Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Post Spring Break Part 1

Suprematism
art should not have function
it should be pure expression
nonrepresentational

Constructivist
art should be for the benefit of the state

USSR poster
still have the original photo montage for the poster

Photomontage
becomes popular because . . .
photography seen as a tool of the modern age
it's a machine so it goes along well with the upcoming age

Sergei Eisenstein
Russian guy who makes movies
socialist regime in Russia

Alexander Rodchenko
Constructivism poster child
if you are creating something for the people it has moral good
attends art school in early 1900s
the process is the significance of the work
reminds me kind of fine arts where you don't necessarily have to understand the piece or concept. That's not the point.

Pure Red, Pure Yellow, and Pure Blue
these pieces displayed in a show
"i have reduced painting to its logical conclusion"
is there a need to do more painting?
this sort of makes it have a limited shelf life, how much simpler can you get than simple?

KAKAO
you would not think of this as art
constructivism says the only true art has a function
if it is an ad it is serving the common good, it has a function, and therefore is art
moral value = function = good art

Stalin Era
at the beginning people that artists were great
art was a counter to tzarist Russia

De Stijl Duh Shhhtilll
movement developed in the Netherlands
utopian approach to aesthetic - key idea
what makes good art?
how can we create a formula to make a good art?
what is good art?
we want a utopian society . . . but it still has to be functional
characteristic:
rectilinear planes
no surface textures except pure primary hues + black and white
no trees or happy cows
we want a mathematical structure
universal harmony
not about just filling the page

Piet Mondrian
best known painter

Theo Van Doesburg
he started the Duh Shtil movement
the movement lives and dies with him
interested in working with Dada's
he published Dada poems which is kind of ironic
Why would he embrace the Dada's?
there's a philosophy at play . . .
he wants a system for universal harmony, looking at structures for order and systems
people look for these people they feel like the current system is not working
Dada's are needed to explode the system so . . .
his group could come in and steal the show

Ideas of De Stijl applied to:
architecture
sculpture
painting
graphic design
something about partridge family

Asymmetrical Balance
implied rectangle around the elements
air moves around freely

More Mondrain
his later work coincided with electrical tape
we have a trajectory of his paintings
as he developed he would paint the same tree so we could see his progression as an artist

MORE MOVIE
movie
movie
movie

Conclusion

Time to wrap it up. I'm kind of pissed I forgot to bring my Mondrian shoes at home they would have been perfect for class. I think when it comes to what is art I don't really think you need such a strict clear cut set definition of what is art and what is not. Who cares? It's such a subjective thing. People consider the Mona Lisa to be a great painting but I'm sure there's plenty of people that hate it. It's all opinionated and you can spit out all the facts you like but when it comes down to the wire it's all about what tickles your fancy.

What is art to me? Anything that a person creates in an interesting manner. And that's not just drawings, music is art, writing is art, dancing is also a form of art. Anything that pleases or entertains people is art. I don't think you need to go much more in depth than that.



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