Final post

Artist name; Kevin Beasley
Untitled
Materials; house dresses, resin, soil, and television Mount
Museum; MoMA


The artwork that I selected was a sculpture titled "Untitled" by Kevin Beasley. The mediums used were house dresses, resin, soil, and a television Mount. The variety of colors is what caught my attention. When I saw this I thought of the four seasons. The bright and orange represents fall. The purple with what looks like mint green represents spring. The blue is winter and the green with light blue is summer. On the left side almost where the middle is there's black with red circles. That reminded me of the night sky and those red orbs were the twinkling stars that lid the night. The artist's choice of materials was interesting to me because he used clothing. At first glance I believed it was some sort of paint but when I got closer I was wrong. I didn't know what this was until I read the caption.
After being in this class, I've learned how to view paintings and sculptures differently. Normally I would of been a passive observer however after taking this class I can't help but apply what we've learned in class every time I look at something artistic. This course was my favorite. I've never posted a blog a before nor have I ever been in a cluster in which all courses shared many themes and topics that could relate to another class we're taking. It was interesting but a bit challenging. Overall, I had a great time and hopefully I still am involved with art as it's a way to express myself other than writing. ☺☺

POST #10

Artist= Zhang Hongtu

Pingling, China, born 1943

"A walking man" 1984

Acrylic on canvas

On December 9th, for the final blog post I visited Queens Museum. I picked this work of art "A walking man"(1984) by Chinese artist name Zhang Hongtun. I found this work of art very unique because of the color that he used because it's neither primary nor secondary. The medium of this work of art is acrylic paint and canvas. Since, it is acrylic on canvas it lies in 2d category. It is very hard to see what is in the painting due to the very dark colors. Hongtun has used so thick layers of paint, so the texture of painting is not a plane as most 2D work of arts has. In the far background, there is a tree, in the left middle ground, there is fish taking out his the head from the water and looking at the back of the man, and in the foreground there a man walking, facing in front. He tried to capture the very dark and depressing feeling in this painting. This is a representational work of art to me because, he tried to depict himself in the painting. And according to the content, the painter being from China felt very weird from all the cultural shock and found himself in a very weird environment when he came to America and was an inspiration for him to paint this particular piece. As the topic suggests walking man and fish he must have felt as if he was the only human and couldn't really communicate with others or feel comfortable speaking, even when they are, He used only cold and thick layers of dark colors hinting that it was very hard, lonely, having a hard time blending in the society and sad being in this sort of environment away from his home, friends and family. Finally, I guess he made this work of art, to convey his feelings and emotion while living in a different place and also it is kinda related to me. therefore, I chose this work.

After taking this class visiting the Queens museum was very interesting and knowledgeable to me because due to this class I started looking at artwork in a different way, for example, what is the artist trying to convey or appeal a message, feeling and emotion to us. Most importantly, I learned that art is life because we are surrounded by art and it is everywhere.

Finale Post

 

For the Finale of Art & Society Museum trips, i decided to got to the Queens Museum. I choose this art piece from Zhang Hongtu because it stuck out to me the most from the rest of his works. Four trees in foreground in the oil on canvas made me think of my family when i first saw it. the two taller trees being parents. the small twisted looking tree in the middle being my twisted younger sister and the tall tree on the far left being me. there is also a lot going on in the painting, for starters, the bottom of the painting features predominatlty warm colors and the top is made up of cool colors. the trees are settled on a large rock that is covered with green leaves. there is overlapping, the land in the back of the tree has a place for shelter/shade on the right side of the foreground. the background, aka the mountain area, was painted with diagonal lines. it looks as if it is going to crash down of something, which i thought was very cool. the middle ground, is of a small lan mass with trees. i feel as if Zhang Hongtu painted the bottom of the paintinf during the day because when i look at it, i think the sun is shining, but when i look above, its very cloudly and dark. When I first came to your class, i was ready to change majors, quickly and without a question. I had not been into art since elementary school, I had the sketch books and everything (my parents thought i could make something of myself with it). But then i had no choice but to stay, my laziness got the better of me, for the better. Quickly, i began to realize again why i was so into art and how it never really left me, i just turned it into editing. i learned a lot of things from your class, like going to museum frequently is not a rich persons thing, learned the notes you gave us in class. i also learned how powerful art can be in this world. i also see things a lot differently now as well, its not just liking a picture anymore, its why it was made, how. and what is really going on it for me. Your class has been the best part of my first semester in college.

queens museum

Queens museum: Zhang Hongtu

I choose this artist because i thought his artwork would be interesting to look into and was. One of the artworks he did that spoke out to me was a sculpture of coca-cola bottles that were covered in porcelain. The name of this artwork was called "Kekou-kele", which translates to coca-cola six pack. It was made in 2002.  There six bottles in total.The bottles are small in size, The bottle caps were on the left foreground of the soda bottles. Soda bottles are usually plastic with red or black label that is made of paper. These bottles are have a blue and white color with a flower pattern. My implication of the texture is hard because porcelain has a hard glass texture. The caps are also covered in a white and blue porcelain. They don't have a flower pattern, instead they have symbols.

  

Zhang Hontu's artworks convey the political ideas between New York and China.

BlogPost#10/Final

Artist: Steward Uoo (b. 1985)

Artwork: Untitled (Versace/ H&M small white), 2015

Artwork: Untitled (Hollister small white), 2015

Materials: Cotton, shopping bags, flies (Calliphora vomitoria), cockroaches (Periplaneta americana), pigeon (Columba livia), feathers, pigment, polyurethane resin, synthetic fibers, dust.

These two works of art display a multiple use of materials that are mixed together using “techniques similar to those of traditional paper fabrication”. The whole display includes two separate pieces that combine to represent one. The artist creates two versions of this type of  artwork both named untitled but with parenthesis around it to describe it better. One set has ‘small white’ after the name of the brands inside the parenthesis while the other says ‘medium black’ and ‘medium gray’ after a different set of brands for the work piece. I liked both but i choose to focus on the white version because the ease in which the materials can be seen. But both include the same materials. I choose this artwork because it deals with a topic i can agree with, which comes from the description in the museum of why the artist made this and how he got inspired. “Uoo first became interested in shopping bags as an artistic material when he observed two female impersonators exiting a taxi, their arms laden with glossy paper bags bearing the logos of various luxury brands. Inspired by the way the shopping bags instantly communicate the desire for a particular lifestyle of indulgence, Uoo repurposes them to invoke an aesthetic closer to what he describes as ‘curbside garbage’”. It is because of his desire to covey a strong message that really captures my attention because it is something that is very relatable and i feel the same towards. Also the use of materials are very unique and intriguing. After taking this class going to a museum feels like a fancy treat. I feel like I have to know what materials were used. And I wonder what their purpose was in doing what they did,which is difficult to figure out sometimes because sometimes the their isn’t a description for the work of art being displayed. Art seems more mysterious and meaningful than simply to be pretty and/ or labeled as weird. During this semester I learned that art is everywhere and not only in museums, but also in almost everything. And that it can carry a purpose behind it or it can be simply done to capture and/ or recreate beauty.

   On December 9th, 2015, me and a couple of my classmates, decided to take a trip to MoMA. To be honest, finding a piece of art work that I actually liked was very tricky for me considering I'm not really a big fan of modern art. After walking through the entire museum and only seeing a             couple pieces that I liked, I finally stumbled across the Ocean images: New photography gallery. In the gallery, you're greeted by a video of a man in a wig and make-up moving in slow motion, smiling and looking very intensely into the camera. Automatically I knew I would like this section. Almost every piece that I looked at I loved. Down to the security guard who jokingly told me that I would be able to take home one of the pieces I was looking at, for free. Out of all the amazing artists that I could've chosen, I choose Lieko Shiga. Shiga decided to do a series of stills titled "Rasen Kaigan" that bordered the line of offensive and beautiful. What caught my eye is the use of color, and value. Definitely the big thing that Shiga decided to play with was how dark and light she could get the photos to specify how important     the colors are. According to the wall label, "Shiga moved to the Japanese village of Kitakarna, she became its resident photographer, documenting events in the region and collaborating with it's inhabitants. Rasen Kaigan (Spiral Coast) is a series of 250 dramatic images (eleven of which are seen here), show before, after, and during the 2011 Tohoku tsunami that battered Japan's coast. BUt the series is not documentary in the traditional way. Shiga uses filters and blatantly manipulates the negatives, creating vivid and ghostly scenes: a man who seems to be impaled by a tree; a woman with a bike careens down an impossible ravine; a birds eye view of the earth reveals scrapes and scars; hands reach towards a limp female body. Shiga tells the history of the land through the bodies of her neighbors, nature and humanity linked in life and death." To Shiga, her best way to document the tragic event is to use her photography. The decision to try to make the works seem so ominous is probably one of the best uses of filters that I've ever seen. She really is something special. 

     During this class I've learned that art is so much more than just a picture in a frame. It has emotions of its own and it has layers on top of layers that need to be peeled before you really understand what it's about. I've learned so much about the effect that light and dark have on a photo, or that what you chose to title your work could have a huge impact on the meaning of the piece. All in all, this class was by far my favorite class that I've taken this semester. 

10

Gustav Klimt
Adele Bloch- BauerII, 1912
Oil on Canvas
Private Collection
MoMa Museum

This painting is by Gustav Klimt, the mediums done in oil paint, as well as style is a portrait. But it is not realistic. Textures upon this canvas are extremely soft and delicate. The variations of value and colors range. The colors are a mix of cool and warm hues, but they are not your typical colors, that is where values come into play. The composition of this painting is very playful, in the sense that there is a lot of movement of the objects around the woman, even though she is very still and prominent in the foreground. 
 I had chosen this art piece because I though it was stunning in the color composition, as well as the natural "elements" added. This piece is both intelligent yet elegant. Why? The woman in the foreground has a very strong face, but as well as her attire is very profound and unique. As for the background instead of this being such a serious portrait it is vibrant and exuberant in its colors and objective choice in flowers. Observing this particular art piece i felt a type of emotional relief, in the sense that the woman is taking a breath in her "uptight life". What had stood out the most to me in all was just the background. It literally almost fuzes with the foreground figure in the color composition. For a painting that it done in 1912 i felt like this was not your typical painting. It is very loose and giving to the viewer, where you can play with your imagination a lot more. But it is also almost very traditional because of the victorian woman. I felt relived, and was struck by its colorful beauty.
  This is not the first time for me attending the MoMa Museum. At first I was not really dazzled by the certain exhibitions being shown because it had involved a lot of technology. But once i had went to more of the older exhibitions, that were considered of "Modern Art" I felt like this was more appropriate to the name. From taking Art Society this semester, it was truly an exciting class. When i go to different art museums i do definitely see different ways to a approach a painting in ways that the artist himself would like me to view it. In Art Society I learned most importantly how vital art is to society. Without it people would not be able to have a voice or make an impact upon their own community. As a young artist it had truly inspired me to create my own work to reflect how I view society and what should be changed, and what should be done. Hopefully the art community can gather more often and support the general community itself. It was a blessing being in this coarse as well as one of my favorite courses. It made me think, feel enthused about learning more about the art community. 

Blog post 10

Jackson Pollock
One: Number 31,1950
Oil on enamel paint on canvas
8'10x 17' 5 5/8
MoMa Museum

  This art piece by Jackson Pollock was part of an exhibition in the MOMA Museum. The title of this painting is One: No. 31. In this series of abstract paintings  this was one of the largest pieces. A long with  in the exhibition there were 50 paintings,  drawings and prints in the collection.  In particular to the painting is featured more towards figurative, mythical, and primeval themes.
 The style of this painting  is abstract and the mediums in order to make this piece is oil on enamel paint, on canvas.  There are some patterns in a way, which is used with color, and as for texture it is very rough. The layers are done by globs of solid paint splattered across the canvas. The different hues of black, green and white are very prominent; in the sense  that if you look at each individual color in how the effect the canvas and you eye, it stands out in a pattern. The yellow background definitely adds to how you view the splatter paint, in the sense that it makes the hues stand out. There are no values. From an emotional response, I feel as this were static almost, or different nerves all jumping out at me in adrenaline. But eventually if you follow the lines to me there is a type of smoothness. Since the paint is not necessarily pressed upon the canvas that is where the rough texture stands.
 I had chosen  this particular piece from Jackson Pollock because I always look at refined art and portraits. But this time I really wanted to step out of my comfort zone and choose something that spoke to me emotionally from the artist. I have seen Jackson Pollock's art before online and I was instantly  fascinated because, I had found it extremely sophisticated for abstract art. It was very simple in its color composition, but it screamed in its technique, emotion.
 Visiting the MoMa for the first time at first I was not completely enthralled but eventually it came to from on me once I had entered the "Modern" section of paintings. Also the exhibition of Jackson Pollock, that was the whole reason why i decided to go to the MOMA.
  From what this coarse has taught me I definitely see art in a more professional view. Meaning I understand content, emotion, message, and the composition of an art piece. Art Society definitely exposed me to how in general the "art society" from the past and until now is like. It is extremely controversial, rebellious, liberal, and not so liberal. Art Society had inspired me to make a difference in the Art culture itself, like the Gorilla Girls. I want in all female artists to be known and shared more in exhibits. They deserve that privilege like anybody else in the art world.

Blog Post #10

Zhang Hongtu
Pingliang, China, 1943
Anonymous(song)- Van Gogh P, 2013
Oil on canvas
Private Collection

The artwork I have chosen for the last blog post is a painting within the Queens Museum by Zhang Hongtu (1943) entitled "anonymous (song)- Van Gogh P". The canvas includes a landscape but the scenery being limited within a circle. The circle may have been used as a window as well emphasizing the objects in nature same as Van Gogh's "The Starry Night" canvas. A combination of Van Gogh's painting along with Hongtu's selected landscape from China. Hongtu uses cool and warm tones as Van Gogh's technique of brushstrokes. In the foreground on the bottom right holds a small scale of tree's with a combination of brown and orange leaves close to the edge of the cliff. Going down the cliff to the left involves a trail of rocks with a tree or a shrub peeking out. Disconnecting from land includes a body of water. Hongtu uses the paintbrush to go criss-cross depicting the movement of the water around the rocks. The chaotic waves clashing against the large rocks, the rocks are positioned in order from the smallest rock to the tallest as if it reached the sky. The background illustrates the same setting as Van Gogh's painting. A large yellow moon and star in the sky with brushstrokes surrounding them as if they were illuminating along with three faded stars scattered around behind the curved cloud. Outside the frame on the bottom right consists of Chinese writing that may be lyrics as said on the label.
The reason I chose this artwork by Zhang Hongtu is the way he used a style by a western artist Vincent Van Gogh along with Hongtu's own presentation of his native land. By the looks of it Hongtu may be influenced by Van Gogh, "The Starry Night" is a popular painting and with Hongtu's own personal twist is interesting, a hint of a previous painting and a landscape from China. Before enrolling into this course, Art and Society, I wasn't as interested in art or if I did get a chance to go to a museum I'd just glance by each exhibit. With the assignments given, art is everywhere it can be accidental or the way one interprets an object to just giving something a meaning. Sine the course is over I do appreciate art. i look forward to visiting other museums and i'll feel prepared or cultural and given someone my own interpretation on an exhibit. Also, I became interested in other artists for instance Zhang Hongtu and Henri Matisse. Further in the future I want to experience artist's I haven't heard of or learn more about the person. 

BP #10

The artwork I selected for my final blogpost is a painting I found at the Museum of Modern Art entitled "The Sleeping Gypsy" (1897) by the French artist Henri Rousseau. Rousseau uses cool colors and horizontal lines to give a calm, warm and relaxed appearance to the painting. 

The use of monochromatic color gives this painting the appearance of a warm, calm summer night. The dark blue and black of the sky contrasts with the dark brown color of the sand. The sky and sand create the negative space in this painting and the majority of this canvas is taken up by it. The dominant objects at the center of this painting are the gypsy woman who has bedded down for the night in the dessert with a guitar and vase lying next to her, and a lion who appears to be passing by. The darkness of the sky and the lions mane is contrasted with the brightness of the moon and the lions eye. Generally, when one thinks of a lion interacting with a human, we think of violence, the lion attacking the human but in this painting Rousseau use of color and calm horizontal lines gives this painting a peaceful and tranquil. feel.

I chose this artwork out of the many beautiful pieces in the MOMA painting gallery because the colors really made it stand out. There's something about the overall calmness of this painting that really drew me to it, the use of dark colors to invoke tranquility in the night when the night is usually considered something to fear. I also read that Rousseau was never able to enroll into art school in Paris despite many attempts. That was also a huge factor in my enjoyment of this artwork, if Rousseau can paint something this incredible with little formal art training than I believe it is possible for anybody to do something similar using their natural talents.

The visit to MOMA yesterday was my second since I started this class, early on in the semester, being constantly shown various works of art had already had its influence on me. I felt a need to spend more time in the various museums I have access to living in this city. Not taking advantage of that would be a huge loss. Although I feel that learning the various technical terms to describe art didn't change how I appreciate it, learning the background and history of art an artists certainly has.