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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
Constructionist Artist Varvara Stepanova
January 23, 2008
By Astrid Lee The great Russian artist Varvara Fedorovna Stepanova (1894-1958) delved into to a wide range of artistic trends from Social realism to Symbolism. However, Stepanova is mostly known for exploring and furthering Constructivism. New Abstract Art in Russia began around 1909 – some say, actual Constructivism started in 1919 when first mentioned by Rodchenko. The term ‘Constructivism’ was actually used by the Russian artists themselves. In some ways, Constructivism was influenced by Cubism, Italian/Russian Futurism and traditional peasant art. Constructivist artwork is... Read more »
Modern Art Movements
November 12, 2007
“What distinguishes modern art from the art of other ages is criticism.”Article from http://www.eArtfair.com/blog -Octavio Paz Featured at http://www.eArtfair.com/blog By By Breiana Cecil The Modern Art Movements The Modern Art movements can be said to have begun in the mid 19th century. Up until this point, the artists of the world focused their artwork on realistic depictions of the world around them. They made their living solely on commission work, government sponsorship, and exhibitions chosen by government officials. Needless to say, a change was about to come. Insisting that... Read more »
