Outsider Art - Is It Really Art? - part 2
February 29, 2008
Continuation of part 1 of the article: Naive and Primitive Artists Dubuffet was working with the mentally ill artists, while “Outsider Art” outside of France was known to be a much more general term. It included not just the psychotic art, but also naive, self-taught, and primitive art as well. On the American scene in the early to mid twentieth century we had Grandma Moses, the renowned folk artist painting such countryside favorites as “This Old Checkered House in Winter” which was the subject of many paintings, one of which was appraised on “Antiques Roadshow”... Read more »
Outsider Art - Is It Really Art? - part 1
February 28, 2008
What actually is art? Give me ten people and I’ll give you ten different definitions of the word. What it means to you is as unique to you as your fingerprints. But who’s to say what qualifies as art, or fine art? What distinguishes the art of Jean Michel Basquiat from Rembrandt van Rijn? Besides the time differences, each artist’s art have been met with different types of criticism. Was one art, and the other just crummy art? Who’s to say? What we can say though is there is an unmistakable mainstream art circuit with art dealers and galleries, critics and fine artists with... Read more »
Art Nouveau - A Period of Style & Elegance
February 26, 2008
The French and the Belgians called it Art Nouveau or the New Art. This period of integrated art may have been short lasting a mere 24 years from 1890 to 1914, however, the influence of that time has continued to this day. The artists who were in vogue then are just as much in demand now: Alphonse Mucha; Gustav Klimt; & Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec to name just a few. They were considered ahead of their time then and their art was regarded as exciting and new. The Paris World’s Fair held in 1900 really was the defining moment for this particular art form as over 50 million people attended.... Read more »
The French Art Revolution
February 25, 2008
By Marcus Smith In the middle of the 19th century fine paintings of noblemen and dramatic historical events were bought by the wealthy to decorate their homes and demonstrate how rich and important they were. Paintings were all done in a certain, formal way - trying to paint the subject as accurately and in as much detail as possible. But a revolution was coming. This classical form of art had become boring, and was never seen by 99% of the population. It lacked excitement and interest. Three important developments took place to turn this situation around. The first break with tradition was due... Read more »
America’s Top Museums & Art Galleries L-Z
February 24, 2008
J. Paul Getty museum, Los Angeles Museum of Modern Art, New York City Museum of Fine Arts Boston Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts houses and preserves preeminent collections and aspires to serve a wide variety of people through direct encounters with works of art. The museum display the art from many cultures and from different times: from ancient Greek sculptures, Egyptian mummies to contemporary American artwork. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Museum of the City of New York,... Read more »
America’s Top Museums & Art Galleries A-K
February 23, 2008
By A. Lee, copyright 2008. My list of US-based art museums and public galleries, in alphabetical order. Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh Housed in a renovated seven-floor warehouse building, the Andy Warhol museum displays more than 500 works of art in film, paintings, prints, and drawings, offering a comprehensive presentation of the development of Warhol’s work. The artworks displayed are drawn from its extensive collections of works by Andy Warhol as well as from its huge archives and a collection of works by other artists. An ever-changing gallery. Art Institute of Chicago This art... Read more »
Discover Five Highly Collectable Living, French Artists…Unique And Affordable!
February 21, 2008
By Rose Bourne In the 19th and 20th century many French artists left their undeniable influence on the art world. Artists such as Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, Paul Cezanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edouard Manet and Jean Miro created a style so unique that books have been written about them and their works. Their art hangs in museums worldwide. Now we invite you to peer into a looking glass for the 21st century and see which artists may make the art history books in the future. We have singled out five artists for this article because their style is unique. Each artist is well established and known... Read more »
Chuck Close & Robert Rauschenberg: 1 hr video interviews
February 19, 2008
This 1 hour video is a great treat!!! It contains two artists interviews of contemporary artists about their art. Interview with Chuck Close, Artist 1) Artist clips: “Chuck Close: Portrait in Progress” [Muse Film and Television / Art Kaleidoscope Foundation /WNET]; 2) book: “Chuck Close” [The Museum of Modern Art] “The Portraits Speak: Chuck Close in Conversation with 27 of His Subjects” Interview with Robert Rauschenberg, Artist 1) Interview 2) Walking tour at the Guggenheim Read More →
Paint Brushes are an Investment
February 18, 2008
Paint brushes are the most important painter’s tools. Buying paint brushes is not just a random decision, but one that should be made carefully. Selection of brushes is personal and is based upon needs and level of investment desired. Because a paint brush will only last as well as it is cared for, proper cleaning and storage of brushes is probably even more important than the decision of what brush to buy. Because no matter how wonderful a brush is, if it is abused it will quickly be discarded. Types of Paint Brushes The hair of the brush is what primarily denotes what type of brush it... Read more »
Op Art
February 17, 2008
By Margaret Houghton The work of a new group of abstract painters was termed “Op Art.” It was so called because of its illusionary characteristics. It captured and held the eye so that lines, rings, shapes put together, looked as if they were moving. It could, in fact, make one feel quite dizzy. The correct name for Op art is Optical Art because of its effect on the eye, with the illusion of movement, colour, and the imaginary increase in size. Op art works are purely abstract with many of the well known works in black and white. Op art was reviewed in Time Magazine in 1964. See the work ‘... Read more »
The Life of Joan Miro
February 14, 2008
By Mike McDougall Joan Miró, the legendary Spanish painter, sculptor and ceramist, was born in Barcelona in 1893. Miró’s early life was nothing out of the ordinary, at age 14 he enrolled in the “Escuela Superior de Artes Industriales y Bellas Artes” where he studied for three years. After this he took on a job as a clerk In Barcelona but after suffering a nervous breakdown Miró decided that this wasn’t the career for him so he returned to his studies, this time at Francesc Gali’s “Escuela d’Art” where he studied for a further 3 years up until 1915. Miró’s first real breakthrough... Read more »
Joan Miró - Video Showing His Paintings
February 12, 2008
Picasso is not the only world-famous artist that Spain produced. Joan Miró (1893-1983) was another Spanish artist of world influencing impact. Like Picasso, Miró was apainter, sculptor, and ceramist. He was born in Barcelona. Miró’s surrealistiic art work has been interpreted as a sandbox for the subconscious mind, a re-creation of the childlike, and a manifestation of Catalan pride. Miró expressed contempt for conventional painting methods, favoring more contemporary means of expression. This video shows a nice oeuvre of his work: Read More →
Art’s Impact on Society
February 11, 2008
Art is an extremely private experience, yet, it is meant to be shared with the public. Society, as a whole, examines the art produced and has the right to approve, disapprove, acknowledge, ignore, praise and abuse it. The public or society has not remained constant over the years. In the time of the Renaissance, for example, only a select few were “society.” They commissioned art, were patrons of the arts and their artists. Today, almost anyone can share in the experience of art. They can attempt to create, view and act as a critic. Does art make the world a better place, or is it... Read more »
Quick Tips On How to Draw a Realistic Face
February 10, 2008
There are many artists who struggle with drawing a face and having it actually look like the person you are drawing. These tips should help you to achieve a more realistic outcome and have your drawings come to life. The first tip is probably the most important. When you are drawing, draw from a good source or reference. For instance make sure that your photo is a really high quality. Make sure that the photo is big and clear, and not a lot of different lighting sources. Choose a subject that is interesting to you. If you want, a good idea is to draw something of one of the masters, like Beugereau.... Read more »
Marcel Duchamp’s Objets Trouves - Are They Art?
February 7, 2008
By Jack Wilson Marcel Duchamp shocked the art world and, forever after, the thought processes and anger centers of most people who have come across his work. His best known painting, done before he turned to physical objects, is probably ‘Nude Descending a Staircase’. As controversial as that was, described by one critic as “an explosion in a shingle factory”, and his painting a moustache on a reproduction of the Mona Lisa, nothing quite outraged the art cognoscenti as his finding a urinal, turning it upside down, titling it “Fountain” and entering it in a major art show under the name... Read more »
Starting Your Art Collection, Professionally
February 5, 2008
This is one of many articles on this website on how to start an art collection. The author Corinne Cain gives a professional perspective, whereas some other articles on this topic have a more ‘personal account’- flavor. Starting an Art Collection “Identify what kind of art you like. The following techniques can help you determine what that is: 1. Visit 3 to 6 museums displaying different types of art. Finish your visit by purchasing postcards in the gift shop that reflect artworks that are attractive to you. Toss these cards in a bowl, and don’t look at them again until... Read more »
Roy Lichtenstein
February 4, 2008
Introduction Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) was an American artist born in New York City. He epitomized pop art, and brought popular culture into fine art. Personally, he described his pop art as industrial painting. Pop Art started in the ’50s and referred to the interest of a number of artists in the images of mass media, advertising, comics and consumer products. Pop Art Contemporaries Other key players in the pop art movement included Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, Jim Dine, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, David Hockney, Wayne Thiebaud, Keith Haring, and Sigmar Polke. Lichtenstein’s... Read more »
Cutting-Edge Art — On Glass Art & Dale Chihuly
February 2, 2008
By Bronwen Roberts Art glass usually refers to the modern art glass movement in which individual artists work alone or with colleagues, creating works from molten glass in relatively small furnaces of a few hundred pounds of glass. Dale Chihuly It began in the early 1960s and showed an incremental growth through the end of the century. The glass objects created are not primarily utilitarian. From a creative perspective, they have to make an artistic statement. Their market value depends on the work and the artist involved, and prices range from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars. The... Read more »
