds are still illegal.

    • @theartassignment
      @theartassignment  10 років тому +41

      Yeah, I definitely thought about street art and graffiti art for this video, but in the end decided to focus on cases where 1) the artist has been taken into custody by their government, and 2) the intentions of the artists were more clear. I'm guessing street art will come up in the future, but I thought for this issue it might take the conversation in a different and less constructive direction.

    • @TheSpeedygonzalez23
      @TheSpeedygonzalez23 10 років тому +6

      The Art Assignment can i just state how cool it is that you guys at the art assignment frequently reply back to comments?
      Also, to discuss street art in a next video you could do so from a post-modernist lens. By that I mean that instead of discussing the legal ramifications of this art (which is interesting but not super thrilling) you could explain the many definitions or characteristics of post modernists art through analysing bansky's work for example. Street art obscures the boundaries between "high" and "low" culture/art (for example, bansky frequently puts quote from movies in his work yet shepard fairley was tasked with making the hope posters for the Obama campaign), is self-referential, it draws upon the history of art that precedes it frequently and its artists share the same dissatisfaction with the conventions and "heroizing tendencies" of modernist art before.
      Anyways, I could go on for ages but I'm sure you get where I'm going with this.. Have a great day!

  • @megmotherwort
    @megmotherwort 10 років тому +8

    Wow, great reading list in the description. Thanks!

  • @kashkatunstall5138
    @kashkatunstall5138 10 років тому +2

    I'm so grateful for this new channel Sarah. It's the kind of dialogue I want to engage with on social media, a worthy curation of ideas.

  • @notlikewater
    @notlikewater 10 років тому

    I love the mention of Ai WeiWei - I watched his film "Never Sorry" for my contemporary art history class fall semester, and I'm fascinated. This video is such an incredible exploration of art, its meaning and its definition. It definitely is the beginning of a conversation. Thank you.

  • @MadaxeMunkeee
    @MadaxeMunkeee 10 років тому +3

    I really really enjoyed this episode. I like the kinds of places this channel has been going, but it was refreshing to have a chance to hear from just you Sarah. You were very thought provoking, so thanks!

  • @newbyparton
    @newbyparton 10 років тому +2

    I broke school rules for my stakeout project! I made seven contemporary artworks and hung them in the art hall. A teacher made me turn my video camera off, but all the art professors totally believed in the exhibit's legitimacy. They left it up for a month and even repositioned my explanatory museum-style paper to make it easier to read!

  • @Kelgorn
    @Kelgorn 10 років тому +2

    I had actually heard of Ai Weiwei before the Art Assignment started. The installation he did where he straightened the rebar for the victims of the earthquake was what I remember him from I believe. I don't remember where it came up, but it was... I really don't know how to say it.

  • @postalservicing
    @postalservicing 10 років тому +1

    A really cool artist, or 'artivist' as he calls himself, is JR. His TED talk, "Use art to turn the world inside out" even proposed an art assignment for the world to take part in. His main medium is photography, and he led a project in the favelas of Brazil, forcing people to rethink areas and people they deemed as dangerous.

  • @billygoatattack
    @billygoatattack 10 років тому +9

    NEW SIGN-OFF 'please don't sue us'

  • @unfinishedestiny
    @unfinishedestiny 10 років тому +1

    This makes me think of Guerrilla Gardening. Turning neglected public spaces into areas of beauty with plants. Or alternatively making it a place to produce food, against the rules of the state, to address lack of high quality food in areas where it's too expensive or there simply isn't good food.

  • @cmeflywva
    @cmeflywva 10 років тому +2

    What a great discussion and I love the resource list. A lot of work was put into this video. Thanks!

  • @ellieraymn
    @ellieraymn 10 років тому +1

    Art is the balance of what we are and what we see, who we've been and want to be, what we believe and what we percieve. Please live your art responsibly.

  • @bassetts1899
    @bassetts1899 10 років тому +2

    Great video, I knew a couple minutes in that you'd be discussing Ai Weiwei at some point!

  • @SimplySalma
    @SimplySalma 10 років тому +1

    I'd love to see more videos like this. I absolutely love the assignment videos but this was really informative and cool and, yeah, I liked it. Thanks!
    Also, I really hope no one suggests any good sign offs because I love "please don't break the law" and it'd be really sad to see it go

    • @theartassignment
      @theartassignment  10 років тому +1

      So glad to hear it! Well, I'm sure we could still say "please don't break the law" when it's applicable. It's just that, like, for episodes like Psychological Landscape, it isn't really relevant.

  • @andyruiz2558
    @andyruiz2558 10 років тому +1

    This was brilliant, Ai Weiwei made it to the news in my country and it was really interesting because they didn't talk about his work as art, now, seeing it from another point of view, it clearly is. I love the idea of breaking the law for good reasons, because sometimes those laws have flaws and only work to censure the people's voice. In my country we have a lot of grafitti artists, radio performers and artist in general who are not afraid of calling the government on their bullshit, and fighting for what is ours by right in ways that allow them to express themselves and catch the attention of the public. I consider myself a bit of a rebel, but have never faced a situation where the law was in the way of my statements, however, if the situation ever presents, I'd like to think that I'd break the law to get my message to the public and make it worth it.

  • @onemartinitwo
    @onemartinitwo 10 років тому +1

    This is the most animated and engaging we've seen Sarah Urist Green yet, which is awesome! Keep it up!

  • @lightningmcgee
    @lightningmcgee 10 років тому +1

    I love Ai Weiwei, I'm so glad he was discussed a bit. I think everybody should watch his film "Never Sorry." It's extremely inspiring, in my opinion.

  • @ami1am
    @ami1am 10 років тому +2

    Sarah, this was really interesting, As an art history student, I am so happy to find incredible art-related content on UA-cam. Thank you so much :)

  • @KristiDreamer
    @KristiDreamer 10 років тому +2

    SUCH A GREAT VIDEO SARAH!

  • @misaodean881
    @misaodean881 10 років тому +1

    Sarah, this is such a wonderful video. So well-written, so thoughtful, so challenging, but also so accessible. You rock. Your team rocks. Also Ai Wei Wei rocks, but that's just an aside. Mainly you rock.

  • @bugoftheleaves
    @bugoftheleaves 10 років тому +7

    could an argument for including banksy and other graffiti artists into this category?i think sometimes yes, because of the fact that graffiti is illegal in many places, but no depending on what the artist is doing. bansky (i know his work the best, sure there are others) seems to have works that involve social commentaries.
    and on an unrelated note, i was reminded of the movie "equilibrium" which is fascinating in its own right.

    • @bugoftheleaves
      @bugoftheleaves 10 років тому +2

      with the graffiti artists, it seems that the illegal part is less of what they are making, but rather where they are choosing to display their art. i guess there are various ways to break the law with art: some deliberately do something outlawed (pussy riot illegal protests) others chose a place or subject matter itself that is taboo or illegal.

    • @MoonSafariFilms
      @MoonSafariFilms 10 років тому +3

      Definitely. The idea of reclaiming public space from private ownership is pretty central to graffiti.

  • @April1987girl
    @April1987girl 10 років тому +1

    Great episode, Sarah! We miss John, but honestly I would watch you every day. I'm leaning so much about art. Great show!

  • @katherineohara6576
    @katherineohara6576 10 років тому +4

    I'd go with "Please don't sue us."

    • @DanHaug
      @DanHaug 10 років тому

      That's about as avant-garde as it gets :)

  • @Geeksdanz
    @Geeksdanz 10 років тому +1

    One of my dance teachers always used to tell us "Make safe choices!" Maybe that could be the new sign-off? That way you're not expressly telling people not to do something, just to be sure of the choice they're making before they make it.

  • @kathybugajsky7504
    @kathybugajsky7504 10 років тому

    Excellent video, as always. My suggestion for a sign off is "Life is art. Go out and make it good!"

  • @BrianHutzellMusic
    @BrianHutzellMusic 4 роки тому

    2:03 Chris Burden died in 2015. I saw an exhibit of his at the ICA in Boston in the 1980s. The ad for the show read, “If his exhibit is a huge success, our building will collapse and you will be crushed.” That’s because as you walked into the museum, you passed through a turnstile that was connected to a huge jack which pushed against supporting walls of the building. Every turn of the turnstile put a bit more pressure on the jack. Theoretically, if enough people had passed through the turnstile, the jack would put enough pressure on the building to destroy it. The whole thing was called “Sampson,” after the Biblical strongman (Judges 16:28-30). I thought it was a neat way of highlighting the sometimes antagonistic relationship between the artist, the public, and the venue.

  • @animalasaysrauer
    @animalasaysrauer 10 років тому +1

    This video was especially fascinating. Thank you for your content. I am thinking of using The Art Assignment in my humanities class next year.

  • @uptownboi10
    @uptownboi10 10 років тому

    Thank you so much! This video gave me such a confidence boost.

  • @JDCareyMusic
    @JDCareyMusic 10 років тому +3

    I think, "Don't sue us" is a pretty solid outtro.

  • @OsofoGriot
    @OsofoGriot 10 років тому +1

    I'm not sure why this tickled me so much, but after hearing Sarah say "as commenter ljmasternoob4 asked…", I had to pause the video and finish laughing. It took a good while =P

  • @swanky9188
    @swanky9188 10 років тому +1

    I just wanted to say I really don't think we should use anything DFTBA related as a sign off. I love the phrase and nerdfighteria in general, but I think the art assignment is its own community and deserves to be recognized as a separate entity (if that makes sense).
    Andd that being said I don't really have a great idea, but I think our current send off of please don't break the law is a good one! Or could just be something like "Art on!" or "Art away"

  • @buscaquenoestoy
    @buscaquenoestoy 10 років тому

    Interesting! And loved how you included "Guernica" there ^^

  • @SeitanSaidDance1
    @SeitanSaidDance1 10 років тому

    I loved this video, thank you. Every time you said "Please don't break the law," my brain would say "But...." and then not be able to express why breaking the law could sometimes be so important without running obnoxiously long.
    "Please use good judgement and don't sue."

    • @theartassignment
      @theartassignment  10 років тому +3

      Me too! It's been bothering me since the start, and so I had to do something about it. "Using good judgment" is an interesting way to think about it, because that still allows for law breaking. Sometimes law breaking is for the best!

  • @obychem3472
    @obychem3472 10 років тому

    More! More of these informative capsules. And... You started with it... So... You're kinda stuck with "please don't break the law". I think it's awesome!

  • @123blueapple
    @123blueapple 10 років тому

    If anyone is still interested in this subject, there is a wonderful exhibition called 'Disobedient Objects' at the V&A in South Kensington, London. It looks deeper at the subjects discussed here, with more focus on the objects used and created for riots and such, which aim to challenge systems of government and societial views.

  • @ilyem999
    @ilyem999 10 років тому +1

    That sign off was pretty good just keep the please don't break the law sign off or use the extended version

  • @TawnyPixie
    @TawnyPixie 10 років тому +1

    I like "please don't break the law, unless you must" for a signoff. :)

  • @annieholley1808
    @annieholley1808 4 роки тому

    I think Weiwei later made a huge mural on a wall somewhere that was made out of colored backpacks, that said a quote from one of the victim’s mother. Such a cool artist.

  • @LyssandraNorton
    @LyssandraNorton 10 років тому +2

    "And please don't get us sued."

  • @spookyimaginationzinc.975
    @spookyimaginationzinc.975 9 років тому

    The post-modernism era is was a time of great and new art. My favorite artist, Alexander Calder, was a huge part of it. He was the first person to create moving sculpture, kinetic art. His mobile was inspiration to other artists, for example, George Rickey (my 2nd favorite artist. Calder's mobile revolutionized modern art. "Why must art be so static?"- Alexander CalderSincerely, Tristan Presley

  • @leukocyteofdoom
    @leukocyteofdoom 10 років тому +1

    Rhapsody Afternoon suggested _"Don't Forget To Be _*_Artistic_*_"_ *_(DFTBA)_* as a sign-off, and imho it's _brilliant_ - please consider it!

  • @liv6882
    @liv6882 10 років тому

    I really enjoyed this video and would LOVE for you to more of these educational videos about art histrory :)

  • @Calicido
    @Calicido 10 років тому +6

    Pls do more video like this!

  • @Zobo03
    @Zobo03 10 років тому

    I am not the biggest fan of really provocative art, violent performances and provocative installations, but you explained it so well, it is easy to understand why some artists do it!
    Still some artists are using art as a form of protest without using violence or provocation. I would like to hear you speak about things like Yarn Bombing, Guerilla Gardening, or even Graffiti!
    Continue your great work, you've got by far the most interesting show I've seen on UA-cam!

    • @theartassignment
      @theartassignment  10 років тому

      Thanks so much, Didier. There's a lot of great artwork out there, and with any luck we'll be able to get to all the topics you suggest!

  • @Nic33rd
    @Nic33rd 10 років тому +1

    New favorite channel!

  • @KisasDestiny
    @KisasDestiny 6 років тому

    Art is so many different things and it is really shocking how such a strong message an artist makes can turn their whole life around. Whether it is good or bad, such as Ai Weiwei. He had his freedom completely taken away as a private citizen because his piece called Remembering what basically a back hand to the government. I am so glad to know that this hasn't completely stopped him from speaking out for what he thinks or believes in through his blog.

  • @chittah
    @chittah 10 років тому

    what an interesting video. thanks for covering this!

  • @rachelistired
    @rachelistired 10 років тому

    My favorite piece of Ai WeiWei was the sort of culminating piece from the earthquake investigation. He put up backpacks on a wall with the phrase "She lived happily for seven years in this world" spelled out with the different colors. Also if anyone is interested in his work Never Sorry is on Netflix.

    • @theartassignment
      @theartassignment  10 років тому +1

      That's a really great work. It was at the Haus der Kunst in Munich, and I wish I could have seen it in person!

  • @randomliamsquares765
    @randomliamsquares765 10 років тому +1

    I think that the idea of the frame being what makes the art is really interesting. A bank robbery isn't a work of art but framing it correctly it could be. A shopping list isn't a work of art, but a shopping list written by John Lennon and published in a biography of his would be. That's a nice thought in my opinion

    • @Nhoj31neirbo47
      @Nhoj31neirbo47 10 років тому

      Art as a mitigating circumstance in criminal cases." But your Honor, I've been framed ". :)

  • @gumbydance
    @gumbydance 10 років тому +3

    Aww, I always liked the signoff. I think "Please don't break the law." is generally a good idea, especially when trying to discourage kids from engaging in petty trespassing, etc. If a viewer has a good enough reason to break the law, they probably won't feel especially constrained by a signoff.
    But maybe your heavily caveated signoff version from this episode could work on a permanent basis?

  • @Zerkbern
    @Zerkbern 10 років тому +5

    Don't forget to be artsome.

  • @therisingtithes
    @therisingtithes 10 років тому +1

    Am I the only one who thinks '... and please don't break the law!' is actually a really good outro?
    I think I like Anna Ewing 's suggestion, though, with that one edit:
    "Be smart, make art, please don't break the law."

  • @illyxxolicnaxim
    @illyxxolicnaxim 10 років тому +1

    That sign off, keep that

  • @idiotsloveboxes
    @idiotsloveboxes 10 років тому +1

    Possible sign offs:
    And remember to make great art.
    Now go make the world beautiful.
    And always love what you make.

  • @tstercula
    @tstercula 10 років тому

    Great video! Although I think the tough thing about art is that it is both amoral and subjective. That beautiful bank heist could be seen as an artistic expression by someone, especially when deconstructed and given meaning (even if only to one person, it's still meaning).

  • @wordsbyjulia127
    @wordsbyjulia127 10 років тому

    Such an amazing video! Loved it!

  • @oliviamcgovern
    @oliviamcgovern 10 років тому

    Maybe your sign off could be something about portrayal and interpretation, how there are thousands of ways for art to be portrayed and interpreted. I think that's what you were trying to say here; art isn't illegal until it is interpreted by the governments we live in, so we should be careful about the ways we portray our art so that it can be interpreted in a way that won't end us up in jail, where it's hard to continue making art. (I also want to add that it's very interesting how in those examples, the societies in which the artists lived inspired the art that broke the society's own regulations) Awesome video!

  • @ntcssj
    @ntcssj 10 років тому

    This is what drew me to be passionate about art in highschool. I started a program which required lots of art research and realized how important art is as a political entity. I think the best art/expression raises social, political, philosophical or other issues. Beauty and aesthetics can extend value in such important ways beyond the simple surface of being "pretty" or skillful. ALL THE POLITICAL ART! :D

  • @frenchw1nter
    @frenchw1nter 10 років тому

    I really like "And please don't break the law" as a a sign-off. Or maybe I've just grown attached to it since you guys have said it a few times already. :)

  • @RumoSenpai
    @RumoSenpai 10 років тому +1

    I would suggest "... and now, let´s make art." as a sign-off

  • @mikiverevikim
    @mikiverevikim 10 років тому +1

    My favourite episode yet :)

  • @deverynorth5978
    @deverynorth5978 10 років тому

    I love how informative this video was. Also how Sarah got a little sassy when explaining that modernism is not contemporary. I hate it when people misuse them!

    • @theartassignment
      @theartassignment  10 років тому +2

      Haha, I was actively trying to reign in the sassy on that point! Glad you can relate.

  • @saratula5731
    @saratula5731 10 років тому

    Eventhoug I didn't knew about any of this historical moments, I do consider that it is importanto to spread the word. Not only between English speakers but also with other languages, I'm from Mexico and lots of people already talk English but there are lots and lots more that don't, I wondered if I can make a surt of translation for subtitles or something like that... And in the case of the asignment It would be great to find details from famous peaces of art that they like and mix them in a way so they tell their story (life/love/failure/success/etc).

  • @paulidin
    @paulidin 10 років тому

    Oh, this is so great and addresses some questions I had yet unvoiced. Fantastic! Oh, and for a sign-off, I bet Mr. Neil Gaiman would be okay with you borrowing his Make Good Art quote in some fashion!

  • @cliff_lu
    @cliff_lu 7 років тому

    live smart through art

  • @johnjohnson3709
    @johnjohnson3709 5 років тому

    Art is what you make it! And I’m not making enough!

  • @emmetcameron1026
    @emmetcameron1026 10 років тому

    "Be safe and considerate." - a sticker in the old subway cars in Toronto, and also a good guideline for life and maybe Art Assignmenting? Safe means no art that involves injuring/endangering conscious beings, considerate means that if you are going to do something disruptive, you must think about it carefully first, and be able to give reasons beyond "it's art!", whether it's something like "stopping people on the street to ask them to participate in this project might inconvenience them temporarily, but it is worthwhile to foster connections and I will be careful not to detain anybody who isn't into it" or "rocking out on this church will piss people off, but we have legitimate beef with the people who will be pissed, and this is a way to engage them so they will not be able to easily brush us off."

  • @nick67331
    @nick67331 10 років тому +2

    Hey Sarah, do you think you could do a Crash Course Art History series? I would love to see that!

  • @miriambates5421
    @miriambates5421 10 років тому +1

    Ai Wei Wei! Well deserved spotlight.

  • @feitocomfruta
    @feitocomfruta 10 років тому +1

    There is a difference between breaking laws and breaking sociological norms. In college, I took a Sociology class and we had a project where we had to take a societal norm and actively break it. I argue that in many ways, art was being created in controversial ways. Mine was simply standing in the front of the class holding a sign advertising my team for our Dance Marathon while class was starting, though I also had a thought to actually bring in my pillow and comforter and take a nap in the middle of the lecture hall. While some students did different "college kid" things that could break laws, some of the interesting ones were breaking the norms you really don't think about.
    One couple in the class actively had very vocal sex in each of their apartments while their roommates were home, but they both used it as a comparison of societal gender roles by recording the reactions. Another girl went to dinner at a restaurant with her family and got very nit-picky about her meal, asking multiple questions about how the food was made and even getting very forceful about wanting to see the kitchen herself (once the server took her back, she told them about the project and that she didn't need to see the kitchen, thanking them for playing along.) Finally, some girls set up a tent in the residence commons one night, ordering pizza and camping out indoors (until they actually had to leave because security told them to.) In all these examples, we did things that broke societal "laws" but were not violating legal codes.

    • @theartassignment
      @theartassignment  10 років тому

      That's a good point. Part of the reason why I chose the two examples of Pussy Riot and Ai Weiwei is because they are clear cases of artists being taken into the custody of their governments for legal code violation. There's a huge amount of art that tries to break sociological norms. Some of the examples you cite from your class aren't too dissimilar from aspects of past art performances. But for my own, personal understanding of art--the intention of it being an art action matters, as well as who the perceived audience. These are important distinctions, and I appreciate your bringing them up.

    • @feitocomfruta
      @feitocomfruta 10 років тому

      The Art Assignment Of course, you're quite welcome. I agree with your point. Art is about intent and audience as much as it is about form and function. Was my project intended to be art? No, but some could argue that it is art just as much as the guys standing out on our campus with the 20 foot tall "You're going to hell" banners were making art. Neither of us had the intent to make art, though our audiences were similar.
      I had other art classes in college, and I learned where my strengths were, so I could possibly call myself an artist, with a focus on both drawing (I want to get back into it again, I just need to get my kit out again) and digital photography (with a focus on fashion and glamour photography.) Those would be my mediums of choice for these assignments.

    • @theartassignment
      @theartassignment  10 років тому

      feitocomfruta Would love to see you respond to some of the assignments.

  • @MandoPudding
    @MandoPudding 10 років тому +10

    I've come to expand my definition of what art is to be anything. You can call absolutely anything art, it's just a matter of whether or not other people agree with you.
    Some might call a Jeff Koons sculpture art, and I might not. Marco Evaristti might call his goldfish blender sculptures art, and I might not. Meanwhile, I might call a (illegal) bank robbery art, and the government might not and etc.
    Really, as long as you can argue for it, you can call it art. I guess then, that requires your own personal definition of art, which is different for everybody. I've come to accept that as cold hard truth.
    There is no universal definition of art, and to even try and suggest that all art shares one definite quality that makes it 'art' is a really dated and modernist approach to viewing art.

  • @oliviamcgovern
    @oliviamcgovern 10 років тому

    Also, I'm just wondering if you're planning on doing any Art Assignments that have to do with writing or literature. Like maybe a kind of poem, or a prompt of some sort? That would be really exciting!

  • @sakuradeva555
    @sakuradeva555 10 років тому

    You are brilliant :) btw that law thing you did at the end was a pretty good sign off

  • @Mawdryn67
    @Mawdryn67 10 років тому

    First off Sara, great episode. Informative and interesting. Interesting...interesting...I guess fundamentally I have always believed that above all else, art should be interesting...no, that's not quite it. Even something boring (or uninteresting) placed in the right environment can evoke thought. Perhaps that is what I am grasping for...I think I have always assumed that no matter what else, art at some level should evoke thought of some kind. I have not had any formal education about art, so I'm not sure my sign off (which would be "...and so make me think") would work here. If you can get to the most basic thing that art is for you, use that for your sign off...oh, and keep making me think.

    • @theartassignment
      @theartassignment  10 років тому

      I completely agree. Art, for me, must be interesting. It can be interesting in different ways (intellectually, visually, viscerally), but that is an excellent barometer. Thanks for commenting.

  • @amandalovelace1698
    @amandalovelace1698 10 років тому

    Could you maybe do a video on performance art? I absolutely love Abramovic's work and would really like more history on that form of art altogether. And maybe you could say "make your great day."?

  • @CelloFiend717
    @CelloFiend717 10 років тому +2

    "There's a lot of great reading to do on these subjects. You'll find some suggestions in the ..." I fully expected to hear "dooblydoo."

  • @Loughyhy6n07
    @Loughyhy6n07 10 років тому

    love this. love this series.

  • @OperationCaitlin
    @OperationCaitlin 10 років тому

    Great video! One of my favorite examples of this idea is Shamsia Hassani.

  • @LooneyMann
    @LooneyMann 10 років тому

    I like the Welcome to Nightvale format of ending with "Today's proverb 'blah blah blah.' " - You could end each video with a different "Art is..." quote. For example, "Art is not a thing; it is a way." - Elbert Hubbard; Maybe one of them will just stick.