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!

NEW YEARS FOR ARTISTS

New Years is always a fresh start to begin again and try and improve yourself and your bad habits from the previous year. Every year people choose impossible resolutions and end up forgetting about them or just give up after a few weeks or even days. Each year we even try to make them easier and try so hard to keep them. Why is it so hard to keep our goals? How about this year we help each other?

GET A BUDDY.
Not only will you have yourself to remind you to work on your New Years Resolution but someone else to either remind you or to work with you to achieve the same goal. This way you can push each other (and have someone to blame other that yourself when you don't accomplish your goal) I also suggest keeping notes or reminders everywhere to really keep you focused (Post-Its, phone reminders, locking yourself out of a certain room until you are done each day).

Now, what are some of the best New Years Resolutions for Artists that are maintainable?
I asked my many Twitter followers this question and got nothing in response so we'll just have to figure it out ourselves.

Artists are dedicated to their work. We just need to promise ourselves to work on those things we struggle with so here is a great list of things to use for New Years Resolutions:

1. Using your sketchbook... DAILY. Yes that means meaningless sketches or writing or playing around with new materials EVERYDAY. That shouldn't be too too bad, just set off a half an hour everyday and open your sketchbook and do something, anything.

2. Create an actual piece of artwork once a week. Using your mindless sketching or experiments and create something full fledged and finished. It doesn't matter if it turns out terrible since it is only for you. It'll keep your mind in the creating mode and it'll help you figure out the kinks of what works and what doesn't.

3. Take in a commission. One of the best things I could've done was accept a request for a commission of a genre of art I don't find I am the strongest in. Now I don't suggest it to everyone because it is stressful and it is always better to accept a commission of something you will work confidently in, but for those who want to challenge themselves do it. Even if it is just a Birthday gift for someone that you are commissioning yourself to do, just share your art.

THIS website has 10 pretty good New Years Resolutions for Artists that I suggest checking out.

But MOST IMPORTANTLY DO NOT COMPARE YOURSELF TO ANY OTHER ARTIST, THE WHOLE POINT OF HAVING A NEW YEARS RESOLUTION IS TO DEVELOP YOUR SKILLS MORE. If you are having a hard time check out this older post about it.

CALLIGRAPHY IN ART

Calligraphy and Typography were used in art forms dating back to around 600 BC. Many different areas of the world used Calligraphy as not only forms of writing but as artwork as well. Depending upon the region, different styles were also used.

Originated as a visual art form of writing and eventually some artists even used it strictly as an art form, leaving the words left behind and just using the strokes and linework. Now, I could go on and on about the origins of Calligraphy all around the world but here is the generic breakdown: Each general region (Western, East Asia, South Asia, Islamic) had a set of rules and shapes to be used while writing calligraphy. Calligraphy included a set rhythm and a geometrical order to the lines on the page even down to each character having a set order in which the strokes must be made to make each letter/symbol. Often a "carpet" page would be used as well within books, a carpet page being a page with not only the words but also a fully decorated colored shapes as well. Any irregularity of style, size or color increases the value even if it is considered illegible.

Calligraphy from each general region has endless different branches and styles. Even without having to study years and years of Calligraphy history, everyone can admire the amazing and technical flow of historic and modern calligraphy (and I'm not just talking about wedding invitations).

I'll show you some of my favorites:

Page from The Book of Kells, Western Calligraphy, Ireland

Islamic Calligraphy Art

Islamic Calligraphy Art even create pictures strictly from the brushstrokes used in Calligraphy

Calligraphy in Oriya font

Then there are Contemporary styles used today.

Contemporary Asian Calligraphy found in the Suzhou Museum

As a newcomer to the ways of Calligraphy, I have found that following the specific brushstrokes is both a challenge and dependent on focus but also quite relaxing. It is easy to pick up and good for the everyone to attempt and easy to add your own personal touch. It's a great skill to acquire even if you only use it for your wedding invitations (but they can be the most uniquely beautiful and artistic wedding invitations!)

COLLAGE ART: SURREAL IMAGERY OR SIMPLE BRAINSTORMING?

Collages are sometimes linked with childhood art projects, but how about collages that bring flawless surreal imagery together?

The idea of collaging is often a way to put all of your favorite ideas or thoughts together. But what about thinking out of the box and creating something completely new and imaginative... without just using Photoshop. Painstakingly cutting and arranging images found from encyclopedias to magazines can lead to some amazingly creative works and creating worlds that bring up issues or thoughts some of us may have never even thought of before.

One artist named Sato Masahiro, or Q-TA, uses both digital and analog techniques to create nostalgia based imagery. When in an interview with Revolution 360, the artist says "The reason that the majority of my work has young children is that I would like to show a new way of thinking by offering the audience, children’s view of the world and also placing children in those worlds." Just take a look at some of Q-TA's pieces for example:

  

But lets step back a second, haven't we seen innovative collaging before? Man Ray? John Stezaker? Hannah Höch? 

Man Ray for example was a significant component to the Dada and Surrealism Movements. He considered himself a painter over all but he also dabbled in photography and collage. He uses collage in two different ways (mainly photographic): in camera collaging and photogram collaging, which he appropriately called "Rayographs". Both forms of collaging but approached differently. In the top photo, Observation Time: The Lovers, Man Ray sets up the entire scene in front of the camera and takes a photo. In the other he uses random objects and sets them on top of the emulsion to create the shadows.

Man Ray, Observatory Time: The Lovers, photograph, 1936

Man Ray, Rayograph, 1922, Silver Gelatin Print, © 2011 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Either way collages can be attempted in various formats and mediums. Some artists use it as a way of planning out their creations or simple brainstorming, others use it as their actual medium. Sometimes they are used to create surreal worlds, or they are used to create an aesthetically or even psychologically pleasing work of art. Any way you look at it collaging leads to a very simplistic form of creating. So, you you're ever lacking ideas start a collage and see where it leads you!

Sources/Related Articles:

http://www.anothermag.com/current/view/3318/Top_10_Collage_Artists_Hannah_H%C3%B6ch_to_Man_Ray
http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/sato-masahiro-q-ta-collages?context=tag-art

EVERYONE HAS A DIFFERENT BRUSHSTROKE

I have heard many times that as an artist I was "born with this talent" but growing up I never thought I could draw at all. But if I remember correctly, I pushed myself to learn how to draw and paint; I trained my eye to see colors in all things. It wasn't easy for me, I was a terrible artist and I had to learn to use contrast and push myself to use the proper techniques. That is what got me to where I am today as an artist, not magically having this skill.

For some people I do think that art is simply apart of their blood. It's a talent and a passion they are born with. But I think for every artist there is a challenge to it, no one can get away without some struggle. I may not have been born with the skills but I was born with the passion and the eyes to see things differently.

I have always been jealous of those who can just sit there and draw something beautiful and create it out of thin air. I can't do that, but that doesn't mean I am less of an artist. Every artist is born with that creative passion which drives them to become the artist they are.

Something I had noticed while reading an Art History book is that artists often times really admire other artists' work. Now this isn't in a competition idea but in a kind of... jealous idea. As artists we have skills in a very specific sense; we are either sculptors, painters, designers, draw-ers? and sometimes these skills can overlap. But in a broader sense you never really see painters like Mondrian painting figures or portraits. Everyone is kind of stuck in their certain style of creating. I've had many great cartoonists tell me they'd love to be able to draw realistically but they simply can't.

Maybe just maybe every artist are born with some sort of skill: the skill of a specific style. Whether or not they waste their entire career wishing they were a fantastical Hyper-Realism painter instead of an Impressionist, it doesn't matter because the connection that everyone has with a certain style is special. You just understand why and how it flows better than any other genre and sometimes you may never fully understand why a giant blue shape hanging on the wall is considered art, but you may not just say it aloud...

Overall art is different for everyone, it is a personal growth and experience and no one is alike.  We comprehend things differently, we can have different meanings and opinions, and of course our flow of creating will always be different. So don't waste your time wishing you had the talents of someone else, your talents and passion are unique to you and once you find them and acknowledge them they will grow and develop. Let others inspire you, but don't wish to have what they have.

ARE TEENAGERS THE NEWEST SURREALIST PHOTOGRAPHERS?

Have you been keeping up with what is going on in the art world? Possibly not. Possibly yes. Either way have any of you noticed the new trend of young teenagers becoming famous over their surreal photographs? Maybe it is because they are learning more Photoshop in school than cursive, maybe it's because TV Shows are now a lot more creative and surreal than ever, or maybe the internet is just allowing us to see their success a lot easier.

Two photographers, both 15, have been brought to my attention recently: David Uzochukwu and Zev Hoover. One has an eye for deeply moving and emotion photography and the other has great talents at seeing things as fantasy and surreal. We will start with David Uzochukwu, a Belgium-based photographer who has been taking photographs since he was 10 (so 5 years).

Uzochukwu is able to put a moving story and meaning behind such simple images. He doesn't push things too far and slam you over the head with the meaning, but he does slam you over the head with the emotional reaction you will get from looking at his pieces. He has said "I love to tell stories and to convey certain feelings and emotions in an image. What really intrigues me is that photography—like all other art forms—can be so universal that you can be touched by a picture that someone else has created. Furthermore you can make the images in your head become reality. This amazes me again and again."

 

 Another 15 year old photographer, Zev Hoover attains a different sort of surrealistic photography. Hoover has been taking photographs since he was 8 (so for 7 years) and he is based out of Massachusetts. The fantasy elements of his photos really feel like you are reading a classic fairytale. The soft images are very skillfully edited to seem strangely realistic.

Hoover describes, "What's really cool about shooting my pictures is that it's a totally different world: Kids sitting on acorns; rafts made of popsicle sticks; floating down a stream on a playing card. I like putting my eye near the ground because you see a totally different world when you are thinking from the point of view of something smaller than you."

Both of these talents kids were on Flickr's 20 Under 20 List, which I suggest checking out because of amazingly talented, skilled, and mature these kids are. But don't let it get you down that you weren't a recognized photographer before the age of 20, keep letting your passion for art push you into the life you desire.

David Uzochukwu: http://www.daviduzochukwu.com/

Zev Hoover: https://www.flickr.com/photos/fiddleoak/

Flickr's 20 Under 20: https://www.flickr.com/20under20

BEAUTY IN DESTRUCTION

Recently at the Hirschhorn Museum in Washington D.C. they held an exhibit about destruction. Everything on that level of the museum was extremely obviously about destruction. But, majority of those pieces of art lacked something beautiful.

Yes, the artists were trying to get their point across about the destruction and how drawing it, photographing it, making a sculpture to represent it, creating a video showing the destruction of an object, or even having a performance piece all about destroying something beautiful can be a necessary and beautiful act or even leave a beautiful mess. But something that I have found over and over again that I just clumped into this same pile of beautiful destruction was the actual act of creating something more beautiful by destroying something.

Not sure if everyone who reads this will completely understand but I find a very large difference between the two (well not very large difference, but a difference still). Let me try and give some examples...

Monika Sosnowska, Stairway, metal and PVC handrail, 2010, 222.4 x 98.4 inches

This sculpture by Monika Sosnowska titled "Stairway" might just be a destroyed staircase, but the actual final product of the crumpled up staircase compared to the before of a typical spiral staircase seems so much more aesthetically pleasing and beautiful. In connection to the destruction theme, yes this definitely can apply for both themes especially once reading her statement: "Monika Sosnowska was inspired by an emergency staircase, built in 1971 at ‘The Museum of History of Tel Aviv’, which she discovered during a residency in Israel in 2008. She documented the stairwell with a photograph, just before its deconstruction. This image creates the point of departure for her own fabricated interpretation of the found architectural object by removing it from its original functionality through dismantling, twisting and squeezing the main elements. By changing the stairway’s direction Sosnowska challenges our perception. She captures the site, abstracts and freezes the space and creates an optical illusion leading our gaze upwards the spiral." But, she takes the destruction of this piece even further when she flips it upside down, it's not just a destroyed staircase anymore it's a piece of art.

Ted Basdevant, mixed media, 2014

Another artist that I found on Tumblr was Ted Basdevant. This work really caught my eye for the exact reason I was trying to explain above: this photograph might be a great photograph, but once he added the destruction aspect of the paint/ink it goes beyond just an image and creates a beautiful piece of art. Not only does the entire mood and attitude of the piece change with the destruction aspect but it changes the meaning. It isn't just a girl posing anymore, it's this hidden creature now and we need to start asking more of the "why?" questions. (Which in my opinion is what makes great art, art.)

Interestingly enough we find that photographers gravitate towards destruction more than any other form of artist, maybe because gorgeous photographs of landscapes have already been done (and done well... I mean come on Ansel Adams). Therefore photographers have to find some sort of beautiful twist on the world that can either document something that is now completely apart of our lives or make up their own destroyed version of reality (through either Photoshop or sculpture). One example is Michel Le Belhomme who creates these beautiful sculptures or environments and photographs them. I would post some of his photographs here but they are copyrighted to him so go check out "The Blind Beast" series (http://www.phmuseum.com/michellebelhomme/series/the-blind-beast). Now whether or not he was going for the beautiful destruction theme he nailed it.

As artists we find beauty in everything, so it makes sense when we can look at something that is completely destroyed and still thing there is something cool about it. I want to backtrack a little bit and say that there still is great beauty in looking at something that was once beautiful and now is a broken mess on the ground and yes it does speak widely about us as humans. So in either aspect of literally creating the beautiful from the destroyed or seeing the beauty in something destroyed, I applaud us as artists for finding the silver lining and being in awe of things that most people would run and hide from.

Citations:
Monika Sosnowska - http://www.capitainpetzel.de/exhibitions/stairway/