Favorite artists - contribute!

[narya]

For those of you who love Van Gogh (you know who you are!) there's this virtual tour on January 2nd:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/van-gogh-m ... 5184010167
I have already taken two virtual tours by the Washington DC History and Culture group and have been underwhelmed each time. But it is by volunteers, and it's free, and who knows, the next tour might be better. It's worth checking out.

In the page linked above there are links to two previously recorded programs, one on Monet, one on Frida Kahlo, by the same tour guide, to give you an idea of what the Van Gogh program will be like.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

That is -- and has been for a long time -- sold out, unfortunately. We tried to get reservations months ago, and I just tried again. No dice.

[narya]

Well, it should be posted on their website, once it is done.
https://www.youtube.com/c/WashingtonDCH ... ure/videos

[Frelga]

Thought I'd bump this up with some Ukrainian artists people might want to support. Especially those who sell digital art, since their ability to make and ship things may be limited.

Anna Titova has adorable downloadable art in her Etsy shop, and I would absolutely love some of the jewelry.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

This is damn impressive. I thought it was going to be completely random abstract art (which does little for me). But watch until the end.

[RoseMorninStar]

It is impressive. It's not abstract art as it was well planned & executed and depicts objects/a scene in a representative way. Quite nice never the less.

[Frelga]

I agree it's not abstract, but I do think he's taking a page (canvas?) from Pollock where the act of creating the painting is as much a work of art as the painting itself. And the result can stand on its own when viewed by someone who is not aware of the process. Pollock's work just looks like cats got into the paint store to me.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Exactly

[RoseMorninStar]

Jackson Pollock (et al) would be considered abstract expressionism. Works such as his are supposed to set a emotion/mood without being subject to a particular well, subject. Sort of like looking at clouds (in an artistic way).. it is what it is to you, the viewer, that matters. Some may choose to get lost in contemplating what mood it sets for them personally based on color & movement. What does the viewer bring to the art? It's what you see in it, not what the artist tells you to see*. The work that V posted would probably be classified as expressionism (without abstraction). Expressionism should evoke emotion from the viewer based on color, movement, and subject matter. Obviously this work intentionally has a subject matter that is recognizable to everyone. It doesn't require contemplation or imagination.

While I'm not a huge fan of abstract work, it has it's place and you'd be surprised how much it is a part of our society, in ads, packaging, design, and other ways too numerous to count. It has it's place in offices and spaces where one wishes to set a tone but not have too much read into it, subject-matter-wise.

Regarding the above work, it's obvious this artist has likely created a version of this painting many, many times to achieve the desired effect. This is not a bad thing but it has a different intention than something that is solely created in the moment for pure emotional effect.

*ETA; now Frelga has me wondering if indeed cats had walked on a Jackson Pollock painting if it would still be considered abstract...

* This is why some abstract works are not titled or are given vague titles like 'Work #23', so that the artist is not dictating what the viewer sees/takes away from the work.

[Frelga]

That kind of a abstract art is not for me. It takes an amazing kind of mastery to evoke emotion through seemingly random splotches of paint, and I usually enjoy watching the clouds more. At least I don't have to wonder if the artist is having me on (well, I do, but on a very different level).

Kandinsky's pre-Bauhaus period is about as abstract as I can usually enjoy.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

My great-uncle (my mother's mother's brother) was a colleague of Jackson Pollock). He was a lovely man but his art left me mostly unmoved.

Seymour Boardman

[RoseMorninStar]

My great-uncle (my mother's mother's brother) was a colleague of Jackson Pollock). He was a lovely man but his art left me mostly unmoved.

Seymour Boardman

How fascinating!! Doing a search for Seymour's work.. there are a few pieces I like. Not that I'd hang them in my home, but I can still appreciate them. I love the color in this work. I would enjoy looking at it while in a waiting room, for example.

Seymour Boardman.jpg (99.07 KiB) Viewed 4604 times

Through classes & education I suppose, I have learned there is a vast difference between appreciation for a work/style and whether one LIKES a particular style/work and if it fits with one's personal taste. Learning about the intention behind works has definitely improved my appreciation (I used to go into schools and give presentations as a docent in that capacity, after all). It wasn't my job to get someone to love a work, but to appreciate/understand it.

For example, Grandma Moses primitive painting style is not something I would hang in my home, but learning about her and how she came to do the work she did greatly improved my appreciation & understanding of her work and I came to value her as someone who chronicled her period in time, much like..say, Laura Ingalls Wilder did through literary means with the Little House books.

Artistic movements are often a reflection of what is happening in the world at the time and is closely linked to history and politics. It's quite fascinating. For example, two popular art forms Art Nouveau and Art Deco: the first is exemplified by nature, asymmetry, and curvalinear lines. It embraces the arts and crafts movement (crafts as in master artisans, not crafts as often thought of today). It revels in the handmade. It blurred lines between traditional art (painting and sculpture in particular) and design, furniture, jewelry, metalwork, glass work (think 'Tiffany') etc.. and all things made by hand. Art Deco, on the other hand, embraced the machine age. Perfectionism wrought by machine. Symmetry. All things new. Metal. Shiny. One movement is a bit of reaction to the other.

Art Nouveau is definitely more my 'style' but I can appreciate the esthetics of both.

I could go on...

[Frelga]

Someone once said that Elves are Art Nouveau and Dwarves are Art Deco, and they've got a good point.

[RoseMorninStar]

Someone once said that Elves are Art Nouveau and Dwarves are Art Deco, and they've got a good point.

Certainly stylistically, although Dwarves seem to like working with their hands.