Aleks Danko - Museum of Contemporary Art

ALEKS DANKO: MY FELLOW
AUS-TRA-ALIENS
– Exhibition in Focus
PRESENTATION
mca.com.au/learn
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Introduction
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ALEKS DANKO
– Meet the artist
The son of Ukrainian migrants, Aleks Danko was born in Adelaide in
1950 and lives and works in Daylesford, Victoria.
Photo of artists
His career spans over four decades and encompasses diverse media
– from sculpture, performance, installation, to text and languagebased works.
Drawing actively upon Australia’s political and cultural history, his
practice is infused with humour and a subtle (and at times not so
subtle!) critique of contemporary social values.
Aleks Danko, Loopix at Marimekko … or is this Bridget Boiling Brook?, 2015, photograph:
Katri Lehtola. Image courtesy and © Aleks Danko and Katri Lehtola
MCA
Excerpts from Artist’s Voice: Aleks Danko, 2009
click on image to play video. View full video online
Introduction
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MCA
It’s Such A Thin Line Between Clever & Stupid (2008/2009)
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Make a list of 5 different places you see mirrors in your
everyday life and what they are used for.
Act out your interaction with each of them!
WARM UP
MCA
It’s Such A Thin Line Between Clever & Stupid (2008/2009)
Aleks Danko, It’s Such a Thin Line Between Clever and Stupid 2008-2009
sand blasted mirror, plastic mirror clips 59 x 42 x 0.6cm
Museum of Contemporary Art Collection purchased with funds provided by the Coe and Mordant families,
2009
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MCA
“
It’s Such A Thin Line Between Clever & Stupid (2008/2009)
If the viewer is the right
height and standing at the
right distance, a thin sandblasted
line will separate their reflected head from
their body, integrating them physically and
conceptually into the work
”
MCA Collection online, ABOUT THE ARTWORK
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MCA
It’s Such A Thin Line Between Clever & Stupid (2008/2009)
Aleks Danko, It’s Such a Thin Line Between Clever and Stupid 2008-2009
(Selfie)
sand blasted mirror, plastic mirror clips 59 x 42 x 0.6cm
Museum of Contemporary Art Collection purchased with funds provided by the Coe and Mordant families, 2009
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MCA
It’s Such A Thin Line Between Clever & Stupid (2008/2009)
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Imagine you are standing in front of It’s Such A Thin
Line Between Clever & Stupid (2008/2009).
How does it feel to see yourself in the artwork?
• How would you act or perform in front of this artwork?
• How would your experience of the artwork be different to
others?
DISCUSSION
IDEAS
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It’s Such A Thin Line Between Clever & Stupid (2008/2009)
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Could It’s Such a Thin Line Between Clever and Stupid
be considered a portrait?
Why or why not?
DIG
DEEPER
MCA
“
Joycean Laugh (2008/2009)
What I’ve done [is] put
words into people’s heads,
so to speak, as well as
mouths. And it’s making them think
about how thoughts are made.”
”
Aleks Danko, Artist’s Voice video 2009
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MCA
Joycean Laugh (2008/2009)
Aleks Danko, Joycean Laugh, 2008/2009
engraved plastic. 59.2 x 42cm
Museum of Contemporary Art Collection
Purchased with funds provided by the Coe and Mordant families, 2009
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MCA
Joycean Laugh (2008/2009)
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‘Joycean’ refers to James Joyce, a famous Irish writer who treated words as changeable
playthings and delighted in their spoken form.
Recite the words in Jocycean Laugh aloud ten times.
Change the way it is spoken each time - fast, slow,
loud, soft.
• How did the mood of the work change when reading the words aloud
compared to reading them in your head?
• How does this artwork lend itself to ideas of performance?
QUICK
ACTIVITY
MCA
Joycean Laugh (2008/2009)
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Aleks Danko thinks that language can be read,
understood, performed and looked at.
How does Joycean Laugh explore each of these different
interactions with text?
DIG
DEEPER
MCA
Incident-Ambivalence (1991/1992)
Aleks Danko, Incident-Ambivalence, 1991/1992
wood, galvanised steel and synthetic polymer paint and varnish 28 x 27.5 x 2.5cm
Museum of Contemporary Art Collection
Purchased with the assistance of stART, MCA Young Patrons, 1993
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MCA
Incident-Ambivalence (1991/1992)
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The face in Incident-Ambivalence is based on a drawing found in an artwork by William Hogarth
called The Analysis of Beauty: a sculptor’s yard, (1753). Hogarth was a painter, engraver, critic and
satirist born in 1697.
Look at the next slide. Can you find the face in Hogarth’s
artwork?
QUICK
ACTIVITY
MCA
Incident-Ambivalence (1991/1992)
William Hogarth, The Analysis of Beauty: a sculptor’s yard, 1753
Metropolitan Museum of Art, online collection: entry 365314. Wikipedia Commons
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MCA
Incident-Ambivalence (1991/1992)
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Why do you think Aleks Danko
has chosen this image?
How has he changed the face
from the original drawing by
Hogarth?
DISCUSSION
IDEAS
MCA
Incident-Ambivalence (1991/1992)
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Quickly draw yourself or someone near you using your
NON-DOMINANT HAND (e.g. use your left hand if you’re
right-handed). Then draw the same portrait with your
dominant hand.
Which drawing do you think is better and why?
QUICK
ACTIVITY!
MCA
Incident-Ambivalence (1991/1992)
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Hogarth used the face image as a demonstration of a drawing that lacked elegance and beauty something ‘unartistic’ that could be made by a young child. He believed that an image needed to
contain an ‘S’ shaped curve to make it a beautiful composition.
How do we define what is good, or bad, artistic or
unartistic?
DIG
DEEPER
MCA
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Extend your learning - try our
online activities!
mca.com.au/learning_danko
THANK YOU