Week 3 - Fiona Hall's Work & Mercantilism

As the dominant economic system of the 16th to 18th centuries, Mercantilism had a huge impact on not just the economy, but also the cultures of whom belonged to Mercantilism states. Of course, with culture comes art - what affects a culture reflects in the art produced. Mercantilism was essentially an economic theory based on exporting more than a country imports, thus causing the countries reserve and wealth to rise. During the Renaissance, Mercantillism was studied and refined, eventually picked up and used by other other countries such as France, who developed their own Mercantilism system. As the 18th century drew to a close, Mercantilism as a whole began to fade as the dominant economic system. However, the United States took the idea of Mercantilism and pushed it to it's boundaries, developing the system into a new highly refined system which catapulted the United States to the forefront of world economic power. That system is the now very familiar Capitalist system.

Fiona Hall has a history of producing artwork based around the concept of money and it's role in society. An example of this is her "Leaf Litter" (1999-2003) series of works. These works are mostly constructed of brittle x-ray like leaves layed out over bank notes. The idea behind the work is the importance of plants and how that ties to money. Hall explained how plants have played such a vital role in the growth of world economies. Plants are a huge part of the worlds resources. Obviously resources are the source of money, not just as a way of making money through trading these resources and manufacturing products, but also in a very literal way. The actual process of making money in a physical sense. Plants are a very valuable resource, and as a result, mercantilism and money in general is forever tied into them. Wars are fought over resources, lands are colonised and exploited for their resources - all in the name of money. With these huge expeditions and processing and exporting of resources, the environment has suffered. Countries once abundant with plants were stripped bare and through the use of these plants, the plants themselves suffered. The ecosystem and the people suffered for it. Fiona Hall's series almost gives the feeling of the x-ray view of money in itself, like looking deep into what it is and where it came from. It partially came from the processing and exporting of plants, and in a physical sense, is still a plant in itself as it is processed and manufactured from plant resources.

Another example of Fiona Hall's artwork that displays the ties between nature and money is "Tender" (2003-05). In this work, Hall has constructed numerous realistic bird nests entirely out of shredded US bills. These nests are housed in museum-like encasements much like how you would see real flora and fauna held, named and numbered. On the glass windows of these encasements are the serial numbers of each note used in the artwork, as well as the scientific names or each of the real-life nests. The work portrays the link between the local wildlife in areas which were ravaged for monetary gain, and how these ecosystems of animals and plants are killed off in exchange for money. As a visual representation of this idea, money literally replaces the natural materials that the birds use to build their nests. The work is an incredibly delicate way of showing how global trade essentially turns resources and animal life into money.

Hall has numerous other works speaking on the topic of mercantilism and globalisation, and their effects on the planet and it's life, in all forms. As an artist, Hall definitely impresses with her ability to communicate very big and strong ideas and feelings in such quiet, organic ways. It's not always entirely obvious as to what her work may be portraying, but as you begin to analyze each piece, the message unravels itself. These two particular works are good examples of that, and her tendency to give her thoughts on the link between economics and nature.

References:

http://www.ixsandbox.com/module/839/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiona_Margaret_Hall
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3BwyuRjDew
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantilism

Week 2 - Mahmoud Bakhshi - Tulips Rise from the Blood of the Nation's Youth

Mahmoud Bakhshi's "Tulips Rise from the Blood of the Nation's Youth" is a unique look at the issue of martyrdom in his home country of Iran. The work is made from multiple neon tubes forming stylized tulips rising out from the ground on top of small pedestals, in a dark, black room. The tulip, a national symbol (as seen on the Iranian flag), is said to grow on the battlefield soaked in the blood of Iranian martyrs. The "Nation's Youth" are the martyrs who died during the political riots in Tehran following the accusation of fraud against President Ahmadinejad after the elections. During the riots, the government attacked protesters and some were killed.

These political martyrs often died an anonymous death, with no public recognition. Bakhshi's work is somewhat of an ode to these young protesters who died as martyrs, but without the public recognition and fanfare that government-backed national heroes recieved, with murals and sculptures of their likeness painted and builted around Iran's cities. These martyrs were killed and their stories kept quiet by the government. The neon tulips act as symbolic recognition of the dead in an almost funeral-like setting. It's interesting to see how the dead are viewed in Iranian and Arab culture, idolised after death after going down fighting for a cause they believed in. With the power and oppressive nature of the Iranian Government however, some are forced to be forgotten as their interests went against that of those in power. For us in what we consider the free world, this is far from our own reality.

I have always had an extremely strong interest in other cultures and their respective view points, so it is interesting to me how martyrs are portrayed in Islamic countries like Iran. I believe we should all try to learn and better understand the views of others, especially in times like these (Middle Eastern crisis), so we can ease the friction between cultures, morals and religions. Though I may not agree with some of the views, it's important to fully understand them before we begin to criticize them.

References:

http://www.al-islam.org/al-serat/concept-ezzati.htm
http://payvand.com/news/10/mar/1252.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Iran
http://www.aucklandtriennial.com/artists/mahmoudbakhshi.asp