Baroque in the Louvre

My grandfather lived in Paris for as long as I can remember. So, I had unique opportunities to visit him a handful of times before his death. He was a mere 20-minute walk from the Notre Dame and another few minutes to the Louvre. So I’ve spent a fair amount of time in both these places and visited nearly every day that I was there. My favourite part of the Louvre, with all the paintings, the statues…. was the ceiling. I think I have more pictures of the ceiling of the building than the actual art shown in it. Now it’s a little harder to give credit where credit is due as for the most part since these sculptures and paintings were just pieces of the building rather than ‘art’ I have a hard time finding titles or artists names. That I apologise for but it beautiful. I didn’t know this sort of lavish decorating had a name but baroque it is, in all it’s glitzy fashion.

*note – these are not the pictures I took. It would be far too easy if I could actually find them. I’m sure they are ‘somewhere safe’. If you click on any image it should take you to the original source.*

                                                                           

The history of the Louvre is a long one. Starting in the 12th century with King Philippe Auguste up until Neapolitan. A few changes being made even after this. Originally designed as a fortress, thus it’s rectangular shape. It went through many Kings (Watch out for that sneaky Medici name!) who used it as a fortress, a palace, or sometimes both. Adding on to the building as it suits them sometimes for practical reasons and sometimes for vanity.

The beginning of it’s move from fortress to palace starts with King Charles V who was the first of French royalty to use it for housing. As it needed to be fit for a king his main attention was to beautify the inside of the new palace including adding a magnificent staircase.

King Francois I destroyed several of the old medieval style buildings to construct newer renaissance style buildings.Today the only part of the original building is called the Salle Basse dating about 1230.

I think in my research about the Louvre my favourite bit was that with King Henery IV came new construction on the Louvre including a massive hallway connecting the royal apartments inside the Louvre to the Tuileries palace (which was taken down in 1883) but having the same architect design and construct the massive nearly 1,500 foot long passageway would prove to be too boring. Louis Metezeau and Jacques II Androuet du Cerceau would start the work at opposite ends to break up the monotony of the building.

As each King (or Queen) added their own touches through it reflected not only their personal style but the style of the time. Unlike today where often we only get to change temporary things like drapes, they had at their request teams of people to tear down, build, or redesign whole buildings. Even though it wasn’t until 1793 that the Louvre was a natural housing for the artistic treasures of France it is hard to argue that the baroque style wasn’t plentiful in the interior design. The walls are a lavish display of power and wealth and although frequently religious in nature they also draw heavily from the symbolism of ancient Rome and Greece.

 

 

References

Bonfante-Warren, Alexandra. “History of The Louvre — Part 3 of 5: The Renaissance.” The Louvre Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, 2000. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.

Colla, Phillip. “Ceiling Art, Musee Du Louvre, Paris.” Natural History Photography Blog. Oceanlight.com, 02 Jan. 2013. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.

“Galerie D’Apollon.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 20 July 2015. Web. 16 Sept. 2016.

“History of The Louvre from Fortress to Palace Then to the Louvre Museum in Paris.” History Of The Louvre From Fortress To Palace To Museum In Paris. Www.eutouring.com, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.

“Louvre Palace.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Aug. 2016. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.

“Louvre Museum Official Website.” Louvre Museum Official Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2016.

“Inside the Louvre.” CNN. Cable News Network, 2016. Web. 16 Sept. 2016.

Final Project

Art is an expression and exploration of emotion for the artist and the emotional experience of the observer.

The question was what is the purpose of art, what purpose do artists serve. Although there are times when art doesn’t fulfill this purpose. For instance, when most art was commissioned portraits by the wealthy. Art, still in its whole has served to express an emotion of both the artist and to extract emotion from the observer. Where this emotion really starts to shine is the Romantic era. This was a time when art really started to surface for art’s sake. This is not to say art for art’s sake wasn’t made before then but precious little art from before this exists that was not commissioned by the wealthy or was an extravagant hobby of the well to do. Before you say it yes, the Classical era broke from this as art became more and more a means of the people but the Romantic era is were this really took hold.

Emotional art in the Romantic Era

Romantic art’s purpose was almost exclusively emotional. The colours, the brush strokes, the subjects. The idea behind it seemed really to see how much emotion one could put onto a canvas. Romantic art had a huge range of styles, exquisitely polished almost photogenic painting to loose stroke, colour oriented impressionism. The emotions could be conveyed with the subject matter, the background, or the colour. Political, personal, or abstract.

The Romantic era was full of emotion, especially in the wave of impressionism. Impressionism with its focus on colour movement, and broad brush strokes instead of defined lines, impressionism expressed sorrow, peacefulness, love, even fear (although I’ve yet to find a piece of impressionism that shows anger.)

Gloria, by Giuseppe Mentessi – 1901  Italy

I was able to find very little about this painter or his work. He lived from 1857 – 1931 which is a bit ‘late’ for romantic art but he fits there so well. This one by him, a man in shackles hugging a girl who is obviously heart broken. Father and daughter? Grandfather and granddaughter? Are they saying goodbye or having a teary reunion?  Even though you can’t clearly see the man’s facial features the way he holds his arms and the position of his hand’s clearly show he is trying to console the girl while she is emotionally distraught. The blue colouring adds to this feeling of sadness and despair. You can almost hear him saying “It’s going to be alright.” This painting gives very little clues about if it is a statement on some larger history at the time or a scene witnessed or imagined by the artist but the emotional connection between the subjects is almost palatable.

Gaetano Bellei 1857 – 1922, Italy

In a  different vain by the same artist. A happy scene. Bellei painted a few such scenes with Grandmothers and children. While the children happily beg the Grandmother for something she looks right at the audience. Her joy conveyed in her eyes. A happy painting but also one that brings knowingness of youthful pleas and promises of “I’ll love you forever”s

Old Man in Sorrow  by Vincent van Gogh. 1890; Saint-rémy-de-provence, France.

Another painting of sorrow. It would be hard to see anything other then the sadness of the subject as he cries into his hands. An old man alone in a chair while he weeps. Would this express the same level of emotion if he were wearing pink or red instead of blue? What strikes me most though is the detail of his hair. It allows us to not only see his age but almost see what his face looks like and gives us context for ever part of the way his body is positioned in the painting. Something that bought this old, hard working man to sob.

Snow Storm: Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth by J. M. W. Turner 1842 London England.

And not to let anyone think those are the only emotions that can be translated onto canvas we have a painting that promotes fear.  A boat caught in a rough storm, the dark clours and waves, the angry, destressed lines of the water. The light from the boat. You can feel the fear both as empathy for the crew and as an observer standing in safety.

Emotional Art Today

Dies Irae by unknown 2010

Written on this piece of amazing 3D street art is ‘Dies Irae’ which is latin for Day of Wrath. This piece has a lot of emotions involved, agony, rage, hopelessness, acceptance. There are people trying to claw their way our of the pit, others seemingly giving into their fate, some reaching for help, and one screaming in anger. They are descending into this hole as the ground crumbles around them. Each individual distinctly shows their emotions as they sink into the ground.

Baby Things by Tracey Emin 2008 Kent, England.

At first glance, they appear to be a forgotten or lost bit of children’s clothing or item. Perhaps left on a railing or near a stairway and misplaced or found by a passer-by and hung on the rail to be retrieved by the owner. On closer inspection one would find Tracey Emin’s baby items are actually intricate bronzed sculptures not forgotten but carefully placed.

Baby Things by Tracey Emin 2008 Kent, England.

Seemingly forgotten they are a commentary on high teenage pregnancy rates. To me, they envoke sadness, even without any background as to the meaning or why the ‘lost’ baby items suggest a loss of innocence. A loss of happy times and well-loved things and memories. Their placement and life-like qualities speak volumes to the pieces. Many appear to be instantly discarded or almost entirely unseen. Hidden away from view or ignored as litter. A striking image of something lost.

ABOVE THE DREAMLESS DEAD Various authors; book edited by Chris Duffy. 2014

As World War 1 dragged on soldiers started to express themselves through poetry. This graphic novel puts to visual arts the words written in those pomes so long ago. Above The Dreamless Dead is the cover of this graphic novel. War art is often filled with emotion, especially of hopeless-ness, sadness, regret. I find this image striking with the bits of paper surrounding the solider kneeling among the barbed wire. A man under him, dead in the ground. The colours, the positions of the solider, the loose paper, even the title ‘Above The Dreamless Dead’ all inspire an emotion of loss. Not of aggression, or duty but of mournfulness.

Artists serve as a visual expression of emotion. Both emotions you have often but also deeper emotions in sometimes surprising and unusual contexts. The trick being of course that without a guide telling you what the art is ‘supposed’ to be about we have to take our cues from the art itself and it may or may not be what the artist had intended. Like a good novel though art takes us on a journey of emotional attachment to stories that aren’t necessarily our own.

My personal journey with art as I have taken this class has been surprisingly educational. Although I wouldn’t say I learned to appreciate art more then I did before I was certainly pushed to experience and seek out artists that I was unfamiliar with. Both in reading other student blogs and when researching my own I would often follow the rabbit holes of google, clicking for more information or searching for an image. I would sometimes find myself exploring and coming back to many pieces of art that I doubt I would have discovered otherwise. This was sometimes helpful as I wrote blogs or sometimes distracting as I fell into Romantic art while trying to find examples of Classical. I was occasionally surprised by choices my fellow students made and had to seek out new and interesting information about that art they discovered. Such a large world ours is, with much history and art in it. Sometimes we are moved by surprising forces in art and comfort zones are expanded as we appreciate these new experiences.

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Work Cited

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Truitt, Brian. “World War I Trench Poetry Remembered in Comics Anthology.” USA Today. Gannett, 2014. Web. Nov. 2016.

“Romanticism – Art History 101 Basics.” About.com Education. N.p., 2014. Web. Nov. 2016.

“Street Art by Urben in Germany.” Street Art Utopia. N.p., 2015. Web. Nov. 2016.

Reporter, Daily Mail. “Controversial Artist Tracey Emin Makes Waves with Seaside Trail of Lost Baby Clothes.” Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 2008. Web. Nov. 2016.

Bates, Rupert. “Tracey Emin – ‘Baby Things’, Bronze Sculptures.” Emin International Homepage, 25 July 2014. Web. Nov. 2016.

“Dies Irae.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. Nov. 2016.

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India, & Film & Musicals, Oh My! – alternative.

Have you ever dreamed that you could live in a musical? That you could break into song and dance and others would somehow know all the moves? The only thing better is the whole town appearing (on what was a mostly empty street a second ago) and joining in! Bright colours!  Bollywood – the Hollywood of India is best known for its love story movies with musical numbers. Their movies aren’t musicals per se but at least one always leaks in. It’s a staple of Bollywood. Even the most serious of Bollywood films has musical scenes included and one without them would almost assure that the movie was a flop.

American films and theater have had their share of musicals but this is the staple of Indian films. Often the film wouldn’t be considered a “musical” but instead a movie with a side note musical number. Often love scenes and fight scenes are also thrown into a movie seemingly randomly. The idea of ‘story flow’ is an optional concept in Bollywood.

There are a few reasons for these festive musical numbers all of which likely play a part in the evolution of Indian movies.

Indian traditions are full of music; birthdays, holy days, and especially weddings are full of traditional dancing and singing.  Something so a part of the culture is bound to be a staple in its cinema. Exaggerated for film but nevertheless an important cultural component.

In the early days of Indian cinama there were some scenes that couldn’t be done with acting alone. You personally may or may not remember but  the American the show “I Love Lucy” ran from 1951-1957. In this, the two main characters were Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball who were married on the show and in real life. Despite this they were not allowed to be shown sleeping in the same bed, (producers got around this by having two double beds pushed together although they were made up separately) Like this many love scenes or female empowering scenes were restricted or frowned upon. Musical numbers were the answer to this dilemma of wanting to portray certain acts or feelings.

Another large reason is good ol’ business. A large part of the revenue from the film is the score. Even if the movie is a flop one catchy song allows them to sell the songs to make the difference.

 

Now comes the fun part! The movies!

 

Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India. 

Lagaan is set in 1893 during the British Empire’s rule of India in the small village of Champaner. In it the commanding British officer has required high taxes of the poor villagers which they are unable to pay. The leading man character Bhuvan gets into a bit of an argument with British officers and a wager is made. The officers will wave the villages taxes for three years if the villagers can beat them in a game of cricket. If they lose though they have to pay 3x the taxes due.  Although not thrilled with the wager made on their behalf the village is brought together to learn this new game and win their taxation freedom from British rules.

Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India. “Ghanan Ghanan” Lyrics by Javed Akhtar Written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. Aamir Khan, 2001

In this scene, the villages are watching as rain clouds appear and celebrating. They had been suffering from a long drought which is why they were too poor to pay the taxes levied aginst them by the British.

I started off with a more traditional Bollywood movie 2 in recent years have made a splash in American cinema. This is in large part due to their budget, their more western sense of story flow, and the movies being primarily done in English. The first of which is;

Bride and Prejudice

A Bollywood adaptation of Jane Austins Pride and Prejudice. The plot, rather like Pride and Prejudice is that a mother is trying to marry off her daughters to wealthy men. Main character Lalita Bakshi meets young handsome (American!) Mr. Darcy and through many misunderstandings and miscommunications they eventually fall in love.

 Bride and Prejudice “A Marriage comes to town” Music by Anu Malik Screenplay written by Gurinder Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges Directed by Gurinder Chadha. 2004

In this scene, the three sisters are discussing their sisters up and coming wedding and if their lives will change once they are all married women. This has all the classic elements of a musical Bollywood scene with bright colours, seemly random interludes, and of course many extra dancers!

This next scene is also a fun one and needs no word for word interpretation to express the joy and playful tone.

Bride and Prejudice “Balle Balle” Traditional Punjabi wedding song Music Director : Anu Malik. Screenplay written by Gurinder Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges Directed by Gurinder Chadha. 2004

Slumdog Millionaire 

Likely one of the most popular Indian based movies to hit American screens.Although Slumdog Millionaire was a British film it was based off the book Q & A by Vikas Swarup. It was also released in India under the name Slumdog Crorepati. Its use of almost entirely unknown actors in the Bollywood scene set it apart but is considered to be rooted in all that is Bollywood. An underdog tale with a great ending musical number. And don’t forget love. Slumdog is the story of Jamal Malik who is a young man from the slums of Mumbai who is about to hit the jackpot on Indias “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire” when he is taken into custody and accused of cheating. His story is revealed as he explains how he knows the answers to the questions.

Slumdog Millionaire “Jai Ho” Written by Simon Beaufoy and directed by Danny Boyle. 2008

Unlike true Bollywood films, there is little music and dance except for the ending scene where you can see many of the characteristics of the style. Jai Ho translates to “You are my destiny” a fitting song for this scene as Jamal finally has his love which although life led him in many directions he never forgot.

And finally;

Kuch Kuch Hota Ha

A Love story told using flash backs. A child widower who wants a mother and brings a women into his life. Told as a coming of age tale with young love complications.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x38bd2f

Kuch Kuch Hota Ha “Tujhe Yaad Na Meri Aaye”  Lyrics by Sameer. Written and directed by Karan Johar

This is a great example of Bollywood, where it isn’t the actors in a musical, it also isn’t quite the soundtrack but it surely can’t be Bollywood without some singing! In this scene, they are showing an unrequited love. Those saris though! Beautiful!

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Work cited

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Prasad, Priyanka. “Most Hilarious And Ridiculous Bollywood Songs.” Www.filmibeat.com. N.p., 2014. Web. Nov. 2016.

“I Love Lucy.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. Nov. 2016.

“Lagaan.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. Nov. 2016.

“Bride and Prejudice.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. Nov. 2016.

Patel, Devansh. “”Slumdog Millionaire Is Completely a Bollywood Film” – Anil Kapoor.” “Slumdog Millionaire Is Completely a Bollywood Film” – Anil Kapoor | Bollywood.com News. Sakshay Web Technologies Pvt. Ltd., 2014. Web. Nov. 2016.

“Q & A (Novel).” Wikipedia, n.d. Web. Nov. 2016.

“Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.” Wikipedia, n.d. Web. Nov. 2016.

Political Street Art – Post Modern

Untitled by MOGUL Stockholm, Sweden

The quote comes from Joseph Goebbels

I thought this piece made a good started for this post. I can appreciate art for arts sake, but political art has a magical aspect for me. Partly it is because of the unknown quality of the Street Artist but because it is raw. It is emotional and is meant to provoke emotion. MOGUL’s art is often confused with Banksy’s (below) as they use the same type of stencil art for their pieces. MOGUL’s art is almost always tagged (signed) where Banksy does not do this. MOGUL is unknown.

I had some trouble with this assignment at first. Six pieces, at least 2 artists of post-modern art with a theme. I thought of women in art, death… loss… I found a piece here that I liked, a piece there. Not enough and certainly not within any notion of ‘theme’ other then they were all post-modern. I went to the library and checked out actual books about post-modern art. I cleaned out the section. I marked pages. It was the last book I looked at, though, one about art installations and Street Art that got my blood pumping. I for some reason forgot how excited I get by Street Art. I think my husband is already tired of me making him look at ‘just one more.’

Street Art  is a term  that was popularized  in the early 1980’s and although denotes a certain kind of art it is a broad term covering many different styles. A few key characteristics of Street Art are they are almost always unsanctioned art often  done in / on public locations such as buildings and stairways. This form of art can be large or small, black and white or colour. It can be art for art’s sake, political in nature, satire, useable art, or anything in-between. They are rarely on canvas and can use any number of mediums. But, when is it art and when is it just graffiti?

Graffiti is most often presented in the forms of ‘tags’ which are generally a signature written or sometimes with a certain image that are meant to broadly mark that the person had been there. These can be marks of territory such as when used by gangs but also purely to mark that the person had been to this location. Tags are hard to understand to those outside of the graffiti community and almost never are intended for any other purpose then to mark the location.  Street art, on the other hand, can be quick and dirty or a carefully planned piece brought to the location. It is intended to bring interaction from the public. To encourage discussion, to beautify a location, or make a statement. Street Art is meant to be ‘consumed’ by the people.

 

Untitled by Banksy. London, United Kingdom

Untitled dubbed “girl frisking a soldier” by Banksy picture by Pawel Ryszawa. Bethlehem, Isreal.

I thought it was interesting that Indiana University makes this distinction between Graffiti and Street Art;

“In most instances, graffitists are individuals lacking in any formal artistic training. Their goal is to “tag” or “throw up” pieces across the breadth of a city, often under time constraints imposed by the risk of fines and imprisonment.” (Indiana University – Purdue University) They include as an example of graffiti, Banksy who is the artist of the above two pieces.

They include as an example of graffiti, Banksy who is the artist of the above two pieces.

They go on to say “Street Art, on the other hand, is a more modern art form that has adopted practices from graffitists. Street artists, in many cases, are formally trained art students who pre-prepare their work before hand and arrive on location with the product.” (Indiana University – Purdue University)

I find this an interesting distinction. I think that the difference I stated earlier about graffiti mostly being a tag to demonstrate presence and largely not understood by the larger community is a definition most would agree with SI’m not sure about this idea that Street Art is purely from the realm of formally trained artists. Obviously, with some artists such as Banksy, we have no idea who they are, what training they may or may not have, or why they chose to use certain mediums. To me, Indiana’s University’s black and white distinction was a bit snooty of them. If someone isn’t formally trained then their art is automatically reduced to mere graffiti? Look at the two above images. I wasn’t able to get exact dates on the pieces but I’d venture to guess the one of the policeman frisking the girl came first. The lines are not as defined as in the second piece and it doesn’t have nearly the same level of detail. Both images though are powerful pictures, invoking strong reactions. I fail to see how one couldn’t appreciate the art in this.

In 2008 a UK newspaper ‘revealed’ Banksy as being a man named Robin Gunningham but in fact, this has never been proven. There are 5 other people who could very well be Banksy and the idea has also been floated that it may be a cooperative of artists. For someone doing this ‘graffiti’ since the early 90’s they have been a master at keeping a low profile.

 

Modern Youth by Kerry Roper North Ireland

To follow that up I introduce you to Kerry Roper studied graphic design and advertising at Buckinghamshire college. (Still not a ‘formal’ art student) but at least known in the artistic community haveing both done galleries as well as designing for record labels. Roper seems to have the same stencil type of design for this piece as both of the Banksy images and the MOGUL from the top. I wasn’t able to determine if this was done in/on a public space. The blue markings on it suggest it was but it may of been part of the art itself to appear more like Street Art.

The Fallen by Jamie Wardley and Andy Moss (and many volunteers) Arromanches, France. September 21st 2013

The Fallen by Jamie Wardley and Andy Moss (and many volunteers) Arromanches, France. September 21st 2013

Is it Street Art, an installation? To mark International Peace Day artists Wardley and Moss took on the task of creating 9,000 human still houses to represent the lives lost during the D-day landing during WWII. That would be the civilian, German, and Allies that lost their lives that day. A powerful image at the sheer amount of bodies on the beach. I find this piece more powerful because it couldn’t stay. It wasn’t a monument put up that people could visit and quietly forget about. It was a living breathing effort of at least a hundred people for 4+ hours of work to take a few moments to stand in awe together at what the beach once looked like in the absence of peace. It was then quitely, wave by wave, swept away. Both the stillhouses and the washing away are powerful, emotional art.

The artists created Sandinyoureye wich specialize in ice sculpture and sand art. Now also branching into animation.

 

Gum Election “Obama vs. McCain” ,  by Stefan Haverkamp & James Cooper  New York City 2011

Last but not least, a bit of a lighter one to finish this off. Gum Election. A fun Street Art campaign that is continued in each political cycle. A never ending interactive art piece that encourages people to vote, voice their opinions, and to not spit out their gum on the sidewalk.

Really, my first thought was who chews gum anymore? But, apparently, that’s a me thing. This campaign has inspired others to do the same in other communities, countries, and even spoofs on this idea for product preference. I like the interactive nature of this poster. It is perhaps not as thought provoking as the others but it isn’t complete without others adding their own piece to the art.

Haverkamp teaches at the Miami Ad School in New York and came up with this idea to ask the public who sucked the most as a fun political interactive piece (and to keep the street clean.

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Work Cited

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Ward, Ossian. “How Graffiti Became Art.” Time Out London. Times Magazine, 29 Jan. 2008. Web. Nov. 2016.

Berry, Francis. “DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MODERN ART AND POSTMODERN ART.” Difference between Modern Art and Postmodern Art by Francis Berry. Francis Berry, 2006-2007. Web. Oct. 2016.

“80+ Amazing Guerrilla Street Art Inspiration Examples.” Creative Guerrilla Marketing. N.p., 2016. Web. Oct. 2016.

“Street Art Exhibition Opens in Belfast.” BBC News. BBC, 08 Dec. 2011. Web. Nov. 2016.

“Aesthetica Magazine – The Street as Subject: Street Art.” Aesthetica. N.p., 09 May 2012. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.

Stefanhaverkamp. “Gum Election 2016.” Gum Election 2016. N.p., n.d. Web. Nov. 2

“Street Art by Mogul – In Stockholm, Sweden.” Street Art Utopia. N.p., 29 Mar. 2014. Web. Nov. 2016.

DeNotto, Michael. “Street Art and Graffiti.” Street Art and Graffiti. American Library Association, 2014. Web. Nov. 2016.

“Street Art vs. Graffiti.” Street Art vs. Graffiti. Indiana University, n.d. Web. Nov. 2016.

WEISBERG, Jill C. “The Difference Between Street Art and Graffiti.” The Difference Between Street Art and Graffiti | Schrift & Farbe Design Group. SCHRIFT & FARBE DESIGN GROUP, n.d. Web. Nov. 2016.

– Biography of a Graffiti Street Art Legend.” Banksy – Biography of a Graffiti Street Art Legend. Stencil Revolution, 2016. Web. Nov. 2016.

“The Fallen 9000.” The Fallen 9000. Sandinyoureye, 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2016.

Early Modern Art in the Great Depression

 

Robert Minor, Morgan, Mellon, and Rockefeller (c. 1922)

Rockefeller. The name as become a household word. “What are you? A Rockefeller?”  A term meant to suggest that you were so wealthy you could flaunt it or show off in extravagant ways. Arguably the most wealthy and powerful family in American history but has almost disappeared. Are there still Rockefellers? Perhaps because I am in Alaska and several generations younger then when the Rockefellers were at their prime but if asked about them I’m not sure I could tell you much more then I’ve already written.

This sketch, although several years before the official start of the Great Depression is very telling. A man counting a few dollars, an older worn down looking man, and someone obviously very rich sneering at them while counting his money. This looks to be a political cartoon like you would find in the New York Times. It is very apparent that the Rockefeller is the bad guy in this sketch. A poor old man who must take the snide comments because he has nothing. The man on the far right intrigues me most. He looks just a little happy. On first glance, I thought it was because he was better off then the old man in the middle but the way he is looking at his money. Perhaps we did work for Rockefeller? Perhaps he is not an innocent bystander?

In the 1929 stock market crash the Rockefeller family lost nearly half it’s wealth, this did not stop them from continuing projects including the Rockefeller Center complex which began in 1931 and employed 75,000 workers in its construction.

They had such wealth that they could start this project after losing half their money and right in the thick of the Great Depression. No wonder they were seen as snooty money grabbers. The amount of wealth they had when this sketch was made must have been unimaginable. Compared to most of the population even prior to the 1929 stock crash it would have been an obvious gap between them of wealth and power.

Unknown photographer, Untitled  New York City 1930 something.

A photograph of what is referred to as a bread line. This restaurant is advertising 20 meals for 1 cent.These restaurants were organized by volunteers, often churches to provide donated food for the hungry. The ‘meals’ consisted primarily of bread and soup as they were both easy and inexpensive to make, could feed many, and provided just enough for people to survive. Images like this one linger in our cultural memory and have helped to spur the development of programs such as food stamps. These bread lines saved many from starvation but only just.

I was unable to find any information about who took this or why? It is a powerful image. Did the photographer know that? Was it for a newspaper or magazine? Perhaps they just saw the historical value in preserving this image for future generations.

Lyrics by Al Dubin, Music by Harry Warren. We’re in the Money 1933 from the film Gold Diggers 1933

This upbeat tune opened the film of Gold Diggers 1933 produced by the warner brothers. Four years in and some positive financial upswings start to take place, people start to hope again, imagining a life of something other than poverty.  The Lyrics are reflective of both the depressive times as well as financial hope.

Lyrics to We’re in the Money

We’re in the money, we’re in the money; We’ve got a lot of what it takes to get along! We’re in the money, that sky is sunny, Old Man Depression you are through, you done us wrong.

We never see a headline about breadlines today.

And when we see the landlord we can look that guy right in the eye

We’re in the money, come on, my honey, Let’s lend it,  spend it, send it rolling along!

The bold lettering is mine. The lyrics about breadlines and being able to pay the rent are obvious references to the hard times. I find  calling the Great Depression ‘Old Man Depression’interesting. Was he old because he was dead and gone? Because old men are easy to defeat?  It seems like a purposely chosen phrase. Then there is this happy little line “We’re in the money, come on, my honey, Let’s lend it,  spend it, send it rolling along!”

It indicates that there will be so much money they won’t need to worry about spending it, they can ‘live like a Rockefeller’ (See how I tied that in there?) Roll it on down the hill and let others benefit from your riches. The best part is the ‘lend it’ A left over mindset that helped get people into the Great Depression. Living off loans for every material thing. Old habits die hard.

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Works cited

Culture and Arts during the Depression. University of Washinton, 2009. Web. Oct. 2016

“WGBH American Experience . The Rockefellers | PBS.” The Rockefellers. Pbs, 1993. Web. Oct. 2016.

 

“”We’re in the Money!” from ’42nd Street‘?” The Gold Diggers’ Song (We’re in the Money). Wikipedia, Aug. 2016. Web. Oct. 2016.

 

Gravatt, Lauren. “The Great Depression and Early Modern Art | Lauren Gravatt …” N.p., n.d. Web. Oct. 2016.

“1934: The Art of the New Deal.” History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places. Smithsonian, n.d. Web. Oct. 2016.

“How Young Americans Survived the Hard Times of the Great …” A Depression Art Gallery. N.p., n.d. Web. Oct. 2016.

“Great Depression.” Wikipedia, 2016. Web. Oct. 2016.

 

 

 

Romantic art

I have been waiting for the romantic era! For each blog so far I have kept coming back to romantic art only to have to turn away and get back on task. There is some overlap with romantic era art with other times. It seems to me that the renaissance started with dark colours, biblical or historic themes, and more or less realistic people. The next wave of art was to sweep away from this idea, to lighten colours, to move away from biblical themes. Then, back again; Roman and greek inspired, depictions of Jesus. The pendulum can not find a solid middle ground. I have a love of good Italian renaissance art but as it turns out some of my very favourites are from the romantic era.

Once again there was a division from the older ideas using the bible of mythology as it’s base and the expression of nature or people doing ordinary things. This time though, both movements happen at the same time. Introducing the Pre-Raphaelites. Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais created the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a group of friends looking to take the ideas and inspiration from medieval times as well as to actually depict the world. They took this idea of realism very seriously, regardless of subject matter.

One such artist; John Millais was the youngest student to ever attend the Royal Academy Schools but was one of the founding members of the Pre-Rahaelite Brotherhood. In fact, the brotherhood was founded right in in his own home. His most famous, and controversial paintings was;

John Everett Millais – Christ in the House of His Parents Created in London England between 1849 and 1850

This painting is so real, almost photographic. It doesn’t matter that this  is Jesus and his family. Her face is not pristine or angelic. Jesus is a bit dirty and rugged. The work being done is in great detail.  I emphasise with John in this painting, he looks guilty and embarrassed. The face of a boy who thinks he is about to get in trouble. Jesus could be looking for comfort but paired with John’s face I see it as a very realistic-non-holy tattling scenario. To me, it is like looking at a picture of a real family. A portrait of life, lived with the love and flaws of any other family.

Impressionism sprung up  at the same time. Another group looking to ditch the old methods of painting religious pictures or taking from Rome and Greece. They quickly swung back into painting the every day. Nature paintings, ordinary people. What really marks impressionism as new though was, of course, it’s use of colour and a noticeable lack of lines. Dabs, dots, and broad brush strokes. A sense of the colours you see rather than a strict adherence to form. A good example of this is by Mary Cassatt who was an American born painter but spent much of her time in France painting her choice subjects; women and children.

Mother About to Wash Her Sleepy Child Mary Cassatt Created in Allegheny City,  Pennsylvania United States. 1880

This painting won’t be confused by anyone as something other than an impressionist work. The figures are there, the action is clear. The actual forms though are ‘loose’. Defining forms mostly by slight changes to highlights and shadowing in any place where it isn’t essential to outline something in order to understand what it is. This type of impressionism has its moments for me. I can certainly feel the warmth and love through this piece even though it is in whites and pastel blues. The way impressionism is done leads to a soft-ness in the painting. A comforting or ease of the subjects and that comes across to the viewer. Perhaps it exists but I have never seen an impressionist art piece that seemed angry or aggressive. The style doesn’t lend itself well to those emotions. Instead, it is ruled by peaceful subjects or sad ones. This though is not the impressionism I am fond of, this same artist did a similar piece 13 years later that I adore.

Mary Cassatt The Child’s Bath,  Created in America 1893

A print of this hung on my door as a child. Although I could guess it came from the romantic era it didn’t occur to me it would be considered alongside other impressionist pieces. It has much more form than her previous version. The figures are outlined, the colour more defined. Even the folds in the mother’s dress are shown not with light shading but by actual lines painted on her dress. You can see some of the style in the background and the floor as the details have been left out. It looks almost sloppy compared to the beautifully painted people. This piece though is by far one of my favourites and I have been waiting to blog about it since we started this class! Perhaps I like it more as it reminded me more of the Pre-Raphaelites painting style. It is certainly not as detailed as Christ in the House of His Parents but much more realistic than Mother about to Wash Her Sleepy Child. I like the simpleness of it.. It is a daily act done by regular people and painted as such. Pre-Raphaelites paintings sometimes can have too much information. They are so realistic that you can have too much detail within the picture to feel as much as an emotional attachment. Impressanolism, of course, is the art of emotion. How does the scene feel – allow the audience to also feel that.

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Work Cited

_____________

“Mary Cassatt.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Sept. 2016. Web. Oct. 2016.

“John Everett Millais.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Oct. 2016. Web. Oct. 2016..

“About This Artwork.” The Childs Bath. Art Institute of Chicago, n.d. Web. Oct. 2016.

“Mother About to Wash Her Sleepy Child.” LACMA Collections. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2016.

“Sir John Everett Millais, Christ in the House of His Parents.” Khan Academy. N.p., n.d. Web. Oct. 2016.

“Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Sept. 116. Web. Oct. 2016.

“Impressionism.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. Oct. 2016.

“Impressionist Art & Paintings, What Is Impressionist Art? ” Introduction to Impressionism. Impressionism.org, 2016. Web. Oct. 2016.

“Pre-Raphaelite.” Tate Tate Britain, n.d. Web. Oct. 2016.

“Christ in the House of His Parents.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 8 May 1016. Web. Oct. 2016.

 

 

Classical Era Art

 

Music in the classical era

I think it speaks volumes that if asked what the words ‘classical music’ brought to mind you are very likely to get a response about Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, or perhaps, Tchaikovsky. In the baroque period art in all forms started to move from purely the entertainment of the wealthy and instead both about common people and for common people. It became a form that all people could understand and appreciate. Music was perhaps the most accessible to everyone. It also required more and more public support as music moved from the land of concerts in mansions where musicians were on staff to public concerts, opera, and theatre. These non-exclusive performances also helped them reach a wider audience. The piano also made it’s debut which created a wider range of sounds as each cord could be made louder or softer, short or long at the musician’s discretion. Although some parts of music were made less complex in their melodies the new abilities of the piano offered a greater range of emotional expression.

Example: One in which I would be surprised anyone in the western world wouldn’t recognize immediately.  A piece that is hard not to feel the emotion in it. Can you imagine this piece without the dramatic sounds available to it by the piano?  I tried… take the video below and listen to the last 2 or 3 minutes.

Now listen again to the last few minutes on the piano.

Would this piece be famous today without the piano? Can you name another piece prior to the pianos invention? I know I can’t.

Art

The Gore Family with George, third Earl Cowper by Johan Joseph Zoffany 

This painting is not a good example of common people doing common things. Although of course playing music was as important then as it is now but as the title suggests this was a wealthy family who hired Zoffany for this painting. The real beauty  in this painting is in the details. The lace on the lady in blues dress, the writing in the book she is holding… but for purposes of this blog I actually want to focus on the painting within the painting as it is a great example of classical era style. A reclaiming of Greek and Roman art happen during the classical period and this small part shows that.

Perhaps he painted this from another painting but to me, it appears to be all the ‘best’ of greek and roman art. We have cherubs and an angles/goddess, what appears to be the three muses, a hero clad in gold armor, and a man fighting off some sort of goblin type woman. If this painting was alone it would easily fit in with other paintings of previous times. I like how despite being a commissioned family portrait the art and thought of the time shows through in the details within the painting.

In searching for art of the time I also kept running across this piece.

The Concert  by Gaspare Traversi 

In fact, I ran across many paintings of people playing music. I’ve noticed a theme in many paintings around this time where there are either 2 or 3 people only or many people who aren’t necessarily interacting. The above painting has a few other musicians playing along with the lady at the piano, but there is also the men in the background who seem to be there for some other reason. My favourite part though is the man staring adoringly at her while she looks at us with an exspresson that clearly states she is not enjoying herself.

This painting is from the earlier classical period and you can really see how his art developed. I found several paintings of people just doing… things. Things everyone does. The beautiful art of everyday occurrences. Some of my favourite today are paintings like this. I wonder though after these were painted what happen to them? Were they able to be sold? Did people hang them in their houses? Did the fascination with every day-ness strike the fancy of the wealthy? Perhaps the artists just couldn’t help themselves and were called to paint even if there was nowhere to put the paintings when they were completed. This art though obviously also spoke to the people of the time. It was about them. Less puffy wigs, more real situations of like done in a beatiful form.

Reading a letter. by Gaspare Traversi 

The school of needlework by Gaspare Traversi 

The fortune teller by Gaspare Traversi 

I perticularly like this one. Okay sure the gpsy is pick pocketing her but look at the girls face. She looks so happy, elated at whatever the women is telling her.

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Refrences

“The Classical Era.” AllMusic. Allmusic, 2016. Web.

“THE CLASSICAL PERIOD (1775-1825).” THE CLASSICAL PERIOD (1775-1825). N.p., n.d. Web. Oct. 2016.

David Pearl. “How the Piano Changed Music.” PIANO EXERCISES FOR DUMMIES. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. How the Piano Changed Music. Web. Sept. 2016.

“Age of Enlightenment.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Oct. 2016. Web.

Trina, By. “Thank the Middle Class for the Art of the Classical Era.“Trinaajleee. N.p., 05 Mar. 2015. Web. Sept. 2016.

“The Classical Period.” The Classical Period. N.p., n.d. Web. Sept. 2016.

“An Analysis of Classical Era Music: Middle Class Economic Growth.”Dlfitzpatrick. N.p., 03 Mar. 2013. Web. Sept. 2016.

“Classical Era: Growing Middle Class.” Into the Mind of Gunnar. N.p., 27 June 2013. Web. Sept. 2016.

 

 

The Ill-Matched Lovers.

Ill-Matched Lovers by Quentin Matsys c. 1520/1525

 

“A rover—short, old, and freeWith purse running over with gold,
Took a Venusberg lass for a spree
Who took clients like him in her hold.
That lass has her loose, lowly wiles,
Undoing his purse with its glut
While showing a face full of smiles
Like the grin of a flat halibut.”

~Anonymous, Dutch origin

 

This painting is very interesting to me on several different levels. The first being obvious, the man is fondling her chest and she is taking the opportunity to relieve him of his money with the help of an accomplice. What I find most interesting though is her face. While looking for more information I found several references to her face suggesting that she is enjoying the touching but I have to disagree. With a closer look at her face…

To me, she seems like she knows what she is doing but she is tired. This doesn’t read to me as a face that is experiencing pleasure but instead like a waitress who always smiles at the customers even though she has worked a 12-hour shift and just wants to be done with it.

I like how the light contrasts in this painting, with the brightest light shown on her. Almost as if she is in a spot light. Other common works at the time took the idea of halos, either obvious ones or more obtuse ones to show their saintly-ness. She obviously isn’t a saint and unlike the chiaroscuro use of light where you have a single light source that determines the darkness or lightness of the subjects that doesn’t seem to be the case here either.  Is she highlighted to make you aware of her thievery? It’s hard to feel sympathy for the man who obviously is trying to be the one who is taking advantage of the women.  Perhaps it is to show that she is, in fact just in her act? Maybe she is just paler and I am reading into things.

I feel this is an excellent example of humanism in renaissance art. While the shift to move away from the almost exclusive religious basis of art in the time was in full swing some sought to not only paint more realistic scenes but even controversial ones. Humanism wanted to portray actual people, doing actual things. to see things as they are both the bad and the good.  britannica.com states,

“Humanism and Italian art were similar in giving paramount attention to human experience, both in its everyday immediacy and in its positive or negative extremes.”

As artists moved away from religious figures and even the need for the divine in their art they looked to express what they saw. What was actually happening in this world and to  mirror these images back to the world.

While trying to find more information about this painting I also discovered a few other similar ones by  Lucas The Younger Cranach  &  Lucas The Elder Cranach – I had a hard time finding more information on both the Lucas’ versions (more than 40 versions of this scene!) I had little luck discovering which painting might be the ‘original’ as it seems there was a cultural understanding about this sort of scene. The earliest date I could find did seem to indicate Matsys had gotten their first. If you would like to know more about the Cranach versions of ‘The ill-matched Lovers’ I found a good blog by Jenny Brownrigg that you can find here where she analyzes 6 of these paintings. I think it can safely be said that many of her comments about posture, lighting, and appearance of the couples can also be applied to this painting.

This painting definitely has all the marks of humanism. Its realistic features (his face is the obvious one but also the lines in her face showing she is young but also tired) It is a realistic setting with a subject matter that is  certainly true to the time.

 

References

Ill-Matched Marriage. Wikipedia, 4 July 2015. Web.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ill-Matched_Marriage

Quentin Massys (artist). National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2015. Web. http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.52622.html

Chiaroscuro. Wikipedia, 1 Sept. 2016. Web. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiaroscuro

HUMANISM AND THE VISUAL ARTS. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016. Web. https://www.britannica.com/topic/humanism/Humanism-and-the-visual-arts

First blog post

Hello, My name is Molly. I was raised in Eagle River and moved to Fairbanks to attend UAF in 2001. In that time I have done many things and gone down many rabbit holes. I settled here to make my home and raise my five (for the moment) children. A few more classes allow me to obtain that long forgotten piece of expensive paper I started on so long ago.

As a theatre student when I first started at UAF I worked on many plays, primarily in the costume department but also trying my hand at lights, stage managing, and as an officer in the student drama association.  I’ve dabbled a bit in a few other art forms, I play very slow fiddle music and have made my share of visual art pieces. The last few years I’ve mostly been doing fiber arts, spinning, knitting, and weaving. I enjoy making functional art and even more so when I can bring that art to life from start to finish.

An art yarn I spun a few years ago. I like using materials like beads or tinsel in my yarns. If you area fiber artists you probably already know about Ravelry but if you are interested in learning to knit, crochet, or weave it is the go to for inspiration and patterns. If you have any doubt that knitting can be considered art I suggest you look at this Celestarium shawl or this Harry Potter themed one.