Week 8-Industrialisation, Modernism and architecture.

Well before Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum Bilbao opened its doors to the public on October 19, 1997, the new museum had people talking. The numerous artists, architects, journalists, politicians, filmmakers, and historians that visited the building site during its construction anticipated the success of the museum. It was called “the greatest building of our time” by architect Philip Johnson.
The Eiffel Tower was originally built for the International Exhibition of Paris of 1889 commemoration the anniversary of the french revolution. Out of 700 proposals, Gustave Eiffel's was chosen, but a lot of people were opposed to the design.  The Guggenheim is made from limestone, titanium and glass, while the Eiffel Tower is made of steel and iron. Gustave was an engineer, building mostly iron lattice bridges. The industrial revolution made a big impact on Gustave's work as many more materials were becoming available to build with. He went on to help design the interior structure of the Statue of Liberty that was given as a gift to the people of the United States of America. Gehry's design was also chosen as a winner of an architectural competition. He designed the building with unorthodox materials, inventive forms, with sensitivity to the urban environment and proposed the site along the Nervion River in Bilbao, Spain. Although the Eiffel Tower was originally built for an exhibit, it was later used for a wide variety of things. In 1909 it had an antenna that was used for sending telegraphs, in 1918 it began to be used for radio and then for television in 1975. It is currently being utilised as a major tourist attraction and it's familiar shape symbolizes Paris. The Guggenheim was designed and built to be a museum and still is to this day. It is so well known that it had over one million visitors in 2010 alone!



Research:

http://www.guggenheim.org/bilbao/history
http://www.parispages.com/Monuments/Eiffel/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_Eiffel

Week 6-Landscape and the Sublime

1. What and when was the Enlightenment?
The Enlightenment was a movement in the 18th century that pulled art toward science and free thinking. Before this time, all art was commissioned by the church and rich people so the subject matter was either religious symbols or portraits. In the enlightenment still life paintings became popular, as did painting scenes that were mundane and 'every day'.

2. Define the concept of the Sublime.

The theory of the sublime was originally defined by theorist Edmund Burke [1729 - 1797] as experiencing an awe and fear of the divine. Around the same time, German philosophers were writing about experiencing God through the appreciation and awe of nature. This led German artists to try and convey this same divine experience through landscape paintings and people then began to see landscape as a valid genre of painting. As it developed, the sublime way of painting landscapes became an exercise in seeing nature as an experience rather than a background.

3. How did the concept of the Sublime come out of the Enlightenment thought?

In the enlightenment people were encouraged to think outside the box and past traditional painting. The Sublime is just an extension of that, breaking into the new concept of landscapes and their magnificence.

4. Discuss the subject matter, and aesthetic (look) of Misrach's work to identify the Sublime in his work. Add some more images of his work.

Richard Misrach photographs mainly the ocean and people. He also captures ice-shapes, deserts, jungles and ruins. His images of people at the beach are shot from above and the people are so tiny that it forces you to concentrate on the magnitude of the ocean or beach.
 It makes me feel as though I am looking down at a toy world. It makes me realize how vast our world is and how small we are in comparison.

5. Identify some other artists or designers that work with ideas around the Sublime, from the Enlightenment era as well as contemporary artists.

This painting, Capture of the Tripoli by the Enterprise [1806/12] by Thomas Birch shows the sublime very well. It captures the magnificence and beauty of the ocean.

This photograph by William Neill is quite simmilar to, Wanderer in the Mists [1818] by Caspar David Friedrich. The mist and rocky landscape make for a very sublime photo.

6. How does Misrach's photography make you feel? Does it appeal to your imagination?

Research:

http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2008/misrach/misrachinfo_fs.shtm
http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/120163?search_id=25
http://www.williamneill.com/

The Social Status of the Artist

1. Identify aspects of Durer's self portrait that show a changing view of the artist's view of himself as an individual.
Durer paints himself as Jesus, perhaps to remind people that creativity is God-given. Despite the reason, to paint anything or anyone in the image of Jesus was not accepted at the time. At that time [1500] religious symbols were highly sacred and not to be taken lightly. Therefore Durer must have thought quite highly of himself to be equal to Jesus.

2. Explain how the artist's social status increased during the Renaissance period. Briefly explain why this happened.
 Previous to this time, artists were thought of as mere tradesmen who were hired for a specific purpose. But in the fifteenth century artists began to take a more scientific approach to art. This helped to establish their practices as one of the liberal arts.

3. Comment on Gavin Turk's work in relation to individualism, status of the artist and egotism.
 Gavin Turk's work is often of his signature, himself, or a version of himself. By using himself as the subject, he explores ideas of authorship and identity. The individuality of a signature shows that the contemplation of one's self through art. Sure, repeatedly portraying yourself in your art could seem egotistic, but Turk uses it to contemplate the status of the artist in pieces such as in his work, Cave. "Cave" consisted of an empty room with a single plaque on the wall reading, "Gavin Turk Sculpture worked here". He was asking what makes art valuable, the work itself or the status of the one who made it.
4. Comment on Damien Hirst's use of his work and the media for self promotion.
 Hirst's work has become very well known and has great value. "For the Love of God"[2007] was bought for $100 million dollars. His popularity as an artist has grown so much that he has a company, Other Criteria, that licences his imagery, creates products and sells them on the Web. He has practically become a brand because of the popularity of his work and his status.

5. Find 2 images of work by artists or designers that reflects some of the ideas of individualism, self promotion or egotism that have been discussed on this blog. Upload images to your blog, title and date the work, identify the artist/designer and comment on the work in relation to the question.

Ski Jacket [1994] Peter Doig

This work by Peter Doig is not a literal representation of a ski resort; it is an interpretation aiming to express the emotions associated with ski holidays. In this way it appeals to individuals to interpret it individually according to their own personal memories and emotions. This emphasises the individualism we see in art often today.

Untitled [date unknown] Banksy

 Banksy is a street graffiti artist who purposely remains anonymous. He wants to comment to social issues without becoming famous. Ironically, he has become quite famous. Banksy is now a household name and he has published a book and a made a documentary style film about himself and his art. His style and images of his art have become a kind of brand, but with no revenue going back to him. He is unique in that he promotes himself but without reaping any of the fame and money usually associated with it. Instead he promotes his art and issues they address.

6. How do you think artists and designers are viewed in Western society today?
I think that on one level, artists are seen as higher thinkers with the ability to create in such a way that most people are unable to do. But there is definitely that school of thought that artists are depressed and poor and it is not a 'fitting' profession as income is unreliable. For the most part though, I think that artists and designers especially, are seen as intelligent, and useful, important and part of society.

 References:

http://www.artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=2367
http://www.skny.com/artists/gavin-turk/
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/durer/self/
http://www.sharenator.com/Banksy_Graffiti_Art/

- Blunt, A. (19620). Artistic Theory in Italy 1450-1600. Oxford; Oxford University Press
- Barker, E, Webb, N. Woods, K. (1999). Historical introduction: the idea of the artist. In E. Barker, N. Webb and K. Woods (Eds.), The Changing State of the Artist (pp. 7-25). London: Open University.