Modern Art: Unit 5

Modern art seems to be a beautiful collection of the art from the past, and extremely independent. For example, on one hand you have the Futurism group. They essentially believe in rejecting everything from the past and creating a new way of art. They believe that art is meant to include cruelty, violence, and injustice. They also refuse to listen to people who tell them otherwise. In my opinion I think this is a horrible outlook. The only way to know where we are going as a people is to be aware of what we have come from and learning from the past. By rejecting that and starting over, these people are in for a rude awakening. Their ideals echo that of Hitler, and the book 1981. On the other hand, there are some artists that seem to have some sanity to them. Many artists seem to be using mixed media to create beautiful art. This includes tattoos, skin art, portraits, Polaroid pictures, painted glass, oil and acrylic canvases, and assembled art, morphing metals, and playing with chemicals. Modern artists seem to less fearful. Because our eyes have been opened to so many different arts from the past, there is now the opportunity to take that knowledge and run with it. Such as the use of negative space, acid, and gun powder in art pieces. I can’t wait to enjoy the things to come, and I am prepared for the insane things as well. 

The Renaissance: Unit 5

The Renaissance was by far my favorite period in time. It has everything in it that I love. It was the time of Shakespeare, and I absolutely love Shakespearean art so much that I own a complete works novel. King Arthur and his round knights were created as the essence of heroism. It was also the time of the Black Death, which I think was a monumental part of humanity that showed the resistance of men and our ability or inability to survive certain conditions. Artistic works also flourished at time. The most well-known artists of that period were Leonardo Da Vinci, and Michelangelo. I like Renaissance art because it was the period where they began to explore the human body, and creating lights and shadows around. This created the stepping stone for many other artists who attempted to do portraits and realistic art. I feel that the intense need for survival and rebirth at this time period created a strong sense of adventure, and made human question their connection with religion, animals and the world art around them.  Although, I would always pick a good renaissance book over The Mona Lisa I love how so many great things came from one period, and how well they fit in a beautiful harmony. 

Rococo & Baroque Art: Unit 5

The Rococo and Baroque generation of art was very pleasing and beautiful. This art was filled with many decorations, and decorative fixtures. There was also a lot of movement and curved lines in the art. Not to mention the immense political, and religious influence on the art of that period. Yet the best part of it was that they manipulated light really well, and the art had sensuality within it. This type of art was present in both architecture, and paintings. Gothic architecture is my favorite kind of architecture but the Rococo period’s decorative fixtures are fun to look at and contemplate. I simply prefer the Avant garde tower qualities associated with gothic architecture. The paintings in Rococo period are some of my favorite art pieces from the 18^th century. The romantics were overly emotional, and the neoclassical artists were a bit too serious at times. Yet, Rococo and Baroque artists sometimes seemed to have fun with the art. The tantalizing kisses, hand holding, and sexy fondling is fun to see, and kind of scandalous. If I had to keep any piece of art from that century to keep I would definitely invest in a Rococo or baroque piece. 

Neoclassicism vs Romanticism: Unit 5

Neoclassicism and Romanticism are the 2 opposite artistic spectrums that arose from 18^th century Europe. Neoclassic art is art that was meant to revive classical art from the past. Many of these artworks had straight lines, bright lighting, reason, and controlled elegance. Meanwhile, Romanticism marches to a completely different beat. Romantic art was meant to be extremely emotional, imaginative, and colorful.  Kerry James Marshall is a good example of a neoclassical artist in the sense that many of his artistic figures do not show extreme emotion. Meanwhile, Julie Mehretu’s art is completely driven by emotions, and emotional response to her artwork. As an audience member and an appreciator of art I would say that I like to pick and choose from both spectrum. To be honest, many art pieces come down to the artist and the way they show that specific genre of art. For Example, many Romantic artists over exaggerate the emotion in their artwork, and it becomes uncomfortable and unappealing for me to be exposed to it. I do not like too much drama, and emotion such as what Orlan, and Chris Burden do. Yet, I like artists like Julie Mehretu and Layla Ali who use emotion in controlled relatable way. Neoclassic art is also nice to me, but artists like Andy Warhol can become boring because the art too controlled. 

Josiah McElheny: Unit 5

It is no secret that I am absolutely astounded by glass art, and the possibilities of it. This is why I Josiah is my favorite artist in the entire Art: 21 Memory video. He puts these glass items into a hot oven, and when they come out they are almost like jelly. Through this process he is able to cut, and morph this glass in a matter of minutes, and go from square items to these round items. I always assumed that glass art was a new age thing that had just arisen, but Josiah speaks about learning the art from people who had passed it down over millions of years. This brought about a new perspective of this art form. Josiah is also able to create regular glass sculptures, and reflective glass sculptures. By mixing nitrate and the glass sculptures he can create single reflective mirrors, or double reflective objects. He had an art piece where he took reflective items, and placed them into a chamber with double reflective mirror. This created a look of infinite objects within the chamber, and repetitiveness. I enjoy the elegance, and balance in his art work, and the fact that it is not too emotionally driven. 

Hiroshi Sugimoto: Unit 5

            Hiroshi is a Japanese artist who respects traditions greatly, and allows traditions to influence his artwork and photography. He uses lines, shapes, and architecture a lot in his artwork. Water and Air are described as his primary aesthetic, which I think creates a Zen quality in his art. He also spoke about Shintoism in his art work. When I studied world religion, I wrote a 15 page paper on Shintoism, and I know that it is the embodiment of Japanese culture. Japanese people believe Japan to be heaven on earth and within Shintoism Gods and Deities once lived in Japan and reproduced until they created the current generation of human civilization. This is why it makes sense that Hiroshi would create such a serene and simple Shinto temple with beautiful glass staircases as part of his artwork. I also enjoy the fact that he is versatile. He is able to do architectural art, sculptures, and photography. One of his artwork incorporates photography and these big log white poles in an open space. I thought that was nice of him to do. Many artists have their art shown in galleries which is kind of stuffy. Having an art exhibit out in the open creates a different dynamic, and that Zen quality. He also has many photographs with bright colored rooms, and sculptures incorporated, such as the photo above. They are my favorite art pieces of his. 

Mike Kelley: Unit 5

Mike’s art uses mixed media to the best of his abilities to create amazing visuals. He has a piece that he is doing 365 takes to each, so that each takes represents 1 day in a year. I think that’s really great because it is extremely hard for a person to remain dedicated to something for an extended period of time if it is not a repetitive and beneficial action, such as work. I guess it makes sense that he would so something like doing something like that due to his love for rituals, and interests in writing. It’s wonderful that he is interested in writing because I grew up with books, and writing can be very artistic and thought provoking. His obsession with stuff animals and his use of them in his art makes no sense to me. When he spoke of trauma and abuse I made a connection with that idea, and his oval shaped paintings. However, I can’t look at cuddly stuffed animals and think of abuse and trauma. Such an abundance of them is kidlike to me. In my opinion he should stick to the paintings, and performance art. The stuffed animal thing is not really emotionally appealing, or controlled in any way.