Monday, January 27, 2014

Charles Ray

Charles Ray

How can the book say that he offers a drug-free turn on, when he describes drugs as achieving the feeling he was out to achieve in the beginning paragraph?

Objective Becomes Subjective
His emphasis of time is outstanding. Time is a binding mechanical idea that makes humans conform to the known universe.

How does Ray go about disrupting common stereotype, without offending anyone?

He tries to disrupt complacency, not lives. He relinquishes objective authority. However, pieces like Male Mannequin, could be seen as offensive and wildly controversial. Without explanation, the viewer’s mind must take a narrow road less traveled ion order to arrive at the proper idea behind the piece.

He obviously loves to confuse the audience in some pieces, but would it would appear that through the entire mind altering substances he used, he is lost in the same confusion. His Clock Man is one example of how he destructs the audience’s view of time, by creating his own version of time.

Even from the names of the different titles above each description shows that he makes things out to be what they aren’t: Mind Becomes Matter, Art Viewer Becomes Art Medium, Static Becomes Mobile, etc.

In his particular case, I am convinced that he believes that art is lead by culture. In other words art depicts society, instead of leads it. Pieces like A Curse Becomes a Festivity, where he placed 8 replicas of himself performing self-love. This to me is an indication of an interpretation of society, not a presentation of where society should be lead.


Though Charles Ray is not by any means your generic artist, he still creates pieces that probe deep into the mind of the viewer. He plays on interpretations of the current world, as well as his own experiences. He is an art rebel, a propaganda-creating maniac. Something revered by the wisest of men. In a way, I see him as the Hunter S. Thompson of art. I would classify him as crazy, but in a good way.

No comments:

Post a Comment