Ai Weiwei Ai Weiwei was born in 1957 to Ai Qing and Gao Ying in Beijing. Although he once studied in New York, Weiwei now lives and works in Beijing. Before moving from China to the United States, he attended Beijing Film Academy. During his stay in the United States and New York (1981–1993) to be precise, he continued his art education at the Parsons School of Design and also the Art Students League of New York. Being dissatisfied, AI Weiwei abandons his art education and took on casual jobs to earn money and also created street portraits. He took random pictures when he was bore with no motive behind or intent. These picture were gather and named ‘The New York Photographs.’ Weiwei got inspiration from great artists such as Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol, and Jasper Johns during his time of dropout from school and designed abstract art by modifying existing art works. Ai Weiwei is considered one of China’s most creative and influential contemporary artists. Being an advocate for freedom of expression in China, Ai Weiwei got himself in trouble with the Chinese government which landed him in jail for 81 days. His arrest was based on tax evasion but the public sees it as a way to shut Weiwei from advocating for freedom of expression in China. He is currently under 24 hours surveillance by the Chinese government. His works features more than forty art works which stretches over twenty years. Ai Weiwei produces a broad spectrum of art works in association with sculpture making, woodworking, video, architecture, photography and and finally an activist. His art works have won several awards in different years. Ai Weiwei’s first architectural project was his ‘Fake Design Studio’ he built in the northeast of Beijing when he return home due to his father’s illness. He also help design the Beijing National Stadium Ai Weiwei in association with with the Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron was assigned the contract to design and build the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Summer Olympics which is well-known as the "Bird's Nest. Iron tree was another art piece by Ai Weiwei which puts pieces of different tree parts together to form a complete whole tree. This piece is located at the entry of the Yorkshire Chapel in London. Forever Bicycle is AI Weiwei’s artwork which involves the interconnection of several bicycles together (about 3200). This artwork represent a complex structural interconnections of an object used in our everyday life. This art piece was created in celebration of Canada’s Scotiabank Nuit Blanche art Festival. It was on display from October 6th 2013 to October 27th 2013 at the Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto, Canada. ‘Forever Bicycle’ appeared at the Taipei fine arts museum in 2011 before getting globally recognized. Although the work seems to be stationed, its layout makes it look like its in constantly moving. Also, looking at this installation, it takes into account China’s culture of the use of bicycle due to its large population and also the continues social environmental change in China. ‘Forever Bicycle’ got its name from the Chinese word yong jiu which is China’s most prevalent bicycle brand. These bicycles only had the frame and nothing else. Bicycle in itself represent the freedom of movement and can be tied in with Ai Weiwei case with the government. He was constantly monitored and also had restrains from travelling outside the country. The ‘Snake Ceiling’ is another work of Ai Weiwei which caught my attention. It was made with backpacks in remembrance of the lives lost during the massive earthquake that hit China on May 12th, 2008. His main search was focused on the school children that lost their lives. He and his team made the effort and got all the names these children, their ages, and also family contact information when the Chinese government took no action to give out the total number of people who died. In all, this is a good assignment to really research into details the artist. initially the word limit made it seem impossible but reading and watching videos on Ai Weiwei gave me a broader spectrum of knowledge and also information to talk about. It can be said that Weiwei is a controversial figure in China and researching more about him reveals the true Ai Weiwei. Transfiguration-Modern Masters from the Wexner Family Collection During our short tour to the Wexner Center for the Arts, I was amazed at the exclusive collection of art present in the gallery and also honored to have witnessed the Transfigurations Exhibition. Among the paints showcased at the Exhibition are art works done by Pablo Picasso, Edgar Degas, Jean Dubuffet, Alberto Giacometti, Willem De Kooning and Susan Rothenberg. Three artist I will talk about are: Picasso, Dubuffet and Rothenberg. “It is not enough to know an artist's works. One must also know when he did them, why, how, in what circumstances...I attempt to leave as complete a documentation as possible for posterity. ” – Pablo Ruiz Picasso. Pablo Picasso was born in Málaga, Spain, in the year 1881 and became one of the tremendous and most influential artists of the 20th century. Cubism, the most dominant visual art style of the early twentieth century is associated to Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Cubism is the use of geometrical shape in the composition of art. This style rose to a higher level with the painting of Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (Museum of Modern Art, New York), painted in 1907. During his artistic life, With his vast talent, Picasso did several paintings in different eras as sen in the art gallery. Most of which can be related to his personal life story. His earlier paints were more of the traditional style of painting with fine lines and also can be said to be the 'blue period' in which he lost a close friend to the classical period. "Femme assise dan un jardin (Woman seated in a garden is a painting done in 1938. I personally like this painting because of the use of geometrical shapes to depict a human figure. The second artist i will like to talk about is Jean Dubuffet. looking at his history, one could tell that Dubuffet had problems as an artist. Giving up twice on paint before finally committing to it to me reflects in his art works. As learned from the tour, people criticize Dubuffet's art works as being childish and cartoon like. Although most of his works looked childish, 'La marée L’Hourloupe (The Hourloupe tide)' made in 1963 stands out to me. Considering being on the phone and producing such an amazing art piece is incredible. The connection between each element in this painting looks fascinating. Looking at this initially, all you see is different shapes being connected together but on a second glance at this painting, you tend to see faces in different places on the canvas. i think this is a marvelous piece which tries to get your mind to work. That is seeing beyond the geometrical shapes. Finally, I will like to talk about Susan Rothenberg as an artist and her works. Being the only woman in the collection, I had doubts in mind as to if her works were up to the standard of Picasso and others. To my surprise, she had incredible paintings of life-size images of horses which mostly depicted only two legs. With mostly dark colors, Susan mostly painted horses either in a stable position or ones in motion. Among her works we saw during the tour, Layering done in 1974-1976 stands out. This overlap painting of two horse depicting two different motions is incredible. the immediate horse seems to be moving while the horse behind seems to be stable. This composition to me is creative as two movements are depicted in one picture. The over experience I had gotten from the trip was worth while as I learned a lot about these artists and also was I fortunate to see these incredible and amazing collections of the Wexner family. With this knowledge in mind, I will now appreciate art in a different manner no matter how terrible it looks. Pop Art- Andy WarholMy understanding of Pop Art after watching this video is, it appreciates popular culture through painting and drawing. In the Andy Warhol documentary and power point watched in class, I learned a lot about the history of pop art in America and the key characteristics of pop art. Pop art was an art movement during the late1950’s in America and was associated with New York famous artist Andy Warhol. Born in Pittsburgh to Mr. and Mrs. Warhola who were Slovakian immigrants in America, Andy’s profound passion about art started when he was 5 years old in his parents house. In the video, Andy was criticized by a Canadian government’s spokesperson about his art work not being original but responded by saying “yes its not original because copying other works is easy to do.” Andy changed the world through the way we saw art during is era. He disobeyed the traditions of fine art with his style of art that was controversial and interesting to look at. In his early life, Andy was diagnose with disease linked with the disorder of the central nervous system and kept him away from school for a while. His mother being the most influential person in his early art works helped shape his artistic career.
One of his famous art works will the the painting of the Campbell soup can. He drew his inspiration from the days he only ate sandwich with Campbell soup made by his brother because his mother was sick and admitted at the hospital for six weeks. Andy is linked with the introduction of the painting technique known as the blotted technique and allowed him to present multiple drawings to his clients. My opinion about if Pop Art is considered Art can be seen below. According to Marion Boddy-Evans, "Pop Art is a modern art movement, started in the 1950s, which uses the imagery, styles, and themes of advertising, mass media, and popular culture."Taking this definition into account, Art can be of any form so far as it involves some level of creativity and also communicates the artist thoughts to the viewers then I think it is considered Art. Along with the definition above, art allows every consumer to perceive art in a different form depending on how you see it. Pop art can also be interpreted by a different viewer in a different location differently because it has no set of general rules to follow. Despite the vivid colors used in this form of art, I am not a big fan of Pop Art. In spite of me not being a fan of Pop Art, I still would appreciate this form of art anytime and anywhere I see it as it is not an easy task to represent your thought on a piece of paper or through sculpture. If it is pleasing to look at an art work made in this era, then the purpose and aim has been achieved as it tends to communicate with you. Looking at the works produced during this era, it was to convey a message pertaining to advertisement to consumers so it is art. The art movement was introduced in the United States in the late 1950's after the World War II. Although this art movement was not only practiced in the United States, they all shared one interest: mass-media, mass-production and mass-culture. According to the video, we can say that with the influence of Andy Warhol, Pop art has changed the way people viewed art in America and the world as a whole. Playing with Sound in SilenceChristine Sun Kim is an artist with disability. Although deaf, Christine experiences sound through people’s reactions, vibrations from her immediate surroundings and through her body. Christine adjusted her senses to hear sounds around her based on peoples reaction and what her body felt. She learned about sound and how loud she was from the facial expressions of the people around her. She would know if she was being loud or not. Also her parents would ask her to tone the noise down when she was loud in her expressions. As stated in the TED article, Christine drew pumpkins on napkins to keep her busy while growing up. Not everyone can become an artist. As stated by Christine, “Finding your path as an artist is difficult.” To be a good artist, you must be able to communicate whatever you feel to people. You might have the idea but to represent or to relate it to the people may be difficult. In her artworks, Christine incorporates different approaches to measure the intensity of sound: brush with paint, screws dipped in paint, paint and powder in combination with speakers. Christine would surround herself with speakers and would place canvas and the paint on it. As the abstract sound plays, it creates a pattern on the canvas depending on the volume level which lets her know the intensity of the sound. She also hears sounds through body vibration. For example, when you are in a place with very loud music, you feel that through your whole body and sometimes increases the rate of your heart beat. To stay in control of her sound, she would have the volume on her electronic devices off. Sun stated that “I wanted to be in control, so I wanted everything off. I didn't like the extra noise floating around me because I wouldn't know what it was.” Analyzing this statement carefully, she wants to tune her sense of hearing to one particular sound being the abstract sound she works with because she may be able to get to know other sounds around from this abstract sound.
I learnt a lot from the in class activity, the video and also the article. First of all, i learnt that being disable should not prevent you from exploring your inner passion. Also, I learnt that whatever life may offer us, we should take control of the situation. It is an interesting article as I learnt that verbal communication is not the only to communicate but also through the use of sound as demonstrated by Christine Sun Kim. JOHN BERGER "ABOUT TIME" SUMMARY John tells different stories in this video all in relation to time. In the first part of the video, John tells a story in which Death is Inevitable. In search for a place with eternal life, a young man travels many miles to find this place. On his journey, he comes across three old men who assures him of his life for a period of time. Not looking for that, he continues to search for that place until he comes across a castle where he found eternal life. After centuries, he decides to go back and visit his family but to no avail. On his way back, he is tested by angel of death who succeedes after so many years. The lesson in this first part of the video is Death in Inevitable. We will all die someday. The second story is about comparing a picture of a man with his wife and daughter who is called upon to serve his country (deployed) and a picture of people returning home. John goes on to tell the story of the tortoise and the hare stating that this two animals can not be compared together with respect to time. In the video John stated, "There are moments to us that seem to outlast time" this can be seen in pictures, art works and paintings that are dear to our hearts. We tend to keep these past memories over time and at times even hold on to that forever. John goes on to tell different stories with respect to time and how humans are between two times: the brief time and the big story times. Lessons learnt from this video accounts for our past, present and the future and explains how time is inevitable. After watching the video About Time by John Berger, I went outside to capture a picture with respect to time and light from the sun. While walking around to find and object to capture, the sun reflection on the car casts a shadow. As I tried to find a position to take the picture, the bright sky also caught my interest. I wanted to incorporate that as well as the sky changes color with respect to time. As seen in the pictures below, the first picture shows a blue bright sky with white clouds. In the second picture, the sky was all white with no clouds. Also, the buildings look different as the picture taken at 3:34 pm looks pale. One thing i noticed about the pictures is the distance. Looking at both pictures, you may think the building in the first picture is in the distance and the second very close. There is an optical illusion with respect to time and light in these pictures. Although the images are the same, we may interpret these images differently due to the light intensity. The second picture may be interpreted as being cool due to less light. in the first picture, the car looks purple and in the second picture, it looks more of a gray color. With respect to John Berger's About Time, this image can be categorized under the two times human live in " the brief time and the big story time." Not until this assignment, I never though about how essential light and time plays in the images we see day to day. It seems so strange how two pictures of the same image at different time in the presence of light seems to be more different from each other. The feeling is different in terms of how you perceive this image. In comparing my picture of the the ant's eye view to that of Ivanna's picture of the tree, I will be talking about the various elements that makes Ivanna's picture stand out.This picture communicates to it's viewers the visual appearance by the use of different elements. looking at this picture, the elements i see are: light, color, texture and depth. This picture creates a feeling of warmth, peace and also depicts a sense of belonging. The first element that was of interest to me would be the light passing through the branches. It represents a cool environment. Looking at the angel of the picture, it appears that the picture was taking with the camera leaned against the tree stem to depict the depth of the tree and the texture of the bark of the tree. The size of the tree also makes the picture more interesting to look at as it keeps you wondering what the height might be in relation to our height. The different shades of green in the leaves and the contrast of the brown color of the bark and branches also caught my attention. This picture as a whole can be divided into three different views. First, your attention can only be drawn to just the bark of the tree, followed by the branches and leaves and finally, the light passing through the branches. .I enjoyed every bit of looking at this picture. Due to height of the tree, the only way to capturing an interesting picture will be through the ant's eye view. Unlike this picture, my picture of the ant's eye view would have been interesting had i incorporate different elements. Trying different sources of light would have helped improve the overall outcome of the picture. Overall, I like Ivanna's picture as the elements represent a perfect composition.
Georgia O'Keeffe Art Works Georgia O'Keeffe Art Works
Cow’s Skull with Calico Roses-1931 The second painting I will talk about is the "Cow's Skull with Calico Roses". The first element I noted looking at this painting is the symmetry. Both sides of the skull look exactly the same. It looks like a mirror image. I like the way she depicted the broken skull. I think this painting looks great as she used a different color and shade to represent the depth of the broken skull. This painting has a good color combination. I like the folds on the right hand side of the background. This painting looks different from her other paintings as Georgia was noted for bright colors for her paintings. From Far Away Nearby-1937 I personally like this painting due to the fact that it utilizes the use of light color, combination of harmonious colors and also fine lines. The first thing use see when looking at this picture is how the enormous skull floats in the air with no support. The name O'Keeffe gave to this painting says it all. Although the skull looks closer to you, the background appears to be in the distance. The color blend and the scene make it a perfect desert picture. She makes a clear depiction of the horizon and the sky. Overall, this painting looks amazing and appealing, The White Flower-1932 Looking at this painting, the first element I noticed was the fine lines. It looks bright and clear. Being noted for her rich and loud colors, Georgia O'Keeffe shifts to a more neutral color which adds a sense of belonging to the picture. I was also drawn to how she blended the colors in this art work. Also, this painting was done in a close up style which brings out every detail. To create harmony in the picture, O'Keeffe balances white flower with a shade of green leave. This painting tends be more of a feminine Red Hills with Flowers, 1937 The red hills with flower is a painting by Georgia O'Keeffe which was painted in 1937. This painting entails a flower in front of mountains. In this painting, different shades of red was used to show the source of light. As seen in the picture, all three mountains have different shades. The closest mountain appears to be darker than the mountain next to it. The last mountain appears darker because of the shadow cast on it from the second mountain. Comparing all three mountains, distance was distinguish by the use of light shades. Although she painted the flowers with rich colors, the mountains caught me attention. Ways of Seeing by John Berger The things we see today is affected by the our knowledge of the world and what we believe. Different meanings can be given to various art works depending on where you were raised or the culture associated with the society. As humans, we may have different perspective views and interpret art works distinctively.
"Ways of Seeing" is a 1972 BBC four-part TV series created by John Berger. Depending on your perspective or the angel at which you look at an art work, different meanings can be assigned to it which may be different from the intended meaning. " Freed from the boundaries of time and space" is a quote used in the video which basically talks about how the introduction of the camera has made art works common.This makes us see reproduced art works differently and also at different time. "Also the invention of the camera has changed not only what we see but how we see it". the reproduction of paintings or art works made life easier for some who had to travel longer distance just to see it. With such technology in place, art works can be purchased at various art galleries and kept at the buyers desired place. The shapes of painting changes as they are reproduced. Reproduced art work serves many different purposes from its original purpose as the consumers give different meanings to it. Paintings and other art work loses its authenticity when reproduced due to the numerous productions. It is important to preserve a painting because of its market value. Art works are worth more money over its life span. Should an art work not be genuine, it looses its market value. |