Presentations 4/28

Timaj: I enjoyed learning about impressionism, and how the artists aimed to "paint the air" around all of the objects that conventional artists try to portray. You showed very clearly how the non-impressionist artists would paint scenes in a very posed way, whereas impressionists used a more "candid" approach. Perhaps you could go into why they decided to change their method of painting so drastically.

Brittany: Dali is one of my favorite artists, so it was nice to learn about his works. I thought it was really interesting how he basically draws his dreams and incorporates Freud's theories as well. It struck me during your presentation that the interpretation of Dali's paintings is essentially just as vague or subjective as Freud's (or anyone's, really) ability to interpret dreams.

Jazmin: The graffiti art you showed us was awesome! I especially liked learning about the recent women's movement in graffiti. I thought those were the best works :) It was also very interesting to learn that graffiti started off as far back as in ancient Greece! I thought that a good point was the whole effect of it being illegal, how that appeals to some artists, and community members' view of it as opposed to commissioned art.

Phyllis: I liked the humor behind Claes Oldenburg and Coosie Van Bruggen's work, and I've always wondered what that huge arrow in SF was. I really liked your thesis, and thought that you gave great examples for how they change the function and view of simple objects. It would be interesting to know why they chose certain objects for each landmark (the arrow for SF, the clothespin in Philadephia)--is there a specific reason they chose those objects? It's almost like site-specific art.

Sara: Your topic was something I had no prior knowledge of, so it was very nice to learn something completely new! I actually really liked Alma Lopez's controversial "Our Lady"; I thought it was humorous and empowering for women in some way. And for all the historical negativity toward La Malinche spearheaded by men, I liked the idea of women today taking a stand in favor of her. Maybe you could go further into why feminists today chose her to focus on, rather than other women. I mean, she's not alive anymore, so why is it important for them to do this?