Art Restoration

I read the article on Dr. Pinan Barmbilla Barcilon and her work on restoring Da Vinci's The Last Supper. It took her twenty years to pain stakenly remove hundreds of years of damage and other artist's attempts at restoration. Her eyesight has been damaged and she suffers chronic pain due to the tedious nature of her work. She is so dedicated that she continued for twenty years to work on the restoration, despite many other artists protests against altering the work of art.

After some research on art restoration, I learned quite a bit of work goes into becoming a restoration artist. It is a competive market for these artists. They must research the origional works and attempt to recreate something from hundreds of years ago. It has even been said that these artists approach the artworks with the skill of a surgeon, working carefully not to harm or damage the remaining paintings and fix what is broken. They use various techinques that are very scientific and measured. The main goal is to never alter the integrity of the origional peice with their attempts to restore it.

Restoration is controversial because the work is altered by someone other than the origional artist in the name of preservation. Sometimes the origional works are changed completely in order to make the piece look good and up to date.  If a peice is altered so many times that the origional doesn't remain, is it still an origional piece just because it looks like the origional? That is the big question and topic of debate.

Performance Art

We were introduced to preformance art on September 20th's lecture. I think this art form is something you either love or hate.

Dancing and music performances are very popular forms of performing arts. There are many popular television shows dedicated to these art forms. Dancing with the stars, So you Think You Can Dance, American Idol, America's Got Talent, ect. are all popular shows that make millions of dollars in performing arts. These shows are loved by millions who appreciate dance and music.

Other perfoming art such as the circus, street performers, spoken word, are less popular with mass media but still very popular and enjoyed by many.

Artist such as Marina Abramović popular within certain groups, but to the masses her work can be seen as bizzarre and unappealing. While I do not appreciate or care for the majority of her work, I do understand why she is popular among her fans and those who enjoy modern art performances. Her work is bold and controversial and definately gets her noticed.

Art and Nature

Beauty and images from nature are never permanent in a tangible sense. The weather is ever changing, plants and animals are moving and dying, and landscapes are altered by humans and natural disasters. How can the beauty of a landscape or naturally occuring beauty created by the earth itself being captured? A painting, a photo or a memory is how.

A beautiful sunset lasts less than an hour,a rainbow a few minutes and a lightning stirke only a second. Using a camera to capture these natural beauties is an easy way to freeze these moments in time and share the wonderful image with others. But before cameras were invented, paintings were the only way to record the natural beauty of our world.

In these paintings, the artist is at liberty to create a landscape as he/ she sees it. Each artist has their own style and will portray the beauty and wonder of the subject being recreated as it seen by them. Some subjects and works can be considered to be unimpressive when viewed directly, such as a hill side and creek. But when painted by an artist who sees the beauty in the landscape, it can be moving and beautiful.

Most Natural of all Beauty (with an angry tirade to conclude)

 Here are a few of my favorite works of art with the theme being mother hood/ nurturing. The majority of my days and nights are consumed with caring for my newborn and I'm usually nursing her for the geater part of my day. I love how all three of the images portray a calmness and contentment of both mother and baby.

Considering how old these pieces are, from over one hundred years ago, the concept of breast feeding has been a celebrated subject of beauty for centuries. The three I have chosen are just  a few of the many works of art portraying breastfeeding and nurturing, many of them from the 19th-21st century. The subject is the most natural of all acts since the beginning of time; a mother feeding her infant. The sweetness of the unique bond is conveyed by the artists to display the wonder of the natural  process.

So why then, is breast feeding considered controversial? Why do we feel the need to conceal ourselves with blankets while breast feeding in public? Why did I have to turn off the "safe search" feature when looking up Breast feeding art on Yahoo?  There are laws in each state of the U.S. stating that woman is permitted to nurse her child in public without being cited for indescent exposure. Why is a law like this even nesessary? Do we really need a law to protect mothers from doing something as natural as breathing? In other countries a woman breastfeeding in public is no big deal and doesnt get a second look. I don't understand why feeding a baby the way God intended mothers to is something to be hidden. It's hard enough to go out and run errands with a newborn without worrying about nasty looks from strangers and trying to keep a fussy, hungry baby under a blanket on a hot day to eat.

So to lady with her rude comments about me feeding my baby (completely covered with a blanket ) I say, " GET OVER IT AND SIT SOMEWHERE ELSE!"

This blog is brought to you by sleep deprivation and hunger

How is an Old Cabbage Leaf Art?

A black and white photo of a cabbage leaf by Edward Weston with the simple tittle of Cabbage Leaf  is considered a beautiful piece of artwork. Really, a piece of old looking, wilted lettuce photographed in black and white with a black backround.
The above discription seems silly to some, but if you were to look at the photo before reading the description of the photo, you would immedately see the beauty in the photo. Actually, at first glance, I didn't even know it was a cabbage leaf. I thought it was the train of dress or fondant or clay of some short molded into a cascading mound of folds and curves. Without knowing its cabbage, I want to touch it and see if is soft and delicate as it looks, or even try on the skirt of silk I thought it was.
After reading it was a piece of wilted cabbage, I changed my view of the photo. I didn't want to eat it or touch it because I could image it being wilted and smelly. It is essentially a piece of garbage meant for the compost pile or rabbit food. I do still find the photo beautiful though. Why? It is just a black and white photo of wilted cabbage afterall.
The angle from which the leaf was photographed and way the light is falling over each fold and the shape of the cabbage makes the cabbage leaf beautiful. In fact the wilted and old quality that makes the cabbage  undesirable for consumption is what lends itself to being so pretty and delicate. A fresh, crisp piece of cabbage that would be great to eat may not be as beautiful as the piece in the photo.
This photo of cabbage is a perfect example of the old saying, "One man's trash is another man's tresure".

Beauty in Cubism and Abstract Art

Pablo Picasso is best known for his works in the Cubism style. However, he also painted beautiful works in the traditional techniques. Looking at such works like First Communion, a lovely oil painting with amazing detail and use of light, it is clear to see how talented he is. Other works in the cubism style, like Seated Woman Holding a Fan, it is a bit more difficult to understand and appretiate his talent. The cubism style is abstract and does not really represent real life images. The colors and use of light are not like that of traditional  representaional art works. Some have even said it looks as if a child created the paintings.

Upon further study of the Cubism art peices by Picasso, one can find the fine detailing in the brush strokes, the balance and contrast of the colors and shapes and the use of shadow and light. At first glance the Cubism can be offensive and maybe even ugly to many. But when you look at it a bit more and take into consideration that Picasso's goal was to NOT create a representation piece, the beauty and talent jumps out at you.

September 6th Lecture- What is reality?

Last weeks lecture included video clips of the movies Inception and The Matrix. The common theme between the two are that reality for someone is what they consider it to be. Reality is what each person wants and sees it as. It is very difficult to change one's view of reality and many will struggle to protect what their version of reality is.

The same priciples can be related to art work. An absolute fact about a piece such as color, size, and medium used to create it can not be argued. However, what the piece represents or the message portrayed by the work can be debated or mean something different to each individual viewing it.

Why does the artist use this medium? Why did he/she make it this size and color? Why did he hide the piece or display it gloriously for all to see? What was he/she thinking while creating it? Only the artists know the answers to these questions we've all wondered about works of art from history. The cave paintings in France are among those leaving us with so many unanswered questions.

I believe it is human nature to seek absolute answers and explainations for things we are curious about. Many speculate on the  how and whys of the cave paintings without a real concrete answer. Perhaps this is what makes them so very facsinating? Anyone who looks at it can try to decode the mystery and speculate about what life was like and how these works were created.

In conclusion, the mystery of artwork is what inspires and fuels our own creativity and imaginations. Having such a powerful impact on people by igniting minds to think and speculate is what makes these mysterious works so very popular

Vanitas and Vanitas

Politics have been a strong driving force behind many creative works of art. Some artists used art to hide a political message or protest to avoid persecution from the government at the time. Before a time of free speech, some artist would suffer severe consequenses for their opposition to governing bodies of the time.
In the origional Vanitas by Juan de Valdez Leal in 1660, there is a complex message and hidden meanings in the beautiful oil painting. Is is stunning with its colors, lighting technique and presicion making it a lovely piece to admired even if one did not understand the 'hidden message" in it.  Suppose the message we all are thinking were to be true, the painter could deny that message because only the creator truely knows the inspiration for the piece.
The second or later version of Vanitas, the Wheel of fortune (Vanitas) by Audrey Flack is very similar with it's portrayal of a skull, fruit, time piece and other similar items that are more relevant to our modern times. The painting by Flack also uses vibrant colors and awesome use of light to demonstrate a true artistic talent. However, there seems to also be a hidden message in the painting to warn against vanity and the fleeting nature of beauty.
In  Flack's Vanitas, I was able to see the message about vanity being fleeting and death unavoidable more than in the older Juan de Valdez Leal painting. Maybe because the items in the painting are more relevant and decodable to me because they are modern and I am familiar with them? Or perhaps Flack did not have to worry about such backlash and political persecution for her work and therefor did not need to hide the message so deeply.
Regardless of the message, the view who feels they are able to decode the hidden message in the art will most likely enjoy the piece because the feel they are "in on the secret" and were brilliant enough to decode the artwork as well. The artwork being beautiful and demonstrating such rare talent makes these kinds of artwork even more cool.

Maya Lin and Van Gough Chapter 1

Both artists created works that were considered controversial while they were at a young age. Maya Lin's Veterans monument was met with protest because of the heated debates and strong oposition to the Vietnam war. Van Gough's style of art and subjects he painted were considered odd and not "art" as it was seen in his era. However, both artists created works that are very recognizable and treasured today.

Maya Lin was educated as an architect and VanGough had started out as a religious pasteur. Both of these occupations did not define these two artists however. One can speculate that these two occupations have artistic qualities to them and only an intuitive and creative person can thrive in those occupations. An architect must have an eye for aesthetics and balance while being able to create with the hand of an artist. A pastuer must be open to different ideas, spirituality and have a sort of emotional intuition. Both occupations involve inovation and problem solving in a graceful manner that will be accepted by those they serve/work for.

Both artists reportedly had a strong family support system, encouraging their creativity and artistic expression. Maya Lin's parents were both artists and VanGough's brother was very supportive of his work and expression. Having this support is likely what helped cultivate their creative spirits from a young age and into adulthood so that the world could experience the remarkable talent and beauty they are known for.

August 30 Lecture 3 million yrs of art in 150 minutes

Last weeks lecture was a quick over view of the most influential and recognizable pieces and artists over history. The big question of the night was "what is Art"? We were able to decide that Art is whatever a person who likes it considers it to be. It can be something that took a great deal of effort to create by a person or it could be a product of nature that speaks to someone and they enjoy it enough to consider it a work of art.
The break down of the eras and the art created during those times was very interesting. We received an entertaining history lesson through the beauty and discovery of art. We learned the name of different types of art what makes certain works of art fall into each catagory.
The art of each era sometimes portrayed political statements of the times that were very infuenctial on artists.
Adding artistic touches to practical everyday items really showed a display of each cultures appretiation for aesthetics and value on artistic expressions.
The glimpse into altered states and artistic expression was very interesting and I'm looking forward to the lecture.