Art Visit

For my Art Visit I decided to attend a 2nd Saturday Art Walk event. I went to this event on June 14, 2008. We visited many different galleries on this visit. The first reception we went to was located at the Central Library. This was a great event to attend since it showcased different art from many different galleries. These galleries include: The Art Foundry, Elliott Fouts Gallery, Jay Jay Gallery, John Natsoulas Gallery, Joyce Doiron Gallery, Pamela Skinner/Gwenna Howard Gallery, Phoenix Gallery, Mowen Solinsky Gallery, and the Solomon Dubnick Gallery. The exhibit was called Clay Now: Current Ceramic Art. This exhibit reflected a wide range of art work that included vessels and pots, abstract expressions, and figurative pieces. One of the pieces looked like a stack of towels or washcloths-it was very realistic yet made out of ceramic. My daughter enjoyed the ceramic pieces that had images of Mickey Mouse on them. The picture that is accompanying this blog is showing me with a friend of mine-Barbara Strong. She is actually the artist of the ceramic work that we are standing in front of. Her work was titled Underwater Kiss (see picture)
and is from the Pamela Skinner/Gwenna Howard Gallery. Actually seeing the art work up close and personal is a great experience. Looking at the art in our book, and on the computer was informative but there is a lot to be said about experiencing art "right before your eyes." When viewing these exhibits you get a much better appreciation for the detail and the time and effort that goes into each and every piece of art. Another gallery that I visited during 2nd Saturday was the Solomon Dubnick Gallery. This gallery had some very interesting pieces in it. There were a wide variety of pieces that varied in medium. There were a few pieces that really stood out as being intriguing. The first was a mixed media on canvas by Maureen Hood. It was called Embrace, it showed a man and a woman in a loving embrace. Another interesting but rather obscure piece was by Gerald Hoffernon, called the Shaky Compromise. The reason that I thought this piece was odd is because it consisted of animal heads with beer bottles sticking out of their heads while be supported by metal stands (to resemble legs) while wearing cowboy boots. This artist claims to be a wildlife artist if wildlife includes human animals. He says that the forms he creates are speculative but evolutionary, like nature. Each of his pieces has a story, a history, and actual logic. He says that the images, "are designed to have a psychological impact and a lingering echo in the minds eye." Next we traveled to the 20th Street Art Gallery, the art was interesting but not really the type of art that I enjoy. Now on to my favorite exhibit-the Art Bra Show(this show also benefited a good cause:the Albie Aware Breast Cancer Foundation and the Women's Wisdom Project). This was a fun exhibit in which all of the pieces included a bra in some form. It was in this show that I found my favorite piece. There were many good ones to choose from. The one that I chose was called Still Beautiful by Pat Orner. The medium was watercolor/acrylic. This piece depicts a breast cancer survivor in a black bra with one breast and looking in a mirror and knowing that she is still beautiful. A powerful element that contributes to the message behind this piece is that the artist herself is a breast cancer survivor. The last place that we visited was the new Viewpoint Photographic Art Center (do go if you have the chance, it is worth a visit). The photographs taken by Tamara Lischka were very cool-she took pictures of things like human fetuses, baby stingrays, octopus, etc. The other photographs by Dominic Rouse were a little disturbing in my opinion-the collection was called Haunted By a Painter's Ghost. I have attended a 2nd Saturday Art Walk before so I knew what to expect. Still I am always anxious to see what cool art I will experience. It is always better to see art first hand. I liked and enjoyed the whole experience.

What I've learned from Art

Let me first begin by saying what a great experience taking this class has been. I have taken a few online courses and this one definitely ranks very high on the list. The class was very well organized and user friendly, and it was great to have an instructor who wanted to make sure that all of the expectations and instructions were clear! Thanks Michelle :). Where should I start? I learned a lot more about art that I ever thought possible in a very short period of time. It is so easy to become close minded when it comes to the question , "What is art?". The Gates,(one of the first pieces we addressed) was a very interesting piece to view-for me looking at the aerial view gave a great perspective, it really challenged my original definition of art. Unfortunately, this art was only on display until 2005-I visited New York's Central Park in 2006. On a side note, this summer there will be some new waterfalls located at some of New York's waterways, and they even light up at night. I bet they would be awesome to see. When comparing two pieces of art that contain the same symbol (the American flag) such as Childe Hassam's Allies Day and that of Jasper John's Three Flags yet they convey two very different feelings and messages. One thing that was difficult for me when I first began this class was having the ability to look at art and decide whether it is representational, abstract, or nonobjective. It was great to have a full chapter to discuss the subjects of line, space, and light and color. This was great because it allowed me (who originally knew very little about art) to get an in depth explanation for each of these concepts. When it came to the topic of space, I learned things like linear perspective (one point and two point), two and three dimensional space and the vanishing point. I have to admit I am still a little confused about the difference between the hue, tint, and shade of colors. Learning about the color wheel and how it works was very informative. I completed some research about Vincent Van Gogh. He thought that in terms of drawing you need to just concentrate on getting good at it first, and then you can introduce color. He completed over 800 works in just 8 years. He also suffered from what seemed to be a mental illness and unfortunately shortly after he was released from a mental institution he took his own life. The controversy that definitely was the most interesting was the one surrounding the image of the Virgin Mary (it had elephant poop on it). Overall, I learned how to look at the world differently that I did before I took this class. Art is everywhere! Take the time to look :) !

Conceptual Art

To me conceptual art is a form of art in which the most important aspect of the work is the concept or idea that it is trying to convey to the viewer. Conceptual art is a type that sort of pushes the envelope as you will since it is an art which questions the very nature of what is understood as art. I really liked the way you articulated your thoughts about conceptual art when you said, "Conceptual art does not always have a definitive meaning and its form cannot be analyzed." The piece that I learned about this week that I think is conceptual art is called The House with the Ocean View by Marina Abramovic. I think that it is conceptual art because its interpretation is up to the viewer. The fact that this was actually a living installation in which the artist actually performed in the art was great! She lived in this 3 bedroom "house"that was located six feet above the gallery floor in the Sean Kelly Gallery in New York for 12 days. There was a toilet and shower in one room, a table and chair in another, and clothes and a mattress in the last room. She didn't eat, read, speak, or write during this time. She separated herself from her audience with three ladders which had butcher's knives for rungs. During the day the only way she could communicate with her audience was by staring at them. The only way to bridge the gap would be to make a sacrifice and use the ladders. I guess the separation that we feel from one another is symbolic in this artwork. This is illustrating that we have to make sacrifices in order to get closer to one another. One of the other pieces from the chapter that I found intriguing is another piece from Marina Abramovic and Ulay- Imponderabilia (1977). I have to admit when I first started looking at some of the conceptual art that has been presented I thought that is was obscure, but after reading more about this type of art I now find it very intriguing and interesting.

Two World's Collide

The two worlds that are colliding are clearly those of reality and one of a fantasy land. The work of Keith Cottingham's Fictitious Portraits,1990's just reaffirms the idea that photographs can be manipulated to portray people and objects in a certain manner. I think that the manipulation of the boy in these photographs just illustrates how our view of reality can be distorted. I love the phrase/motto that was shown at the end of the Evolution video, "No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted." It was interesting to learn that the truth value of photography started to be challenged in the 1980's. Whoever would have thought that National Geographic would have been at the forefront of the alteration of images. I don't think that any of the changes that are made on images are ethical. The most disturbing trend that these alterations have led to is negative body image. There are images of these "perfect people"- who are just the result of rampant airbrushing. This is disheartening to me. I am raising two little girls an I worry the effect/affect that these images will have on them and how they feel about their bodies. Unfortunately, the youth of today have enough to deal with and this is an unnecessary infringement on their self-esteem and self-worth. When doing a visual analysis of these images the most important thing to remember is the difference between form (the literal shape and mass of an object or figure), and content (the meaning of an image, beyond it's overt subject matter).

P.S.- I can remember Polaroid Camera's they rocked!

My Favorite Painting

My favorite painting is Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh. This piece was completed with oil painting. We know that this type of paint is much more versatile than tempera. This type of paint can be blended on the actual painting's surface allowing for more tones, shades, and hues to be assembled. This type of paint also has the advantage that some of the other paints don't have which is that they are slow drying. This can allow the artist to take their time and not rush through a piece. In doing some research about van Gogh I found some very interesting facts: between November of 1881 and July of 1890 he painted nearly 900 paintings, he believed that you needed to master drawing before you added color, he died at the young age of 37. Since his death, he has become one of the most famous painters in the world. When he first started painting, he painted in the short brushstrokes of the Impressionists. He ended up meeting and studying with Pissarro, Monet, and Gauguin. He did have epilepsy, and wrestled with seizures and fits of madness and ended up being sent to the asylum in Saint-Remy for treatment. He was very versatile because he had a wide variety of techniques and paints that he used: oil paint, drawings, watercolors, graphic works, self-portraits, and letter sketches. Unfortunately when he took his own life at such a young age we lost a great artist that will never be forgotten.

Thomas Kincade...Artist?

I guess that in reply to your question, "Is Thomas Kincade a genuine artist or is he a shrewd capitalist who has mastered the art of money making?" I would have to say that he isn't what I would consider a "true" artist. When I think of an artist I see someone who puts their heart and soul into their work and creates a piece of art that is part of them. That being said it seems to me that after reading some of the material on Thomas Kincade he probably was a more genuine artist in the beginning, however once he altered how he was operating(starting to mass produce) I think that he lost whatever level of genuineness he originally had. The fact that he earned $53 million dollars over an eight year period is totally astonishing. It was hard to believe that 1 in 10 or 10% of homes in the U.S. feature some form of Thomas Kincade art or licensed product. Some of the statements that are made on his website are rather interesting. Some of these remarks are those such as, "As a devout Christian, Kincade uses his gift as a vehicle to communicate and spread inherent life affirming values." What values is Kincade really trying to share? That if you start mass producing art you can be very wealthy? I will be the first to admit that I am part of that 10% of U.S. homes that does have a piece of his work in my home. Although if I had known more about him I probably would have been more conscientous of my purchase. Incidentally-The Thomas Kincade store in the Roseville Galleria has closed (maybe he isn't doing as well selling his work anymore?).

Analyze That!

This is an awesome image that just captures you and you don't want to stop looking at it. I would have to say that the lines used in this work of art are expressive since they seem very loose and free and somewhat out of control. This image has utilized two-dimensional space since the piece is flat, possesses height and width, but no depth. A sense of depth, of three dimensions is achieved only by means of illusion. The primary colors that were used are red, blue, and yellow. The secondary color being used is green. The piece has a visual texture since it appears to have one but really it is just an illusion. The pattern is a circular one with a ripple effect going outward. As far as time and motion goes this piece creates the illusion of movement, optically, before the eye, as you seem like you are being sucked into the art.

Watch the Magic!

Well believe it or not this is actually an image of the same flower off of my morning glory plant in the backyard. I took these pictures on a very windy day and the picture on the right represents a wind blown flower. In the photo on the left, the color of the morning glory appears more bright and looks more blue. The intensity(saturation) of the image is definitely more vibrant. On the one flower it appears to have more of a violet blue color(hue). While in the other picture the flower takes on more of a purple hue. The intensity of the flower on the right is not as intense. The value of each of these images are both different. The image on the left has a lighter value of purple than the other picture. I think that anyone would enjoy looking at these beautiful flowers.

Analyze This!