Nicéphore Niépce and Louis Daguerre developed the first photographs.
Although there were many photographic experiments in creating practical, streamlined photography, a few key scientists are recognized for making substantial contributions. William Henry Fox Talbot is credited for inventing the photographic negative to positive process. Sir John Herschel is usually credited for coining the phrase "photography."
Alfred Stieglitz and Beaumont Newhall are significant photographic curators/ historians.
Critiques:
(January 27, 2020 - February 15, 2020)
The Imaginary
Duane Michals is not my favorite photographer, but I want to mention him because he took pictures of my favorite surrealist painter, René Magritte. I particularly like “Magritte with Hat” because Michals puts a face to an iconic surrealist image like the painting “Man in a Bowler Hat,” in the form of a photograph; it is as good as a driver’s license ID. The portrait shows Magritte from the chest-up, wearing an upside down bowler hat and a larger superimposed bowler hat covering his face. If you like Magritte, Michals’ portraits emulate the painter’s mystique and personality in a series of black and white photographs.
Portrait artists have always fascinated me, for the same reasons I am fascinated with photography. Being able to capture a moment in time and document important events is vital to defining different cultures. Michals documented a famous painter. Magritte documented a creative movement by painting imaginary images. A piece of art is like a synthetic fingerprint that represents visual clues left by an artist.
(February 5, 2020 - February 15, 2020)
Luncheon on the Grass
“Luncheon on the Grass,” by Edouard Manet was rejected at the Paris Salon in 1863, but today, it is considered one of the most influential paintings in the history of art. The painting depicts a picnic with two formally dressed men conversing with each other, a naked woman in the foreground, and a woman bathing in the background. The scene is out-of-place because the two men do not seem to be reacting to the undressed women. After the painting was rejected by the Paris Salon, Manet was only able to exhibit it at Salon des Refuses (Salon of the Rejected).
Many of my teachers called Manet the father of Impressionism for his style and attitude toward the art world of his day. Manet’s friendship and influence has greatly impacted the careers of painters like Edgar Degas and Claude Monet. “Luncheon on the Grass” has had a big influence on myself as well. When I first saw it I immediately admired Manet for bravely putting-off convention for his art. Manet brings to attention what I have experienced in many of my nude drawing classes. It is somewhat taboo to place fully dressed men next to naked women, but it is only taboo because the audience’s attention is being focused without proper contexts. I have had to paint naked men for a grade, is the audience aware of that when I post a photo on my blog? Manet shifted history by forcing the art world to accept an artist’s idea and expression as opposed to censorship, like covering an ancient Greek statue with a fig leaf.
(February 5, 2020 - February 10, 2020)
What's Current?
I was recently informed that Mary Boone was sentenced to 30 months in jail. Surprised and not surprised, it has probably been 10 years since I kept up with her gallery. Since I started my photo blog, I have fallen back into updating myself in the fine arts world. I wonder how the art world has evolved and whether my favorite artists are faring well. Richard Serra was probably the last current artist I was actually a fan of. My favorite Serra piece today is probably “Tilted Arc” because of the political controversy (https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/visualarts/tiltedarc_a.html,
https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/02/arts/art-view-the-messy-saga-of-tilted-arc-is-far-from-over.html, https://www.sfmoma.org/watch/richard-serra-on-trial-for-tilted-arc/).
This year I feel my attention has been directed toward artists like Jeff Koons and David Hockney because of their record breaking auction prices. Hockney is a classic contemporary fine artist and I like him more and more as I learn about his work. With Koons, I have been deeply traumatized in the past by his imitators; they somehow casted a superficial prejudice on Koons’ style of art. Collectively, I respect Koons work because he visually streamlined fine art the way Andy Warhol did. My only personal criticism is that I would like him more if he had not collaborated with La Cicciolina.
I tell many people that I stopped going to museums for many of the same reasons I was traumatized by Koons. I still keep a safe distance, but I read articles when I can. I do not recommend “Art Forum,” I subscribed for a year and it is all advertisement BS.
(January 22, 2020 - January 29, 2020)
Being American
I was pondering what it means to be American in United States of America; the continent context versus nationally. My patriotism probably lies between two paintings I would like to discuss: 1. "American Gothic," 2. "Christina’s World."
"American Gothic," by Grant Wood, is a painting that I have seen countless times in art history class (since middle school). When I first learned about the image my teacher asked the class to interpret and analyze the painting, then she told us it was an image of a father and daughter. We were all very shocked because most of us assumed we were looking at a painting of husband and wife. For myself it made me reevaluate what it means to be American. Gothic art usually refers to a style of architecture in Europe (ex. Notre Dame Cathedral) and sometimes British fashion comprised of black formal wear. The name "American Gothic" already incites a deeper meaning and implies that Wood did not arbitrarily paint two people. He obviously was creating a document that reflected himself as a middle-American painter.
I find a parallel to Wood's painting in "Christina's World," by Andrew Wyeth. I have casually seen Wyeth's painting in art books and museum advertisements. None of my art history teachers focused on Wyeth, so I have done my own research. Like a lot of artists, he lead an amusing and somewhat eccentric lifestyle; he used to sneak into his friends' house and scare them early in morning. So because I made the effort, I supposed I prefer him a little more than Wood. The subject of "Christin's World" is as jarring as "American Gothic." A woman in a pink dress is dramatically posed over a grassy scene; it almost looks hopeful. The painting is actually of a woman with a muscle disease and she has to use her hands to crawl from place to place. Viewers would not know this by looking at the piece and the title does not help. Although Wyeth painted "Christina's World" as a tribute the subject's strength over adversity, the background story is a tad depressing. This painting is a good example of how information influences the meaning of art.
I picked paintings that comment on the role of females in America, because sometimes I question my role as a woman in America. My situation may not be exactly the same as Wood and Wyeth's subjects, but I am mindful of how these great artists depict females using abstract interpretation. I stopped painting years ago and concentrate on taking pictures of surfers and passive scenery. I do not believe I will make statements about women the way Wood and Wyeth have, but I believe it is important to stay knowledgable about different artists. Otherwise, I start to question my motivation as a photographic artist.
(January 17, 2020)
I find a parallel to Wood's painting in "Christina's World," by Andrew Wyeth. I have casually seen Wyeth's painting in art books and museum advertisements. None of my art history teachers focused on Wyeth, so I have done my own research. Like a lot of artists, he lead an amusing and somewhat eccentric lifestyle; he used to sneak into his friends' house and scare them early in morning. So because I made the effort, I supposed I prefer him a little more than Wood. The subject of "Christin's World" is as jarring as "American Gothic." A woman in a pink dress is dramatically posed over a grassy scene; it almost looks hopeful. The painting is actually of a woman with a muscle disease and she has to use her hands to crawl from place to place. Viewers would not know this by looking at the piece and the title does not help. Although Wyeth painted "Christina's World" as a tribute the subject's strength over adversity, the background story is a tad depressing. This painting is a good example of how information influences the meaning of art.
I picked paintings that comment on the role of females in America, because sometimes I question my role as a woman in America. My situation may not be exactly the same as Wood and Wyeth's subjects, but I am mindful of how these great artists depict females using abstract interpretation. I stopped painting years ago and concentrate on taking pictures of surfers and passive scenery. I do not believe I will make statements about women the way Wood and Wyeth have, but I believe it is important to stay knowledgable about different artists. Otherwise, I start to question my motivation as a photographic artist.
(January 17, 2020)
Conceptual Arts
As an artist, I have glibly mentioned that there was no new modern art movement to comment on artistically. The more research and reading I do, I see that there is a disunity in definitions. Where do I start? Not with linguistics, because then I have to deal with literal semantics. Not with history, because it would be easy to get lost in context and tangents. It is better to reference movements and cite web articles.
I have been reading what little material is available concerning conceptual art, which is usually recognized as a fairly current art disciple. The base of my art education was conceptual art, during my undergrad years, so I can talk about it seamlessly. Though I find there is little substance and significance if there is not enough writing on an art movement. Not everybody has an art history education, so it is fair; people will not buy what they do not understand. I am actually very unhappy with some of the conceptual art definitions I am running into these days. A lot of the literature I read in college, has not been made available or is only available through gallery associations. This makes it even more difficult to define conceptual art.
Basically, conceptual art concentrates on metaphysical elements and representations. Many cutting-edge artworks in performance and abstract art crossover to conceptual. One could argue that the subject is already passé because Magritte’s “This is Not a Pipe” plays on the idea of an actual pipe versus a picture of a pipe. I love Magritte and I loved learning about abstract modes of artistic expression, such as performance. Unfortunately, these methods apexed a long time ago and artworks after the 1980s have become virtually recycled.
These days I believe some curators tried to highlight computer art without much success. The functionality of presentation is much like performance, there is no functional way to do it without compromising the integrity of the piece. It is time specific and it is media specific.
Much like the Wild Beasts of France, conceptual art may get reduced to a one sentence description in an art history text book. Is it the end? No. Artists will continue to find ways to express themselves and ask questions to find a deeper understanding of the human condition.