Ming Dynasty

For this week’s blog I chose to share a Ming Dynasty painting Called Dragon Pine.  It was painted by Wu Boli a Daoist  priest fro the Daoist pope Zhang Yuchu. The trunk of the pine seems to resemble the back and scales of a dragon.  It is thought that the dragon like tree in this painting could represent the Daoist state or the state of having transcended to the state of a perfect being.  I enjoy this piece because the tree does look like a dragon, or at least the depictions of dragons from Chinese history.  The ink gives a simplistic feel to the artwork while the detail in the branches adds complexity.  I enjoy the balance that the two create.  I find it interesting that although the background in this print is nearly nonexistent, it works.  The detail of the tree branches allow the background to just fade out and not be needed to continue the sense of space.  Very interesting.  The information on the print as well as the photograph were found at http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ming/hd_ming.htm.

Blue Moon

The piece that I chose to share is a work of African art by El Anatsui.  His latest works have been made from recycled bottle caps and scrap metals which he collects in the town where he has resided the last 28 years: Nsukka, Nigeria.  Usually they are constructed into quilt-like creations, all out o the metal scraps.  Using the discarded scarp to form into art is a reflection of the African culture, who with limited resources recycle most everything and find uses for most everything.

The specific piece that I chose of Anatsui’s galleries is called Blue Moon.  It differs from most of his work in that it is a landscape.  Still constructed from scraps, it has a greater aesthetic appeal in my opinion, and less of a cultural or political feel.  When interviewed about this landscaping choice, Anatsui said the idea of a moon came to him, he did not want to make it yellow as was common, choosing blue instead.  His thoughts wandered to the concept of a blue moon and evolved into the landscape from there, keeping the theme of melancholy with leafless trees.  Later he reveals that there was perhaps a memory attached to the concept as his college band learned a song titled Blue Moon.  I was interested in choosing a piece of African art because I have had the opportunity to spend time in Africa.  In 2004 I spent two weeks in Uganda, Africa and have since had interest in the African cultures. This piece is beautiful, i don’t know what exactly it is about it that has me so captivated, but I love it.  The colors, the lines, the movement.  It all works for me. The interview where I found the information can be listened to at the website: http://www.nmafa.si.edu/exhibits/gawu/artworks.html

The following pieces of art were chosen for this exhibit based on the theme A Walk in the Park.  Although some are a touch of fantasy for an actual park, they tug on the imagination to explore what it might be like to see such things on a walk through the park.  Most include a pool or creek, which I believe all good parks should have.  This theme also gave me an opportunity to explore works from my favorite styles from the postmodern era: environmental art and street art.  The gallery includes art form two artists: Julian Beever and Andy Goldworthy.

Julian Beever is a British artist who specializes in street drawing incorporating optical illusions.  Beever’s work has been seen gracing the streets throughout Europe, Australia, and the United States.  As his mediums is chalk, the only remnant of his life’s works are the photographs that capture the images.

Andy Goldworthy is an Environmental artist who creates sculptures from various item found in nature.  His creations are constructed in their natural setting and only documented through the photographs taken of them.  Goldsworthy, like Beever, is British.

“Carefully broken pebbles scratched white with another stone”

This piece was created by Andy Goldsworthy in June 1, 1985 in St. Abbs Scottland.  I enjoy the whimsical feel of the spiral of pebbles. The meticulous task of cracking each stone in just the right place must have been time consuming, but it gives great aesthetic appeal to the creation.  As all of the photographs in this gallery will elude, when walking through the park, one would be most delighted to happen upon such a scene, even if only in ones imagination.

“Floating hole”

This piece by Andy Goldsworthy was constructed in September of 1986 in Loughborough, Leicestershire.  I have often been walking in the fall here in Alaska when I have seen a pond filled with leaves such as this.  Of course those I have seen have lacked a hole, but it is a familiar sight for sure.  For this reason, I chose to include this piece of art.

“About to meet Mr. Newt”

Julian Beever’s creation above (I was unable to find date and location information for his artwork) depicts a scene that many who have strolled along ponds of parks have come across.  Lily pads dance atop the water as exciting creatures await below.  As a child one of my favorite things to do was to search for frogs and salamanders in the ponds, lakes, and streams around Spokane, Washington.  I enjoy the playful feel of this drawing. Not only is it playful because of the drawing itself, but for the medium it is constructed with.  Chalk, perhaps the most exciting art medium for children during long summer days.

Iris leaves with Rowan berries

Once again I had trouble finding a date and location for the above work of art.  It is a creation again of Andy Goldsworthy.  This is perhaps my favorite of all the works I have seen in his portfolio.  The contrast between the green of the Iris leaves and the red of the Rowan berries is captivating. It reminds me of the contrasting colors that can be seen in the early fall on the nature walk in Creamers Field in Fairbanks, AK.

“Feeding the fish”

I have a vague memory of a similar scene to the above from a trip my family took to the Japanese Gardens where we used to live.  There was a waterfall from a stream in the park, and at the bottom, the pool was filled with goldfish of similar coloration to the one in the street drawing above by Julian Beever.  The theme of this gallery is almost perfectly embodied in this one drawing.  A trip back in time to distant childhood memories and imagined happenings built from walks through various parks or up the banks of a stream.

“Meeting Madame Butterfly”

What is better than a life sized butterfly? Well, a dream sized butterfly.  Meeting Madame Butterfly was drawn in Mexico City by Julian Beever to be captured by the television show Concrete Canvas.  Every one of Beever’s drawings amazes me.  It seems that the butterfly is actually floating above the pavement, but a closer glance at the crowd standing around the drawing gives a better sense of the size and anatomy of the drawing.

The information for Beever’s work was found at http://users.skynet.be/J.Beever/pave.htm and the information for Goldsworthy’s work was found at two websites: http://www.goldsworthy.cc.gla.ac.uk/ and http://www.morning-earth.org/ARTISTNATURALISTS/AN_Goldsworthy.html.

The Faces of the Great Depression

The artwork I chose to share this week is not a painting, but a photograph.  As the world of photography began to evolve, the photograph was used to capture specific scenes that in most cases were meant to evoke a certain emotion, or to entice certain political or moral convictions.  Both purposes are used in Dorothea Lange’s photo journal of the families most hurt by the Great Depression and in the photo journal capturing the lives of those affected by the Dust Bowl.    As the pains of the Great Depression spread across the nation for years, another disaster inflicted poverty on many Americans–The Dust Bowl.  Lange was hired by the Farm Security Administration to capture the crisis many families had fallen into during the time of the Dust Bowl as they searched for employment in the fertile lands of the west, or were left in ruin.  One such photograph, “People Living in Miserable Poverty. Elm Grove, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma” is shown below.

This picture was taken in August of 1936.  It is hard to believe that people in the United States fell into such poverty that was present in the Depression era, but here it is, in black and white.  I find it interesting that the mother and son are looking into the distance and the daughter looks straight at the camera, I do not know what that means, but it puzzles me. Lange did not consider herself an artist, according to peoplewhotellthetruth.com, but her ability to capture the emotion of the subjects in the photograph is amazing.  The distress on their faces is very evident, although they almost seem numb. My heart aches for the people in the photographs that Lange took.  They would have convicted me, jolted me to action.

Warmth on a Child’s Face

I have a varied opinion on the Impressionist style of art.  Some I enjoy and some I enjoy less, but do not entirely dislike.  I enjoy impressionist paintings that are done in warm tones and depict leisurely and comforting scenes. For example, as I was reading through the course material on Impressionism and completing the written assignment, I was caught by the painting Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose by John Singer Sargent.

He was awakened to the idea for the painting watching the children water lilies at the Lavington Rectory in Sussex in 1884.  The painting was completed in the autumns of 1885 and 1886 at the Farnham House and Russell House the Broadway homes of Frank Millet according to wetcanvas.com.

The element of the painting that held my attention was the reflection of light onto the faces of the young girls from the lanterns which they hold.  The scene feels real.  I can picture these girls hanging the lanterns in preparation for a party on a warm summer’s night.  This I enjoy, the warm feeling from the lanterns and the story it tells from a single snapshot.

I enjoy how the artist is able to alter the image in impressionism to depict his or her “impressions”.  Washing some details and cold cut lines for soft, blended tones and edges. Although, I do also enjoy the more realistic elements of former arts.  The Renaissance style of proportion, and detailed body lines.  However, those elaborate paintings are not exactly suitable for normal everyday decor in the home.  Perhaps this is the charm of Impressionism, it is suitable for everyday situations. Although, not all Impressionistic art appeals to me.  For example, I do not enjoy James McNeill Whistler’s Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Painter’s Mother.

Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Painter's Mother

Anna McNeill Whistler was with her son in London when she posed for him to complete this painting.  I like art to evoke joyous feelings or awe when I look at them, to me his painting is just dull and depressing.  Yes, I understand that not all art can be happy.  Impressionism has such a range of feelings, I simply enjoy the warm end of the spectrum.

Classical Piece

The musical composition that I chose to share is Symphony No. 104 “London” written by Franz Joseph Haydn.  This piece was written in London in 1795 and was performed at the King’s Theatre where many people were able to hear the beauty of his composition. To get started, lets give a little background on Haydn.  As was presented in the course material, Haydn was a musical servant to the Prince of Hungary, Esterhazy.  Not until after the Prince’s death was Haydn able to work freelance traveling and composing music in his own manner and under his own will.  However, according to essentialsofmusic.com Hayden did not feel that his creative spirit was stifled under the demand for composition from the Prince.  He instead insisted that he was able to explore his creativity while working daily with the musicians that would play his pieces.  And as wikipedia quotes he was “forced to become original”. Essentialsofmusic.com also described that Haydn grew in popularity even in his solitude.  As the overall popularity and availability of music began to spread in the Classical Era, Haydn was right there. His works were being published over the European countries and Haydn was being pursued to compose music for various performances in various cities.  The 104th Symphony was his final symphony, he had been living in London and composing music for the masses to hear.  This piece is very stimulating, in places the sound is heightened, but the drops to a soft, drawn out note only to heighten again.  It never grows dull, and gives enough variation of sound, speed, and intensity to keep the audience captivated without overpowering the senses.  I enjoy the strings through out the piece, but especially like the flutes that join in  and become noticable around the 5 minute 30 second mark of the attached video.

The piece I chose to study for the Baroque period is Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cantata 198: The Trauerode.  This piece was written for the funeral of the Queen Christiane Eberhardine of Poland.  Her story is very intriguing.  She was placed in self-exile because she refused to convert to Catholicism when her husband,Fredrich August, Elector of Saxony was chosen as king of Poland and became August II king of Poland.  Although she was in exile, her life was still lavish with wealth and she was considered royalty, carrying the title of Queen until her death in September 5th, 1727.  In interesting fact, her son, August III King of Poland, was the only legitimate of the king’s 267 children!

The lyrical portion was written by Johann Christoph Gottsched, and Bach was asked to compose the musical portion.  The piece was preformed at the ceremony on October 17th, 1727 so the duo had roughly a month to bring it all together.  I enjoy the piece because, although it is lengthy, it does not become boring.  Nor does it seem repetitive. Although it is a funeral piece, the Trauerode does not carry a dark or depressing feel. This fact stood out to me the most, it seemed light, while leaning toward solemn. The wind instruments at the beginning keep the piece airy while the voices bring the serious tone.

Reniassance Artwork

"Medici Holy Family" by Andrea del Sarto

The piece of art that I chose to analyze and study is called Medici Holy Family.  According to Franco Cesati in The Medici: Story of a European Dynasty, it was commissioned by Pope Leo XI, who’s given name was Alessandro Ottaviano de’ Medici. I found this painting in a book, The Medici: Story of a European Dynasty, that I brought back from my trip to Florence in the summer of 2008.  What caught my eye in this painting and drew my attention was the contrast between the dark background and the bright highlights and colors in the dress of the women in the foreground. I had a difficult time finding any specific information on this piece of art, however I did find information on the connection between the artist, Andrea del Sarto, and the Medici family.  As his reputation as an artist grew, so did his connections with the Medici family.  On the Britannica’s online site, it is stated that Sarto was commissioned to paint portions of the frescos in the Vila Medici near Florence.  He painted a small fragment but never finished because the project was cut off when its patron Pope Leo X died.  According to the Britannica, it is now incorporated into other frescos.  Now that there is a background established for the artist, let’s return the focus painting of this entry.  I enjoy how the body lines and positions of the subjects in this painting are smooth and natural.  However, my favorite part of the painting is the dress and shall or sash of the woman in the foreground.  The detail of the folds in the dress and the was the color shows perfect highlight is beautiful.  I do not know why, but it is the reason I chose this painting, it caught my eye and I could not stop looking at it.  According to the book I bought in Florence, this painting was completed in the late years of Sarto’s life.  When I searched for information on the painting I found that it was painted in 1529, which is the year before he died. I belive it was painted in Florence, it is now housed in Uffizi.

Hello world!

Hello!!

This blog has been started as a requirement to MUS 200X at UAF! However, I am hoping to become familiar with blogging and use it as a resource in the future to keep my loved ones updated on the happenings in my life.  For now I will stumble my way through learning to use, manage, and personalize my blog spot!

Until next time,

Bethany