Paper 1
Samantha VanderHyden
In the beginning of this semester when class first started I will admit I knew nothing about film. Sure, I know about photography and know about music and soundtracks nothing really about the art behind film itself. So when I heard the quote by Marcel Duchamp I used my knowledge as an over all artist to think deeper. I thought about the films we say in class and how they could relate to the quote. The quote was “all in all, the creative act is not performed by the artist alone; the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and interpreting its inner qualification and thus adds his contribution to the creative act.”
In the quote mentioned above my very first thought was all he was saying is that without a viewer to look and connect with the piece, there wouldn’t be any art. Think about it art is pretty open ended and can be seen in many different ways, there is no one right answer. Art is what you make it mean. Say the artist did have something in mind, but how you see it might be different and that’s fine. Really you connection to it is what makes it complete. Otherwise what is a piece of art other than just a painting, of just a picture, and whose knows just a movie with film and no meaning?
What is a film? What makes it art? Better yet what makes it good art from bad art? If you asked me a few weeks ago I couldn’t tell you. In fact, even before this class I thought most good movies had a plot. But after watching some movies in class such as my favorite, Bear Garden. I was impressed! I watched that movie taking in everything; I found myself feeling emotions just by the way the movie was shot. I felt like humans and the dogs were the threats to us. Just by using film dye and red paint in her short film I felt fear, anger, blood was everywhere, and I felt like the bear. Even her camera angles added to the effect of how you the viewers respond. I felt by watching the movie the artist was talking to me, that her message was getting across to me. And she did it well enough that I was feeling during the movie. It was like being apart of the art.
When I reread the quote what Marcel Duchamp I think that in a way he was trying to say art is like a triangle. You have the artist who has an idea and creates the art. Then you have the art itself as a finished idea and product of creations from the artist. Lastly, you have the viewer who sees the art and finishes it but feeling and making there own connection with art. Art wouldn’t be art unless there was someone to see it and watch it.
Art is everywhere, no matter where you turn. It’s in the art you breathe or in the noise you hear. The world wouldn’t be the same if there wasn’t any art, and you as a viewer do make it whole. So really if you think hard enough the viewer is the most important piece when it comes to art. Sure the film, the camera, projector, or the paint is all important. But, what is the point unless you get through to someone and prove a point is probably the greatest Feeling an artist can have knowing there art had an impact on someone. So all in all Duchamp was right an artist can not preformed the creative act by themselves.