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Post 9: What is art? Who is an artist? What’s the point?

My views on what art is, who an artist is, and the point of art, have not changed much. I went into this class already thinking that art was an expression of oneself & that it was creation. Artists are those who express themselves and create works such as writing, photos, videos, sculpture, paintings, music, and so on. And there are many points for creating art; whether it be to entertain people, inform people of the truth, to express oneself, or to get people to think for a moment (artists also perform these roles in society).

Anyone can become an artist if they choose to create and have a point for doing so. Not everyone will be well-known but by simply doing so, they’re an artist. Anything that someone creates and they believe to be art, is art. Even if its not understood or liked it doesn’t change the fact of what it is.

This class had made me realize that art truly can be anything and it can make us feel many different emotions. Art is everywhere, we’re constantly experiencing it (even if we may not realize it). But now, I am able to appreciate it a little more.

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Off Campus Art Event

This past Sunday, December 17th, I went to The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum located in the Modesto A. Maidique Campus of Florida International University. It was an exhibition with lots of interesting artwork. There wasn’t a lecturer, so I just walked around and viewed the works on my own. The entrance was free and my time there was enjoyable. I would recommend going and its open year round.

The second image is a painting titled El ultimo castillo (The Last Castle),1996 and it was made by Armando Valladares. The support is a board and the binder is acrylic. This artwork caught my attention and it was one of my favorites. The hues look good together and the distorted effect makes it more interesting. I like how the blending was done. It kinda looks like the top of The Scream, 1983.

The third image is a painting that was made by Cundo Bermúdez, its Untitled, 1994. This artwork was made though a printing technique known as silk screening or serigraphy; its based on the ancient technique of stenciling. I chose to include this work because it reminded of the artists Romero Britto and Pablo Picasso. A specific artwork of Picasso that it reminded me of was Guernica,1937. The similarities between the artworks of these artists made me like it more. The hues on top go well together but the bottom portion of this work is somewhat difficult to see clearly (the brown and black). Overall, I liked it and I believe it was nicely done.

The fourth image is an art installation titled Mar Caribe (Carribean Ocean), 1996. It was made by Tony Capellán from Dominican Republic. The materials used were flip-flops and barbed wire. The presentation of the work installation changes often and it mirrors the “physical change of the Carribean Sea and the social displacement of the marginal people who transverse it” . These were actual flip-flops that he encountered on the banks of the Ozama River in the Dominican Republic. They belonged to the poor who had passed though there and left them. He made a change to the flip-flops by removing the rubber piece that allows one to wear it, with barbed wire. He did this as a reminder that this place may be beautiful but within places of suffering exist. I am Dominican, so after reading about the installation, it spoke to me more. I liked that he was making a statement and the art wasn’t just there to please. The adding of the barbed wire makes an insinuation of the suffering occurring. The amount of flip-flops shows that it affects many people. At first glance, I did not understand it but after reading I came to appreciate it.

The fifth image is a painting titled Hope (oil on canvas) by Jaime West. When I first saw this, it caught my eye. I already thought it had to do with something relating to God and when I read the title, that thought still made sense. The painting looks like a glimpse of heaven from earth. “God gives hope” which is why I think that is what the artist was trying to depict, however I may be wrong. The colors used were not necessarily my favorite but they have an uplifting mood. All in all, I liked the painting.

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Post 8: Art History

Galatea of the Spheres, 1952, is a painting that was made by Salvador Dalí. The woman in the photo is Gala, the love of his life. They married in 1934 in a civil ceremony, then they remarried in 1958 through the Catholic church and were together for the rest of their lives. Gala was Salvador Dalí’s muse & world and this is one of the countless artworks she was featured in.

The image includes spheres that, with other techniques, make up her face and upper body. This artwork was from the Nuclear Mysticism period. Science influenced this artwork since the spheres represent atoms “floating into the universe”, showing his love and amazement of nuclear physics.

I chose this painting because I found it beautiful. I thought the painting was captivating and he depicted her elegantly. It’s not a typical portrait of someone, he made it much more interesting. I also liked that the woman was his wife and not just someone random that he decided to paint. The colors go well with each other and all in all it reminds me of the sky and outer space. This painting is amazing and definitely one of my favorites from Dalí.

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Post 6: Art History Selfie (Midterm)

The meme that I️ decided to use was the Roll Safe meme. Above is the actor Kayode Ewumi, smiling and pointing at his head. This gif, which is sometimes seen as simply a screenshot, is usually captioned with jokes dealing with bad choices. For instance, the image has been captioned “due tomorrow… do tomorrow.” This deals with a dangerous cycle: procrastination. The reason I️ chose this meme was because I️ can relate to it. I️ make poor decisions at times such as procrastinating. “Can’t get a bad grade if you never turned it in” is a quote that my friend thought of but it sounds like something I️ may think in those desperate times.

Originally, I️ made a video and through that it was made into a gif. I️ didn’t try to make myself look like a guy and the watch I️ used was silver, not gold (I️ prefer silver and I️ also only had that one, which is my father’s). The changes that were made were the speed of the gif and the lighting. The original gif was a bit faster than mine, and the lighting in my gif was darker. The viewer may believe it is late at night and this can be an indication of waiting until the last minute; which definitely relates to the theme of my gif. It’s reflective of me considering I️ wait until the last minute and I️’m slow when doing the work at times.

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Post 5: Surroundings

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Post 4: On Photography

Part 1 - Social Change

Photography is evidently seen as an instrument of truth in this photo, the truth of the harsh working conditions that the child labor workers endured. There was undoubtedly a lot of dust and sometimes it would obstruct their sight. Their lungs were also affected by the dust. In the photo there can be boys seen with sticks, they would hurt the children so that they’d do their work. In this case, photography was used to show the negative part of this situation.

Source: Lewis W. Hine, 1908-1912, Child Labor in America, The History Place, http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/childlabor/hine-dust.htm

Part 2 - Decisive Moment

The little boy in the photo was preparing to jump off of the tree. The image captured was a part of the moments leading up to the jump.

Part 3 - Misleading the Eyes

For this image, I tried to make it look as if the dog was ascending into the sky. The higher the picture of the dog is, the less transparent. I took the picture of the sky in the background but I edited the color of it; the sky then looked purple. I had this image of my friend’s dog in my camera roll and I edited the color and transparency of it; it is slightly whiter and transparent.

Part 4 - Narrative

In this series of photographs, the little girl is captured making a decision. She was offered two different chocolate snacks, she thought about which one she wanted, and then she chose it.

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Me, Myself, and I

The three paintings that I chose to recreate are these three. It took longer than expected to find them but they’ll probably be the ones I’ll be using.

Summer Reflections (1957) by An He

To recreate this painting I will be sitting on the grass in front of my balcony, holding an umbrella that I own, and wearing a floral dress. I will position myself exactly as the girl in the paining, with my head to the side and my hands placed similarly to her. She has a basket to the side of her so I’ll probably get my own and put in the flowers from my balcony. I will either take the picture when it is the most sunny or edit it in that way.

The Wounded Deer (1946) by Frida Kahlo

This painting stood out to me because of how different and surreal it looks. I will most likely be using Photoshop for most of this work. Instead of a deer, I would rather use one of my cats bodies and ears. I may take a picture of the trees outside and photoshop myself and my cat onto it. It’s something unusual and i believe I’ll have the most fun with this one.

The Glance by Andrew Atroshenko, oil on canvas

For this recreation, I will be wearing a white shirt and I may edit the lighting to make it look like it’s a shade of blue. I will position myself as the lady in the painting, looking back and somewhat smiling. I’ll have my hair split in the middle and braided into a bun. The background will be a pillowcase that I have that looks similar, and I’ll photoshop it to create a pattern. I’ll then photoshop myself onto it.

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That Time I Drew A Sol Lewitt (Instruction Based Drawings).

Originally, I was excited but stressed simply thinking about this project. I expected the assignment to be time-consuming and difficult, since I wasn’t sure what I’d do. I had several walls in mind to do the project on but I ended up choosing my hallway’s.

I begun by sticking copy paper onto the wall, and that took several hours, but when I was finally done I started placing the dots. I lost count and had to recount a couple times. I was also overwhelmed with the large space and didn’t know where I should place each dot, but I managed. I found that connecting the dots and placing the lines was the most exciting part; simply seeing how it all came together. The first two pictures were how it originally turned out but I felt as if it wasn’t enough (I decided to use those as my progress pictures). So I continued to connect the dots and make lines. I was pleased with how it turned out and this project went from something that I did not want to do, to an experience that I ended up loving.

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What is art? Who is an Artist? And what’s the point?

Art is an expression of what one feels inside. I don’t believe that art should be limited to certain boundaries. What art is to someone is an expression of themselves. Art is in all things, it’s creation.

In a video titled What is Art?, Leon Botstein said that art “makes us stop and think about something quite important in an entirely different way”. It is not something that we simply pass by. It sparks interest in us. Art gets people thinking.

Not all art will be understood or liked by everyone. Art is whatever someone thinks art is.

An artist can be anyone, they don’t need to be widely known. Anyone who expresses themselves in a creative way is an artist. Art is in writing, fashion, music, movies, videos, shows, murals, sculptures, and so many other things that we see, hear, and feel. Anyone who creates these things is an artist.

In The Creative Process, James Baldwin states that artists have a role to illuminate the darkness, in order to make the world a better place to live in. In a way, I believe this is true. Through art, artists can shed light on certain situations and they can make someone feel better through the reaction that was sparked. Art reveals and helps.

The point of art is to express how someone feels, to bring to attention the truth of certain situations, and to make us think and see things in another perspective.