Comments on: The Wit of Olaf Breuning https://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/judell09/2009/11/04/the-wit-of-olaf-breuning/ Professor Judell - City College, CUNY - Fall 2009 Sun, 20 Dec 2009 03:06:02 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 By: Prof. Judell https://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/judell09/2009/11/04/the-wit-of-olaf-breuning/#comment-398 Sun, 20 Dec 2009 03:06:02 +0000 http://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/judell09/?p=60#comment-398 In reply to nazana2013.

I’ll remember that.

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By: Prof. Judell https://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/judell09/2009/11/04/the-wit-of-olaf-breuning/#comment-397 Sun, 20 Dec 2009 02:56:52 +0000 http://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/judell09/?p=60#comment-397 In reply to Lana Guardo.

Tardiness and brevity in response do not always unite in the most beneficial manner.

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By: Lana Guardo https://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/judell09/2009/11/04/the-wit-of-olaf-breuning/#comment-376 Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:09:32 +0000 http://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/judell09/?p=60#comment-376 Olaf Breuning’s art is viewed as quick and witty and relatable. Simpler statements that do not really ask questions and don’t seem to have a goal of revolutionizing or making a change upon society or an individual’s mindset. Because of Olaf Breuning’s art’s simplicity, the majority of viewers find it easy to understand, unthreatening and particularly enjoyable–myself included. This was my second favorite gallery but also the one that I took the most pictures of.

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By: nazana2013 https://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/judell09/2009/11/04/the-wit-of-olaf-breuning/#comment-356 Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:40:47 +0000 http://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/judell09/?p=60#comment-356 This was my second favorite exhibit, the first being the gallery of the Lamborghinis and the experience of test-driving each one. Oh sorry, the test-driving was a part of the dream that I had when I got home. In that case, this was my favorite exhibit. Olaf Breuning’s simplicity and wit really made the drawings feel down to earth. Breuning’s style showed that you don’t need to overly complicate your work to deliver a message. The drawings perfectly capture his views on shortcomings of society, from the cell phone users to the way men think when they are aroused. Unfortunately, his drawings do not recommend solutions or alternatives to the problem. Then again, it’s art so I guess his job is only to highlight the issues and we must perceive our individual alternatives. Nonetheless, Olaf Breuning should be praised for his genius through simplicity. The lesson we should take from Breuning is that we must always K.I.S.S. our work: Keep It Simple and Sweet.

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By: Tanvir Jahan https://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/judell09/2009/11/04/the-wit-of-olaf-breuning/#comment-339 Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:21:06 +0000 http://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/judell09/?p=60#comment-339 The Olaf Breuning exhibits were easily my favorite among the Chelsea galleries. What I especially loved about his works is that it’s very obvious what he’s trying to say. This of course does not take away from his wit. The messages he was trying to portray were very interesting and made me think. He also portrayed them in very creative ways. A lot of the exhibits seemed to be making fun of people and just make me laugh looking at them. His type of humor reminds me of what I used to see in cartoons shows growing up, especially since many of characters were drawn in cartoon-style. This is probably why I feel such a strong connection to his works.

Olaf Breuning appears to be commenting on society through his art. For example, his sculpture with the figure of a man with the words “I WANT MORE AND MORE I WANT MORE” inside possibly says that people today are too greedy and only care about themselves. Also, the work with six people talking on cellphones with the letters of the word “IDIOTS” in their mouths perhaps says that we today are technology whores who are wasting money on useless technology and have nothing better than to do than to blabber on about nothing. Finally, his sculpture of a man with the word “NO”in his head and “YES” next to his erect penis says that all guys want is sex and never use their brains.

Although I find the object of his work rather pessimistic, I do think they are clever and entertaining. I would certainly enjoy making my own works of art basing my styles on his. It would be an interesting way to present jokes about society that people could relate to and would love to see.

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By: Raymon Ang https://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/judell09/2009/11/04/the-wit-of-olaf-breuning/#comment-334 Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:47:13 +0000 http://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/judell09/?p=60#comment-334 It was a morning of treading through the sea of uninteresting art and Olaf Breuning’s exhibit seemed like a life boat to save me from my indifference. Maybe I’m exaggerating a bit but Olaf’s exhibit was the highlight of the trip. I found his pieces very simple yet humorous and witty. Maybe it was because I was tired and didn’t feel like deeply analyzing complicated works of art, but i found Olaf’s work very refreshing.
I would agree with other blogs that the meanings that Olaf is trying to convey in his works are “preconceived” and are common in modern pop culture, but that fits his simplistic style, and after walking so long from gallery to gallery, that’s the kind of style I like.

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By: Zolboo Bayarsaikhan https://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/judell09/2009/11/04/the-wit-of-olaf-breuning/#comment-328 Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:50:37 +0000 http://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/judell09/?p=60#comment-328 This was one of my least favorite exhibits. The concept was incredibly simple and the way it was arranged as sculptures and paintings seemed very sophomoric. It reminded me of doodles and drawings that pretty much had about as much depth to it as the paper itself. The “Yes” and “No” painting with the man’s head and genitalia is something that seemed so overly done. Almost in every tv-show and movie, we see the man who is easily seduced by a woman and acts for physical pleasure meanwhile he knows he shouldn’t. But, what exactly is the message of the painting? What is the artist trying to accomplish.

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By: Joenard Camarista https://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/judell09/2009/11/04/the-wit-of-olaf-breuning/#comment-316 Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:15:47 +0000 http://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/judell09/?p=60#comment-316 Though it lacked complexity, I found this gallery to be very amusing. Olaf Breuning’s aesthetic criteria is based around whimsical caricature. And he utilizes whimsical caricature in order to derive the psychological essence of everyday life that is often obfuscated by our pretentiousness and up-tightness. I admire this open honesty and I think this adds to his appeal to and evokes a sense of self-reflection within many of my fellow peers. To draw parallels to another post, this open honesty evokes an acute humor or wit that is art in its purest form.

The epitome of Breuning’s work is the one piece on the wall depicting a group of people talking on their cellphones with letters in their mouths spelling out “IDIOTS.” I could see myself as one of those people because more too often I do things to make myself look important. And, in turn, I vowed to myself to be myself completely.

But, his simplicity did initially make me question whether this is truly worthy of being displayed in a gallery. His use of simple black lines to create forms filled by the white of the walls of the gallery make his works too easily ascertained and may detract from its refinement. Certainly, I can experience the same kind of wit and humor by going to “Surviving the World” (http://survivingtheworld.net/) one of my favorite web comics. Yet, I think that the gallery plays a great role in evoking humor, humbleness, and self-reflection within the demographic of people who often go to art galleries because there is little overlap between this demographic and the demographic that visits the “Surviving the World” site. And, because Breuning’s gallery functions in this way and creates a contrast inofitself, this gallery stands out as one of the more memorable galleries.

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By: Luke Hwang https://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/judell09/2009/11/04/the-wit-of-olaf-breuning/#comment-306 Sun, 13 Dec 2009 06:48:09 +0000 http://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/judell09/?p=60#comment-306 There seems to be so much spontaneity with Olaf Breuning’s work. His wit conveyed by these works is not something that seems to have been “preconceived;” what he created are not the most sophisticated or elegant… nor do they strive for perfection in terms of symmetry, exactness, and beauty. He didn’t think about days and nights to conceptualize these works, although that’s what I thought most artists do, before they get into action. Maybe Olaf keeps a notebook. Within the pages of this notebook are some of the queerest things he thinks about during the day. Or perhaps before he goes to bed, he randomly doodles things that come into his mind. He appeals to simple emotions, musings, and imagination. Like the guy whose penis has “YES” written on top of it and “NO” on his head, haha. Simple stuff, but fresh and somehow very pleasant. His creation does entertain us and make us think about it. I would like to meet Olaf Breuning and psychoanalyze him. It must be fun to get into his train of weird and witty thoughts.

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By: Mohammed Alvi https://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/judell09/2009/11/04/the-wit-of-olaf-breuning/#comment-299 Sat, 12 Dec 2009 19:54:20 +0000 http://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/judell09/?p=60#comment-299 To nobody’s surprise, this was my favorite exhibit. He represented the various cliches in human life simply, but effectively. It was humorous because some of these concepts and biases, people do easily admit, but he does so outrageously and bluntly. One can’t help but laugh. Its very interactive as well. The seemingly flimsy pieces are placed all around the room, rather than just on the walls. One of them (the center piece in the picture above^) seems as if it was meant to be posed with for a picture.

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