Week 1- Mercantilism and Fiona Hall's work

Week 1- Mercantilism and Fiona Hall's work

'Tender' (2003-05) Fiona Hall

Fiona Hall's contemporary work reflects ideas that come from the Renaissance concept of Mercantilism.

Research the two examples; 'Tender'(2003-05) and 'Leaf Litter'(1999-2003) to explain how they relate to this concept.

1. First define mercantilism, using material from your ALVC handbook, and explain how it has developed since the Renaissance.
2. Identify the ideas or concepts in Hall's work that relate to Mercantilism? 
3. For each work describe the shape, form and materials used, and also explain the ideas behind each example.
4. In your opinion do the materials communicate the ideas of the work? Please explain your answer. 
5. Fiona Hall's recent project The Kermadecs focuses on issues around the Pacific ocean. Research this project to summarize the importance of the area and upload an image to your blog for discussion. 

 ' Leaf Litter' (1999-2003) Fiona Hall

These works were part of an art show titled 'Force Field' which can be viewed in one of the exhibition spaces on Youtube - Part Three: Fiona Hall: Force Field.

Answers:

1: according to Barnard, m. (1998) Mercantilism is the means to make money or wealth for your city or nations state by trading. a mercantilism system was based around the city, greed for accumulating national wealth and to increase its economic power. the most popular way of doing this in the early days of a mercantilism system was to export more goods then they were importing. this type of system for accumulating wealth was being used until the end of the high renascence when the new economic system of capitalism was introduced. this is because of people like Adam smith(1723-1790) were against the mercantilism system. they suggested that economic growth could only really happen if markets were free. (pg 51)

2: Fiona halls works around the environment, politics. she uses her works to relate to money and they way a culture can earn money though trade. mercantilism is all about trade and money, so Fiona hall exploits the political concepts though her works by using the fundamental out come of mercantilism as a medium for her work.

3: works like tender and leaf letter in which are made from banknotes. using these  bank notes to make bird nests is to show that the outcome of trade (that is the money) is not a complete structured tool if there are still people in the nation that is earning the money, that are poor and have no money and are still happy. this reconstruction from money to bird nests in which itself is something natural like happiness. 

4: in my opinion Fiona hall uses very though full mediums in her works.that relate to allot of political and economical tools, doing such with a humorous touch. this way off incorporating art with political problems is very new to me and took me as a surprise.

5: halls new works are based the kermadecs witch is the part of sea that is in between the north island of new zealand and Tonga. these works are to do with a vast range of problems that this area is facing eg: over fishing, whale hunting and oil/ pollution being dumped into the sea. the wild life is very much effected by all of these problems. a group of artists took a voyage around this area of sea including hall. and this is what she came up with. 

bibliography: 

-Barnard,m.(1998) art design and visual culture. London: MacMillan

-Gina fairley(spring 2008)seductive visual for the intellect. world sculpture news (pg 55)

-www.thekermadecs.org