"Why I Appreciate Art!"

The most important things I've learned this semester all mostly revolved around putting myself in the artist's shoes. I can imagine many artists do a bit of reflecting before painting, etching, drawing, sculpting, etc....I think it is important to ask the question "Why" when looking at a piece of art. Why did he choose oil paints over water colors? Why did he paint the sky purple and exclude shadowing? Why are their faces void of all emotions? By asking these questions, we allow ourselves to step out of our little non-artsy speculative boxes and into a world full of wondrous opportunity and deep appreciation and admiration for artists and their masterpieces. I have definitley caught myself staring at paintings much longer than I used to, but more importantly I catch myself looking at the world around me with a whole new set of artsy glasses! I catch myself wondering how an artist would paint my emotions, or what shading and where they would use to incorporate the sunset into a picture of my children while they're playing at the park. I definitley plan on enrolling in a studio art class before the next year is over! I can't wait to get my hands dirty!!

What is an Artist?

My goodness, what a deep question-especially after taking a class such as this. To me, an artist is someone who is passionate about something and allows their creativity to take charge in order to exude that passion through some form of art. Artists express who they are through their art. This is how we end up with so many different gorgeous and sometimes quirky styles of art to admire. You must do more than make art, however, to be a real artist. Charles Baudelaire said, "An artist is only an artist on condition that he neglects no aspect of his dual nature. This dualism is the power of being oneself and someone else at one and the same time." He wasn't only a French poet...he was an art critic too. Sometimes, an artist may create an artistic piece without regard for whom may see it. Other times, he or she may create a piece with hopes to share his passion with the rest of the world. It takes much more than skill to be an artist and to be accepted by the community of artists. One must be more concerned with the message and the integrity of the art and less concerned with how much of a profit he or she might be making. (Sorry, Mr. Kinkade) In a capitalist society, this mindset is difficult to maintain. Hence, an artis must have a very high level of commitment and dedication to his work. Artist's character traits can be seen through each piece he or she creates. The originality and style all their own helps interpret the art for normal people like me. In short, talent doesn't make an artist. Passion does.

"Crocker Art Museum Visit"

To fulfill the art visit requirement, I loaded my family into the van and we made our way to Sacramento’s Crocker Art Museum. I hadn’t done my research before arriving so I was excited when I found out Grandma Moses’ collection was going to be the main exhibit. Such good timing. I have been to the art museum before and my all time favorite piece is called the Laughing Woman. It is an oil on canvas painting and was done in 1950 by an artist named Rufino Tamayo. I love the bright red background and the craziness of it all fits my mood at any given time.

My favorite Anna Mary Robertson, aka Grandma Moses, painting is called The Old Checkered House. It is an oil painting on masonite. It’s dimensions are 28 ¼ X 35 ¾ inches.

One of the main reasons I enjoy this painting is all the effort that Anna Mary Robertson must have put into painting that old checkered house. If I remember correctly, one of the main reasons why Grandma Moses began painting was because the knitting she enjoyed made her arthritis act up. This woman wasn’t all that young! How difficult it must have been for her to put so much detail into a painting such as that. I enjoy the majority of her art and find it to be happy, charismatic and just plain perfect for the holidays. When I look at her art, it’s as if I can feel the emotions she felt while painting her pieces. She didn’t start painting until well after 70 years of age and in less than 30 years turned over 1500 paintings. This is quite an accomplishment for anyone, but especially for a woman during that era.
As I mentioned before, I have been to art museums before and find them fascinating. I’m one of those people who will always read a book before going to see a movie made from the same book. In this case, I would much rather go see art up close and personal before reading it in a book! Every time you go to a museum, even if it is the same one everything always seems brand new. Every time I look at a painting, I’m able to find something that I didn’t catch before. It’s like a game almost. Even if I stare at it for minutes. If I come back a week later, I can almost guarantee that I’ll catch something that I didn’t see before. (Yes, I do have a life…really, I do.) In real life, art is so much more vivid and ‘real.’ The colors are so much brighter. (or in some cases, so much darker) I love going to see an exhibit or collection of an artist’s work because it gives you a real look into the artist’s persona. Grandma Moses’ art came from a time in her life when she was stuck right in between the Great Depression and World War II. For me, that really tells me a lot about her. I can imagine it was difficult to find much happiness in life during that time. She must have been a woman of tremendous strength with an incredibly positive outlook on life. She lived to be 101 too! Fascinating for that time period, don’t you think?
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my art visit to the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento! It was nice having my family come with me. I love introducing my children to things they have never seen before. Our 11 year old and his friend enjoyed the museum more than I did, I think. They discussed different subjects they could paint all the way home and exhausted my husband and I with questions that quite frankly we didn’t have the answers to. For Christmas, my son has asked for a pottery wheel so he can try to make a sculpture similar to the ones he saw at the museum. As soon as they got home, they begged me to get my oil paints out (no, I’m not an artist…not by a long shot) so they could paint masterpieces for themselves. Even our 2 year old and 1 year old had a good time. They loved seeing their reflections in the mirror “house.”
I wish I would have written down details about that particular piece as I would have liked to incorporate it into the write up of my visit. It was a bit chilly, but we still managed to enjoy a picnic lunch right outside the museum. The children ran off enough steam to get them through the car ride on the way back! What a great location for a museum!
I would strongly encourage anyone who wasn’t able to get to the Crocker Art Museum to go one day. It’s free on Sundays between certain hours, although we could only fit a Saturday into our hectic family schedule. Oh, also there is a student discount price…I think it’s only $3. The building itself is a giant piece of art!

It’s gorgeous. The staircases are elegant and the view (when not during construction) is quite pretty. You can see the leaves changing colors through almost any window you look out of. There is an elevator and entrance on the ground floor if you have a stroller full of babies or if you’re unable to climb stairs for any other reason. I’m anxious to see the new wing they are adding on and what magical pieces of art will occupy it! The staff is quite friendly; although there is one security guard who refuses to speak…he’s quite funny. We killed him with kindness.

"Two Worlds Collide"

At first glance, I thought Azis and Coucher were documenting a skin disorder and the emotional and physical impact it has on others. I think, though, that their Dystopia goes a lot deeper than that. They have swapped our treasured societal views of perfection and conformity to a world engulfed in ugliness, fear and the loss of self that sometimes accompanies falling into society's trap of illusions.

The lecture, "A Collision of Two Worlds" described how much editing and manipulation photographers use to create images more pleasing to the eye. To me, this takes away from the purity of the original photo. It also makes knowing what photos are real or what has fallen victim to manipulation quite difficult if not impossible. For me, the perfections and illusions found in everyday magazines certainly make my photography look Elementary. It's almost impossible to measure up to it.

This is all very similar to the Dove Evolution Video. People (especially teens)compare themselves to the perfect images they see in magazines that have been enhanced in more ways than one. They begin to lose themselves in their hunt for perfection not realizing that they are awesome just the way they already are.

Very similarly, spirit photography tampers with people but sometimes on a much deeper level. People are visually tricked to believing spirits exist in pictures through light manipulation or photographic distortion. Sometimes, they may even be tricked into believing they are seeing family members who have died but are somehow living in the photograph.

I have three children, ages 11, 2 and my daughter will turn one next month. I can only hope that I instill enough strength as well as a high degree of personal sense of self in each of them so they don't fall victim to the illusions life will surely throw their way.

"Hung Liu Reflections"

Hung Liu, Visage IV, oil on canvas, 72 x 72 inches, 2004

Let me begin with Hung Liu's art. When she pulled that huge brush to begin painting the three concubines I was screaming, "NOOOOO!!!" on the inside while watching the screen intently. My husband got a kick out of it. I surely thought she was going to mess it up...and was so amazed to see how much magic she has running through her hands and right onto the canvas. I'm not a huge fan of her artwork, but I am a huge fan of her as an artist. She paints with her heart and with spirit. I admire that greatly.

In reading all the different painting technique from the chapter, I was "wowed" with the whole concept of mixing paint and other substances to create tempera. I was especially intrigued by egg yolk tempera. I may never be able to eat my sunny side up eggs the same way.

I loved the oil on canvas piece by William de Kooning called Door to the River. It screams energy. I can imagine many people could look at a painting and say they could paint one just like that. I'm willing to bet their painting wouldn't be as full of life, though, as this particular one is.


Willem de Kooning
Door to the River, 1960
Oil on canvas

I love paintings that take me back to a place in life. While I recognize the need to have art in the world that expresses sadness, hatred, repression and grief (Amoung many other negative emotions) I am drawn more to the pieces that make me feel happy inside. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate one over the other. I guess I just don't want to hang something in my home that is going to remind me or take me back to a bad place in society or even my life for that matter. I think it is fascinating how two different people can look at the same piece of art and come up with two completely different assumptions as to what the artist meant to capture or convey through his strokes.

Art is so magical. Artists are magicians without all the hocus pocus! Instead of a wand, they have their brushes or stencils, or whatever they choose to use. Pretty cool, I think.

"What Do You Think?"

Here are a couple more examples of printmaking that I thought were pretty cool. The first is an example of a lithograph and the second is a monotype. Hope you enjoy...and don't forget to tell me, "What Do You Think?"

"What's up with Thomas Kinkade?"

Oh, MAN! I can't even put into words how dissapointed I am. Bleh. Thomas Kinkade is like the James Frey of the art world only he didn't use Oprah to boost his fame. He's the Donald Trump of the art community. Honestly, one has to admire him for his entrepeneurship...but as an artist, YIKES! I had no idea. The more research I did, the more demons I found. He pee'd on Winnie the Pooh, for goodness sakes! This was shortly before fondeling a woman's breasts and then claiming she wanted him to. This same man claims Christ to be the brush that guides his hand. As I caught myself being extremely critical (partly because I when I walk into a Thomas Kinkade gallery, it does create a certain happy, yet serene mood...I'll never be able to see his "art" that way again without being critical) I reminded myself that when I go to buy that fabulous sweater I've had my eye on, I don't know the ins and outs of the person who designed my pretty sweater. (nor, do I really care for that matter) Am I shocked? Definitley. I don't think I would have ever purchased one of his (or their) prints anyway. I'm more into whimsical artsy stuff, but there were a few that caught my eye...the castle print was pretty cool. I think Kinkade's target audience is pretty much people who aren't necessarily into art, but rather people who love both God and America. Let's face it, he's not in it for the passion...he's in it for the money. In the end, who am I to judge? Many people love his replicated versions of art, that's their business. I'll stick with those people who really paint for the passion of it all, not just the money, money, Moooooneeeeyyy. Two words for good ole' Mr. Kinkade: