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

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…

Art Deco was an international style of decoration that came about in 1918 and flowed off in 1939. It was present in fashion, interiors, architecture, ceramics and industrial design. It was named after the 1925 World’s fair in Paris: - Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et industriels Modernes which translates as International gallery of decorative art and modern industry. The style of Art Deco featured strong vibrant colours using floral motifs like that of Charles Ren?e Mackintosh, a Scottish architect, painter and designer, who stripped art Nouveau design of delicate curves and led the way to cleaner lines. In graphic design Art Deco displayed strong emphasis on geometric shapes and patterns and the typefaces of the period became more legible and were in stark contrast to Art Nouveau. However not all art of this period followed this contemporary style. The name ‘Art Deco’ has an obviously similarity to Art Nouveau, further evidence that one is a continuation of the other. Art Deco is associated with the 20s where it originated but was a developing style, reaching its peak in the 30s and some critics argue that it never really ended or was simply never a specific movement. Read more…

The shimmering light and breathtaking colors of Claude Monet’s work have made him one of the world’s most popular artists for almost a century. His studies of the changing effects of sunlight on haystacks, churches, fields, and water gardens were unique in his time and extremely influential to subsequent generations. As a founder of the style known as impressionism, Monet broke with many traditions to create a new method of painting–and of seeing the world around us. Without his innovations, the course of twentieth-century art would have been quite different.

Claude-Oscar Monet was born in Paris on November 14, 1840. When he was five years old, his family moved to Le Havre, a port on the Atlantic Ocean northeast of Paris. Monet’s father owned a grocery store from which he supplied sailors and shipping companies. Young Monet most likely encountered many colorful characters in his father’s store. He became known for his talent at drawing caricatures of people around town. In fact, he was not particularly successful at school because he spent most of his time drawing. When he was a teenager, he began to earn money for his portraiture. He met his first important teacher, Eug?ne Boudin, when some of his drawings were exhibited next to Boudin’s paintings in the window of a local shop. Read more…

Michelangelo Buonarroti was the greatest artist of the sixteenth century. His work includes paintings, sculptures, and architecture, all of which are very famous. Some of his more famous pieces of art are the Sistine chapel; sculpture of David, the “Last Judgment”, and his four Pietas. Almost all of his works he did by himself and rarely had someone help him. Michelangelo had a different style than another artist of the time. His work always looked more defined, almost as if they were real. They took hard work and determination, which Michelangelo had a lot of.

Michelangelo was born in a small village of Caprese on March 6, 1475. He was the second of five sons. He had a passion for art ever since he was a baby. He grew up in Florence where the early period of renaissance was just beginning. Many great masters such as Masaccio, Lorenzo Ghiberti, and Donatello surrounded him. He loved to draw and paint despite his father’s objections (Mariani, 13). When he was thirteen he went off to study under the watch of Domenico Ghirlandaio. He had many conflicts and his training ended after only one year. While he was studying with Domenico, he learned the art of fresco painting and was greatly influenced by the methods of Domenico (Venezia, 2). From there Michelangelo went on to live in the house of Lorenzo de’ Medici. The Medici house was a gathering place for all artist, philosophers, and poets. Michelangelo used it to study the gardens and practice fresco paintings (Michelangelo, 3). Where he soon mastered the art of fresco. After political events led to the exit of the powerful Medici family, Michelangelo traveled to Venice, Bologna, and then finally to Rome. Here he produced his first large-scale sculpture of a drunken Bacchus, the Roman god of wine. After the introduction of the sculpture, many artists had a great respect for him (Michelangelo B, 4) Read more…