The Lowdown on Lowbrow: West Coast Pop Art:
Lowbrow means different things to different artists. The actual term for lowbrow is a person regarded as uncultivated and lacking in taste. Who is to judge what is a lowbrow though? Generally lowbrow images were images of naked girls and cars and urinals and things like that. Lowbrow is pop culture, car culture, and a people thing. Lowbrow artists have a common ground, a common experience. People can relate because there is a historical reference, that is more personal than something that is esoteric. Everyone, average workers, became artists.
Displaying Modern Art: The Tate Approach:
The Tate Modern houses modern art in four sections. Each of the sections has a specific theme and selection of modern art. History is embodied in the collections. Art should be more than entertainment. Artists wanted to use aesthetic effects, using emotion. Viewers should keep an empty mind, without any previous knowledge. Each room was dedicated to specific artists or a specific theme. Art was self contained. The movements evolved in reaction to each other.
Bones of Contention: Native American Archaeology:
Bones of tens of thousands of Native Americans have accumulated during the collection of the genocide in the U.S. against the Indians. The Indians want the remains of their ancestors back. The Indians felt discriminated in 1971 when a women's husband was a construction engineer that found a cemetery that was found, with 26 white people. They were taken out of the graves by the state archaeologists and they were reburied, but the Indian women and her baby were taken for studying and were not reburied. The Indian people felt discriminated and the wife was told that she needed to stand up for what she believed in. She demanded the remains of her ancestors. A law was established in Iowa that protected Indian burial sites. Other states followed with the law. Brain studies were constructed that concluded that the size of a person's cranium has relation to intelligence. So, Indian skulls have been collected and put in museums for storage. Native American's don't want what the scientists' have to say about their ancestor's remains.
An Acquiring Mind: Phillipe de Montebello and the Metropolitan:
Montebello guided the acquisition of more than 84,000 works of art. He is the longest tenured director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The video states that a museum is not ever finished. The museum would grow to represent all cultures and all eras under Montebello. No one can know all of the history of art around the world, but one man says that Montebello comes close. Nearly 2 million objects are contained at the Med's glowing collection.
For my theme for the art curation exhibition, I chose animals. I feel that animals are just as in depth as humans and they are present in a lot of artworks. I would say that the only video that relates to my theme would be the lowdown video because the style of lowdown is a more personal style and everyone can relate. Everyone has or has had an animal or has had experience with animals, whether it be good or bad, and that is what lowdown art is based on; a common ground, a common experience.
I thought the films were interesting, to an extent. The first and the third video were the most interesting. I have never heard of lowdown art before and was very interested in learning about it from the video. I like that every artist has their own definition for it. I like the Native American video because I have learned quite a bit about Native Americans in all my years of school, but have never learned of the controversy of digging up the grave cites and having the bones be taken in for studying. Native Americans are people too and I can understand how they feel discriminated through such acts.
Friday, November 22, 2013
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Module 12 Video Review
I chose the video on Andy Warhol and the video on Henry Moore because I have heard of the two, but have not learned much about either. Warhol's artworks are always very interesting and I'd like to learn more.
Andy Warhol: Images of an Image
This video focuses on the life of Andy Warhol. He had an untimely death in 1986. He was a commercial artist before he became a famous painter. He reproduced Campbell's soup cans with stencils and acrylic paint. He used the silk screen effect on Marilyn Monroe and multiplied it many times and this is what made him famous. He colored them and discolored them, which is what he did with a lot of his works. He became fascinated with Elizabeth Taylor and produced a silk screen image of her too. Warhol filmed too and made around 100 films. He added paint to silk screen images and that is what made him his money.
The book talks about Warhol's fascination of Marilyn Monroe and how he created works of her after she died. The video takes this fascination a step farther and tells of how Warhol became famous because of Marilyn Monroe and the way he transformed one simple image of her into many.
The Art of Henry Moore:
Henry Moore explored the human figure in forms that were natural for sculpting and painting in the 19th century. He believed that beauty is a deeper concept than perfection. As a child Moore always wanted to be a sculptor and he believed that too many people focused on his upbringings of coal mining. He always drew, everything. He was obsessed with the figures of mother and child, which was one of his themes, the reclining figures.
The book does not talk about Henry Moore, but Henry Moore had his own artistic style, as did Warhol. Both having artistic style makes them both unique.
Andy Warhol: Images of an Image
This video focuses on the life of Andy Warhol. He had an untimely death in 1986. He was a commercial artist before he became a famous painter. He reproduced Campbell's soup cans with stencils and acrylic paint. He used the silk screen effect on Marilyn Monroe and multiplied it many times and this is what made him famous. He colored them and discolored them, which is what he did with a lot of his works. He became fascinated with Elizabeth Taylor and produced a silk screen image of her too. Warhol filmed too and made around 100 films. He added paint to silk screen images and that is what made him his money.
The book talks about Warhol's fascination of Marilyn Monroe and how he created works of her after she died. The video takes this fascination a step farther and tells of how Warhol became famous because of Marilyn Monroe and the way he transformed one simple image of her into many.
The Art of Henry Moore:
Henry Moore explored the human figure in forms that were natural for sculpting and painting in the 19th century. He believed that beauty is a deeper concept than perfection. As a child Moore always wanted to be a sculptor and he believed that too many people focused on his upbringings of coal mining. He always drew, everything. He was obsessed with the figures of mother and child, which was one of his themes, the reclining figures.
The book does not talk about Henry Moore, but Henry Moore had his own artistic style, as did Warhol. Both having artistic style makes them both unique.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Module 11 Video Review
Dada and Surrealism:
The Dada movement came about after WWII. After dada came surrealism, that opens up the unconscious mind. A state of chaos in Germany left artists to see a world made up on nonsense. Kurt Schwitters structured a house within a house. He chose to choose one object out of many and where to put it. He included rural objects in his art, as well as the concept that light danced off his objects.
Expressionism:
Expressionism came after fauvism. It was unlike fauvism in that it did not emphasize color quite as much, but the colors were emphasized in expressionism for the emotional properties. The video shows many examples from different artists of the new style that dealt with color in a way that broke away from the use of loud and intense color. The artists listed in the video tried to break from the mysteries of sexuality, one showed their personal experience in his work, and much emotion. Emotion was very heavy and were emotions that laid beneath the surface. These emotions were not conservative.
I chose these two videos because I remember reading about them in the text and wanted to know more. Both relate to the text because they further explain surrealism and expressionism and show examples. The book touches base with each, but the videos further explain and give me a better understanding of each. The videos were dry, but informative. I can see how powerful the emotions were in the artists paintings through the videos.
The Dada movement came about after WWII. After dada came surrealism, that opens up the unconscious mind. A state of chaos in Germany left artists to see a world made up on nonsense. Kurt Schwitters structured a house within a house. He chose to choose one object out of many and where to put it. He included rural objects in his art, as well as the concept that light danced off his objects.
Expressionism:
Expressionism came after fauvism. It was unlike fauvism in that it did not emphasize color quite as much, but the colors were emphasized in expressionism for the emotional properties. The video shows many examples from different artists of the new style that dealt with color in a way that broke away from the use of loud and intense color. The artists listed in the video tried to break from the mysteries of sexuality, one showed their personal experience in his work, and much emotion. Emotion was very heavy and were emotions that laid beneath the surface. These emotions were not conservative.
I chose these two videos because I remember reading about them in the text and wanted to know more. Both relate to the text because they further explain surrealism and expressionism and show examples. The book touches base with each, but the videos further explain and give me a better understanding of each. The videos were dry, but informative. I can see how powerful the emotions were in the artists paintings through the videos.
Art Visit #2
Title of exhibit: Disclosure: Women of the Burchfield Penny Collections
Theme of exhibit: Artwork created by or about women
Type of lighting: There was dim lighting within the exhibit. No bright lights were used because they will ruin the content of the artworks. There were lights on the ceiling that lit up the walls and there were individual lights for the artwork in the middle.
Colors of the walls: The walls were not as dark as charcoal, but a tad bit lighter.
Materials used in interior architecture?: The exhibit consisted of only one room, with artwork on the 4 walls and a few artworks in the middle of the room. Some of the artwork in the middle of the room was housed by glass, to keep it protected.
Movement of viewer in gallery space: When entering the exhibit, there is a small wall in the middle, telling what the gallery consists of. Depending on the person, either the viewer can go left or right and circle the room, seeing both the artworks on the walls and the artwork in the middle.
How are artworks organized?: On the right wall of the room, the subjects of the paintings were women; faces, etc. On the left wall of the room and in the middle of the room the subjects of the artworks were not directly of women. Most were objects.
How are artworks similar?: The artworks are similar because most were housed in frames and the ones that were not had their own distinct borders. All of the works are similar because they were either made by women or are of women.
How are artworks different?: The artworks are different because there are some that show objects; like a chair, a cave, and a wool craft. Some of the artworks are paintings, while some are hand crafts.
How are artworks framed?: Some of the artworks did not have frames and some did. Some of the artwork that were actually pictures from a camera did not have a frame, but one did. Most had frames that went along with the content of the artwork.
How are artworks identified and labeled?: Next to each piece of artwork in the exhibit, there was a plaque. The plaque listed the name of the piece, the artist, when the piece what made, and what the artwork was (painting, oil on canvas, etc.)
Proximity of artwork to each other: Along the walls, the space between each piece was about two feet. The room is open and has plenty of viewing space. The pieces in the center of the room had plenty of distance between each other, at least a few feet.
What did you think of visiting the Gallery and purposefully looking at the exhibition from a different perspective - the physical space, the architecture, theme, etc.?
Personally, I liked visiting the Burchfield Penny Art Center. I have been to the Albright Knox Art Gallery a few times and wanted to mix it up. I enjoyed the content of the Burchfield Penny Art Center. The artwork was different from what I had seen before at the Albright Knox Art Gallery. The galleries were not very big, but the content was incredible. There was a lot of space between each piece at this gallery. I know that this gallery had been built recently. The gallery that I chose to take note of for this visit caught my interest. I really enjoyed that all of the artwork was made by women. It is incredible to see what women can create, despite their prior status within history when compared to men. Each piece has its own meaning and it is interesting to try to understand each piece. The women artists in this gallery have a lot of talent.
.JPG)
Jolene Rickard (b. 1956)
Two Canoes, 1987
color photograph collage
The M&T Bank Collection at the Burchfield Penny Art Center, 1991
This artwork shows two trees standing next to one another and then below it, two individuals standing next to one another. Both the trees and the people are very close to each other. The artist uses line, to show the length of each picture. Color is also used as well. The picture of the trees has more color, but the picture of the people uses more intense colors, drawing the eye directly to it. I think that the artist was trying to depict that the trees and the people are one in the same. Both stand tall. Texture is used. There is texture on the bark of the trees and there is texture on the peoples' clothing. The title is not very helpful because there are not canoes present in either photograph, but I think that Rickard was trying to show that the trees and the people are canoes of life. They stand together as one.
Virginia Cuthbert (1908-2001)
Self-Portrait, c. 1941
oil on board
Gift of Virginia Cuthbert Elliot, 1994
This painting is titled Self-Portrait, so already the viewer knows that Cuthbert is showing herself. I think that the artist is trying to show how much strength she really has. She made herself the subject for this piece. I think she wanted to show the world her talent and what it is like to be her. Line is definitely used in this piece, to outline each little thing upon her table. There is color, but not a very wide spectrum of it. The colors all seem to mesh as one. There is visual texture on the walls, on her desk, the paint brushes, and definitely her shirt and her hair. This piece has a lot of detail and a lot going on.
The sizes of all three artworks were not listed and all were displayed at the Burchfield Penny Art Center.
Theme of exhibit: Artwork created by or about women
Type of lighting: There was dim lighting within the exhibit. No bright lights were used because they will ruin the content of the artworks. There were lights on the ceiling that lit up the walls and there were individual lights for the artwork in the middle.
Colors of the walls: The walls were not as dark as charcoal, but a tad bit lighter.
Materials used in interior architecture?: The exhibit consisted of only one room, with artwork on the 4 walls and a few artworks in the middle of the room. Some of the artwork in the middle of the room was housed by glass, to keep it protected.
Movement of viewer in gallery space: When entering the exhibit, there is a small wall in the middle, telling what the gallery consists of. Depending on the person, either the viewer can go left or right and circle the room, seeing both the artworks on the walls and the artwork in the middle.
How are artworks organized?: On the right wall of the room, the subjects of the paintings were women; faces, etc. On the left wall of the room and in the middle of the room the subjects of the artworks were not directly of women. Most were objects.
How are artworks similar?: The artworks are similar because most were housed in frames and the ones that were not had their own distinct borders. All of the works are similar because they were either made by women or are of women.
How are artworks different?: The artworks are different because there are some that show objects; like a chair, a cave, and a wool craft. Some of the artworks are paintings, while some are hand crafts.
How are artworks framed?: Some of the artworks did not have frames and some did. Some of the artwork that were actually pictures from a camera did not have a frame, but one did. Most had frames that went along with the content of the artwork.
How are artworks identified and labeled?: Next to each piece of artwork in the exhibit, there was a plaque. The plaque listed the name of the piece, the artist, when the piece what made, and what the artwork was (painting, oil on canvas, etc.)
Proximity of artwork to each other: Along the walls, the space between each piece was about two feet. The room is open and has plenty of viewing space. The pieces in the center of the room had plenty of distance between each other, at least a few feet.
What did you think of visiting the Gallery and purposefully looking at the exhibition from a different perspective - the physical space, the architecture, theme, etc.?
Personally, I liked visiting the Burchfield Penny Art Center. I have been to the Albright Knox Art Gallery a few times and wanted to mix it up. I enjoyed the content of the Burchfield Penny Art Center. The artwork was different from what I had seen before at the Albright Knox Art Gallery. The galleries were not very big, but the content was incredible. There was a lot of space between each piece at this gallery. I know that this gallery had been built recently. The gallery that I chose to take note of for this visit caught my interest. I really enjoyed that all of the artwork was made by women. It is incredible to see what women can create, despite their prior status within history when compared to men. Each piece has its own meaning and it is interesting to try to understand each piece. The women artists in this gallery have a lot of talent.
Alice O'Malley
Justine Kurland, New York, 2005
gelatin silver print on paper
Anonymous Gift, 2008
The woman's stance in the photo reveals that she is confident with herself. She appears to be pregnant. She is not clothed, except for the shall over her shoulders and the boots on her feet. It looks as if it is a photograph of a photography session. In the upper left hand corner we see the backdrop folding over and behind the woman we see more details of the backdrop. The element of line is used to determine that there is a backdrop behind the woman. Also, line outlines the shape of the woman's body. There is emphasis on the woman's naked body. The eyes are drawn directly to the belly area. I think O'Malley was trying to say that women are powerful and should have confidence, like the woman in the photo. It appears that the woman is confident in her stage of pregnancy and I think that is what the artist was trying to show, that every woman has the capability to be confident, no matter the situation they are in.
.JPG)
Jolene Rickard (b. 1956)
Two Canoes, 1987
color photograph collage
The M&T Bank Collection at the Burchfield Penny Art Center, 1991
This artwork shows two trees standing next to one another and then below it, two individuals standing next to one another. Both the trees and the people are very close to each other. The artist uses line, to show the length of each picture. Color is also used as well. The picture of the trees has more color, but the picture of the people uses more intense colors, drawing the eye directly to it. I think that the artist was trying to depict that the trees and the people are one in the same. Both stand tall. Texture is used. There is texture on the bark of the trees and there is texture on the peoples' clothing. The title is not very helpful because there are not canoes present in either photograph, but I think that Rickard was trying to show that the trees and the people are canoes of life. They stand together as one.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Module 10: Mask Making
I chose these three masks because they caught my attention. They weren't just of one color, like many I had seen. They are colorful and all three look as if they are trying to tell a story. The design and craftsmen ship is amazing and very detailed.
The first mask appears to be of a long face. The eyes are left open, for there is just a space without actual eyeballs. The mask appears to be all of one surface, there is not actual texture on the surface of the wood, but the designs all over the mask give visual texture.
The second mask has a lot going on. There are many different lines, designs, and textures. The shells towards the top of the mask are real, giving it a sort of rigid texture. It is full of color and different patterns, that all connect to one another. The eyebrows and flaps on either side towards the ear also have texture.
The third mask has texture all over it. There is texture at the top, where the fuzz and feathers are. There is texture at the bottom where it looks like it could be hay or straw fanning out from the chin. A ton of color is present, along with many lines, patterns, and designs.
All three of the masks are visually appealing.
.jpeg)
When making my own mask, I wanted to make it look like my face, with curly hair and everything, but I'm not that artistic and wanted to save myself from the humiliation. So, I turned down different road. I wanted to make a mask that was different on both sides of the face, but that didn't cover the mouth. I wanted to show that everyone is different, hence the different sides of the mask. I included lines, patterns/rhythms, and lots of color. Using these elements and principles, I thought it would make the mask that much better. I liked creating this mask, I just wish that I could've done a replica of me, but that would've been quite the challenge and I used what materials that I had.
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Module 10: Blog Review
African Art: Legacy of Oppression:
Belgium's Tervuren Museum has the biggest collection of Central African art. In the Congo, there are more than 250 tribes and with these tribes comes many artistic styles. African art influenced Picasso and other European artists. Masks were used because they thought to contain magic and were full of emotion. The masks were supposed to dictate how people acted and scare them to act correctly. Masks were also used to intimidate enemies, but they proved to be failures as they did not stand up to the weapons the enemy had. African art explores the nature of existence.
African Art:
Art is a part of life in Africa, in clothing, hairstyles, traditional African rituals, and utensils. Ritual artifacts were made of wood and straw. Most museum pieces are from within two hundred years because they deteriorate due to the materials used. Artwork is passed down to the generations. The oldest African art is found in regions that are drier, like the Sahara. Paintings in drier regions are of animals, to strengthen the hunt. African art, most of it, flows from the artist's images that they had in their head. There is a lot of diversity in African art, but each culture in Africa adds their own to the traditions.
I chose the videos on African art because I've always wanted to travel to Africa and I'm always willing to learn more about what the continent has to offer. How a culture uses art and depicts their art says a lot about them.
I liked the videos and found them interesting, but I thought that the speaker in the African Art: Legacy of Oppression video talked very fast, making it hard for me to take notes as I listened/watched. The videos did not really expand my knowledge, I felt that it just touched base with what I already know from past years in school.
The videos relate to the text because they talk about African art and how it is unlike any other region's artwork. The text talks about what is traditionally used in African art and the videos tell and show examples of the symbolism of the artwork.
Belgium's Tervuren Museum has the biggest collection of Central African art. In the Congo, there are more than 250 tribes and with these tribes comes many artistic styles. African art influenced Picasso and other European artists. Masks were used because they thought to contain magic and were full of emotion. The masks were supposed to dictate how people acted and scare them to act correctly. Masks were also used to intimidate enemies, but they proved to be failures as they did not stand up to the weapons the enemy had. African art explores the nature of existence.
African Art:
Art is a part of life in Africa, in clothing, hairstyles, traditional African rituals, and utensils. Ritual artifacts were made of wood and straw. Most museum pieces are from within two hundred years because they deteriorate due to the materials used. Artwork is passed down to the generations. The oldest African art is found in regions that are drier, like the Sahara. Paintings in drier regions are of animals, to strengthen the hunt. African art, most of it, flows from the artist's images that they had in their head. There is a lot of diversity in African art, but each culture in Africa adds their own to the traditions.
I chose the videos on African art because I've always wanted to travel to Africa and I'm always willing to learn more about what the continent has to offer. How a culture uses art and depicts their art says a lot about them.
I liked the videos and found them interesting, but I thought that the speaker in the African Art: Legacy of Oppression video talked very fast, making it hard for me to take notes as I listened/watched. The videos did not really expand my knowledge, I felt that it just touched base with what I already know from past years in school.
The videos relate to the text because they talk about African art and how it is unlike any other region's artwork. The text talks about what is traditionally used in African art and the videos tell and show examples of the symbolism of the artwork.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)