Wastepaper Bag
2003
Aluminum plates and copper wire
El Anatsui

El Anatsui is a contemporary artist who reflects traditions from his native Ghana and adopted Nigeria. His work engages the cultural, social and economic histories of West Africa. He is known to work with a variety of media such as wood, ceramics, paint and metal objects. Anatsui quotes, “Art grows out of each particular situation, and I believe that artists are better off working with whatever their environment throws up.”

I chose this work because I enjoy El Anatsui’s work because of the way he uses what some think is trash and turns it into beautiful pieces of art. This piece of work, Wastepaper Bag is unique because it represents the growing population of trash around the world and if we could just recycle, it would decrease the problem drastically. He is a good role model of recycling through his work and if he keeps creating work like this, other people will hopefully be inspired to start recycling as well.

Ten Thousand Li of the Yangtze River

Wang Hui

Ink on silk

Wang Hui was a Chinese landscape painter. Painting ran in his family from his great grandfathers, grandfather, father and uncles. Hui was taught by Zhang Ke and Wang Shiming.

I chose this piece because it is strong and mysterious yet the lines are gentle and soft. Wang Hui puts a strong feeling on the one mountain and then the mountains behind it are s oft and calm. The dark lines in the right side, mid bottom are dark and bold. His calligraphy strokes are put together well to make a nice effect. It seems like if I were to make lines like that it would look like a spilt a paint can, not a magnificent, majestic mountain.

If you have ever been to a circus, you probably have noticed the colorful costumes that the performers wear. But, have you ever thought of the costumes as a piece of art? In this assignment, we had to learn a brief part about Cirque du Soleil and I went to their website and the first thing I noticed was what the performers were wearing. These costumes are canvas paintings put on fabric wrapped around a body. They are astonishing and the creativity is beyond me. I wanted to showcase two designers, Dominique Lemieux and François Barbeau. They both have created numerous costumes for various sets of Cirque du Soleil. 

            The first artist, Dominique Lemieux, received an education in fine arts and design at Concordia University, Montreal. After she graduated, she studied scenography at the national Theatre School of Canada, with François Barbeau. She was actually his assistant from 1986- 1988. After her experience with François Barbeau, she was picked up by Cirque du Soleil productions and created all their costumes from 1989 to 1998. That’s a lot of costumes! The Crique du Soleil quotes, “With an expert eye, Dominique weaves colors, patterns and fabrics into fabulous costumes. But her choice of material is not strictly guided by aesthetic considerations alone. For Dominique, determining how fibres react to skin, movement, fire or water is of vital importance, and she never loses sight of the artists’ needs.” 

 These two costumes were created for the show La Nouba which plays at Walt Disney World in Florida. Dominique Lemieux created 30 different costumes for this production. She mixed traditional circus ideas with contemporary fashion. She had 8 weeks to create the costumes from October 24^th to December 23^rd, 1998. It does not state where the costumes were made at. 

This costume is The Clown. I like The Clown because of the purple and yellow contrast. I usually wouldn’t think these two colors go together but I guess in a circus they do, and combined they make a lively, entertaining sight to see. I also like the hat with the stuff coming off on top of it. 

My favorite out of the two is The Pierrot Rouge because of the lines coming off of it. I think this is a good demonstration of contemporary fashion because you are starting to see a lot more abstract lines on clothes. Creating this piece must have been difficult because she had so much fabric to work with. 

 The next two costumes, also created by Dominique Lemieux were made for the show Alegria. This show started in 1994 therefore the costumes were created in either 1993 or early 1994. It is a traveling circus so I am not sure where the costumes were made. Alegria is a Cirque du Soleil performance about the struggle for power and the refreshing energy of youth. Cirque du Soleil quotes, “Dominique Lemieux’s costumes evince a baroque aesthetic of decadence and ornamentation.” 

This costume is titled Nostalgic Old Birds. I really like these costumes because of the detail that Lemieux put into it. The hats are what caught my eye at first. Look at how many things are coming off the first ‘bird’! And the leggings are unique because of they way they are layered. I wonder how much these costumes weighed. And imagine dancing in them and performing acrobatic acts! 

These costumes are titled The Nymphs. The part I like about these is the beauty the represent. If you saw these costumes on a rack you would think ‘what in the world is this?!’ But once they are put on they are graceful and gorgeous. The detail I like the most is actually the pieces on the breast. It reminds me of a Madonna costume but a lot more classy. Once again, Lemieux goes above and beyond on the head pieces. 

The second artist that will be featured in my exhibit is François Barbeau. François Barbeau was born in Montreal and is one of the most respected costume designers in Canada. In 1998, he joined the team of designers behind the Cirque du Soleil show Dralion, and this creation earned him an Emmy in 2001, awarded by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for “Outstanding Costumes for a Variety or Music Program.” He worked with Cirque du Soleil till 2004. He was a very important trainer for the new generation of costume designers from 1962-1987. His trainees include Dominique Lemieux, Michel Crête and Stéphane Roy, all designers at Cirque du Soleil. 

These next two costumes are from Cirque du Soleil’s production Wintuk. It plays seasonally at the Madison Square Garden. The show started in 2007 (the costumes were made then as well) and will run till 2011. It is about a boy that lives in the city who experiences winter, but without snow. He then goes to look for snow and encounters many characters along his way. Cirque du Soleil states, “François Barbeau used highly unusual reflective materials in his costumes to capture the essence of the characters that evolve in the icy and frosty realm of Wintuk. Under his watchful eye, Cirque du Soleil’s costume department turned into a full-fledged research lab for many months. ‘I wanted to move out of familiar waters with Wintuk, particularly in the area of materials and textiles,’ he notes.” 

 This costume is titled Hoop Girl, which seems pretty fitting. I like this costume because of the colors it has. The play is set in a winter setting and I think these colors blend right in. The mystic blue and white shined upon it gives it a winter wonderland effect. I also like the hoops coming out of it that the lady is holding up. 

 These two characters are titled The Puppets. They aren’t necessarly my favorite costumes but I added them because they are so different from the rest. They don’t have elaborate things coming off of them besides some white fluff and the colors are pretty neutral.  The shoes also interest me because they look like something you would see will camping or hiking, not in a Cirque du Soleil play. Therefore, I added this picture because of the differences of the past pictures. 

http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/~/media/press/PDF/cds/The_Costume_Workshop.pdf 

http://www.dominiquelemieux.com/e/creations_spectacles_saltimbanco.html 

http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/wintuk/show/acts.aspx

Lois Jones

The Ascent of Ethiopia, 1932, oil on canvas

As I started this blog, I wanted to find an artist whose work caught my eye and made an interesting story. But I found Lois Jones and her story was so inspiring there was no way I couldn’t write about her. Not only does this painting catch my eye, but the story behind her has so much influence on African Americans.

I find Lois Jones a HUGE influence on African Americans because her love and passion for the arts kept her driven and able to fight the discrimination against her work. She grew up in a family that wasn’t well off and her mother was a hairdresser that would go to the homes of rich white people. Jones would go with her mother and while she was at these houses she would admire the art on the walls. She then started experimenting with water colors and flourished from there. Lois Jones then was the first African American that attended the School of the Museum of Fine Art, Boston at a time when racial prejudice and discrimination were unavoidable. Her courage to continue with her art even though some people wouldn’t even look at it because of her color is amazing. Sometimes, she would give her work to her white friends to enter into exhibitions that way people could look at it without judging. Lois Jones was the first African American to have a solo exhibition at the Museum of Fine Art.

                This painting is really interesting because it starts in the bottom right corner and goes up around to the left side and ends in the top right hand corner telling the story of how African Americans got to America. The eye is first drawn to the man wearing the blue and black headdress which symbolizes Jones culture. He is watching over other African Americans working to be able to live the life they dream of. Each section of the story is positioned higher than the last and to me this seems to represent that they are that much closer to their goal. The two people next to the headdress are carrying pots on their head showing their hard work in Africa and the slumped backs make them look sad and overworked. The second man looks as if he is praying to his God to ask for guidance and a helping hand before he comes to America. Above him, there are two people holding hands and the man’s arm is held out as if they are treading into unknown territory and aren’t sure of where things are. This could be their arrival to America and they aren’t sure where to go from here. Lastly, in the top right corner, this shows them settled in and the culture that they were known to bring to America during the Harlem Renaissance.  African Americans were known to embrace all forms of art: music, dance, film and theatre. Aaron Douglas, an artist who was work exemplified the ‘New Negro’ philosophy said, “…Our problem is to conceive, develop, and establish an art era. Not white art painting black…let’s bare our arms and plunge them deep through laughter, through pain, through sorrow, through hope, through disappointment, into the very depths of the souls of our people and drag forth material crude, rough, neglected. Then let’s sing it, dance it, write it, paint it. Let’s do the impossible. Let’s create something transcendentally material, mystically objective. Earthy. Spiritually earthy. Dynamic.”  I think Lois Jones work exemplifies this well.

http://www.robinurton.com/history/Harlem.htm

http://www.answers.com/topic/lois-mailou-jones

 Claude Monet, Rue Montorgueil, Paris, Festival of June 30, 1878.

 1878. Oil on canvas. Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France.

I love Impressionism! Before this class, I probably would have seen a painting of Impressionism and thought that I didn’t care for it because of its “sloppiness.”  But after the assignment, I have turned around 180 degrees and fell in love with Impressionism. The things I like about Impressionism are the technique, the colors, and the freedom.

            The technique of Impressionism is sketchy lines, loose brush strokes, dabs of color that blend together. I like this technique because from a distance the picture all comes together but up close you can get lost in the technique and the strokes going at all different directions. For example, from a far Claude Monet’s painting, Festival of Paris shows a bunch of flags and tall buildings with people on the streets in the bottom. Yet when you look at it very close you see red, blue, white, brown and black strokes that seem to have just been splattered on the canvas.

            The second part that I like about Impressionism is the colors that are often used. For this painting, the colors are bright reds and blues. Another common setting is landscape which often includes beautiful sunsets or sunrises that immediately capture my interest.  

            The last reason I love Impressionism is the freedom of painting that it represents. Realist, Romantic, and Post-Impressionism all have more of a confined, “stay-in-the-lines” type of style. Painters of Impressionism seem like they would be really relaxed and have a laid back type of attitude.

Overall, Impressionism is one of my favorite type of styles we have learned about so far. It could be becaue of all the technical reasons I just explained or it could be because at my best friend has a bunch of them on her walls and it makes me think of back home. Either way, it is all fascinating . Hope you enjoyed!

For the Classical Era, I chose a piece that many people have heard before, Mozart’s 40^th Symphony. Mozart’s full name is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and was born in Salzburg on January 27, 1756. He created over 600 pieces of work and was a very influential composer of the Classical era. He composed a wide range of music including symphony, opera, the solo concerto, and numerous more. Mozart created the 40^th Symphony in 1788 but it is not stated exactly where he wrote it at.

            The piece is a symphony and has 4 movements. The first movement is fast and dramatic. The second movement is more slow and contemplative. The third movement is livelier and has more dance-like music. The last movement is fast, lively and exciting. This connects with the rise of the middle class because this is the type of music that appealed to them. As the middle class was rising, more people were able to enjoy public concerts and listen to music. The rise of the middle class influenced the symphony style work. They wanted a melody driven music not the polyphonic type anymore.

            The 40^th Symphony is actually a dark and depressing piece. When I think of classical music, I think of exciting, powerful music. I enjoy this piece because to me it still sounds exciting and powerful but because it is out of anger and not happiness which is not what I expected.  During the time Mozart wrote this, he had to deal with his growing poverty and fading popularity with the Viennese public and marital strains. As Alfred Einstein says, “The first and last movements plunge into the abyss of the soul.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart

Fresco with Trompe l’oeuil – Andrea Pozzo -Jesuit Church Vienna-1703

This painting was created by Andrea Pozzo in 1703. It was painted on the ceiling of the Jesuit Church in Vienna.  It was painted with a technique of painting called fresco which pigment is mixed with water on a thin layer of wet, fresh plaster.  Trompe l’oeuil means “trick of the eye.” This is because this painting is actually painted on a flat ceiling and by using foreshortening and other spatial effects it gives the ceiling a curved illusion!

I feel like not just this painting but the art of illusion ceilings in general has a tie with not only the influence of royalty but also the rise of the merchant class. The ceiling paintings by Pozzo and numerous other artists give a feel of lavish and luxury which is what the royalty live by. First, I think it relates to the influence of royalty because the paintings usually consisted of images of court life and servants doing chores, which was common in the royalty life. This leads into the rise of the merchant class because it the illusion ceilings makes me think that they can’t actually afford a real glamorous domed ceiling so they hire an artist to come in and make it look like they have that. The merchant class was becoming more interested in the arts as they were steadily gaining money in the Baroque era so it was important for them to support the arts to prove that they have money.

I the reason I love this particular painting is because of all the details that are painted in it to give the appearance of an incredible palace.  I like the gold color because it reminds me of super expensive gold plated ceiling and the dome in the middle is a interesting color contrast to the rest of the colors that reflect luxury and royalty.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sotto_in_su

Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights, oil on panel, 1504, Meseo del Prado, Madrid

The Garden of Earthly Delights easily caught my attention by the vivid colors and the unique structure it had. Hieronymus Bosch painted The Garden of Earthly Delights on a 3 panel altarpiece called a triptych. When closed, the panels show the creation of the world untouched by animals and life. It shows the world free of sin. Once you open the panels, there are three stories, each having one thing in common, sin. The left panel shows the first sin on this earth, Adam and Eve from when they took the apple from the tree and were forbidden from The Garden of Eden. The middle panel shows what reminds me of current life today, everyone participating in sinful pleasures of lust. The middle panel shows the people in the Garden of Delights. The third panel shows a darker, fierce full, violent side of sin, more of an image that makes me think of Hell. The musical instruments are shown because at the time of the painting, these instruments were used as instruments of torture.

 The Garden of Earthly Delights is an oil painting done by a man named Hieronymus Bosch. This piece is one of his most famous pieces of art. His work shows the typical Northern Renaissance style of enormous amounts of detail. Although it can’t be told for sure, Bosch’s work of The Garden of Earthly Delights seems to prove a point about the Christian Reformation. During this time, Rome created a trend of selling indulgences that would mean you could not go to Hell. The northern part of Europe was upset about this saying that this did not create true Christians and that it was a cheated their devotion to Christ. To me, The Garden of Earthly Delights shows that sins are sins (left and middle panel) and no payment of indulgence can save you from hell (right panel).

I enjoy this piece because of the story it tells. I think it still relates to today’s world. The closing of panels and the left panel still symbolize the third day of creation and then Adam and Eve but the middle panel can shows our society today. With adultery, crime, drugs and many more sins that are common today, God still looks down on it the same as he would when Bosch painted this picture.  This picture shows Bosch’s bravery that he is not afraid to revolt and show his mind.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hieronymus_Bosch_-_The_Garden_of_Earthly_Delights_-_The_exterior_(shutters).jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Garden_of_Earthly_Delights

http://www.artchive.com/artchive/B/bosch.html

Hello world,

This is my first time every “blogging” so I will probably not be very good at this. This is a picture of me from a graduation cermony last year. I am now in Pueblo, Colorado attending school and loving it. I enjoy the warmth and change of scenery.

Hope your classes are going smoothly.

Chelsea Wilkes