It was not until 1965 when she began studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade. In 1972 she completed her graduate studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, Croatia. A year later, while she was preparing her first performance as a soloist called Ritmo 10—the first in a series of four performances—she was teaching at the NoviSad Academy of Fine Arts.

She was always a very innovative artist. She was criticized from the beginning for being controversial and now she herself is one of the most proclaimed living artists in the world.

Abramovic said: "At first they were peaceful and shy, but it quickly escalated into violence. "What I learned was that if you leave the decision to the public, they can kill you. I felt really violated, they took off my clothes, they stuck rose thorns in my stomach, one pointed the gun at my head, another pushed it away. They created an atmosphere of aggressiveness. After 6 hours I got up and started walking through the audience. People were leaving, they couldn't look at my face. They were escaping the confrontation.”

This work reveals something terrible about humanity. Show how quickly a person can hurt you under favourable circumstances. It shows how easy it is to dehumanise a person who does not fight, who does not defend herself. It shows that, if the scenario is provided, the majority of apparently normal people will not be aware of the cruelty perpetrated by a few others also appear normal.

The same can be said of the mercurial George Condo whose revelatory paintings span the centuries between Madness and Beauty. 

the opposite of humour is maybe sadness.’

Olafur Eliasson is a Danish artist born in 1967. He has studied art at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts for 6 years. In 1995, he founded Studio Olafur Eliasson after moving to Berlin. Today, the studio has 90 employees made up of, for example, architects, craftsmen and art historians.

During his career, he has made many exhibitions with installations, films, paintings, and sculptures all over the world. He has also chosen to get involved in sustainability and the climate, through various projects.

What is their design style like?

Eliasson has many different works with varying purposes. The consistent theme I notice when looking at his work is how he uses light and space to create art. He uses large installations and entire rooms to present his works. In many of the cases, the visitors are also allowed to be part of the exhibitions. He also talks about art being much more than what the world sees it as, which he shows by pushing the boundaries of art.

What do I like/dislike about it?

I like how his art pushes the boundaries and is innovative. His way of using color, light, shapes, and nature in his works of art gives them a unique feeling and captures one's interest. I also like how many of his exhibits allow visitors to be a part of it.

Sometimes, however, I feel that many of his works can be a bit too complex and difficult to understand. I am a person who appreciates simple and entertaining art, which many of his works are. But sometimes I can feel that his work loses purpose along with its complexity.

National Museum of Qatar, Doha – 2023 

 

”The living lighthouse is a light” installation that was exhibited at the National Museum of Qatar in Doha in 2023. The artwork is installed in a circular room where different kinds of light move in the room. The light is created so that the color looks different from different angles. 

 

What I think is unique about this work of art is that the visitors get to be part of and influence the exhibition. I also find it exciting how he plays with light and its movement and color changes. 

"Today leaning into tomorrow, yesterday leaning into today" is a wall artwork created by Eliasson in the year 2023. It consists of two lines of different sizes on circular glasses. The two lines of glass go in different color scales.

What caught my interest about this piece of art was the name of the piece. "Today leaning into tomorrow, yesterday leaning into today" I interpret it as the work referring to how life flows and has different phases. It almost feels like the wall installation moves in a circle pattern due to the color transitions and the placement of the glass circles. I interpret the artwork as a representation of life and its different phases, which I think the name proves together with the artwork.

Galería Elvira González – 2022

"The missing left brain" is a light show that was shown in Galería Elvira González in Madrid in 2022. The light show consists of regularly changing light that changes color and shape, which is created by the refraction of light. The screen is a semi-circle with a mirror, which allows the light displayed to be symmetrical to the visitor.

I really appreciate how Eliasson plays with light, and I think this work is a perfect example of such a work. I am inspired by how you can use and change light to different advantages and it creates a unique and fascinating work of art.

Tate Modern, London, 2003

"The weather project" was an installation that was exhibited at the Tate Modern in London in 2003. The installation consisted of a semi-circular screen and a mirror on the ceiling, which caused the screen to reflect and create a sun. Eliasson also sent out a questionnaire to the employees at Tate Modern with questions such as 'Has a weather phenomenon ever changed the course of your life dramatically?' 'Do you think tolerance to other individuals is proportional to the weather?' are you aware of the weather outside your workplace?'. Based on its questions, Eliasson created a brochure that was distributed at the exhibition.

What fascinates me about this installation is how the people who visit the exhibition can affect the final result of the art. People began to lie down on the ground to explore the artwork, proving that the meaning of the artwork can have a completely different effect than the artist had originally thought.

"Room for one color and windy corner" is a light and windy installation that has been exhibited both in Stockholm (1997) and in Tokyo (2005-1997). In the middle of the room, a wall was installed that reflected the yellow lamps on the ceiling. At the same time, a row of fans was installed in one of the corners of the room, which created wind in the middle of the room.

What caught my interest about this installation is how Eliasson is not afraid to challenge all the body's senses. Here, sight and touch are combined, which I think is very interesting and makes this installation unique.

SESC Pompeia, São Paulo, Brazil, 2011

Seu corpo da obra (Your body of work) is an installation that was exhibited at SESC Pompeia in São Paulo in 2011. The installation consists of a large labyrinth of colored panels. When the visitors then go through the labyrinth, the colors change and you see different things with different color combinations.

What fascinates me about this installation is how you can see the world in different ways depending on where in the room you stand and what color combination of panels you have in front of you. I interpret it as reflecting how different people see the world and that we can still be there for each other even though we have different circumstances.

Kara almost became a cartoonist, or went that direction, but has ended up doing more ‘serious’ art. Growing up with her father Larry being a university lecturer Kara sat in lectures, the art department and even accidentally seeing ‘life-drawing’ classes.

Also said to have been doing abstract styles of art since she was only a few years old.

Now she has even curated her fathers own works at 80 now. 

I believe this upbringing is very evident in her works, not afraid to push boundaries that feel heavy to her own heritage and important social or historical subject matters.

Overall much of her work has a very abstract feel, or to me even if not very personal, much of her water colours for instance just have a very intimate feel due to the emotion in the characters (so very aware subjects or subject matters) likely inherited from her father having been a university lecturer of the arts. There is a general class and tastefulness to her work.

Bit of a polarising figure Emin has solidified an image as ‘brit arts’ “bad girl”.

Emin is very well known for incredibly intimate works from “everyone I have ever slept with” to her incredibly poignant paintings after her cancer surgery.

Personally I am not a fan of all her art, some of her paintings for instance not being the most skillful or not being a massive fan of the installations it is almost impossible to go to one of her exhibitions and not be somewhat touched by the vulnerability.

Could be a very interesting character to view as her artistic journey as a run away from France to New York and the progression her career/reception over the decades (50\60s contrast for instance). Could be a nice narrative across the spreads.

Her themes range from more psychological to domesticity and the family, sexuality and the body, as well as death and the unconscious.

Her mixed arts background from print to painting and her sculptures she has such a wide array of work that there's plenty to examine.

Although even her more personal works, saw the spider inspired by her mother, seem a bit more abstract at a first glance.

One of the largest things that stands out to me about Richard Serra is his consciousness of space as a sculpture, how it fits to the surroundings, a site's architecture, etc. 

His awareness of the art world's climate is also very important, particularly how he links it to the general state of America as a whole. The awareness of art being a reflection of current society is one thing but the direct analysis of how the markets and celebrities are influencing the landscape and beginning to link industries of art and Hollywood for instance to see how these people affect the markets, demand and so fourth isn’t new but it does allow for one to stay conscious and keep a line of integrity to keep producing art important to themselves amongst all the noise. 

Her artworks tackles topics regarding race, gender, sexuality, violence and identity. These topics that she as an artist depicts her pieces can be considered by many as being controversial. In conjunction to her childhood experiences she shows through her art a different approach on how she can express her feelings towards a subject that might be considered as taboo by many. As fierce as she is she was not spared from scrutiny by spectators as her artworks were constantly questioned and had been taken down from exhibits as not many audiences were receptive to her art.

What captured my attention within her interview is that i have felt the genuineness of herself. She as an artist divuldges herself from her own true feelings regardless if people or her audiences would be receptive towards her art. Being raw and true is what she had made me feel during her interview as she expresses through her art what others think but do not have the courage to express. Through her artworks she conveys the message of power, pleasure and pain and how these things are connected and intertwined with each other.