Street Art

            Street Art has no definite starting period. It is a form of art that is used all over the world in many different mediums. The art ranges from Aerosol paint, use of stencil, sculpture, sticker art, and ceramics. It was once thought to only be used by criminals and anarchists. Today companies use it in order to advertise their product in an unconventional way. In the reading Street Art/Street Ads it talks about Faber-Castell use graffiti art to advertise for color pencils. The company enjoys the cleverness of the ad. They believe this could be more effective than the tradition form of advertisement. The company would rather spend the money to put up the street art and are willing to pay for the fine. Copenhagen in 2007 had parking spots painted in odd places around the city with the word JEEP in the lower right corner. It explained to the citizens of Copenhagen the capabilities of the 4 wheel driving capabilities of the Jeep.

In the Editors Letters a professor of calligraphy at Pratt Institute in New York, talked about how her old teaching style was no longer engaging to the new contemporary student. She explains and analyzes graffiti and compares it to her formal script. The professor describes how the strokes of spray paint are similar to the strokes of a pen. She finds almost the same amount of joy in analyzing graffiti as she does over a medieval manuscript.

Another part of the reading talks about a fellow street artist who repairs broken building or sidewalks around the city with ceramics and color otherwise called “aesthetic band-aides”. It delves deep into what art truly is. It portrays the concept of art not being conceptual but more contextual. It is about the context of the art and how you define it. He describes ceramics as an amazing form of medium that is resistant to time. Also they are non flashy and simply efficient. With the lack of ambition it might become more noticeable, even more noticeable, thus better than the grand gesture of the more gaudy forms of street art.

There aren’t really a whole lot of comparisons on street art nowadays. It is a contemporary art form has really launched in the past 30 years. Various artists from Invader, Shepard Fairey, and Banksy. These artists have changed the street art world. Banksy is the main example how street art has become the next great art medium. With Banksy he has done street art all over Britain, New Orleans, and the separation wall in the Gaza strip. There has been such a craze for street art. Art brokerages are selling his artwork for thousands of dollars. Recently in the news a Banksy piece was removed from a way in Britain and sold in Miami. Shepard Fairey created the “Andre the Giant Has a Posse” sticker campaign in 1989, which later evolved to “Obey Giant” campaign. I have personally seen the obey poster on the side of an old warehouse building in Honolulu, Hi. He became famous when he created the HOPE poster for President Obama’s 2008 Campaign. Street art is a medium that is growing and gaining even more popularity. He could possibly be a art period that will be in text books in the future.

Karsh, Yousuf. “Login.” Pima Community College Web Catalog. ARTstor, n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2013. <http://0-library.artstor.org.library2.pima.edu/library/secure/ViewImages?id=8CJGczI9NzldLS1WEDhzTnkrX3goeVJ9eC4=&gt;.

Ernest Hemingway 1957

 

Karsh was excited to take the picture of Ernest Hemingway. Karsh was wondering which hero of his books that he would get to see and photograph. This portrait was taken of Hemingway at his home in Finca Vigia, near Havana. He was suffering from ailments from his second plane crash in Africa. The great author did not want to show pain in the photo and was extremely shy about it. Karsh removed Hemingway’s wife and his own personal assistant and coached Ernest one on one. Karsh stated that he was the shyest man that he had ever photographed. What came out of the photograph is a blank stare from the famous writer. Critics claim that with a big blank face you are unable to get anything out of Hemingway’s life. The other perspective if that you get a sense of personal injury. Occurring from driving an ambulance in the First War to the gashes and burns from his second plane crash. The Novelist had survived four marriages, a life of too much drinking, and the adoration of bull fighting. Some people might see just a blank face but even the eyes tell a story of a world of life lessons. By know the back-story you can view him as a wounded victim of fate, or view him as a hero who lived life. This portrait allows you the use of both interpretations. His face now is filled with qualities of our imagination, which leads us to our own self-reflection.

Virtual Exhibition

Renaissance

The Renaissance Art era existed from 14th to 17th century. Many great ideas and artistic discoveries came from this time period of time. There were changes to architecture, painting, sculptures, and pottery. The term “Renaissance Man” is a title you give someone that is talented in many different areas. Michelangelo was a painter, sculptor, poet, and architect. Leonardo was a painter, inventor, sculptor, architect, engineer, scientist, and musician. Leonardo was viewed as the most brilliant man in history. The Renaissance will have a large impact art and culture at the time and carry on into the future.
One of the distinguishing features of Renaissance art was its development of highly realistic linear perspective by Giotto di Bondone. Allowing two-dimensional objects to appear as three-dimensional. Besides linear perspective artists studies the light and shadow. Leonardo da Vinci study of human anatomy, which allowed for the more realistic paintings. These changes in artistic method were a renewed desire to depict the beauty of nature. With the desire to depict beauty in nature the atmospherics perspective was discovered. During this time they started to use the newly developed oil paint.
Architecture sees a change and improvement during this time period. A sculptor son of an architect was able to perfect the protruding dome and develop the cross and circular shape. The cross and circle is seen in many new buildings during this time period. Architects are starting to use Greek and Roman columns not just for structural support but also purely for aesthetic principles.
Sculptures were being developed by some of the most famous artists of their time and ever. One of the great sculptors of that time was Donatello. He was a master of stone and woodcarvings. He was the first to create a life size nude statue of David; and life size equestrian portrait, Gattamelatta. During the 1400’s in Italy the ruling factions used condottieri to protect and defend cities and regions. The statues of the generals were an example of the “self made man” during the renaissance. The equestrian theme was important because chivalry is derived from the French word “chival” which means horse. Besides bronze statues Michelangelo created statues out of marble like the Greeks. There is a difference between the Renaissance sculptures and Greek. The Greeks faces have no emotion but the Renaissance provides expressions and an energy that wasn’t seen in statues until now.
The ideas from the Renaissance have impacted today’s society in many ways. A example of the architecture is seen on of the most popularly visited citied in America; the White House and the Capital. Children’s educational programs frequently teach kids about Leonardo da Vinci and his ideas and paintings. The children’s cartoon “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” contains the names of the great painters and thinkers of the time. It even shows you that master Splinter found the names in an old art book. The equestrian bronze portraits are being copied a crossed America. In the city of Tucson we have a statue of Poncho Villa and Father Kino. Both statues on a man on a horse in attempt to bring some chivalry to the two characters.

Museum Exhibition

University of Arizona Museum of Art

 

Samuel H. Kress Exhibit

 

The Samuel H. Kress Foundation is a group that collected nearly 60 paintings from between the 14^th and 19^th century. In the 1950’s the foundation donated around 50 paintings to the museum. The paintings that were donated by the Kress Foundation sit a dimly lit room filled with dark colors with isolated beams of light and hardwood floors. Giving an almost aristocratic feel to the space. It has varying pieces from paintings of single simple people to a large hand carved wooden chest with deep relief images.

Horace Vernet does a striking piece that sits toward the front of the exhibit. He was a French painter in a line of skilled painters. He was known best for his realistic paintings of military scenes and local life. During his life he became a favorite painter in the restored Bourbon monarchy. At that time he made many portraits of Italian nobilities. One of the pieces called  “Portrait of the Marchesa Cunegonda Misciattelli with Her Infant Son and His Nurse.” It depicts a woman Marchesa playing the piano while the nurse holds and plays with the son. The painting showing a typical Upper class mother who give birth to the child then pays a nurse to raise it. Horace paints a picture that is a true Trompe I’oeil. It is as if you are standing in the room and Marchesa is playing for you. The lines that Vernet uses are very dynamic. He puts great detail into what he is doing. The mass of the picture is the three beings in the center of the painting. Vernet leaves very little negative space in the painting. The linear perspective of the painting is a 3 dimensional feel to it. The way the implied light shines on the three beings, give the impression that the light is coming from a open window but the light is directed on Marchesa and fades as it runs crossed her child and the nurse. Which gives us the impression that they are less important than the Aristocrat mother. Yet implies a moment of intimacy as the child playfully reaches for his mother. Vernet uses an open palette in his painting by using all the colors in the color wheel. He practices shading to darken the edges of the canvas to give a greater significance to the characters in the painting. When you look closely at the painting you are able to see a visual texture to the objects on the canvas. In his design of the painting he shows a sense of unity. His work has a sense of a cohesive whole. Vernet’s work has an asymmetrical balance to it with more volume of work on the left and a use of subordination on the objects around the characters. He is able to compensate for it. By emphasizing the people in the painting he uses implied light on them and shading the edges of the canvass.

 

 

“Samuel H. Kress Foundation.” University of Arizona Museum of Art. 1031 North Olive Road
Tucson, AZ 85721. 15 February 2013.