[B6] "The Son of Man" by René Magritte (Surgery Make-up: Week of Nov14)

     René Magritte was a Belgium surrealist artist known for his strange placement of non-deformed, everyday objects.  Rather than morphing the objects as many surrealist artists did, such as Dalí's melting clocks, Magritte preserved each object's characteristics, but arranged them in uncharacteristic ways.

    

     About the painting, Magritte said:

          At least it hides the face partly. Well, so you have the apparent face, the apple, hiding the visible but

     hidden, the face of the person. It's something that happens constantly. Everything we see hides another

     thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see. There is an interest in that which is hidden and

     which the visible does not show us. This interest can take the form of a quite intense feeling, a sort of

     conflict, one might say, between the visible that is hidden and the visible that is present.

     Magritte shows realism in the characteristics of individual objects.  By observing the bricks behind the man, one can determine that the piece is painted in one-point perspective.  The painting is nearly symmetrical, except for the overlap of the coat and the odd bend of the man's left arm.  The background is so simple, obviously meant to not draw attention from the man, that one may consider the piece somewhat minimalistic.  Magritte's use of shadows and highlights bring out the realism in the man's hands, coat, hat, and face.  The apple hangs, impossibly, in mid-air, hiding the man's face and lending a sense of mystery to the piece.  The apple also serves as the aspect which makes this piece surreal.  The background of the piece is almost completely painted using cool colors, and the middle ground is almost monochromatic with shades of gray.  The lines of the man's coat draws the viewer's attention up to the apple, which shades the face and serves as the focal point.  The vivid shade of green of the apple also illuminates it as the main aspect of the piece.

[B5] Bellarmine University (Surgery Make-up: Week of Nov7)

Bellarmine University is a liberal arts college in Louisville, Kentucky.  It offers 56 majors and 17 graduate programs.  Tuition per year is around $42k, but every applicant is offered financial aid.  One may apply to Bellarmine here.  By applying for the school, applicants are automatically considered for the highest scholarship for which they qualify, excluding the Bellarmine Scholars program.  In order to apply to be a Bellarmine Scholar, one must submit an essay answering the prompt, "Describe an incident in your life during which you intellectual curiosity was peaked."  If chosen as a Bellarmine Scholar, a student will receive a four year, all inclusive scholarship to the school.  The deadline for the Bellarmine Scholars essay is December 1st.  The early action deadline for application to the university is November 1st, but one may apply as last as June.

Students who possess a 21 ACT or a 990 SAT, have a 2.5 cumulative grade point average in a college prep curriculum, and are ranked in the top 50% of their class are generally admitted.  Required high school courses include 4 units of English, 3 units of math, 3 units of social sciences, 2 units of natural sciences with labs, and 2 units of foreign language.


The School of Art at Bellarmine University is instructed by professors who are also professional artists. Art majors may choose emphasis in painting, sculpture, or photography/digital art.  Courses offered include art history from ancient and medieval to Renaissance and modern art history, as well as independent studies, internships, and hands-on experience with drawing and composition, 3D design, ceramics, color imaging, photography, painting, figure drawing, and video art.  


Art resources within the city can be found here.

[B4] Goose Egg Art (Surgery Make-up: Week of Oct 31)

Utah artist Brian Baity makes his masterpieces from a quite unexpected material.  He uses ostrich eggs, rhea eggs, emu eggs, goose eggs, and gourds.  This specific piece is carved from a goose egg.

The process of creating this type of sculpture takes a lot of patience and an artist must be very careful.  A small hole is first made in the end of the egg and the yolk is sucked out.  Dental tools are used to gently carve away layers of shell.  Generally goose eggs are carved all the way through, but many eggs, such as ostrich eggs, which have differently colored layers, are only carved partially through to expose different values in the shell.


This egg in particular is very interesting because of the crisp lines and geometric shapes intertwining throughout.  Though perfect geometry generally indicates stability, this piece is quite the opposite.  The feeling of stability given off by the design contrasts with the fragility of the material itself.  Contrasting with the perfect, geometric design again is the round, smoothness of the piece as a whole.  


This piece really appeals to myself in particular because I enjoy artwork that utilizes unusual materials, mediums, or methods.  This piece employs all three.  Not only is it eccentric in those ways, but it also is completely natural and organic, a quality most art cannot claim.


Brian Baity's website may be found here.

[B3] What Do We Really Mean By Art? (Surgery Make-up: Week of Oct 24)

What Do We Really Mean By Art?

by Marilina Maraviglia at Smashing Magazine

This article addresses six questions regarding art today and the evolution of it throughout history, providing many visuals and featuring interviews with several different artists.

1. What Is Art?

The author begins the article by addressing this question. She states that "Art is generally understood as any activity or product done by people with a communicative or aesthetic purpose—something that expresses an idea, an emotion or, more generally, a world view." She continues to cite different definitions of art, even from Wikipedia, but summarizes by saying that, "In this article, we mean art as a form of human expression of a creative nature."

2. The Evolution Of The Concept Of Art
       The author begins by saying, "While the definition of art has changed over the years, the field of art history has developed to allow us to categorize changes in art over time and to better understand how art shapes and is shaped by the creative impulses of artists."  She interviews two very stylistically different artists, Alexander Daniloff and Jonathan Ball.  Daniloff is a Russian artist who lives in Italy and practices art using traditional styles and mediums.  Ball is the mastermind behind the designs of Poked Studio, a company that provides illustration, web design, blog design, graphic design, 3-D rendering and visualization, motion graphics, flash websites, and games. 

by Alexander Daniloff

by Jonathan Ball

3. Aesthetics In Digital Art
     The author then offers insight into the mid-20th century transition to digital media.  She confronts the view of many that "given the variety of tools at their disposal, how much effort do digital artists really have to put into their work?"  She interviews Jan Willem Wennekes, a freelancer, for his opinion on the subject.  The following pieces are examples of his work.

4. Art As We Know It Today
     The author defines the 20th century as a turning point in our conception of art.  She links this to the reason that contemporary artists often reach for new concepts which break with tradition and the classical notions of beauty.  She interviews Nate Williams, Travis Lampe, and Jonathan Ball regarding the subject.  Nate Williams is an artists, illustrator, and designer from the US who has worked extensively in the advertising world.  Travis Lampe is an illustrator who currently lives and works in Chicago, working in art and illustration.

by Dan May

5. News Media Revolution And Its Relationship To Artists
     The author now addresses the recognition of new forms of art as opposed to the already widely recognized forms such as painting, drawing, sculpture, music, literature, and performance.  She asks, "What exactly is the relationship between these new forms of expression and contemporary artists?"  She interviews Russian and German illustrators  Max Kostenko and Pino Lamanna to answer her questions.

by Leandro Lima

by Max Kostenko

6. Communication And Self-Promotion In The New Web

     Maraviglia concludes her article by addressing the relationship between artists and their audiences and the methods they use to self-promote.  She queries Bob Flynn, Alex Dukal, Jayme McGowan, Chris Piascik and Irma Gruenholz for their opinions regarding self-promotion.  

by Bob Flynn

[B2] The Smoke (Surgery Make-up: Week of Oct 17)

"The Smoke" by ~lucaszoltowski on DeviantArt.

When I saw this piece, I was taken hold by the strong message it sends. This minimalistic photomanipulation uses many different elements to emphasize its depiction of the desperation and helplessness caused by addiction. In order to bring the viewer's eyes to it's focal point, the artist uses heavy contrast of the black ashes against the light background. The background also serves to stress the focal point by using a gradation of medium gray and white. The shadows beneath the cigarette create a very three-dimensional effect, which accentuates the realism of a faked photomanipulation. The contrast of the orange filter against the monochromatic remainder of the piece punctuates the cigarette as the main cause of the painful tone of the artwork.

Hair, sweet hair.

"Hair, sweet hair" is an oil pastel piece of an artist known as Vive-le-Rock on DeviantArt. Here is the link, though it will be blocked on our beloved school Macs.

     I really adore this piece.  I initially actually found another piece called "A Thousand Faces" on DeviantArt here, but learned that it was based upon this piece, which I enjoy much more.

     As my preferred style is minimalism, this piece really appeals to me.  I love the bright, warm colored hair in contrast to the flat black background.  Even more amazing is how the cool, blue face contrasts the bright hair, with almost no discrepancy between warm and cool provided, except the sparse blue strands of hair throughout.  Even without a transition, it looks really amazing.
     Another aspect of this piece that intrigues me is how voluminous the artist makes the hair appear by her use of curved and curly, free lines.  The many colors she uses for the hair also lends to the piece a sense of wild fierceness.

     Another fantastic aspect of this piece is the use different values of blue to shadow the face, providing the transition from the bright, fluorescent colors in the hair to the cool, calm colors of the face.  I particularly enjoy the lips and the artist's use of white to highlight the face just perfectly to create the contours of the lips, cheeks, nose, and chin.  The barely visible left eye beneath the shadows also lends a sense of mystery and seduction to the piece. 

     There is also a sequel to the piece here, if you are interested. :)

René Magritte

     René François-Ghislain Magritte was born in Lessines, Belgium in 1898.  Growing up, his father, Léopold, encouraged all of his artistic endeavors and he began painting at the age of 12.  His mother suffered from severe clinical depression.  When he was 14, she committed suicide, throwing herself into the river of Sambre, and was found several days later floating down the river covered with her nightgown.  This event had a strong impact on Magritte and shows up in several of his later works.

The Heart of the Matter

Classic Crush

     While studying in the Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, Magritte was inspired by the surrealist works of Giorgio De Chirico.  Magritte, along with André Breton, Paul Eluard, and Salvador Dalí, was one of the leaders of the surrealist movement in Paris.  

     The quality of Magritte's work that is especially admirable is his talent in making surrealist objects and people seem realistic.  Unlike artists like Dalí, who morphed ordinary objects in a surrealist manner, Magritte kept objects in their original form, but juxtaposed seemingly unrelated items.  Examples of this are shown in the following works.

Son of Man

La Thérapeute

"Art evokes the mystery without which the world would not exist."
Rene Magritte

Berea College

     When I heard about Berea, I was really thrown off guard.  I didn't know there were colleges that guaranteed a student 100% paid tuition if they were accepted, but that's exactly what Berea does.   The college has a strong belief that a student's income should not dictate their outcome.
     Berea is, unsurprsingly, in Berea, Kentucky.  Like the majority of colleges, the culture at Berea is very diverse, but there is an uncommonly high percent of Berea students that study abroad.  About 50% of students that attend Berea study abroad either during the time they are working towards their major, or after they have already succeeded, and are continuing their education.
     Primarily, Berea is known as a college of liberal arts, but over 50 majors and minors are offered.  Bachelor's degrees are offered in 28 fields.  Dual-degree engineering programs are offered, which are affiliated with the University of Kentucky and Washington University, located in St. Louis.  There are 14 teaching programs and 20 national academic honor societies.
     Currently, I am unsure of my pathway I'm going to pursue regarding my future career, but when I determine it, Berea will certainly be on my list of possible colleges.  The tuition program offered is an incredible opportunity, and I particularly enjoy the heightened diversity and cultural experiences available at Berea. :)

Graffiti Art - An article review.

"Graffiti Art" - by George C. Stowers

   This is an article written by a student in an aesthetics class regarding the classification of graffiti as real art.  The author makes a point to confront the argument that graffiti is not art because of illegality, incoherence, and nonstandard presentation.  He argues that it should certainly be considered an art form because, despite often being illegal, it is an expression of an artist's beliefs.  He says that graffiti communicates the artist's identity, expressions, and ideas.
     As an approach to those who may view graffiti not as an art form, he begins by asking them to "suppose that one of these famous artists decided to paint a masterpiece on the side of your house or on your front door or on a wall in your neighborhood."  He then poses the question, "Would Picasso or Monet's markings be graffiti or art or vandalism or graffiti art?"  This kind of situation causes the reader to question their definition of graffiti, as well as position on its credibility.  
     The author then expands upon the history of graffiti, and also explains different types of graffiti.  Throughout his explanations, he offers historical examples of graffiti, such as his reference to the early graffiti found on Egyptian monuments and the walls of Pompeii.  He expands upon the aesthetic and non-aesthetic qualities of graffiti, as well as continuing to cite the history of it.  
     The author argues further that since graffiti can be "analyzed according to the elements of lines, color, and structures that are present in the work in order to produce a narrative about it," it is certainly considered a legitimate form of art.  He says that graffiti not only communicates an author's message to his audience, but also acts to beautify communities by appearing in places that would otherwise be aesthetically unpleasant.  He concludes his own argument with the statement that "all of the aesthetic properties and criteria from the base element of color to the complex issue of artist intention which are ascribed to other works in order to characterize them as art can all be found in examples of spraycan art," before referencing other artists who share his favoring view of graffiti as an art form.  He sums up his stance, saying that "recognition of graffiti art by the art world is important for two reasons. One because of the social, political, and economic influence of the art world, its recognition of graffiti art as art helps to increase the awareness and overall understanding of the art form. Two, this recognition prevents the sweeping generalization that all graffiti is vandalism and therefore something that always should be eradicated."
     Though the author did not mention it, when reading this article, I also consider the fantastically realistic chalk drawings shown throughout the internet and forwarded through e-mail daily.  Surely, by it's definition, it is considered graffiti, but most have such an appreciation and an awe of it that they don't think to consider it inappropriate or non-aesthetic, as many people consider graffiti.  
     The article opened my eyes the different types of art surrounding us in our world that we may not realize on first glance is art.  I will certainly think back to it the next time I pass beneath a beautifully, (and, as always, expressively) spray-painted overpass.






George C. Stowers.  "Graffit Art."  Hiphop Network.  Fall 1997.  16 Sept. 2011.  <http://www.hiphop-network.com/articles/graffitiarticles/graffitiart.asp>

Salvador Dalí

Dalí is my first thought when I think of surrealism, my favorite art style.  He is certainly one of the strangest artists I've ever studied.  Dalí's art reflects his mental and social life, and especially his sexual desires, though it often isn't obvious.  His art is also a representation of his intense interest in the study of the unconscious, as devised by Sigmund Freud.  His pieces seem very dream-like and psychotic.  To me, they seem like more of an intricate nightmare.

Dalí is best known for his painting The Persistence of Memory. (1931)

Another of his very famous artworks is Les Elephants. (1948)

Dalí painted over 1000 paintings, but his most recognizable and certainly my favorite ones are of the surrealism style.  

Other works by Dalí can be found here.  

Architect

I've always loved all the different types of architecture, especially modern/asian, but I could never ever be an architect.  My style of art is precise, but not nearly as precise as the precision required for architectural design.  Even though math is one of my strongest subjects, I could never have a career that depended on geometry and perfection.

An architect's main job is to create structurally sound, safe, and functional buildings and structures.  The average salary of an architect is $106k.  There are 3 types of professional architectural degrees offered.  A 5 year Bachelor's degree in architecture is generally intended for students with no prior architectural design experience.  A 2 year Master's degree in architecture is intended for students who already possess an undergraduate degree in architecture.  Also, a 3 or 4 year Master's degree in architecture is offered to students who have other majors.  One must possess a license to offer architectural design services in the United States.  Generally, an architect's day consists of discussing the statistics of a project, providing drawings and ideas for their clientele, and assuring that structures meet all regulations and codes required of them.

Keyper's Cove

     I was looking at the traditional art section on DeviantArt the other day and ran across a metalsmithed necklace created using watch parts and a skeleton key.  The description linked me to a shop on Etsy called Keyper's Cove.  This man and his sister run the shop, selling their metalsmithed necklaces, lockets, and other types of pendants.  Each of the items are handmade, thus each is completely original and different from any other.

     Prices for these keys range from five to fifty dollars.  New items are added and removed daily as they are bought from the shop.  

    Before I ran across this, I had never thought of metalsmithing as a medium in which I was interested.  Now, however, I look forward to attempting to create my own steampunk-style, skeleton key necklace.  It will, of course, be uniquely my design and a piece of art I can keep with me all the time.

Video Game Design

      It's likely that video game design is both the nerdiest and most entertaining artistic career one can choose.  I particularly enjoy it because, as a dork myself, I've grown up surrounded by the distracting, yet extremely entertaining alternate realities with which gaming systems have provided us.  From Sonic on the Sega Genesis and Donkey Kong on Nintendo64 to the current amusements of Halo and Call of Duty on PS3 and Xbox 360, I've experienced it all.  I've always envied those lucky, talented dweebs who design those games for a living.

     The video game design field is a very competitive field, and only the most talented and qualified artists are very successful.  The fields of game design range from gaming on computers, TVs, and mobile phones to arcade/web gaming and gaming for training purposes.  Most game designers for anywhere from 50 to 70 hours a week, earning an average salary of $42k-62k, depending on experience.  While artistic talent is a must, it is also required that artists understand basic math concepts so that they may put 3D elements of a game into correct perspective.  One has a much higher chance of getting a job with a bachelors degree in fine arts or another art-related area, but it is not required.  Communication skills are also essential, as most game designers work in a team, rather than on their own.