Video Review

 The Lowdown on Lowbrow: West Coast Pop Art- Lowbrow art-art that nobody else knows how to characterize. It is a reaction to high brow culture. Lowbrow imagery was used in relation to images of naked girls and hot rods, however it evolved and stuck and created its own meaning. Lowbrow was originally referring to pornography. Lowbrow art was inspired by suburbia, nuclear family, Malibu beach/surf scene, comic books and B level movies. Psychedelic rock posters were not accepted in galleries because they were associated with hippies and drugs. It has history and folk art. Pop culture references were also used in Lowbrow. Lowbrow was formed into an art movement where people were scared it would erase earlier cultural art. Culture is open to women artists, where they thought since they were women they could draw a woman better than men can.

Displaying Modern Art: The Tate Approach-  The was an overwhelming success which made the gallery art in danger and had to be cornered off. Four million viewers in the first year made it the most popular museum. Modern art in the MOMA(museum of modern art) from 1929 onwards was displayed primarily in chronological order, representing each art movement. There were rooms in the museum with specific lighting on the walls emphasizing the art, or the room where the art movements was displayed. Some artists set up art in the room for the experience that is in and off the walls. Art in the museum can also represent other concepts. Tate creates rooms as an atmosphere with a theme.

Bones of Contention: Native American Archaeology- Archaeologists have studied and kept remains of bones of Native Americans in the back of museums for further knowledge. Now the Native Americans want their ancestors back and they compare it to burning books and it will be a setback of information. Discrimination with native Americans were in affect when the archaeologists dug up 26 white people for study and then reburied them, however, they took the Indian woman and her child and put them in a box and shipped off for further study. In 1976 the first law was passed to protect Indian burial grounds. Smithsonian held the remains of 18,000 Native American remains. Anthropologists want to study origins of Native Americans. Similar bone defects suggest shared genes origins. Many tribes do not believe the theory of migration. The bones of earlier women reveal that hard work by manufacturing furs worn them down and led to a lower birthrate and life expectancy.

George Eastman House: Picture Perfect- George Eastman was a well known business man and a visionary. He was a child of a new age of photography. He is the father of popular photography. He created an affordable Kodak camera for all people. The whole history of photography is in the George Eastman House which is the story of his life and legacy of his life that is picture perfect. George Eastman’s House, holds 400,000 photographs, 25,000 films, 62,000 personal artifacts and 16,000 pieces of photographic technology. Documentation led to imagination in art. In 1996 the George Eastman House established the first school in North America to teach the restoration, preservation, and archiving of motion pictures. Eastman committed suicide in 1932 because he had a terminal illness and wanted to be in control of his life.

2. These videos related to my art exhibition project except the Bones of Contention. In the other three videos, an art created a theme or topic for their exhibition and had different rooms of varieties of art that all related to that specific theme. In each video there was an importance for each concept and shows how each artists involves the topic in their artwork.
3. The Bones of Contention was very interesting because I was unaware of the discrimination that was happening behind closed doors in the archeologist’s world. I do understand that it is part of their job to study past life but to disturb graves and then not put the natives back is wrong. I thought these videos were very helpful in aid to my curation project because I realize that every artwork doesn’t necessarily have to be the same type of images. They just need to relate to the theme during different parts of time.

Video Review

I chose this video because I am not familiar with any culture or traditions from the 50s and 60s.

Abstract Expressionism and Pop: Art of the ’50s and ’60s- Abstract painting works in the real space between the viewer and the painting. Action painting: the actions of the artist while painting is important as the final painting. Jackson Pollack is an action painter who brings emotion to his painting. The Pop Art movement was not a clear, coherent movement. Artists of this movement were brought together because they lived in the same city. Pop Art was also the first 20th century movement since Futurism to embrace the rhythms of city life. De Kooning later becomes an action painter.

I chose this video because the title added my curiosity to what the power of art was.

The Power of Art: Rothko

 Rothko committed suicide in 1970 because he had spent so much time in his mind and the realm of the dead. Rothko was commissioned to do paintings for the Four Seasons Restaurants in the Seagrams building in New York. He was paid $35,000, what would be the equivalent of $2.5 million today. He wanted to create basic human emotions throughout his art. Rothko insists that his paintings imbue the values of contemporary society, and he denies any psychological interpretation of his art. Rothko’s condition made him create deeper and darker paintings  to express his emotions.

I chose this video because I was curious to find out the uncertainty of art.

Uncertainty: Modernity and Art

Greek statues offer the idealistic human form. Industrial Revolution separates man from nature which leads to modern life. Modern art has made obscurity popular, changes as society changes and means living with doubt. Abstract art puts the viewer in an experiment and provokes questions but gives no answers. In the past, art expressed inspirational ideals that were slightly unreal.

I love Andy Warhol’s work so I chose this video.

Andy Warhol: Images of an Image

Warhol began as a commercial artist until 1960. His silkscreen Marilyn Monroe made him famous. Silkscreen process is an enlarge original image, contrast can be changed, results in large half tone sheet, screen of mesh is stretched across frame and treated with a light sensitive material. The next step is to have it layed on the screen and exposed to light. Then it is rinsed with water, the black unexposed parts dissolve, while the white parts harden filling in the screen. This creates a negative image. Warhol produced dozens of self portraits. As an art journalist his work addresses race riots, the conquest of the moon, the cultural revolution in China, and the universal reign of the dollar.

2. These videos all relate to the text because they contain the same artists and examples from the book. They show what 20^th century art movements were like.
3. The films were interesting throughout most parts of the videos and they provided artwork from several artists and their way of life that contributed to their art. I really enjoy seeing visuals of the artists and the artists background on film rather than reading.

Art Gallery Visit #2

Art Gallery Visit #2

Step 1: The title of the exhibit was Abstract Artwork as the theme included abstract art by all different artists.

Step 2: I went to the Albright Knox to view this exhibition. There is bright lighting throughout the gallery, while is some other exhibitions they are completely pitch black with no lighting to show animated videos. The colors of the walls of the exhibition were an off white which gave the shade of white in artworks to stand out more. Materials that are used in the architecture of the space are concrete walls, glass to cover some artwork, wooden stands, and pliable walls easy to change the structure of the gallery. The movement of the viewer through the gallery space is aesthetically pleasing. The artwork is balanced and equally spaced out to give an uncluttered feel.

Step 3: The artworks were organized by mounting them on the wall about 6 feet away from each other. Similarities of the artwork include that they are all abstract and are ironic. The three artworks were very different in the colors used in each of the artworks. One was black and white, the other was focused on mostly orange and the third was based on blue and white. Another difference is one artwork went beyond the wall space and had wires hanging from the art. The artworks are framed all differently. One does not include a frame and is just mounted, the other has a brown wooden small frame and the other has a painted white wooden frame. The artwork’s information was placed to the left of each piece mounted on the wall.

Step 4: Art Critisism

The first piece of art was from Casey Cook. It is called “Mashing up the Clouds” and is Cel-vinyl, acrylic-pencil on canvas. It was created in 2010. This piece attracted my attention because of its bright orange dominant color in this painting. It was about four feet wide by 6 feet tall. The painting contained shapes of all sizes such as circles, rectangles and unfamiliar shapes. Most of the artwork was composed of drawings of human body parts as well as figures of humans. There are many overlapping shapes and figures that could be the reason of the title included mashing. The colors in the painting are orange, blue, white, yellow, a little red, and a little green. The orange background fades as it moves from the left upper corner to the right bottom corner of the art. Movement, emphasis, shape, and line are taking place in this art. I feel as if the painting is showing humans and human limbs perform everyday tasks in their life. This almost reminds me of Picasso’s way of throwing shapes together and being abstract. I think the artist was trying to emphasize the human body and get the viewer to look closely at the picture to recognize that the figures were humans.

The second piece is from Miguel Angel Vidal. He calls his work “Focos de luz” which means the focus of light. This work is Acrylic on Canvas and was made in 1969. This painting is about 5 feet wide and 6 feet tall. The background is painted a solid blue color. The focus and center of the painting is an octagon made out of lines. The lines are diagonal and are going in every direction to form a symmetrical balance for the painting. The focal point which is the center of the octagon is the focus of the light. Bright white lines create the look of light coming from four corners of the octagon. Many shapes are made from the lines within the octagon. The constant lines also create different tones of color throughout the octagon. Symmetry, lines, emphasis, and Unity are dominant in this artwork. The color and lines simply create the abstract image in which it looks as if it’s reflecting light. I think of a kaleidoscope while looking at this art because I remember turning the kaleidoscope and it would make three dimensional abstract objects. The emotional reaction I think the artist would like the viewer to have would be astonishment because of the simplicity yet complexity of the art.

The third artwork from the exhibit is another abstract painting called “Wood-Iron Rods”. This was created in 1964 by Jesus Rafeal Soto and he used painted Masonite and wire to create this masterpiece. The artwork is about 7 feet wide and three feet tall mounted on the wall. The artwork extends from the wall with hanging wires in front of the painting. The painting is extremely abstract and caught my eye immediately. The wood piece mounted to the wall is constant white and black vertical lines that are symmetrical throughout the piece. However, it is the hanging in space wire rods in front of the piece that make it abstract. Wire rods are hanging by clear string and give the painting a different feel. The wires made the painting look three dimensional and where the wires are hanging, it makes the lines in the background broken up and darker in some spots. The wires also cast a shadow below the painting creating shapes from the lighting fixture above. The artist wanted the viewer to be confused and take a closer look at this artwork to see how he created dimension in such a unique way. The artwork is focusing on lines and shape to create the image portrayed. This art reminds me of the childhood books where you needed to cross your eyes to view an image among abstract colors and shapes.

Photobucket Slideshow:  http://s1111.photobucket.com/albums/h475/bolibral01/Art%20Gallery%20Visit/?albumview=slideshow

Video Review

I chose this video because I am familiar with Matisse and Picasso and would like to learn more about them.
Matisse and Picasso- Matisse is the serene, self indulgent father figure and Picasso is the eternal adolescent and fiery primitive. Their relationship with each other is unique. Matisse painted the woman with the hat which was Jacqueline Matisse, his wife. Gertrude Stein was the first to recognize the greatness of Matisse and Picasso. Matisse was French in the way he thought and dressed while Picasso was more impulsive. They exchanged paintings to seal mutual respect. Picasso’s paintings are inspired from life and women. In 1912 Picasso invents the first collage. They had many similarities and differences however they worked together and exchanged paintings and introduced new buyers to the others artwork. They studied each other’s paintings so they knew to do the opposite. Matisse dies in 1954 and Picasso moves to Cannes.

I chose this video because I have learned about Surrealism.
Dada Surrealism- The Dada movement was born as a reaction to World War 1. Kurt Schwitters is a German Artist in which he includes many objects in his art. He wanted his art to embrace everything in the world. He continued writing all his life. He believed he had unlimited possibilities with collages. Mats came from Comats. His pictures are named from syllables in the objects. Joan Miro is a Spanish Surrealist who creates the “Dutch Interior 1”. He paints only the abstract structures of its composition. He removes images of tradition in his works.

I chose this video because I am attracted to Expressionism paintings.
Expressionism- Uses color to express emotion. Edward Munch is a powerful painter. He created imagery that broke radically with established norms of concepts and styles. “After the Fall” was a painting symbolizing the modern Adam and Eve. His painting “Ashes” deals with the relationship between man and woman and the mysteries of sexuality. Women were painted in his work and dramatically changes throughout the years. Some women were predators, arrogant, and destroyers in his paintings. Expressionism had little concern with the structural composition of color and emphasized the color’s emotional properties.

I think that Cubism is an interesting concept for art so I chose this video.
The Impact of Cubism- The most influential style of the 20^th century. Cubism was influenced by the work of Cezanne, African tribal art. It is a nonclassical way to represent form and space. Juan Gris created the painting, “The Breakfast Table”. Light and color was used for abstract approach to Cubism. Cubism became the international style such as the “An Englishman in Moscow”.  He overturned conventional logic to find inner meaning which is called displacement. The picture is not supposed to make sense in content. Picasso was the founder of Cubism.

2. The videos relate to the text in that the content is the same as well as the examples of artwork for different artists. Although, the videos showed and talked about more artists and examples for these forms of art.
3. I thought the films were too long and a little boring. However, as I sat through four hour long videos, I did learn a variety of new things about these forms of art. I always like to see the art in galleries along side of other pieces, and the book does now do that and the videos do.

Mask Exploration

http://s1111.photobucket.com/albums/h475/bolibral01/aed200/Mask%20Exploration/

The three inspiration blogs, the pre made sketches and the finished mask is in my slideshow on this photobucket link. I selected these three inspirational pieces because when I saw them I immediately was attracted to them in some way. I thought the crown on the one mask was unique and I have never seen that before. I also love bright colors and patterns. I also was trying to make my mask three dimensional so I included a three dimensional crown onto my mask as well and a 3d nose. I also included figures on my mask to empahsize the eyes and mouth that were 3d. I used texture, line, and shape mostly to create my mask. Creating the mask was fun and very individualized. I liked being able to use any materials and no strict guidelines in creating my mask. I think my mask is fun and inviting with its bright colors.

Video Review

1. I chose this video because I was curious what legacy they were going to be discussing.
Legacy of Oppression:
The color white represents the spirits of the dead. The artists of central Africa glorified the motherness of their mothers and centralized glorified objects. They thought everyday objects had magical powers.  Forces from the land of the dead were totems of the dead which would be considered a mask. The black side of the mask is considered one of illness and was used for people to be scared and treat their elders and the handicap with respect. Masks were also used to intimate enemies in battle however; they soon realized that it would not protect them from bullets.

I chose this video because when I think of African art I think of colorful creative artwork and wanted to know more about it.
African Art: Art is an integral part of everyday life in Africa. Art has contributed to dress, hairstyles, and other forms of ornamentation. It also carries on traditional African rituals, statues, masks and other objects. Art was drawn to represent spirits of animal and rituals have been held for funerals. Egyptian art and lifestyle spread to southern Africa. African art is conceptual. Masks and sculptures were not meant to represent a person but to conjure spirits.

I chose this video because I am not knowledgeable on Buddhism.
Buddhism: Buddhism began in India. The Mohabodhi Temple is the largest Buddha shrine in the world. Bodh Gaya was a sacred city for Buddhism. Buddha wanted to share his enlightenment so founded the religion. However, Buddhism split into two groups after Buddha's death. The hinyana-individuals who wanted to cross to nirvana in a boat they built and rowed them self and
manyana-those who wanted to seek companions and wait for ferry to cross to nirvana. Sanchi is a center of Buddhist art and architecture.

I chose this video because I also am not fully informed of Hinduism and their traditions of art.
Hinduism: Varanasi is the holiest city of India. The river or Ganges is the symbol of life, death and rebirth. Hindus bath in the river to pray to god.”Aarti” is a ceremony where the Hindus honor Brahma and say that she is everything and they are nothing and all they can offer is a simple light that will be blown out. Many pilgrims want to die in the Varanasi because they believe they will skip the reincarnation process and go straight to heaven. There are many ways to Brahma and sex represents the creative life of Brahma.
2. The videos relate to the reading of the text because they discussed art and different cultures in which it represented. It also provided examples of art in both the text and videos  about African Art.
3. The videos help me understand culture in a variety of ways. Just watching the daily routine and life cycle of different cultures is very interesting to see how we differ. I like seeing visual examples of art and masks and how they are made. I am more of a visual learner.