presentations

Ryan - i like the idea of looking at Andy Warhol's work and how all of his work can be seen as a commodity but isn't that what he wanted when he produced his work? didn't he want to depict the consumer culture?

Karen - talked about Joan Miro. you talked about the fact that Joan used lots of women and birds in his paintings so that could be an interesting topic to explore in your paper.

Sierna- i really liked this presentation and i think that where you are going with it is really good.

3rd round of presentation

Ryan: Your presentation on Andy Warhol and consumerism was really interesting, especially the quote on how a coke is a coke, no matter how rich or powerful one is. I found your argument on the commodification of art, people and the artist himself really convincing. I would like to see what kind of silhouette screen Andy Warhol does of himself and whether it is different from what he did for the celebrities.

Karen: I can’t say that I know who Miro was before your presentation and it was really enlightening. I thought that Miro’s paintings looked closer to Cubism than Surrealism especially with Dawn Perfumed by a Shower of Gold 1954. I was kind of wondering why Miro chose to paint woman, birds, star and sky. What is the rationale behind his choice?

Sierra: Your comparison between Manet’s Olympia and Titian’s Venus of Urbino was really detailed, organized and comprehensive. I didn’t quite get the point about how Olympia having brighter lighting compared to Venus of Urbino makes it more like a scene in everyday life though.
Brianna: Your usage of Gucci, Dolce Gabbana and etc advertisements to compare with traditional paintings was really intriguing. To me, the most interesting point you made was that the ads pictured just the body and not the face so there is an absence of eye contact. Linking that to the power of the gaze in Olympia was really thought-provoking.

Presentations

Ryan: I liked your points on how Warhol's production of multiple prints is a form of mass consumption and the implications of that in relation to the art. I think you have some really interesting material with the last few slides on turning people, especially well known public figures, into consumer goods through art. I would be interested to see if there were any public reactions from any of the subjects and if Warhol got permission from any of his subjects beforehand.

Karen: The topic of women depicted as monsters is especially interesting and could be further looked into and analyzed. Why exactly is it considered beautiful to be a monster and how did this portrayal come about? How do people react to the fact that the artist is a male depicting females in this way?

Sierra: I really enjoyed your comparison of the two paintings, and I think you did a great job analyzing the differences and similarities thoroughly. The red arrows were a great addition to specifically show where the common points lied. I would be interested to explore the topic of the subject being a prostitute and what controversy existed from that.

Bri: Your presentation was very interesting. I liked that you were able to bring the concept around to modern times, consumerism, and advertising. The topic of the gaze, and inclusion of a face is a particuarly interesting subject matter and I would be interested to see if you could trace a series of images back to see how this has been used throughout recent times in ads and less recent times in paintings.

Presentations from April 30

Ryan: your topic was really interesting, I like the fact that your research with Andy Warhol's art revolve around the positive aspect of consumerism. I think your coca cola example was nice, how it is an item consumed by the poor and the rich.

Karen: In you presentation, you presented some very abstract art. I think Miro's paintings are difficult to understand, besides its themes of nature and women and stars. I thinks it's interesting how Miro uses such abstract and unconventional art to portray these simple nature-ish things.

Sierra: What were some of the publics' reaction to Manet's "Olympia"? You mentioned a lot of good points in your presentation, and made some good analyzes of the two paintings. You mention that his art was like changing the genre of nude art by revealing actually life situations, does his works also spans being just nude art?

Brianna: You covered a lot during your presentations. I thought it was interesting how you covered the change through time of how female nudity is used and portrayed by the public. I was wondering if you would be covering why there are these changes and its influences.

Presentations: April 30

1. Ryan: I like how your focus is very clear. Very good thesis and I liked the pieces you brought up, and how they relate to the commodification of art and the lifestyle of consumption. I really thought the quote about the coke was interesting: "a coke is a coke- all the cokes are the same and all the cokes are good."

2. Karen: You had a lot of art examples and explained everything well, and the purpose of the paintings, I guess the only thing you need to do is work on a thesis. But you have a lot of good information to work with.

3. Sierra: I really enjoyed your presentation. I liked it a lot, there's a lot of controversy and differences between these paintings that is just so interesting. I love this topic. There's so much you can use. Your presentation was very clear and organized, and I think this will be a very good paper.

4. Brianna: I liked this topic a lot. Interesting to hear about this in this way, about sexuality and consumerism and all the really bold and riske things that are used as advertisement, because apparently the products are as bold and riske. About the woman's gaze, I think incorporating the gaze more will be very good, because it seems to be the central thing.

Presentations 4/30

Ryan - I really like that you incorporated Warhol's lifestyle and his selling-out and how that was sort of his long-standing performance art piece. I also like the fact that through his screen-printing, Warhol could disguise race and take it out the picture -something that is such a prominent part of politics, celebrities, etc. I like that you're taking interesting angles about Warhol, and not doing a generic thesis on his critic American mass consumerism.

Karen - I can see why you wanted to focus your original thesis on Miro as a person in addition to his artwork. The fact that he tried hard not to be categorized into any art movement, and the transcendental quality of his work is very unique and thought-provoking. Maybe you can explore the nature and themes he depicts in his art work and any sort of trend that may have with his life/background, rather than his intentions?

Sierra - I really like that you really focused your paper on these two paintings, and are analyzing specific details (gaze, hand, etc). I also think it is good that you are tying all of this in to the history and what was going on in Paris at the time - petit bourgeuosis, and contrast the changing idea of passive vs. active beauty and its place in society.

Brianna - Like Meredith mentioned in class, I think a really good and consistent theme through all your works is the female gaze. It is also interesting how you started incorporating mainly fashion ads (vs. gallery art) -both are consumer driven works, but ad's are even more so. You could probably also explore the idea of the female nude in art for consumption and how that has evolved through time.

4/30 Recap: Warhol to Evolution of Nudes

Ryan: Andy Warhol’s life and work has always intrigued me to the brink of intimidation. Fortunately, you demystified him for me. I think your focus is very clear and I like that you arranged the works in your presentation to somewhat parallel their order in the Warhol exhibition at the De Young. I’m curious to know if the Brillo soap boxes are the only work he did in sculpture-form. I know that the sides of these boxes are also silkscreened, are you then arguing that whether he had created Brillo boxes or a silkscreen of Brillo soap (like the one he made with Campbell’s soup) that there is an overreaching theme of hyper-consumerism?

Karen: First I want to applaud you for choosing to research a Surrealist artist. I find that Surrealism is like Poetry; only the artist and the poet themselves know what’s going on. But Dali is even more complicated because his paintings are so loud and not exactly aesthetically-pleasing. I liked how you brought in the general theme about his characterizations of women. I’ve never heard anything more ironic. While he claims he admires female beauty, I find no other work that monster-izes woman more than his own. Since you had to redevelop your thesis, I would suggest you examine Dali’s focus on women and analyze the grotesqueness of female characterizations in his paintings.

Sierra: I really enjoyed your presentation for its clear focus and smooth transitions. You prove that there is much to say about a single painting and how social relations influence the scenes they depict. You have a strong thesis. The only thing I would add to your research is a brief summary on whether this reforming-the-nude attitude is exemplified in more works by Manet.

Brianna: From Holy Virgin to Disposable Sex Icon, it is surprising to see how the purpose of nude female artworks has changed over the years. Hyper-consumerism has allowed for sex to be used as an object for marketing, transforming the act itself from an intimate engagement to a public activity which earns social status. And this is very unfortunate. You have a great topic to work with. My only suggestion is that your research observe the same medium, either painting or photography. Or if you decide to keep a combination of the two, identify why photography is used today to reflect this notion of hyper-sexuality and consumerism.