Introduction Love and desire are central parts of being human

Introduction

Love and desire are central parts of being human.  Art throughout history has often looked at ideas and feelings about love, from attraction and longing to notions of love at a spiritual level. The nude, a long tradition in western art, instantly brings sexuality into the content of a work.

Unit Learning Outcomes

• Describe how the body becomes sculptural in performance art. (1, 2, 6)
• Explain some of the different ways in which desire has been imaged. (2, 3, 4)
• Discuss the Kiss as an image of desire (2,3,4)

Initial Post

In each unit discussion you will have a post where you address one or more of the questions posed.  A high-quality post will be:

• on time
• thoughtful
• answer thoroughly
• use specific examples of artwork and/or use sources including the text, and online or offline articles to support its points.  

Response Post

You will also need to participate by doing a response post to a peer.   When you follow up on a peer post you need to add value to a conversation with your own thoughts, points or counter points. Think of it like being at a party. Just saying 'I agree' or 'Good post' (or something that boils down to that) stops the conversation. A high-quality peer post continues the conversation by asking questions, or making connections between the post it is responding to and other information, or even by disagreeing with the original poster and offering counter examples.  

https://youtu.be/wbo1fqieONk

https://youtu.be/BRUOACBkFRg

https://youtu.be/lSV-J1JHDFY

https://youtu.be/jn7m0bbk-oQ

https://youtu.be/XyLNPumMMTs

https://youtu.be/bihBbqzL96Y

Discussion Questions

Required questions:

1. Which artwork did you react most strongly to (positively or negatively)?
2. Talk about the image (and link if you can) and tell us what interested or repelled you about it.

Choose 1 (one) of the following questions to answer:

1. Compare Rodin’s the Kiss to the one by Brancusi or Klimt: What do you think is the difference between what these works express about this very intimate form of touch?  
2. Consider the way Elina Bortherus uses herself unclothed in her own work.  
   • Is she naked or nude according to John Berger’s definition?  Why do you think so? 
   • Why is being unclothed important to some of her works?  Use a specific example.
3. Think about the concept of the ‘gaze’ as mentioned in your text.  
   • How is that different from just looking? 
   • Who is the audience that is intended by Ingres Odalisque or Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, and how does that affect your interpretation?
4. How do Marina Abramovic & Ulay’s bodies become sculptural in their performance work A Living Door of the Museum.