“Representations of talented artists from the History of Art”

The theme I chose to describe the works of art was “Representations of talented artists from the History of Art”. The selections shared similarities in being truly talented artists. They’re purpose was to follow their passion and interests in life. The pieces evoke deep feelings of hope, wanting to be in the past and to experience, to see what was really going on then. 

Our Art 101 class visited the amazing and historical Metropolitan Museum of Art last week. Though it was storming raining, most of us managed to make it through the stormy weather to see the beautiful artwork. Our assignment was to visit and analyze the Greek and Roman Art, Arts of Africa, Oceania & the Americas on the first floor, followed by the19^th and early 20^th Century European Paintings and Sculpture and the Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia located on the 2^nd floor.

Upon the first floor of the Greek and Roman art, I noticed the stone sculpture of the "Marble head of an athlete." The sculpture had me feeling an emotional way of longing to meet this athlete. To go back in time and to actually see and greet with this attractive athlete was astounding! The athlete’s name was unknown, his hair very curly and he wears a band that probably belonged to only the greatest athletes.   

Next, I viewed a damaged condition of the "Marble head of a philosopher" from the 1st or 2nd century A.D, imperial period. The marble head made me think of how this person taught philosophy to other people or students during that time. His identity remains unknown, though his head was surprisingly similar to the head of Aristotle, whom was the tutor of Alexander the Great. 

On the 2^nd floor, I stumbled upon the European oil on wood painting of Edgar Degas, named "The Dancing class", made in 1870. I was instantly in love with the painting and that of the ballet dancers. Their ballet attire was quite different than the design of modern ballet. A lot of my friends are ballet dancers and that’s what drew me to analyze the picture. Ballet dancers are athletes and teachers in their own sport of Ballet. 

Marble head of a philosopher
Date: 1st or 2nd century A.D.
Roman Art

  Edgar Degas
"The Ballet from "Robert le Diable"
Date: 1871
European paintings 

Marble head of an athlete
Date: A.D. 138–192
Roman Art

"Plaque of George Washington"
Date:1776–83
The American Wing

Johan Hagemeyer
"Nathan Firestone, Violinist"
 Date: 1928

Madame Gustave Héquet
"Ingres (1780–1867) as a Young Man"
Date:1850–60
European Paintings

Bernhard Keil (Danish, 1624–1687)
"The Lacemaker"
European Paintings

Jean Frédéric Schall (French, Strasbourg 1752–1825 Paris)
"Dancer"
European Paintings

André Kertész
"Ballet Dancer"
Date:1939
Photographs

A. G. Spalding & Bros.
"Shoes, Athletic"
Date:1916–25
Costume Institute

Issued by Goodwin & Company
"Mattimore, Pitcher, Philadelphia Athletics, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes"
Date:1888
Drawings and prints

Auguste Edouart (French, 1789–1861)
"Frank Johnson, Leader of the Brass Band of the 128th Regiment in Saratoga, with his wife, Helen" Date:1842–44
Drawings and Paintings

Capezio Inc. (American, founded 1887)
"Slippers"
Date: 20th century
Costume Institute

Gift of Mr. Jean-François Daigre, 1991
"Ensemble, Athletic"
Date:1980s
Costume Institute

Purchase, Robert Alonzo Lehman Bequest, 2009
"Viola da Gamba"
Date:1640–65
Musical Instruments

Quiz Make Up

The artist I most admired during the Art 21 video was Lynda Benglis. To me, we have something in common with our backgrounds such as being from Louisiana and actually sharing the same name. My original birth name was Lynda. Most important, the artist seemed to be communicating the statement that art has a form.

Of Lynda’s work, I really liked the 15-foot trapezoid brick wall made into an elephant. The two-headed snake was most interesting and also to find out that people would go to worship her work of art. The brick was so soft enough for Lynda to carve these and reminded her of her childhood home that was made of brick.  I also, like many other Louisiana natives, had a brick home.

The work of art that I disliked the most of Lynda’s were the installations, that of the poured polyurethane. Not so much that I didn’t like it, the work was just bizarre to see. The polyurethane didn’t catch my interest as much as I would’ve liked it to. The only interesting trick to the work was that it glowed in the dark. The polyurethane reminded me of a ghostly display, something scary shown during a Halloween holiday.

Chelsea Galleries Reaction

Last week our class was introduced to the wonderful art gallery section in Chelsea for our 5^th field trip. We viewed four artist galleries of Anish Kapoor, Richard Avedon, Ernesto Neto, and Gilbert and George. All galleries had their own unique way of installation. By far, Ernesto Neto was most interesting in my experience. Below, I will talk about why I would want to purchase Neto’s work vs not purchasing another artist pieces.

What I disliked about Gilbert and George was the news and the ugliness of it all. Seeing horrible, real life stories in bold print saddened my soul and broke my heart. Knowing that these events really happened is shocking and hard to grasp. Though, I appreciate the realness and braveness of the artwork. This type of artwork would be displayed in my storage or garage room away from guest that are children. The London stories would definitely be too overwhelming for kids. The art would just be a reminder that real events like these really do happen.

            Ernesto Neto’s artwork is work that I would want to display in my own home, just for fun! Ernesto turned his colorful thoughts into colorful hanging crochet. That’s amazing! Ernesto’s art is very unique and a great investment if you have the space/room in your home. The crochet is a wonderful way to get kids to relax too. I really appreciate Ernesto’s work.

I can honestly say that this field trip to the Chelsea art galleries was one of the best. Seeing and learning what art galleries are all about heightened my interest in art. I will be going back on some leisure time to visit other galleries in the near future.

 Ernesto Neto

 "Slow iis goood"
2012

Gilbert & George
"London Pictures" 
2012

Sculpture Center Reaction

Our latest class field trip was a visit to the Sculpture Center to view Bill Bollinger: The Retrospective. We had to keep in mind the terms and meanings of Installation and Site-specific when looking at the artwork. The term Installation refers to how a piece of artwork is presented in a space. Site-specific refers to artwork presented in a particular space. 

The first piece of artwork that grabbed my attention was The Cyclone Fence, made in 1968. The fence was interesting in the way in was presented in warehouse space. The space had enough room to show the fence twisted other than it lying flat on the ground. The cyclone artwork changed my perception of space by acknowledging that space is important for construction and security. I think the artwork would definitely have a different effect in another space, for example, let’s say water. Having the cyclone fence in the water would send a different message about what a fence is used for. Wire Fences aren’t commonly placed in water, so the artwork would have to be looked at and analyzed differently.

Next, I analyzed two Wheelbarrows with water. The wheelbarrows fit perfectly within the space among other constructed artwork material. My common knowledge is that Wheelbarrows are commonly used for construction, gardening, and /or carrying heaving material. Wheelbarrows are made of steel which are great for carrying metal, sheetrock, and other heavy-duty materials during construction. The wheelbarrows were presented like upright, filled with water, ready to be poured. 

The last piece of artwork that I thought was interesting was the Droplight. The droplight is an incandescent bulb with a rubber bulb holder and electric cable. The droplight can be useful anywhere light is need and that can be plugged in to a wall circuit. This tool is very important in construction, as workers need this light when working at night and to see parts of a space that are hard to get into with a human body alone. The droplight worked well with its surroundings and other artwork, as all art pieces related to construction. 

Bill Bollinger- Reconstruction
"Cyclone Fence"
1968 (2012)

Bill Bollinger -Kunstmuseum-St. Gallen Reconstruction
"Untitled" Wheelbarrows, water
1970 (2002)

Bill Bollinger -Kunstmuseum -St. Gallen Reconstruction
"Droplight"
1969