Reading Response #2

I think the the Rosalind Kraus article was a good way to start a discussion of this nature with how she introduces the idea of the connections between art and ethics through "aesthetics of acknowledgement". There was a very large focus on mediums and the everyday use of mediums referring specifically to the 1) simultaneous reception and projection of an image and 2) the human psyche as a conduit. I think this is completely true but have never thought of this in a where the body is a 'material' and is used as a means to an end for the final idea or concept, which I think is shown strongly through the Boomerang (1974) example. I think having this idea flows well into Rosler's stance on how influential video and video art was in the 1960's. Having this platform allowed for me to connect more to the ideas of how video in the uprising of the mass media culture had. I really enjoyed the idea of "museumization", which was a new term for me and the power of television. I think most people could say t.v. had and influence but not think of it in the way Rosler says. Since I am extremely interesting in the topic of what Butler was talking about I really enjoyed her article and how she approaches the ideas of "the subject" in relation to women, "construction", "unity" and "the one" or the "other". Her way of using quotation marks makes her points extremely clear which I think helps and I think the through video would be a perfect way to explore or attempt to delve into these topics. With the amount of manipulation an artist has when working with video, there are essentially no limitations to how an artist can show "the one" gender or sex or making points about the appearance versus reality, objectification and really just the evolution of the idea of gender and sex.

What do you think the influence of art, or video art had on the thought evolution of the ideas of gender and sex, if any?