Jackson Pollock

     Jackson Pollock was an extremely influential painter in the abstract world of art. He is well known for his unique painting style he called, “Drip Painting” more commonly known as “Splatter painting.” His paintings were simple, yet tedious. He used mostly primary colors to create his most famous works. Sadly, Pollock died in 1956 at the young age of 44 due to a single-car drunk driving accident. He suffered from alcoholism throughout most of his adult life.
      The work of Jackson Pollock was interesting because he never really came up with names for his works of art, he just titled them Number 1, Number 2, and so on. Even though many hold his works of art on a pedestal, I personally feel that there is not much to them. I do not see the beauty in layers upon layers of thousands of squiggly paint lines that his work is composed of. For example, Number 1 has absolutely nothing to it, no dimension, no center, nothing to be inspired by, it might as well be a blank sheet of canvas. However, one can argue that his paintings are inspiring because of the fact then there is no set meaning or subject, it gives all the power to the imagination of the viewer to create what they want in their minds because everyone sees works of art differently. Which was precisely one of Pollock’s strong points because he engaged his viewers in his artwork. Even though I am sure many people have had the same views as I do, there are others that do see his work as amazing and I can understand why even if I still think is artwork is dull and repetitive.

Number 1. Jackson Pollock

Number 5. Jackson Pollock.

Jackson Pollock, Drip Painting.

California Museum of Photography

I also had the opportunity to visit the California Museum of Photography in Riverside, CA. I figured that since I am a photography major, that it would be essential to my education to gain a better knowledge of photography and to see printed photos rather than just on the computer screen. There is just something about being there and seeing the photographs framed, enlarged and in person that is just so satisfying and you cannot get that same experience at home on the computer.
      During my experience, there were three specific photographs that stood out for me the most, were Lower East Side by Stephen Shore, Arab Nomad by Zangaki Brothers, and Sidewalk Scene by Walker Evans. Each piece is unique and powerful in its own way. One is a more urban city scene, another an older exotic scene, and lastly an older city scene.
      The Lower East Side is a photo and graphic design meshed together with is exactly what I want to pursue a career in. I feel that this piece sends forth a message of how corrupt society is today and all of the negative influences that shadow the good ones. Arab Nomad is a beautiful photograph, definitely my favorite out of the three works of art I mentioned. I love the texture, lighting, and olden feel to the photo. I am instantly drawn to the woman’s eyes that are framed perfectly by her headdress. I am left curious about the story behind this photo and what is behind her eyes and beyond the frame. Lastly, Sidewalk Scene is an older downtown Alabama city scene I love the way that the photo is framed and how ironically there are all men walking in the background, but there are childrens wagons under the sign reading “Fixings for Men.” This can convey that maybe the men for a change are the ones that take care of the children and hove more power over them. Also, on the newsstand beneath the sign there are magazines that read “ Two Wives, a Husband, and a Sweetheart.” Maybe it’s the latest scandal? Who knows? I think that is what is interesting about this photograph, you don’t know the story behind it which leaves it all up to the imagination of the viewer. Another aspect of the museum that I loved was how it had a display of a timeline of cameras all the way from the first camera up to modern cameras and how they have evolved over time. It was interesting to see how cameras started out and to learn how tedious it was to get one photo and now the process is digital and compact into one lightweight camera. It is simply amazing how so much is fit into one compact device.    

Lower East Side. NYC.July 2011.Stephen Shore.

Arab Nomad.Zangaki Brothers.

Sidewalk Scene.Alabama.1935.Walker Evans.

A Visit to The Riverside Art Museum

      I recently visited the Riverside Art Museum in riverside California. There were 2 exhibits that were extremely interesting, one photography series called Of Hunger and Resilience by Michael Nye and one solar etching series called 52, by Sue Mitchell. I found that each of these exhibits had different meanings, however both artist used subjects that had meaning to them and that they hold dear to their hearts and convey these meanings through their artwork. Which is what art is right? Passion. If an artist choses to make work out of something they are not passionate about it will be mediocre compared to something they are passionate about.
      Michael Nye’s, Of Hunger and Resilience is a series of photographs he took of people living in poverty, without the means to survive. He wanted to show his viewers what hunger looks like, how it feels, its surroundings, etc. I feel that this series is all about seeing a different side of the world that most do not see everyday and showing that even though these people are grungy looking with dirty clothes these people are truly beautiful in their own way. One piece from this series that happens to be my favorite is, Tiffany. The poor girl’s hair is mangled, her hands are filthy, she has teeth that have probably never seen a dentist and is wearing overalls and a polo shirt made for a man, but it is all her imperfections that make her beautiful and give her a sense of innocence. When I saw this photo I was so curious as to what her background story was, which is definitely what intrigued me the most. Another photograph from his series was a bit different than Tiffany, it had a more horrific and ghostly look to it, called Felicita. She is dressed in a dark baggy and oversized dress, barefoot jumping to create the blur effect to look ghostly. She is in what looks to be a rocky desert wasteland on a stormy day, which leads me to believe that she is stranded in search of help. Another photograph of his also had a ghostly effect and is of an older woman, Cindy, looking as if she is searching for a sign to better her life and find a way out of the suffering. The photograph is composed and framed in such a way that she is locking eyes with the viewer and begging to end this suffering. This is a strong strategy of Nye’s within this entire series because he has the power to draw the viewers in through his photos.
      Sue Mitchell’s, 52 is a series of solar etchings of the 52 Montezuma Bold Cypress trees at her favorite part of Fairmount Park in Riverside. Solar etching is essentially printmaking with a solar plate. Mitchell took the time to do solar etchings of all of the 52 trees in 52 weeks. I found this extremely interesting and inspiring because she put so much time and thought into this project. Two of the fifty-two trees that stood out most to me were Tree Thirty-Three and Tree Fifty-One just because of the way the trees branch out almost looking like a sun and are so full of life, especially Tree Fifty-One. What I also found to be spectacular when I spoke to Sue—and It was such a pleasure meeting her and chatting about art and her process of this project—was that she had taken the time to create a journal and save all the things she got ideas and inspiration from and all her progress throughout those 52 weeks she was working on her project, 52. She said “never throw anything away, you never know when you are going to need a use for it. Did you see the quote on the threshold right as you walked into my exhibit? That I have had for years and I remember loving it so much, I forgot all about it, then it ended up working perfectly for my show.” Talking to her really inspired me to create something tangible that I could use to document my artwork in a more intimate and personal way than simply through the computer screen.
         All in all, this art museum is a must to visit, I recommend it 100% and hope that anyone who has the opportunity to visit will have as pleasant of an experience as I did. I really did learn a lot, not just about art and the exhibits shown, but also about myself and grew as a person. I think that is definitely the beauty of museums, you walk out with a whole different outlook on things, you may not change drastically per say but it will definitely make you think on a whole other level.

Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA.

Tiffany. Michael Nye.

Felicita. Michael Nye.

Cindy. Michael Nye.

Sue Mitchell."52". Riverside Art Museum.

"52" Threshehold Quote.

Tree Thirty-Three. Sue Mitchell.

Tree Fifty-One. Sue Mitchell.  

Drawing and Painting

      There are many different styles of painting, some not always being the traditional Da Vinci, or Picasso. Drawing is so much more than just sketches; even though they all begin as such drawing has evolved into something more complex than just a pencil and paper. Nowadays, felt pens, paper materials for collage, and paint are also incorporated in drawings. There are also many types of painting such as fresco, oil, watercolor, acrylic, and even beyond.
      There is one fairly modern drawing called Hide and Seek, Kill or Speak by Wangechi Mutu that is composed of paint, ink, and collage. This piece depicts a woman as one with the African Grasslands. Some say she looks like a lion with the way her hair trickles down the length of her spine like a mane. Her spotted and marbled body elicits camouflage and/or disease. The artist also uses cut outs of photographs for the woman’s eyes, lips, and ear as well as the guns and motorcycles to convey a sense of beauty, danger, and desire. This piece also sparks controversy to the lethal conflicts that have arisen in African Societies.
      Wilfredo Lam’s, The Jungle is another wildly intricate, colorful, and interesting work of art composed of watercolors. Watercolors are made of pigments that are suspended in water-soluble vehicle and have a more transparent look to them and are not applied thickly like oil and acrylic paints. The Jungle is composed of many tropical colors showing various points of dark and light in the watercolors. This painting resembles the importance of the relationship between humans and animals, and depicts human and animal forms to be somewhat coinciding and mingling. Essentially, humans are animals too. I feel that the message this painting puts forth is that we must not forget how important all animals are to this world and the importance of our relationship with them.

Hide and Seek Kill or Speak. Wangechi Mutu. 2004.

The Jungle.Wilfredo Lam.1943.

17th & 18th Century Art: The Baroque Era

      The Baroque Era was the period of art where everything changed. Art shifted from more calm and dull aspects to a world of vivid color and motion. Inspired by the Roman Catholic Church, the Baroque era concentrated on many religious works of art. The colors had a greater contrast between bold colors and dark and light. Art was now full of life. There was a greater sense of energy, movement, and emotion than ever before. Many of the religious pieces were seen as dynamic and theatrical and could almost be called scenes, rather than just simple paintings.
      One of the most famous interpretative artists of the Baroque Era was Gianlorenzo Bernini. His most admired artwork is the life size marble and gilt bronze sculpture of St. Theresa in Ecstasy in the Cornaro Chapel. Saint Theresa was known for her mystical and spiritual experiences with the love of God, which she describes as “piercing her heart like a burning arrow.” Bernini depicts this in his sculpture by placing St. Theresa on a cloud with an angel holding an arrow and smiling sweetly down at her as if she is withdrawing the arrow with Saint Theresa’s face showing fulfillment. He wanted to portray her spiritual experience through physical movements to show the true intensity of it. The sculpture is made of white marble to show the purity of the angel and chaste nun, St. Theresa.
      Another powerful piece of artwork in the Baroque Era that stood out to me was Peter Paul Rubens', The Raising of the Cross. This is one of the most beautiful and emotionally powerful paintings I have ever seen. This religious piece shows Jesus nailed on the cross being hoisted to an upright position by an army of muscular men. The colors in this piece are so lush and realistic, however the lighting is set up in such a way that the focus is on Jesus Christ. However, the colors do not take away from the subject and are still pleasing to the viewer, showing life and death in perfect harmony.
      Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez is also a famous Baroque painting. This piece shows the young princess of Madrid, Spain and her maids of honor. The lighting is brightest on the little princess, whom is the subject of the painting but the color is not as lush and vivid as in Rubens' The Raising of the Cross. The darker and duller color gives the painting a feeling of mystery. It looks as if the princess is just being waited on however, her eyes are locked on someone, but we do not know whom. Then, you see an eerie reflection of a man and a woman in the mirror behind the young princess who one may believe to be the king and queen.

St. Theresa in Ecstasy. Gianlorenzo Bernini.

The Raising of the Cross.Peter Paul Rubens.

Las Meninas.Diego Velásquez.

The Price of Art

     In this year’s most recent art auction at Christie’s auction house in New York there was a record-breaking sale of a tryptic painting by Francis Bacon titled, Three Studies of Lucian Freud. It sold for a whopping 142.4 million dollars, along with six other record-breaking sales of art all over one million dollars at Christie and Sotheby’s. Most associate the profession of an artist to be a “struggling” field, and the opinion that an artist cannot be as successful as a businessman, or that they make money but they will never be millionares. This statement is completely false. However, one would think, “Isn’t a million dollars a bit steep of a price for a painting?”
      The second highest priced work of art was, Andy Warhol’s, Silver Car Crash. This piece was sold at Sotheby’s New York for 105,445,000 dollars. It was composed of silkscreen ink and spray paint on canvas. It is actually a fairly beautiful piece and I could see the great demand for it, it is definitely something that you could hang up in your house because it is a modern piece.
      The third highest selling artwork was by Jeff Koons and sold for 58,405,000 million dollars. It is titled, Balloon Dog, which is an actual orange balloon dog composed of mirror polished stainless steel with a transparent orange color coating. There is no way that a metal balloon dog should be over a million dollars. It has to be the most absurd piece of artwork I have ever seen and is definitely not worth over one million dollars. What is even more ridiculous is the fact that the artist, Jeff Koons has copyrighted the “Balloon Dog” so that nobody else could use it even though he was not the first person to create the balloon dog. Therefore, he is the one who should be getting sued for copying it. He should not be suing the innocent people who were selling paperweights. The fourth highest selling artwork is a tad on the absurd side as well. It is an Andy Warhol piece entitled, Coca-Cola and sold for 57,285,000 dollars. The artwork is a print of a black Coca-cola bottle with the Coca-Cola logo, however the logo is half-way cut off. A piece of art this cheap looking should not be worth over one million dollars. Obviously, the bidders are paying for the name, Andy Warhol. The sixth highest work entitled No.11 by Mark Rothko is a painting, oil on canvas, of an orange rectangle with a crème rectangle painted horizontally within it. It sold for 46,085,000 dollars.
      The fifth and seventh highest art works I feel are completely worth of their price. The fifth highest is a sculpture, Grande tête mince by Alberto Giacometti, which is composed of bronze and sold at Sotheby’s New York for 50,005,000 million dollars. Ironically, the seventh highest was a cubism piece by Pablo Picasso, entitled Tête de feme and sold for 39,925,000 million dollars.
       I could understand the work of Picasso or Giacometti being an appropriate price, however many of the other artworks sold at these recent auctions are ridiculous and should not have been worth over one million dollars. I feel that people at actions make the artwork out to be worth more that it actually is because of the desire to have it, that is what brings the price up so high, not necessarily the artworks worth itself.

Three Studies of Lucian Freud By Francis Bacon.

Silver Car Crash by Andy Warhol.

Balloon Dog (orange)By Jeff Koons.

Coca-Cola by Andy Warhol.

Grande Tête Mince By Alberto Giacometti.

No.11 By Mark Rothko

Tête de Feme By Pablo Picasso.

Art & Beauty

Most of the world believes that if something is art, then it must be beautiful. However, that is not necessarily true. Art can be a plethora of things, it can be strong, powerful, horrific, angelic, the list goes on and on. The beauty of art is the fact that it can be anything, and everyone sees certain works of art in different ways. Art is the playground of ones imagination.
      Art can be anything. It is not limited to simply paintings, drawings, and sculptures. Our whole entire universe is a work of art. Without art the world would be a gray wasteland. Art and creativity are everywhere. Buildings are art, the way they are built, the shapes used to make them, the creativity of the design and architecture of the building, and where they are strategically placed throughout a city is art. Plants are also art. Some tree trunks grow in a twist that leads up to a beautiful array of branches with luscious green leaves, that change colors in the autumn, which is also a form of art.
      Francisco De Goya’s painting, Saturn Devouring One of His Children at first glance by any sane person is a horrific image, and I still believe it to be. However, one can see Goya’s painting as beautiful because of the deeper meaning or message it can put forth, the story it tells, or simply that the texture and colors of which it is composed. It is not necessarily pleasing to the eye, but because the piece is so powerful it is considered an extraordinarily beautiful piece of artwork. Claude Monet’s, Fisherman’s Cottage on the Cliffs at Varengeville at first look is seen as beautiful with its lush green plants surrounding an intimate cottage overlooking the deep blue ocean with sail boats gliding on the waves. It creates a vacation scene, and gives one a feeling of serenity as if they are there on that cliff overlooking such beauty. Your imagination pulls you into the painting.
      Art is not just a concept, idea, or object. Art is a way of life, it is our world. Without art and creativity, we have nothing. The world would be a dull lifeless place if there were no such thing as art because art is apparent in everything we do and in everything that we are.    

Twisted Tree in Autumn

Saturn Devouring One of his Children. Francisco De Goya.

Fisherman's Cottage on the Cliffs at Varengeville. Claude Monet.

Ancient Mediterranean Worlds: Egypt

     Most associate Egyptian art to being composed of simply hieroglyphics and gold. However, Egyptian art is significantly more than that and has a meaning and purpose to every piece of ancient art created. The message of Egyptian art is continuity. The Ancient Egyptians were all about reaching back into history and moving forward to the future, innovation and stability come to mind. There are many different types of Ancient Egyptian art. There are the royal burial tombs, masks, sculptures, paintings of men and women that tell stories with every detail, large architectural outdoor sculptures, such as the pyramids, and pottery just to name a few.
      Subjects of Egyptian art were not always kings and queens, as some would assume. Subjects span from animals, slaves, peasants, wealthy, Gods and of course the royalty. One of the most famous pieces of Egyptian art is The Sphinx (built in 2530 B.C.), which symbolizes the most important characteristics of Egyptian art: stability, order, and endurance. It has the body of a reclining lion with the head of a man resembling a pharaoh. It stands at a towering 66 feet and faces the rising sun. It was positioned this way because is resembles the Pharaoh Khafre whose pyramid tomb near by and all kings of Egypt take their authority and are descended from the Sun God, Ra.
      When ancient Egyptians depicted their pharaohs and queens, they wanted to show a sense of timelessness and no decay. Two pieces in particular are the sculpture of Queen Nefertiti (created in 1345 B.C.), which was painted limestone and The Burial Mask of Tutankhamun (created in 1325 B.C.), which was made of solid gold. Both of these pieces were created in honor of royalty because Egyptians strongly believed in the afterlife. In the Egyptian culture gold resembled more than just wealth and prosperity, but it was a symbol of the life-giving rays of the sun derived from the sun god, Ra and eternity. The skin of The Gods was thought of to be made of gold, which would never perish. King Tut’s solid gold face mask covered with inlaid blue glass and precious gemstones veiled the head and shoulders of his mummified body and was meant to resemble immortality and that he would never decay. the sculpture of Queen Nefertiti was meant to show her enchanting and everlasting beauty. With her royal headdress and elongated neck she bestows a timeless standard of excellence that only a queen could have.

The Sphinx. Egypt. 1345 B.C.

Queen Nefertiti. 1345 B.C

The Burial Mask of Tutankhamun. 1325 B.C

Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso

     During their careers both Matisse and Picasso strove to break the tradition of art. In the 20th century period of modern art Picasso and Matisse considered each other brilliant equals. Picasso had many different periods of art within his work, but is best known for his work and creation of cubism. Matisse is well recognized for his leadership in the art style of fauvism. Cubism is abstract art with many colors and shapes. Fauvism is a style of painting with vivid and non-naturalistic use of color.

      Henri Matisse was born in Northern France 1869. He started to be involved in the world of art after he suffered from appendicitis and was confined to his bed for months. His first art supplies were bought for him by his mother and so, he began painting. He then traveled to Paris to study painting. A decade after he finished his studies in Paris he became recognized as a leader of the bold painting style of fauvism. Four of his most famous works are Woman with a Hat, The Dance, Blue Nude, and Green Stripe. All of his works depict people as being colorful and lively.

      Pablo Picasso was born in 1881 in Spain. Picasso’s formal art training ended in 1897. Soon after, with the help of George Baraque, he created the painting style of cubism. Picasso and Baraque started a new vision and abstract expression of the facial features and anatomy of the human body. Even though Picasso’s work seemed awkward, that in itself and his use of vibrant colors that made it so appealing. Four of his most famous works are Guernica, Dora Maar au Chat, The Weeping Woman, The Three Dancers. Just as Matisse’ s works of art depict people using color, Picasso’s do as well.

The Dance. Henri Matisse. 1910.

Blue Nude. Henri Matisse. 1907.

Green Stripe. Henri Matisse. 1905.

Woman with a Hat. Henri Matisse. 1905.

Guernica. Pablo Picasso. 1937.

Dora Maar au. Pablo Picasso. 1941. Chat

The Weeping Woman. Pablo Picasso. !937.

The Three Dancers. Pablo Picasso. 1935.

Georgia O’ Keeffe and Kathë Kollwitz

     One would think that the majority of artist who are women have been less successful than men, or possibly that most well known artists are men. With these two outstanding women and artist that is not the case. Georgia O’Keeffe and Kathe Kollwitz are two very strong and talented painters and drawers who have had a lasting impression on the art world today. Georgia O’Keeffe was known for her paintings of animal skulls, bones, flowers, and beautiful skies. Whereas Kathe Kollwitz was best known for her intense drawings, sketches, and etchings.
      Georgia O’Keeffe and Kathe Kollwitz’s paintings differ on the way they paint, and the styles that they use. O’Keeffe tends to use bright, colorful, and vibrant watercolors, whereas Kollwitz tends to do black and white sketches and paintings using the basic dull browns, grays blacks and ivory colors.
      Georgia O’Keeffe, the American artist from Wisconsin, was inspired to paint and draw her famous animal skulls and flowers by the geography and scenery of both Texas, and New Mexico where she lived and taught drawing classes. What others might think to be a negative symbol, O’Keeffe found beauty in. She thought that the skulls that she painted were just stunning, and were symbols of eternal life after death whereas most people would simply result to death.
      Kathe Kollwitz, the artist from Germany, was inspired by the struggles and suffering of those around her. She liked to capture the emotion and distress of her subjects, which were usually people of poverty, orphaned children, death of illness, and struggling mothers. Kollwitz was not only a witness to those around her, but suffered the loss of a son and grandson to both world wars. To further accentuate the despair of the subjects in her sketches she used charcoal and white paper for a gritty look and feel to each of her pieces.
      These women artists successfully capture different aspects of death, and know exactly how to send a message to the viewer of the beauty in death and the agony of death. Both styles have the power to captivate the reader through the intense emotion that is apparent throughout the many artworks of O’Keeffe and Kollwitz.

Horse’s Skull with Pink Rose. Georgia O’Keefe. 1931. Still-life, Precisionism.

Flower of Life II. Georgia O’Keeffe. Precisionism. Painting.

Summer Days. Georgia O’Keeffe. 1936. Still-life, Precisionism.

Shadow with Pelvis and Moon. Georgia O’Keeffe. 1943. Landscape, Precisionism.

The Survivors, Kathë Kollwitz. 1923. Expressionism

Death and Woman, Kathë Kollwitz. 1910. Expressionism

Germany’s Children Starve, Kathë Kollwitz. 1924. Expressionism