(",) Re: Elephant art?
I found the essay here: White Elephant Art vs. Termite Art This is the full text of a manifesto by Manny Farber, written in 1962. Since disavowed by Farber, this piece has nonetheless served as fierce inspiration for me and the other members of the Termite Television Collective. http://www.jambop.com/jambop/2004/11/white_elephant_.html --- In ma-network@yahoogroups.com, "Oh Boy Mailart!" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > In the episode of Six Feet Under where Claire's art teacher, brought up > the opposed concepts of White Elephant Art and Termite Art, > these ideas belong to Manny Farber, the film critic. > > They have to do with pretentious art and progressive art. > > White Elephant art destroys its meaning and creativity in pursuit of > seriousness and acclaim, whereas termite art burrows and eats away the > boundaries of its genre as it goes forward, just eating and > regurgitating wood fibers all crazy-style. >
Re: (",) Re: Elephant art?
Italian (mail)artist, Ennio Pauluzzi creates elephants:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elefantus/sets/72157603079270487/
So, not sure who originally wanted info...or if this has already been posted.
Saluto grande arte!
Christine Tarantino
WORDS OF LIGHT MAIL ART
C/O llaborate
C/O operate
C/O rrespond
http://christinetarantino.blogspot.com
--- On Sat, 11/8/08, guido bondioli <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
From: guido bondioli <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: (",) Re: Elephant art?
To: ma-network@yahoogroups.com
Date: Saturday, November 8, 2008, 8:13 PM
This all sounds like the speculations of people who failed to get an education.
--- On Sat, 11/8/08, Oh Boy Mailart! <[EMAIL PROTECTED] net> wrote:
From: Oh Boy Mailart! <[EMAIL PROTECTED] net>
Subject: (",) Re: Elephant art?
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ups.com
Date: Saturday, November 8, 2008, 5:37 AM
In the episode of Six Feet Under where Claire's art teacher, brought up
the opposed concepts of White Elephant Art and Termite Art,
these ideas belong to Manny Farber, the film critic.
They have to do with pretentious art and progressive art.
White Elephant art destroys its meaning and creativity in pursuit of
seriousness and acclaim, whereas termite art burrows and eats away the
boundaries of its genre as it goes forward, just eating and
regurgitating wood fibers all crazy-style.
Re: (",) Re: Elephant art?
This all sounds like the speculations of people who failed to get an education.
--- On Sat, 11/8/08, Oh Boy Mailart! <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
From: Oh Boy Mailart! <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: (",) Re: Elephant art?
To: ma-network@yahoogroups.com
Date: Saturday, November 8, 2008, 5:37 AM
In the episode of Six Feet Under where Claire's art teacher,
brought up
the opposed concepts of White Elephant Art and Termite Art,
these ideas belong to Manny Farber, the film critic.
They have to do with pretentious art and progressive art.
White Elephant art destroys its meaning and creativity in pursuit of
seriousness and acclaim, whereas termite art burrows and eats away the
boundaries of its genre as it goes forward, just eating and
regurgitating wood fibers all crazy-style.
(",) Re: Elephant art?
In the episode of Six Feet Under where Claire's art teacher, brought up the opposed concepts of White Elephant Art and Termite Art, these ideas belong to Manny Farber, the film critic. They have to do with pretentious art and progressive art. White Elephant art destroys its meaning and creativity in pursuit of seriousness and acclaim, whereas termite art burrows and eats away the boundaries of its genre as it goes forward, just eating and regurgitating wood fibers all crazy-style.
Re: (",) Re: Elephant art?
That's an interesting commentary, but it certainly wouldn't lead to calling Fluxus art "Elephant Art." By Farber's description Fluxus would fit more in the "Termite" category. Does anyone on the list know Alan Ball (the producer of "Six Feet Under"), or any of the writers? We could ask them what the source was. On Nov 7, 2008, at 7:58 AM, tamarawyndham wrote: My friend found this when she Googled it- http://www.drainmag.com/ContentPLAY/Essay/Patrick.html "Laurette's manner of working equally recalls artist-critic Manny Farber's characterization of termite vs. white elephant art. In Farber's case, he was addressing the cinema and painting around 1962, but perhaps in Laurette's case he is the resourceful postmodern termite artist against the bloat and bombast of, say, America's own pride and joy Matthew Barney. To quote Farber, "the most inclusive description of the art is that, termite-like, it feels its way through walls of particularization, with no sign that the artist has any object in mind other than eating away the immediate boundaries of his art, and turning these boundaries into conditions of the next achievement."[12]Farber's termite art is contrasted against art "as an expensive hunk of well-regulated area."[13] Such an instance of termite art in Laurette's case is the Scattered Library piece of the late 1990s, in which the artist proposed to lend a selection of his own books—ninety of them to be exact—to the St. Bruno library in Grenoble, ending up during that period as almost 3/4 of one percent of the library's holdings." --- In ma-network@yahoogroups.com, Reid Wood <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > No need to blush ... Six Feet Under was a pretty good show. As for > the writers, I think they were probably combining several different > things when they came up with Elephant Art and Termite Art. > > On Nov 6, 2008, at 12:53 PM, tamarawyndham wrote: > > > OK, I'll tell you the context I heard it - it was on an old TV show > > (blush) "Six Feet Under" - > > Claire is in art school and the teacher criticizes her friend's > > sculpture as "elephant art" > > Then he asks the class "Anybody know what elephant art is?" No one > > says anything. Then > > he says "It was invented by Fluxus artists. Anybody know what > > Fluxus is?" No one says > > anything. Then he scolds them for not reading he goes on to > > call Claire's sculpture > > "termite art". I assumed "termite art" was a made up thing, but > > I wasn't sure about > > "elephant art" ... maybe they just made it up for the TV show... > > > > - T > > > > --- In ma-network@yahoogroups.com, Reid Wood wrote: > > > > > > Some zoos have their elephants make paintings, which they then sell. > > > Don't know if this was the reference. > > > > > > Reid Wood > > > > > > On Nov 5, 2008, at 10:00 PM, Tamara Wyndham wrote: > > > > > > > I just heard a reference to something called "elephant art" that > > > > was something invented by Fluxus. I just tried to google it, but > > > > nothing showed up anybody familiar with "elephant art"? > > > > Just wondering, > > > > > > > > thanx, > > > > > > > > Tamara Wyndham > > > > http://www.tamarawyndham.com > > > > > > > > "No man who has managed to keep out of an office can be called a > > > > failure in life." > > > > - Richard Aldington > > > >
(",) Re: Elephant art?
My friend found this when she Googled it- http://www.drainmag.com/ContentPLAY/Essay/Patrick.html "Laurette's manner of working equally recalls artist-critic Manny Farber's characterization of termite vs. white elephant art. In Farber's case, he was addressing the cinema and painting around 1962, but perhaps in Laurette's case he is the resourceful postmodern termite artist against the bloat and bombast of, say, America's own pride and joy Matthew Barney. To quote Farber, "the most inclusive description of the art is that, termite-like, it feels its way through walls of particularization, with no sign that the artist has any object in mind other than eating away the immediate boundaries of his art, and turning these boundaries into conditions of the next achievement."[12]Farber's termite art is contrasted against art "as an expensive hunk of well-regulated area."[13] Such an instance of termite art in Laurette's case is the Scattered Library piece of the late 1990s, in which the artist proposed to lend a selection of his own booksninety of them to be exactto the St. Bruno library in Grenoble, ending up during that period as almost 3/4 of one percent of the library's holdings." --- In ma-network@yahoogroups.com, Reid Wood <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > No need to blush ... Six Feet Under was a pretty good show. As for > the writers, I think they were probably combining several different > things when they came up with Elephant Art and Termite Art. > > On Nov 6, 2008, at 12:53 PM, tamarawyndham wrote: > > > OK, I'll tell you the context I heard it - it was on an old TV show > > (blush) "Six Feet Under" - > > Claire is in art school and the teacher criticizes her friend's > > sculpture as "elephant art" > > Then he asks the class "Anybody know what elephant art is?" No one > > says anything. Then > > he says "It was invented by Fluxus artists. Anybody know what > > Fluxus is?" No one says > > anything. Then he scolds them for not reading he goes on to > > call Claire's sculpture > > "termite art". I assumed "termite art" was a made up thing, but > > I wasn't sure about > > "elephant art" ... maybe they just made it up for the TV show... > > > > - T > > > > --- In ma-network@yahoogroups.com, Reid Wood wrote: > > > > > > Some zoos have their elephants make paintings, which they then sell. > > > Don't know if this was the reference. > > > > > > Reid Wood > > > > > > On Nov 5, 2008, at 10:00 PM, Tamara Wyndham wrote: > > > > > > > I just heard a reference to something called "elephant art" that > > > > was something invented by Fluxus. I just tried to google it, but > > > > nothing showed up anybody familiar with "elephant art"? > > > > Just wondering, > > > > > > > > thanx, > > > > > > > > Tamara Wyndham > > > > http://www.tamarawyndham.com > > > > > > > > "No man who has managed to keep out of an office can be called a > > > > failure in life." > > > > - Richard Aldington > > > >
Re: (",) Re: Elephant art?
No need to blush ... Six Feet Under was a pretty good show. As for the writers, I think they were probably combining several different things when they came up with Elephant Art and Termite Art. On Nov 6, 2008, at 12:53 PM, tamarawyndham wrote: OK, I'll tell you the context I heard it - it was on an old TV show (blush) "Six Feet Under" - Claire is in art school and the teacher criticizes her friend's sculpture as "elephant art" Then he asks the class "Anybody know what elephant art is?" No one says anything. Then he says "It was invented by Fluxus artists. Anybody know what Fluxus is?" No one says anything. Then he scolds them for not reading he goes on to call Claire's sculpture "termite art". I assumed "termite art" was a made up thing, but I wasn't sure about "elephant art" ... maybe they just made it up for the TV show... - T --- In ma-network@yahoogroups.com, Reid Wood <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Some zoos have their elephants make paintings, which they then sell. > Don't know if this was the reference. > > Reid Wood > > On Nov 5, 2008, at 10:00 PM, Tamara Wyndham wrote: > > > I just heard a reference to something called "elephant art" that > > was something invented by Fluxus. I just tried to google it, but > > nothing showed up anybody familiar with "elephant art"? > > Just wondering, > > > > thanx, > > > > Tamara Wyndham > > http://www.tamarawyndham.com > > > > "No man who has managed to keep out of an office can be called a > > failure in life." > > - Richard Aldington > > > > > > >
(",) Re: Elephant art?
OK, I'll tell you the context I heard it - it was on an old TV show (blush) "Six Feet Under" - Claire is in art school and the teacher criticizes her friend's sculpture as "elephant art" Then he asks the class "Anybody know what elephant art is?" No one says anything. Then he says "It was invented by Fluxus artists. Anybody know what Fluxus is?" No one says anything. Then he scolds them for not reading he goes on to call Claire's sculpture "termite art". I assumed "termite art" was a made up thing, but I wasn't sure about "elephant art" ... maybe they just made it up for the TV show... - T --- In ma-network@yahoogroups.com, Reid Wood <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Some zoos have their elephants make paintings, which they then sell. > Don't know if this was the reference. > > Reid Wood > > On Nov 5, 2008, at 10:00 PM, Tamara Wyndham wrote: > > > I just heard a reference to something called "elephant art" that > > was something invented by Fluxus. I just tried to google it, but > > nothing showed up anybody familiar with "elephant art"? > > Just wondering, > > > > thanx, > > > > Tamara Wyndham > > http://www.tamarawyndham.com > > > > "No man who has managed to keep out of an office can be called a > > failure in life." > > - Richard Aldington > > > > > > >
(",) Re: Elephant art?
OK, I'll tell you the context I heard it - it was on an old TV show (blush) "Six Feet Under" - Claire is in art school and the teacher criticizes her friend's sculpture as "elephant art" Then he asks the class "Anybody know what elephant art is?" No one says anything. Then he says "It was invented by Fluxus artists. Anybody know what Fluxus is?" No one says anything. Then he scolds them for not reading he goes on to call Claire's sculpture "termite art". I assumed "termite art" was a made up thing, but I wasn't sure about "elephant art" ... maybe they just made it up for the TV show... - T --- In ma-network@yahoogroups.com, Reid Wood <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Some zoos have their elephants make paintings, which they then sell. > Don't know if this was the reference. > > Reid Wood > > On Nov 5, 2008, at 10:00 PM, Tamara Wyndham wrote: > > > I just heard a reference to something called "elephant art" that > > was something invented by Fluxus. I just tried to google it, but > > nothing showed up anybody familiar with "elephant art"? > > Just wondering, > > > > thanx, > > > > Tamara Wyndham > > http://www.tamarawyndham.com > > > > "No man who has managed to keep out of an office can be called a > > failure in life." > > - Richard Aldington > > > > > > >
(",) Re: Elephant art?
OK, I'll tell you the context I heard it - it was on an old TV show (blush) "Six Feet Under" - Claire is in art school and the teacher criticizes her friend's sculpture as "elephant art" Then he asks the class "Anybody know what elephant art is?" No one says anything. Then he says "It was invented by Fluxus artists. Anybody know what Fluxus is?" No one says anything. Then he scolds them for not reading he goes on to call Claire's sculpture "termite art". I assumed "termite art" was a made up thing, but I wasn't sure about "elephant art" ... maybe they just made it up for the TV show... - T --- In ma-network@yahoogroups.com, Reid Wood <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Some zoos have their elephants make paintings, which they then sell. > Don't know if this was the reference. > > Reid Wood > > On Nov 5, 2008, at 10:00 PM, Tamara Wyndham wrote: > > > I just heard a reference to something called "elephant art" that > > was something invented by Fluxus. I just tried to google it, but > > nothing showed up anybody familiar with "elephant art"? > > Just wondering, > > > > thanx, > > > > Tamara Wyndham > > http://www.tamarawyndham.com > > > > "No man who has managed to keep out of an office can be called a > > failure in life." > > - Richard Aldington > > > > > > >
Re: (",) Re: Elephant art?
My first rubber stamp was of an elephant. It was published in Rubberstamp
Madness years ago/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lavonasherarts
--- On Thu, 11/6/08, Michael Leigh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> From: Michael Leigh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: (",) Re: Elephant art?
> To: ma-network@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Thursday, November 6, 2008, 5:53 AM
> ---The only "elephant art " i know is made by
> Ennio Pauluzzi- you can
> find his Flickr stream and projects here-
>
> http://www.flickr.com/people/elefantus/
>
> Michael
>
>
> In ma-network@yahoogroups.com, Tamara Wyndham
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> wrote:
> >
> > I just heard a reference to something called
> "elephant art" that
> was something invented by Fluxus. I just tried to google
> it, but
> nothing showed up anybody familiar with "elephant
> art"?
> > Just wondering,
> >
> > thanx,
> >
> >
> > Tamara Wyndham
> > http://www.tamarawyndham.com
> >
> > "No man who has managed to keep out of an office
> can be called a
> failure in life."
> > - Richard Aldington
> >
(",) Re: Elephant art?
---The only "elephant art " i know is made by Ennio Pauluzzi- you can find his Flickr stream and projects here- http://www.flickr.com/people/elefantus/ Michael In ma-network@yahoogroups.com, Tamara Wyndham <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I just heard a reference to something called "elephant art" that was something invented by Fluxus. I just tried to google it, but nothing showed up anybody familiar with "elephant art"? > Just wondering, > > thanx, > > > Tamara Wyndham > http://www.tamarawyndham.com > > "No man who has managed to keep out of an office can be called a failure in life." > - Richard Aldington >
Re: (",) Elephant art?
Some zoos have their elephants make paintings, which they then sell. Don't know if this was the reference. Reid Wood On Nov 5, 2008, at 10:00 PM, Tamara Wyndham wrote: I just heard a reference to something called "elephant art" that was something invented by Fluxus. I just tried to google it, but nothing showed up anybody familiar with "elephant art"? Just wondering, thanx, Tamara Wyndham http://www.tamarawyndham.com "No man who has managed to keep out of an office can be called a failure in life." - Richard Aldington
