Non Western 2

Diego Rivera (1886-1957), was a Mexican painter and muralist born in Guanajuato City, Guanajuato. Teodoro A. Dehesa Méndez, the governor of the State of Veracruz, sponsored Rivera to study art in Europe. Paris was experiencing a time when cubism was becoming more popular and from 1913 to 1918 Rivera embraced this style and began showing his works. Due to Rivera’s controversial political views he was not welcome in Europe any longer and went back to Mexico in 1921 where he became involved in the New Mexican mural movement.

“He began to experiment with fresco painting on large walls. Rivera soon developed his own style of large, simplified figures and bold colors. Many of his murals deal symbolically with Mexican society and thought after the country’s 1910 Revolution. Rivera’s radical political beliefs, his attacks on the church, and clergy, as well as his flirtations with Trotskyites and left wing assassins made him a controversial figure even in communist circles.”

Rivera went on to paint many meaningful works in the United States. From 1930 to 1933 he completed a number of frescoes in the United States, mostly consisting of industrial life. He is  best known for his 1933 mural, “Man at the Crossroads,” in the lobby of the RCA Building at Rockefeller Center. Nelson Rockefeller commissioned him to paint a mural in the lobby because he wanted to make people stop and think. The mural was controversial for its inclusion of Lenin in the scene and other contents. There were paintings of society women drinking and depictions of sexually transmitted disease cells.  When Rockefeller discovered that the mural included a portrait of Lenin and other communist imagery, he fired Rivera, and Rockefeller’s staff eventually destroyed the unfinished work. The controversy between Rockefeller and Rivera is shown in the fiction films Cradle Will Rock and Frida.

What Rivera himself considered to be his finest work in the United States are the still surviving twenty seven fresco panels entitled “Detroit Industry” on the walls of an inside courtyard at the Detroit Institute of Arts that he painted in 1932. (Source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/visualarts/diegorivera_a.html)

“The Detroit Industry mural cycle in the Detroit Institute of Arts is the finest example of Mexican muralist work in the United States, and Diego Rivera (1886-1957) considered it the most successful work of his career. The murals are a tribute to Detroit industry in the 1930s. It is one of the few major modern works to successfully incorporate representations of functional machines. Rivera transformed their physical power and practical design into dynamic images and sensual forms.”
Rivera was commissioned to paint a two-panel mural but was so taken with the work and the industrial complex in which the courtyard was set that it took him eight months to finish and the end result was much more than he initially planned.

“The only stipulation of the project agreement was that the theme of the murals should relate to the history of Detroit and the development of its industry. Major sections are based on Rivera’s study of the Rouge; other sections are devoted to different industries active in Detroit at that time. The complete cycle combines the artist’s love of industrial design and admiration for North American engineering with his philosophical opinions about industry’s positive and negative contributions to society.”

This weblink takes you to all the detailed paintings of the Detroit industry.

http://beta.dia.org/education/rivera/info1.htm

I chose Diego Rivera for a few different reasons. The murals stood out to me first off and the collage of people and things in his paintings captured my interest enough to look closely. Then I read more and more about him and the messages he was sending politically and I felt I could know this man through his paintings. Rivera’s personality seemed to come out through his paintings and I felt for the fervor in which he seemed to attack his work and go at it with such a larger purpose than just a beautiful piece of artwork. I enjoyed learning how he used his art and talent to make the statements he wanted to make and to attempt to effect the world in the way he felt was important.

Ming Dynasty

Jar, Ming dynasty, Xuande mark and period (1426–1435)

China; Porcelain painted in underglaze blue; H. 19 in. (48.3 cm)

These pieces that I chose are from the Ming Dynasty. There is no reference to the artist but only to the style and the preferred subject of art in that time. Ming dynasty has been thought of as a civilized time for the Chinese and as the beginning of capitalistic society. I was fascinated to learn that they ever went in that direction. I really enjoy the free flowing feeling the vase artwork portrays as well as the detail. I really like painted ceramic pieces.

This jar is almost identical to one my grandfather brought home from China in the 60’s. I recall seeing many ceramic pieces of this style and color in homes of Westerners. I read that, “The porcelains of the Ming dynasty have attained such recognition in the West that “Ming” has become almost generic for anything ceramic fabricated in China before the twentieth century.”

Some of the cultural significance of the piece is described in the following: “The highest traditions of early Ming-dynasty brushwork are represented in the bristling dragon on this marvelous jar. His dorsal fins are like the teeth of a buzz saw, his claws have a strong bone structure, and he moves around the jar with total power yet consummate grace. Flanked by the heads of fearsome monsters is an inscription with the reign title of the incumbent emperor, Xuande. Reign marks became popular during the Xuande era (1426–35) and were used continuously after that time.”

Dish with scalloped rim, Ming dynasty, early 15th century

China; Cloisonné; Diam. 6 in. (15.2 cm)

I find this dish to be strikingly beautiful. It is produced with the technique of Cloisonné which creates “…designs on metal vessels with colored-glass paste placed within enclosures made of copper or bronze wires, which have been bent or hammered into the desired pattern. Known as cloisons (French for “partitions”), the enclosures are generally either pasted or soldered onto the metal body. The glass paste, or enamel, is colored with metallic oxide and painted into the contained areas of the design. The vessel is usually fired at relatively low temperature, about 800ºC. Enamels commonly shrink during firing, and the process is repeated several times to fill in the designs. Once this process is completed, the surface of the vessel is rubbed until the edges of the cloisons are visible. They are then gilded, as on this dish, which also has gilding on its scalloped edges, in the interior, and on the base.”

I find this piece to be simply sweet and colorful. Learning about the Cloisonné technique makes it all that much more beautiful. I really admire the thoughtful detail of the work put into the Ming Dynasty art and all the Non Western art. It seems so much more intricate than most art that I am familiar with from the west.

Non-Western 1

Barend Schweigman a photographer from Amsterdam created this piece, Dar es Salaam in Delft Blue (1999), which to me brings the most basic beauty of humanness to the forefront. In order to view the works you need to open the link and put your cursor on each person and click to open them to read what he or she had to say about his or her favorite object. I absolutely LOVE this kind of work!

It is heartwarming to experience though this man’s work the simple desires of each person, what is considered memorable, important, powerful, loving, safe, or enjoyable.

http://www.africaserver.nl/fahari/english/eng_frameset.html

Schweigman tells how he spent a few months in 1998 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, teaching photography in a culture unfamiliar to him. He was able to find some guides who helped him to understand the culture only to find that the people who make it up are not really all that different than the ones who make up his own culture.

“With the support, the patience and the courage of several Tanzanians who guided me into their culture, I discovered we are all basically the same, regardless of colour or race. As a result of this new understanding I asked a large group of people in my neighborhood in Dar es Salaam to pose for the camera with a favorite object. I then asked them why they chose this specific object.” (Schweigman)

The range of items is so interesting to me. One man’s work, one man’s beer, a women’s religion, a child’s bike, a young girl’s present from her ex-boyfriend. These statements, along with the posture and facial expression captured of each person relays such realness of being human. As I clicked through each person I could feel the pride, the love, the nostalgia, the pleasure, the hope and dreams. It very much brings out the similarities from culture to culture.

The other form of art that I really like is the Tibetan Sand Mandala.

I like it for its meaning as much for its beauty. The photos I have provided do not include artists or places because this art is not created by one person, but by many, and over a lengthy period of time. Credits are not given nor wanted for the works, they are merely an act of being present in each moment. Tibetan art is largely anonymous because they are Buddhist and believe in reaching a place of no ego.  “The Tibetan attitude to a work of art is that when it is successfully completed it has an existence of its own and an inherent power to help the viewer come to spiritual realization. It ceases to be the property of the artist when it leaves his studio.” (resource: http://www.buddhanet.net/tibart.htm).

What I have provided is a short video of a mandala on display as well as two links to web pages of photos and detailed information about the art and the people of Tibet who practice this art form. The information, which I consider almost sacred, is much better told at these sites than anything I could attempt to rewrite. If this is an interesting art form to you I encourage you to look through and discover this art as it is its own life force for the Tibetan’s who spend days, weeks and sometimes months to create it only to send it down the river a short time after it is completed.

The video will not load after multiple attempts-so here is the link to it.

http://www.artnetwork.com/Mandala/

Below is a link to a webpage that gives detailed information about the process and the art form in each stage.  Here is a short excerpt:

“The Tibetan sand mandala is a sacred art form created by Tibetan Buddhist monks from millions of grains of brilliantly colored sand.  Each mandala is made with the motivation to create a work of art that will generate compassion in the viewer and therefore help to end suffering among all beings.”

http://www.tibetanlivingcommunities.org/Tibetan%20Events.htm.

The following link provides more about the meaning of the mandala. Here is an excerpt:

“In general all mandalas have outer, inner and secret meanings. On the outer level they represent the world in its divine form; on the inner level they represent a map by which the ordinary human mind is transformed into enlightened mind; and on the secret level they depict the primordially perfect balance of the subtle energies of the body and the clear light dimension of the mind. The creation of a sand painting is said to effect a purification and healing on these three levels.”

http://community.berea.edu/galleryv/mandinfo.html

The significance of sand art is similar to the teachings of the Buddha. We can end all suffering if we just pay attention to this moment now. I like the idea that there is only one moment that just keeps getting rolled over into the next – no past and no future. Doing sand art would require that or I think one would get tired and impatient and even bored. The video provided above showed the piece in detail and I can see how the artists would need to be present in each tiny section of the piece in order to make it as magnificent as it is. I can see how this form of art is similar to a meditation.

Virtual Exhibit

Art Appreciation 200 has required me to look at not only what art I like, but why I like it. I have never thought much  about why I like a piece of art—just that I like it. This assignment to present a virtual exhibit has helped me to realize that the art  I like most is that which is familiar to me. Scanning over many pieces and styles of art throughout the semester has expanded my awareness as well as my familiarity with art. This can only be good for expanding what I like, as I am now more familiar with more styles and pieces. I have chosen to use this exhibit to feature two visual artists who are very familiar to me, Janie McCrae Morrison and Robert Morrison. Both have lived many years of their lives on an island and have captured the island feel, either through the people, the small community, or the island itself.

What I know about these artists is first hand – they are my brother and my sister. Jane is sibling number 2 out of 5 and Robert is number 3 (I am number 4). I have always enjoyed their works for their beauty, but especially for the spirit behind their creations. I know their souls enough to feel their feelings when I experience something they have done. This class has allowed me to further appreciate their talents as artists and to better understand the medium in which they choose to express themselves.

Janie McRae Morrison an artist whose works include portraits, caricatures, murals, painting and collage/mixed media, was born in 1958 in New Jersey and raised in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. Jane, a semi-professional artist, has extensive schooling and life experience. Her education and experiences includes:

B.A. in Studio Art/Smith College; 1988. M.A. in Theology and the Arts(Sacred Dance)Pacific School of Religion; 1998. MA Teacher’s Certification in Visual Arts/Westfield State College; 2001. Elementary Art Teacher in Westfield Public Schools; 2003-present. Portrait and Caricature Artist at fairs, festivals, and special events; 1985-present. Lived and worked as artist/teacher on Greek Island of Mykonos; 1989-1991. Shipboard Artist on Greek Cruise Lines: (various cruises between 1988-1995).

Jane made a beautiful personal statement on one of her displays that I want to share.

“I heard it said, there are two important things in life- love and work. For me, both these things began at home- making my siblings sit for hours while I sketched their portraits (truly, they suffered for my art). Then portraits grew into houses, with flowers, apple trees, and rainbows- all of life a fantasy keeping me safe as long as I captured it in brilliant colors. As I grew my art changed, absorbing and reflecting all my living; the chaos, beauty, loneliness, and light. My travels to exotic lands, and years in Greece have become a springboard from which I jump; knowing love, rage, despair, have only made me better, bigger. And because I continually contemplate the work of other artists- I now have become bold. If I want, I can glue a pair of dice into my painting- or write the Greek alphabet across a purple sky, then hang pink shoelaces from the end of the omegha. I can- and I do.”

Mykonos Harbor, 2003 Acrylic

A Mykonos Lane, 2003a Acrylic

The preceding pictures are representative of the Modern and Impressionist style. Jane also says she was influenced by the style of Cubism which I can see in the painting of the Mykonos Lane.

Phone Card Collage, 2003 Mixed media

Jane told me how she found  two phone cards on the streets of Athens many years ago. The pictures on the cards are of famous Greek sculptures- of women blowin’ in the wind-as Jane felt she was at that time in her life. The black paper has all sorts of primitive symbols on it- Jane shared, “I love ripped-paper with pieces of this and that, here and there….the Greek words are Greek letters of their alphabet- Omikron, Alpha, Omegha… it all speaks of the long journey- to me!Which leads me to my next piece, Pieces of the Journey!“

Pieces of the Journey, 2006 Mixed media

Jane went on to share, “Kind of the same thing…. but now with a man and a woman…
the two photos-two Greek paintings of a god and goddess, on opposite sides of the canvas- looking longingly across the space- separated by time and distance…. and all the pieces of the puzzles- literally! in between! (those are real puzzle pieces!)
Dice-for playing games, and in the middle, some kind of alter, to suggest some kind of order and sacredness in all this chaos and waiting and long-suffering…..”

I have many precious pieces that Jane has made me over the years; watercolor birthday cards, little Greek statues, a portrait of my son and one of my dog. I have witnessed moving sacred dance performances and watched Jane grow into the amazing artist she is today and I am happy to be able to share her works with you here.

Robert Morrison, whose works include photography, aerial photography, video and documentaries was born 1960, also in New Jersey and raised in the Berkshires in Massachusetts, has been taking pictures and videos since I can remember. Robert’s education is all from first hand experience. He travels the world covering topics ranging from the Slow Food Movement to the rain forests in Costa Rica to the fine wines of the world. Bob is a full time professional in the field. Robert has always had a knack for capturing the simplest, yet sweet and pure essence of his subjects. I was fortunate enough to have him capture my wedding. I remember as a kid Bob was always pulling out the old 8-millimeter projector to show home movies.

This is a link to a video from the early 1990′s of some photos Bob did of Martha’s Vineyard where he lives part of the year. I apologize I could not get the video to download. I can see a close correlation between Bob and Jane’s visions of the Islands in the way they capture the images of it. You will notice Bob’ photography has also captured the feel of the small lane and Inn of the Island as Jane’s paintings did.

http://www.mvybroker.com/

This next video is about a man who sells baked potatoes on the street. It is a stretch to put it in with the island theme as the man is not from an island- that I know of, but he certainly gives that island feel. I wanted to include it because it shows Bob’s ability to capture the specialness and importance of every being, which I believe he learned more deeply from his island living. It is a simple masterpiece!

Both Jane and Bob have opened my eyes in a way I never realized until taking this class. They gave me the gift of the artists’ eye for people and places and things, yet I never realized it until I was required to look. I knew I felt something- familiarity as I put it- but now I realize it goes beyond just the safety of familiarity and more into seeing, capturing and touching of the human spirit. I have found this to be very meaningful and interesting to actually speak to the artists about their works directly.  It would have been amazing to be able to delve into the minds of the other great artists of the past.

Early Modern

Sophie Taeuber – Arp, wife of Dada artist Jean Arp, was a Swiss artist, painter and sculptor (1889–1943). The piece I have chosen is called simply – Dada Head, Portrait of Hans Arp, and was done in 1918. It is oil on turned wood. There is some thing about this piece that caught my eye. I can’t really explain what it is. The fact that it is supposed to be a bust of her husband is interesting to me and brings out the humor side that the Dada movement represented in its silly guise.

Taeuber’s influence in the Dada art movement was great and even recently, as of 1995, she is on the Swiss banknotes for the amount of 50 Swiss francs. She participated in performances influenced by the Dada movement as a dancer, choreographer, and puppeteer. At the Cabaret Voltaire, which was a nightclub in Zurich, Switzerland, which Jean Arp was a part of bringing to fruition, there were performances with which Taeuber used her personally designed puppets, costumes, and sets. It is said that her art medians of textile and graphics are among the best works of the 1920’s period being that they are sophisticated geometric abstractions. These abstractions were a common part of visual art of the Early Modernist period and brought out the relationship between color and form.

The Cabaret Voltaire played a significant role in the Dada Movement as the place where politics could be expressed thought the arts. The purpose of the Dada movement was expressed well in the following statement.

“Dada is the groundwork to abstract art and sound poetry, a starting point for performance art, a prelude to postmodernism, an influence on pop art, a celebration of antiart to be later embraced for anarcho-political uses in the 1960s and the movement that lay the foundation for Surrealism.” (Marc Lowenthal)

There is such a strong correlation between the First World War and the Dada movement. I found this explanation on a website for the history of Surrealism.“At the end of the First War World, Tristan Tzara, leader of the Dada movement, wanted to attack society through scandal. He believed that a society that creates the monstrosity of war does not deserve art, so he decided to give it anti-art–not beauty but ugliness. With phrases like Dada destroys everything! Tzara wanted to offend the new industrial commercial world–the bourgeoisie” I find this statement to be congruous with the Dada’s feelings that tradition is what began the war and so they did what they could to go against the traditional.

Impressionism

Vincent van Gogh’s, Farmhouse in Provence, 1888, is a post impressionistic piece that I find very appealing. I find the style of impressionism to have an almost childlike quality about it. While the image is clear from a distance, there is some affect to it that brings along with it a feeling of innocent or raw emotions—expression that goes beyond cognitive thought to the intuitive– much like the imaginary play of a child. It was surprising to me to read that Impressionists actually gathered a scientific understanding of colors to create the effects colors had on their paintings.

It was stated that Van Gogh was very productive while in Arles, producing over 200 paintings. I look at productivity as a sign of happiness and contentment and great creativity.

There was such a rich history about Van Gogh that I wanted to share his biography, which I found at this link – http://www.vangoghgallery.com/misc/overview.html. I included this one excerpt because it is in such great contrast to the speculation I made about his mental state. I find it interesting that his mental state was one way and his paintings provided quite another for me as the viewer.

“During his brief career he had sold one painting. Van Gogh’s finest works were produced in less than three years in a technique that grew more and more impassioned in brushstroke, in symbolic and intense color, in surface tension, and in the movement and vibration of form and line. Van Gogh’s inimitable fusion of form and content is powerful; dramatic, lyrically rhythmic, imaginative, and emotional, for the artist was completely absorbed in the effort to explain either his struggle against madness or his comprehension of the spiritual essence of man and nature.” (Van Gogh Gallery Online).

So Van Gogh may not have had the ability to effect people with his genius and his innermost energy source which was apparent in his works, but he was able to make a huge contribution through his works once his physical life ended–a truly amazing story!

Classical Music

Beethoven’s 5th Symphony written between 1804-1808 is the epitome of classical music for me. I included the following information from Wikipedia because it says clearly what exactly the piece is and includes great links to the four movements as well as some extended information not covered in the assignment.

“It comprises four movements: an opening sonata, an andante, and a fast scherzo which leads attacca to the finale. First performed in Vienna’s Theater an der Wien in 1808, the work achieved its prodigious reputation soon afterwards. E. T. A. Hoffmann described the symphony as “one of the most important works of the time”. (Wikipedia).

Symphony No. 5 represents the sonata form in such a clear and precise way. The melody is clear right from the beginning with clean sounds from each of the stringed instruments. From there the exposition part of the sonata form gets bolder and more playful, adding in horns and wind instruments. This middle part of the piece repeats a sort of start up to a crescendo over and over again. I like the feel of that rising and falling repeating itself because it brings me, as the listener, along with it in mood. The timing of entrance of each instrument in the piece– the timpani, bassoons, clarinet, oboe, flute, piccolo, trumpets, trombones, horns and strings, was critical to the mood it set. The mood for me has multiple peaks after a gentle soothing sound. It is all very playful. And finally it is all brought to an abrupt ending.

I think it is interesting that Beethoven experienced deafness and is what I think contributed to his ability to relate to the emotion of everyday people. I believe this symphony had broad appeal for all listeners because it touched the human spirit. It was a piece that could speak to all the different experiences of different souls, no matter what class they belonged to. This exposure to enjoyable classical music was what I feel brought a rise to the middle class in the classical era. It provided a similar interest between the classes.

Baroque

The Milk Maid, by Jan Vermeer caught my attention the most of the visual artists of the Baroque period. This painting was done in 1660, and I assume it was done in Delft since, according to his biography, he stayed there all his life.

The work captures such a large span of colors. The yellow Vermeer brings out in this painting gives my eye a sort of physical sensation of looking right into a light. I especially noticed the purple in the folds and how the richness of the color changes
with each fold. I was also aware of the colors and shading sequences on the white wall behind the Milk Maid. This in itself displays the artist’s talent in capturing lighting and shadows common in the Baroque era. To make a white surface look as though it has depth and texture is telling of great talent and artistic eye.

I was immediately drawn to Vermeer’s works because they remind me of Norman Rockwell’s style. Norman Rockwell is my favorite artist of all times for the reasons that he depicts the common person doing common things. The detail in both men’s works seemed similar to me, as well as the subject matters they captured—the common being doing common things.

It is very different from the Mannerist style of painting in that it is simple and very easy to understand what the painting is representing. This goes along with the philosophies of The Council of Trent.

It was interesting to learn that: “Vermeer is after Rembrandt the second most famous Dutch painter of the 17th century (a period which is better known as the Dutch Golden Age for its astonishing cultural and artistic achievements). His paintings are admired for their transparent colors, well thought-out composition and brilliant use of light.”

Quoted from his biography at http://www.myreproductions.co
m/jan_vermeer_biography.php

Overall I think this is a very sweet picture and captures the sweetness of the Milk Maid herself.

Italian Renaissance

Filippo Brunelleschi, a Florentine architect and engineer, inspired me most of all the visual artists in the Northern and Italian Renaissance period. The Dome on the Cathedral in Florence was Brunelleschi’s most impressive work of all. As a builder by hobby I can greatly appreciate the structural advances Brunelleschi brought to architecture. The dome was built without any scaffolding, columns or arches. Brunelleschi’s genius mind was able to figure out a way to build each level by using each as its own source of support—not only for the building material but for the builders as well.

Brunelleschi’s is also known as the founder of perspective, which not only changed the way artists were able to show a scene on a flat surface, but changed the way patrons could see a piece a of work. Perspective allows an artist to draw a picture on a flat surface and have it be viewed as 3-demensional, or as it would be seen by the eye in real life. Leon Battista Alberti, the appointed Canon of the Florentine Cathedral, published Brunelleschi’s method of perspective in 1435.

In a short biography of Brunelleschi it stated: “Above all Brunelleschi is remembered as an architect who established new classic canons of serene rhythms, clear geometry, and symmetry, often using the simplest materials: gray pietra serena and whitewashed plaster.” This biography can be found by following the link below:

http://www.short-biographies.com/biographies/FilippoBrunelleschi.html

Another reason that Brunelleschi and his work had such an impression on me is the story behind the man and how the Medici family played a role in his success. Brunelleschi was known as being a difficult man to work with. He had an unorthodox style, few friends, and being a genius, his mind worked in a very unconventional way. The Medici family was in the market for just such a man in order to promote their own best interest of gaining power and influence in Florence. The Medici’s were interested in recreating the city of Florence and all the great cities of the time had a great dome in their center. Although the cathedral was started in 1296 there was no one who knew how to finish the great dome on the top of it. Brunelleschi’s awkward social ways did not discourage the Medici’s, especially Casimo, who knew it would be a gamble to put all his hopes into this unaccepted, yet brilliant man. Their gamble proved successful and the great Cathedral was completed in 1436 in the center of Florence, Italy.

My first Post

Well, I got this far. This has been a course in itself.

Emily Bass