response #2

1) Do you agree that this is all conceptual art is?

If anything this is what I want to think it is, but with my experiences with conceptual art I noticed that people seem to look way to into it and it ends up being way more than what is described in the article, and for me that is very frustrating.

2) How does the fact that there is a eHow on making conceptual art affect your ideas of art?

It doesn’t really affect it at all, if anything I find it somewhat humorous that there is an eHow for making conceptual art.

3) Is there a difference between this and the old Bob Ross painting shows?

Not really, although I think Bob Ross is more amusing.

4) Can High Art survive in the modern world?

I would like to say no, but to be honest I’m not too sure.

And for my own work.

1) My work is firmly entrenched in conceptual art norms, what forms of postmodern art has the internet made irrelevant, or are there any?

Well the internet has pretty much anything on it, so I’m sure it’s made all forms irrelevant.

2) I feel my work attempts to make the intangible not just tangible but accessible, is there a point where accessibility tips to eHow?        

If anyone can access eHow, then yes.

3) My concept of self dissection and betterment strives to be deep, dangerous, and relevant.  Is there more to "good" conceptual art than the strength of the concept?

I would think so, by the way it’s created and show to represent the conceptual idea.

4) Do you feel there is a difference between my work and something someone would make after reading this eHow?

Not really, I think it would depend on the person looking at the work, and whether that person has knowledge on conceptual art or not.

  Questions about the reading and movie:

Does the premise of condensing hundreds of religions and philosophies into one 2 hour-long documentary seem ill-serving to the history and magnitude of the subject matter?

In my opinion it doesn’t, but to be honest I could care less.

Do you consider your religious or non-religious beliefs before creating art?

No, the word “religion” or anything that has to do with religion doesn’t even cross my mind.

Sartre's understanding of life is that it reflects the experience of one's existence.  How does your artwork reflect the experience of your existence?

Well my work is done on things that I like or take and interest in, in which to like these things I have to experience them.

"The fact that we all suffer from the day we’re born to the day that we expire…is funny."  What part should humor play in the discussion of religion and mortality?

I’m not sure on what part it’s suppose to play in the discussion, but for me I do find the subject humorous 

Questions about my work in relationship to the reading and movie:

Is it ultimately futile for me to investigate an experience I may never consciously take part of?

That depends, if you want to get the experience right whether you participate in it are not, then yes but if you have no interesting it then that’s up to you.

Is my pursuit of personal meaning through the creation of art absurd in relation to my perception of the meaninglessness of the universe?

Maybe not absurd, but maybe somewhat irrelevant.

If I was to die and "become my past" as explained by Sartre, how would my artwork play a role in that process?  Would my work become the past as well?  Is it possible for my artwork to stay part of the present after I die?

I think it depends on what you did in your life and who knew you and whether or not if they liked you or disliked you. By that is how you would know or have an idea of what would happen to your work after you die.

Am I qualified to explore death in my work?  Does one have to be personally touched by death to be able to explore it in their work? 

I think that anyone can explore the subject of death whether they’re interested in it or not and whether they’ve been touched by it or not.

What stereotype do you identify with?

Or

What stereotype do you most relate to?

I would like to answer these two questions but to be honest I’m not to sure about which stereotype I belong with.

During what activity do you feel most masculine?

When I go running.

During what activity do you feel most feminine?

When I’m getting dressed.

May I take a video of you performing these actions?

No.

How do you feel about Adrian piper being on a suspicious travelers list?

To be honest I think it’s pretty stupid but also somewhat funny because if you think about it anyone can be “suspicious” which means anyone could be put on that list.

Would you makes the same decision that Adrian piper did if you were put on the list?

I would, but at the same time I would try to find a loop hole in the system so I could still travel and not get any “special treatment”.

 What do you think about adrians work that was mentioned in the article?

If anything I find interesting that she deals with identity and stereotypes in her work, this is also a subject that I am interested in but I really don’t express it well in my work.

response #1

1. What does de Zengotita mean by "optional"? What is a good example (your own, of course, not his) of "real"? What is an example of "mediated".

First of all I'm not quite sure what is meant by "optional" but all I say is that normally when something is optional or seems optional it's normally not what it seems at all. As for "real" anything could be used as an example because it all depends on the persons view on what is real and what isn't, such as the ideas in my head, if my head is real then does that make the ideas real too. Then for "mediated" I could use my own work and ideas for an example because what I use in my work is very mediated from the original context.

2. OK, fellow mediated person, what is your constructed identity and lifestyle?

I can't be too sure because I think that my constructed identity and lifestyle is constantly changing, although it is very mediated.

3. de Zengotita writes, "Some people refuse to accept the fact that reality is becoming indistinguishable from representation in a qualitatively new way." Are you aware of this? Do you think about it? What do you think about it? Or is this a pretty new idea for you? If so, how do you feel about it?

I am going to have to say that this idea is new to me after reading about it and I'm not sure if I quite understand it. I mean, in a way it makes sense because that would explain why the concept of reality is so confusing and misleading .
4. de Zengotita writes," The problem with trying to comprehend the process of mediation is that you can't get outside it." Can you imagine a way to get outside it? If that was your assignment, to get outside of the mediated world/environment, what would you do?

I would actually try to skip over the whole mediation process and use the original of what ever it is I'm using before it would have the chance to be mediated.
1. I think my work has the "whatever" quality to it that de Zengotita describes. Do you agree? 

Yes, I think that you work has not only the "whatever" goes, goes quality but also a bit of random mediation.

2. I also think my work plays with the range between the real and fabricated/mediated that de Zengotita describes, and I present that range on a level playing field. Do you agree, or not--and why?

I do agree, I see that you use stuff that we see every day that is very mediated but also real.

3. What else can I/should I do to more successfully describe, in my work, the mediated/optional environment we live in in America? 

If anything maybe you could use icons and ideas that are most used in our culture and perhaps use them to a new limit.

4. What is the similarity or difference between the "tone" of de Zengotita's writing/analysis and the "tone" of my drawings?

I think that the tone in both works is that of the random whatever-ness of real mediation.

1. Smithson mentions that entropy essential is a trending toward balance, how do you feel this relates to a creative practice’s trending toward completion?

Well if anything, if I took myself and how I work not everything goes how I want it to so if anything I would say that my process is a mess of disorder, but yet what I'm working on still gets completed.

2. Having been written in the early 1970’s this conversation mentions both energy crisis and the derelict remains of floundering housing projects, are these issues specific to the cultural climate, unavoidable and ubiquitous, or a combination of the two?

I would have to say that it's a little bit of both.

3. Smithson mentions the an intention to sculpt the sides of the Niagara Falls to make it look less “man made” and more natural, how does this relate to idea of entropy?

Well in a way to do that to the falls I think would be somewhat backwards and very  disorderly in a sense that you would have to go backwards in a process to get to the finished point.

 4. Do you feel that you relate more positively to work that is more idyllic or dialectic, and why? 

If anything I tend to be drawn to work that is pretty and simple like idyllic work, although when it's a subject that I'm interested in I can take a liking towards work that is dialectic.  

1. What does it mean to skip order and start from a state of incongruity?

For me it can simply mean to be disorganized in an orderly way or to just do thing backwards or back track.

2. What order can be arranged from the remnants of a highly entopic existence?

 OR

What is the role of iconography in a deteriorating system?

OR

Why swim against the current?

If I were to swim against the current, which I do often, I would of course be skipping around in my process due to something not working or going to plan, in which case I would most likely have to back track in order to get to the finish product.

3. What do you feel are the essential differences between being a conservative and being a conservationist?

I think that main difference is that of being kept to one's self (conservative) or out spoken with ideas or beliefs (conservationist). 

4. Why do you feel that I chose to include the quote?

Maybe as another source to back up the evidence in that article.

5. I decided to include several readings, how do you feel that relates to my studio practice, and why do you feel I do it?

It seems to me that you like to have evidence than supports whatever ideas and subjects that you are interested in.