Cal Arts School of Art, MFA seminar, Fall 2005

students: erek daves / helen garber / gilda davidian / anna jones / brennan hill / john hogan / stephanie anderson / hayley blatte / kiki johnson / malka miller / chris thoren / rowan maess / nikhil murthy, t.a.

visitors: katie grinnan (artist), robby herbst (journal of aesthetics and protest), alex segade & malik gaines (my barbarian), nina jan beier, marie jan lund, chosil jan kil and josephine jan michau (janfamily), milena muzquiz (los super elegantes)

final event: erek - sings a song about his dead pets / helen - reads hre favorite potry / gilda - brings a cake for us to decorate together / brennan & kiki - a performance in the dome / john - a reading performance about dophins, sound and music / stephanie - as doctor leads an interactive dancing performance / malka - brings her hollywood make-up artist friend to show us how to make bruises / chris - brings classic holiday swedish bread & tells it's story / nikhil - serves an indian dish from the town his family is from / at the sundown residence 12.12.05

The seminars and studios that I will be leading this year as visiting artist are loosely related in theme and content. We will be exploring the possible alternatives to the conventional practice of the contemporary artist. This generally involves the solitary creation of work in a generic non-imposing studio space and the solitary experience of the completed work in an equally generic and non-imposing gallery space. Perhaps this model is the most expedient way to market the work of the artist. What are the other social, political and economic forces at work? Through these classes we will look at the opportunities for the contemporary artist to respond to the unique conditions that surround them, to directly interact with the complex reality of their time and place and the people that are a part of their lives. These classes will look in particular at the marginalized and ephemeral art forms of gardens, parades, pageants and salons. Of particular interest will be issues of public and domestic space, communal experience and organic processes.

This seminar in particular will explore diverse models for socially created and experienced art. We will consider the nature of the ephemeral communal event within the context of an art practice, viewing these events both as works of art, and as catalysts for larger movements in local cultural communities and the broader world of the arts. We will do case studies of contemporary & historic, local & international examples.

SCHEDULE
#01 - 09.12
in class: introductions, presentation by fritz
film: 'The Cockettes' by David Weissman, dir., 2001
presentations: do broad research for case study presentations. bring a list of possible subjects with any documentation to present to the class
reading assigned: 'Disney's America on Parade', introduction / 'Charmed Circle: Gertrude Stein and Company', chapter 1
#02 - 09.19
in class:
film: 'The Cockettes' by David Weissman, dir., 2001 / Ant Farm videos
presentations: each student will present a list of possible topics to the class and select 2 that will be presented later in the term.
reading discussed: 'Disney's America on Parade', introduction / 'Charmed Circle: Gertrude Stein and Company', chapter 1
reading assigned: 'Jewish Women and Their Salons: The Power of Conversation' , chapter 1
#03 - 09.26
in class: schedule individual presentation times and topics
film: Ant Farm video - 'Media Burn'
reading discussed: 'Jewish Women and Their Salons: The Power of Conversation' , chapter 1
reading assigned: 'Ant Farm' essay from catalog
#04 - 10.03
in class: visit by artist Katie Grinnan, presentation of Aspen parade
reading discussed: 'Ant Farm' essay from catalog
reading assigned: 'Relational Aesthetics' part 1
presentations:
#01 stephanie / beltane festival
#02 anna / miss america
#05 - 10.10
no class
#06 - 10-17
in class:
film: Anna Halprin videos / Ant Farm videos
reading discussed: 'Relational Aesthetics' part 1
reading assigned: 'Antagonism & Relational Aesthetics' part 1
presentations:
#03 torry / bread & puppet
#04 helen / cuba
#07 - 10.24
in class:
reading discussed: 'Antagonism & Relational Aesthetics' part 1
reading assigned: 'Gertrude & Alice' part 1
presentations:
#05 rowan / pageant of the masters
#06 malka / bloomsbury group
#07 chris / berlin love parade
#08 - 10.31
in class: visit by The Jan Family, presentation of their work
reading discussed:
reading assigned:
presentations:
#08 john / presidential inaugural parade
#09 gilda / max ball, dada, cabaret voltaire
#09 - 11.07
in class:
reading discussed:
reading assigned:
presentations:
#10 kiki / the blessing of the animals
#11 hayley / florine stettheimer's salon
#10 - 11.14
in class: visit by Robby Herbst, presentation on Anna Halprin / watch Anna Halprin videos
reading discussed:
reading assigned:
presentations:
#12 anna / rainbow gatherings
#13 chris / swedish st. lucia pageant
#14 brennan / flash mobs
#11 - 11.21
in class: visit by Alex Segade & Malik Gaines from 'My Barbarian'
reading discussed:
reading assigned:
presentations:
#15 john / dostoevsky & the russian salon
#16 torry / the influence of the medici family
#12 - 11.28
in class:
reading discussed:
reading assigned:
presentations:
#17 gilda / natalie barney
#18 malka / montana artist refuge
#19 bianca / doo dah parade
#13 - 12.5
in class:
reading discussed:
reading assigned:
presentations:
#20 brennan / mummers parade
#21 kiki / military parade
#22 rowan / madame roland
#14 - 12.12
in class:
reading discussed:
reading assigned:
presentations:
#23 bianca / survey of contemporary salons
#24 helen / orange parade
#25 hayley / nyc halloween parade

BIBLIOGRAPHY (partial)
Bilski, Emily D. and Emily Braun, 'Jewish Women and Their Salons: The Power of Conversation', New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005.
Bishop, Claire, 'Antagonism and Relational Aesthetics', October 110, pp.51-79, fall 2004.
Bourriaud, Nicolas, 'Relational Aesthetics', Paris: Les Presses du Reel, 1998.
Craveri, Benedetta and Teresa Waugh, 'The Age of Conversation', New York: New York Review Books Collections, 2005.
Halprin, Emily, 'Taking Part', Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1974.
Jacobs, David, 'Disney's America on Parade', New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1939.
Mellow, James R., 'Charmed Circle: Gertrude Stein and Company', New York: Avon Books, 1974.
Souhami, Diana, 'Gertrude and Alice', London: Pandora Press, 1991.
Sandra, Jaida N'Ha and Jon Spayde , 'Salons: The Joy of Conversation', New Society Publishers, 2001.
Kelder, Diane, 'Pageant of the Renaissance', Praeger Publishers.

DEFINITIONS
pa•rade n.
An organized public procession on a festive or ceremonial occasion.
The participants in such a procession.

A regular place of assembly for reviews of troops. Also called parade ground.
A ceremonial review of troops.
The troops taking part in such a review.
A line or extended group of moving persons or things: a parade of strollers on the mall.
An extended, usually showy succession: a parade of fads and styles.
An ostentatious show; an exhibition: make a parade of one's talents. See synonyms at display.
A public square or promenade.

v., -rad•ed, -rad•ing, -rades.
v.intr.
To take part in a parade; march in a public procession: The circus performers and animals paraded down Main Street.
To assemble for a ceremonial military review or other exercise.
To stroll in public, especially so as to be seen; promenade.
To behave so as to attract attention; show off.
v.tr.
To cause to take part in a parade: paraded the floats past city hall.
To assemble (troops) for a ceremonial review.
To march or walk through or around: parade the campus.
To exhibit ostentatiously; flaunt: paraded their wealth. See synonyms at show.
[Probably French, action of stopping a horse, from Old Spanish parada, from Vulgar Latin *parata, from feminine past participle of Latin parare, to prepare.]

parade - thesaurus
noun - A formal military inspection: review. See investigate.
An impressive or ostentatious exhibition: array, display, panoply, pomp, show, spectacle. See show/hide.
verb - To make a public and usually ostentatious show of: brandish, display, disport, exhibit, expose, flash, flaunt, show (off), sport. See show/hide.

parade - encyclopedia
A parade is an organized procession of people along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by floats or sometimes large lighter-than-air balloons with complex shapes. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind. Protest demonstrations also sometimes take the form of a parade, but in such cases are usually referred to as a march instead. The parade float got its name because the first floats were decorated barges that were towed along canals with ropes held by parade marchers on the shore. Today, parade floats are traditionally pulled by motor vehicles or powered themselves.

pag•eant n.
An elaborate public dramatic presentation that usually depicts a historical or traditional event.
A spectacular procession or celebration.
Colorful showy display; pageantry or pomp.
[Middle English pagin, pagent, moveable stage for a mystery play, mystery play, alteration of Medieval Latin pagina, probably from Latin, page.]

pageant - encyclopedia
pageant, modern dramatic spectacle or procession celebrating a special occasion or an event in the history of a locality. In medieval times the word pageant had meant the wagon or the movable stage on which one scene of a mystery or miracle play was performed. The pageant was built on wheels and consisted of two rooms, the lower one being used as a dressing room and the upper used as a stage. The word also referred to the complex wooden machine-structures built for the Tudor masque. The modern form of the pageant came into general use in England and America since the production, in 1905, of L. N. Parker's Sherborne pageant in England. Pageants include such celebrations as the Mardi Gras and annual local festivals.

sa•lon n.
A large room, such as a drawing room, used for receiving and entertaining guests.
A periodic gathering of people of social or intellectual distinction.
A hall or gallery for the exhibition of works of art.
A commercial establishment offering a product or service related to fashion: a beauty salon.
[French, from Italian salone, augmentative of sala, hall, of Germanic origin.]

Salon, annual exhibition of art works chosen by jury and presented by the French Academy since 1737; it was originally held in the Salon d'Apollon of the Louvre. By the mid-19th cent. the Salon had become an expression of conservative, established tastes in art. Until 1863 it was the only major public art exhibition held in Paris. That year the Salon des Réfusés was organized in protest by artists whose works were rejected by the Salon jury. See academies of art.