Week One:
Wednesday, 11th January, 2023
‘Dear: a printed letter used as my participation in fundraising events, which is a rearrangement of Robert Rauschenberg’s telegram “This Is a Portrait of Iris Clert If I Say So”. ‘
– Germaine Koh. A written passage on her website about the multiple, ‘Dear (Mercer)’.
‘Dear’ is quite mundane at first glance. If one were to skim through a pile of documents, unless familiar with Koh’s work, the printed letter would more than likely be taken at face value. It is addressed to Mercer Union with a simple statement beneath. I was initially taken aback when researching ‘Dear’ because of the lack of information and description surrounding it, but what Koh wrote on her website perfectly sums up the meaning of the work.
My friend Celeste and I discussed conceptual art today during our weekly lunch. Both of us battle with conceptual art but simultaneously yearn for it. We concluded, that to create and understand conceptual art, it is crucial to find acceptance in both absurdness and simplicity. As artists, when we unearth forgotten or spur-of-the-moment happenings in our daily lives, we are left appreciating and better understanding the world. Germaine Koh utilizes these ideas within her works, using something as simple as a letter to dip into the conceptual narrative.
This letter acts as an homage to the artist, Robert Rauschenberg, and his telegram piece: “This Is a Portrait of Iris Clert If I Say So”. ‘Dear’ is quite literally constructed by rearranging the letters of Rauschenberg’s telegram and utilizing his bold narratives that dissolve the ideal presentation of art.
Context is everything when reading Koh’s piece. In his telegram to someone by the name of Iris Clert, Robert Rauschenberg confidently declares that the letter being received is a portrait of Iris Clert- simply because he says so. Though traditionally, a portrait must be portrayed through visual or communicative descriptions and representations, Rauschenberg challenges and dismantles our preconceived understanding of what a portrait is. Confident artists can create reality in their delusions. I strive to do the same.
Though Koh’s basic formula is like Rauschenberg’s in’ Dear’, I find that the allusion lies within her description of the piece. While the content of the statement is a swift declaration of not being able to participate in the fundraising events, she simultaneously claims to use sending the letter as her participation in the fundraising events. Though the communicational aspect claims one thing, the action of sending the letter has claimed the exact opposite. I find the irony very cheeky.
Rauschenberg declares participation within an art realm that would not be associated with such a statement- while Koh’s declaration avoids participation while technically doing the thing she declares to be avoiding. The meaning of the definition they use challenges what is occurring.
I was immediately reminded of a piece I had learned about previously, where a pencil-drawn portrait of an artist is erased by another- but the title claims to be the same portrait. A quick google search provided me with the name: Rauschenberg. No wonder his style was so familiar. The piece is called ‘Erased de Kooning Drawing’ from 1953.
Week Two:
Monday, January 16th, 2023
Banner: ‘Predatory’
I did not struggle to decide which phrase I would display on the banner from this reading. ‘Predatory’ audibly sounds simplistic, but there is a plethora of meanings this word can possess. I measured the paper into 10 equal parts, deciding on the 9 pieces that fit each letter depending on the size and leaf-print placement. I drew the letters, cut them, and strung each letter onto a metal wire to spell out the word ‘Predatory’.
‘Predatory’ in context to the reading is ‘the predatory relationship with commodities- ‘, which speaks about the colonialist nature of capitalism from an Indigenous Futurist perspective. I decided to leave the word on its own due to the many other things that are attached to it. This word has stuck with me like a parasite for my entire life. It is a shapeshifter- it takes on many forms from the pasts of me and my ancestry. Not that I or my family are predatory in nature- we often act more as the prey.
‘Predatory’ stems from some of the most basic behaviors in animals- hunting another living being for nutrients. This word has a variety of implications now, with more emotional or technological strings attached, such as manipulation for personal gain, or, as mentioned, destruction for commodification. Thus, I decided to use the beautiful leaf paper to symbolize the root of predatory behaviors: nature- and the wire to symbolize the newfound attachment that the word has towards industrialization and civilization today.
As consumers our senses are pumped with capitalist tactics, which convince us that our worth is determined by how much our income equals. The poor are dehumanized and stripped of their basic needs, living in squalor and inhabitable conditions. Of course, the invasion of white colonialists onto Indigenous land is the very root of why the Western world is so corrupted. Industrialism began when white settlers gutted the water and animals, reaped the soil, murdered people and ruthlessly abused them, and violated nature in the evilest ways imaginable. Indigenous folks continue to feel the effects of this- many live in poverty and suffer immensely. White cishet men in power will continue to perpetuate the conqueror’s mentality until the world’s life-giving gifts will be wasted.
The ‘predatory’ nature of colonialism has deeply affected my family and ancestors, as well. There has been a severe ripple effect that has seeped into the lives of my family (and very possibly myself) regarding the horrific experiences they had to face not so long ago. My great-grandparents, my Papa, my aunt, and my uncle are survivors of the detrimental effects of indoctrination from the residential schools in Canada. The inability to accept Indigeneity has only recently been open for discussion. Stealing children and grooming them, through religion and through assault, is extremely predatorial. Generationally, coping mechanisms and harmful self-loathing attitudes have carried themselves into future generations, and this is very common for Indigenous families to experience.
From a very personal experience, naivety has shaped my adolescence and early adulthood in ways that I would not like to admit. I have fallen victim to three people whom I would deeply consider to be ‘predatory’, and I grapple with troubling realizations and long-term issues as I begin to see what has happened to me in a third-person view. It is terrifyingly more common than I thought for people my age to have been exposed to the ugliest side of human interactions. This naivety has previously shown itself quite literally in my art. I have been very fearful of diving into deeper waters and source material for my art. I have successfully written and composed music about these experiences but failed to translate them into a less-temporal art form. My visual work has been called ‘childlike’ or ‘whimsical’, and I am just now realizing that I am clinging onto the fleeting bliss that I should have been able to cherish during my teenage years. It took me everything to not make a banner about the Beatles- an early childhood obsession of mine.
In conclusion, predatory nature should not be glorified. I am putting it on a banner simply to shed light onto such a heavy word.
Mammal – They Might Be Giants + Furry Dancing Competition Moves
The Furry Fandom is a deep place. Those within the fandom immerse themselves in the culture that has sprouted over decades of content and community.
In the Wild West that is the internet, those in my age demographic were exposed to a plethora of information, force-fed to us against our will. The Furry Fandom ended up weaseling its way into my mind from just mere mouse clicks and rabbit holes (all puns heavily intended). As extensive as the Fandom reaches, I only was thankfully only able to touch upon some of the more ‘safe for work’ areas of the community, such as through the millions of furry artists and Fursuiters.
I just recently begun delving into the world of furry dance competitions, which are mostly held during Furry Fan Conventions.
Taking dancing clips from these Conventions, I created (an amateur) choreographed compilation of the song ‘Mammal’ by They Might Be Giants.
I debated on a few different songs, including:
The Wild Dog – Joe Venuti (a little bit of context in the title, but not as relevant as I’d like)
Woof Woof – Arthur (a bit of context in the title, short and sweet, still not very relevant)
Bungle In The Jungle- Jethro Tull (too relevant)
Dog – Ben Folds (fun, short, context, not too danceable)
Bring on the Dancing Horses – Echo and the Bunnymen (suggested by my sister, too relevant, but funny)
Dogs- Pink Floyd (10 minutes long, nuh uh)
Mammal:
They Might Be Giants is a math-rock band (sometimes) and they are very involved with science and education. Their songs have equal parts of silliness, irony, seriousness, and genius. Some may find their music obnoxious.
Mammal is a song regarding the sameness of mammals, as well as their differences. Noting slight changes in evolution, but alluding to many similarities in mammals’ biological makeup.
The furry fandom, in one way, seems as if humanity’s extreme awareness of other species is making us regress, by romanticizing the biology of mammals around us and embodying them. There are slight differences in our biology- but humans aren’t too much different from other mammals besides our (supposedly) ‘superior’ intelligence (according to most humans). But who is to judge who is more intelligent when we are not able to comprehend the consciousness and reality of other species of life?
I feel as if it is odd for Furries to be outcasted due to this infatuation with other species. If they are not harming anyone in the process (there are bad apples, but the majority of the fandom is good-natured) then it shouldn’t concern anyone.
Another dog-themed song by They Might Be Giants. The only song I’ve heard with those experimental tone steps (insert proper music term here).