Amy Beth Maran
Susan York
Installation Art
10/14/2008
Pepon Osorio’s use of everyday kitsch objects creates awe inspiring 3-dimensional and installation high art. Understanding and using kitsch has been an influence to my art. Latin American art is prevalent in New Mexico and the forms typically studied are Pre-Columbian artifacts and traditional arts such are pottery making and textile weaving. Osorio represents a modern group of artists that are using their heritage while pushing the boundaries of the art world as we know it.
Osorio delves into this the rarely acknowledged topic of kitsch art. As a Native Puerto Rican growing up in New York City, he associats certain cheap kitsch objects with his heritage. Visually he uses an, “overload of tchotchkas, plastic toys, Puerto Rican flags, tourist and religious kitsch items and products, “Made in Korea”.’ (Indych)
He visually overloads his viewers for many reasons. He is pointing out the high class/ low class dichotomy that translate into the art world. The low class – in this case New York Puerto Ricans, don’t have the elite influence to gain access to high art. Osorio is exaggerating and celebrating this marginalized “low” class culture by excessively using kitsch objects in his artwork.
Amongst Osorio’s culture, the fear of not having translates into surrounding one self with kitsch objects. For this culture, these objects are full of meaning. “To embellish to Puerto Ricans is to reinvent with what’s there…people living in deprivation comfort themselves with icons of richness, a metaphorical richness.” (Indych) Even if they can’t afford gold adornments, people use kitsch objects full of meaning and embellishment to celebrate their religion.
In Osorio’s pieces he takes these kitsch objects and turns them into legitimate high end art. He has always worked with a social meaning in mind to turn these plastic, Hong Kong, mass reproduced objects into one-of-a-kind meaningful and beautiful pieces.
Osorio’s work undeniably deals with his heritage. Living in New York as a Puerto Rican he has made works such as El Chandelier which encrusts a chandelier in plastic palm trees, plastic babies etc… He is not simply making a beautiful artwork he is making a statement about having and not having. Seeing people in his neighborhood with so little Osorio notes that these chandeliers, “Were self-fashioned creations of abundance in otherwise impoverished settings” (Indych).
Osorio’s installation pieces tend to be darker in subject and content then his objects. He creates intricate rooms for viewers to look through and make personal judgments, such as Scene of the Crime (Whose crime?) and Badge of Honor. The latter involves a running projection of a boy talking to his father in jail highlighting the effect that violence causes in the family. These pieces confront the viewer and our assumptions, forcing us to rethink our stereotypes we have of a “Puerto Rican” and of “Latin America.”
The idea of having and not having strongly connects me to Osorio’s work. The use of kitsch to make a larger statement appeals to me. While I am not Hispanic, I can associate being marginalized due to my own culture.
Being Jewish American undeniably creates certain obstacles. My generation and society have been diverse and accepting. I even feel a connection with our countries fore fathers, though I’ve been told “those men weren’t for me.” My comfort in this country doesn’t belittle the struggle of other Jewish Americans and I acknowledge the differences I have with my fellow classmates, co-workers, friends, and acquaintances.
Where I find Judaism and mainstream culture clashing the most is within personal family context. Not celebrating Christmas was difficult but not celebrating Halloween or Valentines Day to me was plain absurd (that only lasted a few years.) Living with “Jewish Law” in my family was more of a struggle between parent and child, trying to love our religious culture despite being saturating with popular culture.
I believe not having an object creates a type of yearning that goes beyond that physical object. In my case I yearn to have a baby shower for my sister. It is against my religion and forbidden in my family. Being told “no,” every piece of baby clothing, toy, book, and even wrapping paper almost brought me to tears. I wanted to touch these objects, purchase them, wrap them, and horde them. It was the way I could celebrate and prepare for such a momentous occasion.
For my installation I wanted to explore this feeling of why having a baby shower was so important to me, even when it was against my culture and family wishes. On a spree, I bought every baby shower tchotchka I could find. All the plastic babies, diaper pins, bottles, bears, and rubber duckies I could find. I bought pink places settings for this imaginary baby shower with baby images on the napkins and cups. I bought wrapping paper to wrap imaginary gifts for this fetishized baby shower.
Despite the visual overload, creating the installation was meditative for me. I placed every small knick knack carefully and decidedly throughout the piece. I wanted to create an overwhelming kitsch encrusted, over-the-top baby shower with string lights and piles of pink glitter. This party was set up on the floor in an enclosure obviously not meant to be used. In fact, it looks more like a window display then a party. I want the viewer to feel the static of the space as well as an invitation yet blockade to the party.
After setting up the party I realized that all these plastic objects were just that: plastic objects. I added “aged” Hebrew prayers to the cups to create a dichotomy between the plastic pink surroundings and my family’s deep traditional symbolism. While I chose no specific parsha (passage), the prayers are all relevant, as the entire Torah represents Jewish Law to my families tradition. On a personal level, my mother teaches the ancient skill of reading the torah, called trope . The passages all represent my connection to the faith, as my mother taught me and my fellow students to find relevant social meaning in each week's parsha. My art is very personal with both my family and religion and I am very specific with why I chose the objects that I chose. Despite my creation, I could not bring myself to purchase any real baby objects. No diapers, cribs, or even clothing. Every time I picked up a bib or baby dress I felt a sense of dread. In creating this piece I understood the difference between the unimportant and the importance of tradition. Osorio has spoke about creating art and the intimate relationship it creates with the community one is working with. “When making art in the community…students have to rethink the ethical issues, the relationship with the family” (Mesa-Bains). I believe there is a line of respect where I can contemplate with a critical eye my family and their beliefs without crossing that line to disregard their concerns and wishes. I am still learning where to draw this line but I do acknowledge its existence. The importance of not choosing objects is as important as choosing objects.
In the beginning of this project there was no difference between all the hoopla for the baby shower and the real needs for the arrival of the baby. I saw one as a means to the other. They both were part of an acknowledgement celebration. In creating this piece I discovered that the hoopla was kitsch and I could purge my desires without guilt. However, when I thought into why my culture truly doesn’t have baby showers, I couldn’t bring myself to buying baby clothing.
Osorio’s use of filling up spaces to avoid the feeling of not having was my creative departure for this piece. I wanted to take his method of working with his own culture’s kitsch to find what makes my culture unique and what objects represent our inner working. Dissecting and examining my religion, culture, and community has made me both question and respect certain assumptions I had previously taken for granted.
I hope to take the many tchotchkas from this piece and make a permanent sculpture installation for my niece’s room. To talk about this prematurely is perhaps still a cultural taboo, but now that I can tell the difference between meaningful and meaningless taboo I have confidence to continue my artwork.
WORK CITED
Indych, Anna. "Nuyorican Baroque: Pepon Osorio's Churerias." Art Journal. 2001. College Art Association. 12 Oct. 2008.
Mesa-Bains, Amelia, and Pepon Osorio. "The Practices and Pedagogy of Pepon Osorio." Reading Room. Oct. 2008. Communityartsnetwork. 12 Oct. 2008.
Susan York
Installation Art
10/14/2008
Pepon Osorio’s use of everyday kitsch objects creates awe inspiring 3-dimensional and installation high art. Understanding and using kitsch has been an influence to my art. Latin American art is prevalent in New Mexico and the forms typically studied are Pre-Columbian artifacts and traditional arts such are pottery making and textile weaving. Osorio represents a modern group of artists that are using their heritage while pushing the boundaries of the art world as we know it.
Osorio delves into this the rarely acknowledged topic of kitsch art. As a Native Puerto Rican growing up in New York City, he associats certain cheap kitsch objects with his heritage. Visually he uses an, “overload of tchotchkas, plastic toys, Puerto Rican flags, tourist and religious kitsch items and products, “Made in Korea”.’ (Indych)
He visually overloads his viewers for many reasons. He is pointing out the high class/ low class dichotomy that translate into the art world. The low class – in this case New York Puerto Ricans, don’t have the elite influence to gain access to high art. Osorio is exaggerating and celebrating this marginalized “low” class culture by excessively using kitsch objects in his artwork.
Amongst Osorio’s culture, the fear of not having translates into surrounding one self with kitsch objects. For this culture, these objects are full of meaning. “To embellish to Puerto Ricans is to reinvent with what’s there…people living in deprivation comfort themselves with icons of richness, a metaphorical richness.” (Indych) Even if they can’t afford gold adornments, people use kitsch objects full of meaning and embellishment to celebrate their religion.
In Osorio’s pieces he takes these kitsch objects and turns them into legitimate high end art. He has always worked with a social meaning in mind to turn these plastic, Hong Kong, mass reproduced objects into one-of-a-kind meaningful and beautiful pieces.
Osorio’s work undeniably deals with his heritage. Living in New York as a Puerto Rican he has made works such as El Chandelier which encrusts a chandelier in plastic palm trees, plastic babies etc… He is not simply making a beautiful artwork he is making a statement about having and not having. Seeing people in his neighborhood with so little Osorio notes that these chandeliers, “Were self-fashioned creations of abundance in otherwise impoverished settings” (Indych).
Osorio’s installation pieces tend to be darker in subject and content then his objects. He creates intricate rooms for viewers to look through and make personal judgments, such as Scene of the Crime (Whose crime?) and Badge of Honor. The latter involves a running projection of a boy talking to his father in jail highlighting the effect that violence causes in the family. These pieces confront the viewer and our assumptions, forcing us to rethink our stereotypes we have of a “Puerto Rican” and of “Latin America.”
The idea of having and not having strongly connects me to Osorio’s work. The use of kitsch to make a larger statement appeals to me. While I am not Hispanic, I can associate being marginalized due to my own culture.
Being Jewish American undeniably creates certain obstacles. My generation and society have been diverse and accepting. I even feel a connection with our countries fore fathers, though I’ve been told “those men weren’t for me.” My comfort in this country doesn’t belittle the struggle of other Jewish Americans and I acknowledge the differences I have with my fellow classmates, co-workers, friends, and acquaintances.
Where I find Judaism and mainstream culture clashing the most is within personal family context. Not celebrating Christmas was difficult but not celebrating Halloween or Valentines Day to me was plain absurd (that only lasted a few years.) Living with “Jewish Law” in my family was more of a struggle between parent and child, trying to love our religious culture despite being saturating with popular culture.
I believe not having an object creates a type of yearning that goes beyond that physical object. In my case I yearn to have a baby shower for my sister. It is against my religion and forbidden in my family. Being told “no,” every piece of baby clothing, toy, book, and even wrapping paper almost brought me to tears. I wanted to touch these objects, purchase them, wrap them, and horde them. It was the way I could celebrate and prepare for such a momentous occasion.
For my installation I wanted to explore this feeling of why having a baby shower was so important to me, even when it was against my culture and family wishes. On a spree, I bought every baby shower tchotchka I could find. All the plastic babies, diaper pins, bottles, bears, and rubber duckies I could find. I bought pink places settings for this imaginary baby shower with baby images on the napkins and cups. I bought wrapping paper to wrap imaginary gifts for this fetishized baby shower.
Despite the visual overload, creating the installation was meditative for me. I placed every small knick knack carefully and decidedly throughout the piece. I wanted to create an overwhelming kitsch encrusted, over-the-top baby shower with string lights and piles of pink glitter. This party was set up on the floor in an enclosure obviously not meant to be used. In fact, it looks more like a window display then a party. I want the viewer to feel the static of the space as well as an invitation yet blockade to the party.
After setting up the party I realized that all these plastic objects were just that: plastic objects. I added “aged” Hebrew prayers to the cups to create a dichotomy between the plastic pink surroundings and my family’s deep traditional symbolism. While I chose no specific parsha (passage), the prayers are all relevant, as the entire Torah represents Jewish Law to my families tradition. On a personal level, my mother teaches the ancient skill of reading the torah, called trope . The passages all represent my connection to the faith, as my mother taught me and my fellow students to find relevant social meaning in each week's parsha. My art is very personal with both my family and religion and I am very specific with why I chose the objects that I chose. Despite my creation, I could not bring myself to purchase any real baby objects. No diapers, cribs, or even clothing. Every time I picked up a bib or baby dress I felt a sense of dread. In creating this piece I understood the difference between the unimportant and the importance of tradition. Osorio has spoke about creating art and the intimate relationship it creates with the community one is working with. “When making art in the community…students have to rethink the ethical issues, the relationship with the family” (Mesa-Bains). I believe there is a line of respect where I can contemplate with a critical eye my family and their beliefs without crossing that line to disregard their concerns and wishes. I am still learning where to draw this line but I do acknowledge its existence. The importance of not choosing objects is as important as choosing objects.
In the beginning of this project there was no difference between all the hoopla for the baby shower and the real needs for the arrival of the baby. I saw one as a means to the other. They both were part of an acknowledgement celebration. In creating this piece I discovered that the hoopla was kitsch and I could purge my desires without guilt. However, when I thought into why my culture truly doesn’t have baby showers, I couldn’t bring myself to buying baby clothing.
Osorio’s use of filling up spaces to avoid the feeling of not having was my creative departure for this piece. I wanted to take his method of working with his own culture’s kitsch to find what makes my culture unique and what objects represent our inner working. Dissecting and examining my religion, culture, and community has made me both question and respect certain assumptions I had previously taken for granted.
I hope to take the many tchotchkas from this piece and make a permanent sculpture installation for my niece’s room. To talk about this prematurely is perhaps still a cultural taboo, but now that I can tell the difference between meaningful and meaningless taboo I have confidence to continue my artwork.
WORK CITED
Indych, Anna. "Nuyorican Baroque: Pepon Osorio's Churerias." Art Journal. 2001. College Art Association. 12 Oct. 2008
Mesa-Bains, Amelia, and Pepon Osorio. "The Practices and Pedagogy of Pepon Osorio." Reading Room. Oct. 2008. Communityartsnetwork. 12 Oct. 2008
No comments:
Post a Comment