Yukinori Yanagi, The World Flag Ant Farm, 1990. (Left)
The work created by Yanagi is comprised of 170 plastic boxes filled with colored sand to represent the flags of different nations. The boxes are each 8 x 12 inches and are connected by plastic tubing. Then ants were introduced to the work and they immediately began to carry the sand from one box to another via the tubing.
The World Flag Ant Farm is both unusual and unique in that it uses non-traditional forms of art. Traditionally when one thinks of art it is on some kind of canvas, painted, drawn, or so forth, but after reading the first chapter my eyes and mind have been open to new ideas and possibilities. Yanagi uses synthetic material such as plastic, and colored sand to depict flags, which are icons that in and of themselves each represent a nation. The idea of introducing ants to carry the colored sand is an exceptional idea that is innovative and unique.
I became intriguied with this work of art because of the way the artist represented his idea, or at least the way he made me think of art. This piece is changing, interactive, and depicts the ever-changing world. He shows us through this display that the world is no longer separated; each nation can have its own self-identity yet it can not be isolated from all the other nations in the world. There is a global exchange of ideas, products, people, that happen simeltaniously whether we like it or not. The ants represent this force of nature, they will move the sand from one box to another with out any guidance or instruction, just as all the peoples, products, and ideas move from one country to the next. Although each country is represented by a flag, over time this flag will change shape, color, and form, just as the real world changes everyday. This piece of art really made me think of how artist can convey a message by combining different materials and allowing the viewer to form ideas and thoughts by just providing a visual stimulus.
4 comments:
This caught my eye too! It's so interesting but I would definitely have gotten the heeby jeeby's seeing this, haha. Just the thought of that many ants around me would be a little weird, although it's something you just have to see!
Terrific job, Misha. This work is an example of "installation" art which involves creating an environment for a viewer to walk through or interact. It's also a great example of "conceptual art" which simply means the focus is on concepts and ideas rather than specifically the aesthetic qualities of the work (also called the "form" which you'll learn in learning unit two!). Great start!
Michelle
I think the meanings of the results by putting ants live in the boxes full of sand is very arbitrary. I like your thoughts you wrote down a lot.
I like your interpretation of this piece. It's a lot of fun isn't it? I love works that are interactive or have some form of motion. This work really does show how we are all connected and drive each other and the world around us to change.
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