For one of my classes, I had to pick a piece of art and write a poem about it. I found Claudia Drake's Athena digital collage completely intriguing. For me, this image made me think of pealing someone's thoughts apart. What if you had the ability to just look inside someone's head and see their memories through their eyes. Here's the poem I wrote about it:
Ron Mueck's art is usually dubbed hyperrealism (Most of his stuff is larger than life-size). These sculptures (err, figurines?) have a life-sized feel to them, though in fact, they are smaller than my arm (see the real hands surrounding them for a size reference). Size aside, they seem miserable and perfect to me - like two ordinary people, oily and frustrated.
I didn't truly enjoy Caravaggio's paintings until I saw this piece, entitled "Amor Vincit Omnia." The title translates to "Love Conquers All" (I'm fully aware of how cheesy that sounds, but in Italian, it sounds much better). Anyway, the church sought many paintings from Caravaggio as altar pieces, although each time, he insulted them by "de-glorifiying" famous saints and such. More importantly, at least to me, is the fact this particular painting lacks traditional gender standards (many of Caravaggio's paintings depict Bacchus-like males, but none so elegant as this one). I admire Caravaggio for painting whatever he wanted, instead of being a sucker for commissions like so many artists. More importantly, this painting is undeniably beautiful. It shows the male form as pure, playful, and semi-dainty. Oddly enough, the only other vulnerable male depicted in art that I can think of off the top of my head is Jesus Christ. It's strange that an entire religion can be based off of a man's vulnerability, but a large majority of art depicted thereafter of male mortals idealizes stoicism and muscle.
This painting is Le bonheur de vivre (The Joy of Life) by Henri Matisse. I love the bright colors in the picture and how it depicts a certain surreal feeling with the wavy outlines/shapes. It shows people singing and dancing, and also people who seem to be in love. All of these things are some of the many joys in life. It allows your mind to escape for a while and picture a world where nothing would be negative, only happiness.
This painting was created by Monet in 1873. It is great example of the style of painting called impressionism, because the Impressionist movement was named after this painting. This painting's subject is a harbor at sunrise. Monet uses very loose brush strokes in this painting which suggest rather than delineate it. The sun and the sky use the same luminiance. This relies on the use of contemporary colors, and color temp, rather than changing the color intensities or contrasts.
The Abbey in the Oak Wood is a Romantic piece done by Friedrich in 1809. Friedrich is one of my favorite artists of the Romantic era because of how he portrays nature's landscapes and the human interaction in them. His works capture the sublimity of nature--it's overarching power and relentlessness in the world compared to humans. The Romantic style wrapped itself around this idea of man being insignificant to nature, and that is what the works of the time depicted. While you could look at something like Gericault's Raft of the Medusa, which is sometimes considered the quintessential Romantic artwork, I truly adore the works of Friedrich because of how he portrays some of these darker landscapes such as The Abbey in the Oak Wood. From the murky graveyard and the proceeding monks at the bottom of the canvas, to the gnarled and exaggerated branches of the dead trees at the top, the work reeks of a Romantic artwork of the 19th Century.
I have always loved the painting of Dogs Playing Poker. It is very humorous and is very well drawn. My favorite part of the painting is where the dog in the front right is holding an ace in his paws under the table. I also love how relaxed the dog on the left looks sitting in his chair. I think that this picture describes a game of poker very well. I am a huge poker fan and whenever I play it is a very tense game between all the players and everybody is for themselves. That is why i feel like the dogs make a good metaphor for the men and women usually playing the game.
This painting, "Painting the town Red" was done by Graham McKean. This is a 36x 40 in. oil painting. His paintings are known for creating an intimate feeling to the viewer. His paintings are bold and always grab a viewers attention. I enjoy the detail in the painting. It almost doesn't look like a painting, but a drawing. I like the people as well. They are cartoonish and that is interesting to me. This painting has so much feeling and that is why i picked it for today.
This image is William Rimmer's Evening or Fall of Day. The artist was a painter and a sculptor, among other random professions. The piece is a blend of crayon, oil and graphite on canvas. The subject matter of this piece is a matter of debate. One of the most widely accepted ideas is that this picture shows Apollo, the god of light, the sun, and music, along with other things. Others believe that this could be Lucifer, the fallen angel. The piece shows the artists use of sculpture in his work. The figure in the image is shown as a well sculpted male figure, although the subject appears to be genderless. The positioning of the body suggests that the figure is either falling or rising. Those who believe this to be Apollo believe that he is rising at sunset. If it is Lucifer it makes more sense that the figure is falling. For this reason, the piece is correctly named. This image is probably most known because it was taken by the band Led Zeppelin to become the logo for their record label. This is how I first became aquainted with it. Since I found this to be the origin of the popular Zeppelin logo, I have researched the piece and become interested in it as a piece of artwork. The beautiful portrayal of a god or a fallen angel has become a favorite of mine. 
This is an oil painting by Leonid Afremov. He is an Isreali modern painter that uses a palette knife to paint rather than a brush. he is known for his landscape, cityscape, and figure drawings using this method. He uses so many different, and bright colors in his paintings. The palette knife really captures the beauty of this picture. He really draws you into the painting and makes it feel so alive.
The painting I chose today is the Arnolfini Wedding Portrait by Jan Van Eyck. This painting has a LOT of symbolism in it, and to shove that much info into one picture is quite impressive. This was one of the few paintings I could actually remember in Art History in high school/college (I'm usually horrible with dates and the like...and remembering them..). Such symbolism is: The chandelier has one candle lit, and it's supposed to be God watching them; the shoes are off in the lower left, symbolizing they're standing on holy ground, etc.
The painting I chose today is "Spring" by edvard munch. Munch shows a sick young girl, propped against a thick white pillow and dying at the age of 15. Her grieving friend sits next to her, perhaps praying and taking care of her till she passes. The spring time feel may symbolize the after life and better road ahead. Although she does not look at it, she looks off to the side. She may not want to leave her life yet, but be with her friends and family a while longer.
The Scream painted in 1893 by Edvard Munch, shows a tormented figure, which wails against a blood red. It is a seminal expressionist painting. Regarded by many as his most important work, it is said by some to symbolize modern man taken by an attack of existential angst. The landscape in the background is, viewed from the hill of Ekberg. Occasionally, the painting has been called The Cry.
Munch executed four versions of the painting, of which the most famous are a tempera on cardboard version measuring 83.5 x 66 cm formerly in the Munch Museum, Oslo, Norway, and an oil, tempera, and pastel on cardboard measuring 91 x 73.5 cm in the National Gallery, also in Oslo. A third version is also owned by the Munch Museum, and a fourth is owned by Peter Olsen. Munch later also translated the picture into a lithograph, so the image could be reproduced in reviews all over the world. However, one version is currently missing from the Munch Museum, having been stolen by art thieves in August 2004.
This painting by Caravaggio is one that I have liked since seeing it in my art history class. All the men look so realistic and the way that shadows are used is amazing. The cut on the stomach is done very well. The finger poking the cut gives the viewer almost a disgusted feeling which is something i find very interesting. I was surprised the first time I saw this painting that the mans finger was inside of the cut. I did not expect that I only expected the men to be looking at the cut.
This is a painting by Claude Monet during the Impressionist Movement. The impressionist movement dealt with the artists' attempts to capture the moment. The term Impressionism actually came from Monet's title for this painting. In this beautiful piece, Monet uses quick and large brush strokes. He conveys what he wants the viewer to see but he doesn't spell it out for you. The piece really captured my attention because of the colors that he uses. The painting has a lot of blues and greens that are then broken up by the vibrant orange sun and its reflection in the water. The yellow-orange sky brings the piece together. I love the way that Monet makes his background with the bright colors and then has the dark form of a boat. It draws my eye in to the silhouetted form. My favorite part of Monet's work is the fact that nothing is concrete, everthing moves. There are no blocks of colors; instead there are brush strokes which make up a color. This is my favorite piece for the moment.
The temple of Dendur, ca 15 bce is from the Roman time period, part of the Egyptian art. The temples represented a verity of religious concepts. The temple shows the natural world as seen from the Egyptians. The temple is lined with carvings of papyrus and lotus plants. The temple has two columns on the porch that rise toward the sky. The outer walls are carved scenes of the king making offerings. These figures are carved in sunken relief. Their crowns identify Isis, Osiris, and Horus. The temple honored the goddess Isis, Pedesi, and Pinor. The first room of the temple is of the pharaoh praying and making offers to the gods. From this room you can look threw the middle room, which was used for offerings, to the sanctuary of Isis. In these two rooms you can see relief of Pinor worshiping Isis, and Pedesi worshiping Osiris. This temple is made of sandstone and is eighty-two feet high.
Leonardo da Vinci painted the Last Supper. It is a 15th century mural that was painted in Milan. It was painted for Duke Ludovico Sforza and his duchess Beatrice d’Este. It is based on the scene from the Bible of Jesus on his final days. This is the scene when he announces that one of his twelve disciples will betray him.
The painting measures 450 by 870 centimeters. It is located in the dinning hall at Santa Maria delle Grazie in Malian Italy. This version of the scene gives more depth and realistic view then ever before. It is painted with Sforza’s coat of arms. The painting also has members of the Sforza family in it. Leonardo began working on this painting in 1495 and finished it in 1498.
The painting shows Jesus and his twelve disciples sitting at a dinner table. The painting shows the reactions of everyone when he tells them that one of them will betray him. Bartholomew, James, and Andrew form the first group of three. They all have a very shocked expression. Judas, Peter and John form the next group of three. Peter has a knife in his hands. Judas has his arms on the table, which no one else does. John has a smile on his face and is very close to Judas like they are whispering something to one another. They all have a sort of guilty look on their faces. Jesus is in the middle of the table to show that he is the leader. Thomas, James and Philip form the next group of three. Thomas has his hand in the air like he wants to know who is going to be the one to go against Jesus. James looks confused as to who would do that and very concerned. Philip has a very scared look upon his face. Matthew, Thaddeus, and Simon make up the final group of three. Matthew and Thaddeus are looking toward Simon for some answers. Simon is looking towards Jesus wanting to know more.
Today I choose the mona lisa, the famous painting by Leonardo da vinci. What I find interesting is that he places her against a dark, rocky landscape, which enhances her mysterious, enigmatic quality. She looks alive, almost as if she is looking at you. Her expression is calm but almost sad and seems to change as you look at her. Leonardo's technique of subtly blurring and smudging the corners of her eyes, mouth, face and hands, makes her to glow mysteriously out of the shadows. It is not surprising that this painting is the most famous and most copied image in the world. Also few look close enough... but she is missing eyebrows.
The image I chose today is 3D sidewalk art done by Julian Beever. She has done so many incredible pieces. I was looking through them online and every piece is so different. One with a frog, one making it look like you are going to fall through a hole if you walk over it, and the one with the hose. This picture the man is not holding a real hose all of it is drawn and he is placed by it to make it look like he is holding the running hose. It is crazy how real this art makes it look. The great depth in the values makes this really become 3D. After looking through all of these I want to find them and see them in person. It would be crazy to just walk down the street and see something so amazing right below you. They are so interesting and shows that people can do great things with art even if it is drawing one sidewalk.
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