Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo, in my eyes, was a great survivor. She designated her life to helping her country. Frida was born in Mexico City on July 6th,1907. However, as such a strong patriot to Mexico, she gives out her birthday as July 7th, 1910. This day is important to Mexico because it was the beginning of the Mexican revolution. One of the main reasons I see Frida as such a brave person is because she was born with a diease called Polio. She participated in sports in her elementary school just like an average kid until a vehicular accident she was in on September 17th of 1925. She received a broken spinal column, collarbone, ribs, and pelvis. She also had 11 fractures in her right left, a dislocated right foot and a dislocated shoulder. On top of all of these excruciating painful injuries, an iron handrail also pierced her abdomen and uterus.
Obviously, she spent many months in the hospital in a lot of pain. Frida also suffered frequent relapses of pain for the rest of her life. However, she still managed to paint for her country about the suffering of Mexico and the fight they were in for their independence. Frida was an inspiration to her country and still is celebrated today in Mexico.
Her piece of artwork I chose is titled The Little Deer which was painted in Mexico City in 1946. I realize this piece without any knowledge of the painter, looks very depressing and sad. However, knowing Frida’s background, I understand this picture. This painting represents her slow death over time. All the pain she endured from the bus accident and from the Mexican Revolution growing up. She was an amazing, strong woman. This painting makes me sad, yes, but it also makes me think of Frida not going down without a fight. Not giving in through everything, until people had heard her voice.
Resources:
http://library.thinkquest.org/C005707F/_private/frida.htm
Why we dont know.
This photograph was taken by Christian Goltz in 2010. It is titled, Why we do not know.
I chose this photograph because I myself have been to Africa and most( if not all) of Christian Goltz’s photographs take place in Namibia, Africa. I had the rare opportunity to witness a tribe, painted up and performing some kind of ritual. It was an extraordinary sight. I love this picture because it reminds me of Africa. It reminds me of simple living and beautiful things. I also love how in this picture, the background is blurry. It makes the Namibian more demanding and upfront.
Christian Goltz is the founder and CEO of Kiss-Of-Light. Kiss-Of-Light is a studio/gallery located in Windhoek, Namibia.Born in Germany, Goltz actually grew up in Namibia. He also has many achievements. For example, he hs an MSc in geophysics from Germany, a doctorate in geophysics from Japan and he is also an assistant professor in statistical geophysics and geoinformatics. After all of this, he now currently lives in California and hopes to finish up this work in Germany and move back to Namibia to continue work on Kiss-Of-light. This is where Goltz will always call home.
Resources: http://www.kiss-of-light.net/kol-english/
Get naked.
When I was first thinking about this blog assignment, I thought, this is going to be easy. I’ll pick a category like war, love, hate, or peace. Something that many people experience. While on one of my many Google image searches for artwork, I randomly came upon a full body paintings. And then I thought…
THIS STUFF IS AWESOME!
My first impression of this artwork was. Cool…flowers? And then I saw the woman and I was like OH MY GOD! It’s like artistic I SPY! AWESOME! Created in 2000,This painting, titled The Disappearing Model, was aired on Television’s Ripley’s Believe it or not. This work made artist Joanne Gair very famous. However, she was a well known artist to many people before her television air.
This wonderful piece of work is properly titled More Demi Moore and was featured in August, 1991 as on the front page of Vanity Fair. You can’t really tell, but Demi Moore is 7 month Pregnant with all that paint on! This photo is awesome. I can’t honestly even tell that Moore is not wearing clothes. It looks as if she has a decent set of threats on. Once again, Joanne Gair has proven herself a master of disguise.
One of Gair’s earlier pieces is the body painting of Kelis, a popular music artist, back in 1999. The title of this body of art is known as Keliedescope. I love this picture because Kelis looks so at peace with herself, and yet she is standing infront of what would be millions of people. Everyone who looks at this album cover will know she’s naked, covered in paint. And still she looks amazing. I’m also super impressed by the amount of detail Gair was able to paint on a body. Considering all the paint probably smears when someone moves, I would imagine this type of art is very difficult to paint.
Joanne Gair was born in New Zeland in 1958. She has since then moved to Los Angelos, California and has been featured numerous times in Sports Illustrated Magazines ever since the 90’s till now. She is also an award winning make up artist in the Rock n Roll industry. Recently, she published her own book on body painting in 2005 and was chosen for an Absolute Vodka Absolut Gair campaign. Currently, she not only paints but also photographs her work. On a very random note, Gair has worked with Aerosmith, Tina Turner, Grace Jones, Mick Jagger and Nine Inch Nails.
Our next Artist is Mark Reid. In 2007 Reid placed 6th in the World at the World Body painting Festival in Seeboden, Austria. And then again in 2008, he placed 3rd in the World. Growing up in a farm in New Mexico, Reid claims that from the age of 5 he knew he wanted to be an artist, and by the age of 10 he was taking art lessons. Reid has only been in the body painting business since 2002 when he was discovered by Judy Kubik who introduced him to face and body painting. He has loved it ever since. His favorite type of body to paint is that of older women because he loves making them feel young and beautiful.
OOOOOHHHHHHH CANADA! WHY ARE YOU SO AWESOME?! I really want to see a Pirate Flag version of body painting. Mark Reid recently painted these 3 women in 2010 for an event in Calgary. This painting titled, Celebrating Canadian Living Art, must have been so hard to paint. How could you match up those lines for the maple leaf? I dont even care how they did it. I’m just glad they did.
This woman was painted by Mark Reid for the First Annual North America Body Painting Convention in Las Vegas in 2010. While this specific piece of work has no title, it is certainly profound. If I stare at her top enough, I can see where it might be drawn. BUT THE JEANS?! No. I refuse to believe those are painted. They look more realistic then the pants I am wearing right now. How does he do this? So far, I can honestly say all of these wonderful pieces, from Gair and Reid, both have several things in common. One, they paint upon a human canvas. Two, their attention to detail is exquisite. and Three, they are very good at tricking the eye
This last piece of body art I chose because it shows Mark Reid’s passion. Face painting. This was one of his first face paintings from 2009 that again, has no title. I find that most body paintings don’t have titles unless they are put into magazines or TV shows or even famous competitions. This woman( I can’t even tell how old she is, so it might be a younger girl) has an astounding lip. I don’t know if she was born with a naturally kitty like face or what, but she sure looks like a tiger to me.
Needless to say, body art is amazing stuff. All of my 6 paintings were based upon painting a body.
However, ON A REALLLLYYY RANDOM SIDE NOTE, I did find a really awesome picture I just wanted to share with everyone. I know it isn’t body art. But it’s F@&$&!$ Amazing.
ITS A FREAKING LAMBORGHINI GALLARDO! PAINTING IN FREAKING SHARPIE! SHARPIE! Like the pen..OMFG! IT LOOKS SO COOL! Anyways… that is all 🙂
References:
http://mehronblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/featured-artist-mark-reid.html
http://bodyssey2010.wordpress.com/
flowers:)
SO GOORRGGEEOOUUSS! This painting, titled Pink Tulip was done by Georgia O’Keeffe in 1926 in New York City (http://www.artst.org/okeeffe/?theme=dark). It instantly captured my eyes. The shading and color technique provokes no words from me, but simply feelings of beauty and grace. It is so elegant and vibrant. How did she paint this in such economic misery? I have no idea but it is so fulfilling to just look at it. It practically made my day.
Not as peaceful as the tulips, the following image still strikes a chord in my heart.
Dorothea Lange’s photo titled “Migrant Mother“, was taken in California in 1936. In the heart of the Depression. This woman and her family look so tired, hungry and poor. She is withered but strong and tough for her family. Florence Owens Thompson( the woman in the photo) had 7 children she loved and they all worked on a pea pickers farm. This photo has become an iconic image for the Great Depression across America. I’ve seen it on countless websites and even National Geographic articles. Both of these pieces of art are beautiful and inspiring.
My Impression of Impressionism
Okay, first things first. I dont know if I like or dislike Impressionism. There are certain aspects I obviously disagree with, but that to me, doesn’t mean I dislike the whole genera of art. So, first off, I like this piece of art. Claude Monet painted Woman with a Parasol in 1895, in Argenteuil, France. (http://www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=61379)
I think it’s beautiful. The landscape, the shadows and attention to flowers and the density of the floral. The clouds are realistic in a sense of being fluffy. But THEENNNNN, I look at something like this painting, done by Auguste Renoir. It is called, Girl with a Hoop and was painted in 1885 (http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/gg83/gg83-46533-lit.html). I had a lot of trouble determining a location of the painting. I would guess France because many of the sources I read gave information on his life in Paris and roaming around France. Anyway, to the painting..
This painting makes me feel like I need glasses. For some reason I just cannot get use to the blurring and excessive smudging of the painting. I think the biggest thing that I enjoy in a painting is it’s grip on reality. I enjoy paintings that are realistic and have detail. Lots of detail. And to be honest, Im not quite sure why I like Monet’s painting either because the more I look at it, I see more smudging and less details then I previously thought! One genera of paintings that I do enjoy however, is the illusion ceilings! This ceiling of amazing-ness was painting by Andrea Pozzo at the Jesuit Church in Vienna around 1703.
I would love to have this ceiling in my room:)
So needless to say, I’m very wishy-washy about Impressionism. I thought I liked it, and then I didn’t, and now I just dont know. I’m sure I could be like that with any style of art. Different Artists take styles to different extremes, and maybe the artists I looked at just had different impressionism styles?
Surprise! It’s a Symphony!
For my Blog this week, I listened to a Symphony written by Franz Joseph Haydn. Written in 1791 in London, this symphony titled Surprise was first heard at the Hanover Square Rooms located in London in March of 1792. Haydn was trained to become a musician when he was all but 6 years old. In 1740, he moved to Vienna to be a choirboy at St. Stephen’s Cathedral under the guide of Georg Von Reutter. It was there he stayed for roughly 10 years until he moved on to becoming a freelance composer. Working odd end jobs, he finally found a disaerable place under the order of Count Morzin. Haydn was titled a Kapellmeister, also known as a music director. Moving from one member of royalty to the next, Haydn eventually ended up dismissed from the palace after his final employer, Prince Nikolas, passed away.
Free to do what he pleased, Hayden traveled to England and conducted a larger orchestra for local middle class. He continued being a incredibly popular freelance composer until 1802. His death, in 1809, was noted as a tragedy among Middle and Upper class. At his funeral, a close friend of his, Ludwig Van Beethoven, performed Requiem, in Haydn’s honor.
I thought his background life was incredibly important in this instance because it shows how Haydn went from serving Royalty and Upper class to being incredibly successful and happy with performing to middle class and public audiences. The music he was composing was still of the same quality and variety. So, it’s like the middle class was being treated like royalty and anyone could experience the feeling of what the “wealthy” had. I have to say i’m quite fond of the whole concept.
Besides enjoying the Haydn’s lifestyle, I actually really had fun with the piece too. It’s got some secret humor to it. The symphony starts off quiet and is easy listening until all of a sudden, a fortissimo hits you by surprise and I was literally scared! It made me jump! I love it. It kept me awake and longing for another fortissimo. A random surprise!
The Sun King
This painting is called Louis XIV, King of France and Navarre and was painted by Hyacinthe Rigaud in 1701 in Paris. The first thing that really caught my eye in this painting is how vivid the colors are. They really attract my eye. On top of that, I realized,the background and the King’s wardrobe are more elaborate to me then the King’s actual face. Mostly I was just really amazed by how colorful and detailed everything was. Down to his shoes and the floor, there is beautiful detail.
The painting is of Louis XIV, so obviously I assumed this picture was influenced by Royalty. If feel as if French Royalty(specifically Kings) were thought of as all-powerful. They had very little boundaries. I was also reading about how Louis XIV created the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, basically to have control over the art world.(http://smarthistory.org/baroque-france.html) How art was appreciated, created and regulated. Being an open-minded individual, I would automatically hate this academy. As much as I love art, I do not want anyone telling me what I can draw, when I can draw it , and how many people can look at it!
Venus Of Urbino-Tiziano Vecelli
For my first blog entry (EVER) I looked at the work of Tiziano Vecelli ( also known as Titian), specifically, his painting titled Venus of Urbino. Painted in 1538 in a town by the name of Florence, this painting depicts the Goddess Venus, nude and unashamed, in a luxurious Renaissance palace. I think the main reason I am so attracted to this oil painting is because of how Titian portrays the Goddess herself. He turns a worshiped, idolized woman into a simpleton. Sure, a rich looking simpleton, but that’s not the point. To be able to literally change the way people think of and picture a Goddess is remarkable. I feel like it would be changing the way Catholics thought of Jesus Christ. Instead of their King, he would appear as their best friend, or childhood neighbor. 
According to http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanism#Renaissance , Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, or practice that focuses on human values and concern. This definition really caught my attention in terms of this painting. Why? Because I believe sensually and sex is part of human values or at least concerns. Or if not that, then how about Venus as a Goddess? What idea was behind how she was thought to appear? Why did they think this? Who decided Venus DIDN’T look like this originally? I like how they were starting to explore their boundaries and beliefs. Step out of the box a little.
Writer Suzanne Hills had the same thoughts upon the provocative meanings in this painting, stating ” The most obvious alternative meaning for the painting would be an allegory of lustful love, which would simply amount to a painting of a voluptuous woman in her bedroom”. (http://www.suite101.com/content/titian-s–venus-of-urbino–a4047).
Needless to say, I enjoyed the painting. It’s beautiful. Whether she is a goddess, a human, a sexual desire, it really doesn’t matter to me.
Good Morning Bloggers
This is my first post! Wahoo!
My Blog 