Day 23 – Switching Gears: Photography

So, first of all, today was quite an adventure: we finished moving out of our apartment in Chicago and we are now in an extended stay in the suburbs for the next two weeks, which is nice for the Other Half because it’s a much quicker drive to his workplace. Our stuff is all in storage for the moment, because our next place isn’t nailed down quite yet (long story). We get to go on vacation two weeks from now! I’m very excited, and I already feel like I’m on vacation since I’m essentially living in a hotel room at the moment, haha!

I want to switch gears again, to what will probably be the last area of art I explore during my 30 days of art: photography. Several years ago, when I still lived near Fort Worth. I saw an exhibit on Ansel Adams and thought it was really cool. So, tomorrow I’m going to write about Ansel Adams, and then go from there. I think photography is an interesting art form, both because in the grand scheme of art it’s a relatively new medium, and because so many people take artistic photographs as a hobby these days. Whether or not these amateur photos are any good certainly varies widely, but it seems like every time I turn around another one of my friends is putting up a photography blog. I think it’s neat that so many people are able to access their creativity this way.

That’s all I have to say for today, however. It’s been a long couple of days, and I definitely need some sleep! Before I go, here’s one Ansel Adams photograph as a preview. Pretty incredible!

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 22 – One Shape Does Not Fit All!

I’m actually writing my blog early in the day today! Our schedule has been all over the place (yup, thanks to the move), so I decided to take advantage of a free moment in the morning to write. Also, sadly, I was unable to have any coffee this morning since our coffee pot was packed away already and I couldn’t sneak out to buy some. So today’s blog is brought to you by some tea I managed to scrounge up and drink out of a Styrofoam cup.

Today will probably be my last day on the subject of Greek Pottery, but I did not want to move on until I discussed the shapes a little bit. Ancient Greek Vases were not “one shape fits all.” As the Metropolitan Museum’s Article yesterday noted, “Painted vases were often made in specific shapes for specific daily uses.” (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/vase/hd_vase.htm). I also found some information on vase shapes from an online Reed College study guide. (http://cdm.reed.edu/cdm4/studyguides/vases/intro-types.html). (No Wikipedia today, either! Go me!)

Examples of some different vase shapes and their uses are amphora (transporting food and wine), kanthoros or kylix (drinking water), lekythos (pouring libations), loutrophoros (carrying water for a bridal bath), and albastron (a tiny vase that could be tied to the wrist for carrying perfumes and oils). As you can see, the vase shapes are a mix of shapes for everyday uses and shapes for special or ritual occasions. This is a picture I found on Reed’s website that shows some of the different shapes:

Again, the complexity of these ancient traditions fascinates me. I’m not sure I can think of something similar today. In our culture, are there really any groups of widely accepted shapes for different purposes? The only thing I could really come up with is that we have different shapes of wine glasses for red wine, white wine, sparkling wine, etc. That doesn’t even come close to the complexity of the Greek Vase shapes. Am I forgetting something? Can you think of an analogous example in our lives today?

Finally, just because, here’s another picture of a Greek vase. This is an amphora shaped jar:

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 21 – Artists at Work: How the Ancient Greeks Made Pottery

So, I wrote briefly about the Orientalizing style yesterday, and while there is certainly much more I could research and write about that style, I want to go ahead and move on to Black and Red Vase Painting. When I looked at an overview of the Greek Styles of Vase Painting, this was my favorite. (Also, I’m getting closer to the end of the 30 days of the “Art” portion of my Coffee Bean Dreams Project, so I don’t want to get too bogged down on any one thing. I might still check out one more area of art before moving on to the next 30 Day Topic!)

Since I found an article on the Metropolitan Museum’s website about black and red figure techniques (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/vase/hd_vase.htm), I decided to take a break from Wikipedia. (True Academics, rejoice!). I liked the article from the Met Museum a lot because it also actually described the process of making the pot. First, it was shaped on a wheel, and if it was a large enough pot it was made in sections. Once the sections had dried they were assembled with clay in liquid form (known as a slip), and then finally the handles were added. To make black figure vases, the figures were applied with a slip that turned black during firing the pots. Red figure vases were the opposite: the figures remained the color of the clay pot while the background was filled with a slip that turned black. The black figure style came first and was gradually replaced by the red figure style as the ancient potters realized the better design possibilities with the red figure technique.

After the pots were shaped and assembled, and the designs applied or filled in, the pots went through a three stage firing process: the first stage, oxidizing, allowed air into the kiln and turned the pot the color of clay; the second stage introduced green wood which reduced the oxygen supply and turned the pot black; and in the third stage more air was allowed in the kiln again which caused glossed areas to remain black but the rest of the pot to turn back to orange.

So, I don’t know if others find the pot-making process itself as fascinating as I do, but for some reason the idea of making pots has always appealed to me. Maybe I should try taking a pottery class one of these days- something about the idea of feeling the wet clay in your hands and then seeing it turn into beautiful vase just seem so wholesome and satisfying. I’ve never really considered myself an artist, but I think I could very much get into making pottery. (How that pottery would actually look is another story, but, you know…)

Ok, I’m off to do more moving related tasks (cannot wait for this weekend for the move to be over!!), but I’ll leave you with a few examples of red and black figure vases from the Met’s website. Notice the many different shapes of the vases!

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 20 – Lions and Sphinxes and Griffins, Oh My!

Next up in Greek Vase Painting is the Orientalizing Style. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pottery_of_ancient_Greece; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orientalizing_period). In the 8^th and 7^th Centuries B.C., the cultural mix in the Aegean and Mediterranean resulted in the Orientalizing style, which portrayed both real and mythological animals- such as lions, griffins, and sphinxes. You’re likely familiar with sphinxes thanks to the well-known Great Sphinx. (Just in case you’ve forgotten, sphinxes are mythical creatures with the head of a human and body of a lion). But, if like me, you’ve never heard of a griffin, you’ll be interested to know that it has the body, trail, and back legs of a lion, the head and wings of an eagle, and its front feet are eagle talons. Like this:

I really love the mythological creatures displayed in Greek art. It’s great that art allows the imagination to be portrayed in a physical form. These Greek vases give life to otherwise non-existent creatures, and I think that’s exciting to see! Here’s an example of one of these vases:

Ok, although there is definitely much more to say about the Orientalizing Style, that’s all for today. Short and sweet, but we’re moving this weekend and trying to get a move organized while taking care of a two month old is no joke. And we even have movers doing most of the work! I don’t know how people who don’t have movers do it… I’m very lucky! The next few days might all be bite sized blogs! J

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 19 – Ancient Greek Vases and Living Life on Purpose

So, this morning I read more about art as displayed on vases in Ancient Greece. First of all, let me say that I think vases are very cool, and I wish I could somehow have a vase from Ancient Greece to display in my home! A few years ago I spent two weeks in Antigua, Guatemala studying Spanish, and one of my favorite souvenirs from the trip is a vase I bought in one of the local stores. Vases can be so beautiful, and are a great way to brighten up a home’s interior.

In Ancient Greece, the Protogeometrical Period was the first expression of reviving civilization during the Greek Dark Ages. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pottery_of_ancient_Greece; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protogeometric_art). Decorations on vases from this era were abstract and characterized by horizontal bands and concentric circles. See an example, below:

Following the Protogeometric Period was the Geometric Period. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pottery_of_ancient_Greece; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geometric_art). Instead of just the circles of the Protogeometric Period, Greek pottery from the Geometric Period boasted new designs such as triangles. During the Geometric Period, figures such as horses, stags, goats, and more started to appear. Eventually, human figures begin to appear as well. The most exciting thing to me is that, towards the end of the Geometric Period, representations of Greek mythology start to appear. I have always been fascinated by Greek mythology, and seeing it portrayed on Ancient Greek vases is really interesting. See below for an example of a vase from the Geometric Period.

I also wanted to take a moment today to discuss how my “coffee bean dreams” project is going, since I’m just about 2/3 of the way through the first month. This has been both a very rewarding and very challenging experience. I have had people who I never would have expected contact me and tell me that they are enjoying my blog and enjoying reading about my daily art discoveries. I have to admit, that’s pretty cool. When I started blogging I thought I might just be talking to myself for the next 365 days, so it’s pretty cool to know that there are some people enjoying my journey.

How I feel about the project is an evolving matter, however. Some days, I’m very excited to drink my coffee and learn more about the art I’m researching at the moment. Other days, I just want to curl up in a little ball and not think about anything. However, I was inspired recently when I went to brunch with my friends Lauren and Hilary. We talked a little bit about mindfulness, and how important it is to, for lack of a better way of putting it, live life on purpose. Sometimes it is easy to just start going through the motions and let everything get stale. This blog is a great way to keep myself accountable to my goal of not letting that happen. I am so fortunate to have such a wonderful life- I have great friends, a great partner, a beautiful daughter, a great education, and great career opportunities. I don’t want to just settle into a routine. I want to take advantage of the life I have been blessed with and learn and grow. And this blog is my way of doing that. Some days I wake up super excited about everything. Other days I feel the drudgery of life’s daily routines weighing on me. But committing to spend my morning coffee time every morning on learning and growing gives me a feeling of accomplishment that is so gratifying, and  I’m very happy thus far with the project!

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 18 – Discovering History through Art

This morning I switched gears a bit to look into another ancient culture’s art – Ancient Greece. You may remember Doc Rose, who recommended impressionist painting to me. She mentioned that I should take a look at Ancient Greek vases because of the wide variety of shapes and techniques. After reading the Wikipedia page on Ancient Greek Pottery (I know, I know, Wikipedia again!), I can verify that this is definitely the case! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pottery_of_ancient_Greece#Red_figure). The development of Greek vase painting is traced through several different styles: protogeometric, geometric, orientalizing, black figure, red figure, white ground technique, and the Hellenistic Period. Are your eyes glazed over yet?!? This is a lot to digest, and I want to spend the next few days looking at the different styles. The black and red figure style looks particularly interesting- check out this example I found on the Metropolitan Museum’s website:

Also interesting: the page mentions that, because pottery is relatively durable, the art on ancient Greek pottery has had a disproportionately large influence on modern understanding of ancient Greek society. This fascinates me- we know much of what we know about the ancient Greeks because of one of their art forms. I feel that art is often considered to be an unnecessary side pursuit in society. I admit I’ve rolled my eyes at art and the need to be “cultured” more often than once. But in the case if the Ancient Greeks, their art served quite a useful purpose – since centuries upon centuries later we can learn about their lives and history through that art. I think that’s pretty cool, don’t you?

Finally, before I sign off today - Happy Memorial Day! Thanks to all of the brave men and women who have given their lives serving in the U.S. Military.

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 17 – Art for the Dead

Today, I wanted to talk a little bit about the tomb of Khonsu, another of the Egyptian tombs I’ve been looking at. (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/srvt/hd_srvt.htm). Khonsu was part of a crew of artisans who carved and decorated royal tombs in the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. What a job to put on your résumé, right? These artisans put an enormous amount of time and effort into creating the Pharaohs’ tombs, but they also used their talents to create their own (more modest) tombs.

Khonsu had two anthropoid coffins prepared for him (see below). (Apparently, the term “anthropoid coffin” refers to a coffin in the shape of a human). Khonsu’s coffins were covered with various magical symbols and texts. As you can see from the picture, the details are quite elaborate.

Khonsu’s tomb also contained shawabtis – little figurines which would substitute for Khonsu if he were called upon to perform manual labor in the afterlife. (See an example, below. Also, can we just pause here for a moment and say, it would be awesome if I could get some shawabtis to take care of things for me in this life?)

There was obviously a lot of attention to detail put into these coffins and they are, I think, very beautiful. And this was not even the coffin of royalty. Take a look below at the death mask of the famous King Tut. This beautiful masterpiece is made of gold, colored glass, and semiprecious stones. (http://wysinger.homestead.com/kingtutankhamun5.html)

It’s kind of amazing how much work was put into items that were only going to be buried in a tomb. For the Ancient Egyptians, who had strong beliefs regarding the afterlife, I guess it makes sense. I’m glad that these works of art finally made it out of the tombs and into museums so we can enjoy them today. I bet the individuals who were buried with these items would have been appalled, however, to know the eventual fate of their tombs’ treasures! Is it disrespectful that we now use these treasures for our own artistic gain? It might seem silly, but who are we to say that Khonsu doesn’t still need his shawabtis to help him with manual labor in the afterlife? I suppose the answer to that is that, as our understanding of the world evolves, it’s pretty unlikely that the kind of afterlife that Khonsu anticipated exists, and these treasures serve a better purpose being used for the education and enjoyment of modern people. What do you think?

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 16 – Art in the Everyday

Today I’m going to talk about something that struck me as I was reading about the tomb of Hatnofer- one of the tombs I mentioned in my blog yesterday. (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/htnf/hd_htnf.htm) It really stood out to me that the Egyptians seemed to decorate so many “everyday” objects. For example, Hatnofer’s tomb contained several mirrors. I’ve posted a picture of one of these, below. The handle of the mirror shows a woman’s face with cow’s ears and a curled wig (which symbolized Hathor, the goddess of love and beauty – the Egyptians’ entire lives seemed to have pretty much revolved around their religious beliefs). Although a mirror is a basic utility item, this mirror contains this artistic depiction of a goddess, an important part of Hatnofer’s life.

I’m not sure if it was just that the “special” items which made it into the Egyptians’ tombs, while the actual common, everyday items weren’t decorated; or, if all utility items in Ancient Egypt were decorated symbolically. But, it made me think about how sometimes art is all around us. For example, my favorite coffee mug is decorated with a strawberry pattern. I love how it looks and I bought the mug because of the pattern. I certainly did not need any more mugs, and the mug would certainly function just as well if it were plain white. However, seeing those strawberries in the morning as I pour my coffee just makes me happy for some reason.

Today, these ponderings just left me full of random questions. What purpose does art serve in our everyday life? To make us happy, like the strawberries on my mug? To symbolize important aspects of our lives, like the goddesses on Hatnofer’s head? Do these things even really “count” as art? Or, maybe, a better question is, what should the requirements be for something to count as art? Is happiness/symbolism enough, or do we need something else- some kind of official, technical merit, if you will? I think, maybe, that is something every person decides for himself or herself.

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 15 – Egyptian Tombs

I didn’t have much more time to blog today. My family was still in town and then I had to take Baby Girl for her two month shots. She was not happy about that, and was obviously not feeling well afterwards. However, she finally took a nap and when she woke up seems to be feeling better. I’m just crossing my fingers that she doesn’t get a fever – I’m pretty much terrified of her getting a fever!

Even though this blog is going to be short again today, I just wanted to talk a little more about the Egyptian tombs I’ve been reading about during my coffee time. It’s really interesting to me that the Egyptians spent so much time and so many resources on burying people. The Metropolitan Museum’s website discusses three different tombs which were excavated in Egypt by an expedition of the Metropolitan’s Department of Egyptian Art. The tombs belonged to Wah, Hatnofer, and Khonsu. I’ll be writing more about these tombs and searching for others over the next few days. I have to say, I do love ancient art like this. It’s all got such a haunting, otherworldly feel. Perhaps it’s because the Egyptians were decorating for people who had died, or perhaps it’s because these pieces are just so very, very old! Either way, I’m looking forward to more learning over the weekend, and to reinvigorating my discovery of art. In the meantime, here’s a vignette from a coffin lid, from sometime around 1279-1213 B.C.

Have a great holiday weekend, everyone- and check in for blog updates if you have a chance!

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 14 – Coming Soon - but not today - Egyptian Art.

So, this morning, I was trying to think of a different direction to go in learning about art. I tried to think about experiences I have really enjoyed at museums, and I remembered a really nice exhibit I once saw about the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun. Ancient art, and Ancient Egyptian art in particular, really fascinates me.

I looked for Egyptian art on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s website, and found some information on Egyptian tombs that I think might be a good place to start. (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/egtb/hd_egtb.htm). However, I have family in town and have had a long day, so you’ll have to wait until tomorrow or this weekend for a full blog on this type of art. I’m too tired to write much right now. In the meantime, here’s an Egyptian painted limestone on which to feast your eyes. More soon!

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 13 – Surrealism and… yawn.

When I was learning about Cubism yesterday, I read a mention of Surrealism, and decided today to check into this. Surrealism was actually a literary movement that originated in Paris around the early 1920s and became an international intellectual and political movement. (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/surr/hd_surr.htm). Surrealism drew on and contained deep symbolism and disdain for convention- and used Freudian methods of free association. One well known painter who created Surrealist works was Salvador Dalí. Dalí’s Accommodations of Desire (pictured below) was one of his surrealist works, which Freudian symbolism.

Honestly, I just can’t really handle this style of painting. I think it might be time to redirect my review of art. I had a difficult time today focusing on my morning coffee reading. As the paintings I look at become more and more abstract, I become more and more disinterested. I feel as though I need to refocus- perhaps go back in time and look at works before Impressionism, where I started. Or, perhaps, look at a different type of art altogether. (Sculptures? Photographs?). All I know is that I was enjoying the art research at the beginning of this month, but now I have definitely hit a wall of boredom. I need to refocus my research on something that I enjoy more.

I think this is good, though. It means I’m learning what I do like, and what I don’t. For the Coffee Bean Dreams project, both types of knowledge are necessary. Tomorrow I need to think about how to redirect this month’s focus.

In the meantime, since I just can’t help myself, here is Dalí’s Accommodations of Desire. I think this type of art is definitely an acquired taste. What do you think?

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 12 – Art or Laziness?

I woke up very excited today- my brother and his wife and toddler son are on their way to Chicago to visit us! I can’t wait for Baby Girl to meet her cousin! I was already bouncing around the house, but, I decided today would nevertheless be a good day to drink an entire pot of coffee. (But it’s only one of those little four cup pots. Don’t judge.)

I turned my jittery attention to Cubism. (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cube/hd_cube.htm) As I believe I mentioned in an earlier blog, Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque are credited with creating Cubism between 1907 and 1914. (And, as I believe I’ve also mentioned, I’m not so much a fan of cubism or abstract painting styles). Basically, Cubism rejected the idea that art should imitate nature and instead focused on fractured geometric forms. At first, the subject of Cubist paintings was usually discernible, but between 1910 and 1912 “high” Analytic Cubism was popular and works were so abstracted that it was difficult to really see what they were- although popular themes were still lifes of musical instruments, glasses, and the human face and figure. Still Life with a Bottle of Rum, pictured below, is an example of one of Picasso’s Analytic Cubist works. Synthetic Cubism came between 1912-1913, and began with the technique of  papiers collés – placing large pieces of printed or colored paper into a composition to allude to a particular object. Man with a Hat and Violin, pictured below is an example of a work created using  papiers collés.

So, I think it’s important to say that, although I am not particularly moved by the Cubist works, I understand that it is art on purpose and there is some method to the madness. These artists were not just being lazy and “throwing paint on a canvass and calling it art,” which I feel is a popular thing to say when you don’t like this style. They were experimenting with a particular technique. That technique grew and evolved, and many of these works are considered serious works of art today and enjoyed by many people. So, even though this style is not exactly my cup of tea, I think it’s quite fair to say that their experimentation was not for nothing.

Do you enjoy Cubist works? If not, can you at least appreciate that there was an artistic effort being made, or do you think I’m crazy for thinking that such works are indeed masterpieces of art?

Picasso - Still Life with a Bottle of Rum

Picasso - Man with a Hat and Violin

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 11 – Rose Colored Glasses for Mr. Picasso, and, What in the World are Saltimbanques?

So, yesterday I talked about when Pablo had the Blues. Today I looked at work from his Rose Period. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Picasso and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picasso%27s_Rose_Period).  The Rose Period found Picasso painting with orange and pink. (Pink has recently started to become one of my favorite colors, and I’m not sure why. Perhaps it’s because I have a little girl now and pink has become a pretty much inescapable part of my daily life.) Apparently, during this time, Picasso painted more cheery paintings of acrobats and harlequins- which in France were called “saltimbanques.” And, in case you’re wondering (I was), a harlequin is a comedic character in checkered pattern clothing – which Picasso adopted as a personal symbol. This vaguely sounds to me like clowns, which I was terrified of as a child and which I still think are pretty creepy.

A little bit of juicy gossip: Picasso met one of his mistresses, Fernande Olivier, during this time, and many of the Rose Period paintings feature her. It was also during this time that Picasso met Matisse, who became a lifelong friend. The Rose Period lasted from 1904-1906, and, I must admit, despite my skepticism of all things Picasso and clown-like, I found some works I liked from this period. I blame the use of pink. Below, are two Rose Period works that I think are kind of neat.  I suppose, since Picasso painted SO many paintings, he’s bound to have some that I like. I never realized before I started this blog just how prolific Picasso was. I guess the lesson is to not say you don’t like something you don’t know much about. Although, I reserve the right to dislike Cubism and Picasso’s works during the Cubism Period.

Picasso - Acrobat and Young Harlequin

Picasso - Family of Saltimbanques

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 10 – Pablo & the Blues

Today I spent more time looking at Pablo Picasso… there is a lot of information out there on him. So, first of all, two fun facts:

• Picasso’s given name when he was born was “Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Crispiniano de la Santísima Trinidad.” Seriously. That is a long name.
• Apparently, more of Picasso’s paintings have been stolen than any other artist. Nice claim to fame there.

I read through the some Wikipedia pages on Picasso today (find them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picasso and here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picasso%27s_Blue_Period), and simultaneously learned a lot and was overwhelmed by the amount of information. Love or hate him, there is no denying that Picasso has had a profound influence on the world of art, and had a long, vibrant career. I don’t think I like most of his work; however, I’m fascinated by him as a person.

His paintings are typically divided into several different periods, and today I found myself reading about his “blue period.” From 1901-1904, he created somber paintings in blue shades. I love the color blue- it’s my favorite color. However, it can be either a very happy or sad color. For example, usually a blue sky or beautiful blue ocean are thought of as happy scenes. Picasso’s blue paintings were not such happy scenes, but were more on the depressing side of blue and contain themes of loneliness, poverty and despair. Picasso was depressed and mourning the suicide death of a friend, and his paintings show this depressed tone. Although these works are popular today, he had difficulty selling them at the time. The Old Guitarist (pictured below), is one well known work from this time period. Apparently it is on display at the Art Institute of Chicago. (I really need to get back by there!) I think what makes this painting seem really depressing to me is that the man’s skin has a blue tone. It just looks so unnatural and gives the painting a haunted feel. Many of his “blue period” paintings are like this.

I’m having a hard time deciding if I like this or not. On the one hand, it is a pretty somber painting. On the other hand, the color of a painting matters a lot to me. I think I’m leaning towards not liking it… I don’t think liking the color is enough to overcome the moodiness of the painting, and I’m not much into moody art these days. I definitely went through an emo phase, but these days I prefer things to be more bright and happy.

What do you think of this painting, and of Picasso’s Blue Period?

Xoxo, 

Diana

Day 9 – Comfortable, Familiar Picasso?

I already knew before I started research for today that I was not going to be a fan of Picasso or Cubism. Perhaps that’s not the best attitude to have considering that the point of this exercise is to learn, and having strong pre-conceived notions about something is not the best way to learn. It is what it is, however. I do feel that if I want to obtain a good overall knowledge of art, I can’t ignore Picasso. It’s definitely going to take more than one day to really delve into Picasso, but I feel as though if I’m going to not like a big name like Picasso, I should at least know why.

Picasso, along with Georges Braque, created Cubism, which aimed to emphasize the two-dimensionality of the canvas and fractured objects into geometric forms. (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cube/hd_cube.htm). I’ll expand on Cubism and Braque another day, but I want to focus on a particular piece by Picasso today. When I think Picasso, I automatically think of disfigured, disjointed faces and strange indefinable shapes, and he certainly has quite a few paintings that fit this description. He did much more than just painting, though – I learned that he put out over 20,000 works of art which included “paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, theater sets and costumes that convey myriad intellectual, political, social, and amorous messages.” (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pica/hd_pica.htm).

There is one of Picasso’s sculptures that I have personally seen many, many times. It’s the Chicago Picasso (officially untitled, pictured below), and it’s located outdoors in the Daley Plaza in Chicago. Since I am a lawyer living in Chicago, I’m pretty familiar with Daley Plaza – it’s right outside the Daley Center which contains over a hundred state court courtrooms. Apparently this statue caused a lot of controversy, and was unpopular with a many people. Picasso never revealed what this strange statue was intended to represent, but a newspaper columnist said “it has a long stupid face and looks like some giant insect that is about to eat a smaller, weaker insect.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Picasso). I have to say I don’t necessarily disagree, although to me it also looks quite a bit like a strange dog figure.

I’m not necessarily a fan of the style, although to be honest strange shapes in sculptures bother me less than in paintings, for whatever reason. However, this statue is comforting to me in an odd way, simply because it is so familiar. I have seen it so many times, and it just feels like it belongs there and makes sense. This made me wonder… is the kind of art we like often a function of what we have seen over and over? Is “good art” really just “familiar art”? And although I’m generally not a fan of Picasso’s works, if I saw his paintings over and over, say, if I hung one up in my apartment, then would I eventually decide I like the style?

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 8 – Fauvism and *Another* Lawyer Turned Artist. Le Sigh

Today I spent time reading about Fauvism (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/fauv/hd_fauv.htm). The Fauvism movement was known for using brilliant colors and spontaneous brushwork. This intense, emotional style eventually gave way to Cubism, but before it did several artists experimented with the Fauve style.

Henri Matisse was a name listed among the Fauvist artists which I recognized (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mati/hd_mati.htm). Matisse had a career that lasted over six decades! And… he was originally trained as a lawyer. (Seriously- I think I might need to find a second career that lets me be creative. It seems a lot of former lawyers have!) Matisse was a prolific artist who experimented with a variety of painting styles, including Impressionism, Neo-Impressionism, and, briefly, Fauvism. He also dabbled in sculpture and even book illustration! One of his Fauve paintings was The Young Sailor (pictured below). You can see the intense colors and spontaneous brushwork. I’m not so much a fan of the brushwork but I do like the colors. I’m not sure what else to say about this style- I feel like the closer and closer I get to modern times the less I like the artwork.

Next up will be Cubism, which was created by Picasso. I’m already pretty sure I won’t be a fan, but I’ll save a more in depth discussion for tomorrow. In the meantime, here’s that Matisse painting. Happy Weekend, everyone!

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 7 – Is “Crazy” (or being an Incan Savage) a Requirement for a Good Artist?

I got some coffee creamer yesterday, so I put the green tea away and switched back to coffee today. By the way, I love coffee but I don’t necessarily consider myself a coffee snob. Sometimes I buy really expensive coffee online, sometimes I pick up a bag of beans at Starbucks, and sometimes I grab stuff from the sale bin at Target. Today’s selection was one of those sale bin specialties – Target Brand White Chocolate Strawberry Coffee. If you’re wondering how the heck Target flavored their coffee like white chocolate strawberries, you would be justified in doing so. Let’s just say it smells delicious while brewing and tastes like chemicals when you actually drink it. Thank goodness I had a fresh supply of creamer to take the edge off a bit.

So today while drinking coffee creamer with a bit of coffee, I continued reading some about Post Impressionism. I browsed through some information on Paul Cézanne and Georges Seurat, but today’s real find came when I read a biography page on Paul Gaugin (find it here: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/gaug/hd_gaug.htm).  I have to admit today’s blog strays a little bit away from a review of the actual art and into gossip tabloid-esque territory… but I really can’t help it when I read things like “Descended on his mother's side from Peruvian nobility, [Gaugin] spent his early childhood in Lima. He would later misrepresent his ancestry to portray himself as an Incan savage” and “Gauguin encouraged van Gogh to paint as he himself did, from memory and imagination… rather than from motifs in nature. Their collaboration ended abruptly when van Gogh had a mental breakdown and cut off part of his left ear.” Seriously, is it a requirement that you have to be a little crazy to be creative? I mean, we have here a fake Incan savage and someone who cut off his ear. There’s a lot more interesting information in the biography- I encourage you to give this one a read. I can only imagine the US Weekly covers if these artists were alive and famous today. Is it necessary to be a little crazy to create this level of art, and, if so, is it worth it for humanity? Sure, we have some awesome art thanks to these guys, but maybe they would have personally been better off in a bit more stable of a career? I’m not sure there is a good answer to that question. You have to take care of yourself, but you also have to follow your passion, I think.

Gaguin poured a lot into his art. He started out as an Impressionist, but eventually moved past this and set the stage for Fauvism and Expressionism (which I definitely need to study some as I continue my art journey). He spent time living in Tahiti, which  influenced his painting. His masterpiece was painted while he was there, and is entitled Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? (pictured below). It’s an allegorical painting known as a culmination of his art. I’m not sure how I feel about, except to say that the title itself definitely shows Gaguin had a troubled, searching heart. The painting seems busy and tense to me. I like the colors, but that is about it. Something about it moves you, though. Perhaps it is knowing that Gaguin was troubled. Although I’m not sure I understand the technical merit of the painting, seeing the title and feeling the haunting emotion behind the painting makes it hard for me to just dismiss it outright. Is emotion the most important aspect to art?

I’m not quite sure how to answer that question.

Xoxo, Diana

Day 6 – Post-Impressionists: Responding to the Impressionists!

Thankfully, I was able to get more sleep last night. It cooled down to the mid-50s here in Chicago, and the AC repair guy came, so Baby was a much happier sleeper and made it for a five and a half hour stretch. She’s starting to pretty consistently sleep somewhere between five and six hours at night, which is absolutely glorious after a few weeks of only an hour at a time. I always give people the side-eye when they tell me the newborn phase is the best. I mean, sure they are so adorably tiny and sweet, but they NEVER sleep a good stretch. At least not at night. At least mine didn’t. Maybe you had a unicorn baby.

By the way, the problem with the AC was that the guy who replaced our furnace in January (after the -30 Polar Vortex shenanigans caused the old furnace to give up the ghost) never reconnected some vital wires to the AC unit. The repair guy yesterday rolled his eyes and said the furnace repairman probably did this on purpose so he’d automatically have an easy service call in the queue when the weather warmed up. I didn’t bother telling Mr. AC that Mr. Furnace was from the same repair company as him.

But I digress. With a fresh brain this morning, and a fresh cup of green tea (hey, I’m out of coffee creamer and didn’t feel like black coffee), I sat down to figure out what came after the impressionists. Google informed me it was… drum roll please… the Post-Impressionists! I returned to the Metropolitan Museum’s website to learn more (check out their information on Post-Impressionism here: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/poim/hd_poim.htm). I’m really liking the Metropolitan’s educational content. They have easily digestible, well-organized chunks of information that I can read over coffee (or tea!) in the morning without feeling overwhelmed. There are other schools of painting that also followed the Impressionists, but Post-Impressionism is what I landed on this morning.

I learned that the Post-Impressionists were responding to the Impressionists by expressing emotions rather than just optical impressions. Their art had themes of deeper symbolism and abstract tendencies. Two names I recognized from the list of Post-Impressionists were Paul Cézanne and Vincent Van Gogh. Although I’ve never been much of an art buff, I always thought I liked Van Gogh’s work. I actually had the chance to visit the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam a few years ago, but the day I went it was unbearably crowded and very difficult to really enjoy the artwork. Reading through the Metropolitan’s page on Van Gogh, however (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/gogh/hd_gogh.htm), I realized that there are a few of his landscapes that I like, such as Wheat Field with Cypresses and The Starry Night, (pictured below), but other than that I don’t really like his style. For example, I really do not like Olive Trees or A Corridor in the Asylum (also pictured below). Perhaps it’s because I don’t like the abstract aspect of his paintings as much. I always had it in my head that I preferred abstract works, but comparing Van Gogh’s work to the Impressionist works I’ve been looking at over the last few days, I have to say I prefer the less abstract style of the Impressionist paintings. I think I need to look at a few more Post-Impressionist artists to decide, though, so that I get a better feel for the differences between the two styles. That will be my goal for the next few days!

Paintings I liked:

Wheat Field with Cypresses

The Starry Night

Paintings I didn't like:

Olive Trees

A Corridor in the Asylum

Xoxo, Diana

Day 5 - Monet's Badge of Honor

I’m feeling decidedly uninspired today, which may have something to do with the fact that I didn’t get much sleep last night. Yesterday was one of the first warm days in Chicago this year, and sometime in the late afternoon I realized that the AC wasn’t working. We opened all of the windows, but there aren’t any windows in the bedroom. (We live in a one bedroom right now and the baby sleeps in a bassinet in the bedroom). So… it was pretty warm and the baby was pretty unhappy about that and didn’t sleep well. Which means Mama didn’t sleep too great, either.

So, this morning while I drank my coffee, I was much more interested than usual in the amount of caffeine in said coffee. I had thought I was going to expand beyond the Impressionists today, but my groggy brain couldn’t figure out what I wanted to research. (Hey, I’m sure even the big name priv-lit authors I mentioned in my introductory blog had days like this!) I feel like you can’t really go wrong with Monet, so I decided to continue my exploration of his works.

I read the Metropolitan Museum’s page about Monet. (Find it here: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cmon/hd_cmon.htm ) Again, more than his work itself, I’m drawn to his story. I like to read about how the Impressionists were criticized in their time, and yet continued to paint in the Impressionistic style anyways. The article on Monet says that the Impressionists considered the criticism as a “badge of honor.” What if they had given up? What if Monet had followed the crowd and painted in the fashion that the “experts” thought he should? He might not be nearly as famous, or have had nearly the influence that he did. I think this is an important lesson for us all. As cliché as it may sound, not giving up in the face of criticism, and even using criticism to motivate you, really is such an important lesson. How many times have I not done something because there was even a *possibility* that others might think it was stupid? At first, I did not even want to write this simple blog because I thought it might appear to be a silly idea compared to Elizabeth Gilbert’s travels or Gretchen Rubin’s seemingly charmed New York life. But you know what? I’ve had a few people tell me they enjoy reading it, and I’m enjoying giving my morning coffee time a purpose. So here’s to Monet, and to viewing criticism as a badge of honor! You can accomplish so many things when you don’t listen to other people’s negativity!

Today’s picture is of Women in the Garden, one of Monet’s paintings initially considered too ambitious by many artists of his day:

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 4 - Dalmatians and Impressionism

I decided to spend another day learning a little bit about Impressionism, since I’ve only really read about specific artists or works and not on the broader topic of Impressionism itself. I read through the National Gallery’s Guide to Impressionism (find it here: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/learn-about-art/guide-to-impressionism/guide-to-impressionism/*/viewPage/1), and realized that Claude Monet was an Impressionist. This is probably not news to most people, however, let’s review: I am pretty much completely illiterate when it comes to art.

Monet is a famous name in art - famous enough that I think most people would recognize the name even if they don’t know he was an Impressionist. The first time I remember hearing about Monet is when I was twelve years old and taking painting lessons at a Hobby Lobby. At this point in my life, I was obsessed with puppies, as I think most girls are at some point during their childhood. Specifically, I was obsessed with Dalmatians, since I was lucky enough that my parents had allowed us to get a Dalmatian puppy. The only thing I wanted to paint was Dalmatian puppies. I painted Dalmatians in gardens, at the beach, and even in a gift box. I wasn’t a particularly talented painter, but I had fun creating these tributes to Dalmatians. The teacher did her best to not only teach us some about painting, but also to introduce us to some well-known painters. I remember Monet because she showed us his work, Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lilies (pictured below), and I liked it so much I decided to break my streak of Dalmatian paintings and paint a water-lily pond. So, I guess, even back then I was a fan of the Impressionists. I just didn’t pay enough attention to remember the term Impressionism.

Now, I’m rediscovering Impressionism. One snippet from the National Gallery’s guide that I found interesting was that “…significant to the Impressionists was an interest in the way in which the human mind processes what it sees. When we look at a landscape, or a crowd of people, we do not instantly see every face, or leaf in detailed focus, but as a mass of colour and light. Impressionist painters tried to express this experience.” I like this aspect of these paintings. Sometimes it’s nice to not focus on details, but on an overall experience. Maybe art viewed in this light is more attractive in a certain sense. There’s no pressure to find specific details, but rather the freedom to enjoy an overall experience. Something to think about at least.

Xoxo, 

Diana