Plug In & Recharge

Recently, we discussed if boredom is a factor that convinces us whether an artist is talented or unique. I would argue that due to the fast-passed society in which we live today this is truly a defining factor on how the majority of art of this era is viewed. We have an individual who via fame, networking, and a new idea becomes an artistic icon. He/she is then followed by others who expand and continue this new idea. As more and more work is configured this new idea becomes something of the past. It is old. It is commonplace. Much like a diamond’s value is placed in its rarity, an art is viewed as special when it is one-of-its-own-kind.

This trend in art can have its advantages. With artists competing for creative styles, beauty, and humour the art world becomes a pool of new ideas. Artists are more inventive. More experimental. There is true passion and a sense of accomplishment and awe.

In turn, this can have its disadvantages. The common artist is an excessively hard worker in his/her competitive environment with no guaranteed rewards. This often gloomy despair and uncertainty in one’s personal life then translates to one’s work as is now the vibe among many visual 2D canvas and 3D sculptural art. While flipping through our text I am constantly faced with a screaming person or a demented figure. Occasionally there is the pure form of a graceful dancer or a productive and aesthetically pleasing architecture. These occasions allow me to smile at modern art.

On a side note, it is quite refreshing to see scientific and technological blurbs here and there throughout our text. Humanities are not exclusively paintings or music but the correlation of all that humans create. This is not a boastful statement, simply the definition that has been established by humans – ha, irony.

Till next time.

The Hippo's Wings

The hippo’s wings! What? 

That is the same reaction I had to Jackson Pollock at work on his splatter of paint in the image on page 87 of our text. 

 

Now, most may frown upon his method of making money. I consider him a lucky chap. Ask me to have fun splashing buckets of paint and mediums onto a canvas 50 times my size and get paid big monies for it and I just may say, “Ok.”

No doubt Pollack enjoys his work. I too enjoy looking at it. I also consider it art. Much like one may consider eating cotton candy while swaying to and fro on a swing an art form. This of course is headed toward a tangent as one may argue that physics is an art and so on but from now on we will stick to the conventional visual arts in this post.

Do I consider it an art of talent? Meh, not really. Kudos to him for making it big with his work but I will not appreciate his so-called skill more than the slightly-creepy-yet-still-talented painter Salvador Dali and his artistic methods in Persistance de la Mémoire. 

This image maintains such fine brush stokes that the painting as a whole appears to be a photograph.

Though Pollock instills the “What!?” factor I automatically picture Lavender Mist hanging in a modern room expanding the sophistication and edgy-look to the space. If I were an interior designer it would be Pollock’s works and those of his contemporizes that I would seek out to complete a look for a client.

Apparently, this hippo has wings.

Till next time.

Creations of Man

Six Characters in Search of an Author. A fascinating, beautiful, almost-made-me-cry experience.

(place sarcasm here)

If I were an audience member paying for a seat to watch this play I would regret it for entertainment's sake. The speech has no class, the back-and-forth question and answer sessions – in supposedly loud-shouting voices mind you – is annoying, the wit and humour are lacking, and so forth. Nonetheless, this production introduces an interesting perspective on what is real. 

Six Characters in Search of an Author is a play that describes a play which in turn is arguing to be more real than the actual play itself. (Yes, you may read that twice if you wish.)

The father does most of the arguing to get the point across. He suggests that he and the other five characters are constant. Never changing. Never dying. They were envisioned one way and that is all they know. 

Do not think about Batman.

Come on man! I told you not to.

Oh, Christian Bale's voice. Classic.

That is an undying character. One with a definite purpose: to save those in distress, to see that justice prevails. In his stories, Batman is always real. Always present.

Likewise, the six characters are written with clear and definite identities.

The father goes on to claim that the producer and actors are less real for their realities change day-by-day. They are just actors: human beings who play pretend. 

But who’s to say that illusion is reality? Who’s to say that consistency is what defines certainty? Man is real. Man is the artist, the giver of life to these characters. If they are real in character, how much more so is he that gave them life. Not to mention having an actual, physical body helps. Duh.

These characters are mere creations of man, right? Can man be the creation of another?

Till next time.

 Huh. I stated the father as being the arguer and not Luigi Pirandello, the play’s author. IRONY!

Clarification

This post is not directed to a new artist or movement in the text and is not expected to be discussed in class. This is simply a clarification for you, the reader, on what was already shared. After our Brancusi and Picasso class I was approached by a friend who encouraged me to expound on what I meant when I said, “There is no perfection.” Though the friend and I both understood that I meant “There is no perfection in this sinful world,” it was brought to my attention that I should clarify this point.

I definitely believe in perfection. This perfection is the One whom I base my entire life around. This One is my Heavenly Father, my Saviour, and my Lord. Because of our own faults as humans we are separated from this perfection and therefore live in an imperfect world. I rejected Him and am sinful. But, He loves me and is holy. He gives me a choice to be with Him again through the death of His Son as a payment for my rejection. I believe His Son, Jesus, is my Saviour, and that He rose from the dead as He claimed He would. Because of this payment, I believe I will one day experience perfection when I am in His presence for eternity.

I do believe in perfection. That is not to say nature or humans are perfect. God alone is perfect. But it is that same perfection found in Him that we cannot fully express in visual art. Because in the same way we cannot draw or paint the passage of time, no one can capture the perfection of God.

Brancusi Domain

Oh Constantin, how I admire you.

This fellow, the masterful Constantin Brancusi, introduced elegance and substance in his art via simple yet moving forms. His work, sculpture being his forte, captures perfection--from a human’s perspective anyway--with flow and grace. 

He did not create simple geometric forms. No. He created simple organic forms. Brancusi’s combination of lines and curves bring out the subject’s core identity. His straight edges claim, “I’m bold. I’m sharp. Dare to come any closer?” while his coils and loops announce, “I’m free. I’m fun.  Let us twirl together.” Combined, the piece has class and spunk, a balance that definitely gets my applause. 

I had the privilege to interact with Brancusi’s work in both the Museum of Modern Art (located in New York City) and The Art Institute of Chicago displays, as well as his permanent works in Tirgu Jiu, Romania--his and my home country. Viewing Bird in Space next to his The Cock, Blond Negress, II, Young Bird, and Endless Column established an image of pure form.  

Do you see the birds? How about that earthling’s face? 

The recognizable subjects are oh-so-subtle and obvious at the same time. They are clean. Pure. With detail comes imperfection.  Hence, detail is forgotten.  These sculptures are all erect and linear, giving off a poised feeling. They are important, and yet they lively extend that hand of friendship saying, “Let us experience life together.” This is the reaction Brancusi creates.

Alright, so Brancusi was an abstract artist, yes? Well, take a look at how his simplified ideas relate to other aspects of life in this video.

Like Pablo Picasso and Georges Barque, Brancusi’s work is defined by the perspective rather than the physical portrayal of the elements, as the text suggests.

Reader, it is time to examine a Brancusi work yourself. Depicted below is a sculpture piece on display in Chicago. What do you determine is the subject? (The title will be revealed on a later date.)

Remember, your conclusion is your own. Brancusi does not own that, he just provokes the idea.

For more of Brancusi's art click the play button below.

Till next time.