Abstract Discusses the artwork and its impact. The historical and cultural context of the time it was exhibited. How it was received by critics and the public. How the piece affected and transformed art. The aesthetic significance of the sculpture. Aesthetic example of modern art. Overview of Duchamp's life and avant-garde art.
From the Paper "This research examines Marcel Duchamp's artwork Fountain. The research will set forth the historical and cultural context in which the work first presented and then discuss how it was received, its impact on the history of art, and how it affected and transformed art, including the relevance of art criticism of the work to its aesthetic significance.
No discussion of Duchamp's art would be complete without reference to the sundry trends and styles of modernism and postmodernism. And no account of Duchamp's Fountain can be considered complete that does not include reference to the manner in which his output as a whole both proceeds and departs from various trends. Indeed, the cultural context for the creation of Fountain as a work of modern art is as important to an understanding of it as is the fact of context as an aesthetic ..."
Abstract Examines traces of different styles of art from various periods in Henri Matisse's 1911 painting "The Red Studio." Indirect and direct influences, including Mary Cassatt, Van Gogh and other Post-Impressionists, Greek vase painting, High Gothic and Early Renaissance one-point perspective. Matisse's artistic purpose in the painting. Use of color as expression.
From the Paper "It is possible to detect traces of several different styles of art from various periods in Henri Matisse's 1911 painting Red Studio (oil on canvas, 71 1/4" x 86 1/4"). In some cases these traces are the sign of direct influence. An example of this is the influence of artists, such as the nineteenth century painter and printmaker Mary Cassatt, who first integrated ideas from Japanese art into the Western tradition. A second example of an immediate influence is the use of intense, unusual colors as a means of emotional expression found in the work of Vincent van Gogh and other Post-Impressionist painters. Other relationships between Red Studio and earlier art seem to be purely coincidental. The simple lines of many of the objects in Matisse's painting, for example, bear similarities to Greek red-figure vase painting from the early classical era. But there are ..."
Abstract Discusses relationship to audience and society. Art since 1945; radical changes, franmentation, multimedia unifications. Varying styles. Experimentation and consolidation & re-assessment leading to a pluralism of art styles. Post World War II societal changes. Postmodern world. Social plouralism & artists' engagement with their audience. Conventions. Innovations.
From the Paper "CONTEMPORARY ART AND ITS RELATIONSHIP
TO ITS AUDIENCE AND SOCIETY
The picture of the arts since 1945 is extremely complex with trends toward fragmentation on one the side and multimedia unifications on the other. Radical changes have come about in science, technology, politics, economics, and the arts. Social relativity and the pluralistic society are replacing absolute values and uniformity; and artists are working in styles that vary from wide-ranging freedom to strict formalism, from imaginative abstraction to stark realism, from detached objectivity to passionate expressionistic involvement."
Abstract Analysis of art as an intellectual and emtoional aeathetic response. Discusses Clifford Geertz's theory of art forms and their cultural context. The meaning perceived in aesthetic form and objects. Applies Geertz's framework to Abstract Expressionism as it developed in the post-World War II period. Limitations of Geertz's theory. Critical views of Clement Greenberg and Lucie-Smith.
From the Paper "Clifford Geertz (1983) has proposed a theory of art as a cultural system in which the response to aesthetics is both intellectual and emotional, or rooted in one's feelings. These feelings in turn are seen as rooted in culture, itself manifested in the varied expressions of religion, morality, science, commerce, technology, politics, amusements, law, and even in the societal organization of everyday practical existence. Geertz (1983, p. 96) argues that talk about art tends to move beyond the technical and even the spiritualization of the technical and is directed to "placing it within the context of these other expressions of human purpose and the pattern of experience they collectively explain."
Art, therefore, is very much a product, expression, symbol, and commentary upon the artist and the society in which the ..."
Abstract Compares the two artists. Their contribution to the new art of 19th Century Impressionism. Contrasts the different styles of Renoir's LUNCHEON OF THE BOATING PARTY and Seurat's A SUNDAY AFTERNOON ON THE ISLAND OF LA GRANDE JATTE. Setting and subject matter of both paintings. Artistic approaches. Use of color and brush stroke.
From the Paper "Renoir and Seurat: A Comparison
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841 - 1919) and Georges Seurat (1859 - 1891) were contemporaries whose contributions to the "new art" of the late 19th century were of enormous significance. This brief report will compare a single painting by each artist. Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party (1991) and Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884- 1886) were painted at roughly the same time, but the two paintings represent very different styles.
Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party is set in an open air restaurant on the Island of Chatou; it depicts friends of the painter amusing themselves. According to Michael Wood (p. 248), Renoir was fond of images of the happy side of human life and preferred to paint carefree, joyous subjects. He was also ..."
Abstract This paper discusses the life of Jackson Pollock, (1912-1956) who is one of the central figures in the development of the strictly American art movement called Abstract Expressionism. Included are biographical information, description of major works, quotes from Pollock and his critics describing his innovative drip painting style, a brief description of the major motion picture made of his life, and an "art inventory," or comprehensive analysis of the 1953 painting called "Easter and the Totem".
From the Paper "American painter, Jackson Pollock, born in Cody, Wyoming in 1912, was a troubled genius who became known as a quintessential abstract expressionist in the art world of the twentieth century. Pollock, a freedom seeking rebel, was instrumental is the development of the distinctly American abstract expressionist movement in the United States. He became notorious for his drip painting methods and his huge canvases layered with paint and embedded objects. Pollock, known for his emotional volatility and heavy drinking, seen as a phony by some, and a hero by others, used his innovative, individualistic and uninhibited style to birth a new artistic genre in post World War II America."
Abstract This paper looks at how posters have always carried with them the ability to communicate in a unique way. When combining art with other interests, posters can become powerful tools of communication. The paper gives examples of how posters can promote a cause, sway peoples opinions, and be used as art. It concludes with proof that posters can capture the mood and culture of an era and represent effective uses of design elements.
From the Paper "This new art movement became known as Art Nouveau, which was the leading international decorative style of the early nineteenth century. Art Nouveau posters featured a flowing line which was inspired from nature. The style of this movement was all-encompassing, gathering influence from architecture, graphics, and furniture. Art Deco became the leading international decorative style after World War I and maintained popularity until World War II. Art Deco is best described as a machine age aesthetic, replacing the flowing line of Art Nouveau with streamlined, geometric designs with designs that represented speed and power. Other poster movements that created trends were Capiello, Object Posters, International Typographic Style and the Poster Style."
Abstract This paper provides a definition of creativity, followed by an outline of various factors, largely under the art teacher's control, that are prerequisites for fostering creativity: the proper setting; students who are not inhibited by fear of freedom; a teaching style that blends acceptance, seriousness toward art productions, a sense of fun, the absence of a desire to dictate acceptable outcomes and the time and materials for making art.
From the Paper "Art teachers, and teachers of many other disciplines, proclaim the nurturing of creativity as a principal component of their jobs. But definitions of creativity may vary considerably and what one individual sees as a creative exercise may seem to another to be rote learning of the simplest sort. In order to foster genuine creativity an art teacher must understand what creativity is and then develop the setting, attitudes, pedagogical style, and opportunities for children to develop their creativity. Although creativity is considered important in many subject areas--from learning to write to learning mathematics--it is often seen as the particular goal of art classes. But this does not mean that merely placing paint pot and paper in front of a child will nurture her/his latent creativity."
Abstract The author feels that the Crayola? website, which has hundreds of lessons plans for all age groups, can be used almost exclusively as a source of lesson plans, ranging from science to pop art to multicultural and classical art styles. The paper describes the "Abstract Animals" lesson, very fitting for third graders, which teaches kids how to use simple shapes and colors to draw animals and other objects after the style of more modern representational artists. The author uses this lesson plan within a comprehensive interdisciplinary art curriculum that teaches about the relevance of art within its social and historical setting.
From the Paper "The third section is called ?Directions,? and for a change is precisely what it claims to be. The directions for this lesson are, in short, to show the children images of various animals and forms and to use tracing paper to draw simple geometric shapes over the forms. (For example, an elephant's head would be a circle with two large ovals for the ears and a long thin oval for the trunk.) Subsequently these designs are redrawn with marker on construction paper and colored in with chalk."
Abstract This paper considers the many influences on the career of Piet Mondrian, in particular theosophy, cubism, the Dutch tradition, Vincent van Gogh, neo-plasticism and his eventual move to New York.
From the Paper "Founded on an unprecedented concern with structure, unity and subtle geometry, Piet Mondrian's landscapes reveal the origins of what was to become the major preoccupation throughout his career ? universal beauty, and its abstract representation. It was a journey that would culminate in his remarkable last work Victory Boogie-Woogie, and a process which saw him grapple with Naturalistic Realism, Cubism, Symbolism (briefly) and finally Neo-Plasticism, also called the International Style, a movement he was to make his own. Mondrian's art is fascinating for the very reason it is also so hard to understand ? it was a completely new way of perceiving the relationship between the external world, inner feeling and the surface of the canvas. His abstraction was not just a move away from figurative, representational art, but a step towards transcendental purity."
Abstract The origins of the methods used in traditional dyeing are rooted in Egyptian, Greek and Roman times. Practically speaking, the principal methods of dyeing remained largely unchanged until the advent of synthetic dyes. This paper explores traditional methods of dyeing textiles (cotton, wool, silk) and examines the microscopy of the pigments used (woad, logwood, madder, copperas, etc).
From the Paper "It is a known fact that dyes react differently to various fibres and that their fastness is determined by the particular chemical properties of each fibre. The use of mordants ensures colour fastness but again the longevity of the colour is determined by a complex set of variables. In addition, different mordants achieve different shades and again the fastness of these shades is determined to a large extent by the particular method of application. Reaching optimum results also depends on the correct temperatures or the repeated dipping of the material into the dyebath or even on the application of several baths of different mordant dyes."
Abstract "Un Chien Andalou" is a film created by painter Salvadore Dali that encapsulates his idea of surrealist art. This paper offers an interpretation of "Un Chien Andalou" and looks at its contribution to the development of artistic ideas. The paper shows that the film, like Dali himself, contributed to all the arts since it inspired a more extensive application of distorting symbolism which caused traditional spatial and temporal dimensions to melt.
From the Paper "The principal aim of the Surrealist Movement was to open up the way to super-reality, fantasy, imagination and dream-like reality since its exponents believed that what really mattered was not the reasonably apparent connection among disparate events, but their subject matter and the effects they could have on the life of the individual. Due to the fact that people had been used to seeing and dealing with conventional forms of art, which had as an immediate result the belief in the representational function of art and the emotional impact impressionistic images could have on the beholder, the surrealists tried to shatter this conventional belief in order to make the transition to supra-reality possible. For this reason, they sought to connect images in an irrational order and present them in a distorted way. As a result, although most of the objects depicted may be identified as everyday objects taken from our familiar surroundings, the connection they form with each other and the message they are trying to communicate is open to question admitting no single explanation."
Abstract This paper looks at the life and career of Lee Krasner (1908-84). It discusses how Krasner occupied a unique historical position as the only woman among the so-called 'first generation' of Abstract Expressionists and how she was ignored, stifled and underrated and gave up much of her own career for the benefit of her artist husband, Jackson Pollock (1912-56). It provides a biography of her life from her birth in Brooklyn to immigrant Orthodox Jews through her education at the National Academy of Design to becoming friends with the painters and critics who came to form the Abstract expressionist movement. It evaluates the reasons for her exclusion and obscurity and compares some of the 1940s paintings by Krasner and Pollock to demonstrate the difference in approach between his expressionism and her more careful attention to structure and surface.
From the Paper "The principal reason that is usually given for Krasner's relative obscurity as a painter is that her husband's brilliance pulled all the attention away from her. But, as Krasner herself said, "The clich? is that Lee is overshadowed by her husband and that's easy and we don't have to think about it. It's outrageous" (quoted in "Lee Krasner" 4). The conditions that created her exclusion preceded her meeting with Pollock and continued long after he was dead. They were endemic to the ways in which the society at large thought about women and the ways the abstract expressionists and their friends thought about art. Krasner recalled that among the painters and intellectuals women in general were "treated like cattle" and from the beginning of her association with the intellectuals and painters she was treated with a curious combination of friendliness and grudging respect, but her work received the worst treatment in being all but completely ignored (Anfam 15). The supposedly advanced intellectuals of the 1940s shared common American prejudices about women."
Abstract This paper examines the dramatically different way in which male and female artists portray the same act - an 'indecent proposal' of money for sexual favors. To facilitate the comparison, artists are all Dutch painters active in the 1600s. Judith Leyster's "The Proposition" is used as the key female illustration of an indecent proposal, while a number of her male contemporaries (Baburen, Honthorst, Molenaer, Ter Borch, Vermeer) are examined for the male perspective.
From the Paper In 1893, during a cleaning of The Jolly Toper, a painting acquired by the Louvre as a Frans Hals, a curious discovery was made. In the lower corner of the work was the emblem "JLS?" - the monogram of the previously-unknown artist Judith Leyster (1609-1660) . Though highly regarded in her own 17th century Holland, Leyster's work had been essentially lost until this accidental discovery. Leyster shared the fate of many female artists, whose work is often lesser known and not as favorably regarded as that of their male contemporaries. Works within a genre made by male and female artists often demonstrate sharp differences in the way each sex portrays the subject matter. Comparing Judith Leyster's The Proposition with several other similar works by her male Dutch contemporaries readily illustrates this point.
Abstract This paper gives a detailed analysis of the many types of comedy in modern society and what role humor can play in our lives. Different forms of comedy are analyzed such as slapstick, farce, stand-up comedy, parody and tragi-comedy.
From the Paper "Comedy has been used as an escape from the tensions of real life for centuries. Laughter seems to be the one uniquely human sensation that there is; there seems little possibility that animals experience humour. Comedy is an essential part of everyday life, as it is regularly on television and radio and in literature. It is often through comedy that we can take a look at our lives and the issues that govern them, and to some extent comedy shapes the world in which we live."
