Spring 2012 Quarter

Art History II

In this class we had a project due at the end of the week where we had to produce art as part of the historical study.  You had to take inspiration from an artist or art style that was presented that week in the reading.  I took this class online so it was presented in a condensed format of 5.5 weeks.  So there were only four artworks produced.

 

Project 1:  Work inspired by Monet

Monet’s work really captured my attention this week, so I rendered a painting mindful of the Impressionists use of sketchy brush strokes and lighting effects.  These same aspects of Impressionism guided my choice of artwork, as it’s a way of making art in which I have the least experience.  I was amazed at the lengths Monet gave the study of local color.  I painted this outside just before sunset.  The medium is acrylic paint on canvas.  The process really emphasized the time constraints Impressionists worked in as lighting changes fairly quickly and then your reference material looks completely different.  In trying to capture the moment, I did get a better understanding of the sketchy nature of the style.

 Project 2:  Work inspired by Symbolism

Symbolism, specifically the work of Gustave Moreau inspired my studio assignment this week.  Symbolism appeals to me largely due to the theme of presenting mythological and fantasy type settings.  The style is part idealized form, legendary story and dreamscape all smashed up into one work.

  

For this work I chose the myth of Apollo and Hyacinthus.  The story is of Apollo and prince Hyacinthus falling in love and living happily in each other’s company.  The god of the west wind, Zephyrus, had also fallen for Hyacinthus and was scorned when the prince chose Apollo.  While Apollo and Hyacinthus played at discus throwing one day, Hyacinthus decide to run and catch the discus to impress his lover, but the bitter Zephyrus blew Apollo’s discus off course and it struck and killed Hyacinthus.  Apollo tried to stop the bleeding but he could not save his life.  Apollo in his grief refused to let Hades take the prince and instead created a flower from his blood after his namesake.  

 

 

 The medium of choice for this is vine charcoal on drawing paper.  I also used a small amount of compressed for the shadows under the figures.  I chose to use charcoal as I feel it has that hazy dream-like quality.  I took inspiration from various paintings for the posing and did a 2-up reproduction of sorts to merge the inspiration into on composition.  Hyacinthus was copied from the pose in The death of Abel (1791) by Francois-Xavier Fabre.  I used the Parthenon as reference for the temple in the background and opted for the broken depiction of the temple to echo the lack of power Apollo had as a divine entity to bring Hyacinthus back to life.  I made the sky darker to denote Apollo’s sadness since he’s associated with the sun.

 Work 3:  Inspired by Futurism

Futurism, specifically the work of Giacomo Balla inspired my studio assignment this week.  Futurism was the most appealing topic to me as it was extremely motion driven art before the advent of motion pictures and traditional animation.  Balla’s paintings, from Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash (1912, Oil on canvas) to his presentation of the Futurists ideal concept of beauty in movement of the automobile, he captured motion and light in ways that are more true to art than the marvels of modern movies.  To me his work is animation at its finer form.
 For this work I chose to experiment in photography.  I took photos of my hand in front of a door while waiving.  I like the play of shadows and after image and count the repetition of the fingers as a modern attempt at Futurism.  I had originally thought a more blurred open aperture would have been more appropriate but ultimately decided the repeating imagery was more in line with the art style.

Work 4:  Inspired by Abstraction (Photography and Georgia O'Keeffe)

The inspiration for my studio work this week comes from a combination of  the paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe and the photography of Edward Weston.  The abstract close-up both artists used really resonated with me in the use of a simplified portion of something to make a larger artistic statement.  I started with a close up photo of an action figure on the shelf in my art room/office at home, then cropped it in a little closer and applied a dry brush filter to give it a painted look.  The angled lines create a nice sense of motion and the close-up is at a degree that I think you don’t really notice what the subject matter is and instead can appreciate the artistry of the abstract design it creates with the form and the shadow on the wall behind it.