What I have learned.

In the last few weeks, it was a blast for me to have a lot of pleasures and experiences in my Art Apreciation class. I'm truly a big fan of art, I always try to learn about it with all my best. Through out my art class on every friday, I got to learn about different creative art works from diferent artists around the world; such as The Gates by Christo, Le Pont de I'Europe by Claude Monet, Carambola by Beatriz Milhazes,and a lot of the techniques, principles, with basic concepts to create a valueble piece of art. It was a lot of time,love, and efforts an artist put behind his/her work to have a great piece of art for the world.

Homework for 09.23

Before starting this Art Appreciation class, I didn't have a lot of interest in art.  All I knew is that is was something that I had no ability to do whatsoever.  As I continue through this class, while my artistic abilities have not increased, at least my understanding and appreciation for art itself has.  My favorite type of artwork I can now claim is representational.  While abstract and nonrepresentational can be beautiful, I enjoy being able to look at an artwork and imagine myself there.  Perfect example:


I mean, look how serene and pretty this scene is... I can already feel myself there, looking over the water at the couple of boats, feeling the breeze wash over me. It just brings a feeling of happiness to me. If I take anything away from this class, it would be a better understanding of what I like and what I am not a fan of.

homework

I chose to do a research on Frida Kahlo. Born July 6, 1907, she was a great artist without the right recognition. After learning about her work in the fifth grade I knew that it would be work that I would never forget. Her work to me was ahead of it's time. All her work told a story especially the suicide of dorothy hale. There was a woman in 1938 that jumped from a window to her death, and Frida Kahlo painted a picture of the story. Her work made you feel as though you were there even if you never heard the story. Frida Kahlo had many triumphs in her life that left her damaged and sad, but she continued to create life (art) until her death. If I could describe all of her work with one word I would call all of it "Life". She could paint pictures that makes me want to read a story or create my own story about it. I love art and I love to view the art work of women years ago. I think it's amazing that these women were bold enough although they lived in a world where men were ranked the highest.

Culture and Art

Where a piece of art may be considered the most beautiful thing, it may also be considered the most grotesque Art work ever created, depending upon the cultures point of view. It dawned on me as we were discussing in class how culture changes the meaning of art. It amazes me that culture alters the interpretation of art but not at all times it may be considered art. For example, when the Spanish conquistadores arrived at the lands of the Aztecs their statues, paintings, hieroglyphics of godly figures that represented their culture and beliefs were considered demonic, witchery, and not human. The conquistadores not being able to understand the beauty of the art, led to the destruction of most of the Aztecs Art. Using the conquistadores as an example is why I believe it is important to stay open minded and willing to accept different cultures and their beliefs. Understanding the cultures context will allow us to discover the true beauty of what that cultures art is trying to represent.

Seeing Art Diffrently

So far I've learned the three different ways on how to refer to and find the meaning of  and art work. They are Representational, Abstract , and Non-representational Art. There are two out of the three that has caught my attention and those are Abstract and Non-representational art. For example on the first picture it represents an Abstract work of art and what's interesting to me is that it looks like something that you'll not see in real life. The painting is representing a jack-in-the-pulpit plant, painted by Georgia O’Keeffe. It doesn't look like no ordinary plan, due to the different color effects she has use on the painting. Most jack-in-the-pulpit plants that i have seen are green, but this one looks like a plant that I've seen in a science-fiction movie, for instance Avatar. Another way that caught my attention was non-representational art. Just like in the the second painting, it is difficult to describe what it actually is because it doesn't resemble any object in the natural world at all. However the different colors and the form of the painting almost has a resemblance to what's inside a ball of marble. I like this non-representable painting because it takes me back when i use to collect and play with marble balls when i was a child. I loved how they all had different colors inside them just like in this painting by Tom McNease.

Out of site.... Never out of mind....

There are so many things (physical and intangiable) in this world that we can't change, or we don't agree with, and we have to share the world with these things. At times we may feel very uncomfortable sharing our world and environment with these things. But... We really don't have a choice we have to cohabitate with things we're uncomfortable with and can't change. No matter how hard we try to change the things that make us uncomfortable we have to live with them. Even if we try to ignore the fact that these things exist it doesn't matter because they will still share the same world as us. The world we live in is full of beautiful things, but there is still ugliness around us. Chris Ofili's abstract painting The Holy Virgin Mary really opened my eyes to the things I mentioned above, and made me see things in new ways. His painting is abstract because it resembles the Virgin Mary but isn't a realistic picture of her. It wouldn't be a picture of her you would see in a church. His painting makes a person think in new ways because it is abstract and leaves more room for a person to interpert their own idea about the painting and create there own opinions of it. His painting depicts The Virgin Mary that shares the canvas with things like cut outs of porn, and REAL elephant dung. So many people were offended by his painting and thought it was very disprespectful. His painting stirred up so much controversey that the mayor threatend to stop all funding to the museum holding the show. This was Ofili agenda he wanted to open the eyes of people. When I look at the Virgin Mary I think about peaceful and good things, but Ofili threw ugly things in the painting with her as well. He throws it in the face of the viewer that things beautiful and ugly cohabitate in our world and we'll never ever feel comfortable about these things, but they do in fact exist in the same universe. No matter how beautiful something seems it's always tainted with ugliness somewhere. His painting made me think that no matter what I do to try and change the things that bother me there will always be something that I'm not comfortable with, and I have to learn to live with these things. People were so upset that the painting contained all these things and they wanted to get rid of the painting so bad that someone destroyed his art work, but his art work was there and will always be remember even though it was destroyed. Just like if you try to ignore something that makes you uncomfortable, you could put it out of sight, but never out of mind. I believe his painting was very valuable and is valued far beyond monetary worth. The controversey he stirred up alone is worth more then money. My opinion and thought about the message his art work stud for is that beautiful and ugliness exist together in this world and there is nothing I can do about it other then learn how to coexist with them and make the most of it. I can't pretend that everything is beautiful, because there is always something tainted sharing my enviornment with me.

9/23-9/30 HOMEWORK

For this week's blog home work I would like you to do so research on an artist from the following list (choose 1)

John T. Biggers

Frida Kahlo

Laylah Ali

Takashi Murakami


Once you have learned more about the artist write a response to their art. Try to use what we have learned so far to get the meaning of a work (it will be helpful to upload an image to your post) and give a personal response. Remember to prove all of your claims with physical descriptions of the work.

I enjoyed class last week and found it to be to my liking. There are categories in which art can be placed in. There is abstract, non-representational, and iconography. I prefer the one that is non-representational. Sometimes you can see whats not there. It all depends on how you look at it. The painting with the black paint strokes( can't remember the artist), to me it looks like a fence that has worn down-you can see the fence extending in the distance as well as land. Also I see a pile of wood that could be broken parts of the fence. The picture in the text book on page 509 fig. 701....reminds me of the Partridge Family even thought it represents nothing!

finding meaning in art

Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items (often with symbolic significance) in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music, literature, film, photography, sculpture, and paintings. The meaning of art is explored in a branch ofphilosophy known as aesthetics, whereas disciplines such as anthropology, sociology and psychology analyze its relationship with humans and generations.

Art Appreciation

Before this class I did not give too much thought to art. Now after just two classes I have learned a new appreciation for art. First, I have learned that you can not just look at a picture. To appreciate art you have to describe the piece. Look at the color, the size, the contrast, the markings etc. Think about the title, think about how the piece makes you feel. After considering all these things you may feel differently about it or even if you still do not like it at least you have a reason and know why you do not like it. Next, I have learned an appreciation for the artist themselves. Artist make you see the world in a new way, they create a visual record, they make useful things into beautiful art, they can put a feeling into an image form to give a visual to a thought. Lastly, art serves a purpose. It defines a difference between language and images, it can represent something or be non-representational. It can be reflective of different cultures. It also makes use of symbols or icons that represent more that what they literally mean. All of these things we have covered so far have made me give more deeper thought to the pictures we have been looking at and have given me a newly discovered appreciation for art.

Art Appreciation

Last week in class, we learned about different art that was broken down into three catagories; abstract, non-representational and realistic. All of these catagories can let the viewer in on what the artist was feeling, thinking or saying while he/she was creating their work. Titles help the viewer understand better what the artist is trying to say but even if there is a title, people still like to let their imaginations run free and try to guess what the artist is saying. This class has helped me better understand what art is. To me, (like I said in the last blog) I think art is whatever one thinks it is. It's kind of a way to relax and let your mind wonder into a different world that you've never been in. I believe artists have the viewers in mind when they are creating their drawings, paitings, sculptures, pictures or whatever else they may be using because art fans use the artist's work to escape from life's everyday stress and worries and allows the viewer to imagine themselves somewhere far away where there is no such thing as debt, bills or money. Art can also be a source of therapy for some people because it does help relax people and get their minds off of the real world. I'm beginning to have a greater appreciation for art because of this reason, even if my reason is wrong. I can see myself going into an art gallery and completely losing track of time to allow myself to get lost in an artist's world.

What I Learned

Coverage of each artistic movement highlights historical context and introduces students to key artists that represent a variety of geographic locations. Throughout the course, students apply what they have learned about art critique to analyze and evaluate both individual artists and individual works of art.

my appreciation for art.

Coverage of each artistic movement highlights historical context and introduces students to key artists that represent a variety of geographic locations. Throughout the course, students apply what they have learned about art critique to analyze and evaluate both individual artists and individual works of art. This is why i have an appreciation for art.

learning about art.

A typical response when one is confronted with questions about art is "I may not know much about art, but I know what I like." What is implied by this forthright reaction is simply that one usually likes what he or she actually knows about art. It follows that if one's knowledge is limited, responses will also be limited. Unfortunately, many adults have not had the opportunity (or the desire) to explore the world of art in any systematic way. As a consequence, their reactions to art exist at a very basic level; "I like it or I don't like it" being the principle reaction to works of art, where ever encountered.

Modern art!

Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of experimentation. Modern artists experimented with new ways of seeing and with fresh ideas about the nature of materials and functions of art. A tendency toward abstraction is characteristic of much modern art. More recent artistic production is often called contemporary art or postmodern art.

Art appreciation

Art criticism is the discussion or evaluation of visual art

art critics usually criticize art in the context of aesthetics or the theory of beauty. One of criticism's goals is the pursuit of a rational basis for art appreciation.

The variety of artistic movements has resulted in a division of art criticism into different disciplines, each using vastly different criteria for their judgements. The most common division in the field of criticism is between historical criticism and evaluation, a form of art history, and contemporary criticism of work by living artists.

Art Appreciation

Art can be seen in many different perspectives. In some cases in a painting there are a set of terms, phrases, concepts and a certain approach which will allow the audience to think critically about the visual images one sees. This week I have learned that the artists work in many occasions has a meaning or a specific point to it. The audience may not see this in glace but actually has to pay attention to the things all around the art, the focus of it or the composition of this painting. One can not know the exact meaning of a painting, drawing or sculpture unless the artist specifies gives the audience a phrase, context clue, or a icon maybe for us to see the real meaning. On the other hand the artist may not want  the audience to know that what the art is suppose to mean and want us to analyze and put our own meaning to it. This class has helped me develop such things in a way that I can actually see or try to find the meaning to specific things and hopefully by the time I am done with this class I would have acknowledge many more important information about the creation of  art.  

modern art

Last, week i learned that art is split into different categories which are; representational (realistic), abstract, non-representational, and iconography. I like the representational art painting by Albert Bierstadt, " The Rocky Mountains, Lander's Rock". The colors on the painting are so vivid and alive, I was instantly drawn into. The painting looks so real, I can stare at it for a long time, not having to worried about any problems it brings me peace and calmness. I get memories from me and my famile camping and going to the lake. I also, view other paintings by Albert Bierstadt and pretty much all of them are very similar. All of his paintings are about nature, I loved them.

Learning about art

To my surprise I've enjoyed this class. It's interesting to learn about how artists use art to get across their message. I never saw all the hidden meanings in art before this class. Also learning about how artists use lines is something that I never paid attention to. To see how things are drawn to draw your attention to exactly what they want you to see. I never knew why my eyes would be drawn to certain areas first. I really like Titians painting of Assumption and Consecration of the Virgin. I love how they show the ways the artist used implied lines to make you look at certain areas of the painting.

My Appreciation for Art

So far this class has shown me what Art truly is. Before this class I never really cared about paintings, drawings, or any form of Art for that matter. Now that I'm beginning to get a general understanding of it's purpose, I'm learning to appreciate it more. It amazes me how one simple drawing can say so much. I love how you can express how you feel, what your thinking, or what you want to say without any words. I never thought that I would be moved by a picture on the wall. Art truly serves it's purpose in life. I will cherish every experience I encounter while taking this course. I wish that I was talented enough to produce a painting, drawing, or sculpture. I have no artistic abilities whatsoever. It takes a lot to catch my attention. It takes even more to keep my attention. I can honestly say that this class has my full attention

What I've Learned?

These past few classes I learned that art can tell a story. Art is not just about painting or drawing. I didn't know that photographs can be as powerful as they are. People like Andy Warhol picture "The Riot" and Shirin Neshat "Rebellious Silence" can touch your heart even though you might not know what it mean or what the artist was thinking. It allows you to think for your own free will. Nobody can tell you whether your are right or wrong. Photographs can also make you feel like that you are there. These pictures I posted are photos that someone has traveled to get these beauitful shot and shared them with people that would be able to be there with them. Many people probably can't afford to travel to these places but looking at these photos they are able to feel that they are there. Photographic art also gives you the chance to see something you might see everyday in a whole new light.



Finding meaning in Art...

This week I learned about finding meaning in art. Art can have different meanings to different people. Sometimes the artist gives you the title and meaning of the piece and sometimes they don't. Sometimes you can look at a piece of art and know exactly what the artist is trying to say and sometimes you have to use critical thinking to understand the piece. I think some artist intentionally want the meaning of their art to be unknown to the audience but has a sacred meaning the them personally. I think the appreciation for art comes when you can interpret your own meaning from something someone else created. I'm learning that art doesn't have to be structured or pretty to be appreciated or understood. Art can be categorized as abstract, realism, and non representational. About three years ago I painted two pieces of what I can say is "art". I had no clue what I was doing or why. I still have the pieces and every time I look at them I can remember how I was feeling and what was going on in my life. After all these years I'm beginning to understand why I chose the specific colors in the pieces. I know what the colors mean to me because I use them frequently when being creative with colors. I don't have a title for the pieces yet, but the more I look at them and reminisce I'm sure one will come. I would say my pieces are non representational because I wasn't trying to depict anything I was going off how I felt and what you see here is the outcome of what I was feeling.