Issues with dichotomies, Recent Readings, the lineage of Duchamp, and "How to Experience Sculpture"

I reject:

nature-----------------culture

but accept

               nature sub 1

                    ^

nature sub 2-----------------culture

9/14 Machiavelli

Agothocles of Sicilian was a son of a potter who worked his way up in the military.  He held a meeting with the senators and rich citizens to, seemingly, talk about the ongoing war.  Instead, his troops came in and killed everyone.  Oliverotto did something similar, but then he laid siege on the chief officers until they submitted. (He's talking about the different ways in which rulers rise to power.  Wealth, Family, and "Nefarious Acts" such as these two mentioned).

dictate, dictatorship, dictation, dictionary, diction, dict

Rondeau on Jasper Johns ("Jasper Johns: Gray")

Nauman on Johns: "I loved deKooning's work but Johns was the first artist to put some intellectual distance between himself and the physical act of making a painting." pg 33

Robert Morris: "Thought is not colored.  Color adds nothing to thought.  Thought is black, white and gray." pg33

Gray Matter

I am not positive I agree with Robert Morris' statement, but then again it makes sense that this came from him after you look at his work (above).  Rather, Morris just seems to be wary of color acting too much as some sort of sensationalist trigger.  

Likewise, Johns uses gray as taking a step away from a symbol (see the flag above).  He also did this in color, doing one flag on top of another, as a way to repeat an image, to essentially undermine the meaning of the image and image itself, as writers John Berger and Walter Benjamin both address.

There are "families of artists," a lineage of them or something close to it.  One of the most pertinent of these, I believe is one including Jasper Johns.  As I've said on this blog before (I think), Duchamp was doing his now famous work in the 19teens but no one was really paying attention.  It wasn't until after Abstract Expressionism had basically sold out to all ungodly hell or died out, that anyone knew of Duchamp besides a small minority.  He "quit" being an artist in an attempt to becoming a chess champion (though it appears he did indeed work, at the very least he DID work on a single piece over a time period of about 20 years).  This anyone that knew of Duchamp was Jasper Johns who was working in the 50s and 60s.  It really was because of Johns that Duchamp has whatever fame or credit he has today.  Interestingly enough, Johns (also Rauschenberg) was trying to wrestle with ideology (for lack of a better word that I can think of right now) of Abstract Expressionism.  Bruce Nauman was working during the same time as Johns, but Nauman (who admits barely anything-like influences in his work-Duchamp and Johns also talk about their work in vague terms, generally to designate a 'meaning' to a piece) admitted to Johns being an artist of interest.

"How to Experience Sculpture" Tips from DeCordora Sculpture Park

1) Take notice of how you first respond when you look at this sculpture-thoughts, feelings, and associations

2) Walk around the sculpture and look at all of its physical aspects-line, shape, form, color, texture, space, etc

3) Look at the materials (wood, metal, plastic, found objects, etc) the artist chose and see how they are skillfully put together

4) Consider the relationship this unique sculpture has with its environment-the immediate surroundings, the Park, and you the visitor

5) Try to determine the subject matter of the subject matter of the sculpture-the title may or may not give you a clue

6) Reflect on all of the things you have just experienced regarding the sculpture-now, formulate your own interpretation.