Takashi Murakami

Takashi Murakami is a japanese artist who uses many different forms of medians. He is known for his paintings, sculptures and commercail media. He formed a technique that is known as "superflat" where he combines japanese animation and traditonal japanese style. I was really drawn to this piece call "Cosmos." The gray-blue background gives you a calming effect like your at piece with the world. But I am drawn to the curving green lines that slowly spiral down the art piece. They start off by themselves and meet together in the bottom middle of the piece. Symboling that we start off by ourselves or with a small group but through life we join bigger groups and is a part of something bigger then just our life. The vines can also symbolize the twists and turns of life but in the end things will work out. The flowers if you look at them in the distance, they just look like regular flowers blooming symbolizing new life, friendships in this entangled world. But if you look at them closwer each one has a smiling face representing all the different people and experiences that you make through your growth of life. In the end, life is good. You can see were he used techniques of superflat. When you look at it afar you can see traditional japanese elements in the drawing with his choice of color, the vines with the leaves and how it spans through the canvas. Then you see formations of the animation aspect where some of the clowers are brighter closers then it would be traditional and the flowers have expressions and faces like they are about to talk to you. IT is a very harmonious piece that brings me confort, joy and calming all at the same time.

Environmental Art

When I was walking around the Texas Renissance festival after rehersal so many diferrent colors, texture and shapes stood out at me. I was really into playing with the shadows there. It reminded me of the artist that lay in the rain and when he stood up where he lay was perfectly dry and crisp. The constrast of it gave me several ideas to play with in my sculptures. The shadow of the woman is myself and I wanted you to protray the beauty and pain in life. In my next shadow picture I was orginally drawn to the painted wood and the raw wood shown though the flaking paint. I love colors and textures.When I put my fan up, the contrast lines with the color and texture filled my attention. It shows the layers of beauty.

I have a beautiful hand crafted metal rose that I wanted to play with in nature settings. In both cases of my nature shots I wanted to bring in the texture, color and elements of real nature with crafted nature. These are the products of my trails.

I was looking through some beautiful stained glass windows that by themselves were beautiful pieces of art. I love stained glass the colors, swirls in the glass, the intricity of the designs always capture my attention. As I gazed at them I realized you can see the scene from below perfectly clear. Showing you a new perspective. To me, it was looking through a different color glass or looking through someone's glasses. A new sense to a world that I gaze upon every weekend but through the color gave me new emotions about the scene. Plus, it was also the texture drawing me in to look closer. Its like the old saying put yourself in someone's shoes. Look at life in a different light and you might find a whole new aspect.

Modern Art

Pollock was really interesting to me because I never fully understood his art. I had liked his colors and lines but never felt an emotional attachment. Learning about him and his past brings a new perception for me to his work. I feel his was trying to talk through his paint. He might have been trying to call for help or communicate his feelings. He may not have known how todo it in his words but through paint he could express it. Andy Warhall is an artist I am very familar with. I had the priviledge to see his collection at the Columbus school of art and design. I had always been a fan because his colors and the known images he used in his art. His collections are massive adn its hard to describe his work as you feel the intesity of it. But after watching the video , I feel he did it a lot of it for fame and fortune. Protraying only what we wanted to see and not being true to himself.

Questions:
1.Do you think Pollock was trying to tell us something in his paintings?
2. Do you think the pressure of the media drove Pollock to drink? then to his death?
3. Do you think Warhall felt art is dead because he completely reinvented himself for the art world? Or because of the mass media?
4. Do you think Warhall knew who his true self was?
5. Did drugs give the outlet of warhall's art aking process?

Takashi Murakami

Murakami is one of the most thoughful-and thought-provoking-Japanesse artist of the 1990s Marakami's work ranges from cartoony paintings to quasi-minimalist sculptures to giant infable ballons to performance events to factory produced watches, T-shirts.

Murakami was born in Tokyo in 1963 and received his BFA,MFA and PhD from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. Besides being an artist, he is a curator, entrepreneur, and a student of contemporary Japanesse society. In 2000, Murakami curated an exhibition of Japanese art titled Superflat, which acknowlwdged a movement toward mass-produced entertainment and its effects on contemporary aesthetics. Marukimi's work has been exhibited in prestigious museums all over the world, like Tokyo Metropolian Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Murakami has played with his work from East and West, past and present, high art and low culture. Murakami's work morphs the worlds popular contemporary Japanese cartoons and historic Japanese painting. His recurrig character, Mr DOB, appeard on t-shirts, posters, key chains.

9/26

Frida Kahlo was a mexican painter who was famous for her self portraits and was one of the people who launched the surrealist movement. After getting a brief idea of who she was I picked a painting that caught my eye.
http://tinyurl.com/3z4rvkx
This is a self portrait of Frida and it shows that she wasn't concerned by the feigned image of beauty, but cared more for the actual truth of what she appeared to be.

Laylah Ali&&Her Art..

Laylah Ali was born in Buffalo, New York in 1968, and lives and works in Williamstown, Massachusetts. She received a BA from Williams College and an MFA from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. The precision with which Ali creates her small figurative gouache paintings on paper is such that it takes her many months to complete a single work, her work resembles comic-book drawings. Laylah Ali’s paintings and drawings often infer the moment before and after acts of violence. In Greenheads, where characters appear hanging from nooses, carrying limbs that have been being hacked off, the viewer can recognize parallels between events in the work and in reality, but can never pinpoint any direct reference. Some of Laylah's art work I feel comes from maybe things she see's in everyday life and also from an historical viewpoint..Her work is I would say abstract and nonobjective. I Really didn't understand some of her work until I really read about her, but now that I know I now understand why she draws the things she does and its because often achieves a high level of emotional tension in her work as a result of juxtaposing brightly colored scenes with dark, often violent subject matter that speaks of political resistance, social relationships, and betrayal. Although Ali’s interest in representations of socio-political issues and current events drives her work, her finished paintings rarely reveal specific references. Her most famous and longest-running series of paintings depicts the brown-skinned and gender-neutral Greenheads, while her most recent works include portraits as well as more abstract biomorphic images.

John T. Biggers by Chatara

John T. Biggers was an African American muralist who drew paintings that reflected peoples anguish toward race and religion. He was one of seven children who later received an education at Hampton University. There, a German professor, Viktor Lowebfeck, influenced him to become a great artist. Biggers was very smart and received a UNESCO fellowship where he was able to visit Africa. He was then the first African American Artist to ever visit Africa. Biggers did not stop there, he even opened the art department at TSU where his paintings are still shown. His most famous painting is called "The Upper Room".The_Upper_Room_1994.jpg The Upper Room is a photo of three African American women holding up a home. The painting is awkward because it only shows one bed in the home and 2 chairs outside. The meaning to me says that the women hold up their household. The mood of the picture is based on the colors used which are gloomy and dark colors. The picture shows no happiness nor any bright colors.

Biggers passed away in 2001 leaving behind 17 inspirational paintings.

Modern Art

Before watching the video "This Is Modern Art", I had only heard about Pablo Picasso. I was not aware of his style of art, but I had heard of his use of odd shapes. After watching the video I now know that it is called cubism. I also learned that Picasso stands for creativity, not caring, having his own system, and never being polite. That is how he created such unique pieces of art. A piece of artwork that surprised me was by Tracey Emin called Everyone I Have Ever Slept With. It is a tent with appliqued names on the inside. My first thought was that it had the names of everyone she had ever had sex with, but after researching it I learned that it had names of everyone she had ever slept with . It even included her grandmother's name.

- Kelly Scroggins

Modern Art

To be honest I am not a big fan of art, but after watching this series of videos it kind of changed my point of view towards art. The only artist that I have heard before was Picasso I did not know anything about Pollock or Warhol. These three artist are different from each other, but at the end they came out with the same idea of people seeing art a way of life, way of expression, and even personality. Picasso's art was all about women., his painting was dedicated to all women in general. What I do not get about Picasso's art is why he painted that ugly and he became famous I think he is unique of painting just women in a " ugly" way. Pollock he was an angry painter who threw all his stress, depression, in a piece of paper or grass drawing just lines. Pollock's art represented the way he was feeling about his bad attitude towards life and put his life into drinking heavily with out reason.Warhol thought that art was dead, but he still did it as part of life. Drawing the same picture many times was impressing I like it.
Questions:
1) Why did Picasso become famous with his "ugly" painting?
2)Why was the real reason that Pollock was an alcoholic?
3)How did Pollock become famous just of drawing angry lines?
4)Why did Picasso like to paint naked women?
5)Why did Warhol paint the same thing in a series?

Modern Art

My view of these artists totally changed I really thought Pollock at first was wasting his time that his art was just thrown together for no reason, but then I saw it was his anger and depression. Picasso I have loved since I was younger cause his art is so unique and so different, my opinion of him won't change I still think him and Monet are amazing artist. Warhol I thought was a really boring person, but now I think its also a form of unique painting style he has brought to the table.
1. Why did Picasso like sexual scenes so much?
2.Why did Warhol only use ordinary things and everyday names why no originality?
3.Why did Picasso make all of his paintings beautiful and then trash them?
4.Why did Pollock not make any pictures the were of objects?
5.Why are the artists only sticking to one genre?

Modern art

I am from planet earth, but I was not familiar with Pollock, Warhol and Collings. Thanks to the video "This is modern art" I was introduced to them and their different forms of art. I was familiar with Picasso. To his way of creating ugly into beauty and his cubism. One of my favorite paintings from him is the "Dove of Peace"( that wasn't showed on this video) is a very simple drawing but yet so meaningful to the world. His creations with his big pen are so easy to observe then you have his cubism that is the opposite of simpleness. I was very impressed with Pollock's art work and the process of him creating them, it was more than just paint thrown on canvas. I believe it was his true self coming out on paint, It seemed like he made his life more complicated than what it really was, and his only escape from reality was painting. Warhol was my favorite of the three. He was very creative and was willing to risk experimenting, compared to the others. He succeeded in all of his attempts. I believe his usage of drugs helped him create more open and different art than the others would dare to create when sober.They were all part of modern art, but just like Collings said "we like modern art because we don't know what it is, and the reason it keeps changing is to make sure we'll never do"
1. Why was Picasso interested to draw sex paintings?
2. Did Pollock died on accident or was it really a suicide? if it was suicide, do you think it had to do with his fame?
3. Did Warhol painted any of the celebrities in their presence?
4. Why did Valerie shot Warhol?
5. Can we see any of their work in Houston?
6. What was the point of Collings was trying to make by showing the artist graveyards?

Picasso, Pollock and Warhol

Artists are bizarre and brilliant all at once. This Pollock guy, I had never heard of him before. I guess instead of really helping me see the art in his art I just see madness. I still don’t really get non objective art. It may be kind of easy to read it the way you see it or give it your own interpretation of it but what’s the point of it? Now Warhol I had heard about when I was in high school. I definitely thought he was older and dead longer than I learned from the videos, which doesn’t make sense because I also thought his art was digitalized photographs. I always thought that it was cool his “simple photographs” were so well received. Learning that these famous pieces of his were all painted is pretty incredible, he is definitely more talented than I had ever given him credit for. But after watching these videos i’m still not a fan, was he trying to reduce arts worth for fame? Or was he so blinded by his hunger for glamour and fame that he didn’t even know he was doing it? After having his near death experience, enduring the pain of his wounds and painting about death so much did he hope to die more than living? Now Picasso I knew since my childhood, we owned miniature versions of his paintings and had them around the house. I was always curious to know why were these odd paintings so famous, they are a bunch of random shapes barely understandable as a whole. Now my question is what was Picasso’s purpose in creating such a different kind of art? Was he trying to find his aesthetic, be different or simply exploring the possibilities of what could be done? Now after watching these videos it seems as if almost anything can be art with such awkward pieces being so admired. What does the world think of art? Does it still have the value and impact as it has had in the past or is it disregarded and worth less because people don't have the time for it any more?

Modern Arts

I was familiar with Picasso and a little part of his art before watching these videos: whenever I thought of Picasso, I immediately thought the word “abstraction”. I was impressed by Picasso’s creativity of his art but I always had and have a big question mark on every single piece of his paintings, therefore I am not much interested in those. However, I learned a lot after watching this video. I learn more about Picasso and the abstraction of his art, I am also amazed to learn that he was kind of “disconnected from the world,… never being polite…”; therefore, I am thinking of learning more about Picasso art to solve the questions marks that I have always had. In the other hand, Pollock is totally new to me. My very first thought of his painting was messiness and unmeaning. In fact, as I watched the video streaming dividing Pollock’s painting into small piece, I somehow disagreed and feel frustrated with his art, but my eyes opened wide seeing the complete painting: there was not neither connection nor the fine sketch lines, but the curves and the effect of pains made a beautiful messy. I could feel the depth of Pollock’s thought through his art, but I don’t quite understand it and his personality. Lastly, about Warhol: I am familiar with pop art and I admire it, but I did not know about the founder Warhol. The definition of modern art to me has always been pop art for the best example, and I imagined its father must be standard and stylist, but Warhol’s personality somehow disappointed me. There is a lot of new knowledge that I learned from this video; even though not all of them are good and expected, but I now realize the beauty of art doesn’t lie in the boundaries between lines, it lies within the artists’ way of expression and the thought they put into their paintings.
1. Was Picasso’s art loved in 1950?
2. Why was Jackson Pollock was so popular? What makes the unique of his painting?
3. Why was Warhol so obsessed being a star?
4. What was the common between Picasso’s and Warhol’s art?
5. What were the icons of Warhol?

"Modern Art"

I was familiar with Picasso above all the other artists that Colling's discussed in the video. I always thought that Picasso had a more then simple fascination with both death & sexuality, and from watching the video I can tell that I was right. I might not have known the title's or the meaning's of his artwork, but I was very familiar with the paintings themselves. The same could be said for Pollock, but the only difference is that I knew of Picasso himself as well as his artwork, but with Pollock I only knew of his work & not the artist himself. I always just believed that the artist who created those paintings was, for lack of a better word, just throwing the paint onto the canvas, not carefully placing the paint were he felt it should be as Pollock was doing. Plus, with Colling's description of Pollock's violent/self-destructive personality there was a huge possibility that I could've been right! So between the two artists, I can honestly that the one that surprised greatly was Pollock; well Colling's description of the artist surprised anyway!

Questions:
1. What do you believe were Matthew Colling's own personal opinions about the artist that he discussed?
2. What do you believe Pablo Picasso was trying to express to others regarding death & sex?
3. How did Picasso actually cause his pictures to come out deformed with such detail?
4. Which artist did Colling's personally/professionally prefer?
5. Why do think Colling's began the video with himself drawing/using the muse of a naked woman?

Modern Art

I was little familiar with artist Picasso, just simply because I  heard from him here and there,but really I didn't know much about him. Now that I have seen the videos, helped me to discover and understand a little more about him, and about the meaning of his art. About Pollock and Warhol, I did not knew anything about them. I found Jackson Pollock's art work very intersting, his paiting technique seems to be very different from the others. As an example I will point out the image on the video where he, Pollock, tacked the canvas on the floor and used his feet to "paint"; that made his art work very unusual and unique. Although his art seemed to be very messy, it was the most interesting art that cought my attention. About Warhol, I don't really have to much to comment, personally I do not see his art work that intersting as Jacksons' or Pablos'.         
1) How popular is or was Warhol's art?
2) Why did Pablo Picasso deformed his paitings?
3) How much cost one of Pollock's paintings?
4) Who of the three made the most profit from their paintings?
   

Modern Art Response

The video "This is Modern Art" showed me a new way to look at art not by just looking at the paintings, but describing the story behind each of the artists and why they may have painted the way they did. Each of the artist can be related to in ways of emotion and the way they emphasized it through their paintings. I was more interested in Pullock because he was an angry and depressed man and took out his frustration through painting. His art was very interesting to me somehow in a way i can not explain. Warhol was weird to me by the paintings of death. Although it was something to look at, its never something id want to look at. I like his paintings of color and how he drew in multiples.

1) Why did Warhol draw his paintings in multiples?

2) What was it that really angered Pullock and why was he so bitter?

3) WHy does "modern art" have to be just modern?

4) What makes a painting unique? Even if its nothing to it?

5) If everything is art, why are so many artists criticized by what they do?

"Modern Art"

I was familiar with the artist Pablo Picasso. I have always admire his work; and cosider him as a true art genius. I really like the way he projects emotion and meaning through his art work. I have never seen his paintings live, but whenever I encounter a picture of his paintings all I can think of is twisted beauty. Some of his paintings could possibly be considered grotesque, yet the whole composition of his paintings result in beautiful masterpieces. I had previously seen some of Jackson Pollock's art work, but I was unaware of his personal struggles. His art work is something I would consider modern art, no specific subject or meaning, open to individual interpretation. I think his work reflects his personal struggles. Most of his paintings give out a vibe of anxiety, uneasiness, and roughness. Andy Warhol's paintings were very sophisticated. I really liked the way he used pictures of iconic celebrities; he added a simple splash of color and turn them into modern art. I find death to be a very rare subject in anyone's paintings, yet it was one of Warhol's main subjects. This video made me realize that nothing in the world of art is made without a purpose. Every artist has its own agenda and follows it accordingly.
Questions:
1. Why did Picasso draw a lot of grotesque images?
2. Why Pollock seems to have one specific style?
3. Why did Pollock never have an specific subject?
4. Why was death and irony one of Warhol's main subjects?
5. How have all the artist give the term "modern art" a new meaning?