ACTIVISM IN ART
EXHIBITION STATEMENT
To many viewers, art is simply something to pleasure the eye. But
behind the beautiful paintings and the meticulous sculptures is a
deeper and more acroamatic purpose that Activism in Art aims to
discover which is art’s overall ability to produce change. The
exhibition will take place at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Georgia. It will
feature five contemporary artist: Tania Bruguera, Marina DeBris, Mary
Mattingly, Liz Magic Laser, and Barbara Kruger. These women have
made extensive progress in not only bringing awareness to modern
issues ranging from political, social and environment concerns as a
result of society’s capitalistic tendencies but have also made personal
and effortful contributions to creating change for these issues.
VENUE: PIEDMONT PARK
ATLANTA, GA
Activism in Art will take place in Piedmont Park. The location was
specifically chosen to accommodate for the exhibition itself. Piedmont
Park is a large outdoor area located in midtown of Atlanta, Georgia. Its
central location will allow for it to reach a wide variety of viewers in a
public space, compared to private location., which coincides with the
exhibition goal of enforcing activism. Atlanta specifically is a huge
metropolitan city that will allow for the expansion of viewers with views that
relate to many of the issues that are addressed within the exhibition.
EXHIBITION MAP
1
2
3
4
5
The Meadow
Mayor’s
Grove
Atlanta
Botanical
Magnolia Hall
The Northwoods
1.Tania Bruguera
2.Marina DeBris
3.Mary Mattingly
4.Liz Magic Laser
5.Barbara Kruger
Piedmont Park Map. Piedmont Park Conservancy
https://www.piedmontpark.org/maps/
TANIA BRUGUERA
Tania Bruguera is an artist whose works are politically
motivated, and she is deeply engaged with her work by
pushing it onto many institutions and individuals. Her
inspiration stems from her childhood, as Bruguera is
Havana, Cuba native who was raised in the age of
Fidel Castro’s communist government. She stands
strong in her condemnation of political oppression and
this is modeled throughout all of her work. In fact, she
herself prefers to call herself an “initiator” rather than
an author.
DISPLACEMENT BY
TANIA BRUGUERA
Now featured on display, this piece of work
designed and created is a body suit made of
mud and nails that was actually worn by
Bruguera amongst the streets of central
Philadelphia. She initially portrayed this 19
years ago in Havana at a citizen
demonstration that was protesting against
Fidel Castro and his government. The suit
easily brings shock value to any viewer, as
Bruguera successfully is able to bring
attention and awareness to oppressed
migrant groups and those under corrupt
government control.
Displacement
Cuban mud and nails
78 x 32 x 24 in
1998-2003
https://www.phillips.com/detail/
tania-bruguera/NY010515/1
MARINA DEBRIS
Marina DeBris is a graphic designer who uses
her talents to reflect on issues concerning the
environment and more specifically the negative
impact of human waste on the ocean. Living in
Australia, her passion for ocean conservation
and clean up is rooted in her country and her
want to conserve its beauty. She takes a unique
approach to her work by using recycled trash and
transforming it to become fashion pieces, overall
showing the parallels of the beauty of fashion
and the dark side of consumerism and its effects
on our environment.
WHITE TRASH BY
MARINA DEBRIS
• DeBris coined the term “Trashion” (trash-fashion) to many of
her works, in which she collects trash and other unbelonging
items in the ocean that she has found at trash pickups at
beaches and models them on individuals . By doing this,
DeBris is able to physically show to the public the things that
unfortunately do end up in our oceans. By portraying it as
“fashion”, DeBris portrays a dichotomy between the beauty
and the ugly of the reality of how humans as a whole are
treating one of the most essential ecosystems. By using
pieces of trash that she has gone and picked up as the
medium for her art, she contributes not only to the activism
behind environmental restoration and conservation but can
even furthered conveyed messages about recycling and
reusing in the same context.
White Trash
Cigarette lighters, straws, plastic utensils, bottle caps
Modeled by Kat Jones
2016
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/
2016/sep/13/trashion-designer-marina-debris-turns-
ocean-rubbish-into-high-end-outfits-in-pictures
MARY MATTINGLY
Mary Mattingly is a conceptual visual
artist. Her work is focused in on
environmental activism and
education, and instead of just bringing
awareness to the issues within our
environment, she goes above and
beyond to force viewers to see the
reality of environmental damages and
effects. Specifically,, she focuses her
works to frame a future dystopian
world where humans are forced to live
sustainably. Many of her works are
located throughout different exhibits
and locations in New York
INFLATABLE HOME BY
MARY MATTINGLY
Much of Mattingly’s work is focused on how our
society could function in the modern world with
the bare minimum. Aspects of design revolved
around environmental sustainability can be seen
in many of her works, and this piece is no limit to
that. This photo shows a women who has just
washed up on shore with an inflatable home
attached to her back, presenting the idea that
she was living on the ocean in this home. She
depicts the viewers what our future world may
look like if we continue to ignore the effects of
climate change and disregard the planet, but
also presents solutions to the consequences that
may ensue.
Inflatable Home
Chromogenic dye coupler print
30” x 40’
2008
portfolio/mary-mattingly/
LIZ MAGIC LASER
Liz Magic Laser has a particularly unique
approach to her artwork and design. Laser
is diverse in her work, as it consists of not
only physical sculpture and installation, but
also video and performance. Her work
aims to disembody different modes of
power: ranging from power on a
political level to power on a social level
and all in between. She is based in the
hustling and bustling city of New York
which gives her optimal location for her
work, as she is known for her use of
public spaces to stage her
performances and she often engages
the audience around her to participate
as well.
CHASE BY
LIZ MAGIC LASER
Chase
Performance and Video Installation
Actors include Anika Boras, Andra Eggleston,
Gary Lai, Liz Micek, Justin Sayre, Doug
Walter, Michael Wiener, Max Woertendyke
and Cat Yezbak.
2009-10
https://lizmagiclaser.com/chase/
In Chase, Laser takes on the role of directing a
modern reformation of the 1926 play Man Equals
Man, which is an allegory of capitalist greed and
militarism. The actors, many of which dressed up in
military uniform, went different banks throughout
New York City (hence the name Chase) and acted
out scenes of the play. The overall message of this
portion of the exhibition connects the capitalist
attitude of the 1920’s to the much more recent
financial crisis of 2008 in which our country
plummeted into a serious recession. Laser was
dedicated to forcing her message to the public as
many times she was kicked out banks just to
relocate and repeat the play in a bank down the
block (5). By going into banks, which are the most
direct beneficiary/producer of the capitalist attitudes
she is denouncing, Laser is able to reach out and
have an impact on the actual source of concern. Her
activism is literally seen in the creation of her work,
the message coinciding with the production.
BARBARA KRUGER
Barbara Kruger is a successful
graphic designer who focuses
most of her work on feminism,
consumerism, and individual
autonomy within society, Focusing
on her pro-feminism attitudes, she
more specifically approaches the
topic of how much women are the
subject of abusive control. She is
striking and bold in the name of
work,, relaying intense messages
and phrases that often are
controversial, but overall her
brave audacity has allowed her to
become world renowned in her
practice.
YOUR BODY IS A BATTLEGROUND
BY BARBARA KRUGER
The graphic design titled Your Body is a Battleground is a prime
demonstration of her stance of issues regarding women’s rights
and the pro-choice movement. The work is a graphic photo in
which a model’s face is portrayed blown up and divided in the
middle. On one side is the original positive image of the model’s
face and the other side is the face negative. Also dividing the
photo from top to bottom are the words “your body” (on top) is
(middle) a battleground (bottom). The positive to negative
division symbolizes Kruger’s critique of typically standards to
beauty. The top to bottom division puts emphasis on each part of
the slogan: your body meaning it is belonging to you and a
battlefield showing the struggle of womanhood.
Your Body is a Battleground
Photographic silkscreen on vinyl
112 x 112 in.
1989
https://www.thebroad.org/art/barbara-kruger/untitled-
your-body-battleground
BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Bruguera , Tania. Displacement. 1998. Phillips . https://www.phillips.com/detail/tania-bruguera/
NY010515/1.
• Bruguera, Tania, Paul O’Neill, Xavier Acarin, Kathleen Ditzig, Amber Esseiva, Roxana Fabius, Lee
Foley, Wang Jing, Elizabeth Larison, Robin Lynch, Park Myers, and Natalia Zuluaga. “Tania
Bruguera.” BOMB, no. 128 (2014): 124-33. Accessed September 21, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/
stable/24365902.
• DeBris, Marina. 2016. The Guardian . https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2016/
sep/13/trashion-designer-marina-debris-turns-ocean-rubbish-into-high-end-outfits-in-pictures.
• DeBris, Marina. 2017. “The Waste We Create Comes Back to Haunt Us.” International Gallerie 20
(1): 94-101 http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=asu&AN=128108371&site=ehost-live
• Diaz, Eva. “Ecofeminist World Building” Aperture, no. 234 (Spring 2019): 36-43 http://evadiaz.net/
wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Diaz_Earth
• Keefer, Angie, and Liz Magic Laser. “Angie Keefer and Liz Magic Laser.” BOMB, no. 138 (2016):
76-86. Accessed September 21, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26355505.
• Kruger, Barbara. Your Body Is a Battleground . The Broad. Accessed November 2, 2020. https://
www.thebroad.org/art/barbara-kruger/untitled-your-body-battleground.
• Laser, Liz Magic. Chase. 2009. Liz Magic Laser. https://lizmagiclaser.com/chase/.
• “Liz Magic Laser’s Guerrilla Theater.” Art21. Art 21. Accessed October 19, 2020. https://art21.org/
watch/new-york-close-up/liz-magic-lasers-guerrilla-theater/
http://www.jstor.org/stable/24365902
http://www.jstor.org/stable/24365902
http://www.jstor.org/stable/24365902
http://www.jstor.org/stable/24365902
http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=asu&AN=128108371&site=ehost-live
http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=asu&AN=128108371&site=ehost-live
http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=asu&AN=128108371&site=ehost-live
http://evadiaz.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Diaz_Earth
http://evadiaz.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Diaz_Earth
http://www.jstor.org/stable/26355505
https://art21.org/watch/new-york-close-up/liz-magic-lasers-guerrilla-theater/
https://art21.org/watch/new-york-close-up/liz-magic-lasers-guerrilla-theater/
• Mattingly, Mary. Inflatable Home. 2008. https://www.artworksforchange.org/portfolio/mary-
mattingly/.
• Mitchell, W. J. T., and Barbara Kruger. “An Interview with Barbara Kruger.” Critical Inquiry 17,
no. 2 (1991): 434-48. Accessed September 21, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1343844
• Piedmont Park Map. Piedmont Park Conservancy. Accessed November 2, 2020. https://
www.piedmontpark.org/maps/.
• “Tania Bruguera.” Art21. Art 21. Accessed October 19, 2020. https://art21.org/artist/tania-
bruguera/.
• The Broad, ed. “Barbara Kruger – Bio: The Broad.” Accessed October 19, 2020. https://
www.thebroad.org/art/barbara-kruger
BIBLIOGRAPHY CONT.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1343844
https://www.thebroad.org/art/barbara-kruger
https://www.thebroad.org/art/barbara-kruger
Today, artists work in a globally influenced and culturally diverse world, and the artworks they produce are created through advancing technologies and evolving studio practices. Much like a mirror, contemporary art has the ability to reflect a unique perspective within a particular point in time, and it is important to look at art through this lens because it can embody a variety of perspectives on identity, values, and beliefs.
The objective of this assignment is to illustrate and synthesize the major question in the course which is,
In what ways do contemporary artists reflect our culture and society?
TERM PROJECT | POWERPOINT INSTRUCTIONS: As part of your Term Project, you will create a PowerPoint presentation about your proposed curated art exhibition. This
Term Project | PowerPoint
assignment should identify the name of your exhibition, thesis statement of your show, and the venue for the exhibition; it can be in a gallery, an art center, a museum, or out in public space. Also include an exhibition map that shows how the work is to be displayed. Be creative!
To start, make slides for each of the artists with a bit about the artist and the work as it pertains to your thesis. Then create a slide of a piece of art that fits your theme with a label that gives: title, medium, dimensions (if dimensions can’t be found put “Not found”), and year. For those who are wondering, it is okay to have more than
10 slides, if you wish.
Once you have created your PPT export it as a PDF file to ensure that you have locked in your formatting
. Also, please review the sample PowerPoint and follow the outline below. The Term Project | PowerPoint is a required assignment – you must submit this assignment and receive a C- or higher in order to be eligible to pass the course.
Term Project | PowerPoint + Outline:
·
TITLE PAGE (FIRST SLIDE – NOT INCLUDED IN THE SLIDE COUNT):
· Please identify the name of your exhibition and your own name.
·
SLIDE IMAGES (BODY OF POWERPOINT – 10+ SLIDE COUNT):
· Make slides for each of the artists with a section about the artist and the work as it pertains to your thesis.
· Then create a slide of a piece of art that fits your theme with a label that gives: title, medium, dimensions (if dimensions can’t be found put “Not found”), and year
· The images should be a crisp, easy to view, and no larger than 2 MB in size.
·
You must include captions for all images giving information about their source.
· You will most likely have a variety of images in the PPT such as an image of each artist, images of work they have done in the past, or images about the cultural/societal theme being addressed, etc. So, not all of the image captions will be the same.
·
·
·
· If you use a picture of an artist’s work, please put a caption on it that includes the title, medium, dimensions, year, and URL source.
· If you use an image from a website to describe and illustrate your ideas, please put the name of the website and url as the caption. I just need to know where ALL of the images came from.
·
SLIDE TEXT (BODY OF POWERPOINT – 10+ SLIDE COUNT):
· Include a thesis statement for your exhibition.
· Identify the venue for said exhibition.
· Include an exhibition map that shows how the works will be displayed. Be creative! It can be drawn by hand or digitally rendered.
· According to the Purdue Owl website, text that you may include within your PPT proposal does not require footnotes or endnotes, but your PPT does need to have a source page/Bibliography showing that you have given credit to all the art, information, and ideas that are being shared.
·
BIBLIOGRAPHY (LAST SLIDE – NOT INCLUDED IN THE SLIDE COUNT):
· Please list the sources used for this assignment on your last slide. These can be the same sources from your paper plus any new sources related to images that you include.
· This should be formatted using the Chicago Manual of Style Format.
·
UPLOAD: Acceptable file formats for this assignment are PDF only.
Rubric
Term Project | PowerPoint
| Term Project | PowerPoint | ||||||||||
|
Criteria |
Ratings |
Pts |
||||||||
|
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeQuality Images |
20 pts Full Marks 0 pts No Marks |
20 pts | ||||||||
|
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeVenue and Map |
||||||||||
|
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeAt least 10 slides included |
||||||||||
|
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeInformative |
||||||||||
|
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeSource Page Included |
||||||||||
|
Total Points: 100 |
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Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
