Art Papers: Art Essay Help, Art Research Paper Tips and Art Term Paper Guide

I went to the art museum in the Mitte Complex on campus to see an art exhibit by Patricia Hernandez. The works that Hernandez had on display were unique and could be interpreted in numerous ways. All the works that were displayed in the museum had something in common, from the position the people in the paintings were facing to the objects in which the people were observing. Though the paintings had similarities, they also differed in certain aspects. The ages of those portrayed in the works of art were varied and there wasn’t one stereotype in which she focused on. Though many individuals looking at the paintings may analyze every detail in the images, I realized that the paintings were merely mirror images of people going through their daily routine. The illustration resembled snapshots of individuals doing everyday tasks, like going to work, sitting in the park, or just going for a stroll and taking in everything around them. While the paintings of the people show them in their normal state, the images that they are observing are not quite typical of everyday sightseeing. For example, exhibit number seven, displays a business man in his mid thirties, rushing to take care of some important matters. The image that he would normally be glancing towards may have been an advertisement on a billboard or even something interesting to catch his eye. But the image Hernandez portrayed was nothing of the sort. Splashed behind the busy man was a banner of orange and pink paint to resemble something that caught his eye. Though the images of the people in the paintings were realistic and believable, the detailing images were ones of question and imagination. The art displayed in the exhibit was rare and unique as every piece of art is. I enjoyed the museum because I felt as though each piece of art was talking to me in its own way. The art displayed by Hernandez was interesting and trying to understand what she was trying to say, made it even more beautiful.

Art morality and reality is a subject that is touched upon by many people, from different backgrounds, and cultures. Art in itself is hard to explain and give a clear cut definition to, there have been many lines drawn as to what is and what isn’t art. What constitutes good art and bad art, and how different individual’s opinions can in effect erase the importance of the dictionary definition of art.

Especially when art is under so much scrutiny as to discover its meaning and origins, why it was created, and what the message trying to be conveyed really is.

From a religious point of view, art is something that glorifies God, and makes people more aware of the goodness and powerful loving nature of God. To these religious types, art is simply a means of expressing God and spreading the news, nothing else and these works of art are ‘true’ art because of the substance they contain and the pure love beauty and truth that form the lifeblood of the art work itself, no matter which form it takes, sculpture, poems, songs, pictures ect.

It is likened to a poet writing a technically perfect prose but not meaning a single word he has written, this makes the art work false. Read more…

Femininity, masculinity and, indeed, queer theory have, for years, been based on the essentialist binary opposites of male and female inherent in modernism. In today’s ‘Postmodernist’ world these gender definitions are increasingly under attack by feminist theory, gay studies and queer theory. Women are confronting issues of gendered oppression, men are confronting issues of sexism and homophobia, everyone is searching for ‘self’.

It is my intention in this essay to concentrate on feminist art, in particular, the art of Judy Chicago and Annie Sprinkle.

Feminist thinking today is influenced by the theories of postmodernism, in particular, that of the rejection of a social structure based on bi-polar gender stereotypes rooted in biology with a strong leaning towards patriarchy.

It must be understood that feminism is not one thing; it’s a catch-all description of a range of issues, theories and behavioural patterns. Feminism is also split into two main camps: The radical/political which claims equal rights with men on the basis that women are equal and can do anything men can do, given the chance, and a kind of spiritual/earth mother approach which claims that women are different from, and better than, men because they are life givers and in touch with the natural. Read more…

Henry Moore’s sculptures were most commonly very simple solid images. Many were of women, perhaps to celebrate their role in society and show their strength. Moore’s mother was a strong woman and it is apparent through his work that he viewed women as the crux of the family. The women depicted in his sculptures are sturdy and heavy looking which confirms this. One sculpture which displays this quality of his work is his Seated and Draped Figure crafted in bronze which depicts an exaggeratedly broad woman positioned as the name of the sculpture suggests.

Moore looked at the female figure as a landscape and it is possible to see the similarities between the rolling lines of the figures in his sculptures and the moors where he grew up. Read more…

Cubism is an early twentieth century school of painting and sculpture in which the subject matter is portrayed by geometrical forms without realistic detail. That makes it mystic and difficult to analyze and define their ambiguous meaning. During that period, Jacques Riviere is one of a few cubism critics who profoundly know and understand cubism. Especially, he is able to interpret it in words which are easily comprehensible to the other. He does not only conveys the cubists’ concepts but the mistakes of their works as well.

The essence of the cubists is to portray what objects really are instead of images which normal people see. Consequently, the images look distort from the original shape. Riviere analyzes the cubism transformation concepts in two functions including eliminating lighting and perspective. The cubists replace all these qualities by plastic values. They believe that lighting effects change the true senses of things. They reject the concept and nature of lighting and substitute to the equal and subtle distribution. The shade that normally place on some parts of object, are dispensed into a small portion to every part of object by placing it near the edge of surface, in order to divide and mark successive inclination of the parts of object. Read more…

Bertolt Brecht has been hailed as one of the pioneers of 20th century theatre. Through his didactic styles and revolutionary theories on teaching the audience instead of just entertaining them, Brecht managed to alter the general face of modern theatre and style of playwriting through many of his works such as his 1939 epic “Mother Courage and Her Children”. Using such techniques as alienation and historification, he presented his plays without any sense of dramatic lighting or effects, as well as trying to remove any sense of suspense from the audience. Brecht also promoted the use of Epic Structure, a way of narrating a play in which song, dance, and projected photos and music would assist regular speech.

Epic Structure is noted particularly in “Mother Courage and Her Children”. Each scene opens with a projected message on the stage, which is a synopsis of the coming scene. Some scenes are quite distant in terms of time setting; many years in some cases, furthering the Read more…

Parallel Developments in Modern Art
The notion that modern art developed in multiple cultures and nations is one that needs to be further explored. This stands in marked contrast to prevailing art history doctrine- lionized by the art establishment, which rose to fame and power in the last century. Their view of modernism, going back to the early 20th century, credits Western Europe and later New York (post WW II) as the primary influencers in defining the art of today. While many of those historians acknowledged modernist developments elsewhere, they were quick to denounce them as derivatives of the west, and therefore inferior. The primary reason for this position was not racism or cultural ignorance, but rather total absorption with the prevailing art philosophy of the time- that art should ultimately serve a higher or absolute ideal. This view was reinforced by Clement Greenberg, well known critic and advocate of the 1950’s New York abstract abstractionist school of art, which swept the art world at the time. A product of their times, these philosophies contributed greatly to the discourse on art, but have become out of date with current art thinking. This essay attempts to delineate some of these values and bring them into our present world. Read more…

The beginnings of the New Art (or Art Nouveau) style in Scotland were centred around The Glasgow School of Art. Charles Rennie Mackintosh, one of the most famous Art Nouveau architects was based around Glasgow and by the turn of the century this new art became known as the Glasgow style.

One of the most famous pieces of design done by Mackintosh was of course the Glasgow School of Art. A particular room in the school came to my attention, the library. Mackintosh has an eye for using wood, much inspired from Japanese style. The library is a perfect example of this. The double-height interior of the library looked surprisingly modern. Symbolism was a great aspect of Mackintosh’s designs, particularly in this library. It’s screened gallery supported by vertical timbers, which fluently divide the space and the floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing this dark panelled room to be bathed with light. In symbolic terms I think Mackintosh has made this room, not only look, but feel like a Japanese forest. The tall dark timber supports represent tall dark wood trees and the small lights hanging are in the style of Japanese lanterns, representing small beams of light, edging through the small cracks in the trees. I think this is a fantastic use of light with design. Read more…

Garett theorises that it is the quality not quantity of available light that makes an image photographable and mundane. Night photography is an excellent way to examine this theory. As there is not a great deal of light available at night the photographer has to be proficient enough to use the available light to its most effective. Night photography can have some amazing effects examining themes like time, magic and surrealism. To efficiently analyse the style of low light photography it is necessary to look at all the factors that affect the use of available light - equipment, sources of light and technique.

Firstly, It is imperative that you utilise the proper equipment to maximise the use of light in low light situations. There are a few essential items needed for night photography. If frozen action is the desired affect at low light levels fast film is a must for black and white photographs a film of iso 400 is more than adequate. However slow films can also be used is a certain effect is required, it just means longer exposure times as night photography deals primarily with long exposures a tripod is imperative. A wooden or large one is best to withstand wind. Also as the camera has a bulb setting a cable release is necessary .A short one is preferable as long ones get caught in the wind during exposures and vibrate the camera. A variety of lens can be used. If taking direct photos of the moon a long lens is better (200-500mm) . It is also better to have a fast lens which means the aperture is very large letting more light in and permitting faster shutter speeds. Read more…

Although Diego Rivera was a Mexican painter, influenced much by his historical roots in Mexico, his contributions to American society throughout the first half of the twentieth century were great. Rivera wanted his art to influence the world enough to change it (Howlett 20). During an era of revolutions in both politics and technology, Rivera was one of the many inspired to create work that was socially radical at the time (Stevens 72). His views of support for Communism, his outlook on Capitalism, and his portrayals of the industrial revolution around the world caught the attention and eyes of entire nations. “Rivera’s work seemed like it was leading directly to today’s cultural wars” (Aguilar 36). Throughout the early 1900’s, Rivera had become an icon for cultural transactions between North and Central America (Hughes 78). His controversial art helped open the minds of Americans to be more culturally diverse and help see the different opinions and aspects to the world. When portraying himself, Rivera always painting himself realistically with harsh honesty in all of his self-portraits (Howlett 2). He sought to capture the aura of a subject, concentrating on the unique physical features of an individual (Howlett 2). Over his time as a muralist, Rivera’s style had changed. From Mexico’s realistic, pre-Colombian work (Mujica 30) to abstract modernism learned over in Europe (Howlett 1), Rivera’s signature style was his mastered displays of form and composition, as well as a large concern for texture and his usage of vibrant, contrasting colors (Mujica 29). Read more…