module 12

 I really enjoyed the videos in this module. I feel embarrassed to say that I havent heard of a few artists that came up in this section, so the videos were really helpful and now I feel like I need to do more research on them and their work.I appreciated the background that Jacob Lawrence gave, talking about what it was like to be making art during the great depression and being raised in Harlem, the art centers that opened and the "positive effect it had on the spirit of the people". They did also touch on his work and how content is an important element for him when creating.

Faith Ringgold is much more my style. Her work is very folk-y and fun, the story-quilts are interesting and some of the figures she paints remind me of Margaret Kilgallen. Romare Beardens work really tells a story from beginning to end,and I appreciate that the speakers in the video gave a sort of run-down on so many of them, explaining the different myths he was drawing inspiration from as some of them are not too fresh in my head. The shapes he creates in his collage work really is impressive, I feel like its hard to imagine a shape like that and cut it out without sketching it first so Im curious to know a little more about his process. The blues and greens he uses really give his pieces a lot of definition and depth, and since so many of them include a landscape it helps to show distance and space in the piece. 

"Classical Art/Modern Dress" and the two videos that went with it were hard for me to get into.Though the last interview with Norma Kamali was really neat and I think its nice to hear a fashion designer with views like hers, a little more focused on the actual person rather than just the people filling the seats at a fashion show. 

FAUVISM, now this I can get into. Finally, in 1900, artists started to dive into bright expressive colors. Color exists for these painters as an independent element instead of just something that describes an object or space. Their work feels more emotional to me than that of the impressionists. Brighter, bolder brushwork really changed the game moving forward.

mod 11 - art visit

Questions about the Place:
1. What is the name of Gallery/Museum you visited? The Solomon Guggenheim Museum in New York City
2. What is the URL of the Gallery/Museum you visited? https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/solomon-r-guggenheim-museum

3. Why did you select this Gallery/Musuem? I've been to New York City a few times and somehow have never visited this museum.

Questions about the physical space. (You must use Google Street View to "walk" through the gallery to observe the gallery space.)1. What type of lighting is used? There's sufficient, soft overhead lighting and small spotlights to highlight some of the works on the walls
2. What colors are used on the walls? White
3. What materials are used in the interior artchitecture of the space? The Guggenheim is a very modern building, and its spiral shape really helps visitors move through the space. This design seems interesting because it gives the curators and gallery owners a lot of control over how the viewer is seeing works and in what order.
4. How is the movement of the viewer through the gallery space? Same as 3.

Questions about the artwork:1. How are the artworks organized? It looks like the artwork is organized my style, pieces that are similar or artists that have common themes are placed next to each other which makes the visitors travels throughout the gallery a little smoother.
2. How are the artrworks similar? It seems like newer more contemporary works are placed near each other, and those are all pretty similar in style.
3. How are the artworks different? The larger exhibits look like they get the larger spaces in the museum and are pretty different from the works that take up the walls on the walk through the museum.
4. How are the artworks framed? The artworks that have frames seem to all have pretty similar and simple black or white frames, they almost blend into the wall so Im not sure I would notice them if someone didnt mention it which i suppose is how it should function.
5. How are the artworks identified and labeled? The labeling they use is the same as what I remember seeing at Albright Knox, just a small simple post on the edge of the wall neareset to the pieces, but so all of the labels are next to each other instead of right underneath the appropriate art work. I think this is a nice way to keep the viewer from getting distracted so they can enjoy the piece and then read after, or vice versa.
6. What is the proximity of the artwork to each other? The ones by all the same artist look like theyre all right next to each other, generally close together if theyre small enough and can be.

Artist Do Ho Suh

Title of work Blue Green Bridge

Media Plastic figures, steel structure and polycarbonate sheets

Date 2000

Size 51inx24inx37ft

Source of picture (URL) https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/9424

 Describe what you see.  (subject matter)? A bridge from once space in the museum to another

What principles and elements were used and how are they used? Space. Do Ho Suh really does that well with a lot of his work, this one literally moves the viewer from one space to another.

Is there anything in or about this work that reminds you of anything else? Do you see any symbols, metaphors, or allegories?  None that are really literal, maybe there are some symbols in there for the artist himself that are too personal to make sense to the viewer.

What do you think the artist was trying to say? 

Artist Henri Matisse

Title of work Nude in a Forest

Media Oil on canvas

Date 1909

Size 16x12

Source of picture (URL) https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/2830

 Describe what you see.  (subject matter)? A nude figure in the middle of some trees

What principles and elements were used and how are they used? This piece is pretty well balanced, the light and dark areas work with each other very well. He does also sort of imply the size of the space by creating taller trees at the front and shorter tree at the back.

Is there anything in or about this work that reminds you of anything else? Do you see any symbols, metaphors, or allegories?  (iconography)

What do you think the artist was trying to say? I'm honestly no too sure. I chose this one since I watched the video on Matisse, and it almost seems like a starting point for him for a larger piece, like maybe he meant to come back to it or was using it to build up to something bigger.

Artist Hannah Wilke

Title of work S.O.S. Starification Object Series

Media Gelatin Silver Print

Date 1974

Size 40x27in

Source of picture (URL) https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/9640

 Describe what you see.  (subject matter)? The artist, Wilke, posed with tiny vulva shaped sculptures stuck to her body. ( I did have to look it up but based on what I already know about her work I assumed it would be something of this nature )

What principles and elements were used and how are they used? Light and line are really important elements in this piece, the curve of her spine and the contrast of the black and white really draws attention

Is there anything in or about this work that reminds you of anything else? Do you see any symbols, metaphors, or allegories?  (iconography)

What do you think the artist was trying to say? Wilke tends to make art that comments on womens rights and feminism, this one definitely seems to have a similar tone and is a comment on how women are objectified

Mod 11

I watched the video about Abstract Expressionism and Pop: Art of the '50s and '60s, and the one on Picasso and Matisse. I selected the one about abstract expressionism since I am generally drawn toward that kind of artwork, and I chose the other about Picasso/Matisse since I feel like my knowledge on both of their backgrounds is lacking a little bit.

The video about abstract expressionism/pop art started off at a much different point than what I expected. Some of the artists seemed hard for me to connect to what I think of what I hear the words "Pop Art", but they did all eventually tie together and relate to one another. Jasper Johns was interesting to me, I've seen his word at a gallery before though I cant think of where and I dont know that I looked twice at it since I didnt know much about him as an artist or his process. Knowing how much goes into his seemingly simple looking works makes it much more meaningful to glance at. Encaustic painting is not something I really knew about but seems like a really neat technique, the texture that John's had in his pieces when working this way really made a great impact on the final results. Andy Warhol was obviously featured on this video as well, since Pop Art cant be mentioned without mentioning him. They spoke a lot about his techniques and specifically the piece he did with Robert Rauschenbergs image, The Texan. A quote they mentioned really stuck with me, "I dont know where the artificial stops and the real begins", and I feel like thats something that can really be seen and felt in a lot of his work.

The video on Matisse/Picasso really covered a lot on their backgrounds and their careers from start to finish. It was interesting to see how different they were style-wise when they both started out, and how they eventually really started to feed off of and learn from each other even borrowing techniques and "lines" in some cases. 

Both films were pretty interesting and informative, though the one about Picasso/Matisse was much easier to watch and follow. Seeing real footage of both artists was very cool, and almost makes it easier to connect to their work once you know a little more about their past. Matisse working on the Chapel at the end really wow'ed me, and Im curious to know more about that and whether or not it still exists. 

Module 10

I think these videos really showed the different ways cultures in the past approached art and creativity, just by the simple act of carving and crafting masks for different purposes. Some of them were very ornate and detailed and had lots of materials added to them like feathers and raffia where some other cultures were more focused on actually carving the masks. The ones I thought were most interesting were by the Bundu/Sande people, the helmet masks were carved by men and worn by women during the females initiation ceremonies. The Mende people also crafted VERY beautiful masks, theyre detailed and ornate and the facial features are all carved with purpose. Though some cultures created masks to honor women or a spirit, some also used them as a way to mourn the dead or for funerary rites, and some of them just for entertainment. The portrait masks that the Moya Yanso people made were especially detailed, and made to represent specific individuals.

18th and 19th Centuries

For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned. (please categorize the comments for each video/reading)

The video about early photography and Daguerreotype was very detailed and very confusing, as a person who doesnt have much experience with photography. It was interesting to learn how it all works and though I knew it required the subject to sit still for quite a while I didnt realize all of the steps that took place just to prepare the plate they used. Industrial age production made this a popular technique, and in the 1850s about 7.5 million dollars was made creating daguerrotypes. 

I did enjoy the video about the Death of Marat painting by Jacques Louis David. Marat was a hero, a political martyr and French Revolutionary. The letter hes holding days "My great unhappiness gives me a right to your kindness", and this Neo-Classical work shows a great contrast between light and dark as well as David's attention to detail when it comes to anatomy. 

The Great Wave by Katsushika Hokusai is a piece I've seen so many times but never knew much about. Hokusai is considered the most iconic Japanese artist and this piece is used today on everything from prints to coffee mugs and tshirts and I cant help but wonder what an artist with his wisdom and age would think of that now. 

Manet's A Bar at the Folies-Bergere shows great open brushwork and a real focus on space and dimension. The mirror in the background might not be something a casual art browser would ever noticing when passing this piece at a museum but the mirror really becomes the most important part of this painting. 

Liberty Leading the People was an important piece/idea during the French Revolution. Liberty was a personification of an idea and her anatomy and the angle of her face is a nod back to classical antiquity. Light and space really helps the viewers eye travel throughout this piece, as Liberty is clearly the main object but upon looking at the space around her we see how much more detail Delacroix added to create this "spectrum of human emotion"

Monet and Cassatt (Poplars and The Childs Bath) are both very different paintings though created around the same time. Monet was more focused on light brushwork, and the literal light in the painting, as he created pink tree that almost look like they're floating in a sunny breeze. Cassatt uses foreshortening to tell this story, of a mother bathing her child, with great attention paid to the childs skin and body and the interaction between mother and parent. 

How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

The reading gives a more broad idea of what the videos talk about, describing the move from Enlightenment to Roccoco, to the French Revolution and Neo-classicism and breaks down what differentiates an Impressionist work from a Neo-classical work.

What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

For the most part I feel like these videos helped to further elaborate on the information in the readings, while focusing a little more on the actual themes and techniques in the artwork rather than just a history of the time period it took place in.

M8

Explain why you selected the video you chose from the selection listed above.

The first video I watched was Art & Life in the Middle Ages : The Luttrell Psalter, which I picked because I've never heard of it and was curious to see what it was.

For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

The Luttrell Psalter is an "illuminated manuscript", essentially a very lengthy, ornate, and unique book created/commissioned by Geoffrey Luttrell who was a wealthy knight during Medieval times. It details life during medieval times, including the duties of the peasants who lived on his farm land, some images of Luttrell and his family, and the life of Christ. Some unusual creatures are also included in this text, the monsters that the speaker mentions are the most interesting part of the book in my opinion.

What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

 I did not expect to be interested in this when the video started, but the detail and different styles included in this manuscript are very strange and unique. So many stories are told, including that of Luttrell, and the birds are creatures that take up the sides of the pages are spooky but intriguing.

Explain why you selected the video you choose from the selection listed above.

The second video I watched was Florence: Heart of the Renaissance which I chose because I love and have a great appreciation for renaissance artwork and sculpture.

For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

The Italian Renaissance started around 1400 and was a rebirth of cultures, a return to domes and columns and arches. Capitalism replaced Feudalism and Realism became important to artists during this time. I've never seen Donatello's wood sculpture of Mary Magdalene which I think is rather eerie looking. The Uffizi Gallery is featured during this gentleman's tour through Florence, and it holds the finest collection of Italian paintings anywhere in the world, thanks to the Medici family. 

What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

Though I'm not sure I needed to see his pit stop for dinner while we're all trapped at home, I did enjoy the brief tour through Florence. the gold-heavy altarpieces and gothic inspired works of this time are beautiful and interesting and Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera are classic important works from this period.