Blog #8 Zhang Daqian Chinese Art

 

Art from the Chinese realm is great; however art from Zhang Daqian of the Chinese dynasty is splendid, magnificent, and pleasing to the eye. This very talented artist was born in 1899 in Neijiang, China. He started pursuing painting at a very young age and began traveling abroad to learn from experts and gain experience. According to the Chinese Online Museum, “In 1917 his elder brother, Zhang Shanzi (an artist famous for his tiger paintings), accompanied him to Kyoto, Japan, to study textile dyeing. Two years later, Zhang Daqian went to Shanghai to receive traditional painting instruction from two famous calligraphers and painters of the time, Zeng Xi (曾熙) and Li Ruiqing (李瑞清).” All of the traveling and studying paid off dearly as his career took of in the 1920’s while still very young for the art world. After almost 30 years of painting, Zhang took a leap of faith and left China. He lived in very exotic places such as Mendoza, Argentina; São Paulo, Brazil; and Carmel, California. He finally settled down after a lifetime of work and travels in Taipei, Taiwan in 1978. According to Wikipedia, ” Chang Dai-chien was one of the best-known and most prodigious Chinese artists of the twentieth century.”

Though I could find no name for the piece or date of origin, I chose to use this painting because it was my favorite of many works that I loved by Zhang. The waterfall with the rocks and trees gives a beautiful feeling of peace. I believe many of the landscape paintings are meant to bring to life the natural beauty and help us  recognize it. There are many more of his landscape paintings at the following site where you can visit and be as amazed as I was.

http://www.chinaonlinemuseum.com/painting-zhang-daqian-landscape.php

Ali Farka Toure – African Music

Music is such an important part of the world culture today and ever since it was created. It is used to tell stories, touch emotions, and make statements. The music I chose to represent today is from a part of the world that is unfamiliar to me. Africa has long fascinated me for perhaps the very reason that it is so unfamiliar. The piece below was written by Ali Ibrahim Touré or better known as Ali Farka Touré. The album this song is recorded on was released on March 29, 1994 in the UK. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Ali Ibrahim “Farka” Touré was born in 1939 in the small village of Kanau in the country of Mali. He was one of ten brothers and sisters of which he managed to be the only one to survive infancy. His musical career did not take off for many years. He played locally and developed a style similar to John Lee Hooker of the western hemisphere. Then in 1994, his career took off and he became internationally known with the release of his album Talking Timbuktu made with Ry Cooder a U.S. blues-rock guitarist. After becoming the most important African musician of his time he retreated from music for a while and returned to his home village to remember how life used to be. According to The Leonard Man’s African Music Guide he felt the fame, “drained him of inspiration and weakened his musical connection with Africa. He retreated therefore for several years to his home by the river Niger in Northern Mali, where he grows rice.”

His career was ultimately one of the most influential to come out of Africa. Ali even sung in a number of languages that range from Songhay, Fulfulde, Tamasheq, and Bambara. With all of Toure’s success he has no doubt made an impact on the world and its view of modern African music. This influence has also impacted future rising artists from within Africa itself. We can look forward to followers of his to produce similar music in the near future.

 

Wikipedia- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Farka_Tour%C3%A9

The Leopard Man’s African Music Guide- http://www.leopardmannen.no/t/toure.ali.farka.asp

Op Art Exhibit

The theme that I chose for this exhibition is Op art, or in other words Optical art. This style was born from artists that developed the idea of depicting 3 dimensional objects in painting to a whole new level. The artists of the time such as Victor Vasarely, Bridget Riley, and M C Escher depicted optical illusions in their pieces. Today, we are going to look at two specific artists and 3 of their works to see how they developed this style of Op art. Personally, it is my favorite style of this era.

The first artist Victor Vasarely is also known as the founder of optical art. He was born in Hungary in 1908 and at first started a medical career which he abandoned for art in 1927. His ambition for art led him into a wonderful and well recognized and well traveled career. In 1930, he left Hungary for Paris where he worked as a graphic artist and consultant. In a biography of Victor Vasarely it states  in, ” Vasarely left Hungary and settled in Paris in 1930 working as a graphic artist and as a creative consultant at the advertising agencies Havas, Draeger and Devambez.” Then in 1961 he settled for good in Annet-sur-Marne. For decades he pleased the public with his variety of abstract and optical art.

These next three pieces are from Vasarely works after 1975. They show three dimensional figures and illusions that trick the eye. That is what optical illusions are about.

Kettes (1984)

Kezdi (1988)

Untitled (1983)

The next three pieces are from an artist also well known for her optical art named Bridget Riley. Riley was born April 24, 1931 in London where she was raised and began her studies as an artist. She attended the Royal College of Art. Her studies of pointillism led to her starting to paint optical art which she enjoyed and produced many pieces. She started in black and white in the 1950’s and then moved to color in the 1960’s. The following three pieces are from her color works and depict her style of vertical three dimensional wavy lines.

Echo (2000)

Green Dominance (1997)

Ease (1987)

All six of these pieces that are shown depict optical art. The first three by Vasarely have a three dimensional optical illusion to them, while the next three depict more of wavy lines and movement. All grab your attention using the technique of perception and optical effects painted by the artists. I love these paintings because of the optical effects that the artists were able to capture. Especially the three dimensional space on the two dimensional canvas. This style of art fascinates me and I would love to learn the techniques of how to do it myself.

 

Early Modern

There is an amazing style of American jazz called Ragtime. There is a composer who is famous for many Ragtime pieces. I chose to present Scott Joplin and his piece The Maple Leaf Rag published in 1899 out of Sedalia, MO.

We are able to enjoy this piece today because of its direct influence from the growing popularity of the African American style at the time. American jazz was growing wherever there were African American communities. A website called Eyeconart tells us a little about African American communities during this time. “An unprecedented outburst of creative activity among African-Americans occurred in all fields of art.” A part of this activity was the growing popularity of jazz music.

Around this time, Scott Joplin is on the scene of Sedalia, MO working on his own career. Joplin had started playing music young. By the age of 23 he was noted in a local newspaper playing with a group of musicians. We read in a biography that “the first documented sign of Joplin’s musical career is in the summer of 1891 when, as reported in newspapers, he was back in Texarkana working with a minstrel troupe.” From there he published some music and even a few rags in 1898, however, in 1899 he created his most famous piece of all time.

I love this piece because I was familiar with it already and its upbeat rhythm is very catchy. This new, innovative style is lively, happy, and makes you want to move. The Maple Leaf Rag is considered the “finest expression” of ragtime music according to a document title “100 Years of Maple Leaf Rag,” and I agree one-hundred percent.

My “Impression”

Impressionism is an amazing style of art that upon first glance I didn’t like or understand. I didn’t like it because of the blurry vision that was depicted, the unconventional themes, or the abstract way of using color; however I now realize that all of those aspects were a part of the advancements made during this era. After studying in depth this style and its importance in the development of modern art I, like so many others, have come to gain a large respect and likeness towards it. Dr. Lori, an award winning t.v. show host with a Ph.D. in art history, states how the impressionist style still influences artists today. “Many artists and collectors are still intrigued by the popular art movement and many artists prefer the style and produce works of art today in the style or derivations of the Impressionist style.” I enjoy looking at the different scenes captured with the different shades of light and optical techniques applied along with the wide range of new colors on display. I love this style!

The very first impressionistic painting was created by Claude Monet. Impression Sunrise was finished in Argenteuil, France and put on display in 1873. Though not well received at the time, this painting marked the way for impressionism. This painting captures a moment in time and must have been done rather quickly because the setting sun falls fast. If we look closely we can see the quick brush strokes of the sky and haze that line the top of the painting, while the rapidly painted black lines depict waves upon the water. The magnificent color of a bright orange covers the painting which may have never been seen before in such brilliance. Compared to the realist paintings or romantic paintings of the time, this was a step in a new direction that lead towards the start of an amazing style of art.

This painting done by Rosa Bonheur titled Plowing in the Nivernais: The Dressing of the Vines uses very different colors and lines with a truthful and accurate depiction that was common at the start of the Impressionism era. The differences between the realist style and impressionism are so drastic that it’s no wonder Impressionism did not take off right away.  In a video called Impressionism & Post Impressionism: A Crash Course, the narrator tells us, “the official French style as shone in the annual Paris salon exhibition was realistic, accurate, and proper.” The majority was focused on how to make paintings more clear, real, and accurate. So when a piece came along that was the exact opposite of that opposition arose. Though both style should be praised for the technique they carry, Impressionism needs to be recognized as the first form of modern art. It is the style that carried us to our time, not Realism.

I used to look at art with just a glance and if it wasn’t appealing I didn’t bother to learn its history, why the artist chose that style, or when it was painted. Impressionism along with earlier styles that may not have been appealing at first glance, is now one of my favorite styles of art.

Classical Era

This is a piece done by the famous Ludwig Van Beethoven titled Symphony No. 5 in C minor. The symphony was created over a span of four years from 1804 – 1808 while living in Vienna, Austria. Although the piece was started in 1804, Wikipedia tells us that Beethoven left the piece to compose many other works. “Beethoven repeatedly interrupted his work on the Fifth to prepare other compositions, including the first version of Fidelio, the Appassionata piano sonata, the three Razumousky string quartets, the Violin Concerto,  Fourth Piano Concerto, the, Fourth Symphony, and the Mass in C.” Most of the work done on completing the fabulous piece was done from 1807 – 1808.

Although Beethoven lived comfortably and for the most part wealthy, he did not grow up that way. The rise of the middle class was influential for this piece because its composer was raised a part of the middle class. In the biography of Ludwig Van Beethoven we learn that Beethoven’s “father was musician at the Court of Bonn.” We see from Ludwig’s childhood that the Beethoven family was a part of that middle class that had such an interest in music. His biography also states, “At an early age, Beethoven took an interest in music, and his father taught him day and night, on returning to the house from music practice.” If there had not been such a growth of musical interest from the middle class, who knows if Beethoven or his father would have even chosen to be affiliated with the world of music. With the shift of audience from the aristocracy to the increasing middle class, Beethoven was also able to show off his talent to public viewers at a very young age. His biography continues to tell us that, “On March 26th 1778, at the age of 7 1/2, Beethoven gave his first know public performance, at Cologne.” Public shows were fairly new to the era, but growing quickly due to the influence of the middle class. Had this influence not have been there, Beethoven less than likely would have performed at such a young age, planting huge seeds for his future career as a composer.

I find this work appealing because it is so beautifully composed. I love to listen to all of the instruments working together in sync and creating such wonderful sounds. It truly needed a musical genius to pull it off. A part from how wonderful the music is, I had heard of Beethoven before studying this section. His works have made a lasting impression upon the world and the composition of classical music.

Baroque Era

Johann Sebastian Bach was and is one of the greatest composers in the history of the world. His works are beautiful and inspiring. His pieces range from secular solos for various instruments, orchestras, many compositions of concerto grosso to religious cantatas, motets, masses, and oratorios. Whether it be secular or religious, the works are similar in the way that they grab your attention and move you. I have to admit, I get a peaceful feeling listening to his amazing works. This piece,  Prelude from Cello Suite No. 1, always grasps my immediate attention every time I listen to it.

Although it is unclear when or where this work was created, we may be able to narrow it down to an educated guess. Bach never left Germany, so it was definitely composed within the country. More specifically from 1717 to 1721 he moved to Cöthen where he worked under the patronage of Prince Leopold. It is here and in this time frame where I believe that Prelude from Cello Suite No. 1 was created. Robert Sherrane tells us just how hard Bach worked while in Cöthen. “During the years Bach was in the service of the courts, he was obliged to compose a great deal of instrumental music: hundreds of pieces for solo keyboard, orchestral dance suites, trio sonatas for various instruments, and concertos for various instruments and orchestra… Of Bach’s music for solo instruments, the six Suites for violoncello and the Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin are among the greatest for those instruments.” Of those hundreds of works created from 1717 to 1721, Prelude from Cello Suite No. 1 must have been one of them.

If indeed this piece was written while Boch was in Cöthen, it would have composed because of the influence of royalty. His patron being Prince Leopold, he created many works for the royal family and their friends. Robert Sherrane again states that there were, “six concerti grossi composed for the Duke of Brandenburg in 1721.” It was because of his wealthy commissioners that so many wonderful compositions have been produced.

Again I like this piece because captures my attention while listening to it. With its mixture of high and low notes and the way that they flow together, makes me feel an inner piece.  It is my favorite piece of music during the Baroque era. It is a piece that I have always liked and the only one I recognized out of all the works I listened to throughout this section.   

Blog #1 The Northern Renaissance

Hans Holbein was a very important artist of the Northern Renaissance. In his painting, The Ambassadors, he uses many techniques and styles typical to the Northern Renaissance. We can easily deduce that these men are of importance due to the detail of the clothing, the objects on the table, and the setting. According to Robin Urton, “These men were members of King Henry VIII’s court, and are portrayed with objects relating to their worldliness and higher learning: two globes, a lute, books, and navigational instruments. The fur robes and silk sleeves also illustrate their great wealth.” (http://www.robinurton.com/history/Renaissance/northrenaiss.htm) Detail and symbolism through detail was a style well used by Holbein and by other artists during the Northern Renaissance era.
The painting was created in 1533 while serving as the King’s painter to King Henry VIII of England. There is an obvious influence of royalty in this piece along with many pieces created by Holbein due to his position as the King’s painter. The interest and influence of royalty in art has given us much more knowledge of what the upper class was really like. We know how royals dressed, how certain people acted, what their pass times were, their beliefs, their lifestyles, and more because of the influence of royalty in art. Wikipedia states why Holbein’s paintings were so important. “His portraits of the royal family and nobles are a vivid record of a brilliant court in the momentous years when Henry was asserting his supremecy over the English Church.”
I particularly like this painting because of its amazing detail and anamorphic perspective. The detail of the globes on the table show the earth as they new it to be then. The open books on the shelves seem to have words written in them. The detail is spectacular! At first glance toward the bottom of the painting, it would appear to that there is a piece of wood between the two ambassadors. However, by focusing on the image, we can see that the log is really a distorted skull. This sort of hidden imagery or anamorphic perspective gives viewers a sense of excitement. For example, when I first noticed the skull, I looked even more closely at the detail all parts of the painting to see if there was any other detail I had missed. I thus had a better visual of the entire scene.

 

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A picture of me

The inside of the plane.

This is a picture of me is on the inside of one of the jets that carries space shuttles to different sites around the U.S. For example, if a shuttle was in Houston, Texas and needed to go to the Kennedy Space Station in Florida it would be flown on top of the back of this jumbo jet! The jet is stripped on the inside and has a reinforced frame to hold the excess load.