Thinking Things

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Comment by Lisa Mullen on Wednesday

Hi all

Unfortunately I'm going to have to postpone the Thinking Things meeting scheduled for next Weds 22 May. Once I've confirmed a new room booking I will circulate the new date.

Apologies!

best wishes

Lisa

Comment by Lisa Mullen on April 13, 2013 at 9:17

Dear all

Our next Things meeting is next Wednesday 17th April, 6-7.30pm, Room 112 Gordon Square.

I'd like to look at Michael Fried's influential/controversial 1967 essay Art and Objecthood, which is summarised on www.theartstory.org as follows:

This essay was written in response to the work of Minimalists Donald Judd and Robert Morris, whom Fried deemed "literalists." Fried accused these artists of confusing the definition of "object" and "art" and of being overly theatrical in their work, to the point where they became ideologists rather than artists. According to Fried, Judd and Morris tried to free art from its flat, rectangular confines, and were opposed to painting and sculpture that was made "part by part, by addition .. in which specific elements separate from the whole, thus setting up relationships within the work." Fried believed that Modern art should not be dogmatic in this way, and by opposing such elemental constructedness [...] the work of Judd and Morris was left hollow.
 [...] The literalists were guilty of creating what Fried called "objecthood." In "art," the objects employed to construct the work were autonomous entities, disconnected from the surrounding world. In "objecthood" - roughly defined as the antithesis of, or objection to, art - the objects worked together to form one large object, but achieved nothing more than emphasizing that the result was, in the end, just an object.


I thought it would be interesting to consider whether Fried's definition of objecthood as the antithesis of art is convincing; and whether it's challenged or supported by the definition of things and objects we've looked at previously in the group?

The essay is widely available online - but here is the link to my pdf from The Object Reader

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/62603812/fried%20art%20and%20ob...

If you could let me know if you can make it on Wednesday that would be great.

FYI the next two meetings are on Wed 22 May and Tue 28 June - any nomination for readings for these two sessions are very welcome!

best wishes


Lisa

Comment by Julie Warburton on March 22, 2013 at 12:19

 

http://blip.tv/litscimed/steven-connor-5237951 - for S Connor fans

Comment by Lisa Mullen on March 18, 2013 at 11:43

Hi all

The next Things group is on Wednesday, and surprisingly (!) I've had one or two requests to reschedule the Prosthetics topic as there does seem to be some interest in it. So please feel free to join us in Room 112 6-7.30pm on Wednesday - there will be wine and crisps!

I will also be inviting proposals for topics for next term so please let me know if there are any you'd like us to cover, either by email or on Wednesday.

I'm also considering changing the day of the meetings back to Tuesday as my teaching is coming to an end next term - please could you let me know whether this is a better day, and if not, when your free-est evenings are?

best wishes


Lisa

Comment by Julie Warburton on March 13, 2013 at 19:15

http://www.berfrois.com/2012/10/shredded-reads/  Well I had to post these images somewhere and this seemed as good a place as any!  Can't quite work out the thing/object/waste/destruction/reconstruction relationships going on here, but lovely images nevertheless.....

Comment by Hugh Smith on March 1, 2013 at 10:04

Hey - if you are looking for numbers, just to say I am definitely up for coming to the next meeting. 

Comment by Lisa Mullen on February 16, 2013 at 18:08

Hi all

Hope to see you at this Wednesday's Things group, 6-7.30pm , Room 112 Gordon Square.

If no one objects, I want to try again to discuss the troubling intimacy of prosthetics. Here again is the reading:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/62603812/sobchack%20a%20leg%20to%20stand%2...

and here is the film on YouTube:

http://youtu.be/cLJk5wEmsx8

Don't worry if you don't have time to read/watch both (or either!) as I hope we can just use these as a springboard to think about wider thingly issues.

Please could I ask those of you who think they will be coming to let me know?

best wishes

Lisa

PS Thanks for that link about 3D printing Julie - maybe a future topic for discussion?

Comment by Julie Warburton on February 8, 2013 at 19:17

http://www.dezeen.com/2013/02/07/sam-jacob-on-3d-printing/

printing things in 3D

Comment by Julie Warburton on February 1, 2013 at 13:18

Strikethrough

'The act of erasure, or striking out, can add new, unintended meanings to the images and information that lie below.'

http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/strikethrough

Writing 'sous rature' - erasing things via their words, or intensifying their meaning? 

Comment by Lisa Mullen on January 16, 2013 at 16:40

Hi all, it seems best to cancel tonight's meeting - shall we leave it for this month and try again in February?

Lisa

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