Ryan: I think it is interesting how Warhol chose a wide variety of subjects for his work, from celebrities to carcrashes, soup cans to himself, and yet the same thing happens with each work, something is turned into an inexpensive object that can be bought and sold and hung up in a museum or a person's home. You talked about his life style and how he hung out with the rich and famous a lot. I wonder what can be said about the superficiality of his life, and if this tranlastes through to his work. For example, I read somewhere he wore wigs. Oh yeah and about the whole idea of his art being turned into consumerism, campbell's soup made a disposible paper dress called the "souper dress" that was printed with warhol soup cans that they used to promote their product. And Warol himself also made a "brillo" dress for one of his show openings...
Karen: I kind of like how even though Miro's work doesn't really have recognizable figures in it, they are not purely abstract. I wonder what the significance of the women birds and stars was? I saw lots of stars but i didn't really see women or birds. Maybe you could focus on why he chose to depict women in that way?
Sierra: Your paper is really interesting, it's just that I don't feel it is all that original. It would be nice if you could find a way to link it to the class more concretely... Maybe say something about what painting a whore does to the value of the piece, and how people feel about it know.. I mean no one cares whether she was a prostitue or a princess, it's famous because it's manet...
Brianna: I think looking at the objectification of women, and the use of their bodies in advertisement is interesting, but why did you start out with traditional nude paintings? I feel like you should look at some old time ads that don't use naked women. The jump from that 1930's painting to contemporary advertisements just felt too big. Another way to transition would be to find some contemporary art that objectifies women, but that might be harder.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Brittany, Jazzmin, Phyllis, Sara
Brittany: In the most famous melting clocks painting, you said the blob in the middle is supposed to be a self portrait and then you said you could almost make out a figure. it you turn your head 90 degrees to the left, you can see an eyebrow and the lashes of a closed eye...
Jazzmin: I liked how you began, with a very strong sounding thesis. However, you didn't seem to prove it, and i don't see the relation to Basquiat. I thought you were going to show that graffiti art can show one what the expectation of an individual in a specific society were, but instead you starting talking about how Basquiat was really great. Also, you thesis sounded great, but maybe more for an anthropology or sociology paper than art history.
Phyllis: I love Oldenburg, I was going to do a comparison with his floor cake and something else for our last paper. I think its interesting that his art can be so large scale yet still allow people to walk right by it, like the clothespin. Maybe you could talk about public art and how if a piece is in a museum (floor cake) versus in a public corner (clothespin) people look at it differently.
Sara: Your presentation got cut off, so I'm not so sure the purpose of the comparisons at the end, but it seemed like it was going to be very interesting. I liked the idea of the three types of women, do you know the origin of this classification scheme? Like, is it commonly known, or did you come up with it, or was it from your research? Were you saying that feminist art uses the image of the holy mother to show that there's more types of women?
Jazzmin: I liked how you began, with a very strong sounding thesis. However, you didn't seem to prove it, and i don't see the relation to Basquiat. I thought you were going to show that graffiti art can show one what the expectation of an individual in a specific society were, but instead you starting talking about how Basquiat was really great. Also, you thesis sounded great, but maybe more for an anthropology or sociology paper than art history.
Phyllis: I love Oldenburg, I was going to do a comparison with his floor cake and something else for our last paper. I think its interesting that his art can be so large scale yet still allow people to walk right by it, like the clothespin. Maybe you could talk about public art and how if a piece is in a museum (floor cake) versus in a public corner (clothespin) people look at it differently.
Sara: Your presentation got cut off, so I'm not so sure the purpose of the comparisons at the end, but it seemed like it was going to be very interesting. I liked the idea of the three types of women, do you know the origin of this classification scheme? Like, is it commonly known, or did you come up with it, or was it from your research? Were you saying that feminist art uses the image of the holy mother to show that there's more types of women?
Presentations for April 28
Timaj:
How is it that you differentiate between the "real" and the "perceived"? What we know is what we perceive, that is as real as we can get... there are, after all, different arrays of color (ultraviolet etc) that humans cannot see, which are just as real as the spectrum that humans can see. The comparison with the camera would be interesting to dissect, since cameras were thought to somewhat "replace" artists because of the camera's ability to instantly replicate a scene, and yet that haystack painting that took several distances into account, and which didn't look very real at all, was supposed to be imitating a camera? That's almost paradoxical...
Brittany:
About the painting of the 'dream seconds before waking up', you would tell us that the tigers looked like the bee, and that the gun represented a bee sting, and that the multi-joined elephant represented desire... but all of that was present in the painting anyway. There was still a pomegranate with a bee around it, there was still a woman in a position that would probably suggest desire, and these things are all much clearer a symbol than the symbols themselves. So then what is the point of the symbols? What relevance does the title actually have to some more complicated reality of surrealist art? Does the arbitrariness of the symbols' presence merely demonstrate how loose connections in our brain can manifest in an instant? Does this focus on arbitrariness take away from any meaning the piece might otherwise have?
Jazzmin:
I had always believed that, in closer knit underground communities anyway, graffitti art was a marker of the artist's presence, rather than serving the artist as a way to express their opinion under the veil of anonymity. Take Basquiat for example, he had a style that was unmistakably his own. As for commissioned pieces, is the artist still anonymous? If it's legal, then the artist can paint in broad daylight... actually I think I remember you saying that some artists didn't like doing commissioned pieces. Speaking about legality of pieces, does the artist really care if their piece gets painted over, if they know they don't have a legal right to paint in that spot? Does the temporary existence of such large, striking murals actually affect the art in a positive way (other than to serve as a thrill to the artist)?
How is it that you differentiate between the "real" and the "perceived"? What we know is what we perceive, that is as real as we can get... there are, after all, different arrays of color (ultraviolet etc) that humans cannot see, which are just as real as the spectrum that humans can see. The comparison with the camera would be interesting to dissect, since cameras were thought to somewhat "replace" artists because of the camera's ability to instantly replicate a scene, and yet that haystack painting that took several distances into account, and which didn't look very real at all, was supposed to be imitating a camera? That's almost paradoxical...
Brittany:
About the painting of the 'dream seconds before waking up', you would tell us that the tigers looked like the bee, and that the gun represented a bee sting, and that the multi-joined elephant represented desire... but all of that was present in the painting anyway. There was still a pomegranate with a bee around it, there was still a woman in a position that would probably suggest desire, and these things are all much clearer a symbol than the symbols themselves. So then what is the point of the symbols? What relevance does the title actually have to some more complicated reality of surrealist art? Does the arbitrariness of the symbols' presence merely demonstrate how loose connections in our brain can manifest in an instant? Does this focus on arbitrariness take away from any meaning the piece might otherwise have?
Jazzmin:
I had always believed that, in closer knit underground communities anyway, graffitti art was a marker of the artist's presence, rather than serving the artist as a way to express their opinion under the veil of anonymity. Take Basquiat for example, he had a style that was unmistakably his own. As for commissioned pieces, is the artist still anonymous? If it's legal, then the artist can paint in broad daylight... actually I think I remember you saying that some artists didn't like doing commissioned pieces. Speaking about legality of pieces, does the artist really care if their piece gets painted over, if they know they don't have a legal right to paint in that spot? Does the temporary existence of such large, striking murals actually affect the art in a positive way (other than to serve as a thrill to the artist)?
1.) Timaj- Very interesting and presented well. I enjoyed the thorough explanations as to why Renaissance art was revolutionary, as it was very detailed and focused. However, the thesis was a bit broad, perhaps narrow it down? In regards to the elaboration on Monet, that was perfect, as it gave me a better understanding of your topic.
2.) The Dali presentation was entertaining and is a great research topic. I would highlight why Dali's purpose for his paintings are really ambiguous. The connection made during the presentation of Dali painting what he saw in his dreams was really good, perhaps elaborate more on this?
3.) I loved the Feminism in Chicano Art, it was very informative and organized. Overall I expect the research paper to very interesting! The history of the movement was explained very well and the presentation of specific cases such as Madre Metiza supported the thesis perfectly. LOVED IT!
2.) The Dali presentation was entertaining and is a great research topic. I would highlight why Dali's purpose for his paintings are really ambiguous. The connection made during the presentation of Dali painting what he saw in his dreams was really good, perhaps elaborate more on this?
3.) I loved the Feminism in Chicano Art, it was very informative and organized. Overall I expect the research paper to very interesting! The history of the movement was explained very well and the presentation of specific cases such as Madre Metiza supported the thesis perfectly. LOVED IT!
2nd round of presentation
Timaj: Monet’s Sunrise is one of my favorite paintings. Your discussion of impressionism and the techniques related is really interesting. Your mentioned that impressionist artists tried to paint the “air that surrounds”. I am curious about what exactly is the air that surrounds?
Brittany: I like your analysis of the surrealist paintings and what each figure symbolized. I didn’t quite understand how Sigmund Freud’s ideas are related to these paintings though. How is the “expression of the subconscious” related to the “dreams”? What exactly is the “lengthy narrative” involved in dreaming?
Jazzmin: Your presentation was very well structured. I liked how you gave a definition of grafitti art, talked about its variety and gave a history on it. The theme of the need for rebellion while having the fear of being condemned is very interesting.
Phyllis: Oldenburg and Van Bruggen’s sculptures are really fascinating. I’ve seen the bow and arrow sculpture from the Bay bridge for many times now but I never knew that it was a sculpture by Oldenburg. I am interested to find out, other than the scale, why did the artist chose these specific objects like lipstick, light switches, clothespin, shuttlecock and etc?
Sara: The various painting you showed of the mother figure of the mixed race population. The detailed comparison between Our Lady and Virgin Mary was really interesting too. Maybe you would like to explain the significance of each of the changed symbol too. I like how the feminist artist’s defend herself against the accusation towards her work also.
Brittany: I like your analysis of the surrealist paintings and what each figure symbolized. I didn’t quite understand how Sigmund Freud’s ideas are related to these paintings though. How is the “expression of the subconscious” related to the “dreams”? What exactly is the “lengthy narrative” involved in dreaming?
Jazzmin: Your presentation was very well structured. I liked how you gave a definition of grafitti art, talked about its variety and gave a history on it. The theme of the need for rebellion while having the fear of being condemned is very interesting.
Phyllis: Oldenburg and Van Bruggen’s sculptures are really fascinating. I’ve seen the bow and arrow sculpture from the Bay bridge for many times now but I never knew that it was a sculpture by Oldenburg. I am interested to find out, other than the scale, why did the artist chose these specific objects like lipstick, light switches, clothespin, shuttlecock and etc?
Sara: The various painting you showed of the mother figure of the mixed race population. The detailed comparison between Our Lady and Virgin Mary was really interesting too. Maybe you would like to explain the significance of each of the changed symbol too. I like how the feminist artist’s defend herself against the accusation towards her work also.
Presentation 4.28
1. I love Impressionism personally. Your analysis of the color use and the impressionism's painting techniques was really good. There is so much to talk about Impressionism, comparing it with Realism. However, why are you comparing painters before Impressionism? How did Impressionism influence the art after it? I didn't really get what is your thesis for the paper.
2. I think there is a lot of meanings and motivations behind Surrealist. I suggest that you might want to explain more about Freud's philosophy on “subconsciousness”. How did it inspire surrealism? You talked about symbols a lot, which were very interesting.
3, Graffiti takes on a political approach. The connection between the society awareness and graffiti is very interesting. There are so many different types of graffiti because the culture difference. Is graffiti powerful enough of to achieve what it is trying to achieve? You have a lot of information there about graffiti. I think your paper will be a really good.
4.This series of art work is very interesting, and I like how you connect them with our normal perspective toward the same objects. You said a lot of different things about each piece, if you could make them all come together, that would be really nice. Another question, why did you choose all the large scale ones?
5. I don't really know anything about Chicano art. I've only seen it I don't really understand why they would portrait the virgin that way. What is the piece trying to tell the viewers? Just the gender bias?
2. I think there is a lot of meanings and motivations behind Surrealist. I suggest that you might want to explain more about Freud's philosophy on “subconsciousness”. How did it inspire surrealism? You talked about symbols a lot, which were very interesting.
3, Graffiti takes on a political approach. The connection between the society awareness and graffiti is very interesting. There are so many different types of graffiti because the culture difference. Is graffiti powerful enough of to achieve what it is trying to achieve? You have a lot of information there about graffiti. I think your paper will be a really good.
4.This series of art work is very interesting, and I like how you connect them with our normal perspective toward the same objects. You said a lot of different things about each piece, if you could make them all come together, that would be really nice. Another question, why did you choose all the large scale ones?
5. I don't really know anything about Chicano art. I've only seen it I don't really understand why they would portrait the virgin that way. What is the piece trying to tell the viewers? Just the gender bias?
Presentations 4.28.09
Timaj: When writing a research paper on Impressionism, the sky is the limit. There are so many different angles and topics you have to choose from. I liked the examples you showed in class, and you were very informing about the characteristics of Impressionist art. However, I think I missed what your idea was, the argument that is specific to your paper. Impressionism is definitely different from other eras of art, so what kind of claim have you made about this contrast? Try to make a thesis that isn't something already commonly accepted in the art world. Something that is unique or takes a different angle possibly. Good job!
Brittany: I think Dali has some incredibly interesting work. You are definitely touching on a connection that we haven’t covered thus far in our class, and that is the relationship between psychology and art. In addition I think you talked about science and his art as well. Your presentation offered some really good interpretations of Dali’s art from other scholars and/or artists, but for your paper I would say to try and make a claim about these interpretations, or make your own conclusions/interpretations. It would be interesting to see what you see in his work, if you agree with existing literature, etc.
Jazzmin: I really like your topic on graffiti art. Although there is ancient history on it, I think it is definitely something that relates more to our generation in terms of popularity and understanding. I liked how you have decided to look at specific case studies. Your presentation was very informing. However, I was a little lost on the thesis. You said it was something about subculture dialog and making something transparent? For your paper, I would say definitely make sure to explain how these cases support your thesis. Also, just curious (doesn’t need to be in your paper), but the case studies you showed artists with completely different styles of art. For example Jean Michele Basquiat’s child-like graffiti compared to the elaborate murals and/or feminist movement. Do you see a similarities between all types of graffiti like this?
Phyllis: Whimsical art like the pieces you are researching is so fun and unique. I was in San Francisco on Tuesday night and to my surprise I ran into the bow and arrow on the Embarcadero. You showed a lot of examples of this kind of art in your presentation, but the only thing I missed was some more explanation of your thesis and focus on the metamorphic characteristics of the art as well as political issues if there are any. I think you definitely have a lot to work with, and it will be really interesting to research and learn about what kinds of interpretations have come out of existing literature or even what the average observer takes away after viewing/coming in contact with this type of art.
Sara: Your presentation was very informative, and I think the topic you are dealing with is very interesting and motivational. You made a good point to emphasize the qualities of the art from the artists perspective rather than the usual viewer/critic perspective. In terms of your paper and feminism in Chicano art, it is definitely a broad topic, so I am interested to see how you will narrow it down to a specific thesis and decide which of the many topics you will choose to cover in your research paper. You showed a lot of examples of feminism in Chicano art that cover a broad timeline, but for the limits of our paper, you might be able to deliver a very strong argument by studying just two or three specific case studies/artists/pieces to present your argument. Over all you have a lot of information available on this issue and it’s a very inspiring topic.
Brittany: I think Dali has some incredibly interesting work. You are definitely touching on a connection that we haven’t covered thus far in our class, and that is the relationship between psychology and art. In addition I think you talked about science and his art as well. Your presentation offered some really good interpretations of Dali’s art from other scholars and/or artists, but for your paper I would say to try and make a claim about these interpretations, or make your own conclusions/interpretations. It would be interesting to see what you see in his work, if you agree with existing literature, etc.
Jazzmin: I really like your topic on graffiti art. Although there is ancient history on it, I think it is definitely something that relates more to our generation in terms of popularity and understanding. I liked how you have decided to look at specific case studies. Your presentation was very informing. However, I was a little lost on the thesis. You said it was something about subculture dialog and making something transparent? For your paper, I would say definitely make sure to explain how these cases support your thesis. Also, just curious (doesn’t need to be in your paper), but the case studies you showed artists with completely different styles of art. For example Jean Michele Basquiat’s child-like graffiti compared to the elaborate murals and/or feminist movement. Do you see a similarities between all types of graffiti like this?
Phyllis: Whimsical art like the pieces you are researching is so fun and unique. I was in San Francisco on Tuesday night and to my surprise I ran into the bow and arrow on the Embarcadero. You showed a lot of examples of this kind of art in your presentation, but the only thing I missed was some more explanation of your thesis and focus on the metamorphic characteristics of the art as well as political issues if there are any. I think you definitely have a lot to work with, and it will be really interesting to research and learn about what kinds of interpretations have come out of existing literature or even what the average observer takes away after viewing/coming in contact with this type of art.
Sara: Your presentation was very informative, and I think the topic you are dealing with is very interesting and motivational. You made a good point to emphasize the qualities of the art from the artists perspective rather than the usual viewer/critic perspective. In terms of your paper and feminism in Chicano art, it is definitely a broad topic, so I am interested to see how you will narrow it down to a specific thesis and decide which of the many topics you will choose to cover in your research paper. You showed a lot of examples of feminism in Chicano art that cover a broad timeline, but for the limits of our paper, you might be able to deliver a very strong argument by studying just two or three specific case studies/artists/pieces to present your argument. Over all you have a lot of information available on this issue and it’s a very inspiring topic.
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