Making Experimental Art: A Guide for the Perplexed (Pt. 4)
The fact that experimental art calcifies into sameness should not come as a surprise, since it is the general trend of art in general since the enlightenment. Ever since art and utility became separated and art for the sake of art became the norm, it has gained a magical quality that separates it from its…
Making Experimental Art: A Guide for the Perplexed (Pt.3)
Often, though, experimental artists forget the process. They seek to create art that shocks or impacts their audience, using the tools of experimental artists who came before. But they aren’t actually generating any of these tools. The experiment is gone, replaced by the afterimages of experiments past, endlessly repeated. Does this make these pseudo-experiments bad? Not necessarily. Some of the most well-done productions I’ve seen skirt…
Making Experimental Art: A Guide for the Perplexed (Pt. 2)
Most people know how a scientific experiment works: you have a thesis, or initial question, create a controlled scenario where you can test that thesis, and through testing, you can come up with a tentative answer to the question you are asking. The answer is important, but if you don’t set up the test right,…
On the Shoulders of Giants 