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 »
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 →
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 »
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 »
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 »
A Brief History of Caricatures
January 31, 2008
By Natalie Aranda A caricature is a portrait of a person that exaggerates certain features in order to express the essence of the person and still make the subject easily identifiable. Although it is often viewed as a comic type of art today, it has a rather long history. The earliest forms date back to ancient days. In the excavations at the Roman city of Pompeii, crude pictures were found drawn on the walls of some buildings that very much resembled caricature. At least, the purpose was obviously the same. The word comes from an Italian verb that means “to load.” The true purpose of caricature... Read more »
Reverse Glass Painting - Centuries Old Art Form
January 30, 2008
By Alan Beggerow Reverse glass painting is the art of painting an image on the reverse side of a piece of glass or glass object so that the image can be viewed from the unpainted side. It has been done since early in the sixteenth century in Europe, and was known in China during the early 18th century. This style of painting has been used for religious art, abstract art, clock faces, realistic landscapes, and scenes with people and portraits. It is a very exacting art form, especially when done as a realistic painting. The image is actually painted in reverse order on the glass. The finishing details... Read more »
