A Concept that invites a personal definition

Rochester Institute of Technology

RIT Scholar Works

Theses

Thesis/Dissertation Collections

7-2004

A Concept that invites a personal definition

Christopher Kanyusik

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Rochester InstituteofTechnology

Untitled

or

AConcept That InvitesaPersonalDefinition

AThesis Submittedto the

Faculty

of

TheCollege ofArtsandSciences

In

Candidacy

fortheDegreeof

MasterofFine Arts

By

Christopher Kanyusik

RochesterInstituteofTechnology

A Thesis Submittedto the

Faculty

of

The Collegeof

Imaging

ArtsandSciences In

Candidacy

fortheDegreeof

MasterofFine Arts

By

ChristopherKanyusik

Final Approvals

Be

j

iI

eO

flf

J?JU

<

Richard Hirsch

Chief Advisor:

Date:

7

l//(;,

y

Signature

Associate Advisor

:

Julia Galloway

Signature

Date:

Associate Advisor

:

Steve Loar

Signature

Date

:

Chairperson

:

Michael Rogers

Signature

Date

:

I, Christopher Kanyusik hereby grant permission to the Wallace Memorial Library of RIT

to reproduce my thesis in whole or in part. Any reproduction will not be for commercial

use or profit.

Theartistis theperson whobuildsthe object;whobuilds theart. But

if

theartistohavetrue meaning, true substance,someone else or_something

else mustinvestitwith_power, someone otherthan theartist. Theartist

fashionsanartobject- like

a_shell, likea vessel.

If

thatshell orthat

vesselistobefilledwith_{anything of}power,anything ofsubstance,

someoneor_somethingotherthan theartistmust empowerit. It isnotthe

artist. Itisthatother_{person, those}other_{people, that}otherthing, thatare

the truemakers_ofthework_ofart.

My

thesisworkistheresult oftwointerdependentexplorations. The first is

concerned withtheuse ofthehumanfigureasasculptural

device,

and assuch,avehicle

forinformation. This

interest,

however_visuallypredominantinthephysicalactualization

of_mywork,ispreceded

by

_{my desire}tomore

fully

understandtheconcept andthe

components of art as_pertainingto thehumanexperienceof_creatingas well as_viewing

art.

Acomplete and thoroughexploration ofthese

interests,

ifnot

impossible,

isan

endeavortoundertake over alifetimeratherthan

during

thecourseofafew years. Even

so,throughthis _{relatively brief investigation}of_myartisticconcerns,mythesishas

evolvedinto

being

_primarilyconcentrated on_researchingthepotentialsof an ambiguous

intentasitrelates_{to the artist, the viewer,}andthework of artitself. Assuch,mythesis

workhascometo addressthe_ambiguity principlein_{art,specifically in}relationto

figurativesculpture.

Thisprinciple places emphasis on aprovable characteristic_{ofperception;} thatall configurationsare liabletomorethanoneinterpretation. All

configurations mustthereforeberegarded as always uncertainor

indefinite inmeaning. Innersignificance,functionalvalue or a purposeful

pattern can_{only be discovered}anddevelopedinanartwork whenits

continual_{ambiguity is}accepted.

Overly

predicative and_{verbally derived}

goalsforawork_ofartcanblindtheartisttoitspotentials.

-Caldwell, Dake, Safly,

Ulchz

Changes in thepsychologicalimpressiongenerated

by

thesamework_of

art_occur, despitethefactthat theform_ofthework remainsthesame. Oncewe establishthecrux_ofthe_matter, sotospeak,isnotthecontent

planned

by

theauthorbutthatattributedto it

by

thereader, itbecomes

obviousthat thecontent_ofawork_ofartisadependentand variable

quantity,afunction ofthepsyche_ofsocial man. Theartist's achievement isnotfound intheminimum contentthathe intendedtogivehiswork.

Rather,

it ismirroredinthe

flexibility

_ofthe

image,

inthe_{capacity of}the internal formtoinspiredifferentcontents.

- L.S.

Identifying

andexaminingtherole_ambiguityplays in boththecreation and

viewing

stages oftheartisticprocess istorealizethe

importance,

ifnotthe_necessityof

multi-facetedartworksopentomulti-dimensionalinterpretations. Fartoooften artis

created and understood asaset and stagnant expression.

Rigidly

definedanddirect links

betweentheartist'sprescribed intentand an object's_meaning

blatantly

disregardthe

ever-evolvingcontextofthe_{relationship between}theobject and anindividualviewer. Treated

as a

locked, literal,

andlateral_{equation, the}experience of artis unnecessarily subjected

toreductionism: _{conceived, presented, analyzed,}and perceivedin its lowestcommon

denominator. Pre-supplied with_{content, the}recognitionofa viewer's contributionto_any

variation of_{understanding beyond}theartist'sexpressedintent isunderdevelopedifnot

ignored,

and_{any honest discourse}abouttherelevanceof and reactiontoawork ofartis

impairedordisabled.

The ideathatworks_ofart areopentomultiple meaningsor

interpretability

isonethat_{is consistently}

lacking

andignored. Ratherthe

preferredrouteistoimposemeanings, be

they Marxist,

feminist,

orpost

modern andtoattempttofixa_readingonto a work. This is

by

no meansa

way ofaccurately exploring thetruenature_{of how}theworkfunctions. RobBridgett4

Ambiguity

facilitatesanobject'sor anidea's capabilityof

being

understood

by

multiple definitions.

Arguably

_{everything in}existencecontains anambiguous_qualityto

a certaindegree. It

is,

however,

theacceptanceof andperhaps emphasisonthisinherent

ambiguity that transcendsartfrommateriality, anddistinguishes itfrompropaganda.

There isart- _andthereis

advertising.

-AlbertSterners

When employedinregardstoartistic

intent,

_ambiguity allows an_opportunityfor

theviewertopersonalize

interpretations

orindividualizemeaningsinan artwork

by

projectingintoittheirownexperiences, preferences,ordesired_{conclusions; to}

Speech belongs

half

to the_speaker,

half

to thelistener. Montaigne6

Theessential element_ofallartisthatitleaves 'space'

withinwhich

meaningoccursinsidethe individual. The_opening up,

deliberately,

of

thatcognitive spaceforanaudiencewill allowtheworkto takeonalife of

its own. Theambiguous spaceisa cognitivemirror, whichwillshow

something differenttowhoeverlooks into it.

RobBridgett4

Eachviewerbringshis own emotionsand perceptionstobearonthe

subject matterbecause itallowstheaudienceto "fillin"

thevisual

experiencethemselves. It's the_{ambiguity of}all_{art, of}afinepiece_of

musicor a_painting

-youdon'tneed writteninstructions

by

thecomposer or painter_accompanyingsuchworksto "explain"them. "Explaining" themcontributes _{nothing but}asuperficial "cultural" _value, whichhasno value. Reactionstoart arealwaysdifferent because

they

arealways

deeply

personal.

-Stanley

Kubrick?

Viewing

artinwhichtheexpressedintent isvariable isnot a passive_activity

throughwhichtheartist supplies alltheeffort.

However,

theassumptionthatan

individual will beengaged

by

an artworkpresupposes,forwhateverreasonsand

by

whatevermeans,theinitiationofviewerinterest.

Defining

aformula for exciting

sufficientintrigueinanaudience member(aside_{from recognizing}theimportance ofthe

artist's preferencesand_{presumptions)} and

determining

thecourse andcontentofthat

viewer's

interpretation,

while_possibly

interesting

andbeneficial in many_respects,are

ultimately futile endeavorsifcertitudeis thedesiredconclusion.

If, how,

_why,towhat

degree,

andtowhat end an artworkwilldialogizewithan observer arehypothetical and

subjective,as unique and unpredictableaseachindividualviewer.

Inartthesearchfora contentwhichis collectivelyunderstandableis

false;

thecontent will alwaysbe individual.

- PietMondrian

s

Any

artworkis onsomelevelan exerciseincommunication. Fromthe_starkly

depictionof an object or a_narrative,all artworksreveal_somethingabouttheir creator,

their context, andtheirviewer.

Employing

anambiguousintentasa means of_provoking

diverseviewer participation and a multi-dimensional interpretationof an artworkdoes

not meanthework_{is indirect}or unspecifiedto thepoint ofnot

being

pragmatic. Onthe

contrary, _ambiguitycannot exist as a component of a workof art withoutdependenceon

the physical,visual componentsdecidedupon

by

theartisttoevokeareactionof

whateverkind. In_short,for somethingtoachieveambiguity,itmustfirst havea_starting

point,a catalystthroughwhichtoattainit.

Idonot assertthat thereis nointentionor_meaningonthepart_ofthe

artist, quite _{the contrary,} it is justthat theartisthaschosenthe_{degrees of}

whichto_employthosevague references ratherthanexactlanguageto

communicatehisorher ideas.

The human figure hasneverbeenforgotten inthearts.

- Germain Richier

9

Afterallthatsplatteredpaint, theacres_ofpolythene, the

not-so-daring

prints, it'sstillthere...thehuman figure.

- Julian Freeman

Throughout human

history,

most

likely beginning

atthedawnofhuman

expression and

intercommunication,

_thehuman

body

_{has beenutilized andunderstoodas}

a narrativedevice. Thatis_{to say, the}human

body

is always

transmitting

visual

informationinoneformor another.

Posture,

_{cadence,race, gender,scars,}

deformities,

clothing,hairstyle,

jewelry

/

decoration,

_{symmetry, proportion, etc.,}all are a meansof

revealingand_receiving

information,

toagreaterorlesserextent a_narrative,abouta

human being.

Butwhatfigures_{these are,}usedto_conveyalltypes_ofmessages.

Julian Freeman10

Foralmost as

long,

thisperceptionofthehuman

body

hasbeenreflected and

reinforced artistically. Fromprehistoric carvingstoGreekandRoman_statues,fromthe

religious paintingsoftheRenaissancetotheSocialist Realistpropaganda ofthispast

century, et_al.,thehuman figure inarthasmore oftenthannotbeenemployedtotella

story,tocommunicatea specificmessage,oras a metaphorfor somethingoutside of

itself.

By

abroadandbasic

definition,

thehuman

body

in itsartisticrepresentationhas

beenassignedtherole of a_{prop in}a completed_narrative, a vehicleforan_agenda,a

device foradesiredoutcome or

interpretation,

or a meanstoapreconceived end. This

ascribed and accepted narrativequalityofthehuman

body

innature and_reflectivelyinart

existsto suchadegreethatthe expectation of a clearand concise contentderived froman

examinationofvisualinformationisareflexive,unconscious act of perception.

There isatrend

today

tode-emphasizethevisibleformthatarttakeswith a_{corresponding}elevation_ofthe importanceand appreciation_ofthe

messageoridea

(content)

_ofthework_ofart.

Thisphenomenon ofobservationand a conditionedanticipationofcognitive

understanding,_specifically inregardstothecommunicative nature ofthehuman

figure,

allow_ambiguitytobea viable and essential component of an_artwork,

facilitating

engagement and_evokingaresponse

by

the viewer.

In anysituation where one_ofour sensesis impairedtheimaginationhas tofill inwith explanations_emanatingfromourown unconscious.

Rob Bridgett4

The danger...isthatitcan suffocate itssubjects

by

its

very abilityto representthem: it doesn'tpossessthebuilt inescape valves_ofambiguity

...avirtue_of

sensoryincompleteness

-anincompleteness thatengagesthe imagination ofthe viewerascompensationforwhatis onlyevoked

by

the artist.

- Walter Murch

12

My

thesisworkis a product of and aparticipantinthehistoricaltraditionofthe

human figure insculptural art. Thereexists withinour_collective,commonartistic

evolutionaconnectionand camaraderie_spanningpast and presentthroughour chosen

subject,and atensionbetween

direct,

reproductive_modelingand abstract suggestionin

our approachtoand ourdepictionofthe humanbody.

The ambiguity I striveto_{employ in my} workisactualized

by

a combination of

elementsfromthese twoextremes. Onone side existsaliteral depictionof afigure

involvedan explicitnarrative,anillustrationwithlittleornoconceptual provocation. On

theoppositeend ofthisspectrumis akindof work sointenton

being

ambiguousthatit

loosesitsconnectionto_{any possibility}orsuggestion of conceptual_tangibility,thus

becoming

unclear, encoded,andconfusing, ultimately resulting inviewer

disengagement,

exclusion, andirrelevance.

Thesearchforan appropriatebalance betweentrite

banality

and_confusing,

self-indulgentabstractionisthecrux of_mythesisinvestigations.

Distortion,

truncation,

rough

articulation,and_specific,directanimation. Surfaces (translucent bee's and encaustic

waxes) alludetoratherthanmimic an organic_epidermis,further

bridging

theriftbetween

recognizable

humanity

and unknown purpose.

Thisthesisistheresult of aninvestigation intotheconcept andthe componentsof

artthrough theuse ofthehumanfigure insculpture. The explorationhascometoexpose

the_{necessity for}an_{acknowledgement, appreciation,}and applicationofan ambiguous

intent

(content,

_{meaning, narrative, purpose, etc.)in my} work.

Art bearsgreater power and relevancethroughambiguity. Ittranscends

commonality

by

remainingopen,provocative,andtoa certaindegreeunclearand

unfinished,ratherthan_presentingabanalpackage completewith animageanda

correspondingnarrative,

leaving

littleor no roomforviewer engagement.

/thinkwhat one needstodoas an artist

-as_{my kindof}artist_anyway, is

togivethingsspace. Isee_myselfasanon-narrative artist. I'mnot

trying

to_sayanything. In

fact,

Ifeel very passionatelythatIdonothave

anythingtosayas an artist- that the_momentIdo have somethingto say, thegameis

lost,

thespace closed up.

- Anish Kapoor

/ don'twanttoavoid

telling

a_story, but Iwantvery,_verymuchto dothe

thing

that

Valery

said- to

givethesensation withoutits

conveyance. Andthemomentthe_storyenters, theboredomcomes upon you.

FrancisBaconw

Theactofcreationformyself,asI imagine it is for manyother_artists,isandhas

always beena

deeply

personal endeavor. Itisanecessary,intuitiveact ofexpression

ratherthan one ofintellectualnarrative and cognitive agenda. The impulsesthatI rely

upontoactualize_mywork are soingrainedtheirorigin and purpose eludeme,asdoesthe

means anddesiretodefinethem. Toascribean agendaontomywork,todescribe my

workintermsofaspecific,desired

interpretation,

ortooverlay myown_{understandings,}

seemstometolimitits breadthand_{scope, and stuntthe}work'spotential. Iamnot

interestedin_creatingsophisticmonologue.

Rather,

Iamintrigued

by

_{participating in}

dialogicalcollaborationwithindividualviewersthrougha work ofart as opposed to

dictating

a_{contrived,constant message ontothemasses.}

Thattheartist_{consciouslyhas}thisorthatobjectiveinmindatthemoment

ofcreation andthat thesuccess_oftheworkissomehowmortgagedto the

extenttowhichitwasfollowedthrough... wouldindeedbe banaland

reductive, _robbingart(andforthatmatter_{ambiguity)of its}organic

quality, its abilitytoliveandthrive

independently

_{of its}originators' intentions.

David Cohenis

The fiction of intentionality: thefictionthatsheknows whatshe

intends,

thatshe can_saywhat she

intends,

andthatsheknows whatshemeans

by

whatsheintends.

- James Elkins

The inclusionof_ambiguity coupled withtheimpliedorinherentcontent ofthe

humanfigureallow_myworkto transcend theenclosed_{relationship between}myselfas

themaker and

it,

astheobject made. An_unspecified,ambiguousintentassiststhe

accessibilityofanartwork

by

_engagingand

including

theviewer; recognizingtheir

distinctly

personalinterpretationasanindispensable componentinthemanifestation of

art

/ lovethesign_ofthehandandatthesame_{time, it's}as

if

whatoneis

saying isthat theartthatoneis reachingto- _the

artificethatone is

reachingthrough

-doesn't necessarily havetobea recorder_{of my}

personality. It'sas

if

one'sthen

talking

aboutthenotionthatartmight

cometobe beyond

biography

and cometo_{be something}that_{is reaching}

toadeeperpart_ofourhumanpresence.

Of

courseit's coming from one'spsyche;onecando nothing but. There

isn't anythingelse, butthatone's psyche_{may be}the

beginning

_ofthe_story

and nottheend_ofthestory.

AnishKapooru

Concluding

this thesisinno _waycompletes_myinvestigationintoart, theuse of

as an elementof each. Theworks Istrivetocreate areobjectsthatexistautonomous

fromwhatever_myconceptual

intentions,

worksindependentfrom

being

roadmaps of_my

psyche orillustrativeadvertisementsforaparticularresult.

Formyself, the_primary concernin_creatingan artworkisnotoneof_ownershipor

responsibility of_content,butone of personal

honesty,

whateveritmaybe andhowever it

is

found,

expressed,and explored. That isnotto_{say I} am_attemptingtodelineatea

universaldefinitionof whatart should

be,

shouldlook

like,

shouldevoke, should

Thelessaccessibleawork_ofartto the

intellect,

thegreaterit is. - Goethe

n

The betterhiddentheauthor's_views, thebetter forthework_ofart.

Thenicest

thing

about_anythingisnot

knowing

whatit is.

Combined withthe

preceding

document,

_{this thesisis}culminatedin

conjunctionwithfivesculptures exhibitedintheDyerArts Center

Gallery

inthe LyndonB.Johnson

building

ontheRochesterInstituteof

Technology

campus

from April25through

May

24,

2003.

Pedestals

26x6x54in.

Hand-builtearthenwarefiredtocone04 inreduction.

Torsos 38x38x38in.

Hand-builtearthenwarepainted with athinlayerof cone04white_slip,firedto

cone04in_{reduction,burnished post-firing}withencaustic_wax,and presented on a wooden pedestal.

Heads

48x12x25 in.

Hand-builtearthenwarepainted withathickapplicationofcone04whiteslip, firedtocone04 inreductioninclose_proximitytorawcopper andblack iron oxidesforatmospheric_effects,and presented on awooden shelf.

Seated Figure

24x37x59 in.

Hand-built earthenwarefiredtocone04inreduction, surfaced_post-firingwith

encausticand unrefinedbee'swaxes,and presented onawooden pedestal.

Couple 27x12x60 in.

Pedestals

ELIZABETH

W

WILLIAMS

Technical Information

Earthenware

Clay Body

Red Art - 25

HawthornBond

Fire-Clay

- 30

Flint- 4

Custer Feldspar- 2

Talc- 2

Bentonite

-.5

RedIron Oxide

-.5

Black IronOxide- 2

Fine

Grog

- 10

Medium

Grog

- 10

Course

Grog

- 10

Cone04White

Slip

Neph

Sy

- 10

Frit 3124-28

Gersley

Borate- 11 Hint- 20

Grolleg

- 30

Unrefinedbee's wax

Quotation SourceBiographies

1. RobertKanyusik

(

1947

)

is aProfessorofArtatNicolet College in

Reinlander,

Wisconsin.

Among

hisaccomplishmentshe is recognizedfor

creating the_{Wisconsin State Vietnam Veteran'sMemorial Statue.}

2. Barbara

Caldwell,

Dennis

Drake,

Mat

Safly,

andLisa Ulchare members of

and contributorstoThe New Art Basics

Project,

acoalitionofprofessional

artists, teachers,and students coordinatedfromtheCollegeofArtandDesign

atIowaState University.

3. Lev Semyonovich

Vyotsky

(

1896

-1934)

wasa majorfigure in

post-revolutionary Sovietpsychologybestknownfor his studies_concerningthe

roleof social and culturalfactorsin the_makingofhumanconsciousness.

4. Rob Bridgett isanaccomplishedBritishsounddesignerand composerwho

haswritten numerous articlesandconductedseveral research projectson

sounddesignforthe_{moving image.}

5. AlbertSterner(1863

1946)

was aLondon

born,

German bred

illustrator,

draftsman,

andacademicartist. Heestablished a studioin NewYork in

1885,

andin 1918 began

teaching

attheArtStudentsLeague.

6. Michel Eyguem De Montaigne (1533

-1592)

was aFrench Renaissance

theoristwhose searchfortruth wasfocusedonhisown_nature,

habits,

opinions,andexperiencesbothpublicand private. His Essais

(Essays)

are

hismost_{widely known}work.

7.

Stanley

Kubrick (1928

-1999)

was a progressiveAmerican film directorand

producerbest known for his films Dr.

Strangelove,

A Clockwork

Orange,

Full

Metal

Jacket,

The

Shining,

and2001:A Space Odyssey.

8. Piet Mondrian (1872

-1944)

wasaDutch Neo-Plasticistpainterwhose

non-objective,abstractstyle reducedthecanvas/picture-planeinto deliniated

blocks of color and geometric shapes.

9. Germain Richier (1902

-1959)

was aFrenchsculptorknownfor her

powerfullyexpressionistic,fragmentedrepresentationsofthehuman figure.

10. JulianFreemanis thecoordinatorfor Historical andContextual Studiesat EastbourneCollegeofArts and

Technology,

theauthor of_manymonographs

andcatalogs, and aregular contributortoseveralfineartjournals.

1 1.

Rodney Chang

(1946-)isanarttheoristandcyber-artist whoholdsadvanced

12.WalterMurch isanaward_winningmotion picture sound editor whose resume

includesAmerican

Graffiti,

TheGodfather

II,

andApocalypse Now.

13.Anish Kapoor (1954

-)

isan

internationally

recognized sculptorbornin

Bombay,

Indiawhohas livedand workedin London sincethe_early 1970's.

14. Francis Bacon(1909

-1992)

wasaself-taughtIrish

born,

Englishpainter

whose works are notablefor_{their satirical,}

horrifying,

and

hallucinatory

treatmentofthehumanbody.

15. David Cohen (1963 -)isaBritishartcritic,curator,andindependentscholar.

He is_{currently gallery director}attheNew YorkStudio School.

16.James ElkinsisaProfessor intheDepartmentofArt

History,

Theory,

and

Criticismatthe SchooloftheArt InstituteofChicago.

17. Johann

Wolfgang

vonGothe (1749

-1832)

was aGermanpoet, novelist,

play-write, courtier,andnaturalphilosopher mostfamous for hispoetictwo-part

drama Faust.

18. Friedrich Engels (1820

-1895)

was aGermansocial philosopherand

revolutionarywith whomKarl MarxfoundedmodernCommunismand

Socialism.

19. George Carlin (1937

-)

isanAmericancomedian, actor, and author whose

humorcombines acute social_commentaryandanunedited, unflinching

Bibliography

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3,

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Principle.

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Chang,

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http://www.lastplace.com/artpsvupdate.htm.

Cohen,

David. ArtandCognition:

Ambiguity

andIntention.

http://www.interdiciplines.org/artcog/papers/ll.

Carlin,

George. Brain Droppings. New York:

Hyperion,

1997.

Elkins,

James.

Why

Art Cannot Be Taught. UrbaniaandChicago:

University

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Illinois

Press,

2001.

Freeman,

Julian. Art: A Crash Course. New York: Watson- Guptill

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1998.

Gelmis,

Joseph. AnInterviewWith

Stanley

Kubrick (1969).

http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doe/0069.html.

Kanyusik,

Robert. "WisconsinVietnam Veteran's Memorial Dedication". The

Highground Memorial

Park, Wisconsin,

July,

1988.

Kimmelman,

Michael. "Images That Burn IntotheMind". The New York Times

Sept.

27,

2002.

Maisel,

Eric. Affirmationsfor Artists. New York: Penguin Putnam

Inc.,

1996.

Sylvester,

David. InterviewsWith Francis Bacon. New York: Thamesand

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Vygotsky,

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