The Museum of Online Museums links to established museum and gallery sites such as those run by the Museum of Modern Art, The Bauhaus Archive and The Art Institute of Chicago. It will also introduce you to countless other online collections, from Van Gogh's letters to Chinese postage stamps to Manhole Covers of the World. For more, go to the MoOM Annex.
MoOM was also included in Time Magazine's 50 Coolest Websites for 2005.
The Guatemalan Ministry of Culture and Sports has announced new finds made by the Waka' Archaeological Project at the site of El Peru. In April of this year, two separate burials were discovered containing the remains of three women and seven painted ceramic vessels from the Early Classic period.
Read a complete report at Mesoweb.
Abstract Art's New World, Forged for All
By MICHAEL KIMMELMAN
BILBAO, Spain, June 6 - A virtual Richard Serra museum opens on Wednesday within the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim here: a permanent installation of more giant bent steel sculptures. Even if you know Mr. Serra's other recent work (over the past decade, he has made more than a dozen "Torqued Ellipses," "Double Torqued Ellipses," "Torqued Spirals" and so on), you won't quite grasp the eloquence of what he has done now without seeing it.
The installation is one of the great works of the past half-century, the culmination of a remarkable fruition in Mr. Serra's career. It rejuvenates and pushes abstraction to a fresh level. And it is deeply humane, not least because it counts on individual perception, individual discovery.
This last observation may seem somewhat at odds with the complaints thrown around a couple of decades ago when Mr. Serra's "Tilted Arc" was installed in Foley Square in downtown Manhattan, then ignominiously carted off to a dump in 1989, after he had come to be regarded as an angry man devising menacing sculptures.
Testifying to the extraordinary nature of art, with its moving-target quality, Mr. Serra's recent works, which evolve right out of "Tilted Arc," elaborating on its concept of a curved, space-enclosing slab of steel, have become stupendously popular.
The shift in perceptions entails more than the difference between a public plaza and the inside of a museum like the Guggenheim. Mr. Serra has perfected his visual language, and in so doing led people to recognize as compelling, and even uplifting, what had been deemed downright hostile. Mothers now cheerfully push strollers and kids dash through his sculptures as if they were playgrounds. There are broad lessons to be gleaned, about the virtues of patience and keeping one's eyes and mind open, virtues that not coincidentally are also at the heart of Mr. Serra's current installation.
More...
http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=76376
Did anyone go and see the Red Ball in Portland? It was pretty cool. Did anyone play with it or interact in another way with it? The link above is to katu website to learn more about it.
After you finish a piece of artwork, you should be so proud of it, that you would want to keep it forever. An important factor to keeping the artwork forever is framing it. Even though frames are expensive, they are worth it. By not framing your artwork, the piece could get trampled on, lost in the shuffle, the color would change with the sun, dust, etc. Cheap frames that are pre-made can degrade and the quality of your artwork will degrade as well over time. It can also affect the value, the coloring, and quite frankly it just will not look as good. Not only is your artwork, art. Framing is an art. Picking out the colors to match (especially if you get a matte finish), the frame to match, and the design of hanging on your wall where it will look nice. By framing your work, it will show others that you care about what you do and hopefully will add the finishing touches to your work and make it really stand out. Even though framing is expensive, it is worth it!
Check out these random art links.
I hate to say it, but I think I am one of those people who does not get modern. In fact I'm not sure if I like it at all. One thing I do appreciate however, is its ability to get the viewer thinking. I dont think many people can walk by a Piet Mondrain or Kazimir Malevich artwork without thinking,,,What is this suppose to mean? I often wonder that myself. I think because of modern's often simplistic nature, people like me who are use to clutter; wonder why? I believe a lot of people have my sickness. We have to feel that we have things around us, and are very much so affected by our surroundings. Simplistic plans, immediately get my mind wondering as to what I could do to fill them up with things. I don't believe however that this is so bad either. I grew up in a home where nobody ever decorated or ever made it feel "homey". We moved around every year or so, so we usually wernt' there long enough to even hang up pictures... I believe this is a reason why I need to surround myself with memories and items that make me think of others such as pictures, quilts, and misc. ---This subject was on my mind today because my sisters appartment building just burned down, and they lost everything!! Horrible, and it made me wonder what was really lost.
Has anybody ever been really interested in mosaic art? I really love Antonio Gaudi's Serpentine bench. Its on page 1021 of Stockstad and I think it's really cool. I use to be interested in that art form for a while, then I realized that it's not as easy as it looks! This must have taken him forever to do. It's really hard to actually lay the tiles right, but my problem was finding the right kind of tiles in the first place. Some colors and patterns look better than others... and it all makes a difference when they are right beside each other. Also, you kind of have to have some muscle because its really not that easy to cut tile.... i guess maybe it would be easier if you had the proper materials. I really love doing it though, and I would like to pick up that hobby again soon.
Jackson Pollock’s dripped paintings made me look and conceive art in a different way. Before I would look at one of these types of modern works and consider it so simple that even my own self could construct the same idea. It was not until I actually sat down and tried to create something similar in appearance that I soon realized that it is not as simple as I once considered it to be. It is intriguing to me that Pollock avoids any point of emphasis or identifiable parts within the whole canvas of his later works such as the drip paintings. As I dug deeper into some research I learned that many of his designs had no relation to the shape or size of the canvas and with some of his works they were even trimmed to suit the image. Pollock’s works “broke the ice” and abstract art evolved bringing the art world into a new light.
In Thursday's lecture, there was an extra credit opportunity to explain the 3 parties responsible for commissioning a work of art: the public, commissioning agency, and of course, the artist. We were asked to explain if we thought one was more important than another. In furthering my thoughts on this topic, I really do not believe one party holds a higher position over another. Though it may appear that one party holds the upper hand at times, all three parties need to work in close cooperation, and without the presence and participation of one party, a work of art would never get out into the public. The first step in the process of commissioning a work of art is getting the permission and financial support to fund all the costs that go into creating an art piece. The commissioning agency acts as a liason between the public and the artist. Without the artist, there would be no reason to even be discussing the idea of public art, since it is their talent alone that makes art exist. Like the name implies, "public" art is just that; art intended to be viewed and appreciated by the public. Without the public's approval and support, it would be pointless to even consider putting a sculpture/artwork outside in view of all. Sure, we can always expect the criticism and attempts to remove a distasteful sculpture from certain people, but if we paid heed to every disagreement, then we would never have the pleasure of enjoying public art, which serves as an important role in beautifying our communities. We cannot expect everybody to like one kind of art, but as mature citizens, we can be considerate and accepting of pieces we do not understand or like.
One of the things I really admire in art is when an artist can combine text and images effectively. I just believe that when it is done and the combination becomes more then the sum of both parts the artist is really great. That is one of the reasons I like Raymond Pettibon. His art, almost comic book-like, has a great play with text and images. He really makes the image almost separate from the text, yet at the same time they interact so well as to lead to a higher understanding. It as if the picture grows the farther the text is read into and then it ceases to be what it was prior. I could look at it then, after I read the text, for a long time, I like art that is that way.
How often do you open a newspaper or magazine and see a picture and wonder if it is a real image of a real event or not? You would not think that pictures in a newspaper that are there to convey news events wouldn't be altered. In this day and age, you are fully aware that just about anyone can meld a image into whatever they please with any one of the countless imaging software programs out there today. I thought that this photograph which ran on page 1 in The Los Angeles Times was interesting, because a photographer wanted a better image. A better image to tell his version of the war. So he unethically combined two photos together to create a more desirable image. Unfortunately this hit the newsstands for people across the globe to see before anyone was able to catch the scam.
So here's my point. John read of some statistics that 50% of high school students today, think that our media should be controlled by the Government (shudder). By the reaction in class to that statistic I think that most of us agree that that's not the best Idea. Would the government have been able to catch this scam? Or perhaps create it themselves. Who knows? But I do know that the Los Angeles Times caught it. And reprimanded all involved. It's truly scary to think that kids in America, in my generation, are considering Government controlled media!
The Altered Photo
If you look at the right foot/ankle area of the soldier (slightly raised off the ground) and pan right across the image to the soldiers left knee/upper shin area, you'll notice that the left pant leg, elbow and mid back of the civilian by the left knee has been duplicated by the soldier's raised foot.
See and read about the photographs here…
When we discussed Christo's Gates on Tuesdays class, I immediately remembered a very nasty fight that I got into with my boyfeind. We were watching the news, CNN I think, and they began to show pictures of the gates and have open discusions about them. About five minutes into the program my boyfriend says the most startling words that have ever come out of his mouth. "I don't understand what thay are talking about, it's not even art." this statement opened the doorway to a huge argument about what we both think "art is", and eventually life and all sorts of other concepts that are linked to art and free expression. In the end, he slept in the guest bedroom and we didn't talk to each other for two days.
I think the reason behind this is that it's hard to love someone so much, and then they completely surprise you with their norrowminded veiw of the world, and worst of all, they think that certain things that you love, like "art", can be stupid. I know he doesn't really understand and it's hard to make people understand alot of artworks anyway. I am sure that alot of people in this class have had these conversations with their freinds, or maybe even their parents, especially when they tell them that their major is goind to be art.
I guess artists are always going to be misunderstood. What a shame.
I really enjoyed the class discussion and the viewing of the documentary about the Vietnam War Memorial. I enjoyed hearing Maya Lin talk about the design and purpose in her own words.
Always, I have thought this memorial and its design to be absolutely beautiful. I remember when I was a freshman in high school, reading the National Geographic article after it was officially dedicated (can't remember exact issue of 1983) and I was sure it was perfect as described.
Years later, I was in the U.S. Army and stationed at Ft. Belvoir VA, which happens to be ten miles south of Washington D.C., and while there I spent as much free time in D.C. as I could. The first time I went down to that site, I could not believe the effect it had on me as I walked alongside the wall of black granite full of names. I am hard pressed to describe the feeling that I get from the experience of being there. Maya Lin's design can only truly be appreciated in person. Personally, I feel that the Three Fighting men bronze was really a great addition to the overall meaning of the grounds.
It has a very quieting effect to be there. Even when there is many people there, it tends to be very quiet and contemplative. It is really a wonderful place to observe people and there reactions to the experience. I loved to be there and spent quite a bit of time photograhing there.
One night about 2:3o a.m., I was there making long photographic exposures of the memorial witha couple of my Army buddies, and a couple of girls about our age (21) approached us and made conversation. Right away we could tell that they had way too much to drink. They must have come from a local club near the Mall or somrthing. Well, the girl that was the most drunk was determined to make a production of the moment and proceeded to take off all articles of clothing ( it was summer) and was trying to get into my photograph! I really did not mind, however I had to explain to her that she was probably not going to show up with all of her moving around, due to the exposure length. One of my buddies was more than happy to take flash pictures of her there buck naked as she posed every which way.
So there we were in the middle of the night, his big flash going like crazy. I really could not believe it. It was really quite funny and so were the pictures! I could not believe that the cops did not show up. I was so paranoid that we were going to get busted and in trouble with our commanding officer. Not your typical sight at the memorial!
I think it is great how John in art 206 incorporates our own pop culture into the lectures. I would never have thought of compareing some of our moden movies to postmodernism like we discused Stars Wars Episode III in class. But it truely is a postmodernist film by several examples. This made me curious to find some other popular movies that we might also consider postmodernist. Though I have not seen most of these, research shows these can also be post modernist movies we have heard of.
1. LOVE STREAMS (1984) A Hollywood writer who cannot love confronts his sister, who loves too well. Writer-director-star Cassavetes' last major work, starring himself and wife Gena Rowlands, it's another blisteringly emotional, uncompromisingly honest drama -- with Cassavetes and company taking us deep inside the characters and their passions. With Diahnne Abbot, Seymour Cassel.
2. THE PLAYER ( 1992) Altman's delightfully scathing portrayal of a Hollywood that seems to be run by fools, crooks and killers, focusing on the dilemma of opportunistic young studio executive Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins), who has a studio power battle, a new romance (with Greta Scacchi) and a murdered writer (Vincent D'Onofrio) on his hands. With Whoopi Goldberg, Fred Ward, Richard E. Grant and dozens of stars in cameos.
3. GET SHORTY ( 1995) A cheerfully nasty comedy-thriller about movies and mayhem, gangsters and glamour, set in modern-day Hollywood. This movie, based on Elmore Leonard's 1990 novel, is full of snappy tough-guy badinage and clever inside jokes. With John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito, Delroy Lindo, Dennis Farina.
4. BOOGIE NIGHTS (1997) Set in L.A., this hip look at the porno movie industry -- through the eyes of physically gifted superstar Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg) -- is trenchant drama, smart comedy and a real '70s-'80s time capsule. With Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Don Cheadle, Burt Reynolds.
5. TIME CODE (2000) In this remarkable cinema experiment, jazz lover Figgis assembles a huge ensemble cast for a tale of life on the edge among L.A. movie types and hangers-on and has them all improvise their way through the film. Four cameras record the action in four unbroken long takes, all of which share the same continuous split-screen. With Saffron Burrows, Stellan Skarsgard, Salma Hayek, Holly Hunter, Kyle MacLachlan. (video)
There is a very interesting form of art out there, and that is automobile art. What I mean by this is sketches of automobiles in pencil and pen that are concepts before they are actually cars. This is quite a unique form of art that has been behind the scenes of every car manufacturer since the birth of the Ford Model T. It is interesting that no one ever talks about what it takes to design cars on paper, the very thing manufacurers do before starting production of a vehicle. I don't remember the last conversation an art historian had about the latest car designer, do you? What made light of this for me was a viewing of HorsePower TV in which they did a sort of documentary on a man named Chip Foose, car designer. What is interesting about Chip is that he can create, from imagination, a complete and unique hot rod of his own on paper in a matter of hours. And these drawings are impressive! If anyone has ever been made famous for car design drawings, it is Chip Foose. But what is hard to put a finger on, and what makes it difficult to integrate into an art class, is what type of art this is. It could be realism, it could be modernism. But, it is also probably neither of these because of technical issues. So my question is, what kind of art is this? Certainly it needs to be recognized because these men and women strive to create masterpieces, and do, but hardly get their name heard. Here is Chip's website http://www.chipfoose.com and click "Sketches." Let me know what you think.
I really like the work done by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, so I was exploring the internet and learning more about the works that they have done. One that stood out to me was the Wrapped Trees in Berower Park in Riehan, Switzerland (1998). In this work, they wrapped 178 trees with translucent, woven polyester fabric and rope. A sewing pattern was made for each tree so that the fabric could be fitted to each one in the way that they desired. There were several different species of trees found in the park, and each was wrapped in the same manner, so that they all had the same appearance when completed. It seems that this could be a statement about unity or oneness of the people - possibly in bringing people together in the completion of the piece, they formed relationships, as many others did in this circumstance (became more unified). I think that the pictures of the trees, with the light shining through the material, look amazing - almost as if they are on fire. Another possible reason for this may have been to draw attention to the beauty of the trees and nature that may often be overlooked by some, and to entice people to come to the park to view nature and these trees.
There is also information on the site about the Over The River project that is being planned for the Arkansas River in Colorado. When completed, people will be able to boat beneath the canopys of fabric that they are planning to create. This is something that I definately will want to go see if I am at all able. The trees took 35 years to complete, so who knows how long this one will take! I am looking forward to it!
You guys should definately check out this site if you are at all interested in the work of Christo and Jeanne-Claude.
I just stumbled across this and was so bewildered that I thought I just had to share this with everyone.
The Whisker Project is an evolving collaborative collection of dropped whiskers. Participants found the whiskers, or vibrissae, in a myriad of places, put then in envelopes without much explanation of why, and mailed them to Park Slope, Brooklyn.Hmmm.
Since we have been studying Postmodern artists, I have been falling in love with Cindy Sherman. Not only for her amazing beauty and talent, but also because she was a pure example between modern style and postmodern. Cindy Sherman started her photography in 1977 from the ‘Untitled film stills’. At the beginning her pictures were based on a group blond actress, playing different kinds of cinematic roles. She addresses various issues, which includes femininity, voyeurism, sexual identity and oppression in different cultures. Since 1980s Sherman is working in colors and enlarged in scale. She also works on the pathology and victimization of women, which are also represented in media like newspapers and films. Therefore, the work of Cindy Sherman alludes to two characteristic of the social system, which is its success and its danger. Without doubt, Sherman were borrowing preexisting images becoming a popular sign and technique among Postmodernist artists. In addition, they were returning to the present to redescribe our cultural moment, our social problems. This hybrid culture is another big difference between Postmodern and Modern style.
hey, I went to the San Francisco Moma this last weekend and let me tell you that it was amazing.
To answer the questions of an earlier post I do think the Moma had been recently remodeled...I don't know if that is true or not but that is what I've heard...I will tell you the ups of this show and then the downs...
the ups:
-Robert Raushcenberg and Jasper Johns - wow! We just talked about these guys in class but their work was truly amazing. I got to see Raushcenberg's erased deKooning, some of his collage, his white painting, and his stretcher bar painting. He had such a variety of stuff. I got to see Jasper Johns' Flag and a couple others.
-Rothko - this canvas was about 12 feet by 12 so it was totally overwhelming. The postcards do not do it any justice. It was a bright blue color on the bottom and a brilliant orange on the top. The collors were fantastic, I was blown away
-Jay Defeo - never heard of her before this but one of the guys that works there told me that there was 500 pounds of oil paint on that canvas...It stuck a good 6 inches off the canvas
- Lots of good minimalist pieces that were in the art history books including a huge Frank Stella piece (black with white lines)
-Lichtenstein doing his pop art remake of Monet's cathedrals...wow. I never knew that he had done this.
-Christ Ofili - I wasn't sure what to think about the whole elephant dung stuff but in real life there is nothing grotesque or offensive about this. It was truly a beautiful and culture-driven work. This piece surprised me more than any at the show
-i got to see a lot of good contemporary art too. I don't have the names in front of me but there was a great installation involving color-by-number- forests on the walls, a running sink (like a fake waterfall) and a jail cell window. The size of this installation was great.
cons-
-Jackson Pollock - they only had his pre-crazy days so it wasn't anything special at all.
-Picasso - they only had one Picasso and it wasn't one of his cubist pieces...but they did have a really nice Braque piece
-Warhol - all they had up was one self portrait. While the size was bigger than expected (probably about 4 feet by 4 feet) it was rather boring and I was hoping for more of his stuff.
-Clifford Still - the color field painter. One painting could have been nice but they had a whole room of his stuff. It must have been cheap to buy or something...It looked "trendy", was he really that groundbreaking?
-Yves Kline - while interesting in concept (I guess) all they showed was a piece of paper or canvas with blue paint where the nude females had pressed against it. Kind of boring...
