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.