Tension critical thinking in art

I have highlighted and read the paper looking at tension that invites critical thinking. Art is a from of communication and in this journal it is references as a language in itself. The journal talks about art as leaning, confronting and pushing and I think this concept of using forces is interesting. It also says that if there is no tension there is no viewer so having a feeling like tension conveyed means there is already a relationship between the viewer and the artwork. There is also a reference to Marco Evaristti's Goldfish blender. We as a viewer are faced with the incongruity between something we know which is the fish and the usual goldfish. This physically made me feel sick at the thought of someone pressing the button and causing the fish to be blended.I like this idea of having a juxtaposition between two objects to cause tension, not just the physical pulling sensation. The human spirit cries out for non linguistic ways to communicate. This idea of using the visual as a language in itself is interesting to me.

This journal states that what is tension is the dissonance between two things. It is the pull and juxtaposition that causes our own perceptions of these things to cause tension. Another reference was Rebecca Horn's pencil mask. This mask is so successful at causing tension as it feels as though at any moment there could be pain as the pencil stabs into the face. As well as this there is a feeling of bondage and imprisonment. The idea of feeling trapped it something I would also like to explore in my work.

A quote from the journal: Marcel Duchamp said, "As soon as we start putting our thoughts into words and sentences everything gets distorted, language is just no damn good--I use it because I have to, but I don't put any trust in it. We never understand each other."(cited by Shlain, p. 204).

The idea that we cant trust language is interesting. The language becomes distorted. How can I translate language into the physical, traces and imprints that read like handwriting.

With Interactive Art, the prompt to interact is provided to some degree. In the absence of those prompts, especially if a work is not identified as interactive, the viewer is likely to fall back on implicit rules: do not touch, maintain an appropriate distance. But there are times when the piece or some element(s) of the piece pull at the viewer enough for them to question and perhaps violate those implicit rules. That boundary line between touching and not touching,between standing back or getting closer is an uncertainty, a tension.

There is this choice and tension between your own urges and what you are told not to do. This element of the interactive is something I could explore to create tension.

A. JAIN, M., 2009. Tension and Critical Thinking in Art. [online] Scholarworks.umb.edu. Available at: <https://scholarworks.umb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1154&context=cct_capstone> [Accessed 22 February 2022].

Research: weeks 22-23

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