Art Np2

The Pomegranate is often used in painting for its symbolic connotations, including the New Year. Some religious scholars believe it to be the forbidden fruit from the Garden of Eden. What other objects are used pictorially for their symbolic presence? How does anything become symbolic in modern culture? What are some examples? Excluding the obvious - consumerism (advertising) & religion - why are 'universal' symbols important? Click on the title for more information.

A psychosomatic illness triggered by looking at beautiful art, or when confronting immense beauty in the natural world. The symptoms include rapid heartbeat, dizziness, confusion, and even hallucinations. Wow, I'll take a DaVinci on the rocks, and make it a double!

This is the first known image of Mary and infant Jesus, c. 2nd century. The fresco is located in the Catacomb of Priscilla, Rome, Italy.

Click on the title to visit a web page at Boston.com where we can see (and control) an x-ray revealing The Crucifixion beneath The Nativity. 

One of the first images of the Madonna and Child in Western manuscript, c. 800 A.D.

Mary accepts her newborn child. Joseph appears exhausted and sits half asleep in the foreground.  The shepherds look at the angel with gestures of awe and wonder about the unfolding events. The animals seem peaceful and quietly unaware.  And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.'  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,  'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.' 

A part of Giotto's seminal works, this fresco is in the Scrovegni Chapel, Padua , Italy

What and where are the first visual examples of the birth of Jesus and the Adoration? How are these themes interpreted by different artists?  If not the oldest example, this may be one of the first Adorations. The child portrayed is older than a newborn infant. Dated from the 4th century, it's located in the Vatican.

January 20 - February 17, 2009 The Art of the Kuba exhibition at Governors State University’s Visual Arts Gallery will bring the intricate artwork of the Kuba to the South Suburbs. The Kuba Kingdom is currently part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo although it remains the sole surviving traditional court of the many that once flourished in equatorial Africa. The artwork on display is a combination of rich textiles, intricate beadwork, overpowering masks and photographs. The exhibition is enhanced by a Distinguished Lecture sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences featuring Prince Ngoloshang Mbecky of the Kuba Royal Family. The prince will present video recordings of Kuba art and ritual in the current social and political setting on February 6 at 6:00 p.m. in Sherman Music Recital Hall. A reception will follow immediately after the presentation. The exhibit will also be open for viewing that evening until 9 p.m. The Distinguished Lecture, reception, and art exhibit are fre

The Kuba people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly, Zaire and the Belgian Congo, live in the fertile lands of equatorial Africa between the Kasai and Sankuru Rivers. They compose a politically and socially complex multi-ethnic Kingdom consisting of 18 distinct sub-groups, each having a history and identity of its own. These groups have been an organized Kingdom since the 17th century but have lived in south central Congo much longer. Their unity is explained by participation in a common culture and by the Bushong's domination of the whole group. The Bushong group has the largest population of the 18. Artistically, the Kuba surround themselves with a sophisticated vocabulary of elaborate decorative patterns which are found in architecture, basketry, carved objects, female body scarification and textiles. Finally, in its political system, pomp of public receptions, and sophistication of its legal procedure, the Kuba Kingdom has remained the lone witness to the stately

Arguably, the most influential painter of still-life since Chardin . Link back at title above to The New York Times review by Holland Cotter of the Morandi Exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Watch Robbie Dingo, the avatar, build a virtual Starry Night. This is a fascinating tribute to Vincent Van Gogh. Link back to his Blog by clicking on the title above.

   An interesting interview with Nick Miller, Landscape Painter. He lives and works in Ireland. Click title to link back to his online exhibition at the New York Studio School. 

Check out this award winning web site created to coincide with his exhibit last year at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

An excerpt below from an entertaining and informative site about color in business, design, art, and science. Click on the title for more information.  "Color plays a vitally important role in the world in which we live. Color can sway thinking, change actions, and cause reactions. It can irritate or soothe your eyes, raise your blood pressure or suppress your appetite. When used in the right ways, color can save on energy consumption. When used in the wrong ways, color can contribute to global pollution. As a powerful form of communication, color is irreplaceable. Red means "stop" and green means "go." Traffic lights send this universal message. Likewise, the colors used for a product, web site, business card, or logo cause powerful reactions."

A very thorough site about colour by Australian author, David Briggs. The foreword, Colour Made Difficult, stakes out the complexities of understanding color (colour!). Click on the title for more. 

Why is the previous post of any significance to the visual artist? Perhaps, it informs and reveals the mysteries of vision. It shakes us out of our assumptions, and indicates our brains are engaged in significant subconscious, conscious, basic and higher levels of thought.  If we understand vision to be a simultaneous overlay of singular and multiple optical/brain experiences, we are better informed about the complexity of vision and the pictorial possibilities, and encouraged to deeply reflect on our work and the work of others.  Vision = Thought What do you think?

This has popped up on the Internet as a Left Brain/Right Brain "test". What direction do you see the dancer spinning? Can you train your eyes (and brain!) to reverse direction of the spin? It is possible! Click on the title above,  The Spinning Dancer, to go to off site discussion. Multistable Perception is a term used to categorize this phenomenon. For more information: Wiki

Click on the title above to view a well illustrated and interesting online text used at Cornell by Associate Professor Charlotte Jirousek.

A site about Pictorial Composition by Marvin Percy Bartel. 

The Elements and Principles of Design by Marvin Bartel.

Principles, Elements, and Composition - the Wiki takes on these important pictorial subjects. 

Link to excerpts from  the book, Picture Composition for Film or Television , by Peter Ward. The general thrust of the book is applicable and the peripheral field of film exposes the painter to fresh voices.  Read about Orson Welles and Citizen Kane in chapter 1,  Learning the Ropes . 

Can you help me expand Recommended Links/Blog List? Find a Blog and send a Blog. Find a link and send a link. Take a look, tell me what you think, make a recommendation. 

A very useful link to explore different, and profound, means used by artists and architects over the millennia to compose. 

Strange and Twisted YouTube video about combining sounds and drawing. Cool and clever fun tool you can make from a kit.

"Technology adds nothing to art. Two thousand years ago, I could tell you a story, and at any point during the story I could stop, and ask, 'Now do you want the hero to be kidnapped, or not?' But that would, of course, have ruined the story. Part of the experience of being entertained (or looking at art) is sitting back and plugging into someone else's vision." Penn Jillette (1955 - ), Interview in WIRED magazine, 1993

My experiences as a teacher and artist have consistently shown me that lack of thorough training and ongoing practice are the major impediments to success. Yes, we feel compelled to put in details. After all, we want to make it look like something we recognize! And, we often unfavorably compare ourselves to others. When we are beginning, we are often not certain about our personal style and pictorial content. The more successful you are at mentally separating personal style from pictorial content the better you will be able to draw and paint. This fresh thinking will remove significant barriers to your development. Not to worry - We all have these barriers and are naturally protective of anything personal. It may help you to think of your classes as training for a big and long race - a race you have never done before. But, if you try and run the race before you're ready, you'll most likely give up out of frustration. No one gives up the race because they don't want to finis

This is my attempt to start a long over-due blog again. I hope to develop useful content for my students and other interested reader/viewers.

The Governors State University Visual Arts Gallery presents Adventures in DisOrder, a show of recent work by Tim Ryan, from December 5 through 15, 2008. Tim Ryan is an artist working in two-dimensional and three-dimensional media. Adventures in DisOrder is an exploration of the graffiti culture using the artist’s personal sense of aesthetic order.