Jackson Pollock is an American painter who was originally from Wyoming. He is one the most recognized painters of the Abstract Expressionist movement. This post World War II movement was the first American art movement to gain worldwide recognition. Jackson Pollock is best known for his drip paintings. He created them by putting a large canvas on the ground and standing over or walking around it, pouring paint directly from the can or using a stick to drip lines on the surface.

I chose this image by Jackson Pollock called Autumn Rhythm (Number 30). It was created in 1950 and is enamel on canvas. I chose it because I wanted to explore a piece of art that might be dismissed as valid art. Originally I thought his work was cool to look at, but I didn’t spend much time thinking about it. I didn’t realize how much effort actually went into creating it. After doing some research, however, I became much more interested in both the process and the intent of Pollock’s work. I viewed a lot of his paintings, but I was drawn to this piece the most. One of the things I learned from my research was that Pollock listened to jazz for days on end while he created his work. I feel like I can see the music especially in this painting. There is a lot of motion in the music that came through in the art. Reading an interview with Pollock made everything fall into place for me; I felt I understood his intent as an artist.

“I enjoy working on a large canvas. I feel more at home, more at ease in a big area. Having a canvas on the floor, I feel nearer, more a part of a painting. This way I can walk around it, work from all four sides and be in the painting, similar to the Indian sand painters of the West. Sometimes I use a brush, but often prefer using a stick. Sometimes I pour the paint straight out of the can. I like to use a dripping, fluid paint. I also use sand, broken glass, pebbles, string, nails or other foreign matter. The method of painting is a natural growth out of a need. I want to express my feelings rather than illustrate them. Technique is just a means of arriving at a statement. When I am painting I have a general notion as to what I am about. I can control the flow of the paint; there is no accident, just as there is no beginning and no end. Sometimes I lose a painting. But I have no fear of changes, of destroying the image, because a painting has a life of its own. I kind of let it live.” Jackson Pollock

In another interview, Pollock talks about how he gets into frenzy when he’s painting and he’s unaware of what’s happening around him. He doesn’t realize what he’s done until he’s finished. This is interesting to me because it shows that he’s not trying to create a particular image or a likeness to anything. He puts down exactly what he feels on the canvas. His paintings are the result of raw emotion. His art doesn’t represent anything except himself. Because of this, I view this piece as Emotionalist because he said he is trying to create an emotion with his artwork. I would also consider it to be Mimetic because the lines in the painting are mimicking the jazz music Pollock listened to.

My questions for the class is, even though Pollock’s art was just paint spattered on canvas, should it still be valued as art?

References:

"Jackson Pollock: Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) (57.92)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/11/na/ho_57.92.htm (June 2007)

"Jackson Pollock." 2009. Biography.com. 7 Dec 2009, 05:06 http://www.biography.com/articles/Jackson-Pollock-9443818.

Christmas Lights

Christmas lights can be seen everywhere around the world around Christmas time. I believe that to an extent Christmas lights are considered art. But there can be a fine line around what Christmas lights are considered art and which ones aren’t. I believe that the Christmas lights that Dominic Luberto puts up are defiantly considered art.

Dominic Luberto owns a single family house in Boston, Massachusetts. Luberto prepares for Christmas 72 days in advance. He spends $10,000 dollars in lights covering his 8,500 square foot house. He enjoys putting up the Christmas lights because he can make something plain and ordinary look beautiful. He enjoys seeing people looking at the house and seeing it was something amazing. His neighbors don’t like the Christmas display because they feel like its too bright and annoying but that doesn’t stop Luberto.

I love looking at different kinds of Christmas lights. It always brings joy to people who look at them. It’s a form of art that gets looked over often. These lights are only up around Christmas so people really don’t think about them until it gets to be winter. A lot of people put hard work into putting up Christmas lights and they should be considered artist, even though the form isn’t well known. In order for your house to look nice with lights up you have to have some sort of creativity. You have to know what looks visual appealing to people. But most people wouldn’t consider this art.

A very interesting question to ask about Christmas lights is; are they considered to be art? There is a difference between if someone strings a couple stands on lights on their house and it they go all out and plan what they are going to put up. Christmas lights are a form of public art. You could think of it as an instillation that is only up for a certain amount of time and able to be seen by anyone who would drive down that particular street. It takes a lot of time and thought into putting up all these lights. When thinking about wither this is art you have to keep in mind that even though anyone can string up a strand of light, would they be able to make a design and bring a whole house and the property and make it look beautiful. If anything Christmas lights would help to make things look less ugly. They would make the world a more beautiful place.

Citations

Gregory, Jennifer. "The 7 Best Christmas Lights Displays in the World." Web log post.

Rates to Go. Rates to go, 17 Nov. 2008. Web. 1 Dec. 2009.

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Viser, Matt. "Hey, what's the bright idea?" The Boston Globe. Boston.com, 20 Nov.

2006. Web. 1 Dec. 2009.

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War Song: Instrumental or Emotional?

O.A.R: War Song
Released on July 15, 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZDHZnvJZFc&feature=player_embedded

http://openupyourarms.org//needs_to.php

According to this website by signing the pledge we can help the soldiers feel more welcome when coming back by giving them:
• Access to top-notch health care
• a chance to pursue a quality education on the new GI Bill
• a fair chance at a good job


There goal is to get 111,111 signatures by September 11, 2011.

This video was posted on YouTube by The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) to spread awareness about our troops and future heroes. These people are fighting and protecting our country for our futures and we should respect them and support them for their precious lives and time. These people should be able to come back to America and be supported by the citizens and the society. Many people come back with mental disorders and with PTSD, which is very common in wars period. This pledge to sign is to make sure that these warriors get their rights and are taken care of for the rest of their lives. This video was made by O.A.R. to point out the impact that we can have on America and our Veterans and show the effect that war has on the one percent of people in America that go to war. That is equivalent to about 1.8 million people since September 11.
The first time that I listened to this song, I was thinking to myself, what is this about? Then I looked down at the track name and said to myself that makes so much sense. This song was awesome because it changes the speed and pitch when it gets to points in the song that are saying in going to be fine and the idea of love being left behind. The effect that war may have on you; wondering are you going to be alone at the end of the day or should you keep hope of living and returning to America. This song ends in a good tone to reassure people that they will be fine, but connects to this pledge so easily.
I had heard this song long before I saw this video online and I had no idea about this group of people to support the troops. I knew about the Veteran Affairs and their dealings and their recent decline in money for Veterans. Although I have never personally been to war or have had a family member go to the Iraqi War, I feel a connection to this pledge. My father was a Veteran in the Vietnam War and he struggles with PTSD to this day. His life is not the same as it was before war. He is receiving benefits at this time, but he isn’t sure how long he will be able to receive these benefits due to the change in the G.I. bill. This comes off to me as instrumental art because it is trying to change the way that people look at war and the money that they spend. The song is made from the words that have been voiced from soldiers that are in the Iraq war right now. That is one of the big reasons that I find it to be art. O.A.R. went overseas to make this song and came back with a song that shows the emotions within the concept of war. This could also be emotionalist because it gives me an emotional feeling when I listen to it. The rhythm and the changes in speed change the mood of the listener. I definitely think that the visual aids in the meaning that is being put across about the impact that war has on the soldiers and how we can welcome soldiers back with open arms.
Does this get the point across to you even if you don’t have a personal connection or do you think you need that personal connection with war in order to understand the meaning of the words in the song?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Oh my God, tell me this won't last forever
Tell me that I'm not alone
Tell me this will come together now

Packed my thing up just the other day
Said my goodbyes to all these things I've saved
Out in the driveway, we laugh under the moon
Among my friends for now, but I'll be leaving soon

Many days from now, I'm sure
I'll be back among your graces
And with you I won't pretend
No, not at all

Crack the morning
Up and running quick
No sleep again last night but that's the way it is
Out in the open under broken skies
I feel every footstep
I see everybody's eyes
Oh and this is summer in another world
Far from the driveway and my baby girl
Soon comes the winter
With it quiet nights
Darker days and darker fights

But many days from now, I'm sure
I'll be back among your faces
And with you I won't pretend
No, not at all

Oh the fever is burning
Over at midnight but never like this
Hot under their fire
The stars are all falling but never like this
I hope you never see this

Wait, wait for my love
Don't forget me, never let me go
If you wait, wait for my love
I'll remember, never let you go
Until I'm fine, fine, fine
Until I'm fine, fine, fine

To be back in my room
I have the same dream every night
Just me among my things
No one else is there
There's no one left to fight
Just me among my things

Many nights from now, I know
I'll be back among your graces
Until then I'll just pretend
That I'm not cold

Oh my God, tell me this won't last forever
Tell me that I'm not alone
Tell me this will come together
Oh my God, you know

Wait, wait for my love
Don't forget me, never let me down
And just wait, wait for my love
I'll remember, every one of you
Just wait, wait for my love
Until I'm fine, fine, fine
Until I'm fine, fine, fine
I'll be fine, fine, fine
I'll be fine, fine, fine
Works Cited:
"What Needs To Happen - IAVA." IAVA. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2009. http://openupyourarms.org//needs_to.php

Little Dancer

Picture taken by me at the Louvre

Edgar Degas’s “La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans”, or “Little Dancer of Fourteen Years”, was sculpted in 1881 and was originally made out of wax and dressed in silk, tulle, had a wig of hair and a satin ribbon (Wikipedia). This was his first sculpture, he usually painted the ballerinas, and I believe he wanted to capture a dancers pose in 3D. Degas was the first to make a sculpture of this sort. It was criticized by many at the Impressionist Exhibition; they said it was “ugly, [and] that it looked like a museum specimen, in part because Degas exhibited it inside a case” (National Gallery of Art). Although people were shocked by the piece, they But “were also moved by the work's representation of the pain and stress of ballet training endured by a barely adolescent girl”, which is what the piece is truly about (Tate). The sculpture was later cast in bronze and 30 casts of the original were made and reside in different museums (Tate). The bronze version still features a tulle or cotton tutu and a silk ribbon in her hair.

I have loved Degas since I was a little girl. I took ballet for ten years and we studied Degas a few times in my art classes. My ballet teacher once took us to see a replica of the Little Dancer when I was about eight and I never forgot that. I was even more excited, though, when I got to see one of the original castings at the Louvre in Paris two summers ago. To this day I’ve still never seen anything like it. It’s so rare even today to see a sculpture of bronze with a real skirt and a ribbon around her bronze braid. I feel so connected to this piece and I find it interesting that I knew this piece was special even when I was young.

Taking a chance and standing out is what really makes this piece art to me. Not only does it beautifully depict the pose of a young, struggling ballerina, it seems like it’s own genre of art because it was done so originally. The piece is fresh, while still seeming conventional, which I think is hard to find in art. It seems like people want to either be totally out there, or completely conventional. I like how this piece has both elements. I would consider this piece to be Mimetic because Degas is trying to replicate a real dancer’s pose, along with the real clothes, plus this was originally sculpted in wax and colored to look real. I would also says it is Emotionalist, though, because the fact that it is called “Little Dancer of Fourteen Years” is clearly trying to get a response about the fact that she is young and training vigorously. People may sympathize with the dancer because of this.

Works Cited
La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans. 6 June 2009. 18 November 2009 .
National Gallery of Art. 2009. 18 November 2009 .
Tate. 2004. 18 November 2009 .

Mikey Welsh Paintings

Mikey Welsh is a local artist based out of Burlington Vermont. His work is getting more recognized and has done murals for several local companies in Burlington like JDK offices, Copley Consolidated offices, Frontside Foundations, and Maven. His paintings are different than most, he “never (uses) a brush and (prefers) to work only with his hands and fingers”. I found the work through the snowboard industry. Some of his art has been featured at local snowboard company Burton.

            I was drawn to Welsh’s paintings because they are different than regular paintings. The lines and colors in the paintings move your eye though out the canvas. It is interesting how the lines are soft and the color does not stay in between the lines.

            Out of Andersons four Quartet of Traditions I believe that Welsh’s pieces most resembles an emotionalist piece. This is clear because the emhpasis is on the artist emotion.  The pieces are expressing different things. In the image above Welsh is describing different types of people or animal. Each character is unique and almost has there own personality.

Mikey’s work is absolutely art. He puts time, effort, talent, and creativity into his paintings. When he adds colors color in between lines to portray a message. I consider any painting that has time, creativity, and some sort of message can be art. 

Thank you,

Links: http://www.mikeywelsh.com/ 

Banksy: Is Graffiti Art?

The piece of art I choose is a piece of public art by the artist Banksy. Banksy is a well known graffiti artist from Bristol, England; although his identity is not known and only a few people have ever interviewed with him and they have kept his identity a secret. Banksy’s art is a combination between graffiti writing and distinctive stenciling; most of his art topics are politics, culture and ethics. All of his art has a strong meaning to it and his way of expressing that is publicly on the streets that we walk down everyday and he has traveled all over the world making his mark.

The piece by Banksy I choose is a one of nine pieces he did in August of 2005 on the Israeli West Bank barrier on the Palestinian side. This has been one of my favorite Banksy pieces ever since I found out who he was. I remember the day I found out who he was, I was in Boarders downtown and I was looking at all the art books when I stumbled upon his, and I feel in love and have followed him ever since. I selected this piece in particular because of what it stands for; they are building this giant wall though the farmland to separate Israeli from Palestine on the Israeli side they cover the wall with flowers to make it look beautiful, as for the Palestine side it is just a giant blank gray wall. I feel as though he did this to give the wall character and at the same time give the sense of escape, of freedom. Banksy sees a situation like these and seizes the opportunity to say something in the way he likes to express his feelings. I have always interpreted the painting as though he painted so when you looked at it you got sense of escape, that there is another side. I strongly believe that graffiti is beautiful, but there is a difference between graffiti art and tagging, tagging is just someone being immature and inappropriate. You will find that a lot of graffiti art has meaning to it and the details that a lot of these artists put into some of their pieces are just as intricate as Michal Angelo.

To learn more about Banksy just see the link below. I hope you enjoy the meaning of his art and find it to be intriguing as well as the fact that no one knows who he is. I will end with a quote from Banksy about graffiti.

“What’s your definition of the word “graffiti”?

B: I love graffiti. I love the word. Some people get hung up over it, but I think they’re fighting a losing battle. Graffiti equals amazing to me. Every other type of art compared to graffiti is a step down—no two ways about it. If you operate outside of graffiti, you operate at a lower level. Other art has less to offer people, it means less, and it’s weaker. I make normal paintings if I have ideas that are too complex or offensive to go out on the street, but if I ever stopped being a graffiti writer I would be gutted. It would feel like being a basket weaver rather than being a proper artist.” (Swindel)

Hope you enjoyed. Thank you for listening.

Links and sources:

http://www.banksy.co.uk/

http://swindlemagazine.com/issue08/banksy/

The Eiffel Tower, Ashley Desjardins

The Eiffel Tower was constructed by a man named Alexaandre Gustave Eiffel, who was a French Structural Engineer, and was the leading European Authority on Aerodynamics of high frames. It was the main attraction at the International Expo (The World Fair), held in 1889. This event also marked the centennial of the Revolution which began in 1789. This name was decided upon because it was first a contest to see who could come up with the best design. The radical design by Gustave was unanimously chosen and hence, given the name.
The tower is located in Paris, France, and stands at 984 ft tall, and weighs 7000 pounds. It was built of wrought iron and supported truss work. It was the tallest structure in the world, until the completion of the Empire State Building. It consists of two different parts. The first, is the base. Which is composed of a platform resting on four separate supports called, Pylons, or Bents. The second part is a slender tower that rises from each of the Pylons and leads to a second platform, the third part is one unified column. The curve of the base Pylons was precisely calculated so that so that is could withstand the intense forces of the wind by turning the force into compression.
When the tower was put up there were many people who resented it. There was even a petition to get rid of it, which gathered 300 names. Some people believed that it took away from the natural beauty of Paris, and others believed that it would interfere with the birds that flew over. In 1909 the tower was almost torn down, but the final decision made against it was because of its antenna, used for telegraphy at the time. In 1910 it became part of the International Time Service, and was made useful by the French radio and television.
The Eiffel Tower was built in order to celebrate the Science and Engineering feats of its time and became a symbol for the ideals of: ingenuity, progress and beauty. The first level, base portions are detailed with the names of all the great men in French history. Today, the biggest attraction is riding to the top to view the city of Paris.
I believe that the Eiffel Tower is art for many reasons. First, there was a lot of thought put into it and a lot of debate over how it should be made, and what it should be made of. Secondly, I think that it is really beautiful and took a long time to create and has a lot of detail. I also think that it has a lot of meaning behind it which to me, makes it instrumental art. I also think that when people see this it brings forth a lot of emotion, which makes it emotionalist art. There emotions could be astonishment, happiness or maybe feeling overwhelmed because of its size. I chose to do this because it is somewhere that I have always wanted to go to.

Works Cited
Eiffel Tower by art Historian Dr. Lori. Dr Lori. Web. 16 Nov. 2009. .

The Eiffel Tower, Paris. Discover France. Web. 16 Nov. 2009. .