Non-Western 2

Kudzanai Chiurai completed this multi-media artwork entitled The Minister of Education in 2009 in South Africa. Chiurai was born in Zimbabwe in 1981 and is a fast rising talent, especially for such a young man. He now works and lives in South Africa. He studied Fine Arts at the University of Pretoria, South Africa and was the first black student to graduate with this degree from there. His work falls in the multi-media genre and generally is themed on black power and displacement in urban South Africa.

What led me to choose this work was the contrast in colors as well as the almost humorous, yet still significant pose of the subject. The stylish clothing, textbooks, glasses, as well as the gun represent wealth, education and power. All of these represent power in different manners. In South Africa there are many black exiles as well as refugees all looking to improve their living standards and wealth as this picture portrays.

 

Non Western 1

Diego Rivera’s work entitled Pan American Unity was completed in 1940 in San Francisco for the Golden Gate International Exposition. Rivera was born in Guanajuato, Mexico and began studying European art styles very young. He realized that he wanted his work to help the common person better understand their history and to do this, his work needed to be accessible. Rivera then went to Italy to study the Fresco style mural painting which would provide a style of art very accessible. Rivera became part of the Mexican Mural Renaissance when he returned to Mexico and he eventually found his way up to San Francisco to complete this mural.

Rivera’s purpose in this mural was to create a visual connection between different American cultures and make real ‘American’ art. He incorporated aspects of Mexican native culture such as their gods (e.g. Quetzalcoatl…) and some of the significant mountainous landscapes from Mexico. He also blends in the technology from North America at the time and portrays historical figures such as George Washington.

I selected Pan American Unity as the diversity represented of the Americas fascinates me. The center piece of this work, half of a statue of the Aztec god Coatlicue and half a Detroit Motor stamping machine displays perfectly the contrasts of cultures but also indicates that somehow, they work together and co-exist. Rivera incorporates innumerable references of culture in this mural, only some of which I listed above. Lots of research and thought must have gone into this mural before completion.

(See following website for close up images of individual parts of the mural- quite fascinating!)

Cited Sources:

http://www.riveramural.com

Environmental Virtual Exhibit

Environmental art has to be my favorite style of art from any era we have studied. There is so much freedom and opportunity held within it. Environmental art often is created outdoors in rural areas and is transitory, or temporary. Two artists that stood out to me from this genre are Andy Goldsworthy, and Strijdom van der Merwe.

Goldsworthy was born in Britain but now lives and works primarily in Scotland. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Preston Polytechnic in Lancashire. He primarily uses his hands, body and what natures supplies to complete his work, but has also been known to use power tools. Once his work is completed, Goldsworthy immediately photographs it and earns his living by selling these photographs. His work Pebbles Around a Hole done in Japan in 1987 is one of his simpler works. Its simplicity and geometric balance are what drew me to it. It is made solely by natural objects as is typical of Environmental art.

Another very simplistic and similar work of art done by Goldsworthy is Rowan Leaves Around a Hole, 1987, West Bretton, England. Living in Alaska we don’t have much variety in fall leaf colors and the vibrancy of these leaves caught my eye. Goldsworthy incorporates leaves into a number of his works. This piece demonstrates the very transitory effect of most Environmental art. The leaves can be blown away, lose their color, and degrade easily which makes his work in this situation very brief.

I looked everywhere for when and where Goldsworthy’s Gold Leaf Trunk Ring was completed, however, couldn’t find anything more about it. I chose to include it with this exhibit as it captured my attention the way the gold had the effect of making the tree appear on fire. This work is much less transitory than the previous work listed, though it is likely that he took it off after he photographed his work. With much more time though, this work would eventually fade away as well. What makes this work ‘Environmental’ is the outdoor location where it was done and the way it incorporates nature.

The second artist that I wanted to portray in this exhibit was Strijdom van der Merwe. He is originally from South Africa and received a fine arts degree from the Stellenbosch University in Stellenbosch, South Africa. He received the medal of honor from the South African Academy of Arts and has traveled far and wide to complete his works. Van der Merwe has done art in South Korea, Belgium, Sweden, Australia as well as South Africa just to name a few countries.

Van der Merwe’s Messages of the Southern Earth completed in South Africa in 2005 caught my attention by its extraordinarily transitory effect. It is done on beach sand right near the water’s edge, which from experience can be washed away at any moment, even while being created. He makes use of nothing more than his hands and the sand around him, taking nothing, and leaving nothing more than a few designs. Something I really appreciate about most Environmental art.

Another one of van der Merwe’s work entitled Migration was of interest to me. He created it in 2001 in Belgium. It captures such a well-known idea in a new light. What fascinated me the most was that he used different shades of sticks for each person, showing that they come from different backgrounds. This piece might stand for a while, yet eventually it will be blown over or weathered and disappear, just the same as every other Environmental work.

The final piece I selected for this exhibit was van der Merwe’s work done in his home town of Stellenbosch in 2008. Like much of his work, it is untitled but has become known by the name ‘Wrapping 393 Trees.’ What I liked about this artwork was that once its display time was over, van der Merwe donated the three kilometers of red cloth to make Duvets for the children at the Ikhaya Trust Centre. He didn’t let his art go to waste. Other than Goldsworthy’s Gold Leaf Trunk Ring I haven’t included any works that made use of manmade items to create Environmental art. This is a common technique and though these works aren’t naturally transitory, they are deconstructed after a certain amount of time.

Environmental art is a style still developing and being created today and I am excited to see where it heads.

Cited sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Goldsworthy

http://julia.soup.io/post/5472242/Pebbles-around-a-hole-by-Andy-Goldsworthy

http://www.morning-earth.org/artistnaturalists/an_goldsworthy.html

http://www.ikhayatrust.org.za/news/26/54/Children-recieve-red-duvets-for-winter/d,newsdetail.html

http://www.artthrob.co.za

Early Modern Era

Of all the works done during the Early Modern Era, the photographs taken by Dorothea Lange left the largest impact on me. I chose to focus this blog on her work with the caption Nipomo, Calif. March 1936. Migrant agricultural worker’s family. Seven hungry children and their mother, aged 32. The father in a native Californian.

Since this work was done as part of a series funded by the Farm Security Administration, her works are given descriptions rather than titles. As is included in the caption, it was taken in Nipomo, California in 1936, during the recovery of the Great Depression. Though the worst of the depression was through by this time, many were still left fighting to regain any form of wealth, especially the immigrants who didn’t have much wealth to begin with. This picture captures the devastation of this disaster, showing everything that this woman had, all of which could fit underneath (or right in front of) her tent. Even though not everyone faced this sort of poverty during the depression, it shows the extent to which it was carried out.

Her photographs influenced federal authorities to take action in supporting the migrant workers at rural agricultural camps, fighting to survive after the Great Depression (“Migrant Mother, 1936”). The fact that she used her work to try to improve the conditions of others is what appealed to me in Lange’s work. Also the realism of the work- there is no staging or exaggeration in it at all.

Cited Sources:

“Migrant Mother, 1936,” EyeWitness to History, http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (2005).

Impressionism

Impressionism didn’t catch my eye as quickly as say the Baroque style of art with all its fine and intricate details. After taking a closer look, however, I began to appreciate it more. I find fascinating how some of the paintings may seem disorganized close up, as just a bunch of broad strokes; yet they come together as a clear image from a distance. An example of this is Claude Monet’s painting Rue Montorgueil, Paris, Festival of June 30, 1878. As is indicated by the title, it was completed in Paris in 1878. Even though neglecting the realistic touch of the previous styles, Monet is able to capture the emotion of the event. This is done through the bright colors of the flags and slight curved stokes to indicate their motion and excitement.

Rue Montorgueil, Paris, Festival of June 30, 1878

Another aspect that I appreciate about this style is the change in subject matter and new found interest in capturing brief moments. I think that the historical, religious and classical subject matter of earlier styles is just as important and critical in understanding the style, but this is a new, much needed break. The Dancing Class, completed in 1874 by Edgar Degas in France, captures such a simple, entirely secular, brief event. Though other paintings had been ‘secular’ before, they hardly ever broke away from historical or classical ideas. The brief moment in this dance class is captured by the expressions on the faces of the dancers. It amazes me the precision of expression artists are able to exhibit through this relatively quickly done style of painting.

The Dancing Class

 

Sources:

http://www.ocaiw.com/galleria_degas/index.php?gallery=ball&id=48

http://www.paintingmania.com/rue-montorgueil-paris-festival-june-30-1878-7_3013.html

Classical Era

The Marriage of Figaro is a play written by Pierre Beaumarchais in 1778. It was written in France, but was likely influenced by Beaumarchais’ time spent in Spain. What appealed to me in Beaumarchais’ play was the humor and reaction in the character’s faces. I’m not sure if the facial gestures were written into the script, but in all of the clips that I looked up from different enactments of The Marriage of Figaro, the dramatic character was maintained.

The Marriage of Figaro was written during the middle of the American Revolution in a time where much of the western world (primarily France and America) felt a large pull towards independence from monarchs. This play portrays the turn from and aristocratic rule to the rise of the middle class clearly. Figaro, the servant of Count, does all he can to make a fool out of the Count (aristocratic society). Beaumarchais’ Marriage of Figaro challenged the government and social classes which ended with the play being censored and not being performed until 1784.  Before this time frame, plays were focused on the power and perfection of the noble class, whereas now, there was more focus placed on the middle class.

Due to its focus on the middle class, Beaumarchais’ play would have a broader popular appeal as there were more people in the middle class than the noble class. It dealt with real life scenarios, while being funny which related to the people much better than plays perhaps had before.

Baroque Era

Johannes Vermeer painted “Woman Holding a Balance” in 1664 in Amsterdam. Vermeer was a Dutch painter who focused in genre painting. What initially struck me about this painting was how it appeared so serene and peaceful. It isn’t packed with excessive detail and doesn’t scream symbolism and hidden meanings. It instead appears calm. After some attention and thought however, there is clear (and simple) symbolism.

Through this subtle symbolism, I see a connection between “Woman Holding a Balance” and the Council of Trent. The meeting of the Council of Trent was held to counter the Protestant Reformation. During this gathering, it was decided that art would again be accepted in the Catholic Church to reward the faithful followers and to aid in bringing people back into the church. Since the church wanted to attract people from all classes and education, the art was presented with clarity, realism and emotion. Vermeer’s painting “Woman Holding a Balance” holds all of these qualities. It is clearly realistic and radiates emotions and feelings of peace, and thoughtfulness. The symbols in this painting such as the depiction of the last judgment behind the woman as well as the scale in her hand along with the emotions indicate the churches’ opinion that we need to balance and gauge our decisions in life with spiritual consequences (“Woman Holding a Balance”). This would be understandable by even the commoners which what the goal of the Catholic Church.

Source:

“Woman Holding a Balance.” http://www.glyphs.com/art/vermeer/ . 9/30/2011. Online.