Art Criticism Article

1. The project that I reviewed was "The Queen City" by Joe Frangione

2.  I chose this show because I previously discussed with the author during the forum before the project was due. I wanted to see if he had overcome the issues he mentioned in the forum or if he had taken any of the advice I had given. I suggested that he look up famous Buffalo born artists. I also picked it because I am a huge Buffalo booster and love my hometown!

3. I did find it challenging to not tear apart the author and be brutal. I wanted to sound as diplomatic and polite as possible, while still giving constructive criticism. I carefully chose my words while critiquing to overcome this.

4. I think that critiquing peers is a worthwhile process because you get to see what others are interested in, what they have learned and how they interpret art. I think it also helps people to gauge their own performance as well.

5. I would like to read the critique that my peers wrote about my own Art Curation project because I am very curious to see how other's interpreted it and if they thought it was successful. Even if reading other's critique of me made me upset, I would still like to know their opinions.

6. I would rate my own finished article as an 8 on a scale from 1-10. I think I did a thorough job of critiquing both the good and the bad about this work. I interpreted the works as thoughtfully as I could, but I think I could have added comments on a few more pieces or key issues. 

7. I did enjoy the art curation project, but I did not enjoy the Art criticism project as much.

My Art Exhibit

    The "Art Exhibit" curating project was a great culmination of what we learned in AED 200. It incorporated, researching, looking at various kinds of art, describing, analyzing and interpreting. I chose the theme of surrealism for my exhibit because this has always been one of my favorite genres of art. The imagery of surrealism can be startling because it challenges what we know of reality and puts it on its head. The imagery juxtaposes the real with the completely imagined which it what I like about it. I also think that it is an interesting art form because it deals with the most complex thoughts of the humans psyche. I really liked researching for this project because I was able to learn about so much more surrealistic art that I didn't know exsisted previously.Since I was trying to creates a retrospective, at first I was unsure I would be able to find early works of art that were surrealistic. However, "ARTstor" proved to be a great resource, I simply use their advanced search tool too  find just what I needed. I also found the website Wikipaintings.org to be very helpful since I was unable to download the images from ARTstor.
     As far as the aesthetics of my actual Powerpoint, I decided I wanted to keep them simple and sophisticated. I wanted the viewer to focus more on the art than an overwhelming background. I thought about most of the modern museums that I have been to that are simply designed with just white walls as not to distract from the art itself. Altogether, I enjoyed discovering and interpreting new art and I can't wait to discover more when I see my peers' "exhibits".

Video Blog: Mod 13

1.       Some of the concepts that I learned from the “Lowdown on Lowbrow” video includes how this art genre evolved from pop culture in the 1950s and 60s. Rock and Roll, surfing, tattoos and comic books are some of the things that have inspired Lowbrow art. The imagery of Lowbrow art includes a lot of action, humor and sexuality. It can look surrealistic, yet does not have the same philosophies of surrealism. Some of the artists that began this style were Robert Williams, R. Crumb, Shag and Braineater. Though this art has been rejected by the contemporary art world and museums, it has gained popularity and growth over the last 40 years.

The main concepts that I learned from the video “Displaying Modern Art: The Tate Approach” include the success of the Tate Modern Art gallery’s opening in 2000 and the unique way that it displays its modern art collection. Instead of the usual chronological way things are grouped in museums, the Tate groups art thematically with art from many different eras together. Some of these themes were derived from 17^th century academy genres of art including, Landscape, still life, history and nude.  The goal of the thematic display is to channel our reactions to the paintings.

In the video “Bones of Contention” I learned that the bones of Native Indians have been collected by American archaeologists since the 18^th century. This is a clear evidence of the genocide and racism against the Native peoples. In the 1970s a Sioux woman named Ann Pearson first spoke out about her outrage for this injustice to her people. This began re-patriotriation laws that outlawed collecting these bones and returning bones from museum collections. This has created much contention between archaeologists and Native American peoples. Archeologist and DNA scientists believe that much more can be learned from these artifacts, while Native people just want their ancestors and oral history to be respected.

                The last video “Great Museums: An Acquiring Mind: Philippe de Montebello” discusses thoroughly the history of the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York, specifically the last thirty years it was directed by Phillip de Montebello. He helped to extend the museum to twice its original size, acquiring art from all over the world. The video also discussed the process of how artifacts are acquired, the conservation, storage and installation of all pieces.

2.        

The Lowbrow video related to creation of my Art exhibition project because it made me think of different contemporary art types that are not seen in main stream museums that perhaps I could explore putting in my own” exhibition”. The video on the Tate Modern Gallery helped to give me new ideas on how to group works of art and think about the effect the works have when juxtaposed together. The video “Great Museums” reminded me that art from all over the world and throughout all of human history is important and could be incorporated into my own exhibit.

3.     

 3. I liked most of the videos and believe they certainly brought depth to my knowledge of art and museum curation. I did not like the “Bones of Contention” video; while it did focus on an important social issue that relates to museums, I did not see it’s relation to art exhibits.

Video Review: Rothko and Uncertainty

1. I chose the video on Rothko because I have heard that he had a very strange and unique personality. I also heard he had very deep philosophies on art which I wanted to get more of an understanding of. I chose the video, "Uncertainty: Modernity and Art", because the title seemed interesting. I was not sure what to expect besides a comment on modern art.

2.   The key concepts of  the Rothko video include Mark Rothko's beginnings as a smart Russian immigrant, his education, his rough beginning attempts at art and his major commisions including the Seagrams Tower, The Four Seasons Restaurant and The Houston Chapel. The video also describes Rothko's deep intentions for creating art, which included solemn meditation and elevating art to spiritual purpose.  Although Rothko achieved much praise and recognition for his minimalist or "color-field" work including an exhibit at the Tate Modern Gallery, he eventually killed himself in the early 1970s.
The key concepts of the video "Uncertainty: Modernity and Art" include the movements of art since the turn of the century, how Cubism changed the attitudes on art's function, how the Nazi's tried to suppress abstraction, and the movements that came after the WWII including Abstract Expressionism, Pop-Art and minimalism. It asks the question about how art reflects modern culture and its changing functions.  Other concepts it describes are the contemporary art world, and how it has spread internationally to growing economic hubs like China. The main concept of the video deals with how the uncertainty of modern society has led artists to grapple with this anxiety through experimentation and reflection.

3.The two videos I chose relate to the readings in Chapter 22 about modern art movements of the twentieth century. Rothko's work is mentioned specifically in the chapter and all of the movements that were discussed in the video on Modernity were definitely outlined there as well. The part of the "Modernity" video about the contemporary art in China relates to Chapter 23, with the idea of globalization and how.
4.
I liked the video on Rothko because it painted a detailed portrait about who he was and his theories on art. This definitely gives me a better understanding on the concepts behind some color field painting and how to  read a Rothko painting. I thought that the video "Uncertainty: Modernity and Art" was a great overview of modern art's goals and the many different movements that aimed to make sense of the uncertainty of the modern world. I understand many specific artists better thanks to this film including Paul Klee, Barnett Newman and Piet Mondrian. This helped me to better understand many of these art movements and the specific globalization occurring in China.

Gallery Visit: Burchfield Penny Gallery

The Exhibit:
The Exhibit that I visited today was called "McCallum Tarrry: Intersections" at the Burchfield Penney Art Center. The theme of the exhibit was about social justice and race. It was mostly about African American race issues, but also dealt with the issue of homelessness.

The Gallery:
The lighting was not overwhelming, but only bright as necessary. There were sky-lights that provided natural light and there was artificial light, but not florescent. One room of this exhibit was very dimly lit to allow for viewing of a video installation. The walls were mostly white, but one had a very beautiful opalescent wallpaper with a red pattern. The architecture of this gallery incorporated concrete brick, glass and stainless steel. The viewer might move through the main entrance to the large open hall under the skylight, then move right through this room. The curve of the right half of this room will bring one either to the stairs to the 2nd floor or into the dimly lit room that had the video art.


Questions about the artwork:
The artworks are mostly organized by series or project. Many small pieces of one series are clustered on one or two walls, in no particular order. Others are neatly spaced in horizontal rows. Then on the curved wall, different projects seem to "intersect" and are clustered together in no particular order, from floor to ceiling. Two pieces done on sheets of silk were hung from the ceiling in the middle of the room.The artworks are similar in that they are mostly all portraits of people. They all used photographic or video media. Most of them are done on silk or linen. They were different because in subject matter, they all span different eras in America. All of the artworks were framed in simple,thin, white or silver frames. The artwork was labeled with white tags that contained the title, artist, medium and date.




Art Criticism Exercise:

"Endurance" 2003

Description: This series was listed with just one title, but encompassed many photographs and a video project by Bradley McCullum and Jacqueline Tarry.  It is entitled "Endurance", and was made in Seattle, WA in 2003. This art team created a video that captures homeless teens, standing on a street corner for one hour at a time each, while the rest of the action is shown through sped up time-lapse. The video is narrated by the individual teens who tell about their experiences and feelings being homeless. It also incorporated a series of large c-print photographic images of each youth against a black background. Each of the people depicted look straight forward with neutral or stern expressions on their faces.
      "Endurance" emphasize the elements of rhythm and motion in the video, as there is a certain rhythm to the actions that occur in this street scene as time goes on, yet the individuals who are narrating remain stationary. The design type was straight-forward and realistic.I think that the black color that is Incorporated in the background of each portrait could have been used to evoke emotions certain emotions about the dark, dangerous and desperate life of living on the streets. This work definitely created the emotional reaction that  the artists intended to, which I believe was to raise concern for homeless youth. The individual stories and portraits made this condition seem very real and sad. I think this piece strove to shine light
 on how people can come into these circumstance and highlight them as unique and individual.

   The second artwork that I  will critique is called "Bearing", also created by McCallum and Terry. They are a married couple that collaborate to make these art projects. "Bearings" was created in 2006, and it is a series of several photographs printed on a very large scale with toner on silk. This series depicts several African American mothers holding their infants as they look into the camera. The women are photographed against a gold-leaf background. Apparently the women shown helped in some way to paint the gold-leaf background. There are about three pieces like this in the series, which are hung from the ceiling on transparent silk. I believe that color is the element that plays the larges role in this pieces composition. The gold background definitely has an effect on the subjects and is associated with certain feelings. The transparent design also plays a role in this composition, allowing artwork int the background to become a part of the piece
      Byzantine Iconography is clearly referred to in this piece. We see these women are compared to the "Madonna and Child" imagery that we see in Byzantine art and throughout art history, The gold-leaf background is also reminiscent of this iconography.I believe that this work was meant to show these teen mothers in a proud and honorable light. Rather than the shame that society places on teen moms, this work shows the beauty of motherhood and how proud these mothers are of their children. I took this from the saintly position and gold background that we see so often in religious portraits of Mary and Baby Jesus.

The last piece that I will critique is called "The Evidence of Things Not Seen". It is an series of oil paintings on linen, overlapped with toner on silk, and also incorporates an audio element. This series includes dozens of smaller-scale paintings of mugshots of people that were arrested as a result of the Montgomery Bus Strike. The artists did  not do these paintings, but commissioned others to paint them. The paintings omit the arrest record number, but the silk photographic image of the same mugshot is placed over this with the original arrest record in hand. All the pieces are done in sepia or black and white tones.
 The elements of unity and rhythm are used in this piece, with the similar mugshot image used over and over. The way these paintings were arranged reminded me of the way that people often arrange portraits of family members on their walls. I think that the artist intended to evoke an emotion of sympathy and injustice. The audio that accompanied told the narrative of people who were effected by police brutality in Montgomery at this time in the Civil rights battle. The audio and the images worked to stir up many emotions about this horrible scar on American History. I think the portraits were done to show the protesters positions of dignity and honor for standing up for their rights.

     

I really thought that overall, this experience of visiting the gallery and looking at facet purposefully was very helpful to understanding how to look at art in a museum. So often we go to a museum and just dash from exhibit to exhibit and piece to piece, never giving thought to the important questions of art criticism. We ignore the gallery spaces effect on the work and the small details. This allowed me to take time and really consider the works of art.

Video Blog: Modern Art

1. Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above.

          I chose the video about Matisse and Picasso because they are two artists that really inspire me. I have always favored the work of Matisse. I wanted to learn more about the life of Picasso because I have always heard he had a very unique personality.  I wanted to know more about the genre of Expressionism, which is why I chose to watch this video. I was not sure exactly which artists were attached to this label. I knew that Munch was one of them, and I was hoping that some Austrian artists like Egon Schiele might be also considered “Expressionists”.

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

         In the video “Matisse and Picasso”, the key concept that is first examined is the early career of Matisse. Matisse stunned the general public with his “fauvist” portrait, but it was appreciated and bought by Gertrude Stein. American writer, Stein, was the one who initially introduced the two painters in Paris. The two had very different personalities and styles. Matisse paints simplified figures of women, still lives and fabrics in joyful colors. In contrast, the Spanish Picasso deconstructs simple, worthless objects into angular and abstract forms, usually using darker colors. Eventually, the two artists’ friendship blooms. They admire each other’s work and use each other for feedback and inspiration.  Picasso is inspired by the odalisque figures of Matisse’s subject matter; he exaggerates and abstracts the roundness of the female figure.  Matisse barrows lines, colors and subjects from Picasso. They continue to keep in contact through their old age, though they often have disagreements. Matisse’s ultimate masterpiece was the Vence Chapel that he designed.  Jealous of him, Picasso also takes on the project of designing a chapel. Picasso is so crushed by the death of his friend Matisse that he refuses to accept it or attend the funeral.

The key concept of “Expressionism” is the analysis of several painters that are considered Expressionists. Expressionism can be described as the absolute expression of emotions. The Expressionists were generally German. We see this expression of emotions in the works by Edvard Munch. Munch was very pessimistic and haunted with anxiety, which comes through in his paintings. His anxiety over women is portrayed in the painting “Ashes”. He uses color very expressively and symbolically rather than realistically. The next artist that I learned about was Franz Marc. His paintings are much livelier and embrace the beauty of nature. He paints figures of animals such as “The Tiger”, “Deer in the Forest” and “The Blue Horse”. He uses bright colors and we see the influence of Cubism in his reconstructed style. He was a member of the artist group “The Blue Rider”, which included Kandinsky.

The video also touches on the work of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, who belonged to the Dresden artist association called “The Bridge”. He paints studio life in Dresden and the beautiful models in bright colors. When the group falls apart, his style changes and becomes more anxious and linear. “Five Women in the Street” shows this anxiety he has about society aims to “shows the truth of the scene”.  Max Beckman’s “The Actors” is analyzed as are the paintings of Bozelitz. Both are deeply affected and influence by WWII. Anslem Kiefer is the last of the Expressionist that is examined, though his work is more contemporary his subject matter is also influenced by WWII as well as the work of Di Vinci.

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

          These films relate to the reading in the text from Chapter 21. Pages 480 -483 explain about Matisse, Expressionism and Picasso. The reading specifically mentions “Der Blaue Reiter” group that Franz Marc was a member of. It also has a full page bio about Henri Matisse.

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

              These films really added a lot of understanding to who the major players of German Expressionism were. It gave me an in depth understanding of the meaning behind each painting. I thought that this video was a bit outdated and dry, but it was very informative. I liked the film on Matisse and Picasso because it added a lot of details to my understanding of each artist. It described their personalities so well that this film almost made me feel that I knew Matisse and Picasso personally. I also thought this was a good film because it used real interviews of people who actually knew these artists.

Making Masks

         The first mask I chose for the main inspiration for my mask was this mask from the Amazon region of Venezuela. I chose it because I found it to be humorous, the way the mouth seems to be smiling a toothy grin. I thought that the shape would lend to the materials I had on hand. It is simple in its color palate, which is limited to just black and white. It has vertically symmetrical balance, and a radial pattern that shifts the eyes outward from the center.
       The next mask is from the Kuba Kingdom in the Republic of Congo. I chose this image because I liked that this mask was also mainly composed of the black and white color scheme. It has several patterns, including lines and dots in white, which create repetition. It also includes red "hair" adorned with pukka shells.
        The last mask that I chose to incorporate is one  also from the Congo that is displayed in the Chicago Institute of Art. I chose it because I saw it in Chicago a few summers ago, and still have the picture of it on my wall. I love the many different geometric patterns and the colors. It is another elongated face shape that includes patterns of lines and triangles. It is adorned with turquoise beads and shells. It is symmetrically balanced and all of its different patterns really create variety.

                           
                                        








                                                                                                                       
                
 Here is my own mask! I used the elements of variety, pattern and contrast. I also made it symmetrically balanced. I mostly used black and white for my colors. I enjoyed looking at the different masks and researching them, because they have such wonderful stories behind them. I love all the different patterns. You can see that the shape is mostly influenced by the circular Amazonian mask. I used a brown bag to imitate  the brown hood. I also Incorporated some of the line patterns and colors from the two masks from the Congo. I did blue dots around the eyes to represent the turquoise beads on the third mask. I had a fun time painting my mask and putting it together. Masks like these cultural ones are fun to make because they are all different and abstract, so there is no wrong answer.