Virtual Exhibit – Street Art (Late) August 14, 2012

There are endless types street art. Street art is defined as any type of art that displayed in public spaces (Wiki Street Art). It can include graffiti, sculpture, stencil graffiti, street poster art, sidewalk art and video projection. It can be representative of political or social movements or self-expression and territorial. There are endless types of street art but this virtual display will be limited to the previously mentioned styles for the sake of length.

Graffiti

Graffiti is free-hand writing or drawings that are scratched or sprayed onto surfaces in public places (Wiki Graffiti). This style of street art can be traced back to Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. Today, in most cases it is considered vandalism and is punishable by law.

This piece was created by a duo called Nevercrew. They are Swiss based artists who began in 1996 by combining ideas from memories and dreams with what they are now. This piece is called Daydream in a box and was created in 2009 with spray paints and is located on the front wall of the youth center of Breganzona, CH. Here is a quote from the “About Me” section of their webpage:

“Main aspects of our concepts are exploration, space travels, changing point of views, empathy, proportions and connections. Also if our images seem to be dissociated, as usually happens in life, there is a strong interaction between the different environments (that include real elements, fictional and surreal elements, objects, ambiances and feelings, disproportions and links to everyday life and reality) and everything become part of an unique balance (also with the observer’s space, of course). By doing this, we love to create evocative situations, thoughts, new creatures and new worlds, images with their own soul, and communicate specific ideas and concepts about our modern reality and society.”

I love the color and imagination they use in all of their pieces. Everything is so unreal and really is what dreams are made of. Please check out their amazing art on their site: Nevercrew.com

Sculpture

We are all familiar with street sculptures. Seattle has the well-known collections of pigs throughout the city but random and unusual sculptures aren’t limited to the streets of Seattle. New York has a collection of Peter Woytuk’s sculptures that were displayed on Broadway Street through April of 2012. Many street sculptures are made to be stationary but some displays can be temporary and disassembled and reassembled again in a new place.

Peter Woytuk was born in 1958 in Minnesota. He graduated in 1980 with a degree in art then went on to an apprenticeship with sculptor Phillip Grausman. He has several sculptures in Thailand and China in addition to his collection in America (Woytuk.com).

This piece is called The Bear Cat located on Broadway at 67^th Street. One family recorded this interpretation of the sculpture on a family outing, “At first glance, this sculpture seems to be a regular bear balancing on an apple. But look from behind and you’ll notice he has a long cat tail that makes him seem more like a fantasy character than a circus performer”. This particular display has an interactive phone tour.

Stencil Graffiti

Stencil graffiti has only been around for the last 30 years or so. I have frequently seen stencil art on paved roads adding a funny twist to the existing traffic signs. A lot of stencil art is political but there are quite a few that are just for fun.

Click here to see Beatles, 2011

These pieces were rather difficult to find artists and other information on but the above link will take you to a piece titled Beatles from 2011 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. On that site you can sort stencil art by area and view the different pieces. It’s amazing how detailed they can be with just a stencil.

The above stencil graffiti was created by C215 (real name Christian Guemy) who is a French street artist. He first started creating pieces in 2006 and has become a well-known graffiti artist. He typically portrays homeless people, refugees, street kids, and the elderly (Wikipedia C215).

Street Poster Art

Street posters are any piece of paper that can be attached to a surface having textural and/or graphical elements (Wiki Poster Art). Posters have been used for advertising, propaganda, or simply for artistic purposes. For more information on the types of street poster art see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poster_art#Notable_poster_artists

The above poster Colere, 2011, was created by Australian artist Rone who was born in 1980 in Geelong, Victoria. He is also known for his stencil art and has become one of the most prominent graffiti artists in Australia. One of his more recent installations was a series of posters featuring women. I can’t tell if it is the same woman each time or if they just have similar features. I really like the layers and detail in his posters. A lot of his pieces are unusual but very beautiful. Take a look at some of his other street pieces (click “Artwork” to see his gallery pieces) – http://r-o-n-e.com/street/

Sidewalk Art

Sidewalk art is very tricky and the artists have an amazing sense of space and creating 3D images. The illusion is created when the piece is viewed from the correct angle. This is perhaps one of my favorite types of street art. My Mother and I were able to see a few in San Francisco a few years back and it was absolutely incredible. These pieces are amazing because of their size and ability to create an optical illusion. It’s crazy seeing these pieces from the wrong angle because they look nothing as they do when viewed from the correct angle.

The above piece Ice Age was created by Edgar Mueller, one of the world’s best 3D sidewalk artists. He was born in 1968 in Germany and has been painting since he was a child. He took his talent to the streets of Europe when he was 25 and makes his living by his art. View more of his work and the work of other top sidewalk artists here: http://www.boredpanda.com/5-most-talented-3d-sidewalk-chalk-artists/

Video Projection

Video Projection is absolutely mind blowing and amazing. The artists take a photo of the surface they wish to project onto and animate it with computers and subjects in front of a green screen. I haven’t been able to find much information on video projection which makes me think that it’s a fairly new form of street art (please let me know if I’m wrong. I’d love to see more of this!).

Sydney Opera – “Lighting the sails” 2012

I came across a company called Urbanscreen who began in 2005 with experimental projection in Germany and has now expanded to many countries. Some of their video projection pieces are interactive- they have a pinball house that was really neat. Urbanscreen is made up of eight permanent members inspired by architecture and spatial influences creating unique pieces for the public to view. It was so hard to pick just one to show you but if you think that they Sydney Opera was cool, check these out: http://www.urbanscreen.com/usc/category/projects

This blog was probably one of my favorite to do- it also took the longest to compile. It was so hard to pick just one piece from just one artist. There are so many talented people out there and many are just as well known!
Please view all citations by clicking on the in-text references. If you decide to repost any of these amazing pieces, please remember to credit the artists!

Genocide

“Genocide occurs when people try to destroy, whole or partly, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group” – http://www.vmcaa.nl/genocide/engels/biografie/onderdelen.html

Over the course of 100 days in 1994 800,000 Rwandan citizens fell victim to a mass murder. The Hutu and Tutsi tribe had lived in the same area for more than 600 years until political tension drove them to war. Tutsi people had been murdered simply for being Tutsi since the 1960’s. There were attempts to create peace treaties in the area to no avail. Violence broke out upon the murder of the Hutu President when a missile took down his plane. Western countries turned a blind eye to the continued violence in Rwanda.

The piece, Passieve Toeschouwers (Dutch for Passive Spectators), represents the millions of people who knew about the violence in Rwanda but did not do anything or felt like it was not their business to get involved. This is part of a monument created by Kofi Setordji in 2002 called Genocide Monument. Setordji created pieces from wood, metal, clay, waste materials, and paint as an active way to remember the forgotten loss of Tutsi people (Kofi Setordji – http://www.vmcaa.nl/genocide/engels/biografie/index.html).

I could not find any information on individual pieces in the monument but Passieve Toeschouwers looks like they are wood or clay carvings of varying sizes that have expressions but only slits for the eyes. Some look indifferent while others look worried or mad. They are all missing mouths which is symbolic of the many diplomats that were aware of the conflict and were too slow to act or did nothing.

There are several other elements to the monument which can be seen in the links below:

Virtual exhibit of monument: http://www.vmcaa.nl/genocide/engels/monument/monument/index.html

Elements of monument: http://www.vmcaa.nl/genocide/engels/biografie/onderdelen.html

First Victim

Vulture

Sentrypostmen

Fragments of Evidence

Direct Victims

All Seeing Eye

Statue of Justice

War Tribunal

Passive Watchers

Burnt Victims

Menace

Indirect Victims

Masqueraders

Musicians

Mass Grave

Group

I chose to write about this piece of the monument because it serves as an important reminder and lesson to those of us who turned a blind eye to the horror taking place in Rwanda. In America, we learn about Genocide primarily through learning about World War Two and atrocities of the Holocaust. We learn about it as children and are told how important it is to recognize what happened and to not repeat the future. I believe it is just as bad to not recognize one’s fault and by not actively teaching all occurrences of genocide along with the Holocaust.

Japanese Kabuki Theater August 11, 2012

There are four types of Japanese theater that have been performed since as early as the 14^th century; Noh, Kyogen, Kabuki, and Bunraku. Noh and Kyogen were typically performed together with Kyogen being the intermission of Noh acts. Kabuki style of theater was more upbeat and interesting than Noh and Kyogen acts. Bunraku was rather different from the previous types because of its use of puppets (Japan Zone).

Early Kabuki performances featured female actors playing male and female roles. The style of this dance drama became popular in the royal court and rival groups formed for this style of dance. Themes of these plays were often provocative and suggested that the actresses were available for prostitution. These performances were eventually banned for being too erotic and audiences often became out of control (Wiki Kabuki). Female performances were altered and performed by young boys, a trend which also promoted prostitution, and were eventually banned by the shogun government as well.

Kabuki drama dances have continued to evolve throughout the decades and are now traditionally performed with an all-male cast filling male and female roles. An example of current Kabuki Theater can be found in the included link.

http://youtu.be/Wh3gPZzEgDQ

This performance is very dramatic and elaborate. I unfortunately cannot read the text overview of the video but it features what looks to be a warrior of high rank as the main character and other low rank officers. It looks like the performance could either be a ritual dance of war or ceremony for a great leader. It is different from others that I have watched in that it does not include female characters and is not as seductive and provocative as other performances.

I chose to write about Japanese theater because it is something I have been previously introduced to and find the tradition really interesting. The performance above was more upbeat than the many others I watched when trying to decide which to feature. If you ever get the chance, I suggest visiting the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, California. Last time I was there they had an amazing collection of Japanese masks for Noh performances. It takes great talent to be able to express a wide range of emotions when your face is hidden by a mask.

The below link is an introduction and explanation of Kabuki theater and there are many performances on YouTube that offer English interpretation of the performances as you are viewing them.

http://youtu.be/67-bgSFJiKc

Here is a beautiful performance with an English interpreter Wisteria Maiden:

http://youtu.be/sPgtX-ljHi4

Citations:

Wikipedia, Kabuki, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabuki, August 1, 2012.

Japan Zone, Kabuki, http://www.japan-zone.com/culture/kabuki.shtml, August 1, 2012.

Harlem Renaissance August 4, 2012

Nearly 60 years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln, African Americans were still feeling the burden of oppression in every aspect of life. In the 1920’s industrial jobs were opening up in the North which prompted a migration of African Americans from the south to fill the positions (huntfor.com).

Harlem, a prominent African American suburb of New York, was the center for the cultural and artistic revolution of the Harlem Renaissance. Instead of politically protesting the oppression of African Americans, they decided to use art, music, and theater as a means of expression. The rich African cultural movement created one of the most notable periods in American history, influence which can still be seen in many artistic aspect of today’s entertainment.

Many characteristics of the Harlem Renaissance can be seen in Archibald Motley’s 1943 painting, Nightlife, oil on canvas, now located at The Art Institute of Chicago as part of a restricted private collection. This piece is set in a bar/nightclub and its occupants are enjoying an evening of company, dance, and drinks. The occupants look like they are carefree and are well dressed, implying that they have good jobs to support a fun lifestyle. A few are slumped over or look sad but I think it is because they are intoxicated after a night of fun.

I chose this piece because of the positive impression it gives. Quite a few pieces from the Harlem Renaissance era depict characters as slaves or having somber expressions. Motley did many pieces where African Americans were overcoming oppression rather than succumbing to it.

Citation:

Hunfor Art History, Harlem Renaissance. http://www.huntfor.com/arthistory/C20th/harrenaiss.htm. 2007.

Impressionism and Post-Impressionism July 5, 2012

Impressionism was developed in France during the 19^th century and changed the way future generations would view art. This is a time where people began to create art that was non-traditional in the sense that it was not focused on religion, antiquities, and historical events. Impressionism was an art that represented common every day events and sightings as well as outcomes of societal experiences (Industrial Revolution).

While I am not particularly a fan of the Impressionist style, I do find Monet’s series of oil paintings titled Water Lilies to be very interesting and unique pieces.  The piece from the series that I will be focusing on is Reflections of Clouds on the Water-Lily Pond, oil on canvas, c. 1920. This particular piece now resides at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City (other pieces from this collection reside at numerous museums around the world).  

Monet created this piece to give the viewer the feeling that he/she was walking along the edge of the pond. During the later years of his life, he built and maintained gardens and ponds on his property. These areas became the setting for many of his landscape works. This ties into the Impressionist style because the artists were fond of painting candid scenes of people and the outdoors. It is a little bit different from your typical impressionist landscape painting because it lacks a horizon. You are looking down at the water and see the sky and shadows of trees reflected through the water. If you look up close at this piece, you see his thick brush strokes and built up paint that adds texture to the painting, making it look even more real.

When you look at an Impressionist painting and compare it to the Post-Impressionist style that began a short time after, you can see the evolution of technique and perspective. For example, take Georges Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, oil on canvas from 1884-1886 now located at the Art Institute of Chicago.

They are similar in that they two styles capture people going about their everyday activities. This piece by Seurat is an example of pointillism that is a characteristic of the Post-Impressionist style. Pointillism is a technique that used very small and precise dots in contrast to the broad brush strokes and undefined lines of Impressionism.

I like the look of Pointilisim and Post-Impressionism better because of the order and precision that goes into the painting. It doesn’t have the undefined borders as Impressionism and therefore translates the same message to all viewers. Post-Impressionism is also cool because it is rather easy to duplicate using modern media. Check out this site. Chris Jordan creates pieces focus on environmental consciousness and environmental consumerism. He reproduced Georges Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of la Grande Jatte using 106,000 aluminum cans, “the number used in the United States every thirty Seconds”. Pretty neat!!

Classical music and the rise of the middle class June 21, 2012

Piano Concerto No. 21 – Andante “Elvira Madigan” was finished on March 9, 1785 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (listen to this piece here). It is characterized by three movements; Allegro maestoso, Andante in F major, and Allegro vivace assai (Wiki Piano Concerto No. 21). This song is slow and smooth with dramatic rising and falling of scales. It reminds me of the movement of a ballerina; smooth, careful, precise, and full of emotion. This is one of Mozart’s more well-known pieces. He completed it when his was 29 years old while living and preforming in Vienna (Wiki Mozart).

The pleasure of enjoying music was usually awarded to aristocrats and nobles in the upper classes. During the Classical era, however, a rise in the wealth of the middle class due to industrialization gradually changed the audience of these great composers (Stanford.edu). This opened the floor to composers who no longer had to adhere to the specific tastes of their patrons. They were now able to expand the style of music that was more accessible to the lower and middle classes. The middle class wanted a simple, yet organized and serious form of music; characteristics which came to form the Symphony and Sonata. The increased demand of this new Classical style music led to a growth of public concerts. It is important to remember that patronage from the aristocracy did not stop completely; it was still a significant means of income for the composers (Radio Prague).

I like this piece because it is very relaxing, melodic, and reminds me of the ballet. I also have a long standing love for classical music. I started playing flute when I was about 10 or 11 but stopped in high school when I moved to California because of the lack of a good quality music program. I have regretted that decision ever since. I was hoping, when doing research for this blog, I would come across some sort of influence for this piece. Surely Mozart must have been thinking about something when he was composing it!

If you are not a fan of calm classical music, may I suggest Rondo Alla Turca Orchestra also by Mozart.

Cheers!

😀

 

 

Citations:

Wikipedia, Piano Concerto No. 21, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto_No._21_(Mozart), June 20, 2012.

Wikipedia, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart, June 20, 2012.

Stanford.edu, Classical Era, The Age of Enlightenment, Link Here, June 20, 2012.

Radio Prague, History of Music: The Classical Period, http://archiv.radio.cz/hudba/classic.html, June 20, 2012.

Influence of Science in the Baroque Era June 19, 2012

The expansion of scientific knowledge during the Baroque era had influence in all areas of the arts. This period of time saw a notable shift from being centered on religion to a curiosity of the natural world and developing new technologies. We are all familiar with the remarkable contributors to science in this period; Anton Van Leewenhoek with his invention of the microscope leading to his discovery of bacteria, blood cells, and sperm, Johannes Kepler and his work in optics as well as astronomy: research that would form the basis of Isaac Newton’s famous discoveries, and, of course, Galileo Galilei and his invention of the telescope leading to the confirmation of Copernicus’ heliocentric theory. The discoveries of the latter two are especially important because of the challenge they presented to the traditional views of the Roman Catholic Church. The thoughts of Aristotle were largely accepted in the Catholic Church and to claim otherwise was dangerous. Growing curiosity brought about a norm of questioning things around you and developing new perspectives not centered on the beliefs of the church.

This scientific revolution brought about a new way of thinking that influenced all aspects of life. New forms of music and theater were developing rapidly. Take Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo – Savall  written in 1607 for a court performance at the annual Carnival in Mantua, Italy (Wiki L’Orfeo). Monteverdi was said to be the first to develop this new form of music. The combination of music and theater was recognized as having potential to bring prestige to those who patronized it (Wiki L’Orfeo). The opera satisfies the tastes of anyone by producing beautiful music and dramatic theater. The scientific revolution of the Baroque era influenced more than just the arts. There was a political movement as well that fueled the revolt against Catholicism (csun.edu, p. 4). The challenges of a few curious men sparked a change that would be echoed through history and influence our modern society.

I particularly enjoy music of the Baroque era more than that of the Renaissance because of the obvious detachment from the control of the Catholic Church. Musicians began to spread their wings and invent new styles and instruments to compliment them. This seems like the beginning of decades of changes that came to influence our pop culture today. Heck, even most of our major motion pictures contain music from (or music influenced from) these iconic eras.

On a side note, here are some fun links about math in nature:

Nature by Numbers

Math in Nature

Is a Zebra black with white stripes or white with black stripes? 😀

Citations:

California State University, The Baroque: From the Revolution in the Church to Revolutions in US & France to the Industrial Revolution, http://www.csun.edu/art/pdf/art_and_mass_media/Media04-Baroque.pdf. P 1-5. June 18, 2012.

Wikipedia, L’Orfeo, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Orfeo. June 18, 2012.

Northern Renaissance – The Fall of Icarus June 5, 2012

The painting below titled, The Fall of Icarus, was painted circa 1560’s by the Dutch painter Pieter Bruegel. The medium used is oil on canvas, mounted on wood. While I could not find information on where The Fall of Icarus was created, it now resides in the Musees royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels.

“The Fall of Icarus” by Pieter Brueghel

This painting is based on the Greek mythological story about the tragedy of Icarus. Daedalus, Icarus’ father, wanted his son to live a fuller life than the one he was to have on Crete. So he constructed wings made of feather and wax for his son to fly away. Upon presenting his son with the wings, he warned him not to fly close to the sun or the sea for the sun would melt the wax and the sea would wash the feathers away. One day, with help from his father, Icarus strapped the wings to his back and flew away. He was overwhelmed with the experience at hand and forgot to heed his father’s warning. The sun melted his wings and he fell into the sea and drowned (Scott).

If you look near the bottom right hand corner, just below the ship, you can see legs flailing out of the sea. These are the legs of Icarus, drowning in the sea. The peasants seem to pass by carrying on with their work, not noticing this figure falling out of the sky. There are plenty of mysteries in this painting if you look closely. The cave uncovered by the tide in the mound of rock protruding from the ocean, the Shepard with his head turned toward the sky, the city in the background and the island adjacent.

Pieter Brueghel had an original style influenced by Humanism and depicting landscapes and scenes of peasant life. He was occasionally called, “Peasant Brueghel” because of this reoccurring theme (Pioch). His paintings often had subtle biblical undertones such as his painting Peasant Dance, which show people using a holy day as an excuse to indulge in immoral behavior (Urton). While some influences of Humanism are present in his work, such as his focus on the common folk & their daily lives, he has a very individual style. His paintings are less serious and tie into traditions of his Flemish roots with northern parables (moral stories) with images hinting at moral commentary.

I am quiet taken by the work of Pieter Brueghel. He focused on the lifestyle a majority of people were living at the time, something not as common compared to other humanist artists. I love the complexity and detail Brueghel has in his work. His use of light is particularly appealing in The Fall of Icarus. There is a depth to his work that I don’t quite see in the other works of this time. He also has a seemingly circular theme in the pieces that make them pleasant to look at. His paintings say so much that it’s easy to see something new or in a different way every time you look at them.

Click here to see a YouTube video of this painting in greater detail

Citations:

Pioch, Nicolas. Bruegel, Pieter the Elder. WebMuseum, Paris, http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/bruegel/ , 16 Aug 2002.

Scott, Taylor. Things I Like: Greek Mythology – The Fall of Icarus. Super Lungs, http://superlungs.blogspot.com/2012/01/things-i-like-greek-mythology-fall-of.html , 12 Jan 2012

Urton, Robin. The Northern Renaissance. Eyecon Art: Art History Pages, http://robinurton.com/history/Renaissance/northrenaiss.htm , 20 Feb 2011.

Introduction May 28, 2012

Hi all! My name is Tiffany Green. I am working on my degree in Geoscience with a concentration in Geophysics. My interest is mainly in ice physics. I was born and mostly raised in Fairbanks, Alaska. I lived in Sacramento, California for 5 years during high school and a year of community college. I have three cats; Kappie, Sage, & Elijah and we live in a dry cabin close to the UAF campus. I work at the International Arctic Research Center (IARC) as an undergrad researcher on a sea ice project. I love anything that takes me outdoors; hiking, cycling, gardening, etc. as well as reading, playing with my cats, and volunteering.

Elijah

Sage

Kappie

Hiking at Liberty Falls with Marissa

Hiking in the White Mountains, Pinnell Mtn. Trail- May 2012