Video Review

Well first and foremost I think this is the most interesting and fun video that I have viewed for the entire semester.  The art in this video was just fun and I’m not sure if it relates to my project but I would like to incorporate the fun manner in which the art is displayed into my project.  The artists seam fun and that they are having a great time creating these pieces.  For a younger guy what could be better than naked girls, cars and sports that are in most of these works?  The main thing I learned was just the overview of the west coast pop art style of art I have never saw or heard of it before.  It reminds me a lot of like a family guy comedy art works.  My curation project is going to be a natural outdoors themed project and is really unrelated to this style of art.

The first thing I learned is that Tate is a modern well known art gallery that millions visit on a yearly basis.  It’s located in London and is the most visited art gallery in the world.  The Tate museum has had many well-known art exhibits displayed which is why it is so well known.  They have a unique way to display their pieces that captivates the visitor in with the art.  This relates to my project because I would like to display the pieces in my project much like the pieces displayed at the Tate Museum. This video was not as fun as the first one but it did convey a lot of good information.  They made me realize that the way that art is displayed can influence what the viewer sees in the art.

This video was about native American archaeology.  There are a unknown number of historical ancient Indians archaeological sites across the united states.  Uncovering these sites is like looking into the culture of the people from that time.  The uncovering reveals how these people lived their everyday lives, their religions, and how much they appreciated arts. These sacred grounds are dug up and persevered and displayed in museums.  The outdoor atmosphere and hunting culture of the Indians relates to the theme of my curation project.  This video was interesting but lengthy and boring but it did relate and reinforce concepts.

Prior to viewing the last video I had some preexisting knowledge from American history and the impact George Eastman had on America.  I believe he made a camera that the working class family could afford to purchase and take pictures with.  The George Eastman house is a museum that was created to display photographer’s works.  It is sort of like an art museum just with photos instead of paintings.  George Eastman founded Kodak and founded a art form and created a way to remember things and much of the history from that point forward has been displayed with photos.  This video for some reason kept cutting out on my computer and it was a shame because I enjoyed watching this video.  It could be that the video was more like a history lesson which I enjoy but it was a very interesting film. It relates to my project because perhaps I will display a photo as a part of my project.

Art Gallery #2

The title of the exhibit that I viewed was called Sonia Delaunay.  The theme of the exhibition that I viewed was displaying works and pieces from the artist Sonia Delaunay.

The lighting in the room housing this exhibit was really nothing out of the ordinary.  There were recessed lights in the ceiling pointing where all the works were displayed.  The room was not lit in any special way particular to the display of works. The colors of the walls were painting a no “frills” white paint. The area that the display was set up was your standard room there was not really any extraordinary objects or features of the room.  The galleria that displayed these work was set up to take the viewer around the room to view the works. 

The works were organized in a medium sized room and were displayed on the walls of the room. This room was exclusively housing the Sonia Delaunay exhibit.  There was quote that were displayed above the photos.  The art was similar in color and how it was all abstract and similar shapes and figure were displayed in the works. The works were all oil on canvas paintings and framed the same way.  The works were different in that they had different patterns and way that things in the works were displayed.  The artworks were displayed in frames with labels next or near by the works.  The pieces were fairly close to each other and some were displayed by their selves and other was displayed in patterns like the group that I have pictured.

What did you think of visiting the Gallery and purposefully looking at the exhibition from a different perspective - the physical space, the architecture, theme, etc?

I think the Albright Knox art galleria wanted to pay special tribute to this incredibly well rounded artist.  His work is so similar but unique at the same time.  No two pieces are alike but no two pieces are really different.  The artist leaves the viewer with a sort of mysterious feeling.  I think the works that were displayed sort of set a tone for the room and the gallery really did not have to alter the setting in which the works are.  The works give enough of a different setting and feeling in the room just by being on the wall.  I enjoyed viewing this display and it leaves me with some questions for the gallery and the artist. 

Video Review

The first video I watched was titled Matisse and Picasso.  I choose to view this video because after viewing a lot of works done by Picasso in the art gallery recently I decided that I would like to learn more about him and his works. Picasso is a legend in the art world his works were all over the art gallery. I learned that his works are very popular and his works have more meaning than originally.  A lot of his paintings are driven around female and female mystery. Matisse was also a painter of women and he was very good at it.  I really didn’t learn much from this video is drawn out and really did not get to any specific point.  The video did not really relate to the text book. I did not enjoy viewing this particular video it was dry and boring. 

The second video I watched was The Impact of Cubism. I wanted to view this video because I read about it this past week and I wanted to learn more about it.  Cubism really was not that long ago it was primarily created about one hundred years ago. While reading the book I learned that it was a different way to represent space in works of art primarily through different colors.  This cubism theme and period really revolutionized the art world.  Cubism really was a period when controversial forms of art first began to be displayed and created.  Nude began to be more well-known and looked at and created.  The video relates and expands on the textbook teachings.  I enjoyed viewing this video a lot more than the first video it flowed better and was more on my level. 

The third video I watched was Dance at the Moulin de la Galette.  I do not know anything about the title of the video and did not recognize it at all so I figured I would view the film.  Moulin de la Galette was a dance hall that was in France and also the title of a painting that sold for record breaking amount.  I learned and was fascinated about why this work was so popular.  The piece depicts a dance floor in which the artist attended on every Sunday.  This video was more of a history of France and I enjoyed viewing this video the most so far.  I enjoy when the video is not all about just art and it gives you a complete overview of the certain culture and theme of the time when the work was created. I don’t know remember reading about this video in the text so it does not relate.  I enjoyed the video and I learned a lot from its simple setting and explanations.

The final video I watched was Expressionism. I remember reading about this in the book so I figured that I would watch the video and refresh and reinforce what I read.  Expressionist wanted to make the work seem like it was alive. The artists gave life like qualities to the pieces that they created and put emotion and feeling qualities to their works.  This probably is the most important type of art because it is everywhere in our world today from bill boards to advertisements on cereal boxes.  This video relates well with the text and I enjoyed viewing this video and did not mind watching it.

Mask

The first inspirational photo I choose to include was antlers.  I enjoy hunting with friends and family member.  Antlers represents the time that I enjoy relaxing in the woods. Another thing that inspires me is boating in the summer time.  It is so nice to work all week and go out on the water during the weekend.  Parking a boat at Grass Island and hanging out with friends all day is so enjoyable.  The third inspirational photo that I included in my mask is the Stanley Cup, as we know we live in Buffalo and we are in the race for the Stanley cup. The quest for the cup is one of the best times to live in Buffalo Go Sabres!!!!  I used the elements of art in my mask with line and patterns in the striping that is vertically displayed.  The abstractness of my mask may make people wonder what I was thinking when I was creating this work of art.  The wheels of the truck are positioned where eyes would go the Stanley cup is where the nose would go and the boat is where the human mouth would go.  I think my masterpiece.  I honestly think the mask project was fun and it opened my art senses.  I’m not good at art or really have any interest in it but this project was enjoyable.    

Video Review

The first video I choose to watch was African Art.  I choose this video because I wanted to learn what separates African Art from other forms of art in the art world.  In this video I learned that much of African art was influenced heavily by Egypt.  Much of early African art was done by bushman that mostly portrayed animals.  I also learned that much like Egypt had their pyramids Africa had some elaborate fortresses for their leaders.  The last thing that I learned was what perceptual and conceptual art.  Much of African art involves statues that have religious ties and are the foundation to many governments and tribes in Africa.  Most of the African art comes from conceptual art which means that the artist uses more of their imagination when creating the piece. The video relates to the concepts that are explained in the video like conceptual and perceptual but the video goes into more detail and has many more visual examples of African art than the text book.  I enjoyed viewing this video it was shorter and gave a basic overview of African art and why it is different and separated in the art world.

The second video that I viewed was African Art: Legacy of Oppression and I choose to watch this video because I enjoyed watching the other video on African Art and was interested in learning more about the topic.  I learned that African Art is very symbolic.  For example there was a piece depicting a tribe chief with a large ax like object coming from his mouth.  This means that the chief has the biggest word and say. Another example was the mothers physical features were itemized and focused on.  This video went into the history of how these people of Africa were treated and how there was forced labor and slaves.  Some masks created in Africa were to protect and intimate opponents in battle.  Much of the art in the video was sort of modern and was not that long ago much in the 19^th century.   The book did not really explain the symbolism that most of the art from this era was possessing.  Also the book does not go into the history that is behind some of the art like the slavery.  This video was a good one is was nice and short and gave a brief basic understanding of some of the meaning behind African art.

 The reason I choose my third video is that I read about Buddhism in the book and I wanted to get a visual about Buddhism and the art that it involves.  I have the basis on Buddhism as a religion and I want to learn more about the art related to it. In this video I learned how important art is to Buddhism followers.  The shrines these people worship are art enough let alone the sculptures and structures the followers have.  The video follows the text in convey the same concepts.  The difference here is that the video goes into greater depth and understanding of the topic of Buddhism Art.  The video was a good reinforcement and I thought it was interesting and retained my attention.

The final video that I viewed was Islamic Art: Africa and Central Asia.  I choose to view this video because it also peeked my interest of how it was influenced while reading about it in the text book.  I learned that in Islamic art that it is highly regulated by the Islamic Religion and most of the art in this venue has to do with religion and religious ideas.  The Islamic art is really unique and different compared to other style of art.  The topics covered in this video pretty much go right along with the teachings that the book has to offer.  The only difference is like the other videos viewed, is that the videos go into greater detail than the book did.  I enjoyed this videos and viewing all of the videos I felt that I learn better from watching videos over reading a book.