Extra credit assignment 3- Sue Mitchell exhibit

Extra credit assignment 3- Sue Mitchell exhibit

I recently went to the Riverside Museum of Art to go see Sue Mitchell’s exhibit “52.”  The best part about this exhibit is that you can go and talk to Sue Mitchell about her work.  I went with a friend and we had a lovely conversation with Sue about her exhibit.  She was telling us what inspired her to do this.  The exhibit is a collection of her work during her sabbatical that she took for her 60^th birthday.  The exhibit itself was really cool.  It was a collection of 52 trees that she photographed, that were in a park in riverside that she loved to go to.  In each piece, she included a close up of each tree’s bark.  I thought that was really cool because it was like each tree had its own finger print.  I found myself looking closely at each tree, distinguishing what was different about each of them.  She came across her idea for this exhibit when she realized that there were 52 trees in the park.  She was born in ’52, there are 52 weeks in her year-long sabbatical, and the 52 trees were a coincidence she decided to document.  Next to the photographs of the trees is a collection of everything that she had done for the year.  She threw away nothing from her journey to the exhibit.  Here are some pictures I took of it. 

After looking around, my friend and I had a lovely conversation with Sue.  She was really nice and gave us some really good advice.  She told us to keep a sketchbook journal of all of our ideas.  She was showing us her journal that she had kept for a couple of years before she started her sabbatical.  It was interesting to see the progression of her ideas.  She told us that if she had not written down her ideas, she probably would not have been able to pull of the exhibit, or it would not have been on as large of a scale as it was.  She was also interested in science and I am too, so we talked about some things that she was thinking about during her journey, like conservation.  Here is a photo of me and my friend (taken by Sue, it was pretty neat to have a professional photographer take your picture) in front of her picture of the lake in the park.

Extra credit assignment 2- My trip to the California Museum of Photography

Extra credit assignment 2- My trip to the California Museum of Photography

I really enjoyed my visit to the California Museum of Photography in Riverside, California, and it is also free to students, which was really wonderful.  The museum has a very interesting exhibit on the history of the camera, as well as exhibits on different artists.  There were two particular artists whose works I really liked.  One of them was Katy Grannan.  Here is a picture of her work that I took at the Photography Museum.

Untitled, photograph, 2011, Katy Grannan










 I really like the way that her photographs speak to you when looking at them.  She managed to capture the perfect moment, so full of emotion.  My favorite one of the pictures is the one of the woman with the dark hair.  Katy Grannan took this photo in a perfect moment of vulnerability.  This is a picture of a feeling that everyone has felt at some point in their life.  When I looked at it, I had a reminiscing feeling of my own life struggles.  This photograph moved me in the way that art is supposed to; it represented a part of the human condition.

            The other exhibit that I really liked was the work by artist Roberto Fumagalli, called “Blockaded.”  It is an exhibit on oppressive societies such as Iran and North Korea.  I was naturally interested in this because my mother is half Korean.  My grandmother was born in Pyongyang, North Korea, and left as a child while they still could.  When I saw this picture, I was immediately filled with different emotions.

Untitled, photograph, 2011, Roberto Fumagalli

My first thought was curiosity about how he managed to take these photographs.  Getting into North Korea is not easy.  That really shows dedication to his work.  When looking at this picture of this man, I feel a sense of longing in his expression.  It is like he is looking back, wishing for something else.  I imagine that is how being trapped in a country must feel.  No one living in a country like America can even begin to understand what this person feels, but I think that this picture offers a glimpse into the everyday life of a North Korean citizen.  Roberto wanted to show us that people living in these countries are not evil, and are not that different than us.  They are simply trapped under oppression that they cannot escape. 

            The California Museum of Photography is a great museum, and I would recommend it to anyone living nearby.  It was a fun trip to see the history of cameras, as well as the works of Katy Grannan, Robert Fumagalli, and other photographers.  

Extra credit assignment 1- My trip to the Hindu temple

Extra credit assignment 1- My trip to the Hindu temple

Over fall break, my best friend, who attends a local college in Los Angeles, invited me to go with her Survey of Asian Art class to the LA regional Hindu temple in Chino.  It was a really fun day of learning about a different culture, eating good Indian food, and seeing the beautiful art that goes into the temple.  The first thing that we learned is that everything is hand carved.  It is a truly beautiful place.  The BAPS cultural center is made of wood, and all of the panels were made by Indian craftsmen.  One of the things that struck me that the tour guide said was that the kind of art that the building was made from is not something that can be taught.  He said that all of the craftsmen came from a long line of craftsmen, and they grew up watching their parents and grandparents carving.  This is what the wood paneling looked like:

BAPS cultural center, Wood carving, 2011, various Indian craftsmen

Each of the panels and their placement have a different meaning, combined together to make a beautiful work of art. 

            The actual temple was one of the most beautiful things.  We were not allowed to photograph it.  The Hindu scriptures have detailed instruction on how to build the temple.  The building is made out of 36,000 different pieces, each interlocking to hold the building in place.  The temple does not look very big until you are walking up the marble steps.  I felt very small climbing up to the top to enter.  To respect tradition, we took off our shoes before entering the building.  When we entered, I was in awe of the beauty of the inside of the temple.  There were marble columns, all hand carved, and statues of the deities, as well as some golden statues.  I walked around admiring the work, and then we were told that a service was starting and we sat down to watch.  The music started to play and they lighted candles by the golden statues.  It lasted for about ten minutes and they blessed us.  We were not allowed to take pictures, but here is what the building looks like (taken from the internet).

LA regional Hindu Temple, Marble, 2011, various Indian craftsmen

One of my favorite things about our trip to the temple was learning about some of the misconceptions that people have about the Hindu religion.  Something that a lot of people do not know is that they are monotheistic.  All of the deities that they have are actually different representations and qualities of the one unifying god that they believe in.  This belief is translated well into the art that is incorporated into their religious services.

            

Assignment 12- 17th and 18th Centuries

Assignment 12- 17^th and 18^th Centuries

I really like the Baroque Era of art.  The colors are amazing and there is such a strong emphasis on beauty.  It is a nice change from Renaissance art as it favored more ornamental designs instead of a simplistic elegance.  I like to see this kind of art because it is really pleasing to the eye, it invites you to take in every detail and see the contrasts between the light and the darkness.  One person who achieved this in sculpture was Gianlorenzo Bernini.  This can be seen in his sculpture St. Teresa in Ecstasy.

St. Teresa in Ecstasy, 1645-1652, marble and glit bronze, Gianlorenzo Bernini

The first thing that I noticed was the detail in the clothes.  There are so many indentations in the marble that I feel like the cloth is real, like I could touch it and it would bend in my fingers. 

            Sculpture was not the only thing that came out of the Baroque Era.  The paintings were also really nice.  They used contrast in their work, layering dark rich color next to bright bold colors.  One example of this is the Entombment of Christ.

Entombment of Christ, 1604, oil, Caravaggio

The dark background really makes the painting stand out.  Another thing that really made the period extravagant was the architecture.  They really went bold in the designs.  The most extreme example of Baroque art is the Palace of Versailles.

Central Portio of the Garden(west) façade, Palace of Versailles, 1669-1685, Louis Le Vau and Jules Hardoin Mansart

While the colors were not as bright as the colors in some other movements, fauvism, for example, I like the contrast that you get when you put a dark background with a light colored center.  The art of the Baroque era is very aesthetically pleasing.

Assignment 11- The Price of Art

Assignment 11- The Price of Art

Francis Bacon’s Three Studies of Lucian Freud recently broke the record of the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction at $142.4 million, which up until recently was held by Edvard Munch’s The Scream, sold for $119,922,500 .  The Scream was purchased at an auction in 2012.

Three Studies of Lucian Freud, 1969, oil, Francis Bacon

The Scream, 1893, Tempera, Oil paint, Pastel, Edvard Munch

On the same day as Three Studies of Lucian Freud was sold, another record sale was made.  This record was for the most expensive art sold while the artist was still living.  That honor goes to artist Jeff Koonse, whose sculpture Balloon Dog (Orange) sold for $58.4 million.

Balloon Dog (Orange), 1994-2000, stainless steel, Jeff Koons

Something that is interesting about the balloon dog is that there are 5 different balloon dogs, each a different color, all with a different owner.  The blue balloon dog is at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the magenta balloon dog is owned by billionaire François Pinault, the red one is owned by Dakis Joannou, and the yellow one is owned by Steven Cohen. 

            One of the most expensive paintings that really surprised me was the painting White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose) by Rothko, which sold for $72.84 million.

White Center (Yellow, Pink, Lavender on Rose, 1950, oil, Mark Rothko

What surprised me about it was how little detail there is.  There is almost no detail in this painting.  To me, it looks like a few blobs of color and a black line.  I think that a preschooler could have painted that.  Rothko wanted you to see what you wanted in the painting, and that is a nice thought, but I am not sure that I think that it is worth so much money for this piece to be hanging on your wall. 

            On the other hand, I think that Vincent Van Gogh’s painting, Portrait of Dr. Gachet, is actually worth what it went for.

Portrait of Dr. Gachet, 1890, oil, Vincent Van Gogh

This painting sold for $82.5 million at auction.  I personally wish that this painting was in a gallery where people could see it.  I like it because it is impressionism of a person, and I feel like portraits are not often done in an impressionistic style.  I like the way that the bold strokes look o the coat and how Dr. Gachet looks so stoic.  This painting is actually of something, which in my opinion should make it more valuable than the Rothko. 

            Another piece that I think deserved what it was paid for is the Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer that was purchased in 2004 by Ronald S. Lauder for $135 million.

Portrait of Adele Block-Bauer, gold, oil, Gustav Klimt

I think that the fact that he used real gold adds a lot to it, but the history also contributes to it.  This piece was taken by the Nazis after Austria was taken during World War II.  It was supposed to be destroyed, but it survived.  It is an amazing part of history that has survived, and it deserves to tell its story.  Right now it is on display at Lauder’s gallery, the Neue Gallery in New York City.  

Assignment 10- Ancient Mediterranean Works

Assignment 10- Ancient works

The section of our text book that I felt most drawn to in the ancient Mediterranean worlds section was the section on Rome.  I took Latin as my language in high school, and we looked at a lot of the architectural work and art that was done by the ancient romans.  One thing that my Latin teacher always said was, “the Romans were lazy, they did nothing but copy the Greeks.”  He cited examples like the Gods and the buildings.  The one thing that he always asserted was that the Romans improved upon what the Greeks did. When I was looking at the text book, the first image that I instantly recognized what the Colosseum.  Everyone has heard of the Colloseum.  It is one of the most amazing ancient structures still standing today.  The building was planned based on Greek architecture, but the Romans built it better.  They built it to last and on a much larger scale. 

Colosseum, Rome, 72-80 C.E.

A good example of a comparison between the architectural work of the Greeks versus the Romans is looking at the similarities between the Greek Parthenon and the Roman Temple of Portunus. 

Parthenon, Athens, Greece, 438 B.C.

Temple of Portunus, Rome, Italy, first century B.C.

The similarities between these two are very telling.  The Parthenon was built approximately three centuries prior to the Temple of Portunus.  These were both holy places for the people.  The Parthenon was dedicated to the goddess Athena, and the Temple of Portunus was built for the God Portunus.  The thing that I noticed first about both temples is the columns.  Both temples have tall columns supporting the top of the building, which look very similar as well.  The roof of the Parthenon is degraded, but I can see from the structure that it probably looked very similar to the Temple of Portunus.  By the time that the Romans were building with columns, technology had become more advanced.  They had other ways to hold up the roof, which is shown in the side walls in the Temple of Portunus. The columns in the Parthenon were for the purpose of holding the building upright, whereas the columns in the Temple of Portunus was a style choice.  I think it is interesting that even though they did not have to, the Romans architects made a conscious choice to use the same design styles as the Greeks.  

Assignment 9- Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso

Assignment 9- Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso was 12 years younger than Henri Matisse.  The two artists worked at the same time and knew each other personally.  The two of them were a certain type of “friends but enemies.”  They analyzed each other’s work, and they also tried to best each other.  Both Picasso and Matisse went through an evolution of their work.  They both started in a more realistic style.  They are both incredible artists in their own rights.  They have the ability to paint things that are so realistic, but they chose to represent their emotions in other forms.  For example, the piece Woman Reading was one of the first pieces that Matisse did.

Woman Reading, oil, 1894, Henri Matisse

You can see the details in this painting.  It is very beautiful and could easily be compared to the great works of realism art.  Picasso painted a piece called the Old Fisherman.

Old Fisherman, oil, 1895, Pablo Picassa

This piece is so detailed and there is so much depth.  This piece shows us the incredible talent that Picasso possessed.  Both artists could have spent an entire career painting like this, but instead they decided to choose a different kind of art, expressing themselves through styled including cubism. 

            As time goes on, both artist begin to focus less and less on the details and more and more on the shapes and the colors.  A great example of the shift in Matisse’s work was the piece Dance(II).  

Dance(II), oil, 1910, Henri Matisse

There is no longer the details that make a painting look realistic, but rather a focus on the shape and the free flowing motion of the people and the contrast of the colors.  Picasso also shifts focus in the same way, shown in his painting At the Lapin Agile.

At the Lapin Agile, oil, 1905, Pablo Picasso

You can see a similar change that is seen in the Matisse painting.  This painting is a little bit more detailed than Dance (II), but it is still not realistic.  The colors and the shapes have become more important that the details of the face at this point in Picasso and Matisse’s career.

            As time goes on, both artist move further and further away from realism, moving towards abstract art.  The piece Portrait of Lydia Delectorskaya shows the change in the style of Henri Matisse.

Portrait of Lydia Delectorskaya, oil, 1947, Henri Matisse

This piece is very similar in style to Picasso’s painting which is untitled.

Untitled, oil, 1923, Pablo Picasso

Even though the Picasso painting is a distorted shape, you can see the parallels in the two pieces because the Matisse has a distortion in color.  The change in the styles is very drastic from their original works. 

            The final pieces of the two artist’s life are very telling of the way that their careers have progressed.  Henri Matisse turned to using paper cutouts when he could no longer paint.  In 1953, only a year before his death, he made this piece Standing Blue Nude.

Standing Blue Nude, gouache and cut out paper, 1953, Henri Matisse







 Picasso painted a final self-portrait in 1972.

Self Portrait, oil, 1972, Pablo Picasso

This painting also shows how far Picasso has come away from realism.  This piece is both a representation of how he sees the world and how he saw himself.