"Art in the Second Half of the 19th Century"

I was thrilled to read about more modern-ish art! I knew nothing about the impressionists, so I was very interested in that. I have seen Degas' The Rehearsal On Stage, but never knew anything about it. I found the history of photography fascinating as well, to the point where I look forward to reading about it further. I was also happy to read a bit about my old favorite, Paris Street, Rainy Day. It was a nice way to end the class!

Romanticism

I was THRILLED to read about Thomas Cole, and more specifically, about his western Massachusetts influence, as that is where I am from!

It's amazing what you realize you don't know about the area you grew up in (well, partially grew up in)... I've driven past the highway signs for the "Oxbow Marina" a million times, but never knew anything about it! (Ok, I still really don't know anything about it.) I've been to Mount Holyoke College once or twice, but really I could stand to spend some time being a tourist in the areas around my home town.

I also enjoyed Turner's "The Burning of the House of Lords and Commons." The colors seem spectacular, and it looks like it is giving way to Impressionism.

Visit to the Cantor Museum

I'd say the best thing that came out of my trip to the Cantor museum is my new love for Wayne Thiebaud. The food, the colors... his pieces are SO much fun! I browsed through his book in the gift shop and I loved his city scenes too... I am looking forward to reading more about him in the coming months.



The Pop to Present exhibit was great. Some of my favorite pieces were Elmer Nelson Bischoff's "Interior with Cityscape" and Lichtenstein's "La Sortie"(below). I was thrilled to see some of Lichtenstein's work, having heard his name throughout the years, but never fully realizing that that bold, colorful, geometric style is attributed to him.



I also fell in love with Peter Milton's etchings/prints.
I thought of him after reading about Piranesi.



As I mentioned in the "Still Life with Crab" post, I may have been a bit more excited about the Baroque pieces had I done the reading prior to the visit. It was great to see some of their really old pieces though, like Circle of Agnolo Gaddi's "Madonna and Child with Saints and Angels." (Not sure if I cited that correctly... my notes are a little fuzzy...)



In addition to getting a copy of Thiebaud's book, I am also looking forward to going to the DeYoung this summer. I wish it had not been so rainy and cloudy the day my roommate and I visited the Cantor...!

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[Me standing at the not-so-pearly gates... ha ha]

Still Life with Crab

I could have sworn I read some mention of this piece in our reading... or possibly in the other art book I have-- Gardner's Art Through the Ages-- but upon second look, I've come up with nothing. Several internet searches proclaim Abraham van Beyeren (van Beijeren?) to be one of the greatest still life painters of the Baroque... with that, I find it strange to not have found any information on him (or his work) in these texts.

With the title being familiar to me from somwhere, I was excited to see the piece in person at the Cantor museum. The beatifully polished black jug (vase?) and the white cloth... again, I really like this contrast (think de Zurbaran's Saint Serapion). I think I just generally find sea crabs to be very interesting too.

It seems there were alot of pieces at the Cantor from the Netherland/Dutch region. To be honest, I hadn't done that reading yet (before I visited the museum), and boy I wish I had!

Random thoughts on the Baroque

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I'm at a loss for relating the Baroque to my everyday world right now, so I thought I'd share some thoughts about the reading.

First, I'm having a tough time understanding when exactly Rome wasn't so (seemingly) obsessed with "the church" to need this "counter-reformation"... is the idea that they were trying to make people think that they weren't corrupt or something? I find the beginning of the chapter interesting, where Stokstad writes: "A major goal of the Counter-Reformation was to properly embellish the Church and its mother city... Unchallengeable power and vast financial resources were required to carry out such an extensive plan of urban renewal and to materially fashion Rome... The Counter-Reformation popes had great wealth, although eventually they nearly bankrupted the Church with their building plans."

Looking back to Chapter 20, Stokstad writes of the popes of the 16th century: "The popes' incessant demands for money, to finance the rebuilding of Saint Peter's as well as their self-aggrandizing art projects and luxurious lifestyles, aggraveated the relighous dissent that had long been developing." Seems to me that this "counter-reformormation" just brought more of the same... so is it just that the people weren't as upset by it all this time around? I am a bit confused.

I was also a bit confused when Stokstad wrote that Caravaggio's "important innovation was the decision to paint directly on the canvas." If everyone else wasn't painting directly on the canvas, what were they painting on?

I found Francisco de Zurbaran's Saint Serapoion quite interesting. I like the sharp contrast of the black and white and Stokstad's observation of it being "like a tragic still life." I am curious about the tag on the wall to the right of the figure... it is not addressed in the book... is it just a tag identifying him?

South Park's take on "The Last Supper"

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Well, my blog on the Baroque isn't quite finished yet... but I just had to post this video from the South Park episode I saw last night. My teenage brothers love the show (of course), and I was sort of forced to watch... it turned out to be quite funny!-- and I understood many of the jokes/references because of this class and all of our reading.

In a nutshell, the episode correlates Kyle and our current economic situation to the story of Jesus. The episode is entitled "Margaritaville"-- and, as I mentioned, is quite funny. =)

I can't figure out how to post the video directly, so here is the link:

http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/222637/?tab=featured

Be advised: **True to South Park form, there is a bit of foul language in this clip.**

Renaissance Perspective

Well, my blogs are a bit out of order...! As I explained in my Trompe l'oeil blog-- about all the drawing classes I recently took at UCLA-- I was very intrigued by the reading of the origins of one-point perspective. Between the one-point perspective and the solving of "the problem of the dome," it would seem Brunneleschi was a serious architectural genius.

As someone who doesn't draw... never had before anyway... learning how to set up a one-point grid, and understanding what I was doing, was an immense challenge. It looked so simple when others did it!

For one of the classes I created a museum space as a tribute to the Sydney Harbor Bridge. For the final project, we had to create a one-point perspective drawing. I wanted the main thruway to have a concrete floor... and large columns that mimic the feel of the arch of the bridge and the natural division of the traffic.

Below is the model I created of the building... and my very sad attempt at a one-point perspective. The drawing is VERY unfinished... but I do like that it shows the contrast of the floor with the columns... an element that is lost on the model as I have yet to create the concrete floor there.

Trompe l'oeil

I transferred into West Valley's interior design program from UCLA Extension's, where I completed several studio courses. These classes were my first introduction to drawing/designing/painting anything of my own. It was fascinating to read about the history of trompe l'oeil and one point perspective after having worked with them so extensively in those classes.I do not have the means to show the one point perspective drawings that I did, but I do have some photos of my experience with trompe l'oeil.

One of my first projects was a "trompe l'oeil" piece... in a non-traditional sense?... We were to choose two paintings, with at least one color in common in the two. We could chose any pieces... a daunting task when you think about how much art is in the world! Then we had to reproduce the paintings, and cut them up (!) to create the effect that the image was changing as you walked by.

I chose two pieces that struck me by Edward Hopper-- House by the Railroad, and Railroad Sunset. I liked the idea that you were potentially seeing both sides of this railroad when you looked at my final piece.







Another time I was exposed to trompe l'oeil was in one of the history courses. We were to go around Los Angeles and find modern day examples of a variety of architectural things, and one was an example of trompe l'oeil. I took this photograph at the HSBC building in the downtown area. As you come up the stairs (from the subway?), you are met with a wonderfully painted ceiling! My photo is bit dark... I've included one of the closer/detailed shots as well... although the close up is placed pretty much above where I am standing.

15th Century Europe

I came across this birthday card at the supermarket yesterday:

The inside of the card is blank. =)

If it weren't for our reading, the joke would have been lost on me!
I was surprised to find a modern-day reference to the 15th Century/Iberian Peninsula so easily.

3 Art Favorites

I am from Massachusetts. My first (real) introduction to art (and design) came during a class I took in the summer of 2001. "Art and Architecture of Boston" was the course and it was like a 9 to 5 job that June. We attended a lecture in the morning, and traveled around the city in the afternoon. It was incredible!

I would say the following three pieces describe me because I immediately felt a connection with them. The first (above), Childe Hassam's Boston Common at Twilight, reminds me of home. (Coincidentally, I lived for a short time at the corner of Boylston and Tremont-- the corner depicted in the distance of the painting.) I also had an obsession with the Boston public transit system, so I loved any reference to its early days.

We learned alot about Chicago in that class... much of it I admit I need a refresher on... a lot of talk about the Chicago School (of art? Or architecture? Or was it both?)... Anyway, I fell in love with Gustave Caillbotte's Paris Street, Rainy Day (below). I was thrilled when I got to see it (and Chicago!) in 2004.


We visited all the museums Boston has to offer, including of course Isabella Stewart Gardner's. I was struck by one of the first pieces as you enter-- John Singer Sargent's El Jaleo. My favorite thing about this piece is the scale-- it is huge! (Or it seems huge-- I believe the dimensions of the piece are 7' x 11'...)

Now, its been many years since I've seen it, but if I recall correctly, they have it hung at an angle (the piece falls slightly toward you) and it is lit from below... adding immensely to the drama that already exists in the piece.


And as for the terms we're suppose to incorporate here... well, I guess I'm not doing too well "incorporating" them as I am writing a separate paragraph! After viewing these three pieces on one page, I would say I am drawn to a certain style of work. I like pictures and paintings where the content depicts a cityscape, and I love darker colors. As all three of these images show people, I'd also say I like humanistic works. (Is that even the appropriate use the word humanistic?) Thanks for reading about some of my favorite pieces of art!

[I do not know why the second paragraph font will not change!
I have tried a dozen times now... Ggggrrr.]