Two Worlds Collide!

Keith Cottingham and Aziz & Cucher artworks largely relate to the "The Collision of Two Worlds" lecture. As they alter their photographs it does show the how many of the images today become changed to show a different meaning. Aziz & Cucher's photographs definitely show how alterations can obscure the meaning that it is trying to get across. Today people see covers of magazines and notices how almost perfect the girl looks. That is how we perceive the men and women today, that they are virtually perfect. It is like we don't really look at the person and see the natural and beautiful flaws that people have.

After reading the lecture and watching the Dove evolution, it made me really think about all the magazines I have looked. I know when I look at the men and women on those pages, that they can't be that perfect. That someone had to have altered the image to make them look like the are almost perfect. It really upsets me to know that that's how people view people today. That basically everyone is thin and gorgeous. Especially today, our society has become obsessed with looking perfect that they are trying to convey that message through photographs.

Watching the Dove evolution was very interesting. It definitely gives me a better idea to what editors do to make the woman look more desirable. This society has put its main focus on image that it is soon going to effect our younger generation. We are showing them that being skinny and perfect is what you need to strive for. What they do is falsification and not relaying the true image to the public.

When this falsification happens women become more obsessed with changing themselves to look like that woman in the magazine, so they turn to plastic surgery. That has become the biggest epidemic in our country and it shows no signs of slowing down. Not only do they turn to surgery but eating disorders will start to occur. Woman are never completely satisfied with their image and usually feel ugly so they look to surgery or an eating disorder to finally get the image that they want.

Photographs should capture memories and not be altared in any way to make someone appear completely different from what they really look like. I love seeing the flaws because its says that no one is perfect and that imperfection is actually beautiful. Because it will start with chaging body parts and then move to chaging hair and eye color because it didn't look good enough for the photo. It is like us as a society is not happy with what we have so we need to altar our bodies to finally be happy with it.

It think everyone should love their body and their image. Looking at altared pictures is not a good way to judge yourself. I think people should be more happy with what they have and not change anything about themselves. Looking at images in magazines just gives someone the wrong idea about what men and woman actually look like. Everyone has imperfections and we should embrace them rather then try to change them. If we do that, most likely there would less eating disorders and more people content with themselves.

My Favorite Painting

Edwin Deakin
Strawberry Creek, Berkley
1893
oil painting

This is my favorite painting and I was lucky enough to have seen it in real life at the Crocker Art Museum. I went to his exhibition last but this painting intrigued me the most. I just thought it was the most beautiful painting of landscape that I have seen that day.

Edwin Deakin is a self taught artist from Sheffield, England. He moved to America in 1856 where he established a name for painting Civil War Heroes in Chicago. In 1870 he moved to San Francisco and set up an art studio where he was heavily into the art scene. From 1870 until his death in 1923, he painted many landscapes (that were mostly from California), architecture and still lifes.

I like how it looks so realistic, especially when looking at it in person. I caught myself looking at this picture for a long time and just admiring its natural beauty. My favorite aspects of the painting are the trees. They are so intricately detailed and create the somberness that hovers over the creek below. I love the colors that Deakin used, there isn't too much color but I think if there were too many different colors the artwork would have lost its beautiful meaning. I love how the plants in the back become less distinct; although not dominant you still know they are there. It is just a beautiful painting of landscape that is rarely ever appreciated.

The hues that Deakin utilizes in this painting make it feel really cool with all of the blues and greens. The flowing and not precise lines show expressiveness that defines the pictures meaning. He uses oil painting to create this beautiful landscape and creates continuous scale of tones and hues from the colors blue and green. By using oil he better establishes a three dimensional effect and can tell that this painting has depth. This also creates the effect of light change, which is shown by the ray of light that is shining through the trees and onto the creek below. This is especially dominant by looking at the rocks that are closer, which make them larger in scale and the trees in the back, which make them smaller in scale. Strawberry Creek almost has the effect of trompe l'oeil because when looking at it in person, it can deceive the eye into thinking that the painting looks realistic and almost like a photograph. I think using oil painting is much easier to work with because the artist has a lot of time to work on his/her artwork. I think that is why Deakin was able to create such a beautiful, realistic piece of artwork.

I am just glad that I was lucky enough to have seen this piece of artwork at the Crocker Museum. It gave me a better understanding of what it looked like and I was able to appreciate it that much more. And I was also able to see his collection and admire all of the work he had done.

Thomas Kinkade... Artist?

Looking at Thomas Kinkade’s work is absolutely breathtaking. He really does know to create light within his pictures. Every image that he has created seems so serene and can just make someone at peace when gazing at them. The uses of color in some of his paintings make it seem cool but warm at the same times. All of his images are representational with his lines being analytic and expressive. His artwork is definitely intrigueing, and I caught myself looking at his work for at least an hour and admiring everything that he has created. Looking at his stuff really makes me realize why learning art can be so much fun.
As far as the allegations towards Kinkade, it is hard to tell what is true. If the allegations are true, I think exploiting religion is the wrong way to get people to invest in galleries that have his work. Using religion to sell art is offensive and a fraudulent way to represent something that some holds very close their lives. But many are very hard on successful people. The rich always get criticized on how they are really making their money and whether or not it is legitimate. When money becomes an issue, it becomes the center problem for everything.
After reading how Kinkade really isn’t the one who creates the actually image that is being sold in the galleries, made me think if he really is an artist. I see an artist as someone who creates their own image themselves using their emotions. When someone else tries to depict that image, it is just a mere replica of the original. It seems to me that Kinkade would rather have people think that he is the artist who painted that image in a gallery with his own emotions. When an artist truly uses his emotions to aide him in creating a piece of artwork, you can really tell when observing it. You can almost feel the same exact emotion the painter was feeling at the time. So in perspective you aren’t really feeling the emotions that Kinkade himself felt, but more the emotions of the one who painted the image that is in the gallery.
If the allegations are true about him, I do think that he is just out there to gain wealth. Obviously he saw something, religion, which connects to many people and took that route to obtain his wealth. Art should be something that one loves to do and does not care about the money. So hopefully Kinkade is not guilty and does continue to create beautiful images. I think he should be the one to actually paint the work that goes in the gallery so people can really see what Kinkade has created. Because now being an art appreciator, I want to the color, line, and emotions that the actually artist did and not a replica or the implied meaning from another artist.

Analyze That!

I chose Marilyn Schroeder's image to analyze for my blog! First off, I think its a beautiful image which goes along with the chapters we have been learning about. To me it gives off a peacefulness. The woman in the picture seems so content with herself, hence why she is naked, and taking in the view.

This image is a good example of contour lines. You can see that in the legs of the woman sitting on the chair and with the shoulder of the woman as well. The lines aren't really analytical or precise but more expressive and free. The lines seem very soft which adds to the serene atmosphere that the image gives off. There is also an implied line, of where the woman is looking and facing.

The image shows perspective where its on a two dimensional surface with a three dimensional space. It also shows a one-point linear perspective where the window is the vantage point is the window. There is some foreshortening in the image. The chair shows this effect because the size of it was adjusted to make it protruding forward and not make it look flat and two dimensional.

Chiaroscuro is an effect that is seen in this image. You can see the highlighting, which is represented by the lighter color of the skin on the woman’s neck and part of her face. Then as the light becomes less direct, like on the woman’s' back and right leg, the shade of the skin becomes darker. Then on the chair you can see the shadow the body is casting because of the light coming through the window. The image is warm because of the color schemes that are used, like browns.

Analyze This!

URL: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.monetalia.com/paintings/monet-irises-monets-garden.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.monetalia.com/paintings/monet-irises-monets-garden.aspx&h=387&w=450&sz=113&hl=en&start=29&tbnid=VJORvheMuLJrEM:&tbnh=109&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3DMonet%26start%3D18%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

(sorry it's so long!)

Watch The Magic!

For this blog, I chose to "Watch The Magic" happen on a fountain in my back yard. The sun hit the fountain perfectly and I knew it was going to be really interesting to see what was going to happen! I went outside around 2:15 pm to take the first picture of the fountain. So seen here you can see the effects of chiaroscuro. The way the sun is hitting the fountian makes a portion of the fountain color lighter. Then as a part of the fountain rounds you can see that where the sun isn't directly hitting it gets a little darker, then you see the shadow itself. With the sun directly hitting the fountain, you can definitely see the hue of the fountain is not so intense. It is almost like red was mixed with a gray or black to make it more of a shade of the color red. The coloring of the fountain almost looks vivid to the eye. After observing the fountain, I waited for about 3 hours until I took the next photo of the fountain when the sun was getting ready to set. After taking the photo you can see the enormous difference between the two photos. As the sun set, the light was not as direct as it was. Now the value of the fountain became darker and it is not as vivid as the first photo.
It became obvious to me that the sun plays an important part in the fountains color. When it is more direct you can see the different effects it has on the color and how there is chiaroscuro. Then after taking the picture when the sun wasn't directly hitting it, the color of the fountain became a shade of the color before. Doing this definitely made me understand better the concepts between light and color. It's fascinating how light can effect color in so many ways. I never realized this until doing this assignment, and it really makes you appreciate the color around you. The thing that helped the most, is relating our words to the this assignment. It helped me better understand them and now I can apply them to everything when I am outside!

Line and Space

My surroundings have become more interesting because I begin to notice some of the key terms. When standing in my street and looking down the street, you can definitely make out linear perspective lines with the sidewalks and the trees that line the sidewalks as well. The telephone lines that are off to the side create more linear perspective lines. Which is really fun to see because it makes it seem that the focal point is the stop sign at the end of the street. You also see foreshortening a lot. Especially from my perspective, my house is kind of on a hill, so many of the objects that are down below and far away look a lot smaller then they really are.

It is a lot of fun looking around me and trying to place a key term to the objects around me. It definitely gives you a different idea when looking you are out and about. It's interesting how everyday things become a part of art that you never would have though of.

Controversial Art

The controversy that really impacted me was Maya Ying Lin’s, Vietnam Memorial. It was interesting how the people who were against it interpreted the piece in a completely different way then Lin intended. But I loved her piece because it was different then any other monument or memorials in Washington. It made me appreciate a different type of piece of art.

I think the world wouldn’t appreciate art the same way if all artists conformed to the same predetermined standards. Like Lin, she didn’t conform to a standard that memorial’s should be raised above ground level and have some relation to the American colors and the flag. I think that if people were truly determined to make artists conform to certain standards, they would make it happen. They would find powerful people to see their views and get them to set standards for artists to conform to.

If this were to happen, this world truly wouldn’t be a “world of art”. I would see art as boring and all the same. I like it when artists create images that challenge the mind and push the buttons of those who don’t see it as a good thing. The only reason people really appreciate art is because of the diversity between every artist. As much as some people don’t like these differences, they still look at the art and have some type of opinion about it. The artists are still getting a reaction out of those people, even if it is a bad one and I think that is the artist’s ultimate goal.

Every controversy in this weeks reading made me appreciate art that much more. I realized that having diversity in art is what truly makes art. The images that really push the standards is what people appreciate because that challenges them to try to understand what the artist was trying to convey. When I watched the documentary about Lin’s memorial and saw how so many reacted badly, I felt really sad and irritated. I understand that at that point America was going through a lot of tough times, but someone was trying to remember the men and women who fought for our freedom. Lin wanted people to take a few minutes in looking at the memorial and giving appreciation to those who risked their lives. I don’t think that she had to put some sort of American symbol, like the flag, with her memorial because by just looking at the names on that wall and taking it in, Lin got the reaction/emotions she was looking for. She pushed the limits and in the end created a beautiful piece that had a lot of meaning to it. I love how the “V” shape represented America going in and out of the war. The black granite gave off reflections of those who looked at it, almost saying that your life is what these names fought for. It was a monument that people were able to look straight at rather then up at. It almost mesmerized people because of the many names on their, but it also made them appreciate everyone on there. Although Lin’s piece was a controversy, I see it as a brilliant way to push the so called standards of art and challenge the people’s minds.

Week 2 Reflections

Wow, in the first two weeks of this class I have learned a lot. I am beginning to become an active looker.

So far I have learned content, which is to look deeper into the images and trying to discover the meaning(s) behind them. I think that is one of the most important skills in this class, because then you can almost relate the artists and almost read their minds. Many of the images do give me a sort of emotion and from there I can further analyze the piece.

I have also learned form. Although it is very simple to define form in art, but it also plays an important part in appreciating art. Rather than just looking at an image, you find the very details that the artists put there for you to see. It makes a person look more in depth and not just glancing over it really fast. Form and content are interrelated, especially when it comes to color. Usually the color of an image can help set the mood/tone of the entire image itself.

I have also learned how to look at images and analyze them as representational, abstract and non-representational (non-objective). When an image is representational, it resembles real things in the real world. When an image is abstract, it less resembles real things in the real world. Then when an image is non-representational, it does not attempt to represent the appearance of an object.

All of these aspects so far have helped appreciate art a lot more. I no longer just glance over an image. I try to discover the meaning(s) behind it and analyze the form of the image. For me to obtain these skills is a plus, since I have never before looked at art this way. So far I have enjoyed this class and it has opened my eyes to new lights.

Getting Critical About Art

Childe Hassam, Allies Day, May 1917, 1917
Jasper John, Three Flags, 1958.

In these works of art, they both are pictures of the American Flag. In Hassam's Allies Day the American flag is being celebrated by people and being waved around and there is more then just one flag. In Johns Three Flags, it is just of three different sizes of flags laid on top of each other.

Hassam's Allies Day depicts the flag in more active terms. The flag is being appreciated by the American people who are waving the flag in the picture. The colors red, white and blue is seen everywhere in the picture. His image provokes patriotism because the flag is being more actively used and appreciated by the people. In order for it to be patriotic, there needs to be people who are acknowledging the flag not only as just a flag but as a symbol for their country. We look at this image and analyze it as patriotic because of the usage of the flag in the image.

Unlike Johns Three Flags, that canvases are just strategically placed on top of each other to create an image of the American flag. Althought it does show patriotism because it is the American flag itself, but nother else goes along with it. Unlike Hassam's image where people are embracing the flag, in Johns' image the flags are getting smaller. Which almost is saying that America is not so big anymore as a country and diminishes the idea of America stands for.