For this assignment, I watched several contemporary artist interviews but the ones that stood out to me the most were Mika Rottenberg, and Cai Guo-Qiang. Mika Rottenberg is a video artist/sculptor who uses films to portray issues/ideas. I watched an interesting interview of Rottenberg talking about one of her films titled Cosmic Generator. This work presents the idea behind the food market especially on the U.S-Mexico border. The interview begins with a clip of her film, but then leads into Rottenberg explaining/talking about the work. The films are intriguing as they focus mainly on the Chinese food market. By focusing on an object as simple as food, Rottenberg explores how some objects (food) can circle the world, but other objects (people, animals, etc.) cannot. I think the ideas she presents connect with distance and time for travel, and how that can vary drastically between items across the world. In this work she emphasizes the use of tunnels that are built sculpturally. The tunnels make reference to the border of Mexico. She designs these tunnels so that people can fit through them during the films, and it makes me wonder what her process was when sculpting them. In the interview Rottenberg talks about how this work is not supposed to be political, but I find that I can see it from a political standpoint as well.
Cai Guo-Qiang is a unique artist who makes art out of explosives as well as other media. He reflects a lot of his Chinese heritage into his artwork, while also making it relevant to where he lives now, New York. I thought it was amazing that Guo-Qiang designed a firework display for the Beijing Olympics. I had never thought of firework as an artform/sculptural art form before viewing his work. One idea behind his work that I think is interesting is the way in which he reflects on humanity. Humans have caused a lot of violence, such as explosion events, which Guo-Qiang accurately portrays. Since he currently lives in New York, he sees himself right in the center of a lot of political/violent human acts, which informs his work. I enjoy the fact that although some of his works showcase negative human impacts, he does it with grace and dignity. The works are informative but also beautiful and can allow healing for those who view them.