James Cudjoe- Dance to the Rhythm

I like the above painting because the brush strokes seem to put this woman into her own world; which is what happens to many people when they feel the rhythm of dance.  This painting reminds me of the Fauvism style which came out of Early Modern Era where they had intensely shocking use of colors and disregard for natural forms and proportions.  James Cudjoe would paint images from everyday life; he refined his skills as an artist by graduating from Ghannatta a private arts college in Ghana in 1996.  His popularity is greatly increasing though out Europe and the United States.  Many people agree with me that his paintings are evocative and emotional.  I can feel the emotion coming out of this painting, as the dancer, is in their own world feeling the rhythm of the dance.

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

https://classes.uaf.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_id=_2_1&url=%2fwebapps%2fblackboard%2fexecute%2flauncher%3ftype%3dCourse%26id%3d_60839_1%26url%3d

I selected this painting because I love how the color pops out when you look at it.  I did not know what Paissaje Montanas meant, so I used the Google translator, and it means, simply, mountain landscape.  When I think of the red rock down in the southern part of the United States the colors in the painting is what comes to my mind.  Looking at this painting up close I think I can make out the shape of two disgruntled looking faces.  This might because at the time he was involved with the Mexican revolution.  The red colors below the faces could be the fires which were burning in his heart to make Mexico a better place.  He fought for his ideals till he was exiled from the country he loved so much, Mexico, not once but twice 1932 and 1940.  This piece of art seems to be like abstract impressionism as the viewer is really the one to interpret what they see.  The colors make you feel the emotion coming out of this painting, which I believe he was trying to do with passion of the revolution that was in his heart.

http://pbfineart.com/siqueiros/siqueiros_paz.html

http://www.masbakersfield.com/node/2110

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

All these Painting and chalk drawing are done in the style of if you have the right perspective on them they appear to be 3-D.

Julian Beever-River

This was the first piece I saw by Julian Beever and I like it because it makes it really seem like they are on the rapids and I love rafting rapids.

Julian Beever- Waterfall

This one almost makes me dizzy as I am scared of heights.  To be exact it makes me think of the first time I went off the high dive, which wasn’t till high school.

Julian Beever- Monkey Pit

This one brings back memories of when I saw the monkeys in the Chicago zoo.  It was almost exactly like this well how I remember it where you peer down into the pit.

Edgar Mueller-Mysterious Caves ,London

This one is awesome, the people at the top since they are so far back give it the affect of actually looking like the would step off the edge into a large pit.

Edgar Mueller-Waterfall

If I was the kids parents and I walked up on this not knowing that it was a painting I would probably yell at them to get out of there .

Edgar Mueller- Ice Age

The Ice Age I like because he really does capture the true beauty of ice, though I am definitely ready for summer time.

This virtual art exhibit I chose to do 3-D street art.  I like this because they use a public forum as their canvas so all can enjoy and the fact the it is temporary.  An art that is temporary has to have a good following in order to become popular as it has  to be spread by pictures because the art is short lived.  From the Baroque era we can see how the the illusion ceilings we inspiration for this type of art as they both have the effect of depth to the piece of art, aka 3-D.  This connection can easily be seen between Fresco with Trompe l’oeuil – Andrea Pozzo -Jesuit Church Vienna and the other 3-D art of modern day.  The main difference was during the baroque era it was done in paint and permanent, and the modern day street artist it was in chalk and temporary.  They all use the anamorphosis view which is just where the viewer needs to see the art from a certain vantage point in order to see the correct picture. a

The first artist I chose was Julian Beever he started 3-D pavement art in the mid 1990′s.   He is famous for his art on the streets all over the world which includes England, France, Germany, USA and Belgium, just to name a few.  He is often hired by companies to construct murals for them.  He also is very interested in advertising and marketing as well which can be seen in this you tube clip, where he constructs a mural for Aveeno called the Fountain of Youth in New York City, January 25,2007 Times Square.  Besides sidewalk chalk art he also paints murals with acrylics, replica works of the masters and makes collages.

The second artist I chose was Edgar Mueller he grew up in the city of Straelen, on the West side of Germany.  Around the age of 25 he exclusively did street art.  He traveled Europe making his living doing transitory art.    He was active in the community giving workshops and helping put on street art festivals.  He has set up a internet forum for street painters in Germany, the first of its kind; unfortunately I couldn’t find the online.  He is inspired by the works of people such as Julian Beever which poses 3-D illusions; he is now pursuing this form of art and trying to define his own style with in it.  He does this with having his painting over a large area of urban life where the people change the scene and become part of the painting.

http://www.metanamorph.com/about.html

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

http://www.squidoo.com/julianbeever?utm_campaign=direct-discovery&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_source=kab

http://www.timotca.org/demo4/biography.html

Dorthea Lange, Child living in Oklahoma City shacktown 1936.

White Angel Breadline, San Francisco (1933) by Dorothea Lange

These pictures are by Dorothea Lange.  They are some of the most in depth pictures; they give us a glimpse into the souls and lives of the people during the great depression.  The first picture is of a little girl who according to the web site http://www.picturehistory.com/product/id/17629 was, as titled, living in a Shack town in Oklahoma City during the great depression.  The eyes of this child don’t look as a child of her age should; instead of having no cares she seems stressed; possibly about where her family might get its next meal. 

The second picture, also by Dorothea Lange, shows the bread line in San Francisco.  According the website http://www.artnet.com/artwork/423940666/911/white-angel-breadline-san-francisco.html, she titled this piece after Louis Jordan.  Louis Jordan was a widow in San Francisco who became known as the “white angel” after establishing a soup kitchen for the down and out.  In this photograph of the soup line I love the angle she takes on it.  There are many things happening in this picture however then man in the middle stands out.  The people surrounding him seem as though when the depression hit they had to reach out for help.  This man in the middle seems to have been down and out for awhile as he has a worn cup for change and his clothes are very well worn.

The pictures from this time frame were the first of their kind.  They laid the groundwork for photographers to convey, the trials and tribulations which are occurring in the world.  The pictures could uncover things which would have otherwise gone unnoticed or undocumented.   Lange’s impact on the Great Depression with her photograph was great.  I would have to say the devastation of the great depression, is miniscule to the disaster which she photographed in Japanese internment camps.  American citizen’s being held prisoner without cause.  You can view these pictures on the website, http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/wcf/wcf0013.html .

This piece by Claude Monet, Impressionism, Sunrise 1872, is a prime example of Impressionist Art.  It definitely has the subject matter that defines the Impressionist Style.  It can be seen the transitory effects of light and water along with the loose brush strokes and dabs of color that blend together.  The website http://www.webexhibits.org/colorart/monet.html, notes that “the sun is the same luminance of the grayish clouds.”  This could be seen even better than just being told that on the website, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impression,_Sunrise, where it is shown how the sun is not even able to be detected by photo copy of the picture.  I found that extremely interesting as it seem like the sun would appear as bright spot in a copy of this picture.  It is amazing what Monet was able to do with the paint brush blending the colors together.

This piece by Pierre-Auguste Renior, The Theatre Box, 1874 also has many feature of an Impressionist piece.  This shows an upper-class couple in the Theatre box seating which would be considered as an amusement of the upper class.  One of the things I found interesting about this piece of art was the complacent look on the face of the girl, who I assume to be the wife, with the male.  She seems like she is just there to show face and the male is obviously more entertained checking out fellow audience members as the stage is down below and he is looking that the boxes that surround him.   This is a painting a fleeting moment and has the colors blended nicely.  One fact I found interesting on this painting was found the website, http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/renoir/loge/, where it said that no one wanted to buy this piece so Renior ended up selling it for 425 francs which was the amount that he needed to cover his rent.  This picture is entertaining as it show that even back then people just when places to show face, or show status.

This piece of art is by George Seurat, A Sunday Afternoon on La Grande Jatte, 1884.  This is a good example of Post Impressionist art.  This picture takes more interpretation than that of the Impressionist pieces.   The color and shape also have a psychological impact.  According to the website, http://www.artic.edu/aic/exhibitions/seurat/seurat_themes.html, Seurat’s theory in color was to use a complimented color that is colors on opposite sides of the color wheel.  He also realized the color mixed on the pallet is different than that of the mind’s eye of the viewer.   I like this piece because it is simple yet very complex; by having it be open to interpretation it also lets you put yourself in the park with these people.  The people’s faces aren’t defined so you can make your walk in the park what you want.

This piece is by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is called Elvira Madigan completed in 1785.  I like how relaxing this piece of music is.  I am able to listen to it and be taken into a different world that is peaceful and carefree.

One of the things that amazed me was that he started to compose music at the age of 5.   I am sure that it did not hurt that his father was deputy Kapellmeister to the court Orchestra of the Archbishop of Salzburg and a minor composer.  This is also where he eventually became employed as a court musician by Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo in 1773.   He got tired of this and started to travel with his music.

The way this is connected to the rise of the middle class during the classical period, is while in Vienna; Mozart booked unconventional venues, because theatre space was scarce, which included apartment building and ballrooms of restaurants.  These venues were by no means for the elite aristocratic class exclusively as the middle class could attend.

I really enjoy this piece and I hope you guys can too.  Have a good spring break.

Sorry Here is my citation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart .

Rembrandt- Christ In The Storm On The Sea of Galilee 1633. Amsterdam. I picked this one because growing up Catholic it was one the more interesting stories in the bible, as it was full of adventure.  The fear in the eyes of the disciples while Jesus is just sitting there calm like parent telling them that everything is going to be O.K. 

 During 1633 Rembrandt was going through a phase where he painted dramatic bible and mythological scenes, which is seen in this painting.  He mainly focused on the Old Testament during this time; however this story is obviously from the New Testament as Jesus is in it.

 This piece can be linked to the Council of Trent because the council had asked for arts to be like a picture book for the bible.  This is a great example of how story about the Sea of Galilee could have a picture that showed such true emotion and realism.  This painting is what the church wanted as even the less educated could relate to the emotions within the painting.

This painting is by Hieronymus Bosch, The Last Judgment it was created some time after 1482.  On the left is paradise, in the middle of the painting I assume that the top is purgatory, where people are waiting trial by God, the bottom of the middle panel represents earth, and the right is hell.  The Catholic Church was a major influence on the arts during this time period.  This piece was heavily influenced by the Catholic Church, which is seen in the depiction of paradise, purgatory, and hell.  One of the differences between the Catholic Church and the other Churches of the Protestant Reformation is purgatory.  The left part looks a lot like the stories of Genesis, which is the first book in the Bible. In Genesis one of the stories is about Adam eating the apple, the reason we no longer can live in Paradise and are kicked out to what is seen in the middle panel, earth.  The difference between earth and hell is very little, which is not much of a surprise to me.   I believe earth and hell are the same.  The reinvention of Rome included the Church putting money towards the arts.  It is clear in this painting, as with most paintings in this time period, having some correlation with the bible.  This piece was obviously influenced by the bible. 

 This piece is extremely detailed.  On the left paradise everyone is relaxed, except Adam and Eve who are being kicked out of Paradise.  The middle panel people are tortured by their occupations, or ways to make a living where everything is under lock and key.  Everything is under lock and key because in this world to get any thing, you need to give a service or money, nothing is for free.  Only in paradise can a person live with no worries.