During her short, but passionate life, Kahlo discovered oil painting and produced a number of self protrats depicting her life and what she thought of it (approximatley half of her works were depictions of herself). She married Diego Rivera (who was more than 20 years her senior) and through him met many forward thinking poloticians from around the world and became something of a behind the scenes polotician herself. She enjoyed some fame during her lifetime but most of her following developed after she died. Many femenists hold her up as an innovator and trail breaker for women everywhere. She dealt with so much and managed to create a legacy that has made her an icon around the world.

This painting is simply called Frida Kahlo and is one of her most tame works. There are many more poinent paintings that depict the rough times and all she had to go through. But this one has always been my favorite of hers. She looks like an intelligent, patient and kind woman, gently enquiring but not overbearing. This is what I think made her the master she was. Each of her paintings describe a side of her, a characteristic. To see the otehr sides of Frida, follow this link to fridakahlo.com

http://www.fridakahlo.com/

Bamboo in Wind is an example of a Ming dynasty hanging scroll made with ink on paper. This scroll was created ca.1460 by Xia Chang. Born in the Suzhou region of China, Chang was appointed as minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices in 1457. He based his bamboo works on those of Wang Fu, expanding the technique to become the leading bamboo painter of his time.

I like the simplicity; at first glance this is a sketch an artist did in his spare time, but if you look further it will continually surprise you to note the depth of detail inherent in calligraphy style work. Some of the bamboo looks obscured by mist or fog. It makes it more interesting than many of the works I’ve seen that are very two dimensional.

First we will look at the wonderful works of Mr. Andy Goldsworthy whom works with and around nature to create symmetry and beauty out of the world around him. This piece is called Iris Leaves with Rowan Berries which is not the most interesting title every but follows with Goldsworthy’s simplistic approach to his work. This piece was created in West Bretton, England in August of 1987. I love the play of color in this piece, Goldsworthy’s use of natural elements that combine into such startling contrasts is amazing.

Now, this piece is called Oak Leaves and Holes. Can you tell how he created the illusions in this piece? It is the sense of mystery here that draws me. This piece was created in 1978 (by digging holes in the ground and placing the folded oak leaves in them).

My favorite piece of Mr. Goldsworthy has to be the Ice Spiral: Treesoul. It seems almost ethereal in its construction and meaning. To me this piece seems to assure that we are watched over and guarded by the very earth. Just trying to imagine the painstaking patience to create it boggles the mind. Mr. Goldsworthy has achieve fame and won several recognitions of his work and both popular and critical acclaim. Goldsworthy was born in England in 1956 the son of a professor of Applied Mathematics at the University of Leeds. He studied fine arts at the Bradford College of Art and gradually made his way north after leaving school in 1975. In 2001 there was a documentary on him entitled Rivers and Tides.

Ms. Richardson, on the other hand does not work directly with nature or the natural world at all. Instead she simulates it using the latest of cutting edge technologies and a fine eye for blending the natural and supernatural in her work. These first three images are taken from a group of photos she calls her Supernatural Series. They are all originally taken from sarene points right before or after blood and mayhem in several different horror films. Kelly Richardson was born in Berligton, Ontario Canada in 1972 and has been creating visual delights from her home in the UK since 2003.

This piece is very much a nod to the supernatural world. Called the Twilight Avenger, this entire work is shown on a wall sized LCD screen in which the main character, so to speak, lives and everyonce in a while will lift his head to stare directly at the audience as if to say: “yes i know that you are there and I know the horrors that you have visited on my home.” The green glow only adds another dimension to this king of the forest, lending him an impression of permanence that our fast paced society rarely has time to contemplate. The Twilight Avenger was first displayed in 2008.

These two artists just wow the senses and their unique approaches the realm of nature and what indeed should be defined as nature force us to think about our own definitions of the natural world. I hope that seeing this exhibit has caused you to start thinking as well.

It shows a woman and her three of her seven children desperate for food. As one of the seasonal agriculture workers she would’ve been paid very little during the growing season and nothing during the off season.

This photo went on to become the iconic portrayal of the Great Depression. A few days after Lange shot the photos this one was published with an article in the LA paper which in turn prompted the government to send food to the camp. This photo is also thought to have  influenced Steinbeck’s greatest work, The Grapes of Wrath.

I like this photo because it shows the reality of the Great Depression in the lives of the people who suffered the most. The Farm Security Administration is a prime example of how the government got involved in creating jobs for artists during the Early Modern Era in the US. This photo effected change when it was published in the paper and has had a lasting impression over the years.

Van Gogh’s A Starry Night (1889, near the mental asylum at St. Remy, France)

Renoir’s Dance at Bougival (1883, Montmartre, France)

Both of these are sensational works of art. I like the idea of Impressionism, the thought that what you see in a painting depends on your own personal experiences, the chance to see a little bit through the eyes of the artist.  What did they notice when they were looking at the models or scenes they painted?  It’s an insight into someone long dead, much like a journal.  It’s more personal than the works of other styles that while highly detailed and ornate, only show what is, and not the artist’s interpretation of what could be. At least in my opinion.

For the most part though, I am not a fan of this era of visual art. I am more taken with the more elaborate works of the Renaissance. The work done during the Renaissance era was extraordinary, not just in terms of talent but in effort and detail. It’s one thing to spend a week putting oil on canvas for a patron. It’s another to devote years to creating something that will awe millions of people for centuries. You have to respect the effort than went into that kind production.

Michaelangelo’s Sistine Chapel Ceiling (1505-09, Florence, Italy) is amazingly detailed. The shear amount of work that it took to create the work is awe inspiring.

While impressive in its own right, I never was one much for Impressionism. It is hard to analyze my reasons. I can’t come up with much bad to say about it, rather I just don’t prefer it, if that makes any sense.

I liked this painting for its complexity.  It shows so much more than just a scene or a portrait. Rather than showing a specific person or scene around a person (like Benjamin West’s Death of General Wolfe) it shows the beginning of the death of a whole city.  Pompeii’s history and that of other cities lost to volcanoes such as Mt. Vesuvius has always fascinated me.

By definition, the Neoclassical style of artwork rose with the middle class.  In the Classical lesson work, we read that as the middle class began to scoff at the frivolity of the upper class Ricoco style of painting of architecture, the Neoclassical style rose to rill in the gap of taste. The simpler lines and Greco-Roman influences in this new style suited the rising middle class and served to ‘stick it to the man’ or the upper classes that have held sway for so long.

Pachelbel’s famous Canon in D Major was written in Vienna, Austria ca. 1680. Pachelbel had moved to Vienna at the tender age of 18 to study at the university in Altdorf, but had to drop out early due to money issues. Lucky for Pachelbel, he was extremely talented and he was accepted back into school on an academic scholarship. He learned well and went on to teach many of his own students.

Pachelbel was the perfect example of the rise of the merchant class during the Baroque period. He was not overly wealthy growing up but worked for several different churches and towns as an organist (and instrument repairman) and enjoyed the wild popularity of his own music during his lifetime. (http://www.hoasm.org/VIB/Pachelbel.html )He printed and sold scores himself and taught students to follow in his style.  He also worked for merchant, or middle class families and towns during his career.  During the Renaissance period  this wouldn’t have been possible.  Common people just didn’t have the kind of money required to retain musicians and artisans.  Pachelbel was very much a musician for the people.

This is a recording of Pachelbel’s famous canon played as it was originally intended:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZHw9uyj81g

It is an extremely famous piece, arguably the most widely known piece of Baroque music in America today. Hundreds of songs, across every musical genre, have been either directly remade from the canon or inspired by it including: “Cryin” by Aerosmith, “Hook” by Blues Traveler, ”Let it be” by The Beatles, “Machine Head” by Bush, and “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister. Rob Paravonian does a comedy routine that includes a montage of some of these famous songs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdxkVQy7QLM

I have this link bookmarked on my computer. I think it’s hilarious! I like this song because it begins so simply just a single instrument and then works its way up until it’s a very complicated and engaging piece of music.  But then it works its way back down and you end up at the end with the single instrument again.  As a budding violinist myself, I love to look at this piece as something I might be able to play in the future.

Works Cited: These are the websites that I used to research this wonderful piece of music and its composer. Please check them out for yourself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Pachelbel

http://www.hoasm.org/VIB/Pachelbel.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachelbel%27s_Cannon

http://www.pachelbelcanon.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdxkVQy7QLM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZHw9uyj81g

http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/pachelbel.php

A work such as this, while religious in topic, would not have been an actual alter piece.  The central panel depicts humans engaged in varied amorous pursuits that are frankly too erotic for the church.  Though some scholars argue that the whole piece is meant as a warning against the desires of the flesh and therefore, in its brutal honesty, makes the point more clearly; the majority of historians agree that even though the theme of the work is biblical in origin, the expected audience is more secular.  Some even venture to claim that The Garden of Earthly Delight is meant to show what it might’ve been like if Adam and his children were allowed to return to Eden.

Most likely, Bosch was contracted by a patron to do this piece for a private home, as noted by Nicolas Pioch from the WebMuseum.  This can be attributed to the lack of artistic works commissioned by the church during and after the Reformation in the Northern Renaissance.  With the majority of the call for art coming from private patrons, art became more and more secular in theme; however, religion still held a great deal of influence in the minds of the public and the period’s art reflected that as well.  This is not only shown in the imagery of the interior panels, but in that of the outer panels as well.

The outer panels depict the world on the third day of creation, with land and plant life, but before animals or humans come into the picture, ostensibly while the earth was still a pristine creation in the eyes of God.  The view of the land surrounded by sea and encased in a marble like orb was a common depiction of how God looked down on the Earth as he held it in his hand.  From the outside, The Garden of Earthly Delight gives no hint of the vulgarities that are within, which is perhaps the point.  None could know of the depravities inside this innocent looking world without opening the doors and looking in.

I found this piece particularly intriguing due to it’s seeming innocence and the shear eroticism found within.  Bosch doesn’t mess around, he just comes right out and says “Look, sex is great guys, but you’re going to go to Hell for perverting it.”  It seems that while the original story is biblical, Bosch took the telling into his own hands.  Nowhere in the Bible is there a depiction of the kind of innocent love play that is found in The Garden, except for maybe in the Song of Solomon.  While Busch shows that ultimately even this is punished in the hell scape of the right panel, he doesn’t make the people of the center panel out to be villains.  Each face seems to be perfectly innocent in their amorous pursuits.  It seems that God is shown as vengeful and angry at an, if not innocent people, then at least people who didn’t know that what they were doing was wrong.  Growing up in a family church, this picture of God is  new to me.  I found it an interesting thought exercise.

Works Cited:

Pioch, Nicolas. WebMuseum, Paris. Bosch, Hieronymus: The Garden of Earthly Delight. http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/bosch/delight/ Oct. 14, 2002.