Impressionist art-Steve Chu
Impressionist art is said to have begun in Paris in 1874 when a group of artists who called themselves “The Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors, Printmakers, etc.” organized an exhibition with their artwork that would define this new movement. The style was coined by means of a critique of a painting by Claude Monet, Impression, Sunset. The critic insulted it, accusing it of being more like a sketch or impression, rather than a painting. Impressionist art was considered radical because it broke so many of the established “rules” of painting such as using short, broken brushstrokes, meant to depict the “essence” of forms, rather than focus on details. They chose not to mix colors often, never used black, and put emphasis on the effect of natural light. Outside life was a popular subject for impressionist artists, which included, besises Monet, Cezanne, Degas, and Pisarro.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/imml/hd_imml.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impressionism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Claude_Monet,_Impression,_soleil_levant,_1872.jpg
Mikaela Murph-Primitive Art
Primitive art is a term used to describe the sculptures and paintings of people living in tribal societies or underdeveloped parts of the world. Primitive structures are created to engage with the spirit world and therefore do not follow the rules of perspective and realism (i.e. size and proportions). Often in tribal communities, ancestors and supernatural powers were believed to influence the well-being of the living. Primitive art reflected the interest of the group because the artist was asked to appease supernatural powers, glorify the living, and commemorate the dead.
This example of primitive art from the Louvre is a Taiwanese totem pole made out of wood but has the appearance of copper.
Fraser, Douglas. Primitive Art. Doubleday. 1962. Online: http://www.questia.com/read/99344705?title=Primitive%20Art
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab19
Gabriel Deards: Gothic Art.
The Gothic movement arose out of France around the 13th century, but quickly spread across most of Europe. Being a product of the middle ages, Gothic art was centered around Christian imagery, and is most commonly associated with European cathedrals, being the main religious and artistic outlet of the period. The Gothic movement is attributed with advancing the fields of architecture and other artistic mediums, breaking away from the more classically styled Romanesque architecture and style, but despite this it has been historically looked down upon. The name “Gothic” itself, is quite derisive, linking the art style with the Goths, a tribe that fought and eventually destroyed the Roman empire. The comparison was made by Renaissance writers who valued classically styled art over any later innovation, and Gothic art was seen quite critically until fairly recently. Today however, the Gothic movement is seen in a more positive light as an artistic period filled with great innovation, combining scientific advancement with artistic development, even though the term “Gothic” still remains attached to the art itself.
Example of Gothic achetecture: http://faculty.cua.edu/Pennington/Religion402/Architecture/PlanGothicChurch.htm
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/239728/Gothic-art
http://wwar.com/masters/movements/gothic.html
Arielle Algarin: Byzantine Art
Byzantine Art generally describes art from the Byzantine Empire and the period of the fourth century until the fall of Constantinople in 1453. The focus of most Byzantine Art is on human figures, specifically those of the Christian faith, and the people in power such as the Byzantine Emperor. This new form of art no longer concentrated on “solid works”, such as the sculptures popular in earlier periods, but more on paintings and architecture. This departure from the Roman and Hellenistic style is thought to be in an effort to emphasize the spirituality of Christianity and its figures. Also, rather than form, importance was placed on color and lines and individual features were ignored for one standard visage. The typical background for art from the Byzantine period was that of gold, often embellished with precious stones and jewels. The center of attention in almost all Byzantine Art, the human figure is either depicted as facing forward (most common) or turned in supposed action, but always with the hands raised in a form of blessing. In general, Byzantine Art was a great departure from the classics; for the first time, paintings were the favored form of expression and religion was almost the sole focus.
[1] Byzantine Art: An Introduction, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/Byzantium/art.html
[2] Byzantine Art, Encyclopedia Britannica.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/87136/Byzantine-art
[3] Rome in the East: The Art of Byzantium (artwork)
www.accd.edu/…/arthistory/arts1303/ECBYZ3.htm
Minimal Art - Joel Kaplan
“…without illusion, allusion, delusion” - Ad Reinhardt
The art movement known as minimal art, or minimalism, began in New York in the 1960s. Minimalism was a reaction to abstract expressionism, an art movement that emphasized spontaneous creativity as a way to channel the subconscious mind. Abstract expressionists include Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Willem De Kooning. Minimal art attempted to define the creation of the artist as an object without cultural connotation and simply as something beautiful and well made; most objects tend to have precise dimensions and are often manufactured and merely designed by an artist. Representation and allusion to history or prior art was rejected in favor of using a minimal amount of detail. Many Minimalist art pieces were created by teams of workers using machines, a strong rebuttal to art tradition. Minimalist art seems to echo Marshall McLuhan’s famous aphorism ‘the medium is the message’ with its emphasis on the presentation of a work of art. A seminal event in the history of Minimal art was the 1966 exhibition ‘Primary Structures: Younger American and British Sculpture’ held at the Jewish Museum in New York. Major artists associated with Minimalism include Martin Creed, Carl Andre, Donald Judd, and Frank Stella.
http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/m/minimalism.html
The Shock of the New By Robert Hughes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%22Primary_Structures%22
“Art of the Baroque Era” -Jacqueline Leon
Baroque art came about during the seventeenth century in Rome where the Catholic Church became a strong supporter of art. Many of the artwork from the baroque era went against another form of art called Mannerism of the later sixteenth century. Mannerism, unlike the Baroque art, had its emphasis on more scientific figures and did not put any importance into the church. The below link under images shows that Many religious figures were incorporated into the artwork of the baroque era because the church supported as well as influenced the baroque style and condemned everything else involving science rather than religion. The artwork of the baroque era was very simplistic. Since this type of artwork began, it was a way to try to fight off the Protestant reformation and any other Protestant influence. The artwork of the time had a lot of dramatic figures and portrayed a variety of emotions. Mostly all of the artwork of the baroque era conveyed dramatic or religious scenes and figures. some Baroque artists included Vermeer, Barocci and Maderno amongst many others.
Image:
http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/BRGPOD/51847~Baptism-of-Christ-Posters.jpg
Sources:
-<http://www.artcyclopedia.com/history/baroque.html>
SULLIVAN EDWARD J. “BAROQUE ART AND ARCHITECTURE”. Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. 2002
<http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=funk&AN=BA032100&site=ehost-live >.
Mannerism Art - Diana Duque
The term “mannerism” came from the Italian word “maniera,” meaning style. The mannerism period lasted from 1520 to 1600 and depicted the human form in exaggerated poses, in unrealistic settings. Mannerism rejected the Renaissance period in favor of a more emotional approach to art.. Most Mannerism paintings included artificial colors, unrealistic proportions, off beat perspective, complex composition and elongated figures. The movement first appeared in Florence and Rome and by conveying the tension in Europe in the 1500’s it gained popularity in northern Italy and central and northern Europe.
<img src=”http://www.arthistoryguide.com/images/96.jpg”>
Cold Art - Ilirjan Gjonbalaj
There is a lot of mathematics involved in Cold Art. Specifically, there are a lot of geometric patterns and shapes involved. This surprised me because I thought there was little to no connection between art and mathematics before I did my research. However, Max Bill stated in his essay “The mathematical approach in contemporary art” that we shouldn’t think of art and mathematics as two completely different disciplines. In fact, he had this broad vision of art in which every type of art had something to do with mathematics because mathematics “is also intrinsically a science of the relationship of object to object, group to group and movement to movement.” Anyway, Cold Art is the English translation of “Kalte Kunst”, the original German phrase and has been in use since the 1950s. It is a form of art in which all the dynamics used are backed up by mathematical (mostly geometric) principles and laws. This idea is clearly shown in the artwork I’ve included above by Richard Paul Lohse, the most commonly referenced name when discussing Cold Art. It shows the actual product, but more importantly it shows the mathematical thinking behind the finished product. From all the readings I’ve done, discussions on Cold Art seem to be very broad and generic and there are a lot of disputes over giving these pieces of work the title of “art” (as usual). But, to sum it up, in order for a piece of art to be called Cold Art I think there just needs to be a mathematical backbone from the beginning in order to explain all aspects of the artwork.
Sources
“Cold art [Ger. Kalte Kunst].” Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. <http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/t018527?q=cold+art&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit>.
Maldonado, Tomas. Max Bill. Argentina: Nueva Vision S.R.L., 1955. (Max Bill’s essay, “The mathematical approach in contemporary art” is included in this book.)
Richard Paul Lohse: Drawings 1935-1985. New York, NY: Rizzoli International Publications, inc., 1986. (This is where I received the picture of the artwork)
Rococo Art - Michael Elka
Rococo Art: A Brief Overview
Rococo Sculpture, “Cupid,” by Edme Bouchardon
-This piece is Rococo in that it makes more whimsical and playful older, more statuesque, and masculine interpretations of Cupid, replacing the monumental god with a more boyish character, and the sword with arrows.
Note the embellishments at the top of each pillar: asymmetrical, nature-inspired, highly refined curves. (Typical of the Rococo Style)
Rococo refers to the artistic style of 18th century French artwork, most often viewable in the form of interior design. When one uses the word “rococo,” it usually refers to an entirely furnished and decorated room rather than a single artistic piece. First a decorative art for the purposes of interior design, rococo is delicate and vivacious and consists highly of patterns and curves, a step away from intense and rich Baroque design. (Rococo developed easily because it was very easy to renovate and simplify existing Parisian Baroque interiors)Rococo appears Baroque at first glance, in that patterns are intricate and complex, but by the time the French court moved away from Versailles, Rococo began to incorporate more natural curves as well as Oriental design and a move away from perfect symmetry (this unbalanced effect, caused by the subtraction of design elements, is called contraste). By the 1730s, rococo was at its height in France, and it quickly spread throughout Catholic Bohemia and northern Italy. Rococo stared to fall out of vogue in the 1760s due to the influence of figures such as Voltaire, who criticized the art as superficial, and was replaced largely by Neoclassical art.
Applied Rococo:
Rococo interior design is highly ornamental, utilizing flaming, leafing, and textures similar to shells. Rococo design is made to look vivacious, whimsical and curious, and utilizes wood and stucco extensively. In a room decorated in this style, furniture, wall space, the ceiling, and decorative objects were all Rococo.
Rococo decorative objects were highly popular because they featured the style on a small scale, making it easier to appreciate intricate designs. In keeping with the rococo theme, furniture was lighthearted in that it was freestanding and mobile. Masks, paintings, clocks, candle sconces, and mirrors also took on the gently curving, asymmetrical rococo style.
Rococo sculpture tended to stray away from imposing marble, sticking rather to whimsical porcelain. Sculptures tended to reflect themes of love and nature, and still kept to whimsical, asymmetrical form.
Rococo, although decorative, eventually made its way into painting. Keeping with the whimsical, lighthearted theme, rococo paintings used delicate curves and colors. Love was a strong theme in Rococo painting, just as it was in rococo sculpture, and images such as cherubs. Rococo paintings also show a slight naughtiness in the subjects, another deviation from the pious traditions of the Baroque.
Rococo music, typically referred to as the Galante Style, between Baroque and Classical, developed largely from Baroque music. Galante music is highly intimate and whimsical, with very refined flourishes and decoration.
Rococo Artists—By category…
Interior Design/Furniture/Decorative Objects: Nicolas Pineau, Charles Cressent Antoine Gandreau, James Gibbs, Thomas Chippendale
Painting: Jean-Antoine Watteau, William Hogarth
Sculpture: Etienne-Maurice Falconet, Michel Clodion, Edme Bouchardon.
Music: Jean Philippe Rameau
Jin Woo Chung and Neo-Classical Art
Stressing harmony, simplicity, and proportion, Neo-Classical art was the answer to 18th century Europeans who craved all things ancient Greek and Roman as it contained many images and symbols from that era. Coinciding to this was the Enlightenment, and its ideals of reason, science, and precision reinforced Neo-Classical techniques of creating realistic and symmetrical paintings. It was a backlash to the over stylized, dramatic Baroque art and the flurry, playful Roccoco art. Neo Classical art hearkened to the cold, rational side of Enlightenment and Classical influenced Europeans and Americans as it was unemotional but precise and aesthetically realistic. It is this art form that gives rise to Romantic art in the 19th century.
An example of this art piece can be found here: http://www.artunframed.com/images/artmis6/drouais88.jpg
It is a NeoClassical painting by Jean-Germain Drouais and shows the ancient Greek and Roman influences while being realistic and proportionate as according to Classical and Enlightenment ideals.
Sources:
Gontar, Cybele. “Neoclassicism”. In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/neoc_1/hd_neoc_1.htm (October 2003)
“Neoclassic Art.” Artcyclopedia. 17 Sept. 2008 <http://www.artcyclopedia.com/history/neoclassicism.html>.
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Cultural Map
"The Original Topography of Manhattan Island from the Battery to 155th Street" From Report on the Social Statistics of Cities, Compiled by George E. Waring, Jr., United States. Census Office, Part I, 1886. (Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection, University of Texas-Austin)
