Tattoos as an art form

I know we previously had a presentation on this topic but I thought it was necessary for me to post about it considering my love for tattoos. Tattoo's are without a doubt an ART form. The only thing different from an orthodox style of art is the canvas, being skin. I also feel as if people do not respect them or like them because they have seen bad tattoos. I have seen plenty of bad ones but I look past that because I have also seen many beautiful ones like the one above. This tattoo is a Native American Chief with an immense amount of detail. The shading and line work is just perfect making it visually pleasing. I personally like black and grey but that doesn't mean the color tattoos aren't good.......because some are amazing.

Memorial

When this project was first assigned, I couldn’t think of anywhere in my house, room or car where a memorial of some sort was set up for display. Well over the weekend my five year old cousin passed away from brain cancer after a yearlong battle. The point is when I arrived home I immediately put his mass card above my bed on a shelf where others already rest. Without noticing, I have had a alter set up for years now.

It first began when my best friend passed away from leukemia in 2006. I put pictures of us above the shelf and contents that reminded me of him on the shelf. For example when we were younger we used to paint action figurines and go to the zoo, so there is also an alligator head, which are now part of the alter memorial. I also have a wooden statue from St. Francais of Assisi from my grandparents’ house along with both of their mass cards. Having this shelf gives me comfort and lets me know they’re at my side every night when I go to sleep. Also when I am feeling a little down or missing them I'll go to the shelf and memories will rush back to me. These memories make me feel better and forget about the bad. It’s crazy how I could forget about something that is so present in my life. I just never called it an alter or memorial and I feel that is why I didn’t put two and two together.

As for being art, I wouldn’t consider this art or myself an artist from this memorial. It didn’t take any type of skill or imagination. I just put contents that are important to me into one particular area to honor their lives and for memories.

Final Project

Roberto Falck

Engagement

For my final project I am choosing Photography, in particular a local artist/photographer

from Brooklyn known as Roberto Falck. I first heard of him in about 2008 at my cousins wedding. I was absolutely blown away by his work somehow he finds a way to catch the personality of each picture. Roberto is beyond creative and takes photography to another level. Not only does he do weddings but he does engagements, portraits and his travels to other countries.

Trip to Massai

Underwater Wedding

Johnny Cupcakes As Art

In this blog I would like to discuss graphic tees as an art form, in particular Johnny Cupcakes. Johnny Cupcakes is a clothing brand that was started in 2001 by a man by the name of Johnny Earle. Originally started as a joke soon became a social/fashion icon. The trademarked skull and crossbones and cupcake took a liking. The company soon took shape and put Johnny on the rise. Opening three stores that are extremely original and designs including popular icons.

Not only are Johnny Cupcakes t shirts art but everything in the brand is. Take a look....

LA STORE

Limited Edition Dynamite Packaging

Jordan/ Johnny Cupcakes

As you can tell everything pertaining to this brand is creative. I would personally agree that all of his designs and ideas are an art form. I would like to follow in his footsteps hopefully be as successful as him one day. His marketing is brilliant and he has a love for the brand.

Street Art (Banksy)

BANKSY

One of my absolute favorite 21 century artist, is a street artist by the name of Banksy. He is from London and basically does graffiti having to do with society. His image isn't known and somehow remains to be unknown. He has such a distinct style that you can spot out his work with one glance. Creative isn't even the word when speaking about him. To me it is indescribable. Some is super realistic and some cartoony but almost always dealing with social puns. Above are some of his famous images but the list goes on. Not only does Banksy do graffiti but he also does exhibits like sculptures and paintings like such.

He was also featured in a film named "Exit through the Gift Shop" in 2010. It is basically filmed accounts of what happens in the street art world. How they make money, why they do it and how important fame is to them. After watching this documentary you respect the art form a bit more and it kinda motivates yourself to do something that will always be remembered.

Black Hawk Down

I decided to write about Black Hawk Down which is a film directed by Ridley Scott in 2001 about a number of United States soldiers being dropped off in Somalia to settle a civil dispute. According to IMDB this battle took place in 1993 where 100 Army Rangers where dropped off into the heart of the city with orders to capture two infamous warlords. While doing so two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down by RPG‘s, forcing these Rangers to complete another difficult task of securing the areas of the crash. One of the pilots was then taken prisoner but no man gets left behind.

This is one of my favorite films of all time and is one of the reasons why I decided to write about it. Not until this blog post did I really notice the music though. I must have seen this movie fifty times but only now am I realizing the music’s full potential in the film. It truly lets the mood be known.

In general the movie doesn’t stick to one type of music. Throughout the film different genres of music are played. It opens with some authentic Somalia instruments letting you know where the story takes place. It then goes into some city background noise or harmonious flutes and violins. On IMDB the soundtrack includes Elvis Presley multiple times, Stone Temple Pilots, House of Pain, Jimi Hendrix, some indigenous artist and a lot of orchestra. I never realized that these famous musicians were part of such a great movie.

Certain scenes require different types of music, especially a war movie. Something different Ridley Scott did was put an orchestra while fire fights were happening and rock songs on their trip into the town. Generally you would think a loud heavy rock song would fit in with gun fire, loud explosions and helicopters but he proved me wrong. It does go quite well with it. He includes both sad and soft violins but also some very upbeat drums to describe various scenes of panic and pain.

For ex. You can really feel the soldiers pain and can put yourself into their shoes

The Godfather

The Godfather was released in 1972 and directed by Fancais Ford Coppola. It starred Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and James Caan. The film is rated number two just below Citizen Cane on the American Film Institute top 100 movies.

I decided to evaluate some of the scenes that are present in this film. In particular I wanted to focus on the special effects. Compared to today's movies they are absolutely terrible but givin the time period I don't think many questions were ever raised about them, especially because this was such a great movie.

At 3 minutes and 35 seconds you can tell where I am coming from. The shooting in the elevator is first. The gun used sounds like a firework and seems totally unrealistic. The second scene of poor special effects is when he is shot in the eye through his glasses. I was expecting blood to come pouring out but instead it looked like discolored water. I am in no way putting down The Godfather because it is absolutely one of the best films created. I wanted to shed light on how much special effects have evolved within the last 30 years.

1950-1985 Artist: Roy Lichtenstein

Roy Lichtenstein was one of the first to bring American Pop art form to the creative world. He shocked people with his exuberant style and comic book looking designs. Roy was born in New York in the year 1923 and drew ever since he was little. In the 1960s he received a job at Rutgers University where he was deeply influenced by a man by the name of Allan Kaprow. As you can tell he was also influenced by comics.

Personally I love his work and his particular style. He really motivates with his work and reminds me of clothing companies that I admire like OBEY. His style catches peoples attention but on top of that he was one of this first to do it. The Half-tones, colors and bold lines. All of his work is very similar to each other but very different from other works of art.

Whitney Museum of American Art

Recently I went to the Whitney Museum of American Art for my girlfriend’s project so I figured I can also benefit from this visit and I did. In particular I was interested in John Sloan’s paintings. I seemed to develop a liking to his work because in a way I can relate to them. I just can't get enough of his everyday New York lifestyle paintings. Being from New York I can relate to the sites that he paints and can appreciate them on a different level.
After about an hour of browsing we found a few of John Sloan's paintings. The one above really caught my eye and was painted in 1928, named Sixth Avenue Elevated at Third Street. I actually never have seen this painting before but I knew some info on John Sloan. I knew that Sloan was an American artist born in Pennsylvania who took the name of a realist artist. He often painted neighborhood life in the city of New York. His paintings are often perceived as if you are viewing life from his "window". I would certainly agree with this statement after looking at his works.
Now on to the painting, you can automatically see the variance of colors. The red brick, blue/purple sky, grey cobblestone and the women’s dresses. There is just so much going on in this painting that your eye doesn’t know where to look but I like it. I think this is where the curiosity comes in. I wonder were those girls are going and why they are running. Maybe they are trying to catch bus or to a show, however it lets your mind be creative. He did an exceptional job representing the hustle and bustle in a city. Since I didn’t see the painting before my visit I really couldn’t compare until I got home. The painting wasn’t that big so it actually made me examine it more closely. Like Edouard Manet’s work, Sloan didn’t put an excessive amount of detail in his work but when looked at from a distance it looks extremely detailed. For example the women’s faces are simply a few brush strokes but perceived differently like the pendant the lady is wearing in “A Bar at the Folies Bergere” by Manet.
This painting slightly reminds me of my favorite t-shirt company and designer Johnny Cupcakes because of its cartoony feel. Maybe this is why I was I was sublimity drawn to this particular painting. I do not know which one of Sloan’s paintings I like better. I love the action in this one but I really like the emotion that “McSorleys Saloon” gives.

Barbara Kruger

I decided to chose a photo of Mohammad Ali Vs. Sonny Liston in 1965. I thought it would be a good idea to search for iconic image and and then think of words. I stumbled on this image and thought it would be perfect to represent never giving up. I personally love the message and feeling that I'm trying to evoke. I hope people feel the same way when they see it.

John Sloan - McSorley's Saloon

The infamous McSorley's bar located in New York City caught my eye. This was painted by an artist by the name of John Sloan in 1912. John Sloan was an American artist born in Pennsylvania who took the name of a realist artist. He often painted neighborhood life in the city of New York. His paintings are often perceived as if you are viewing life from his "window". I would certainly agree with this statement after looking at his works.

In particular I really like this painting because of the genre and it is a famous landmark in New York City. I love how it is a blast from the past. I notice the bartenders uniform, the customers attire, how it is poorly lit and all men. Sloan really evokes feelings by a simple static image. Both sets of men seem as if they are in deep conversations. Curiosity comes into play and keeps you guessing about what they cold be speaking about.

As for the painting itself, Sloan uses various brush strokes that look like nothing up close but when seen from a far it all makes sense. Things come out of the woodwork, like the clock, wall paintings and the hat rack. I truly enjoy this painting.

NY Metropolitan Museum Of Art

This Friday I visited the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art to view a painting by Edouard Manet, in particular I wanted to see the "Garden at Sainte-Adresse". I have seen this painting a bunch of times but never in person. I am truly glad that I made the trip to see this though.
As I wrote previously Edouard Manet is a French artist who was born on January 23, 1832 in Paris. He was born into a wealthy family and was persuaded by his uncle to attend college for the arts. He would also visit the Louvre at a very young age, which sparked his interest in painting. This specific painting was painted in summer of 1867 in the actual garden of Sainte-Adresse. The panting is also quite large and I personally didn't know that from looking at images.
The best part of seeing this masterpiece in person, was that I began to notice small details and even something so small like his signature. I also noticed the boats in the background and the detail in the wood fence. Not only did I notice more but, the colors were slightly more vibrant. Surprisingly seeing the painting in person made me appreciate it more. Maybe because it's one of my favorites but either way I truly do appreciate art that involves skill.
Now after viewing this piece of artwork I feel as if I have a better grasp on Manet's work. I now notice his technique, meanwhile back in the art history book it was very hard to take in. In person you can really become aware of his style. He has his own way of simple brush strokes that look like nothing, until it is looked at from a distance. For example in the picture above the flowers are uncomplicated dots and blends of colors. It is things like this that make Manet a truly exceptional artist.
I am extremely happy that I made the trip to see these paintings in person. Before this artistic journey I didn't realize how important it was to a see a painting up close.

Edouard Manet 1832-1883 Part 2

A Bar at the Folies Bergere

Even though we have discussed this particular painting in class I thought that it was a very important painting to include in this post. We talked about how the viewer is actually the man in the top hat ordering a drink. This is a perfect example of Manet exploring new techniques. The expression on the bartender tells a story in itself. You actually are sympathetic for her. From this painting we can tell that something isn't right. Maybe she is tired from being on her feet at work or just upset about something else. It actually looks as if she is thinking about something and got lost in her thought. After gazing at this painting for a little while you will actually realize that there is no actual detail but your eye knows exactly what was meant. This is an incredibly neat way of painting in my opinion. I believe that Manet seen this setting with his own eyes considering his quote about painting the present.

Edouard Manet 1832-1883 Part 1

Edouard Manet is a French artist who was born on January 23, 1832 in Paris. He was born into a wealthy family and was persuaded by his uncle to attend college for the arts. He would also visit the Louvre at a very young age, which sparked his interest in painting. Manet once said " that ones art should reflect ideas and ideals of the present rather then the past" and most of his art will reflect this quote.

During this time period Manet was described to use light brush strokes and is considered to be a main factor in the transfer of realism to the impressionism style of painting. He has influenced many artist and was the first to use certain techniques. Even though his paintings are old they are still recognized all over the world and has inspired many.

What is Art?

Gene Davis, "Hot Beat" (1964)

What is Art?

So what is art? Does it have a definition? Some say art is anything that expresses feeling and some believe art can only be utensil to paper. There technically isn’t a wrong answer.

My opinion and definition of art is something that evokes a feeling but also takes some type of skill. Painting, drawing, graffiti, sculpting or even music are considered art in my eyes. I have thought about this topic for quite some time now and I feel as if I have come to a conclusion. I particularly think if a child can do it is not art. For example I do not believe Gene Davis, "Hot Beat" (1964) is art. (Picture Above) Another great example I have was a personal experience at the Museum of Modern Art. There was a pick plastic rectangle leaning against the wall and it really upset me that this was considered art. This took no skill or talent to be considered an artist. This exhibit was disrespectful to other artists who actually have the talent to create something visually pleasing.

The true definition of art is “The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture”. I would have to agree one hundred percent with this definition because it included the word skill. Art in my eyes is impressing and usually something the average person cannot do. This why artist are recognized for the their creations.

Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion and some may find that pink rectangle pleasing to the eye. So when it really comes down to what art actually is, it is what ever you enjoy looking at.

Welcome to Visual Aesthetics By Keith

Welcome to visual aesthetics by Keith. This blog will be discussing various topics having to do with art from all time periods.