Art History Blog 411

 This week, we discussed Freud and how his ideas translate over to visual arts, specifically-film. Through out the years, the typical viewer for films and media has been men. Recently however, the number of women in the US has risen above men, so directors and film makers have had to adjust their output accordingly. This combined with the changes in what is socially acceptable, have made films more appealing for everyone. One example of how things have changed through the years is seen in the Star Wars films. Leia starts as an object for the young men to desire and want, but quickly becomes a character that can hold their own. This character, eventually being revealed to be the main characters sister, certainly makes an interesting complex when looked at through the lens of the castration complex. The castration complex is an idea proposed by Freud, that the male will have his penis removed by the father as a result of sexual interest in the mother. The castration complex when addr...

This week, we looked into the evolution and future of women artists. What once was a nearly impossible field for women to be considered serious artists, became a place where women were welcomed and accepted. Luo Li Rong Éclosion, 2019 One of my favorite female artists is Luo Li Rong. She is a Chinese artist who creates gorgeous sculptures made of bronze and has even been featured n the 2008 Olympics(Luo Li Rong: Buy Original Art Online). I chose to feature her art here, not only due to her unique inspiration from renaissance artists, but because many of her pieces are mistaken for a mans work. This is namely due to their inspiration from renaissance artists and the large scale of these pieces. Many of her art works are life sized models of women and it surprises people to learn that the work was created by a woman. The artwork is very serene and graceful, with the poses the women make being very bold, assertive, or free. Many of the sculptures also look like they are covered in cloth, ...

This week, we read Linda Nochlins "Why are there no great women artists?". In her paper she describes the roles women have played in art and, well, why there were no great women artists. One of the main reasons women artists were not as prominent, was due to men's education. Even male children were likelier to receive an education compared to women. "Michelangelo  himself,  according  to  his biographer and pupil, Vasari,  did more drawing than studying  as  a  child;  Picasso  passed  all  the  examinations  for 8 ART AND SEXUAL POLITICS entrance  to  the  Barcelona  Academy  of  Art  in  a  single  day when  only  fifteen." Women could be educated in art, provided their family was very well of enough to afford their private education, though this was not as common as men. Another reason women were not taken seriously in the art world was due to their s...

 One of the best examples of kitsch is the classic image of Rosie the Riveter. Used during World War 2 to encourage women to join the war efforts, this piece matches Greenbergs label of kitsch, a piece of art designed to control the masses, created by the bourgeoisie.   U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. (2008). Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park : general management plan/environmental assessment. [Washington, D.C.] :U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service   In this very example, we can see how kitsch has changed over time. During world war 2, these posters created an icon for women empowerment and were very inclusive. This poster furthered many other kitsch inclusive pieces in modern media, such as ads featuring women of color in military uniforms to encourage women to join the army. However, unlike Rosie, these don't have any words directly stating that women are empowered. After the war, it was assumed...

 This week, we read Clement Greenbergs, “Avant Garde and Kitsch,” from 1939. In it, Greenberg discusses that kitsch is accidental art and that the government uses to control people. I think this is true, if one lives in an extreme. For example, living in a state of constant propaganda created by a political party, such as the time Greenberg was living through in the stages of Stalin and Hitler. The average person consuming media can typically recognize overt propaganda and kitsch itself can be against that very propaganda. For example, Star Wars, despite the name, is very anti-war and describes the dangers of living in a Republic, where choices are made by a small group of people who have all the power and never doubt themselves. This is exactly why it is extremely unlikely kitsch audience is the general mass or that they could be manipulated through modern kitsch, if it is to be described as "accidental". Kitsch is more akin to misunderstood as opposed to accidental. While t...

 In the article  "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" by Walter Benjamin, the text describes art as something that has to potential to carry an aura, that cannot translate into other mediums. The best example of an aura that cannot be appreciated in reproduced, is video games. Sure the art looks incredible, yet what about when it moves or the finer pieces of the puzzle such as how the game plays and functions? Many may cite the 3D models as examples of how art cannot be view from a photo, but in the case of a video game, it goes much deeper than that. For example, the following image was taken from the game Okami, specifically the PS3 release in 2012 (2012), Okami, (Version 2), PS3 The image on its own imitates the sumi art often found in Japan. Though the art itself is pleasing to look at, one only gets a small piece of the picture as the games focus is on creating art. Drawing using the controller isn't an aspect you could get from looking at an image...

van Gogh, Vincent . The Starry Night. 1889, oil on canvas, Museum of Modern Art, New York. Reading "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" has really opened my eyes to how mechanical reproduction has impacted the art industry. To quote Walter Benjamin, "The uniqueness of a work of art is inseparable from its being embedded in the fabric of tradition" Arts traditions give the art its value, as it is the culmination of decades of experimentation and passing down methods. Not only this, but certain charms and imperfections of the original are lost in a reprint. A great example of this are pieces that use impasto, such as Vincent van Goghs "Starry Night". Impasto is a technique that uses thick brush strokes, whose depth can be seen throughout the piece, Yet in many reprints of impasto pieces, the quality that made them more visually dynamic is lost. All of the small imperfections and techniques used to make the original give it an "aurora...

 Museums have a difficult role in society. They have to provide information to a wide variety of people, including disabled, less educated, and even people that speak different languages. While some museums have made strides towards improving on these factors, it seems overall there are areas that could be improved. For example, museums have to make information available to those with less educational backgrounds than the people who discovered the information. This means the researchers have to either remove more complicated pieces of information or put the research into simpler terms, which can lead to people taking museum information out of context. For my research proposal, I'm interested to see how museums decide how to best represent information for people with less education. Do museums provide enough context with the rest of the exhibit? Does the added context for the museum matter, or will people take things out of context regardless? And does the context removed depend on ...

  One of my favorite pieces of symbolic and political pieces is the "Massacre in Korea" by Picasso. In fact, several of Picassos pieces focused on politics, as he himself went though a civil war in France. Pablo Picasso;. Massacre in Korea 1951. Oil. 110 cm × 210 cm Link to Art Many of these pieces focus on a war poltical message, and in "Massacre in Korea", its messaging is clear. The piece was constructed around the Americans role in the Korean War. The Americans are depicted as lifeless automatons and the humans are drawn strangely. Both sides of the war are depicted as the way the other side would see them. The humans as foreign and the robots as soulless. The color choice also really shows the dead heart of war. As for myself, I am not very good at implementing symbolism in still images. However, I find it easier to write symbolism than to draw it, as visual ideas don't come through as clear as metaphors in themes do. For example I am currently writing a st...