Arts and Ideas

2005-04-06T00:34:00.000-04:00

2005-04-06T00:33:00.000-04:00

blue room

2005-04-02T12:51:00.000-05:00

The artists couple

2005-04-02T12:41:00.001-05:00

Gates

2005-04-02T12:41:00.000-05:00

The orange gates in NYC

2005-04-02T12:40:00.000-05:00

The gates

The "Gate" opinion

2005-04-02T12:31:00.000-05:00

I checked the f the word Post-Modern, term used do describe the attempt to modify and extend the tradition of MODERNISM in 20th c. architecture with borrowings from the classical tradition, from vernacular building methods and from commercial styles, many of these references are used ironically.The word was first used in an architectural context by Joseph Hudnut in 1949, but given wider circulation by Charles Jencks and his associates and allies from 1975, and much elaborated upon in Jencks’s book, the language of post modern architecture (1997).

Some information about the art “The Gate introduced in the class as an example of Post-Modern art work, surrounded the park with a stone wall, leaving entrances to the park at each interruption in the wall, where a walkway starts, those entrances are called Gates. Many of those gates have names: Mariners Gate; Boys and Girls Gate; Artists Gate; Emigrants Gate; Explorers Gate; Inventors Gate...”

New York artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude to realize their temporary work of art: The Gates, Central Park, New York, 1979-2005.In my personal view, there is no actual date for Post-modernism appear. I want to express some people who are not taking art class, for example, one of my friend, her major is Accounting( completely different), she doesn’t really understand what is the GATE mean and even Post-modernism when I show her the works.

The artwork appears in the gallery, then some art history expert will discuss about that. How about other people in society? Fine Art is something not for most people, is not like applied arts. The terms of art is organized by people and make a name for it then teach in the school. In my friend’s opinion, THE GATE is likely a public architecture and plus modern style. But she doesn’t consider as Post-modern product. What I simply explain to her that is, PM can express as Anti-foundation, like artist destroy the ‘old’ and build up own ‘new’ ideas.

D.I.E.T.

2005-03-17T16:45:00.000-05:00

Describe
Interpret
Evaluate
Theorize

Review of INTRODUCING WITH OTHER EYES: LOOKING AT RACE AND GENDER IN VISUAL CULTURE

2005-03-13T10:20:00.000-05:00

“…we are trying to define a different kind of looking, which takes into
account sometimes incompatible theories of representation,
performance theory, feminist theory, and colonial discourse that are
each contested on their own, and even more controversial when put
together.” Those are the key words form the reading introducing
with Other Eyes.
As I understand this idea after read the article, I want to give a
simple example, in the society; each person has identity, such as
root, family name, gender and different personality. People and
things are always influence each other. It is hard to see something
or someone separately.
Our world also divides different countries, and we are belonging to a
family or community. Normal people can get influence by famous
people. There is a great graphic by ancient Chinese, called Tai Ji. A
black and white ‘fish’, they can be symbolically as men and women,
bad and good, rich and poor, night and morning, east and west(from
nature space to social structure) …. Something opposite but always
move and influence each other and good things can change to bad
things. (In the attachment)
The reading supports this point. In the page 67, the last
paragraph, “…feminist and queer artists/theories were not really fully
compatible with or even an example of postmodern thought even
though many were very influenced by postmodernism.”
Also, for the point ‘opposite’, whether East or West, they are all
have many similarities. There is an example in the reading, page
65, ‘the canon and traditional aesthetics’, very nature dispenses with
hierarchical cultural distinctions, ‘ high versus low, elite versus mass,
modern versus folk, Western versus non-West.’
To be specific in the gender area, female had been treated unequally
between men by historical influence, religion, traditional value, and
political rules. However, the author interpret the same point into
border group of practitioners, which includes gay men and lesbian
women, color, Jewish. Not only women are always seeing by male
gaze, those group people are also challenge the tradition and social
identity.

Background information of some key person in Weimar Republic

2004-12-02T14:50:00.000-05:00

In the Weimar Culture there are serval important people play a key role. There are two people I would like to study their background information.
According Weimar culture books, Alfred Rosenberg was a Nazi ideologist and politician. Born to ethnic German parents in Tallinn, Estonia, he studied architecture at the Riga Technical Institute and engineering at Moscow University; completing his PhD studies in 1917. During the Russian Revolution he supported the counter-revolutionaries and following their failure Rosenberg emigrated to Germany in 1918.

Another person,Brecht (February 10, 1898 - August 14, 1956) was an influential German dramatist, director, and poet of the 20th century. According to the book of Weimar,
theory of theatre has heavily influenced modern theatre although it is believed that the effect of the epic theatre wears off after watching a few plays of this style. Some of his innovations, though, have become so commonly taken on that one hardly remembers the lack of them before him. Although Brecht's work and ideas about theatre are generally thought of as belonging to modernism, there is recent thought that he is the forerunner of contemporary postmodern theatre practice. This is particularly so because he questioned and dissolved many of the accepted practices of theatre (at the time) and created a uniquely political theatre that involved the audience in meaning-making. Moreover, he was one of the first theatre practitioners to incorporate multimedia into the semiotics of theatre.

Weimar---Expressionism

2004-12-02T02:02:00.000-05:00

In the visual arts area, the new form of painting had appeared. In the beginning in 1911 of the Weimar period, German critics generally spoke of ‘ Expressionism’ as an international movement encompassing Post-Impressionism. To specific, those critics understood “German Expressionism” of international movement.

In class, we saw many artists’ works during that period. They are all paintings.For example, artist Oskar Schemmer, “Four figures in space”, One of my favorite paintings. The shape of the body, and the vast and empty face impressed me.

It seems those people are not real but they exist around the us. What are they? What are these guys doing here? I guess there is some reason that artist draw those factual people. There is a big comparison. Another example, Ludwig Gies’ “Christ” also is a typical expressionism art works.

weimar cinema VS modern artist Mike Hoolboom's short movies

2004-11-30T13:39:00.000-05:00

The main of the Weimar cinemas are black and white and with no sound. The art still reflect the political or social structure. For example, the film called, Rogge in Metropolis by Alfred Abel and Rudolf Klein. It describes the highly industrials in that period. Workers work for basic living and they control by big capitalists. The art feeling is not personal experience or narrow-mind. The artists are more focus on the whole society, such as the economic system of Germany, the gender perspective, and the modern theory. I think it dependents the society.

Nowadays, in peaceful North American, fully developed countries, most artists are likely to do their own interests more than political issues. The recent show is an artist names is Mike Hoolboom in Art Gallery of York University which I volunteer at there. Mike's idea is focus on human living. The image world of film is a world we already share. Not merely entertainment, movies are patterns we grow into, but more than just as role models. Mike Hoolboom derives his films from a montage of images drawn from Hollywood film, found footage, and home movies. He pillages others' products to produce streams of images stripped from their original narratives, but when the images are put back together according to another logic they now flow like a dream. In Hoolboom's hands, film becomes an aqueous world shot through with light as if it was an embryonic fluid in which a form of consciousness comes to birth.

The political and social strcture influence art works

2004-11-18T01:00:00.000-05:00

In the post-Weimar Culture, during 1933-1939, the main focal point should be between art and social concept. The capitalist control labors' life. Workers work in the unsatisfactory working environment. The big capitalist in the top of society to make unfair use of low class labors. In our lecture, the black and white film also indicates that.
I notice that the same culture phenomenon happens in Asian art, too. For example, in mainland China, (which I come from) the film production after the republic of Chinese government had build. The media became a political tool. Not only film, such as book, radio, visual arts, music and drama. Those fine arts area were totally controlled by government. Artists don't have enough freedom to perform own artistic idea. All the art work has to worship to Mao zhe dong, the first leader of P.R.C. government. As I know, painters are not allowed to draw naked women. Therefore, the same situation happens in Weimar republic. Art works sometimes control by political and social structure. Therefore, the artists and their works in that period cannot evaluate as pure inspiration's products.

Photomontage--a creative principle

2004-11-16T02:03:00.000-05:00

In the early 20 century, Berlin Dada, students in Germany watched a U.S. movie. Then they shot different parts, such as part A, B. And make the order of the shot. They put part A. connects with part C. If the creation doesn’t make sense, then change the order again. That is the key idea of put different material together. The reaction of the photomontage work can be how film communicates to audience.
In a broader way, it can imply to several of fine arts area, especially visual arts. The psychological perception of audience is depends on what artist put different art pieces in which way. Photomontage is a very effective principle of film technique. For example, to apply our contemporary culture, Dr. Wickens showed us an opening part of popular tele-play, Sex and City, in few weeks ago. From the New York’s modern building moves to the show’s leading lady, the shots tell the audience the place and time. On the other hand, actors even don't need to say a word, the image; the photomontage can tell the audience that what it is about or as an unknown hand that guide audience's psychological perception.

German phrase and study of Bauhaus

2004-11-09T16:03:00.000-05:00

Basic on the week 7's context and lecture, German Language that we learned from Dr. Wickens. That is NEUE SACHLICHKEIT, new objectivity. There is not only a German phrase. The history of that period is also my main interest. There are three stages of the Bauhaus. 1. 1918-1924, revoluation& polictical period. 2. 1924-1929 a kind of good time period. 3.1929-1933 polictical violence came again period. And there are some important artist in that period, such as Hannah Hoch.

And these are basic information of Bauhaus, an art school founded in
1919 by Walter Gropius at Weimar, Germany,
and later moved to Dessau, Berlin,
and Chicago. It develops a functional architecture
based on a correlation between creative design
and modern industry and science.

The principle of design:From Bauhuas' three colour shapes and William Morris' late medieval influences pattern

2004-11-04T21:58:00.001-05:00

Weimar Republic constituted a distinctive cultural period. The Bauhaus' an art school perform an important part of Weimar culture. In one of the reading, Easel painting, architecture and 'Gesamtkunstwerk', it is interesting that one point of William Morris' work (1896 and 1871) and compare with Bauhaus' three basic shapes studying. Bauhaus' three shapes are the basic pattern constitution. And there are some similarities between them.
One of Bauhaus' creation or typical object, is a red square, a blue circle and a yellow triangle. That is a small part of Bauhaus' huge system, however, these three shapes appear to different fine arts domain. For example, Dr. Wichken showed some pictures and theater clothes by using this concern. In the beginning of the photograph selection show, a female clown's clothes decorate with many circles. The small circles are in the middle and little bigger circles around the small one. One of the male clowns is wearing a hat. His arm is totally a triangle shape. His leg is a circle shape. The feature of those works is bright, surprising and exaggerated display. Another example, in the assigned reading, Easel Pinting, Architecture and 'Gesamtkunstwerk', there is one of the artists, William Morris, who is John Ruskin's student. Morris was a talent artist who presents Ruskin's ideas into real pattern with great success.
In the page 81, there are two his works. In this square picture, there is a big letter "L". It starts from the left top and end at the button. And many triangle shape leaves around the "L", the leaves surround it as a half circle shape. In the half circle, there are many flowers with stem and branches. Each flowers' shape include four similar size circle surround a smaller circle in the middle. The image is black and white.
The contrast between those two different works but they are using same idea. The same idea can be use in theater clothes designs and patterns. To apply to own artistic experience, those principles are the main structure of my painting. And it gives me some inspiration, too.

2004-11-04T21:13:00.000-05:00

three shapes
Posted by Hello