In the sixties, pop culture and lifestyle became closely linked. Art had never before been so accessible to the public.
In the sixties, pop culture and lifestyle became closely linked. Art had never before been so accessible to the public. The subject matter, forms and media of pop art reveal the characteristics of a way of life we associate with the sixties. The movement blurred the distinction between fine art and commercial art techniques. Warhol had started off as a commercial artist and so knew the importance of art in the business world of marketing and knew the importance of image in product promotion. Pop art is a phenomenon of Western Europe and America. It originated from New York and London, and later other European cities joined in, but it never really spread to Eastern Europe. The principles of pop art were largely collage and assemblage, the intention being to give second hand images and objects new meaning and in some cases, subjectivize the objective. Objects, fragments and traces are combined with painting, drawing and sculpture in such a way as to 'transcend the borderline between heterogeneous subjects.' It became fashionable to like Kitsch, to collect knick-knacks, read comics and drink coca-cola. The classification of historical monuments was widened to include factories, industrial buildings and housing estates. With this, came a 'cultural revolution' which promoted antiauthoritarian education, women's liberation, new career structures and a freer approach to
Discuss the development of the career of Damien Hirst
Discuss the development of the career of Damien Hirst Damien Hirst is one of Britain's most controversial artists. Since the very beginning of his career, when he curated his own work in the 'Freeze' show as an art student, some have found his work exciting and new, whereas others have lampooned it for being boring and over-hyped. Certainly, like many other artists of the YBA generation, Hirst's work has developed in new and shocking ways, commenting on the world around him and making full use of the patronage of Charles Saatchi and an ever-growing demand for his work in the marketplace. There are three main features of the development of Hirst's career - his work, his contribution the art market, and the criticism that his work has received in recent years. However, it is quite clear that even failures and criticism won't stand in the way of his ambition, which can be seen from Michael Craig-Martin's comment that "Damien wants to be king of the world". There is no one medium that Hirst uses above all others - from painting to dead creatures preserved in formaldehyde, his work takes many shapes and forms. Some of his greatest commercial works are his 'spin-paintings' such as Beautiful, Kiss my fxxxing ass in which one of his assistants pours paint onto a revolving canvas to create the strange, swirling brightly coloured effect. These paintings, he claims, were inspired by
Discuss the Presentation of Women in the Work of Vermeer
Discuss the Presentation of Women in the Work of Vermeer Overlooked for centuries, Johannes Vermeer (or Jan van der Meer) of Delft is regarded as one of the most famous Master painters to emerge from the Dutch Golden Age. Somewhat unheard of in his life it is said he was barely mentioned in print three times1, although he was elected head of Saint Luke's Guilde, a trade association for painters four times. During the 17th century the painting of pictures was not considered an art, but simply a form of craftsmanship; a way to earn a living. Despite the fact that it is now widely acclaimed, no record exists that he ever sold any of his paintings throughout his lifetime. His work, comparable to other Dutch painters such as Rembrandt, relies largely upon the use of light and reflections to set mood and to animate a given scene and he is respected for his remarkable compositions and representation of space. There are merely thirty-five paintings accredited to him, this is generally blamed on the fact that he was a very precise painter who had a fairly brief life and profession as a painter. It is also assumed that many of his paintings were lost after his death. With a few exceptions, including some landscapes, street scenes, and portraits, Vermeer chose to paint sunlit familial interiors in which one or two figures are shown reading, writing, or playing musical instruments, a
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov - A review.
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov A review Set in Moscow during the darkest period of Stalin's regime, in the 1930s after the Russian Revolution, The Master and Margarita is a piece of literary alchemy. It is a fusion of Geothe's Faust, fragments of autobiography, an alternative version of the crucifixion of Christ, a tale of political repression and a meditation on the role of an artist in a society bereft of freedom and individuality. The book does not have a readily describable plot as the narrative structure is intricate and complex, with several stories nestled in one; inside one narrative there is another, and then another, and yet another. The Master and Margarita begins by inter-weaving two apparently unconnected tales and later introduces a third which unites the other two narratives at the end. The first narrative concerns a visit to Moscow (1930) by the devil in the disguise as a professor of black magic, Professor Woland. Woland and his infernal retinue, including a hit man with appalling dress sense Koroviev, a vampire maid, Hella and a six foot black cat, Behemoth who walks on his hind legs, drinks vodka and eats caviar, wreck havoc and chaos in Moscow. They upset the literary world of Moscow and disrupt the life of ordinary Muscovites by putting up a black magic show. In the magic show, Woland showers the audience with tempting gifts of money
Man and Animal Mythologies in Indian Art
Man and animal mythologies in Indian Art The Hindu pantheon has, in a famous example of hyperbole, over 330 million deities. In a sense India is God-intoxicated, there is god everywhere, in all things: within/without, above/below, in the six degrees of separation and in the three planes of existence. There are gods for vegetation, gods for weather, gods for nature, gods for geographical areas, gods for villages, gods for the house, gods in the temples, gods in running water, gods in deepest forest and in icy mountain heights. There is no situation, environment and place that the Indian does not have a god for. Ganesha (or Ganesh) is the elephant-headed god. Ganesha became the Lord (Isha) of all existing beings (Gana) after winning a contest from his brother Kartikay. When given the task to race around the universe, Ganesha did not start the race like Kartikay did, but simply walked around Shiva and Parvati, both his father and mother as the source of all existence Many stories describe how Ganesha got the elephant head. One tells how Parvati created Ganesha in absence of Shiva to guard her quarters. When Shiva wanted to see her Ganesha forbid it, at which point Shiva cut of his head. Later Shiva restored Ganesha to life and provided him with the head of an elephant, because no other was available. In another story, Ganesha's head is burned to ashes when Saturn is forced
David Hockney 2 paintings
Portrait of Nick Wilder 'Los Angeles 1966 by David Hockney' Portrait of Nick Wilder is one of the finest of the famous series of California pool paintings that first established Hockney's international status in the mid - 1960's. This picture shows that there was a constant exploration of the relationship between painting and photography. The image seems to be flat because the artist has avoided using shadows on the portrait deliberately to emphasize the effect of the strong sunlight and the flat geometry of the scenery. Hockney has used horizontal lines which extends across the whole image area to define the framing edge. The painting looks as if it is based on a single photograph as Hockney has recorded the image in great detail. Hockney is pointing out that this image is carefully constructed to coordinate patterns of form. The use of close ups makes the viewer feel near to the character in this picture. The artist has created darkness across the background with pin points of light which focus our attention to the character in the swimming pool. The mood of the work is reinforced by the palette of colours Hockney has used in this picture. The blues and greens dominate the picture which creates a balanced atmosphere. The picture gives an impression of sunlight reflecting against the water in this picture which shows that Hockney studied the real light effects out
With changes in culture, come changes in art.
With changes in culture, come changes in art. Throughout history, artworks have been produced as an imitation of the culture and society in which they were created. The cultural frame examines the meaning of artworks in relation to the social perspective of the community from which it grows. A reflection can be seen in Manet's realist artwork of Olympia, and similarly, Umberto Boccioni's Unique forms of Continuity and Space reflects different beliefs and conventions merely as a result of societal changes. Pop Art works such a Andy Warhol's Marilyn x 100 and Post - modern works, such as Yasumasa Morimura's Monna Lisa in its Origin, are also strong reflections of the society in which they were created. Edouard Manet's Olympia, an extremely controversial painting of its time, reflects greatly its cultural context. Created during the time of Realism (from c.1850 to c.1880) and in the city of Paris, it demonstrated the new and exciting Parisian way of life and the determination of the Realist artists to depict life as it was seen rather than the traditional fantasy and romantic exaggeration. The redesign of Paris in the 1860s saw a great change in the social practices and activities and a rise particularly in the Middle Class due to the prosperous Industrial Revolution. The redesigning of Paris resulted in the demolition of hundreds of buildings and neighbourhoods, some home to
The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century (1660-1785)
The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century (1660-1785) Overview The period between 1660 and 1785 was a time of amazing expansion for England - or for "Great Britain," as the nation came to be called after an Act of Union in 1707 joined Scotland to England and Wales. Britain became a world power, an empire on which the sun never set. But it also changed internally. The world seemed different in 1785. A sense of new, expanding possibilities - as well as modern problems - transformed the daily life of the British people, and offered them fresh ways of thinking about their relations to nature and to each other. Hence literature had to adapt to circumstances for which there was no precedent. The topics in this Restoration and Eighteenth Century section of Norton Topics Online review three crucial departures from the past - alterations that have helped to shape our own world. One lasting change was a shift in population from the country to the town. "A Day in Eighteenth-Century London" shows the variety of diversions available to city-dwellers. At the same time, it reveals how far the life of the city, where every daily newspaper brought new sources of interest, had moved from traditional values. Formerly the tastes of the court had dominated the arts. In the film Shakespeare in Love, when Queen Elizabeth's nod decides by itself the issue of what can be allowed on the stage,
Andy Goldsworthy was born in Cheshire in 1956 he was brought up in Yorkshire.
Andy Goldsworthy was born in Cheshire in 1956 he was brought up in Yorkshire. Goldsworthy studied at Bradford College of Art in 1974- 75 then going onto Preston Polytechnic from 1975-78. Goldsworthy then left college and went on to live in Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumbria. He then moved over the border to Langholm, Dumfriesshire, in 1985 and to Penpont one year later. When Goldsworthy was a teenager, living on the outskirts of Leeds, he began to explore the patterns of nature by arranging building blocks in unexpected ways. Throughout Goldsworthy's career, most of his work has been made in the open air, in places such as the Yorkshire Dales, the Lake District and the North of Canada. Goldsworthy's favourite places for creating art are: the North Pole, Japan, and the Australian outback, Missouri and of course where he lives now Dumfriesshire, Scotland. Andy Goldsworthy uses materials he finds where his art is created. He uses twigs, leaves, stones, snow and ice, reeds and thorns. Most of his work demonstrates the short life and extraordinary sense of play and of place. Andy describes his work as "A collaboration with nature." The shapes he uses from raw materials are basic spiral, circle, cone, arch, column, sphere and lines. He puts nature in art and art in nature by including boulders and trees. Sometimes he makes his art play with nature by
Consider the interplay of identities-national, racial, gender or otherwise- in the works of at least one artist and one film director studied this semester.
Consider the interplay of identities-national, racial, gender or otherwise- in the works of at least one artist and one film director studied this semester. The identities I have chosen to consider are gender and national identity. I feel these are two of the major issues of Latin Americans, especially during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries when feminist movements began and movements occurred such as indigenismo (A Latin American movement urging for a dominant social and political role for Indians in countries where they make up the majority). To consider the topic of identities I must first understand the context of the period of time that the artists were working and what sort of feminist or national occurrences were going on at that time. Then having considered this I will have to consider why and where these identities are evident in the work of the artists I will be looking at. Since the 1970's, new, modern forms of feminism have begun to take shape in Latin America. This feminism has been influenced by events and tendencies as diverse as the debates over the Cuban Family Code (mid-1970's); the experience of Latin American women in exile in Mexico, the United States, and Europe (1970's and 80's); the international feminist movement; the Nicaraguan revolution and guerrilla movements in Central America; and the rise of strong women's movements in response to