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Name the stylistic periods of these two works.

Top:

- Stylistic Period: German Expressionism (Der Blaue Reiter)

Bottom:

- Stylistic Period: Abstract Expressionism: Action Painting

How are these works of art similar? What similar aims do the artists share? Name at least four important similarities.

both works of art convey emotions rather than realist things of this world

artists wanted to focus more on the emotions they felt

both pushed what art is in different ways

broke art rules of those times

both used oil on canvas

both keep their paintings simpler than other artists to help convey more deeper meanings

How are these works of art different? Name at least two important differences. Say something about both works in each point you make.

The first painting uses more colors to convey its message, while the second one uses just a few colors to convey its message

The second painting is an example of an "action painting" while the first one is an example of German Expressionism: Der Blaue Reiter where they focused more on spiritual and universal truths

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This painting by Pablo Picasso (Les Demoiselle d’Avignon) was shocking in many ways to the general public as well as to his fellow artists.  Name four ways Picasso pushed the accepted boundaries in art:

didn't include any realism in the piece

he made his piece more simplistic and didn't have any detail

there is no shading unlike other art pieces that were accepted at the time

no linear perspective

flat, no definition to the painting

Name two artists and/or types of art that influenced Picasso in this painting and explain how/why:

Dega and Mane

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These works of art are similar in each of the following ways EXCEPT:

They are both examples of Pop Art

This work shows the artist's interest in

The absurd

Works of this period can also be seen as a reaction against

World War I

This work shows the artist's interest in

Imagery of mass media

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Both of these paintings were created around

1930

Both paintings are associated with

Surrealism

The startling effect of this painting is achieved by the artist's use of

detailed irrational images

In this painting, the artist uses

biomorphic forms

The artists of both paintings were born in

Spain

Both artists used which medium?

oil

Both paintings show an interest in

exploration of the unconscious mind and dream states

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The United States became the center of the art world with the advent of

Abstract Expressionism

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Kasimir Malevich was associated with the style he called

Suprematism

Malevich believed that art

could make the world a better place

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Dada and Futurism emerged shortly after Cubism. The influence of Cubism on Dada and Futurism can be seen in the work of

Duchamp and Boccioni

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Analytic Cubism, which appeared slightly later, was the invention of

Picasso and Braque

Analytic Cubism focused on

Multiple points of view

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Many important modern movements in art developed before the end of World War I. Fauvism appeared in 1905 in the work of

Matisse and Derain

Fauvist art may be characterized by its startling use of

color

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This work is usually described as any of the following styles EXCEPT

Minimalism

One of the goals of this artist was to

make art less elitist by taking it out of the gallery

Which of the following is an example of a social-historical factor in this work?

Artists of this period were interested in environmental issues.

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Name the specific stylistic period of this work:

De Stijl

This artist of this work believed that art should do each of the following EXCEPT

be enjoyed for its formal qualities without meaning anything

Which of the following is NOT an example of the formal elements of this work?

The artist was concerned with balance and harmony in the universe.

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Name the specific stylistic period of this work:

Fauvism

The color red in this painting does each of the following EXCEPT

adds naturalism to the painting

The predominance of the color red is part of the

formal elements of the work

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Name the stylistic period of each work.

second: Realism

first: Post-Impressionism

How are these works similar? Identify at least 4 significant similarities.

both pieces depict people dancing

they both were influenced by Japanese prints in some way or another

both use the technique of cropping figures, suggesting candid viewpoint

they both have dancers in unglamorous poses

How are these works different? Identify at least 3 significant differences. Refer to each work as you give examples.

in the first piece, the figures and even the background are more realistic and the second piece is more abstract and cartoonish

In the first piece, there are lights and shadows used throughout the piece making it look more 3-d, while the second piece is more flat and 2-d

The second piece gives a sense of Psychological isolation of dancer, with a weary expression;  lurking profile of Valentin; dark shapes of onlookers and giving it an overall dreary feeling while the second piece calm and peaceful feel to it, in the way that it is meant to show the leisure of of the new Urban world

Describe how each of these works shows the influence of Japanese woodblock prints. Give specific examples for each work.

the first piece shows influence of Japanese prints in the way the floors are tipped up and asymmetry

the second piece shows influence of the Japanese prints in the 2-d look of it, flat silhouettes, cropping, block shapes, and tilted space

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Name the stylistic period of this work:

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

This stylistic period is known for an extensive use of symbolism. List 4 symbols in this painting and describe what they stand for:

The young in the front is Jesus and if you look closely you can see a cut in his palm which symbolizes the nails that were put into his hands on the cross

the young boy off to the right side is John the Baptist and he is holding a bason of water which symbolizes John the baptizer and baptism

flock of sheep outside symbolize Christs role as the Good Shepard

dove on the latter symbolizes the Holy Ghost

the triangle by the latter symbolizes the Trinity

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Name the stylistic period of this painting:

French Impressionism

List 5 characteristics of the stylistic period stated above that can be found in this painting and describe where you see them in this work:

everyday subjects

two women in a boat

atmosphere, light, color shadows

you can see that they used different shades of light blue, green and white to make the water with lights and shadows, you can even see it in the dresses

modern urban life, leisure activities

2 woman, who look to be of middle or high class, taking a leisure boat ride

lack of atmospheric perspective

everything seems to be on one plane field

time of day/year

the placement of the lights and shadows help us to infer that the painting was done around mid-day

usually with these paintings in the impressionism period, the artist would paint it at a certain time of day and have to come back for many days at that time to finish it

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Each of these paintings represents aspects of life from the artists' own times near the city

Paris

Each of these paintings reflects the interest of late nineteenth-century painters in the casual outdoor activities enjoyed by the new

Leisure class

This painting is an example of

Impressionism

This work exemplifies the style stated above by its concentration on

The effects of light

Another reason this work exemplifies the style stated above is its concentration on

The idea of the sublime in nature

This work shows a classical calm, which the artist developed in part through an interest in

Science

This painting is an example of

Post-Impressionism

A method of representation developed by the artist who painted this work is called

Pointillism

Both artists generally avoided using this color to produce shadows:

Black

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What is the stylistic period of this work?

Post-Impressionism

The main reason this work is part of the stylistic period stated above is that

It emphasizes the artist's inner state of mind rather than physical reality.

Which of the following is an example of the iconography of this work?

The cypress tree is a symbol of eternal life.

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What is the stylistic period of this work?

Impressionism

The main reason this work is part of the stylistic period stated above is that

It shows an interest in capturing outdoor light with loose brushstrokes.

Which of the following is an example of the formal elements of this work?

The artist used complementary colors.

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Name at least 3 significant similarities in these works. Be specific.

Both use harsh light for emphasis, influenced by Caravaggio

they both tell a story/ message in their art

both allude to horror of impeding violence and death

both show sadness in peoples expressions around the focal

Name 4 significant differences between these works. Refer to both works in each point to show how they are different from one another.

The first painting  pays attention to detail in the drapery and human figures while the second painting is more rough with is brush strokes and doesn't have much detail in it

The first painting was made in the Neoclassical period while the second one was during the Romanic period

The first painting has some sorrow seen with the woman on the side but compared to the second painting, the second painting has more exaggerated/emphasized sorrow and horror than the first.

The first painting depicts a noble and virtuous action, heroic, while the second painting is not heroic and it was a protest against war

In the first painting you can see the detailed faces of all of the people in the painting, while in the second painting, the faces are not as detailed and you cant see the faces of the firing squad, they are faceless, mechanical uniformity

What historical factors contribute to the differences in the attitudes toward war seen in these two works? Refer to both works in your answer.

First painting historical factors:

border dispute between Rome and neighboring Alba settled by a sword fight involving three soldiers from each side

The Horatii, led by father, take a vow to fight to the death for their country

Noble and virtuous action; country above personal feelings for family

Influential in start of French Revolution (although David wasn’t a revolutionary at the time he painted it)

Second painting historical factors:

Vivid portrayal of brutalities; indictment against French troops

national uprising against the French; a firing squad was set up to shoot anyone who appeared in the streets

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Stylistic Period: Romanticism

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This painting is an example of which stylistic period?

Rococo

List 4 characteristics of the stylistic period of this work and where you see them in this painting.

indulgence and we see this in that the woman is lifting her skirt up when she swings so her secret lover can have a sneak peek

playfulness and we see this in the sculptures and the expressions on both the man in the bush and the woman.

the use of pastel colors especially in the woman's dress

lush landscapes and this is shown with the detail that is put into the bush and trees around the scene

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In which country was this landscape painted?

England

This painting is an example of the Romantic interest in nationalism because

The artist painted the landscape in his own country

This work exemplifies the Romantic tendency to show a longing for the past because

The smoke in the distance hints that this simple way of life will soon be a thing of the past

What caught the attention of Delacroix and other French artists when this painting was shown at the Salon in Paris?

The glistening reflections of light and the naturalistic clouds and sky

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In this painting, the artist Gericault chose a subject that was

Contemporary

This painting is characterized by all of the following EXCEPT

A traditional hero figure

This work can also been seen as

A criticism of the government

The stylistic period of this painting is called

Romanticism

The style stated above is characterized by an interest in

Horrific themes

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This painting by Angelica Kauffmann represents a historical scene from

Republican Rome

The subject matter and style of Kauffmann’s work share important characteristics with the work of:

David

This work reflects

A striving for a new morality

The stylistic period is

Neoclassicism

The style stated above is characterized by each of the following EXCEPT:

Loose brushstrokes

The style of this work was seen as a reaction to the more frivolous stylistic period that preceded it. This information can be classified as part of the

social/historical factors of the work

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What is the stylistic period of this piece?

Romanticism

Each of the following details points to the style you chose in the question above EXCEPT

the classical setting

Symbols of hope and resurrection in this work include the waxing moon, the grass growing out of the snow, and the cross-shaped tree. These are all part of the

iconography of the work

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What is the stylistic period of this piece?

Neoclassicism

This work was popular for each of the following reasons EXCEPT

It showed a story from ancient Rome

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What is the stylistic period of this piece?

Rococo

This painting was classified as a fete galante, which means

An outdoor scene of entertainment for the aristocracy

Which of the following is an example of the social-historical factors of this painting?

Most works of art during this period were commissioned by the aristocracy.

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How are these paintings similar in visual qualities and content (don't name the stylistic period for similarities or differences, since those are already stated above)?

they are both oil on canvas

both art pieces feature many people gathered around long tables

both pieces have a focal point, in the first one it is the bride and in the second it is Christ

in both pieces, the focal point/main important person isn't eating any food while the rest of the people around them are

How are these paintings different in style and content?

In the first, the colors are more muted and do not have much shadows while in the second piece, it has more extravagant colors that are eliminated and have very harsh shadows

The first piece depicts a wedding celebration while the second is of the last supper

In the first piece, the artist uses different and not as bright colors for the bride compared to the rest to have you look at her, but in the second, they use very bright light like halos around Christ to emphasis he is the focal point

How does each of these paintings show influences from the art of the High Renaissance?

They both remember the rules of anatomy and structure so they can break the rules. In the first, they use more relaxed body shapes that are pleasing to the eyes while the second one have exaggerated poses.

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Who was an architect for the Laurentian Library?

Michelangelo

How does the architecture in the question above depart from rules of the High Renaissance?

pediment above door is broken

pilasters around blank niches taper downward

columns belong to no order; in pairs

scroll backets support nothing

mismatched staircase

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Who is in these Self Portraits?

Sofonisba Anguissola

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What was Pieter Bruegel the Elder best known for?

Genre paintings of peasant life

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What Makes Rosso Fiorentino's "The Descent from the Cross" Mannerist in style?

The angular bodies and drapery

The artist has varied from art of the High Renaissance in each of the following ways EXCEPT:

the use of chiaroscuro

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The title of this work is:

The Four Apostles

It was painted by Albrecht Dürer for a:

Town hall

The monumentality and weight of the figures, along with the naturalistic rendering of the folds in the cloth, were influenced by:

Italian Renaissance art

The placement of the figures, along with the text shown in the open Bible and in the writing beneath, symbolize:

Dürer’s allegiance to Martin Luther and his teachings

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The Isenheim Altarpiece was painted by:

Matthias Grünewald

The Isenheim Altarpiece was painted for a:

Monastery hospital

This view shows the side that would be shown:

On Sundays and Holy Days

Which of the following was NOT one of the purposes of this painting?

To show strict naturalism in colors and proportions

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This painting was created in:

Italy

The style of the painting is:

Mannerism

The painting was commissioned for a:

Chapel in a church

The artist is:

Pontormo

The iconography relates to

New Testament

The painting style is characterized by:

Exaggerated elegance

Which statement is NOT true about this painting?

This style appealed mostly to illiterate worshipers.

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Name the specific stylistic period of this work:

Northern Renaissance

Many elements of this work point to Jesus Christ, such as the crossed fish and the meat hanging on a cross-shaped pole. This information is part of the

iconography of the work

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Name the specific stylistic period of this work:

Northern Renaissance

The skull as a symbol of the need for redemption is an example of the

iconography of the work

The anamorphic perspective of the skull is an example of the

formal elements of the work

This work was created during the Protestant Reformation, a period when much religious art was destroyed or banned in northern Europe. This information can be classified as part of the

social/historical factors of the work

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Name the specific stylistic period of this work:

Mannerism

There are several exaggerations in the body proportions in this work. This information can be classified as part of the

formal elements of the work

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Name the stylistic period of these two works.

1- High Renaissance

2- Early Renaissance

How are these works similar in style and content? Name at least 4 important similarities.

both have the use of contrapposto

both recall the works of art from Rome and Classical Greece

both portray David

both produced in Florence

both have a semi relaxed pose

How are these works different? Name at least 3 important differences. Make sure to talk about both works in each of your points. You can use L and R for left and right. For example: The L figure  . . ., whereas the R figure . . . .

The L figure was created by Donatello and the R figure was created by Michelangelo

The R figure is fully nude while the L figure seems to be wearing something on its bottom half of its legs and a hat

The R figure used to be housed in a town square while the L figure used to be in a courtyard

The R figure seems to have a relaxed body and competitive facial expression while the L figure is self-awakening and seems to be admiring what he has done

R figure has a sling in his left hand while the R figure has a sword in his right hand and seems to have a rock in the other.

In which city were these two works located?

Florence, Italy

Why was the subject depicted important to the city in which they reside?

The subject of David was important in the city of Florence because it was a symbol of Florence. In the early 1400's, Florence was threatened by Duke of Milan; Republic.

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What is the specific stylistic period of this work?

High Renaissance

How does this building exemplify art and architecture of the period you stated above? Give at least 3 specific examples:

repetition

balance/symmetry

Doric columns

perfect sense of harmony

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What is the specific stylistic period of this piece?

Early Renaissance

Name four characteristics of the period you stated above found in this work:

Christian beliefs

linear perspective

premarital composition

naturalism

classical pillars and columns

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This painting, which shows an assembly of some famous figures of the ancient world, is known as the

School of Athens

It was commissioned by Pope Julius II in Rome for his

library

Like the Sistine Chapel ceiling, this painting was carried out in the traditional wall-painting medium of

fresco

The composition includes a spacious monumental structure that frames the figures and reflects the study of buildings from ancient

Rome

Overall, the painting is a forceful example of the art of the High Renaissance, when many artists strove to attain

Balance, stability, and order

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The artist of this work is

Leonardo da Vinci

The work is a

wall painting

The work is located in a

monastic refectory (dining hall)

The artist experimented with the work's

medium

The work incorporates

linear perspective

The work depicts the

Last Supper

The narrative moment is expressed through the

gestures

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What is the specific stylistic period for this work?

High Renaissance

What is the medium of this work?

oil

Leonardo da Vinci was famous for  his soft, smoky modeling, a technique called

sfumato

The artist of this work used gestures and glances to lead the viewer's eye around the work. This information can be classified as part of the

formal elements of the work

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What is the medium of this work?

tempera

Each of the following characteristics in this work was borrowed from the International Gothic period of northern Europe EXCEPT

the use of contrapposto

What is the specific stylistic period for this work?

Early Renaissance

Which of the following is an example of a social-historical factor regarding this work?

The subject matter shows the interest in humanism and classical learning typical of the time this work was painted.

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Where was this work painted?

Venice

What is the medium of this work?

oil

What is the specific stylistic period for this work?

Early Renaissance

Which of the following is an example of the iconography of this work?

The grapevine and the stigmata in St. Francis's hands and feet are symbols of Jesus Christ.

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Post-Painterly Abstraction:

“Stain painting”

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1. Abstract Expressionism: Action Painting

2. Abstract Expressionism: Color Field Painting

3. Pop Art

4. Installation Art

5. Performance Art

6. Minimalism

7. Earthworks

8.Feminist Art

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Eternal unlimited universe, love for humanity, and longing for peace in the world—these concepts become increasingly serious through the development of my philosophy of life and art.

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Japanese

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Aunt Jemima has been armed and empowered with a new identity. She’s done making pancakes.”

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Betye Saar, The Liberation of Aunt Jemima, 1972

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Betye Saar, The Liberation of Aunt Jemima, 1972

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Betye Saar’s found object assemblage, The Liberation of Aunt Jemima (1972), re-appropriates derogatory imagery as a means of protest and symbol of empowerment for black women.

Emerging from a historical context fraught with racism and sexism, Saar’s pivotal piece works in tandem with the civil rights and feminist movements. The cotton balls at the feet of the Jemima figure, the broom, and the image of the woman with the white child each speak to specific roles into which African American women were historically allocated. Saar takes these painful memories and alters them, arming the stereotypically docile mammy figure with a gun and hand grenade and giving agency to the traumatized icons of the past.

Aunt Jemima has been armed and empowered with a new identity. She’s done making pancakes.

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Activist Art:

Art as political statement

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Nam June Paik. Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S. 1995 

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Nam June Paik. Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S. 1995 

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Nam June Paik, electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., 1995:

Video art

Monitors behind each state with different imagery

Prevalence of tv in America, rapidly changing

Most Americans experience the world through tv screens; tv=real life

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Judy Chicago, The Dinner Party, 1979

Began feminist art movement

Background as a minimalist (one of the boys); not included in reviews of shows

Cutting edge group of artists still very traditional in one way: domination by males

Decided to pay homage to important women throughout history, many ignored in history books

Extensive research

39 place settings, 13 at each side (symbolism?)

919 other women’s names inscribed in tiles

Hand-painted ceramic plates in period style, embroidered runner also in period style: mediums associated with women: needlework, painted china, ceramics

Sense of community and ritual (Last Supper now spiritual communion of women)

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Betye Saar, Shield of Quality, 1974:

“brazenly representational”: no attempt to accommodate art establisment

Also dedicated to Aftrican-American heritage

Like Louise Nevelson but personal objects, meaningful, intimate

Objects and pictures relating to her great aunt; triptych like—portable altar

Small!

Focuses on women and important role of women

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Christo and Jeanne-Claude The Gates, Central Park, New York, 1979–2005 

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Christo and Jeanne-Claude The Gates, Central Park, New York, 1979–2005 

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Christo and Jeanne-Claude.  Running Fence,Sonoma and Marin counties, California. 1972–76

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Christo and Jeanne-Claude.  Running Fence,Sonoma and Marin counties, California. 1972–76

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Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Running Fence, 1972-76

Running=documentary (5:00)

Fence=Smithsonian Documentary (4:31)

How can art compete with mass media? The masses don’t go to art museums, so he decided to bring art to the people

Not lasting museum pieces: felt that the creative process was more important than the finished work:

the recording of the work by the media (let the media work for you—like Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol)

working with farmers to get their permission to use their land

getting local people to help with the construction

beauty of finished project: Jars us into seeing the environment in a new way; natural element of wind

Local people skeptical at first, but many were proud of it at the end; hard-hat workers moved by the experience; also by his total belief in what he was doing; charismatic, converted people to his art (story about one rancher who had fought it slept next the the fence one night with his son and had a transformative experience

Not elitist—brought art experience to normal people; link between fine art and real world

Cost 3 million dollars; Christo funded himself through drawings, but hundreds of thousands saw it vs. painting sold to private collector and never seen

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Earthworks:

The earth is the canvas

Interactive

Out of the gallery—less elitist

Not collectable

Some felt minimalists were escapists, not confronting issues of the day; wanted to put emotion back into art

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Dan Flavin. the nominal three (to William of Ockham). 1963 

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Dan Flavin. the nominal three (to William of Ockham). 1963 

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Dan Flavin, the nominal three, 1963: “light sculptor”

Medium is fluorescent tubes of light; reduced to bare essentials (no paint, no canvas, etc.); where else could you go?

Art that can’t be collected; Is there anything still traditional? museum setting

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Donald Judd, Untitled, 1969

Smarthistory (3:59)

Reliance upon geometry, mathematical measurements; emphasized conceptual rather than emotional content; favored materials and processes of mass production

Lacks artists’ hand; not personal; no sign of artist except in concept

Non-art materials: plexiglass, fluorescent tubes, galvanized steel

Wanted to make art that did not look like art—nothing but what you see; no references

Admire what you see: scale, color, texture, proportions; takes away base, glass case—props that announce an object to be a work of art

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Frank Stella, Empress of India, 1965:

Entirely flat, pinstripes=lines of canvas showing through

Canvas now has a life of its own—not rectangular; sculptural (blurs distiction between painting and sculptures)

No push-pull of space

“What you see is what you see.” No hidden meanings, symbols, references: stripped down vocabulary=Minimal Art

(so why title?)

Geometrical precision

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                      Hard-Edge Abstraction

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Ellsworth Kelly, Red Blue Green, 1963:

More than 11 feet wide;

Reduced painting to a barebones simplicity: Hard-Edge Abstraction; machine precision

Geometric shapes in solid primary and secondary colors; no figure and ground; all on same plane

Only about color and movement; no reference to artist; no reference to  subject or meaning; strips everything else away

Left side fixed, right side has movement?

Figure/ground relationships change?

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Minimalism:

Unemotional

Reduced to most basic parts

“What you see is what you see”—denial of meaning

“What you see is what you see.” -Frank Stella

Reaction to Abstract Expressionism;

sought to make unemotional art

Eliminated any sense of space

Art for art’s sake

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Eternal unlimited universe, love for humanity, and longing for peace in the world—these concepts become increasingly serious through the development of my philosophy of life and art.

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Next to Dali, most publicity prone; kept himself in the news, outlandish, threw spectacular parties

Was making art based on comic books at exactly the same time as Lichtenstein; turned to commercial design

Began as illustrator of women’s shoes; fascinated by manipulative role of advertising and product packaging; also by impact of mass media on public opinion

“I want to be a machine.” opposite Pollock (wanted to be one with nature)

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Imagery of mass media; took “low art” forms (commercial art) and made it into “high art”;

Revealed manipulative impact of mass media

Make art that doesn’t look like art (idea from Environments, Happenings)

Looked to comic books, newspapers; liked the bold outlines, lack of depth/dimension

Known for seeing beauty in low art

Blurs distinctions between fine art and mass culture

Used benday dots; when seen up close, they become flat abstract patterns

Reveals cultural stereotypes of men and women at the time

Artist’s hand/presence not visible; machine-like (opposite AE artists)

“I love this piece because to me he is questioning the misconception and stereotype that fine art is better than commercial art.” Renae Hunter

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Joseph Beuys, How to Explain Paintings to a Dead Hare, Nov. 26, 1965

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Joseph Beuys, How to Explain Paintings to a Dead Hare, Nov. 26, 1965

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Performance art/conceptual art

Autobiographical: fighter pilot in Hitler’s Luftwaffe in WW2; told story that his plane was shot down in a snowstorm over Crimea and that nomads saved him from freezing by covering him in animal fat and felt (materials here reflecting humanity and spirituality: felt on shoe, fat on chair; steel attached to right foot to show hard reason; face covered in honey (life force) and cold—magical, shaman-like

Moved lips for 3 hours instructing dead hare about pictures surrounding him; meaninglessness of conventional picture-making that has to be explained; art should be spiritual, direct, understandable to viewer.

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Performance Art

Art as life

Improvisation; unpredictable

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George Segal, The Gas Station, 1963:

Response to Happenings/Performance Art

Frozen environments; white, plaster figures (plaster casts using plaster medical bandages)

Alienation of contemporary life; lethargic, very alone, drained of life

Modern objects, advanced technology, but meaningless; no spirituality or human interaction

What is the meaning of modern existence? Like Edward Hopper

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Allan Kaprow, Yard, 1961

Environments or installations

Interested in Rauschenberg, Nevelson using objects from everyday life

Allover look of Jackson Pollock (wrote that the next step after Pollock was to make environmental art)

Not permanent

Walk through it, experience

No meaning attached; left to viewer

Performance Art, Happenings

Simultaneous actions: painting, juicing oranges, speaking fragments of sentences: human participation, element of change

Like a combine in time and space

Reminds me of switching channels on tv or radio

Lots of performance art followed

George Brecht: Motor Vehicle Sunset Event: people drew cards with instructions: at a parking lot revved engines, honked horns, rolled down windows, slammed doors shut, opened and closed hoods and trunks

Finding beauty in everyday ordinariness?

How different from theater? Takes place in an art context

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Installation Art

Art as experience

Not collectable

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Jasper Johns, Three Flags, 1958: (Courtney Smith, elements of design)

Friends with Rauschenberg; began as a window decorator

Chose everyday, familiar forms

Takes readymades and paints over them

Paintings about painting: non-illusionistic, no specific meaning or emotion (can you remove emotion from flag?)

Wax-based encaustic; painterly

3 canvases stacked: 3-D from canvases, not from illusionistic painting; an image is a sign or symbol of something else, not the thing itself (this is a painting of a flag, not a flag—Magritte: This is not a Pipe)

Predecessor to Pop Art

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Combines: works that combined painting, sculpture, collage, and found objects

Robert Rauschenberg, Odalisk, 1955-58:

New generation of artists rejected Abstract Expressionism

Rauschenberg: “It was all about suffering and self-expression and the State of Things. I just wasn’t interested in that, and I certainly did not have any interest in trying to improve the world through painting.”

Took off where Duchamp left off: painted canvases completely white; in response, avant-garde composer John Cage wrote a piano piece called 4’33”, first performed in Woodstock, NY in 1952: pianist opened keyboard, did nothing else for 4 minutes and 33 seconds; audience listened to sounds of the real world; then the keyboard case was shut, signaling the end of the piece

“I don’t want a picture to look like something it isn’t. I want it to look like something it is. And I think a pictures is more like the real world when it’s made out of the real world.”

Combines: works that combined painting, sculpture, collage, found objects

Odalisk: lamp (electric light inside); magazines, newspapers, thrift shops, garbage—mass production, throwaway

Title: pun on odalisque and obelisk; sexual allusions but no explanation; this is life

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Post Abstraction

“Combines”

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Louise Nevelson. Sky Cathedral—Moon Garden Plus One. 1957–60 

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Louise Nevelson. Sky Cathedral—Moon Garden Plus One. 1957–60 

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Louise Nevelson, Sky Cathedral—Moon Garden Plus One, 1957-60:

Black boxes filled with found objects; fragments of furniture and architecture; also became larger, wall-sized

Fragments of civilization, of one’s life, of the cosmos

Nevelson wanted her black works to be illuminated by a blue light, suggesting twilight, when things begin to look different and to change into something else—moment of transformation

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David Smith. Cubi series as installed at Bolton’s Landing, New York. Left: Cubi XVIII, 1964. Center: Cubi XVII, 1963. Right: Cubi XIX, 1964

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David Smith. Cubi series as installed at Bolton’s Landing, New York. Left: Cubi XVIII, 1964. Center: Cubi XVII, 1963. Right: Cubi XIX, 1964

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David Smith, Cubi series:

Contemporary of abstract expressionists; began as a painter, started welding steel; drawings of organic forms in space

Began using reserves of metal he had on hand, unplanned

In Cubi series, he ordered precut stainless steel and assembled; geometric, but unemotional?

Giant, monumental (size influenced by AE artists); precarious—impermanence of all things

Burnished the steel to give it a textured, painterly surface

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Helen Frankenthaler. Mountains and Sea. 1952 

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Helen Frankenthaler. Mountains and Sea. 1952 

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Helen Frankenthaler, Mountains and Sea, 1952:

Developed Stain painting: put canvas on the floor like Pollock, made quick charcoal sketches, poured thin oil paint on it, tilted it to allow paint to run (didn’t use brush)

Paint bled into unprimed canvas; translucent like watercolor; not tactile like impasto; couldn’t see artist’s hand: post-painterly abstraction (evolved from abstract expressionism)

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Mark Rothko, No. 61 (Rust and Blue), 1953

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Mark Rothko, No. 61 (Rust and Blue), 1953

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Flip side of Abstract Expressionism: Color-Field Painting

Mystical quality: Large meditative planes of color to express universal forces; sublime (vast, large canvases)

Main color-field painters: Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, Clifford Still; all started out by making Surrealist paintings based on mythical themes

Rothko: flat planes of color; no storytelling, no symbols; mystical, oneness with cosmic forces

Thin layers of paint; glowing,  “spiritual light”; ragged edges, cloudlike, organic; suggest infinity, spiritual aura

Said he had religious experiences while painting:

“I am not interested in relationships of color or form or anything else . . . I am interested only in expressing the basic human emotions—tragedy, ecstasy, doom, and so on—and the fact that lots of people break down and cry when confronted with my pictures shows that I communicate with those basic human emotions. The people who weep before my pictures are having the same religious experience I had when I painted them.  And if you . . . Are moved only by their color relationships, then you miss the point!”

Jordan Pope:

“When thinking about this question, I went almost immediately to Rothko. After the discussion in class, learning of Rothko’s desire for us to feel the art, to stand in its presence, it really affected me. Thinking of them as more landscapes than purely abstract, to me they become doorways, portals, to a world all his own, yet open for us. They are not sharp lines but fuzzy, with no actual detail in them, just like say a window of frosted glass or something. This then gives us the ability to step through into these worlds of emotion that Rothko has created. Take, for example, No. 61 (Rust and Blue). To me, it is quite a sad painting. It is a world of death and sorry, being 1953 after the chaos of WW2, I see a land of blood, dark clouds hang overhead and a deep blue sky of nature lamenting the destruction that has happened. Or take No. 14, which I believe is the one we looked at in class. It has a warm sky, as if of a rising sun, a land of blue, of a deep ocean, hailing to the voyagers of old seeking new horizons. For me, when I understand an artist, then I can appreciate them. One of the reasons why I love to learn new techniques and media is so that I can more fully understand artists, how they work, and how they feel. When, learning of Rothko and how he tried to make his pieces with emotion and the understanding of what he wants us to do to understand his pieces, it becomes beautiful in learning from his art.”

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Abstract Expressionism (two branches—Action Painting and Color Field Painting): Influenced by Surrealism

Art about emotion, myth, universal forces

Brought attention to the paint on the canvas (rather than hiding)

Brought NYC to the center of the art world

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Robert Arneson, The Abstract Expressionist, 1985

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Robert Arneson, The Abstract Expressionist, 1985

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Made NYC center of art world for the first time

As the term suggests, their work was characterized by non-objective imagery that appeared emotionally charged with personal meaning.  The artists, however, rejected these implications of the name.

They insisted their subjects were not “abstract,” but rather primal images, deeply rooted in society’s collective unconscious.  Their paintings did not express mere emotion.  They communicated universal truths about the human condition.

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Jackson Pollock. Autumn Rhythm: Number 30. 1950 

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Jackson Pollock. Autumn Rhythm: Number 30. 1950 

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It seems to me that the modern painter cannot express this age, the airplane, the atom bomb, the radio, in the old forms of the Renaissance or of any other past culture

Jackson Pollock, Autumn Rhythm: Number 30, 1950: Tana Jensen—elements and principles of design

Jackson=footage

Pollock=MOMA

Number=Smarthistory (7:34)

After WWII: Turning point in the art world: focus shifted from Paris to NY

America’s first major art movement, Abstract Expressionism; evolved from Surrealism; influence of many European artists in NY during wars

Like Matisse, Picasso, Kandinsky—breaking new rules (how many?)

Story: Asked his wife Lee Krasner “Is this a painting?”

Gesture paintings: about process; Allover paintings: no focal point; culmination of trend of the emergence of the picture plane as an independent entity (since Cezanne—even Manet)

Existentialism reaction to destruction of world wars: no absolute truths

“The one thing that could be trusted and believed in was the self, and that became the sole subject of Abstract Expressionist painting”—individualism; no mistaking one artist for another (story about art teacher; students all did Pollock style);

Precedent to performance art; canvas totally gone, spontaneous, end product unknown

"It is impossible to make a forgery of Jackson Pollock's work," Time magazine critic Robert Hughes claimed in 1982. "It is what his imitators could never do, and why there are no successful Pollock forgeries: they always end up looking like...spaghetti, whereas Pollock--in his best work--had an almost preternatural control over the total effect of those skeins and receding depths of paint. In them, the light is always right. Nor are they absolutely spontaneous; he would often retouch the drip with a brush."
from Cody, Wyoming

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Chapter 29: Postwar to Postmodern (1945-1980)

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Chapter 29: Postwar to Postmodern (1945-1980)

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Postwar to Postmodern 1945-1980

Pushing whatever boundaries that are left in art

WRITING TOPIC: What kind of boundaries did artists after WWII break? Are there any more boundaries for artists to break?

Breaking Rules

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Robert Smithson. Spiral Jetty, Great Salt Lake, Utah. 1970 

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Robert Smithson. Spiral Jetty, Great Salt Lake, Utah. 1970 

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Robert Smithson, the creator of Spiral Jetty, wanted to do each of the following EXCEPT

create something that would last forever

it is:

use the earth as his canvas

suggest ancient symbolism

make art less elitist

What is true about this work today?

It can be seen on the shore of the Great Salt Lake.

Robert Smithson, Spiral Jetty, Great Salt Lake, Utah, 1970

Jetty=documentary photos

Great=quiz

Spiral=Smarthistory (3:44)

The earth is the canvas; environmental scale

Just as time erodes civilizations and all things, the jetty will eventually disappear

Subject is entropy and change (salt encrusted, etc.)

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Andy Warhol. Campbell’s Soup Cans. 1961–64 

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Andy Warhol. Campbell’s Soup Cans. 1961–64 

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Andy Warhol, Campbell’s Soup Cans, 1961-64: images from everyday life (like Dutch art) but no reverence, not carefully arranged, no hidden symbolism or meaning

All 32 types of Campbell’s soups at the time; monotonous, repetitive (indifferent vs. emotionalism of abstract expressionism)

Called studio the Factory; used silkscreen process; removes artists’ hand, individualism

Workaholic, highly involved in process; but gave illusion of barely touching work

Art is a commodity; name brand product, not necessarily about technique or craftsmanship (you want to buy a Warhol)

Pervasiveness of advertising, mass production, uniformity, consumerism: a portrait of America

“One of my favorite pieces will always be Andy Warhol’s Soup Can images. I’ve seen one in person and it looks so effortless, but in a room surrounded by strange and foreign works that tend to isolate and intimidate, his soup cans are so familiar and comfortable. . .” Madison HIxson

Andy Warhol was interested in each of the following EXCEPT

C. expressing emotion

it is:

images of the mass media

techniques of mass reproduction

contemporary society and pop culture

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What is NOT true about Jackson Pollock's One: Number 31?

The medium is oil on canvas.

it is:

This is an example of "action painting" because of the apparent gestures and movements of the artist.

Jackson Pollock was interested in each of the following EXCEPT

telling a specific story

it is:

psychoanalysis and looking inward

mythology and primitive art

pushing the boundaries of what painting could be

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 Stuart Davis, Hot Still-Scape for Six Colors - 7th Avenue Style. 1940.

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 Stuart Davis, Hot Still-Scape for Six Colors - 7th Avenue Style. 1940.

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Essence of the modern experience through abstraction—influenced by Armory Show: flying in an airplane, looking down from a towering skyscraper, riding in a speeding car, advertising, jazz, pulse and energy

Like synthetic Cubism

Marley Staker: Stuart Davis’ painting “Hot Still-Scape for Six Colors—Seventh Avenue Style” embodies several of the principles of design including balance, depth, and repetition and variation. The composition is asymmetrical but the shapes and colors make it very balanced. The overlapping and juxtaposition in this composition gives a sense of depth. It almost appears as thought there are multiple layers that are being revealed. Lastly, Davis uses repetition and variation to bring this piece to life. He uses many patterns each with their own repeating shapes. He also uses many different shapes, some similar to others but none are the same. His awareness and use of these principles make his work effective and interesting to look at.

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             Charles Demuth, My Egypt, 1927

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             Charles Demuth, My Egypt, 1927

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Charles Demuth, My Egypt, 1927

Grain elevators

Hard-edged, geometric, Cubist; Precisionism (not only because of precise line, but also because of precision of machines and industry; unlike Cubism, not distorted

Title: Americas pyramids; mighty

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Dorothea Lange. Migrant Mother, California. 1936

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Dorothea Lange. Migrant Mother, California. 1936

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Dorothea Lange, Migrant Mother, California, 1936: (American History Channel, 4:09)

Grant from FSA (Farm Security Administration) under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal

Captures destitution, emotional distress of migrant workers

Immediate impact: government sent food to CA and opened relief camps for migrant workers; power of images

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Edward Hopper, Night Hawks, 1942 (Smarthistory: 4:48)

Garish light and colors of Van Gogh’s Night Café, 1888

showing that you can be with a lot of people (like in a big city) and yet still feel alone

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Frida=Smarthistory: Frida and Diego, 3:48

Frida Kahlo, The Two Fridas, 1939: began painting while recovering from a bus accident at age 18; interested in native folk art and dress; introspective and about emotional and physical pain

Left: European Frida; pale, Victorian dress (father was Hungarian Jew); right is Mexican Frida, darker and in peasant costume (mother Indian and Creole)

European Frida cuts the blood connection to the indigenous self

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Diego Rivera, Flower Carrier, 1935 SFMOMA

Echoed forms of Aztec and Mayan art

famous mural painter

famous for going back to his native roots

wanted to show more of ingenious workers in the days

looking back at Aztec/native art to inspire his pieces

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      Mexican Art: Seeking a National Identity

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      Mexican Art: Seeking a National Identity

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Mexican Revolution in 1910-1921; focus on indigenous traditions while rejecting European influences

Government building campain led to mural commissions; rise in muralists such as Diego Rivera, David Siquieros, and Jose Clemente Orozco

Socialists or Communists; proclaimed murals as the true art of the people

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       Jacob Lawrence, “In the North the Negro Had Better Educational Facilities,” from the Migration of the Negro series, 1940-41

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       Jacob Lawrence, “In the North the Negro Had Better Educational Facilities,” from the Migration of the Negro series, 1940-41

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Jacob Lawrence, In the North the Negro Had Better Educational Facilities, from the series The Migration of the Negro; tempera on hardboard

Series of 60 paintings documenting mass migration (6 million) of African Americans from the south to the north

Factors included racism and Jim Crow laws, but also jobs to fill in the industrialized north

About movement and change

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Lawrence called his style “dynamic Cubism” but said he was influenced less by French art and more by the shapes and colors of Harlem