Contemporary African Art with Deep Meaning July 29, 2010

This Photo was taken of part of a sculpture/monument designed and built by African artist, Kofi Setordji.  The Genocide Monument was built as a reminder of the atrocities carried out against the Tutsi people of Rwanda.  Setordji began building the monument four years after seeing the images of the genocide and mass graves in Rwanda in 1994.  He is still adding pieces to the monument today.  This image is titled Mass Grave and represents how the murdered lives were only recognized by the numbers they were given, lost were their names and identities.  To view the full monument with all of it’s pieces visit www.vmcaa.nl/genocide/engels/index2.html

Kofi Setordji is a professional African artist who studied under Ghanian artist, Saka-Acquaye.  He was awarded ‘Sculptor of the Year’ in 1990 and is the co-founder of the Society of Contemporary Arts in Ghana.  His personal philosophy states, “Life is art and art is life” and that theme is easily recognizable in this monumental masterpiece.  The Genocide Monument is a traveling exhibit and has been through several African countries as well as France and the Ivory Coast.  Setordji believes that by not allowing the monument to have a single, stationary home the piece remains alive.  That each time it is unpacked and set-up it gains new meaning and relevance.  He also purposefully chose to use fragile materials such as terra cotta and burned wood in order to signify how fragile life can be.

What spoke to me the most in this piece was how art could create a meaningful monument not only to those who lost their lives but also serve as a stark reminder of the mistakes that were made that led to this amazing tragedy.

http://www.vmcaa.nl/genocide/engels/fotos/index.html

http://www.vmcaa.nl/genocide/engles/biografie/index.html

Mexican Muralist – Jose Clemente Orozco July 27, 2010

This mural is titled Hombre de Fuego or Man on Fire and was painted by Mexican Muralist, Jose Clemente Orozco in 1939.  The mural was created in Hospicio Cabanas, a home built for orphans, the elderly, poor, and handicapped in Guadalajara, Mexico.  Orozco was a very political artist who used his works to symbolically represent his own ideals and push his own political agenda.  He even posted political cartoons in the newspaper during the Revolution.  This mural, Man on Fire, is no exception to his highly symbolic form.  The painting is meant to symbolize man’s personal suffering when trying to wade through society’s social norms and ideals.

I selected this work because I have always loved the mural artwork in Mexico.  When I was only 10 years old I took my first trip to Mexico City and worked with my Dad in a Children’s Hospital there.  I still remember the amazing murals and artwork, some in museums but mostly just within the city!!

http://www.explore-guadalajara.com/HospicoCabanas.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Clemente_Orozco#Exhibitions

Impressionist Photography July 15, 2010

As a newer art form, I am completely entranced by Impressionist Photography.  It combines the beautiful art form of Impressionism with the new technologies available through photography and digital imagery.  To me it epitomizes all that is amazing about 21st Century art.

Art Wolfe is a famous photographer based out of the Pacific Northwest.  After graduating from the University of Washington, he began his career as a nature photographer for National Geographic.  He has now taken over 1 million images and published 60 books.  He has been touted as a master of color, composition and perspective and uses his art to promote conservation issues.  ”His goal is to win support for conservation issues by ‘focusing on what’s beautiful on the Earth’”  Wolfe has won several awards including the Photographic Society of America’s Progress Medal for combining the science and art of photography, the Alfred Eisenstaedt Magazine Photography Award, and Outstanding Nature Photographer of the Year.

These three images are titled:

Sunrays Through the Trees, Olympic National Forest, WA USA

Rainforest Stream, Bako National Park, Borneo, Malaysia

Landscape, Kanha National Park, India

Eva Polak is another beautiful Impressionist Photographer.  She began as an amateur photographer and quickly developed a love for the impressionist works after attending a seminar in 2007.  ”In the same way as the French Impressionist painters I endeavor to convey a sense of time and motion with the ever changing properties of natural light.”  Polak is from Auckland in New Zealand and beyond specializing in Impressionist Photography she is also the author of two books, “At the Beach” and “Impressionist Photography Techniques”.

http://photography24seven.com/mini-profile-eva-polak/

http://www.evapolak.com/home.html

htt://www.artwolfe.com

Early Modern Art Meets the Depression July 6, 2010

These two photographs of the Migrant Mother were taken in 1936 at the pea-pickers camp in Nipomo, California.  There were six images of the Migrant Mother, captured by photographer Dorothea Lange.  Lange was employed by the Farm Security Act and was meant to be documenting how the newly enacted federal programs were aiding the rural population.  Something about this camp, and this particular woman spoke deeply to Lange and her images put an amazing face to the devastation that was The Depression in rural America.  The photographed women’s name was Florence Owens Thompson and she was a 32 year-old mother of seven.  The family was on the brink of starvation due to poor farming conditions and lack of work when Lange made that fateful choice to investigate the pea-pickers camp and capture these amazing moments in time.  The artisitic value of these photographs come through the raw emotion that they capture and convey to the viewer.  This amazingly strong woman became the face of the American Depression and because of these photographs the government sent food aid to help, not only this camp, but others like it.  Dorothea Lange created a national treasure through her photographs of America at one of it’s most vulneralbe times.  She was not only an amazing artist, but a brave American raising awareness and using her gifts to better the situations of countless others.

http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/migrantmother.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorthea_Lange

http://en.wikipedia.org/Florence_Owens_Thompson

Impressionism…. Love it! July 2, 2010

This genre of artwork finally brings me to works that I would love to buy and hang in my house.  I love that Impressionism is simply art for art’s sake, art for the sake of beauty without hidden meanings or deep theological messages.  I think Renoir’s words sum it up perfectly, “Why shouldn’t art be pretty?  There are enough unpleasant things in the world.”  In my opinion, it seems Impressionism is the fist time art could be truly pure, without being driven by The Church or politics.  I chose two paintings to compare this idea, Degas’ L’etoile (The Star) and Rembrandt’s The Return of the Prodigal Son.

Rembrandt was a Dutch painter during the Baroque Era and his paintings are a great representation of that period.  The painting The Return of the Prodigal Son focused on dramatic religious subject matter and had meticulously crafted realism.  He also used extreme contrasts of light and dark that were typical of the Baroque genre.  Edgar Degas, on the other hand, gives us a great example of Impressionistic art in his series of paintings focusing on Dancers.  This particular painting, The Star, is a shining illustration of the loose brush stroke style of Impressionistic art.  Degas gives us beautiful lighting effects and captures a very light, whimsical moment in time.  Both genres offer amazing works of art, however Impressionist paintings seem much more “decoration friendly” they are unassuming and unintimidating.  They allow you to just simply enjoy looking at them!

http://metmuseum.org/explore/degas/html/index.html

http://www.artchive.com/archive/D/degas/l_etoile.jpeg.html

http://www.expo-renoir.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rembrandt_Harmensz_van_Rijn_125.jpg

June 25, 2010

This musical piece is by Ludwig Van Beethoven was officially titled, Piano Sonata No. 14 in C# minor “Quasi una Fantasia”. The term “Quasi una Fantasia” is Italian for “Almost a Fantasy” and most believe Beethoven included the phrase in the title because this sonata breaks from the traditional sonata form of fast-slow-fast-fast.  The popular name “Moonlight Sonata” came from the music critic, Ludwig Rellstab in 1832, when he compared the piece to the “moonlight shining on Lake Lucerne”.  Beethoven composed the sonata in 1801 and it is said to have been dedicated to his 17 year-old pupil, Giulietta Guicciardi.  The two were engaged to be married until Guicciardi’s father forbade the union for unknown reasons.

What drew me to this piece is what draws me to all of Beethoven’s music, his amazing ability to fill a space with emotion through his music.  He truly was a tortured soul, suffering though a troubled childhood, thwarted love, and finally the loss of his hearing.  It’s hard to imagine how he dealt with such a life of loss and struggle until you listen to his music and understand the way he was able to channel emotion through his art.  His musical talent is almost unfathomable and his ability to persevere is absolutely inspirational!

http:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven

http:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Sonata_No._14_(Beethoven)

Claude Lorrain and the Landscape June 18, 2010

This is a Landscape painting entitled, Landscape with Aeneas at Delos, by Claude Lorrain (1600-1682).  Claude Lorrain was actually born Claude Gellee in the    small french village of Chamagne in Lorraine, which later became his namesake.  He was born to a poor family and after failing to succeed at school he moved to Rome and was mentored by landscape painter, Agostino Tassi.  In time Lorraine became one of the most influencial Landscape artists, earning commissionings from Pope Urban VIII, Philip IV of Spain, and several cardinals.  He was highly sought after by powerful patrons and completed and sold nearly 200 paintings over his 50 year career.  He was able to live comfortably during his career and amass a small fortune through his paintings.

What draws me the most to Lorrain and Landscape painting in general is my love of photography.  Living in Alaska we are surrounded by beautiful landscapes which are easily captured with the “click” of a camera.  However, during the Baroque period such conviences were unheard of and in order to capture a beautiful scene the artist would have had to spend hours of effort.  Lorrain’s attention to detail is incredible and I read that he was very much a perfectionist and would abandon paintings and start over several times with each scene he painted.  What I also enjoyed learning about Lorrain was how he was very well liked in his day and was said to be a very kind teacher.  What an inspiration, not just in his artwork but in the way he conducted his life!  He came from very little, used the talent he had to become someone great, and passed on all he could to others.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landscape_painting

http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artist.php?artistid=820

http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/c/claude

http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/bio/c/claude/biograph.html

Masaccio and the Italian Renaissance June 11, 2010

The Holy Trinity

This work, The Holy Trinity, considered Masaccio’s masterpiece, incorporated religious themes as well as the humanistic element of systematic linear perspective.  Masaccio was born Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone in a small village outside of Tuscany.  There is no record of him ever receiving a formal artistic education or apprenticeship and he was only 26 years old when he was commissioned to paint The Holy Trinity for the Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence in 1427.  This painting is the first surviving work to use systematic linear perspective and it is believed that the technique could be attributed to Masaccio alone or in partnership with Brunelleschi.  He was greatly influenced by the Humanistic movement in his work and most likely had ties with the Medici family even though there is no record of formal patronage.  The Humanistic elements are seen through the exacting details of his work, exalting man in his most natural state.

What appealed to me most about this painting was it’s striking use of linear perspective.  It looks very different from the previous Trinity style religious paintings of that time period.  I was struck by the fact that Masaccio received little, if any, formal training and the fact that he was only 26 when he completed this amazing work.  I was also very moved by the inscription on the tomb at the bottom of the painting that translates, “What you are, I once was; What I am, you will become.”  What a beautiful way to paraphrase Christ’s gospel message.

http://www.aiwaz.net/panopticon/masaccio/gc149p1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masaccio

My Family May 29, 2010

Hello world! May 24, 2010

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