[9] the Owl
Nov. 26th, 2011 | 07:27 pm
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Hieronymus Bosch 'The Owls' Nest'
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Hieronymus Bosch 'The Garden of Earthly Delights . detail'
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Lucas Cranach the Elder 'Portrait of Dr. Johannes Cuspinian . detail'
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Albrecht Dürer 'Kleine Eule'
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Hieronymus Bosch 'The Owls' Nest'
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Hieronymus Bosch 'The Garden of Earthly Delights . detail'
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Lucas Cranach the Elder 'Portrait of Dr. Johannes Cuspinian . detail'
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Albrecht Dürer 'Kleine Eule'
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[8] Johannes Vermeer van Delft
Nov. 26th, 2011 | 07:14 pm
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the beginning of 17th century has been called the golden era. the middle-class richened and their taste can be seen in 17th century dutch paintings, which was expressed in pictures of their homes, scenes from everyday-life scenes, stills, town views and in landscapes and seascapes. dutch art buyers had a special affection for paintings which scenery took place in their home-like place.
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Johannes Vermeer 'The Artist in his Studio'
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-- From a visual point of view, the drawn-back tapestry functions as a repoussoir.Repoussoir is a means of achieving perspective or spatial contrasts by the use of illusionistic devices such as the placement of a large figure or object in the immediate foreground. By covering only small portions of the map, the trumpet and still life, Vermeer entices the observer to pull it back all the way thereby involving him not only visually, but physically in the painting's illusion. The pervasive illusionism in the Art ofPainting is based on a firm understanding of perspective, awareness of optical laws and longstanding cultural significance.
-- The blade-like form of the brilliant patch of white wall energizes the entire composition. It's effect is even more pronounced when the painting is observed directly. The irregularities produced by the notable paint build-up and the vigorous brushstrokes add sparkle to the pure white paint (white lead). Prepared artificially since the earliest historical times and used until the nineteenth century, this warm white is very opaque, has outstanding brushing qualities and mixes well with every color on the artist's palette.
-- Specialists generally agree that the demure young woman represents Clio, the muse of history. Clio's crown of laurel denotes glory and eternal life. Her trumpet signifies fame. The thirst for fame was considered a fundamental stimulus to artistic production. By placing Clio at the center of his allegory, Vermeer emphasizes the importance of history to the visual arts. Theorists argued that the highest form of artistic expression was history painting which comprised biblical, mythological, historical and allegorical subjects. Curiously, Vermeer himself practiced true history paintings only at the outset of his career. By placing this allegory in a contemporary setting, he may have wished to prove that the lofty values of history painting could also be achieved when representing modern settings. In any case, this painting proves that Vermeer, far beyond being a typical Dutch artisan/painter, was aware of the major artistic debates which circulated among the cultural elite.
-- This curious, large-scale plaster mask has always intrigued scholars. Some have proposed that it symbolizes the art of painting through its association with the painter's academic training. It is also possible that the mask alludes to the so called paragone, or the comparison of the arts although it has been even associated with transience.
-- Vermeer's seated painter applies paint in full color directly to the top of the canvas where the laurel leaves are represented. Instead, we know that after the initial drawing Vermeer, like most fine painters of his school, blocked in the basic forms and lighting of his composition with brownish pigment. Successively, color was added. This monochrome stage is known as underpainting and was widely employed by Northern painters of the time, especially among artists whose compositions were more elaborate and drawing precise.
* used materials from essentialvermeer.com
-- The blade-like form of the brilliant patch of white wall energizes the entire composition. It's effect is even more pronounced when the painting is observed directly. The irregularities produced by the notable paint build-up and the vigorous brushstrokes add sparkle to the pure white paint (white lead). Prepared artificially since the earliest historical times and used until the nineteenth century, this warm white is very opaque, has outstanding brushing qualities and mixes well with every color on the artist's palette.
-- Specialists generally agree that the demure young woman represents Clio, the muse of history. Clio's crown of laurel denotes glory and eternal life. Her trumpet signifies fame. The thirst for fame was considered a fundamental stimulus to artistic production. By placing Clio at the center of his allegory, Vermeer emphasizes the importance of history to the visual arts. Theorists argued that the highest form of artistic expression was history painting which comprised biblical, mythological, historical and allegorical subjects. Curiously, Vermeer himself practiced true history paintings only at the outset of his career. By placing this allegory in a contemporary setting, he may have wished to prove that the lofty values of history painting could also be achieved when representing modern settings. In any case, this painting proves that Vermeer, far beyond being a typical Dutch artisan/painter, was aware of the major artistic debates which circulated among the cultural elite.
-- This curious, large-scale plaster mask has always intrigued scholars. Some have proposed that it symbolizes the art of painting through its association with the painter's academic training. It is also possible that the mask alludes to the so called paragone, or the comparison of the arts although it has been even associated with transience.
-- Vermeer's seated painter applies paint in full color directly to the top of the canvas where the laurel leaves are represented. Instead, we know that after the initial drawing Vermeer, like most fine painters of his school, blocked in the basic forms and lighting of his composition with brownish pigment. Successively, color was added. This monochrome stage is known as underpainting and was widely employed by Northern painters of the time, especially among artists whose compositions were more elaborate and drawing precise.
* used materials from essentialvermeer.com
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Similar to Vermeer's indoor scenes: Vilhelm Hammershoi 'Interior' from the 19th century
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[7] avant-garde
Nov. 26th, 2011 | 07:08 pm
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avant-garde means 'advance guard' or 'vanguard'. avant-garde deals with pushing the boundaries and reinventing the norm. avant-garde is innovatory and because of that can be seen as shocking and tradition breaking.
russian avant-garde holds in itself numerous modernistic art movements: neo-primitivism, suprematism, constructivism and futurism. russian avant-garde's height was in the middle of 1917 and 1932, before the new socialist realism became the norm.
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Vasily Kandinsky 'In the Grey'
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Ivan Alexeevich Kudriashev 'Construction of a Rectilinear Motion'
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Tatlin's Tower
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[6] V
Nov. 15th, 2011 | 09:48 pm
the V
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MANIAMANIA
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MANIAMANIA
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Salvador Dali 'Christ'
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Il'ya Chashnik 'Suprematism'
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MANIAMANIA
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MANIAMANIA
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Salvador Dali 'Christ'
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Il'ya Chashnik 'Suprematism'
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[5] composition
Nov. 15th, 2011 | 09:23 pm
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composition is born through frame, through bordering and through focus. although composition can be found in every spatial (and sonorous...) thing or setting then for the means of art discourse and for interpretation in the discourse it has to be concretized. it is a question of selection. where do we draw the frame and what do we put in it. of course it is not only for the visual matter, same goes for music, audio-viusal arts, installations etc. they all deal with selection and composition. selecting the objects (colors, notes and so on) and putting them together.
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Robert Motherwell 'Elegy to the Spanish Republic'
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Franz Kline 'Untitled'
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[4] origins of art
Nov. 15th, 2011 | 09:04 pm
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prehistoric art compared to later creation served a different function. the aesthetic effect wasn't the main purpose of the work. for example cave paintings were supposed to bring good hunting luck. paintings and sculptures were in the firsthand connected with mysticism or religion and sacrality. definition or explanation for the function of art is in movement and changes with time. throughout art history the importance of aesthetics has reached its peak and reduced again. for contemporary art aesthetics again is not the main function, as its shifted more into the ground of linguistic thinking and expression in conceptualism.
in comparison the functions of cave paintings and street art lay in different communication of the work. cave paintings try to communicate with sacral entities, for good luck etc. street art tries to communicate with the social community, with mundane entities.
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Lascaux cave paintings
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Banksy 'Lascaux cleanup'
Lascaux cave paintings
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Banksy 'Lascaux cleanup'
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[3] art & science
Nov. 15th, 2011 | 08:05 pm
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Art and science coincide in the means of pushing the boundaries in their own discourse. In general they both tend to be progressive throughout history. Both science and art are an interpretation of the world. Although their means of expression and subjects are different they sometimes lend them from one another. Especially in the attitude of art towards science, which becomes frequent in conceptual art.
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10-cube
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Tesseract
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Richard Medlock 'Hypercube'
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"Art is science made clear." - Jean Cocteau
10-cube
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Tesseract
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Richard Medlock 'Hypercube'
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"Art is science made clear." - Jean Cocteau
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[2] optical illusions
Nov. 15th, 2011 | 06:38 pm
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duck-rabbit illusion
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M. C. Escher 'Ascending and Descending'
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duck-rabbit illusion
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M. C. Escher 'Ascending and Descending'
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[1] a memorable piece of contemporary art
Nov. 15th, 2011 | 06:13 pm
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i haven't found a shocking contemporary art-piece in years now, and it has become to seem almost contradictory in a way to search a shocking element in art, because of the pushing of the boundaries of what-is-art trough-out art history, the need and the ability to shock has forgone and isn't necessary or telling in the discourse anymore. nonetheless, surprising moments in art stay. and the illusionary moment of shock usually just interprets into the moment of surprise.
a memorable surprising piece that i haven't seen, but only heard of is one of the installations i encountered years ago. it came up in a small gallery lecture and it was done by estonian performance group 'cnopt'. the installation was made with several raw chicken nailed up on the wall, which just hung there for up to two weeks. they began to smell and rot on the walls. for me, till that day, i'd never thought of a piece which worked with both visual and olfactory sense. i haven't unfortunately found a reproduction of this installation.
only some time later i came to recon a key in that piece for Damien Hirst and his rotting installation 'a thousand years', which with the large scale of the work and the conception in itself was a weird-kind thrilling surprise.
i haven't found a shocking contemporary art-piece in years now, and it has become to seem almost contradictory in a way to search a shocking element in art, because of the pushing of the boundaries of what-is-art trough-out art history, the need and the ability to shock has forgone and isn't necessary or telling in the discourse anymore. nonetheless, surprising moments in art stay. and the illusionary moment of shock usually just interprets into the moment of surprise.
a memorable surprising piece that i haven't seen, but only heard of is one of the installations i encountered years ago. it came up in a small gallery lecture and it was done by estonian performance group 'cnopt'. the installation was made with several raw chicken nailed up on the wall, which just hung there for up to two weeks. they began to smell and rot on the walls. for me, till that day, i'd never thought of a piece which worked with both visual and olfactory sense. i haven't unfortunately found a reproduction of this installation.
only some time later i came to recon a key in that piece for Damien Hirst and his rotting installation 'a thousand years', which with the large scale of the work and the conception in itself was a weird-kind thrilling surprise.
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