AEP block test
1)a) Explain in your own words, the meaning of ‘Installation Art’.
A 3-D work, designated to be at a certain, particuar place, in a partiular manner or direction. Unlike sculptures, installation art is usually not able to leave its surroundings. The high importance placed on venue and area of installation is because the environment pertains to the meaning of the piece and can even be considered to be part of the artwork itself. For example, juxtaposition can be used to convey a certain meaning, such as use of irony and contrast. Installation art is more focused on the placement of objects within themselves or their surroundings, and is mainly conceptual. Its purpose is mostly meant to convey a message, rather than only representation or concentrating on sculptural aesthetic.
b) Describe Two Buffaloes, highlighting the significance of the materials used.
A 3-D installation art piece representing buffaloes, made out of rice sacks, straw, and what is assumably an animal’s tusk. It is mainly brown of warm tone, giving a rural, earthy feel. There are two large rice sacks, each placed on two sepreae stools, with one in front of another to portray a sense of depth and suggesting the muscles of the buffalo. However, since the title states that there are two buffaloes, when what can be seen is only one, it is unclear where the second buffalo is. The two stools coold represent the legs of the buffaloes. Coming out from the top right corner of the rice stack on the left, is a great, long bndle of straw that slowly curves inward to the right, forming a ‘c’ shape. This represents the horn of the buffalo.
On the right sack, there is a large sharp object coming out from the extreme top right corner, seemingly a buffalo’s horn that curves ina 90 degrees angle, pointing sraight to the left. The horn is slightly shiny, and appears very solid, a dark brown colour with a relatively smooth surface.
The materials are all natural, made of wood, straw, and animal horn. It rings across rural impressions, of farmers, with the rice sac, and the straw tail with its ruggedness. It portrays nature and its rawness. The basic untainted nature an be represented by the siple, singular colour schemem also portaying the life of the rural people and the farmers. It is well blnced, consisting of both organic and geometric shapes
2) a)Describe
Hendra Gunawan- Bandung as a sea of fire, 1972, oil on canvas
This painting consists of many people in a setting of a fire disaster. Right in the middle, near the bottom, is a manwho is barefooted, and wears simple clothes. He is lying on his back, upon rubble. and appears to be severely injured, with a gaping wound on his chest, blood from his mouth and bleeding from the head. His head lies in the pool of blood seemingly dead with his eyes open. Just to the left, slightly above him, is another victim who might also be dead, crushed under a pile of rubble, with only the head and arms visible, both covered with blood and the hands hanging limp. In the background, there is a whole stream of people fleeing from the fire, running uphill. Most prominent is what appears to be a family, as the parents carry their young children upon their backs as they run with their bodies slightly bent, poiting forth.
b) Analyse and interpret the artist’s intentions.
Bandung as a sea of fire
The artist portrays the horror and devastation if the fire as it kills people and forces them to run for their lives and flee from their homes. The palette is dark, with browns and blacks, contrasted, and at the same time complemented, by reds and yellows that represent the blood and the fire. This brings across a feeling of despair and fear, in which the environment is monotonous, engulfed by the fire that destroys the place. The brushwork is rough and thick, showing the raw quality of the emotions and fear. It also brings across a sense of movement as the people flee. The scene is chaotic, as people ignore those who have fallen, showing their panic and natural instinct for survival. This shows the devastation of a disaster, created through the horror of the victims.
