STILL LIFES AREN'T BORING

When you first start as an artist, or if you are walking through any art museum you see tons and tons of still lifes. Many people imagine it is the basis of all art forms, you know once you've practiced with enough boring things like apples and oranges then you can start to branch out to figures. But, still lifes weren't even apart of the Western Art World until the late 16th Century. Before then almost all paintings were religious or documentary. And so if any still lifes were made they still held religious symbolism.

The first types of still lifes that were created were of course within Egyptian tombs. They would have artists paint any sort of riches from food to items on the walls of the tomb thinking that in the afterlife they would be there for the deceased. Some of the other earliest recounts of still lifes were within Pompeii and were Roman mosaics used for decoration and signs of hospitality. None of the still lifes up until the Dutch and Flemish paintings in the late 16th Century were what you'd think are typical still lifes we see covering museums today. The Dutch and Flemish painters were in a craze for still lifes because of the combination of religious images being banned in the Dutch Reformed Protestant Church (which led to the symbolism within still lifes) and the simple obsession with horticulture that the Dutch had.

Egyptian wall painting of food (http://www.timetrips.co.uk/still_life_history.htm)

uncovered still life found at Herculaneum showing Roman still life (https://sketchesandscratches.wordpress.com/tag/vanitas/)

Willem Kalf, Still Life with Ewer, Vessels and Pomegranate, oil on canvas, mid-1640s, The J. Paul Getty Museum

Jan van Huysum, 1723, oil on panel, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam (http://www.essentialvermeer.com/dutch-painters/huysum.html)

Something funny and interesting that I found about still lifes is that there was a genre of still lifes known as "breakfast paintings" which would be the presentation of the upper class breakfasts while also a religious reminder not to be gluttonous.

Willem Claeszoon Heda, Breakfast Table with Blackberry Pie, 1631, Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister

As you can imagine, still lifes evolved along with the many art movements, being the cornerstone of all styles and genres of art. You can find a still life of any genre and style of art you desire and probably by any artist you desire as well. It is the basis of all artists today and a great way to study the aesthetic elements, but it shouldn't be thrown aside as a beginners form of art.

Ori Gersht, Blow Up, photographs and videos, 2007

Still lifes allow the artist to impose any sort of composition and arrangement of elements within the artwork. This sort of freedom allows for many styles and genres of art to take place, which led to how contemporary still lifes will include two-dimensional or three-dimensional mixed media and sometimes even video or sound.

Next time you think Still Lifes are "boring" or "too beginner", think again.

BIRTHDAY POST: BERTHE MORISOT

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BERTHE MORISOT!!!

Born today in 1841, Morisot was destined to be a great painter. She started learning how to paint at a very young age, like most young girls during this time (one of her teachers was Camille Corot where she first learned about plein air painting). Her first big appearance was in the Salon de Paris at only the age of 23. Her work was shown regularly in the Salon ever since, including when the first Impressionist exhibition occurred in 1874.

Berthe Morisot, Reading with Green Umbrella, 1873, Cleveland Art Museum

One of her good friends was Edouard Manet. Even though we are taught that Edouard Manet was considered the leader and Morisot the follower, they had a very equal relationship. They taught each other about various painting techniques, Morisot even pushed Manet to try plein air painting. Manet even gave Morisot an easel one Christmas! Later on Morisot married Manet's brother Eugene.

Berthe Morisot, Grain Field, 1875, Musee D'Orsay

Style-wise Morisot started off using small brushstrokes to long showing a better sense of form. This began once Manet and other artists started experimenting with unprimed canvas. She often left the canvas showing around the borders in an unfinished manner. Morisot is known for her sense of space and depth through her limited color pallet. 

Berthe Morisot, The Basket Chair, 1885, Museum of Fine Arts Houston

Like Mary Cassatt, Berthe Morisot painted daily life and domestic life and portraits along with landscapes. Just like many female artists of her time, she is getting more recognition after her death than during her lifetime. So let's celebrate her accomplishments and presence in Art History that can never be replaced.

Berthe Morisot, In the Dining Room, 1886, National Gallery of Art Washington D.C.

Want to read more about Mary Cassatt? Check out a previous post about her!!

More information about Berthe Morisot can be found here!

CUTTING PAPER IS AN ART

There have been times where I've seen something posted on Tumblr of gorgeously intricate hand cut paper. And I think "Oh that's pretty cool, I bet it takes a lot of time" and that is it. I never really think about it again. Well, more recently I keep coming across these artists who cut paper and create these incredible and I mean INCREDIBLE pieces of art out of the shadows and the holes and it blows my mind. So naturally I looked more into it...

So Paper Art or Papercutting originated in China from the 6th Century Six Dynasties period called Jianzhi. They would be used as health, prosperity, or decorative purposes and would often include symbols from the color red to the Chinese Zodiac. 

Example of Jianzhi

A lot of the more notable artists to come out of the Papercutting scene were more Dutch and American artists. One you probably have heard of is Kara Walker, who creates these wondrous silhouettes confronting many issues such as race, gender, sexuality, and violence . But they don't always have to be just 2D designs, many artists in contemporary art have voyaged into 3D sculptures of paper such as artist Nahoko Kojima.

Kara Walker, Grub for Sharks: A Concession to the Negro Populace, black paper, 2004

Nahoko Kojima, Jerwood, Byako, paper, 2013

Many other artists have been working with this technique but are still trying to get their name out there are artists like Rogan Brown and Kuin Heuff. Rogan Brown is inspired by natural and minerals for his very intricate forms and Kuin starts by painting her faces and then cutting them.

Rogan Brown, Spore, paper, 2013

Kuin Heuff, Greta Heuff-Heg, acyrlic and paper, 2011

I think the whole technique and design aspects are very interesting and inspiring. The amount of effort plus a steady hand really is hard to come by today so I find it very exciting. If anyone knows of any other artists that do Papercutting then please share!! Otherwise, we can just sit and stare at these amazing works for another few hours (which I'm totally okay with).

Artist Websites:
Kara Walker: http://learn.walkerart.org/karawalker
Nahoko Kojima:  http://www.nahokokojima.com/
Kuin Heuff: http://www.kuinheuff.nl/index.php
Rogan Brown: http://roganbrown.com/home.html
Other Websites with cool Papercutting articles: 
http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/rogan-brown-paper-sculptures

GLITCH ART

Some of you may have heard about Glitch Art, others might not. Most of the time Glitch Art is referring to a part of the digital photographic process where the artist would edit the data/code in certain ways to create certain effects to the pixels of the image. Artists have used Glitch Art in video form and photographs. These forms then have inspired other artists of other mediums to create a similar pattern but with drawing or painting. 

So far this movement is not a major part of Contemporary Art but it has made its way into other movements. Artists like Nam June Paik have experimented with Glitch Art and similar techniques where it is nothing new. For instance in Nam June Paik's Magnet TV he places a magnet on top of an old CRT TV and gets a bend in the data. 

Nam June Paik, MagnetTV, crt tv and magnet, 1965

Currently there are conferences and groups of tech-art aficionados that get together with workshops, lectures, performances, and screenings. One is called GLI.TC/H. 

Andy Denzler is another artist who uses glitching techniques to get their unique look, except this time it's with paint. He has been working with his specific technique since 2004 and has really come a long way since then creating beautiful dreamlike paintings without getting too muddy.

Andy Denzler, Just Antother Day in Paradise III, oil on canvas, 140 x 120 cm, 2014

I know there is a lot of Glitch Art haters out there because it is such a easy process to do to photography in today's world, but there is a specific art form to it. Just like Modern are and Minimalism it has to be done correctly and with the placement and precise end product it can be something magical. But it is a process based art form where you have to experiment. I love it's end product especially when used with painting and drawing, it can become something new and exciting for the art world to move into.

INSPIRATION CAN COME FROM ANYWHERE

I think a lot of artists think that only artistic inspiration is important and that we always must know other artists who are inspiring us. A lot of people think the opposite and that it is important to have other influences like nature. I find that the combination of the two is very important and it shouldn't be a battle of which is more important.

Having a list of artists who influence your work is very crucial to growing and improving. Following big name artists or really any professional artist will allow you to see things within their work that influence your own. For instance, Jenny Saville, an artist who I will talk about later in the month, has a variety of influences one of them being Francis Bacon. So just to see the connection lets compare two of their pieces:

Jenny Saville, Rosetta 2, 2005-6, oil on watercolor paper mounted on board

Francis Bacon, Self Portrait with Injured Eye, 1972

When you first look at the two paintings there are obvious similarities, like portraiture. But going beyond that there are similar ways of how their paint and the colors they use. Both of these artists use colors not necessarily noticed in real skin tones, they're slightly exaggerated. For instance in Saville's Rosetta 2 there are beautiful purples and blues throughout the piece and in Bacon's there are purples, blues, and reds. Another similar characteristic is the brushwork they use. There are parts which are carefully worked but others that are just one generic swoop of the brush like in under the right ear and on the chin of Bacon's and on the left cheek into the neck of Saville's. 

On the other hand it is important to be influenced by what is around you and other things not related to art. Subjects from Geology and Nature to the mechanics of a car can be used for inspiration. This is the basis of what we do and what motivates us. When we find something we find beautiful we want to create art from it and that could be anything. An artist like John F. Simon Jr. who does multimedia pieces is inspired by Geology. You might not be aware of it from first looking at the piece but once you make that connection everything has a different meaning. 

John F. Simon Jr, Endless Bounty, 2005

As artist's we are allowed to be in awe of really strange things. We should take advantage of that and not allow ourselves to get embarrassed for staring at a tree for an abnormally long time in public. Own it and fully let it inspire your work so that you can be the best artist you can.

Photo Cites:
Rosetta 2: http://www.gagosian.com/artists/jenny-saville/selected-works
Self Portrait with Injured Eye: http://www.queerculturalcenter.org/Pages/Bacon/FBFaces.html
Endless Bounty: http://artdaily.com/news/67295/John-F--Simon-Jr--s-multimedia-works-inspired-by-geology-and-Kandinsky-on-view-at-the-Phillips-Collection

BEING AN INTROVERT IN THE ART WORLD

There are two kinds of people, in general, introverts and extroverts. This is true about people within the art world as well. There are people who are silent sketchers and there are people who shove their idea down your throat. I always was led to believe that most artists were introverts but, most of my classmates are extroverts. 

Extroverts, I have learned, want people to know about their opinion. Whether it's just having a conversation or painting about it. A lot of artists are also narcissists. Yes there are artists who help charities and others, I'm just saying they have a high self esteem and ego. Which is great in the art world because of all of the critics. This is the opposite of what some people believe about artists because of the whole quiet meek artist stereotype. These artists will have no problem getting their name out there and promoting their work. They will probably get more shows because of being so out there and interesting. But what do the introverted artists do?

Technology has been a miracle worker for the introverted. Now with technology artists are able to submit their work electronically to shows and promote their art through many different websites to gain followers. So now that we're so used to only having to talk through typing how do artists deal when they have to actually talk at colleges or lectures or their own art opening?

Even though both introverted and extroverted artists have an ego, and need it, to promote their work and their passion, it can be hard to actually get what you want across to the audience. I've seen some art talks at an opening reception where the artist barely talks and clearly doesn't want to. But I've also seen some where the people are clearly ready to go and talk to anyone. A lot of people would say that the quieter artist isn't as passionate about what their work is about or even art in general but, I think you cannot combine those two thoughts. Yes, it is important to be passionate about your artwork but you can be passionate about your work in a one-on-one conversation instead of a group reception. The fact that there is a show going on about this particular artist means they are passionate and want to share their work. I think it is important to keep in mind that many artists portray their opinion and thoughts through their pieces anyway so have a conversation with their work.There is a lot of power behind whatever you have researched that no one else has found, so use that to teach others instead of thinking of it about as a moment where you and only you are in the spotlight, cause your art is there too (and it will always have your back).

I believe that many people will have an issue with this only because it is so important to make connections and show your passion for what you do, but I don't think it is necessary especially with today's technology. It's okay to not want to talk about your work to everyone that's why we make long labels next to our pieces and artist statements and PR statements. Overall, don't assume an introverted artist isn't passionate about their work and doesn't want to share it with the world. 

What do you guys think? If you're an introvert, how does it feel to you?